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The Use of Geotechnical Instrumentation to Optimise an Engineered Mine Design at Beaconsfield Gold Mine, Tasmania
A R Penney1, P B Hills2 and R J Walton3
ABSTRACT
Geotechnical instrumentation has been implemented as a key step for monitoring and optimising an engineered mine design for managing seismicity at the Beaconsfield Gold Mine. Measurements of displacement, stress change, ground control element load and seismic response of the rock mass allow for back analysis and calibration of critical parameters for feedback into the engineering design loop. Instrument clusters are installed in strategic locations prior to the commencement of stoping in order to determine the nature of the response of the rock mass to stoping. A selection of instruments including instrumented cable bolts and rod extensometers, resistance wire extensometers, hollow inclusion stress cells, vibrating wire stress meters and resistance wire extensometers are used to gather data through a data logging system. The rate at which data is recorded is adjusted to provide more information during periods of anticipated rapid change such as around stope firings or during periods of high seismic activity, and less information during periods of anticipated quiescence. The twofold purpose of the instrumentation is to calibrate the numerical modelling output which forms the basis of the engineered mine design, and to provide an alert mechanism where the behaviour of the rock mass is not what was anticipated, or where the impact of that behaviour may compromise the integrity of the engineered ground control system. The paper describes the location of instrument clusters with respect to stoping, the type of instruments employed and the method of data acquisition. It provides examples of results obtained and illustrates the way in which that information is used to optimise the mine design and manage seismicity.

A complete review of all aspects of the mining operation at Beaconsfield followed a well publicised seismically induced rockfall accident on Anzac Day 2006. At the behest of Workplace Standards Tasmania, a comprehensive peer reviewed mine design and safety management process, a Case to Manage Underground Safety (or Case for Safety) was implemented. In essence, from a purely mining perspective, the Case for Safety involved geotechnical design from first principles and adoption of a mining method suitable for the safe operation of the mine in the prevailing geotechnical environment. In particular, the Case for Safety led to the development of a remote stoping method in the west zone of the Beaconsfield Gold Mine to exclude personnel from areas of greatest seismic risk. Enhanced use of geotechnical instrumentation was introduced to the operation to verify assumptions made and monitor progress.

GEOLOGY AND SETTING

The Beaconsfield Gold Mine is centred on the Tasmania Reef, a steeply-dipping tabular quartz-carbonate vein hosted by a sequence of siliciclastic sediments. The sediments, which dip towards the east, comprise the Salisbury Hill Formation of conglomerates and sandstones overlain by the Eaglehawk Gully Formation of sandstones, siltstones and limestones with occasional pebble bands. All siliciclastic rocks have been metamorphosed to quartzites although they retain much of their sedimentary character. The Tasmania Reef is essentially planar over a strike length of 350 - 400 m, with an average width of 2.5 m and occupies a shear which cuts across stratigraphy orthogonally. The west zone of the Tasmania Reef is hosted by the Salisbury Hill Formation, and it is the brittle nature of the conglomerate horizons within that formation in particular, which are prone to mining induced seismicity. The geology of the mine is discussed by Hills et al (2001).

BACKGROUND
The Beaconsfield Gold Mine in Northern Tasmania began to exhibit mining induced seismicity during sill driving of the orebody at a depth of 760 m below surface in 2002. The increasing occurrence and degree of seismicity over the following four years saw a number of strategies introduced and work plans implemented for the purpose of seismic management. Increasingly, the focus of these strategies and plans was directed at reducing the risk to personnel, equipment and the mining operation itself, which was posed by the increasingly seismically active environment. Geotechnical instrumentation was adopted as a management tool from the onset of seismicity, although principally, it was directed at measuring and monitoring the seismicity itself and measuring the in situ stress field. Stress change monitoring was introduced when in situ stress measurements were completed in 2003 and 2006, but principally this was done to monitor far-field changes over time rather than focusing on local changes and the immediate impact on the day-to-day mining operation.

