Geomechanical Evaluation of a Crusher Chamber Excavation at El Teniente Mine, Codelco Chile

P. Cavieres & C. Pardo

Geomechanics Department, Codelco El Teniente Division, Rancagua, Chile

ABSTRACT: Underground crusher chambers are one of the most important mine infrastructure components. Competing economy and geomechanics interests make it difficult to design these large chambers. Economics favor locating the chamber as close as possible to the mining area, whereas geomechanical considerations favor locating the chamber farther away. El Teniente Mine annual copper production increased up to 131,000 tons of ore per day. New mining projects have been developed to reach that production. One of them is the Diablo Regimiento sector, which includes 129.5 million tons of reserves with an average copper grade of 0.865 %. Its maximum production will be 28,000 tons of ore per day. The mining method is Panel Caving; and the material handling system is innovative in El Teniente Mine, using high-capacity LHD equipment (13 cubic yards). The large size material will be loaded from the drawpoints and dumped into the crushers (10,000 tons per day capacity each one) located around the perimeter of the production area. The Diablo Regimiento production will last for 19 years and five crusher chambers will be in use, each of them with a 9 to 13 years lifetime. The first one (called CH-1) is in operation from year 2005 until year 2013. This chamber is the El Tenientes first experience with a 5,000 m3 underground excavation located in Andesite primary rock. The crusher chamber will be affected by significant stress redistribution due to the mining activity during its operational life. A geomechanical evaluation of the crusher chamber was performed using numerical modeling (3DEC). This paper presents the modeling process using stress analysis, the interpretation of its results (stress and displacement) and the corresponding main recommendations for the chamber excavation and reinforcement. 1 INTRODUCTION Codelcos El Teniente Division expansion plan considered the addition of new production sectors. One of them is the mining project called Diablo Regimiento. Its production started in 2005 and will end on 2023, with a maximum capacity of 28,000 tons of ore per day (years 2011 2017). The reserves from this sector to the expansion plan are 129.5 tons of ore with an average grade of 0.865% copper, mostly corresponding to primary ore (with higher hardness). This sector is located at elevation 2210 m.a.s.l. (undercutting level) of the El Teniente Mine, under the current sectors of Ten4 Regimiento (presently being mined) and Ten-4 Fortuna (already exhausted); and it uses a mass gravitational caving method called Panel Caving. The materials handling system in this sector is new in El Teniente Mine. It basically uses largecapacity, 13 cubic yards, LHD (Load-Haul-Dump) equipment that loads the ore at the drawpoints and discharges it into crushers in order to reduce its particle size. All the crushers are located in the outer perimeter of the production sector. Later, the ore is taken through conveyor belts to ore passes located in the mines major infrastructure (Braden Pipe), to be transferred to the lower main haulage level (Ten-8 railroad) and taken to the Colon Concentrator located at the surface. During the 19 years of production in the Diablo Regimiento sector, a total of five crusher chambers will be used. They have duty lifetime between 9 and 13 years, and each one will treat an average of about 26 million tons of ore. This confers them a major strategic importance, because they become a critical process in the production line of this mining project. The first crusher chamber called CH-1 will operate between 2005 and 2013 and is located in the Central-North part of the outer border of the footprint (mining polygon) in this sector. This chamber has characteristics that make it unique for its type in our Division, because it is the first experience in the mine with a cavern located in a primary rock mass that will be affected by stress redistribution due to the mining activities and it is not free from the presence of structural geological systems that affect its geomechanical stability.

