Limestone formations in the United States can be subject to relatively high horizontal stresses owing to the existence of tectonic loading of the limestone strata. Underground limestone mines use the room-and-pillar method, in which 12- to 18-m-wide rooms ...

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 ...

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 ...

High horizontal stresses were recognized to impact roof stability more than 60 years ago. Since then, numerous measurements associated high horizontal stresses with difficult ground conditions. This paper presents case histories illustrating the practical ...