GEOTECHNICAL DESIGN
The basis of first principles geotechnical design adopted for the Beaconsfield Gold mine is generally that outlined in the Canadian Rockburst Handbook (Kaiser, McCreath and Tannant, 1996). The Case for Safety studies (Pfitzner, 2006; King, Thomas and Scott, 2007; Scott and Reeves, 2007; Sidea, Scott and Reeves, 2007) progressively developed the design process through the increasingly geotechnically complex environments of decline development, ore driving, stoping in the generally aseismic east zone and finally, stoping in the west zone. The process was summarised by Reeves (2008) and peer reviewed in application by Kaiser (2008). Scott, Penney and Fuller (2008) examine the application of this process to stoping in the west zone.

1.

MAusIMM, Geotechnical Geologist, Allstate Explorations NL, PO Box 58, Beaconsfield Tas 7270. Email: AdrianP@allstateexp.com.au FAusIMM, Technical Services Manager, Allstate Explorations NL, PO Box 58, Beaconsfield Tas 7270. Email: PeterH@allstateexp.com.au Principal Consultant, Coffey Mining Pty Ltd, 1/21 Howleys Road, Notting Hill Vic 3168. Email: Rob_Walton@coffey.com

REMOTE STOPING METHOD

A key outcome of the Case for Safety process was the realisation that seismicity associated with stoping in the west zone of the Beaconsfield Gold Mine would continue and that the magnitude of those seismic events was likely to equal that which occurred on Anzac Day 2006. Further, it was realised that no support system could be designed to adequately ensure the safety of personnel working in the western ore drives, should they be

2.

3.

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present when such seismic events occurred. Consequently, the Western Case for Safety (Scott and Reeves, 2007) was premised on the development of a remote stoping method which totally excluded the presence of personnel from ore drives in the west zone where stoping has commenced. The development and application of the remote stoping method devised, is discussed separately by Hills et al (2008). With this change, there was a requirement that geotechnical assumptions and other decisions behind this move are adequately assessed. These assumptions were to be continually checked and modified as data is collected, analysed and further observations are made.

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT AND INSTRUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS

The need to evaluate the installed ground control system and the rock mass around the excavations with a degree of confidence and reliability as the mining front advances continues to be a challenge facing all mining operations. Areas of ground control failure and the failure to understand the rock mass behaviour can result in development and production delays, equipment damage, reserve loss, or injuries. Instrumentation including microseismic systems, stress/strain meters, instrumented support elements and extensometers are critical components in understanding this behaviour, and measuring the effectiveness of installed ground control systems. This in turn allows for optimisation of the engineering design process through back analysis and ongoing calibration of engineered designs and has the potential to lead directly to improved operating costs as well as safer operating conditions (Bawden et al, 2007). This role for instrumentation is incumbent in the Case for Safety process adopted at the Beaconsfield Gold Mine. Microseismic monitoring and the surrounding issue of seismic management was discussed in some detail by Hills and Penney (2008), and are not reiterated. This paper describes the use of clusters of instruments to monitor the behaviour of the rock mass and the installed ground support in response to stoping. It focuses on the site selection and analysis of the western instrumentation installed in the 940 Stoping Block footwall drives as outlined in the Western Case for Safety.

FIG 1 - SMART bungee cable bolt configuration.

1 m and 2 m resistance wire extensometers (RWE) (Windsor

and Worotnicki, 1986), selected for their high precision and accuracy for the measurement of pillar deformation between the footwall drive and the stope; and

Description of instruments and loggers used

All instruments have been selected due to their relative robust nature, ease of use and general acceptance across the mining industry. The instruments utilised in these clusters are:

uniaxial vibrating wire stress meters (Dutta, 1985), selected

to provide data on stress increases perpendicular across the drive backs may also be used but are not essential. Data acquisition from the instrumentation in these clusters is achieved using dataTaker DT85 and DT515 data loggers. Data is transferred from the loggers to either a USB memory stick, or direct to a laptop computer via USB connection.