The objectives and scope of this technical work developed at a Feasibility Engineering level (Cavieres P., Pardo C. & Rojas E., 2001), were: making a stability geomechanical analysis of the Diablo Regimiento CH-1 crusher chamber, considering the different stages to which the cavern will be subjected to (before, during and after its construction), evaluating the chamber as a single cavity and considering the drifts that surround it, identifying the most relevant parameters that impact its stability (stress field, structural geology) and defining the chambers reinforcement requirements. To satisfy the former objectives and scope, a geomechanical assessment was made for this chamber. For this purpose, a numerical modeling study was used, and its results allowed submitting the most relevant conclusions and recommendations to be considered in the next engineering stages for this cavern. 2 GENERAL ANTECEDENTS 2.1 Location The El Teniente mine is located in the Los Andes Mountains at 3505' South latitude and 7021' West longitude, at a mean altitude of 2100 m.a.s.l. This mining center is 37 km in a straight line to the North-East of the city of Rancagua, Chile. See Figure 1.
ECUADOR BRAZIL PERU
EAN

2.2 History During 2005, the mine celebrated 100 years of operation, with a current production of 131,000 tones of copper ore per day at an average grade of 1.01%, equivalent to almost 480,000 metric tons of fine copper per year. As of today, about 1,375 million tons of ore have been mined at 1.52% copper (1905-2005 period) and the reserves committed by the Long Term Mining Plan are about 4,300 million tons with 0.91% copper (20062087 period). 2.3 Geology and Geotechnics The deposit is mainly composed of: El Teniente CMET Mafic Complex (former-Andesite), Dacite Porphiry, Tonalite, Diorite Porphiry and the Braden Breccia Complex. The most typical geotechnical properties of the intact rock (Table 1) and the rock mass (Table 2) are:
Table 1: Intact Rock Geotechnical Properties, El Teniente Mine
Parameter Youngs Modulus, GPa Poissons Ratio Density, Kg/m3 Porosity, % UCS, MPa Ti, MPa E / UCS UCS / Ti mi (Hoek & Brown) ci, MPa ti, MPa Cohesion, MPa Friction Angle, CMET 60 0.16 2.80 4.40 120 14 500 8.6 9.1 118 13 23 38 Tonalite Dacite and Diorite Porphiry Porphiry 30 45 0.18 0.21 2.62 2.73 3.00 4.70 110 140 12 15 273 321 9.2 9.3 20.2 9.2 112 125 6 13 19 23 48 38 Braden Breccia 25 0.23 2.61 7.70 90 6 278 15.0 11.6 72 6 10 39

BOLIVIA
G RA PA

SAN FELIPE

PACIFIC OCEAN

OC IFIC

VALPARAISO SANTIAGO RANCAGUA SEWELL COYA

CHILE

URUGUAY

PAC

ARGE NT IN E

CE A N

ARGENTINE

TI C

A TL A N

R. NO RT H

GEOG

CO YA

RIV ER

L WE SE

NT NIE TE

ER

IVE

MIN E

NO R TH

Figure 1: El Teniente Mine Location

Y UA

SAN FERNANDO

Table 2: Rock Mass Geotechnical Properties, El Teniente Mine

Parameter Youngs Modulus, GPa Poissons Ratio mb (Hoek & Brown) s (Hoek & Brown) a (Hoek & Brown) cm, MPa tm, MPa Cohesion, MPa Friction Angle, GSI CMET 36 0.21 4.5 0.10 0.5 49 3 9 37 70-85 Tonalite Dacite and Diorite Porphiry Porphiry 24 36 0.20 0.26 10.8 4.5 0.14 0.11 0.5 0.5 60 42 2 2 9 8 45 37 75-90 70-90 Braden Breccia 20 0.28 8.6 0.43 0.5 50 3 9 41 85-100

BRADEN PIPE EL TENIENTE CAVITY

From the structural geology point of view, main and secondary domains predominating in the sector are indicated in the following Table 3:
Table 3: Geological Structures, Diablo Regimiento Project
Structural System Pattern 1 Main 2 3 Secondary 4 5 N35 - 55W / Subvertical N20 - 30E / Subvertical N05WN05E / Subvertical N85E / Subvertical 25 m 50 m 65 m 50 m Strike / Dip N50 - 70E / Subvertical Spacing 20 m Associated Structures F-1 & R-5 faults, pebble dyke, quartz veins R-1, R-2 & R-3 faults, pebble dyke, latite dyke F-2 fault F-3 fault R-4 fault, pebble dykes, quartz veins

