Moisture deterioration of clay-rich roof rocks causes high numbers of roof falls in coal mines in humid summer months. Rocks with high moisture content are generally weaker and can further deteriorate when subjected to wetting and drying cycles. As a result, ...

Although some mines use monitoring techniques to gain additional information on roof stability, this practice is usually short-term and localized to address ground conditions in a particular section or part of the mine. A methodology to assess the risk for ...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) evaluated microseismic activity from three field sites to compare and contrast the characteristics of microseismic emissions from very different geologic, stress, and mining environments. Recently, ...

Despite more than half a century of experience with roof bolting, no design method has received wide acceptance. To begin to improve this situation, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a statistical study of roof bolt performance ...

Underground stone mining is an emerging sector of the U.S. mining industry. As this expansion takes mines under deeper cover, and as more efficient mining methods are utilized, effective stone pillar design methods will become even more important. Current ...