CSIRO Hollow Inclusion

Stress Measurement Cell (Worotnicki and Walton, 1976), selected for its capability to measure stress change in three dimensions;

SMART cable bolts (Hyett et al, 1997), specifically

designed to match the bungee (yielding) cable bolts designed for use at the mine following the Anzac Day 2006 rockfall (Scott, Penney and Fuller, 2008) with node points at 0.4 m, 0.8 m, 2.0 m, 4.5 m, 6.7 m and 7.1 m (Figure 1)4;

Layout of instrumentation and criteria for site selection

A typical instrument cluster for the footwall drives is shown in Figure 2. The majority of the instrument installations, and therefore observations, are made from the drive backs. This is the critical area identified from geotechnical mapping, numerical modelling and empirical methods for static and dynamic failure. Clusters are located in strategic locations in footwall drives along the strike of the orebody. In a standard cluster, an HI Cell is installed at a depth above the backs of around 3 m to measure stress change and provide a quantitative assessment of observed stress-induced damage. SMART cables and MPBXs are installed into the centre of the drive backs within a metre of the HI Cell and at a separation from each other of not more than 1.5 m. The cluster allows the impact of measured stress change to be correlated against measured deformation of the rock mass and the corresponding response of the support element. RWEs are installed into the wall between the FW Drive and reef at an

multi-point borehole extensometer (MPBX) (Windsor and

Worotnicki, 1986), selected to compliment the SMART cable with node points at 1 m intervals over a 6 m length;
The SMART cable design modified for use at Beaconsfield incorporates a 1.5 m length of Garford bulbed strand at the toe anchor position. Three Garford nodes occur in this section of the cable, and the measurement head takes the place of the barrel and wedge swage block on the standard Beaconsfield bungee cable. A 4.5 m long section of plain strand encased in pvc tubing provides the debonded capacity to allow for deformation (particularly due to dynamic load), and a 1.3 m section of plain strand at the collar to provides for surface anchorage. Self aligning barrel and wedge assemblies and domed plates are employed as surface fixtures.

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incline of approximately 30. At this orientation, the RWE is perpendicular to the reef footwall, and provides insight into the behaviour of the minimum 6 m pillar between the reef and drive. A HQ diamond drill observation hole is drilled to a depth of 7 m in the backs to allow visual observation by borehole camera of any developing fractures or deformation, and is located within 1.0 m of the MPBX. The observation hole also allows for visual observations of the depth of fracture caused by either stress redistribution or pre-existing discontinuities (Figure 2). Occasionally, a cluster is augmented by the inclusion of an HI Cell installed approximately 9 m into the wall of the footwall drive away from the orebody. Generally one cluster is installed in each geotechnical domain. This has the benefit of allowing for determination of all changes during stope block extraction. Instrument locations are also selected following the criteria outlined by ISRM suggested methods (ISRM Commission on Standardization of Laboratory and Field Tests, 1978):

instruments installed in an area where expected hazard zones

exist (hazards from stress, geotechnical domain, seismicity, etc); coverage of all stages of extraction of the stoping block;

instruments installed in areas to provide the best possible instruments installed in positions that can be re-accessed to
make any repairs to damaged cables (when it occurs), and that allow visual inspections to be made to validate visual/ measured responses and calibrate all other damage mapping; where access exclusions are expected to occur; and zones, or where dynamic water conditions exist.

loggers located in a secure area and not placed in zones instruments installed into a sound rock mass, and not in fault
The location of instrument clusters in the 940 and 980 stoping blocks are relative to the stoping panels in longitudinal projection in Figure 3 (note all clusters are located in the footwall drives 6 m behind the stope projections).