2372 m.a.s.l.) using the Panel Caving method with LHD (Load-Haul-Dump) equipment in the production level, with larger-section drifts and using longer drawpoints spacing. Today, the contribution of this type of rock to production is about 65% and will be nearly 100% from 2022 onwards, year in which all the production sectors will only have primary ore reserves. 3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM During the 19 productive years of Diablo Regimiento sector (elevation 2210 m.a.s.l.), a total of five crusher chambers will be used, with duty lifetimes between 9 and 13 years. Each one will crush an average of 26 million tons of ore. The first chamber, called CH-1 will operate between 2005 and 2013 years. It is located in the CentralNorth part of the outer border of the footprint (mining polygon) in this sector. This crusher chamber has some peculiarities that make it unique in its type in this underground mine, because it corresponds to the first experience we will have with an excavation having the following features (see Figures 2 and 3). Cavern of an approximate volume of 5,000 m3, with maximum dimensions equal to 13 m wide x 15 m high x 30 m long. It is located in the primary rock mass, near a lithological contact between CMET (former Andesite) and the Braden Pipe (North side of the chamber).

2.4

Stress Field

As of the date of this study, corresponding to the Projects Feasibility Engineering, about three stress measurements were made with the Hollow Inclusion Cell Overcoring methodology in places located at different elevations above this sector. In addition, a mine-scale stress model was available (3DEC), calibrated with measurements made in different places in the mine. Based on this information, the pre-mining value for the stress field considered for the study was the following (Table 4):
Table 4: Stress Field at Diablo Regimiento Project, El Teniente Mine
Principal Stresses Magnitude, MPa Azimuth, Major (S1) 31.7 127 Intermediate (S2) 23.2 218 Minor (S3) 13.8 312 Positive magnitude means compression. Positive plunge means under the horizontal plane. Plunge, 19 02 70

Topographic Surface

2.5

Mining Method
Ten-4 Fortuna
CH-5 CH-4 CH-2

Two types of rocks are predominant in El Teniente deposit: secondary rock located near the surface that is weak, with fine fragmentation and high grade; and primary rock located at greater depth, being harder, with coarser fragmentation and lower copper grades. The latter rock has geomechanical instabilities such as overbreaking, large wedge falling, collapses and induced seismicity because of mining activities (with rockbursts). Industrial mining started in 1905 with a mixed Shrinkage Stoping & Pillar Caving methods, which evolved to Block Caving in the year 1946. This method has been used until today in secondary rock and it is estimated that it will be depleted in the year 2006. Since 1982, the mass mining of the primary rock was started in the Ten-4 Sur sector (elevation

Ten-4 Regimiento
CH-1

Ten-3 Isla
CH-3

Braden Pipe

Diablo Regimiento Footprint

CH : Crusher Chambers

Figure 2: Crusher chambers location at Diablo Regimiento sector

It is affected by the mining activity in this sector, and that means that the crusher chamber will be subject to a stress redistribution during its operating phase; and

 It is not free from the presence of geological discontinuities in the place it is located.

4 WORK METHODOLOGY A 3-D geomechanical analysis was made for the Diablo Regimiento CH-1 crusher chamber to take into account the most complex geometrical aspects of the problem (such as a single excavation and the surrounding drifts). This study was part of the Projects Feasibility Engineering stage. Regarding the computer code to be used for the numerical modeling, it was decided that for this work, two 3-D analysis software packages would be considered: FLAC3D and 3DEC (Itasca Consulting Group). 3DEC was used because it is comparatively more convenient for this type of 3D numerical modeling, considering the following issues: 3DEC is suitable for complex geometries such as the one found in the CH-1 crusher chamber. This is because it gives a better geometrical handling than FLAC3D. 3DEC can identify the rock mass sectors that have shear or tensile failures. Its plasticity formulas are not as good as FLAC3D formulas, but they are enough for analyzing this type of caverns. 3DEC also allows including relevant structures or structural systems directly at the scale of the analysis. This is an advantage for the future need of adding any structural system that is identified when accessing the zone of interest where the chamber is located, without causing further inconvenient in the model construction, different to what would happen with FLAC3D. 5 MODELING STRATEGY For this work, the basic premise considered was the development of geomechanical analyses from the simplest to a more complex situation in terms of details. Therefore, various analysis steps were considered. They are within two large types of modeling: simple and details modeling (Lorig L., 2001). Figure 4 shows a summary of the characteristics for both types of modeling used. This is complemented by Figure 5, which explains the contents of each analysis step.

