Rustenburg Platinum Mines, Amandelbult Section, part of the Anglo Platinum Group, is a platinum mine situated in the Bushveld Igneous Complex, 80 km north of Rustenburg, South Africa. Mining of the tabular orebody is done at a stoping height of 1.2 to 1.8 ...

The paper presents the actual status of the CANMET-MMSL impact-testing apparatus, and summarizes some results of the testing carried out until now. The energy balance of the system, needed to validate measurements done and test results achieved, will be presented ...

Wire mesh has been used for surface ground support in mining since the 1950s. Experimental studies have been conducted throughout the world. The response of the mesh is dependant on the sample size, the boundary restraint systems and the loading conditions. ...

Current production level design guidelines in block caving mines are based on the concept of interaction of movement zones and the spacing of draw-points at which mass flow is achieved. The limit of the isolated movement zone (IMZ) interaction has been determined ...

Support design for jointed rock masses can be approached in several ways. When designing support systems for these conditions, the potential block sizes and likelihood of occurrence should be considered. This paper outlines an approach whereby probabilistic ...

Labour-intensive narrow reef stoping, as traditionally practiced in South African gold and platinum mines, is almost unique in the modern first-world mechanised mining environment. Shortcomings of the system include the ever-increasing cost of labour, a cap ...

The first crush pillars on the Bushveld Platinum mines were introduced at Union Section in 1978. Before the introduction of crush pillars, serious problems were experienced when stoping advanced to a point 30 m to 40 m on both sides of the centre gully. At ...

The assessment of the stability of coal ribs needs to consider not only the impact of the cleating and jointing in the coal but also the possible onset of failure of the coal itself. The same planar, wedge and toppling failure modes seen in pitwall slopes ...

This paper summarizes the results of a research project whose goal was to provide the Australian coal industry with a rib support design methodology and software tool that could be used by suitably qualified colliery staff. The project was funded mainly by ...

<p>This paper discusses the experience of the authors with two large failures that occurred in the roof strata of a storage facility for LPG which was being constructed deep below the ground surface in Hawkesbury Sandstone in the Sydney Basin, NSW, Australia.<br ...