housed in steel enclosures. For some of the installed instruments, steel terminal boxes are used to house intermediate connections of the instruments to the data loggers. Normally, the data loggers are set to six hour or 12 hour scan rates. The data loggers are set to take readings at five minute intervals a minimum of 30 minutes before stope firings. This five minute scan rate is maintained for the length of the re-entry period that is imposed to the level (generally 24 hour exclusion). At the end of this exclusion period, all data is interpreted before entry to the level is granted. The instrument results are compared to the Omori analysis results from the seismic data for the same period to ensure all key trends are not exceeding the required limits. Any time-dependent changes (ie slow stress redistribution, ongoing load increase, displacement from rock mass creep, etc) can be assessed before any persons enter these areas. Once preliminary assessments are completed and entry to the level is granted, loggers are reset to 12 hour scan rates. This scan rate can be changed to six hour scan rates if the stope area is within known high seismic hazard areas. Loggers will remain in six hour scan rates until the seismicity returns to acceptable or background levels. The data loggers acquire all the data in millivolts and only display the last recorded values, therefore it is not possible to determine whether any changes have been recorded by the instruments at the data logger itself. All recorded data must be converted into the appropriate units to allow analysis to be undertaken. Conversion factors from the millivolt record to the appropriate units for the various instruments installed in the clusters are shown in Table 1.

OBSERVED AND MEASURED BEHAVIOUR (DATA ANALYSIS)

The 930 West instrument cluster in the 940 West Stope Block has been selected for discussion in this section, and its behaviour is tracked through firing of the first 11 stoping panels since its installation in December 2007. All other instrument clusters in the 940 West Stope Block exhibit similar responses and trends to the 930 West instrument cluster, and are not discussed further. The first ten stopes were fired in the 940 West Stope Block.

Procedure for data collection

Data acquisition is undertaken by the dataTaker data loggers, which are programmed to read and store all information obtained from the instruments. The data loggers and power supplies are

FIG 2 - Layout of instruments in 930 West illustrating pre- and post-stoping damage profile.

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TABLE 1
Data conversion factors from mV (recorded) to engineering units for instruments in use at Beaconsfield Gold Mine.
Conversion factor CSIRO HI cell Resistance wire extensometer SMART MPBX (4 mV) / Vinput GF) (RWE1n - RWEDatum)0.8 Units M (micro strain) mm (displacement) Notes Vinput = 1.99 for system used GF = 2.097 for cell and cable type used RWEDatum is the first record in mV RWE1n is any subsequent record in mV N1Datum is the first record at node 1 in mV N1n is any subsequent record at node 1 in mV N2Datum is the first record at node 2 in mV N2n is any subsequent record at node 2 in mV N1Datum is the first record at node 1 in mV N1n is any subsequent record at node 1 in mV N2Datum is the first record at node 2 in mV N2n is any subsequent record at node 2 in mV D is the length of cable between node 1 and 2 G = 1 for E of rock RDatum is the first record R1n is any subsequent record

(N1n - N1Datum) - (N2n - N2Datum) 0.0415

mm (displacement)

SMART cable

(N1n - N1Datum) - (N2n - N2Datum) 2.55 (0.212/D)

Tonne (load)

Vibrating wire

(R1n - RDatum) G 0.00689

MPa (pressure)

Stope 3A was in the 940 East Stope Block was fired almost concurrently with Stope 3. Stope 11 was the first stope fired in the 980 West Stope Block in April 2008 and was accompanied by a ML 1.9 seismic event. The location of all instrument clusters in the 940 and 980 West Stoping Blocks and of the 11 stopes fired during the analysis period discussed is illustrated in Figure 3. As was the practice throughout the 11 stope firings, each stope was extracted in a single firing using electronic detonators. Little change was observed on any of the instruments during the extraction of stope panels one to four. This was primarily due to the stope panels being 15 m west of the 930 instrumentation cluster. Stope 5 was the closest stope firing to the 930 West instrument cluster, located in the immediate hanging wall of the instrument cluster, and the first significant change recorded by the instruments was observed in response to that firing. Following the extraction of Stope 5, minor stress changes continue to occur throughout the extraction of the remainder of the block but no large step changes were recorded.