Figure 3: CH-1 Crusher chamber geometry

In addition, the major strategic importance of these crusher chambers is that they correspond to a critical element in the processing line, because the entire production of this sector must go through them. Considering the former statement, the objectives and scope of this technical work, developed at Feasibilty Engineering level, were the following: Doing a geomechanical analysis of the stability of the CH-1 crusher chamber in Diablo Regimiento sector, using for that purpose a numerical modeling methodology. Considering the different stages which the CH-1 crusher chamber will be going through. This is interpreted into various geomechanical scenarios associated to the stages of development, construction and posterior effects of mining activities. Analyzing the CH-1 crusher chamber as a single geometrical cavity and also considering the geometry of the excavations existing around it that correspond to the chambers access drifts. Determining which are the most relevant geomechanical parameters for the stability of the CH-1 cavern, mainly considering the effect of the inferred structural geology (both implicit and explicit ones). Defining the reinforcement requirements for the CH-1 crusher chamber. To satisfy what is explained above, a geomechanical assessment of the CH-1 crusher chamber was made. For that purpose, a numerical modeling study was used, which results allowed to get the most relevant conclusions and recommendations to be considered in the Detail Engineering and Construction stages for this cavern.

6 MODELING CRITERIA A 3-D numerical modeling was made for the CH-1 crusher chamber using the 3DEC computer code and taking into account the following parameters:

Generic geometry of the chamber Only one (single) geotechnical unit Gravitational stress field Only one excavation stage of the chamber Sensitivity analysis with presence of ubiquitous structural systems (implicit structures) Without reinforcement Identification of the sensitivity levels in the parameters and interpretation of results

GRAVITATIONAL STRESS

SIMPLE MODEL CHARACTERISTICS

SIMPLE MODEL
GENERIC GEOMETRY

STEP 1 STEP 2 (Implicit Structures)

DETAIL MODEL
STEP 3

SIMPLE MODEL RESULTS

IN-SITU STRESS FIELD
CAVERN GEOMETRY

Criteria to build the details model Definition of constitutive models Sensitivity level considering the structural systems orientation Sensitivity level considering the relationship between the gravitational stress components Criterion to interpret results and key parameters

STEP 4

STEP 5 (Reinforcement)

STEP 6 (Mining Activity Effect)

DETAIL MODEL CHARACTERISTICS

Geometry considering the drifts surrounding the chamber Many geotechnical units In situ stress field Stress field induced by mining activities in the surroundings Many excavation stages of the chamber Explicit geological structures Effects of reinforcement in the chamber (both implicit and explicit support)

(Explicit Structures)

Figure 5: Steps of the 3-D modeling analysis for the crusher chamber

DETAIL MODEL RESULTS

Identification of zones with higher vulnerability to instabilities Effect of the presence of geological structures on the chambers stability Effect of reinforcement on the chambers stability Location of the chamber regarding the sectors mining boundary (undercutting-extraction border)
Figure 4: Scheme of the modeling strategy applied in the geomechanical analysis of the crusher chamber

Where P is a hydrostatic pressure acting around the spherical cavity, a is its radius and r is the distance measured from the spheres center to the point where the variation of tangentially and radially induced stresses are estimated, respectively. Based on these simple equations, an equivalent circumscribed sphere radius was estimated for the crusher chamber. It was equal to 15 m (a), with maximum dimensions of 13 x 15 x 30 m and with a far boundary located at 60 m (r) from the center of this sphere. This results in an effect of the induced stress equal to 0.8% and 1.6% for the tangential and radial stress variations, respectively. And these values are enough for carrying out the numerical analysis, equivalent to a model size equal to 120 m x 120 m x 120 m. 6.2

