- Title
- A new rockfall hazard methodology for open-pit coal mines
- Creator
- Ferrari, Fredrica; Thoeni, Klaus; Giacomini, Anna; Lambert, Cedric
- Relation
- Bowen Basin Symposium 2015. Bowen Basin Symposium 2015: Bowen Basin and Beyond: Proceedings (Brisbane, Qld 07-09 October, 2015) p. 355-362
- Publisher
- Geological Society of Australia Inc. Coal Geology Group and the Bowen Basin Geologists Group
- Resource Type
- conference paper
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- Rockfalls represent a serious hazard in open pit-mines, threatening human lives, machinery and portal structures located at the toe of highwalls. This hazard can have significant financial consequences should the production be temporarily stopped for safety issues. Results from the ACARP C19026 rockfall netting project and field observations suggest that a more effective approach to rockfall hazard management is required for safe mining operations. In this paper, a new qualitative rockfall hazard procedure specifically designed for coal mining environments developed within the current ACARP project C23026 is presented. The methodology intends to be a simple and quick tool for identifying the most dangerous highwall sections. The use of this methodology provides practitioners with a more rigorous guidance on rockfall management strategies, and the industry with the ability to generate hazard zoning maps that can be updated on a regular basis. The methodology uses in situ observations (and records of past rockfall events when available) for the definition of three hazard levels (i.e. low, medium and high) defined on the basis of the expected rockfall energy at the base of a highwall and the rockfall frequency, evaluated through the state of activity of the highwall. As a result, the sections with a high level of hazard, which require a further strict quantitative assessment, are quickly identified. The methodology will provide greater confidence in locating personnel, machineries, and structures over the working areas at the toe of highwalls.
- Subject
- rockfalls; hazard; qualitative methodology; surface mining; evolving rockfall hazard assessment
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1321786
- Identifier
- uon:24449
- Identifier
- ISBN:9780646944555
- Language
- eng
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