The most significant change measured was that of the local stress field as measured by the HI Cell. The use of the HI Cells in this application does not allow determination of principle stress directions. Orthogonal stress components max int min refer to the maximum, intermediate and minimum changes in compressive stress over the measurement period. In the case of the 930W HI Cell, this amounted to a drop in int and min by 3 MPa and 10 MPa respectively, and a rotation of the stress field of approximately 50 with associated changes in dip (Figures 4a, 4b and 4c). These changes were in line with analysis of numerical modelling results undertaken for the design of the drive using Map3D. This is the key outcome and requirement of the analysis. With further iterative analysis, these observed stress changes could be resolved into changes to the principal virgin stress components, but this has not been done. It was also with the firing of Stope 5 that the first real changes were observed on the MPBX and SMART cable (Figures 5 and 6). Displacements were recorded between nodes at 3 m to 4 m and 4 m to 5 m on the MPBX with the greatest displacement

FIG 3 - Longitudinal projection of the 940 and 980 West Stoping Blocks illustrating the location of instrument clusters and the stoping extraction sequence.

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Stope 3 Stope 3a

A
4.00

Increase in compressive stress

0.00

Stress change (MPa)

Stope 10

Stope 2

Stope 11

Stope 6

Stope 8

Stope 9

Stope 1

Stope 4

Stope 5

Stope 7

-4.00

max int min Stope Firing

-8.00

-12.00

Decrease in compressive stress

-16.00 04/12/07 24/12/07 13/01/08 02/02/08 22/02/08 13/03/08 02/04/08

Date
Stope 11 Stope 3 Stope 3a Stope 10

Stope 4

Stope 7

Stope 6

Stope 5

Stope 8

Stope 1

360

315

Bearing of stress change (degree)

270

225

Stope 2

Stope 9

180

max int min Stope Firing

135

90

45

0 4/12/07 24/12/07 13/01/08 2/02/08 22/02/08 13/03/08 2/04/08

Date
Stope 3 Stope 3a Stope 10

Stope 1

Stope 4

Stope 6

Stope 7

Stope 8

90 80

Dip of stress change (degree)

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 4/12/07 24/12/07 13/01/08 2/02/08 22/02/08 13/03/08 2/04/08

Stope 9

Stope 2

Stope 11

Stope 5

max int min Stope Firing

Date

FIG 4 - Stress component magnitude change (A), bearing change (B) and dip change (C) measured by the 930 West HI Cell during the extraction of Stopes 1 to 11.

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Stope 3 Stope 3a

Stope 10

Stope 1

2.0

1.5

Stope 2

Stope 11

Stope 7

Stope 5

Stope 6

Stope 8

Stope 4

Stope 9

Displacement (mm)

6.0m and 5.0m 1.0 5.0m and 4.0m 4.0m and 3.0m 0.5
Cable Damage

3.0m and 2.0m 2.0m and 1.0m 1.0m and head Stope Firing

0.0

-0.5

-1.0 4/12/07

24/12/07

13/01/08

2/02/08

22/02/08

13/03/08

2/04/08

22/04/08

Date

FIG 5 - Rock mass movement measured by the 930 West MPBX during the extraction of Stopes 1 to 11.
Stope 3 Stope 3a Stope 10 Stope 11 Stope 6 Stope 7 Stope 1 Stope 2 Stope 4 Stope 8 Stope 5 Stope 9

4.00 3.50 3.00

Change in Load (t)

2.50 2.00 1.50 1.00

Cable Damage Cable Damage

0.4m and 0.8m 0.8m and 2.0m 2.0m and 4.5m 4.5m and 6.0m 6.0m and 6.4m 6.4m and 7.1m Stope Firing