Stress Field

6.1

Model Size

The size of the model was defined considering the location of the far field boundaries. This depends on the geometry (size and shape) of the excavation under analysis. The location of the far field boundary was estimated in function of the equations for spherical excavations (Obert & Duvall, 1966), expressed by: P a3 P a3 radial = tan gential = r3 2 r 3 and

The model representing the excavation corresponding to the crusher chamber has a size that generates massic gravitational forces that are minor compared to the values of the in-situ stress field (less than 10%). However, for this study, the massic forces in all the models analyzed are considered, and two stress states are defined to represent situations different to which the cavern will be subjected to during its life. The stress field is the one existing at the moment of its excavation, namely, without any effect from the mining in the Diablo Regimiento

production sector. For the particular case of the simpler generic models called Step 1 and Step 2, a lithostatic stress field has been defined with two options of gravitational stresses (called Options A and B). For the case of models from Step 3 to Step 5, the pre-mining stress field indicated in was used. The Step 6 model considers the field of stresses to which the excavation will be subjected to during the Diablo Regimiento mining, namely, the effect of mining activities. For this last step, the information was estimated (homologated for Diablo Regimiento) from the stress monitoring, made in sectors that are presently mined, in function of the distance to the undercuttingextraction face. 6.3 Constitutive Models Two constitutive models were considered, the elastic and elastic-perfectly plastic models, with the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. For both models the respective required geomechanical parameters were defined, including their strength properties 6.4 Specific Evaluation Criteria Differents and complementary criteria were used to carry out the geomechanical evaluation of the CH-1 chamber stability, which application was fundamentally based on the modeling step developed: 6.4.1 For the Simple Models During the first step of the study and in order to identify the geometrical vulnerability of the chamber from the stability point of view, a parameter called Failure Index was used. It corresponds to a safety factor determined in function of the rock mass strength described in terms of the Hoek & Brown non-linear shear strength criterion (1980, GSI > 25). With this background, the model, the simulation and the sensitization of the cavern orientation were developed with two gravitational stress field states characteristic in this step of the study, excavating the entire cavern in a single stage, namely, without considering the effect of the excavation stages foreseen for the caverns construction. This consisted on carrying out a sensitivity analysis for the model for this step of the study, with various orientations and dips of ubiquitous structural systems, which represent a simplification of explicit structures. This analysis allows determining the most unfavorable orientation of the structural systems with respect to the longitudinal axis of the crusher chamber. For this purpose, the areas of the zones with strength or safety factors of less

than 1 and less than 2 were determined, considering these zones as potentially unstable only for this relative analysis. The ratio between the areas mentioned before and the areas corresponding to the section of the excavation analyzed in each case was determined; and the following factors were defined: Zfr-1: area around the excavation with a strength factor of less than 1, divided by the area of the caverns section analyzed. Zfr-2: area around the excavation with a strength factor of less than 2, divided by the area of the caverns section analyzed. This area coefficients (Zfr-1 & Zfr-2) allows making a standardized comparative analysis for each one of the orientation options for the structural systems and in-situ stress states. 6.4.2 For the Details Model The reinforcement was analyzed implicitly in the 3DEC model, considering an internal pressure of 0.10 MPa corresponding to supports based on double single cables (53 tons total capacity and 45 mm maximum displacement) arranged in a 2 x 2 m pattern. The length of these support elements was estimated between 6 to 7 m in order to anchor them outside the plastic zone of the surroundings of the cavern (information resulting from the Simple Models). In order to complement the implicit analysis mentioned above, there was an additional twodimensional numerical modeling carried out with PHASES2D (Rocscience software), where the support was included explicitly for four cases: without support (base case for comparison), 3.5 m long elements with a 1.0 x 1.0 m pattern, 4.0 m long elements with a 1.0 x 1.5 m pattern and 6.0 m long elements with a 2.0 x 2.0 m pattern. For the analysis of the results obtained in function of deformations, the following Acceptability Criterion was considered (Karzulovic A., 2001), used as a first approach and valid for caverns located in competent rock: Stability problems expected in the roof:
0.00 % < V/B < 0.05 % 0.05 % < V/B < 0.10 % 0.10 % < V/B < 0.15 % 0.15 % < V/B Low probability Moderate probability High probability Very high probability

