March 5th 2023, Vancouver, Canada. RockSigma founder Jesper Martinsson sat down with Ben Ollila, a Senior Rock Mechanics Engineer at SRK Consulting to talk about seismicity in Canadian underground mines and how seismic data processing contributes to mine safety.
Seismic data analysis ultimately has to do with safety, keeping production going with as few interruptions as possible and keeping workers and equipment safe. The conversation with Ben focused on how seismic data with high location accuracy helps improve the structural model of the mine, specifically related to faults, and why that is so valuable.
Managing geotechnical risk and installing proper support in the right locations is a key activity that relies on several factors. A critical input is the structural model of the mine.
“Structural models are built from drilling and geotechnical mapping of development, which is limited and never going to capture all faults in the mining area. Structural models are never complete, and should be constantly improved and assessed as more data is compiled”, Ben goes on to say.
“There has been a sharp increase in large events in Canadian mines over the past 10 years, generally driven by increased mine depth, and many of the high magnitude events are caused by fault slip mechanisms”, Ben says.
With good quality seismic data and skillful analysis, faults that would otherwise remain unidentified may be found.
Ben says, “Seismic data with high location accuracy, accumulated over time, often show clear planar trends in event clustering, aligned with faults. These trends are frequently the first indication there is an unmapped fault”.
An example of this is shown in the illustration, which originates from work Ben did at Glencore’s Nickel Rim South mine.
“With poor location accuracy, it is more likely that faults will only be visible in seismic data after a major event has occurred, or that the event mechanism will be ambiguous”, Ben adds.
Once these planar patterns are identified, the area can be mapped to improve the structural model, which can trigger additional geotechnical support, as well as other strategies to mitigate the risk. There are examples where this method has helped mitigate damage from large fault slip events during mining, keeping production going and possibly saving lives.
This is an excerpt of the conversation between Jesper and Ben. To learn more about seismicity in underground mining, reach out to Ben, and for more information about seismic processing and event location accuracy, get in touch with Jesper. Contact information below.
About SRK Consulting
SRK Consulting is an international consulting firm with more than 1600 employees in 44 offices worldwide, providing focused advice and solutions to clients, mainly in the earth and water resource industries. For mining, SRK Consulting offers services from exploration to mine closure.
Ben Ollila
About RockSigma
RockSigma is a Swedish software company. We revolutionize the field of seismic processing by providing a sensor neutral, open data platform with fast, accurate and precise seismic processing.
Jesper Martinsson