0.50 0.00 -0.50 -1.00 4/12/07

24/12/07

13/01/08

2/02/08

22/02/08

13/03/08

2/04/08

22/04/08

Date

FIG 6 - Reinforcement load change measured by the 930 West SMART cable during the extraction of Stopes 1 to 11.

occurring between the 4 m and 5 m node points. Load on the SMART cable bolt was recorded between the nodes at 2 m to 4.5 m and 4.5 m to 6.0 m, with the majority of load being imposed between nodes at 2 m and 4.5 m. Average displacement rates for the MPBX following Stope 5 extraction were:

~0.5 mm/firing displacement between nodes at 4 m and 5 m,

and

~0.15 mm/firing displacement between nodes at 3 m and 4 m.

Average loading rates for the SMART cable following Stope 5 extraction were:

~400 kg/firing on cable for length between 2.0 m to 4.5 m, and ~100 kg/firing on cable for length between 4.5 m to 6.0 m.
The displacement and load changes occurred in the section of ground coinciding with the debonded section of the SMART cable. This was expected as the bungee bolts do not form active reinforcement in this zone. Rather, they provide more passive reinforcement, designed to act as energy absorption anchors

when the rock mass is subjected to high ground motions. The debonded section of cable is from 1.0 m to 5.5 m into the rock mass and is in the region where the load and displacement occurred. While the use of alternative reinforcing elements such as Garford bulbed cables may help to reduce displacements, the resulting stiffer ground control would tend to fail when subjected to high ground motions imposed from a large seismic event due to its low energy absorption capacity. The design implications of the bungee cable are discussed further by Scott, Penney and Fuller (2008). A key consideration in the results from the MPBX and SMART cable are the ongoing step change increases of displacement and load at each subsequent firing with little change of the stress field. This was interpreted to be slow rock mass degradation due to reduced clamping stresses acting on the rock mass, allowing a reduction in confinement. The rock mass was able to relax and displace due to the use of debonded bungee cables. The results from the RWE started showing some signs of movement following the firing of Stope 2 and reached the maximum change following the extraction of Stope 5. There

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was only minor creep in the instrument records beyond that point (Figure 7). Unfortunately, a significant amount of data was lost due to cable damage, limiting the analysis of these instruments. In a gross sense, most displacement occurred on the 2 m RWE which was installed at a depth range of 1 m to 3 m into the nominal 6 m wide pillar between the footwall drive and ore drive. Observations in the area did not reveal any damage or movement in the footwall drive, so it is most plausible that the rock mass was relaxing towards the open stope. The fact that displacements stopped soon after extraction and subsequent backfilling supports that interpretation. The backfill placement will provide a level of confinement minimising any further movement. As an aside to the observations of RWE, raw strain change data gathered from the HI Cell showed an immediate response to the backfilling of Stopes 2 and 5 (Figure 8). That change has not been analysed in terms of stress change.
Stope 3 Stope 3a Stope 1 Stope 2 Stope 5 Stope 4

There has been little observed change to the rock mass around the footwall drives. Damage induced from stope firing, has occurred around the blasthole collars in the wall. Up to 1 m of damage was observed around some rings with all support in the area being totally destroyed and requiring reinstatement. However the damage has been reduced in subsequent firings due to the introduction of improved stemming techniques.

ALERT MECHANISMS FROM ANALYSIS

Communication of the occurrence of stope firings and the expected rock mass behaviour following those firings (ie seismicity, expected areas where rock mass change is likely upon re-entry, etc) is the most effective alert mechanism for managing risk associated with stoping activity at the Beaconsfield Gold Mine. Advance notification to all site personnel and key stakeholders a minimum of one day before a
Stope 10 Stope 11 Stope 6 Stope 7 Stope 8 Stope 9

6.0

5.0

4.0

Displacement (mm)