And for the walls, the following criterion was applied: Stability problems expected in the walls:
0.00 % < H/H < 0.04 % 0.04 % < H/H < 0.08 % 0.08 % < H/H < 0.12 % 0.12 % < H/H Low probability Moderate probability High probability Very high probability

Where V and H are the maximum displacements recorded in the roof and walls of the cavern, respectively. On the other hand, B corresponds to the width and H corresponds to the height of the section analyzed in the cavern. Specifically for the Step 6 model, this analysis criterion was complemented to be able to identify the final location of chamber CH-1 in relation to the production sector boundaries (polygon with undercutting-extraction mining activity). This displacement threshold value allows identifying the limit of the admissible values for each study case. 7 RESULTS OBTAINED Below there is a summary of the results obtained from these modelings made for CH-1 crusher chamber, where some of the most important factors for each type of case studies (simple and details) were considered: In general, we preferred to present the results in a summarized manner through the use of tables and charts to facilitate the interpretation and evaluation of the outputs given by the models. 7.1 Simple Models The first step considered the development of an elastic model, without geological structures (continuous), gravitational stress field, a final excavation, without the geometry of the drifts surrounding the chamber, without reinforcement, without the mining effects in the sector and considering a generic geometry of the cavern. The values of the major main stress and the safety factor for four typical sections of the crusher chamber were obtained. They were useful to preliminarily determine at this level of the study, which are the most vulnerable zones or the zones that are prone to create instability problems in the generic crusher chamber. Considering the characteristics of these results and their degree of uncertainty, it was convenient to carry out the next step of the model under the same context of this simple generic model of the cavern, but adding the effect of the presence of short-spaced structural systems (ubiquitous systems). The purpose of this action is to evaluate through a sensitivity analysis which are the systems orientations and dips that are most unfavorable for the stability of the cavern, also in function of the gravitational stress field (called Options A and B). An information base was created with the summary of the results obtained through the sensitivity analysis, with a comparison of the potentially unstable zones in function of the ratio between the areas with safety factors less than 1 and 2 and the area of the section under analysis.

Such results are included in the charts presented in Figures 6 and 7 for the safety factor ratios less than 1 (Zfr-1) and less than 2 (Zfr-2), respectively.
0,40 0,35

Ubiquitous Systems Orientations vs Zfr-1

GRAVITATIONAL STRESS FIELD: OPTION A OPTION B Perpendicular Vertical Section Longitudinal Vertical Section Horizontal Section Perpendicular Vertical Section Longitudinal Vertical Section Horizontal Sections

Zfr-1 (strength factor < 1)

0,30 0,25 0,20 0,15 0,10 0,05 0,00

0

90

12

13

15

18

-D D

90

90

90

90

D IP

90

D IP

D IP

D IP

D IP

D IP

Systems Orientations

Figure 6: Zfr-1 values for different ubiquitous systems orientations, gravitational stress field options and various cavern sections
Ubiquitous Systems Orientations vs Zfr-2
1,20

GRAVITATIONAL STRESS FIELD: OPTION A

1,00

Zfr-2 (strength factor < 2)

OPTION B

Perpendicular Vertical Section Longitudinal Vertical Section Horizontal Section Perpendicular Vertical Section Longitudinal Vertical Section Horizontal Sections

0,80

0,60

0,40

0,20

0,00
0 12 0 13 5 15 0 -D D 18 0 90 -D D D D D D D D D D 70 D IP D D 0

90

90

D IP

90

90

D IP

D IP

D IP

D IP

Systems Orientations

Figure 7: Zfr-2 values for different ubiquitous systems orientations, gravitational stress field options and various cavern sections

