Keynote: Ground support scheme selection and its role in mine economics and risk

Authors: Player, J

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2625_0.03

Cite As:
Player, J 2026, 'Ground support scheme selection and its role in mine economics and risk', in D Cumming-Potvin & J Wesseloo (eds), Ground Support 2026: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Ground Support in Mining, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 1-30, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2625_0.03

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Abstract:
Ground support scheme design should be principally driven by the demand from the rock mass of the initial excavation and the response of that excavation with time. The correct evaluation of the demand is the starting point, followed by understanding the performance and sensitivities of the range of potential ground support schemes that may be applied to control displacement. Technical design, duration, and cost of installation of the ground support scheme are parts of the full development cycle time and advance costs. Focusing strictly on the upfront purchase and installation cost of a ground support scheme creates a narrow financial goal that ignores the larger impact on the overall value of the operation. Ground support scheme capacity should be integrated into the full development cycle and financial model so that the risk of ground support scheme failure and cascading effect on operational failures (ore sterilisation, operational disruption, and safety) are understood. Evaluation of the total development cost is often opaque as it is generally undertaken by development mining contractors that have a different process of evaluating project risk and consequence compared to a mine owner. The paper explores the costing of capital development from surface to 2,000 m by considering 5 depths and rock mass demands for multiple ground support schemes. This approach aims to account for differences in evaluating project risk from a contractor perspective of pricing with a focus on equipment and labour utilisation, and short-term cash margin to a mine owner achieving long-term project value, minimising capital expenditure, achieving project payback and resource extraction. Sites should apply the outcomes in terms of the consequence of the wrong ground support scheme which results in loss of the decline/capital and access to the ore zone. This situation is not rare with the author knowing of multiple sites that have been faced with this outcome.

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