RWE 1m 3.0 RWE 2m 2.0 Stope Firing

1.0

0.0

-1.0 4/12/07

24/12/07

13/01/08

2/02/08

22/02/08

13/03/08

2/04/08

22/04/08

Date

FIG 7 - Rock mass movement measured by the 930 West resistance wire extensometers during the extraction of Stopes 1 to 11.
Stope 3 Stope 3a Stope 10 Backfill Stope 11 Stope 4 Stope 5 Stope 1 Stope 6 Stope 7 Stope 2 Stope 8 Stope 9 Backfill

600

REF A90

400 A45

Micro-strain Change (mV)

200

B45 B135

B90 C0

-200 C90 -400 C45 E90 -600 F90 Stope Firing 27/12/07 16/01/08 5/02/08 25/02/08 16/03/08 5/04/08 25/04/08

-800 7/12/07

Date

FIG 8 - Raw strain change data recorded by the 930 West HI Cell during the extraction of Stopes 1 to 11 and illustrating the response to backfilling of Stopes 2 and 5.

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planned stope firing is desirable. There is an understanding by all personnel that what is predicted or expected is not guaranteed and significant departures from this can and will occur. However, there is also an understanding within the workforce, that where a departure from the predicted or expected (beneficial or otherwise) occurs, feedback will be provided once all data has been processed and analysed. Following each stope firing in the west zone of the mine, there is a minimum 24 hour exclusion period for personnel access to any footwall drive within that stope block. That period is based on Omori analysis of seismicity from previous stope blasts. Seismic flaring is also considered when analysing the seismic data. The basis for this flaring analysis is:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge the management of Beaconsfield Gold NL for permission to publish this paper, and the assistance of Top Rock Technologies and Coffey Mining in the design, installation and commissioning of these instrument clusters.

REFERENCES
Bawden, W F, Tod, J, Lausch, P and Davison, G, 2007. The use of geomechanical instrumentation in cost control underground mining, in Challenges in Deep and High Stress Mining (eds: Y Potvin, J Hadjigeorgiou and T Stacey), pp 317-325 (Australian Centre for Geomechanics: Perth). Dutta, P K, 1985. Some recent developments in vibrating wire rock mechanics instrumentation, in Proceedings 26th US Symposium on Rock Mechanics, pp 1043-1053 (South Dakota Schools of Mines and Technology: Rapid City). Hills, P B, MacDonald, G, Nero, L and Mueller, A M, 2001. Beaconsfield Gold Mine Tasmania Reef, in Structure and Setting of Proterozoic and Palaeozoic Rocks in the Tamar Region, Northern Tasmania Excursion Field Guide (ed: A R Reed), 9:76-88 (Geological Society of Australia Specialist Group in Tectonics and Structural Geology: Sydney). Hills, P B, Mills, J, Penney, A R and Arthur, S, 2008. The development and implementation of a fully remote stoping method at Beaconsfield Gold Mine, Tasmania, in Proceedings Narrow Vein Mining Conference, pp 199-206 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne). Hills, P B and Penney, A R, 2008. Management of seismicity at the Beaconsfield Gold Mine, Tasmania in Proceedings Tenth AusIMM Underground Operators Conference, pp 157-170 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne). Hyett, A J, Bawden, W F, Lausch, P, Moosavi, M, Ruest, M and Pahkala, M, 1997. The S.M.A.R.T. cable bolt: An instrument for the determination of tension in 7-wire strand cable bolts, in Proceedings International Symposium on Rock Support Applied Solutions for Underground Structures, Lillehammer, June, pp 25-40. ISRM Commission on Standardization of Laboratory and Field Tests, 1978. Suggested methods for monitoring rock movements using borehole extensometers, Int J Rock Mech Min Sci and Geomech Abstr, 15:305-317. Kaiser, P K, 2008. Geomechanics and ground support review Beaconsfield Gold Mine, MIRARCO Mining Innovation, Sudbury. Kaiser, P K, McCreath, D R and Tannant, D D, 1996. Canadian Rockburst Support Handbook, pp 324 (Geomechanics Research Centre: Sudbury). King, R, Thomas, S and Scott, C, 2007. Geotechnical assessment Resumption of ore production (east zone), Coffey Mining P/L report no HZ00054.01.BH. Pfitzner, M, 2006 Geotechnical assessment Resumption of decline development, Coffey Mining Pty Ltd report no HZ00054.01.A1. Reeves, I, 2008. Procedure for support selection, Coffey Mining Pty Ltd report no HZ00054.01.CC. Scott, C, Penney, A R and Fuller, P, 2008. Competing factors in support selection for the west zone of the Beaconsfield Gold Mine, Tasmania, in Proceedings Narrow Vein Mining Conference, pp 173-178 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne). Scott, C and Reeves, I, 2007. Geotechnical assessment Resumption of ore production (west zone), Coffey Mining Pty Ltd report no HZ00054.01.BY. Sidea, D, Scott, C and Reeves, I, 2007. Geotechnical assessment Resumption of ore driving development, Coffey Mining Pty Ltd report no HZ00054.01.AT. Turner, M H, 2005. Beaconsfield site visit February 2005, AMC Consultants Pty Ltd, 31 March 2005. Windsor, C R and Worotnicki, G, 1986. Monitoring reinforced rock mass performance, in Proceedings International Symposium on Large Rock Caverns, Helsinki, pp 1087-1098 (Pergamon Press: Oxford). Worotnicki, G and Walton, R J, 1976. Triaxial hollow inclusion gauges for determination of rock stresses in situ, in Proceedings ISRM Symposium on Investigation of Stresses in Rock Advances in Stress Measurement, national conference publication no 76/4:1-8 (Institute of Engineers Australia: Sydney).