7.2

Details model

Despite the results were obtained and analyzed for four steps of the details numerical model, under the context of this work, only the final and consolidated step of the model under analysis is presented. It is related to the final location of the CH-1 chamber in function of the boundaries of the mining activities. As initial information, a vertical stress redistribution curve estimated and homologated for Diablo Regimiento was used around its undercutting-extraction area in function of the actual data taken from a sector that is currently in production in El Teniente Mine and from the insitu stress field in the place where the CH-1 chamber will be located (Table 4). In order to consider the effect of the vertical stress field increase on the cavern, the following boundary conditions in this numerical model were considered: lower boundary with nil horizontal and

D IP

90

D IP

70

D D

/D D

-D

D D

D D

D D

D D

90

vertical displacements; and all vertical boundaries with nil horizontal displacements. The upper boundary remains free of displacement restrictions and a vertical load that simulates the effect of the stress distribution acting on the cavern is applied (it varies in function of the distance to the mining boundary of Diablo Regimiento sector). The aim of making a numerical analysis that considers the effect of stress redistribution in the outer perimeter of this sector is to evaluate various alternatives of stress fields that depend on the distance at which the crusher chamber is located from the mining polygon boundary. This distance is relevant from the viewpoint of productivity and LHD equipment transportation costs, as they must load the ore at the drawpoints and discharge it at the bin of the chamber located in the boundary of the production sector. Then, based on the information available as of the date of this study, three stress field options induced by the mining activities of the production sector were analyzed. They are associated to different distances measured from the mining polygon boundary; summarized in the following (Table 5):
Table 5: Induced Stress Field at Diablo Regimiento Project, El Teniente Mine
Location of the Cavern (measured from the outer boundary) 60 m 45 m 40 m Increasing of the Vertical Stress, % 34 57 83 Aditional Vertical Stress, MPa 5 9 13 Induced Vertical Stress, MPa 21 25 29

To carry out the comparison of the Total Displacements for each alternative modeled, it was necessary to have a threshold value for displacements, which permits identifying the limit of the allowable values for the case under study. The Acceptability Criterion (Karzulovic A., 2001) was applied, which identifies the maximum allowable maximum displacements from which the cavern starts having a high probability of stability problems. With this background, the next step consisted on comparing the zones around the chamber with Total Displacements higher than 20 mm (roof and walls), for each alternative modeled. A graphical manner to make the comparison is through a factor (Zd) that is defined as the ratio between the area of the zone surrounding the excavation (vertical section perpendicular to the major axis of the cavern) with total displacements larger than 20 mm and the area of the section of the cavern under analysis (corresponding to the same perpendicular section), then:
Area of the zone surroundin g the excavation with Total Displacements higher tha n 20 mm Zd = Area of the perpendicu lar section of the Cavern

Zd =

A 20 mm ACAVERN

Below there is the chart in Figure 8 that depicts the Zd trend in function of the magnitude of the representative induced vertical magnitude for each modeled alternative.

Note: Pre-mining Vertical Stress = 16 MPa (referencial value)

For the three induced stress field options mentioned before, the major main stress values, field of deformations, plasticity and safety factor were obtained for two sections of the crusher chamber at the final excavation. A criterion was defined to determine the minimum distance at which chamber CH-1 can be located from the North boundary of the mining polygon of the Diablo Regimiento Project in order to minimize the global instability of the cavern. Below, the information describing the criterion used is presented: The most representative variable to carry out the comparative analysis is the Total Displacements field. Therefore, a comparative analysis is made for the various alternatives modeled, and this variable is shown in a vertical section that is perpendicular to the main axis of the crusher chamber, which is used as a representative variable for this analysis.

14 12

A20 mm

Z= d A
CAVERN

A20 mm A C AVERN

Zd Factor

10 8 6 4 2 0 20

25 45

farther

Induced Vertical Stress, MPa

40 30 25

30

35

40

45 22

50 20

> 45

closer

Distance measured from the Diablo Regimiento footprint boundary, toward the North

Figure 8: Trend of area factor Zd in function of the magnitude of the induced vertical stress magnitude