Moderate hazard: three times the 30 day average. Entry with

caution for specific required jobs only.

High hazard: five times the 30 day average. Entry will be

excluded until the seismic flaring rate reduces and causes can be fully assessed following the seismic management systems outlined in Hills and Penney (2008). With the additional benefit of the installed instrumentation, additional rock mass and time dependant changes are incorporated into the re-entry analysis. Where rock mass changes recorded by the instrumentation exceed site guidelines, the heading re-entry restriction will be extended. Typically, the restriction will remain in force until the measured changes fall below the guidelines. In the event data records indicate a cable has been damaged, then a geotechnical inspection is carried out before repairs are made to the cable. Once communications have been restored, the data is analysed and appropriate actions effected. Typically, damage to the instrumentation cables will result in a loss of detail, but the quantum change recoded by the instrument is not compromised. Ultimately, it is expected that real time alert mechanisms will be established, reporting seismic hazard zones and observed changes from instrumentation in excess of predetermined levels.

CONCLUSIONS
The change in mining method in the west zone of the Beaconsfield Mine resulting from the Case for Safety review process requires ongoing monitoring to ensure those areas required for personnel access remain acceptably safe and accessible for their entire designed life. Results from the first stope block extracted under this new method (the 940 West Block) indicated that low levels of rock mass deformation had taken place, and that load capacities of the installed ground control was still within acceptable limits of the design criteria. Monitoring will continue to occur to ensure that the integrity of the excavations is maintained. As mining progresses deeper, continued analysis of instrumentation data may allow a modification of ground control designs in line with observed rock mass behaviour. Time-dependent changes have already been identified and ongoing analysis of this cause and effect relationship is taking place. Ultimately, this will result in a more robust re-entry protocol and increased understanding of the rock mass behaviour as mining progresses. It will also permit better ground control designs to be implemented. Results to date confirm that the current ground control designs are working well within the design tolerances. Once full extraction of the 940 West Block is complete, a detailed back analysis will be undertaken to determine the nature of the response which the rock mass exhibited to stoping. This in turn will be fed back into the design procedures to determine the reliability of the engineered ground control design in future. The process will be iterative.

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Ballarat, Vic, 14 - 15 October 2008

Narrow Vein Mining Conference