8 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS Six 3D numerical models were built to represent the various scenarios the CH-1 crusher chamber will have, namely, with and without the drifts surrounding it, with or without geological structures (implicit or explicit); with or without reinforcement, and with or without the effect of mining in Diablo Regimiento sector (stress redistribution). The building of these models allowed identifying the effect they have on the stability of the chamber for each one of the cases analyzed. These models were built from the simplest to the most complex. This allowed having a good understanding of the results given by the numerical analyses carried out. Firstly, a simple elastic model was built with a generic geometry at the final excavation and a gravitational stress field. Later, the behavior of a plastic rock mass was added, with geological structures, various excavation stages, geometries of the drifts surrounding the chamber, reinforcement, and the stress field induced by the mining activities in Diablo Regimiento. The effect of the presence of geological structures has the largest impact on the caverns stability compared to the other aspects analyzed. The most critical issue corresponds to the subhorizontal systems that mostly affect the stability of the chambers roof. The highest stress concentrations are located in the West side upper arch of the cavern and in a pillar formed with a drift that crosses it under the floor. This is attributed to the orientation of the major stress field in the sector. This situation is mitigated with a smooth blasting and installing the final reinforcement as soon as possible. The zones that show the highest total displacements correspond to the chambers roof and walls. However, they become critical without supporting elements, and its possible to see that they are mitigated with bolts-based reinforcement (during the cavern development) and cables (final reinforcement). The plasticity zone around the chamber is mostly seen in the roof (6 to 7 m) and a pillar that is formed with a lower drift (crossing below the floor). The roof stabilizes with bolt and cable reinforcement. For the pillar, the situation is mitigated with a mining design modification that eliminates the pillar or that increases its size (to make it more robust).

Lower safety factors are generally seen in the geometrical singularities of the chamber, corresponding to its inner and outer boundaries. This is mitigated with minor changes to the mining design. The most critical structural wedges are located in the caverns roof and walls. This situation is mitigated with the bolts and cables reinforcement. In general, the reinforcement (bolts and cables) contributes to reduce the plastic zone around the chamber, decreasing the total displacements field in the surroundings and stabilizes the wedges formed by geological structures (explicit and implicit). From the stress redistribution analysis over the crusher chamber, it is possible to see that it is convenient to locate it at a distance of 45 m, minimum distance measured from the outer perimeter of Diablo Regimiento sector. The reinforcement recommended for the cavern development is based on 3.5 m long bolts at a 1 x 1 m pattern. The final support is based on cables of at least 6 to 7 m long at a 2 x 2 m pattern. In addition, mesh and shotcrete was used as additional support elements. 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors want to thank Codelco-Chile El Teniente Division for the permission to publish this study, based on a document prepared by the Geomechanics Department (PL-I-107-2001 Internal Report, June-2001). Also, we want to express our gratitude to Dr. Antonio Karzulovic (A. Karzulovic & Asociados) and Dr. Loren Lorig (Itasca Chile) for their contribution as Consultants during the development of this numerical modeling. Special thanks to Mr. Marcelo Aguilar, Geomechanics Engineer, who wrote the paper in the Symposiums format.

10 BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES Cavieres P., Pardo C. & Rojas E. (2001), Evaluacin Geomecnica de la Sala de Chancado CH-1, Ingeniera Geomecnica Bsica Proyecto Diablo Regimiento (Geomechanical Evaluation of CH-1 Crusher Chamber, Feasibility Geomechanical Engineering, Diablo Regimiento Project), PL-I-107-2001 Internal Report, Geomechanical Department, Codelco-Chile El Teniente Division.

Karzulovic A. (2001), Comentarios relativos a desplazamientos registrados en cavernas y excavaciones subterrneas de gran tamao (caso de cavernas en roca competente) (Comments on displacements recorded in large size underground caverns and excavations [competent rock caverns case]) , DT-CG-01-05 Technical Report, A. Karzulovic & Asociados, document prepared for and financed by Codelco-Chile El Teniente Division. Lorig L. (2001), Consideraciones para el modelamiento tridimensional en anlisis de cavernas en roca primaria (Considerations for the 3D modeling in the analysis of primary rock caverns), TM-0105801 Consultant Contract, Itasca Chile, document prepared for and financed by Codelco-Chile El Teniente Division.