Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 70 (2017) 409–421

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tust

Propagation and prediction of blasting vibration on slope in an open pit MARK

during underground mining
⁎
Nan Jianga, Chuanbo Zhoua, , Shiwei Lub, Zhen Zhanga
a
Faculty of Engineering, China University of Geosciences, No. 388, Lumo Road, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
b
School of Urban Construction, Yangtze University, No. 1, Nanhuan Road, Jingzhou 434023, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In order to assess the influence of underground mining blasting on the stability of open pit slopes and control the
Underground mining potential risk, it is crucial to investigate the propagation and attenuation of blasting vibration in rock slopes. In
Rock slope this paper, we aimed to investigate the attenuation of blasting vibration on open pit slopes subjected to un-
Peak particle velocity derground mining activities using Daye Iron Mine as an example. To this end, we first analyzed the char-
Propagation
acteristics of blast loadings using the dynamic finite element method. We then established a three dimensional
(3D) numerical model for open pit subjected to underground mining and proved its reliability using the field
monitoring data. Next, we calculated and analyzed the distribution characteristics of peak particle velocity (PPV)
by inputting the obtained blast loadings into the numerical model and discussed the impacts of blasting vibration
on open pit slopes subjected to underground mining. To better and more conveniently assess and predict the
impacts of blasting vibration, we further established a mathematical model to describe the attenuation of PPV on
open pit slopes subjected to underground mining blasting through theoretical analysis and proposed a PPV
predicting model for slopes in Daye Iron Mine based on the numerical simulations of underground mining
blasting at different elevations.

1. Introduction
With the continuous surface mining of mineral resources, open pit
slopes become higher and steeper, potentially leading to instability. In
addition, with depletion of near-surface mineral resources, surface
mining becomes more costly. Obviously, to ensure mining safety and
efficiency, underground mining is an alternative choice. However, in
the process of transition from open pit to underground mining, blast-
induced seismic wave propagates in open pit slopes. Such a disturbance
is often the critical factor triggering the instability of high and steep
open pit slopes (Ak et al., 2009; Deb and Jha, 2010). In order to ef-
fectively assess the seismic effect of blasting during underground
mining on open pit slopes and control the potential risk of instability, it
is crucial to investigate the impacts of blasting vibration on slope and
understand the propagation and attenuation of blasting vibration in
rock slope.
At present, although many scholars have extensively studied the
impact of blasting vibration on rock slopes, most of them focused on the
influence of open pit excavation and mining blasting on rock slopes
(Guo et al., 2004; Li and Zhang, 2007; Afeni and Osasan, 2009;
Baczynski, 2010; Deb et al., 2011; Choi et al., 2013; Hu et al., 2014;
Saadat et al., 2014). For example, Kesinal et al. discussed the influence
of blast-induced acceleration on slope stability at a limestone quarry by
field monitoring and theoretical analysis (Kesimal et al., 2008); Thote
and Venkat experimentally investigated the slope damages due to blast
loadings of different frequencies and vibration velocities (Thote and
Ramana, 2013). In recent years, with the development of computer
technology, numerical simulations are frequently adopted to study the
influence of blast on rock mass and rock slopes (Zhong et al., 2010;
Sangroya and Choudhury, 2013; Zhang et al., 2011; Deng et al., 2015).
Yan et al. analyzed the variation law of slope stability coefficient in-
fluenced by blasting vibration using the software GEO-SLOPE (Yan
et al., 2014). Yang et al. adopted the software FLAC to analyze the
dynamic stability of opencast slopes affected by blast loading (Yang
et al., 2011). Zheng et al. and Azizabadi et al. analyzed the vibration of
slope subjected to excavation blasting using the software UDEC (Zheng
et al., 2014; Azizabadi et al., 2014). Liu et al. conducted discontinuous
analysis of the stability of blast-induced slopes based on the DDA nu-
merical method (Liu et al., 2010). Li et al. adopted the software FINAL
to analyze the dynamic response of prestressed anchorcables subjected
to blast loading on slope (Li et al., 2007). Moreover, many scholars
utilized ANSYS/LSDYNA, a nonlinear finite element software, to

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: happyjohn@foxmail.com (N. Jiang), cbzhou@cug.edu.cn (C. Zhou), lushiwei364@163.com (S. Lu), zhangzhen9168@163.com (Z. Zhang).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2017.09.005
Received 17 February 2017; Received in revised form 24 August 2017; Accepted 5 September 2017
Available online 28 September 2017
0886-7798/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
JID: EOR
ARTICLE IN PRESS [m5G;February 23, 2018;21:46]
European Journal of Operational Research 0 0 0 (2018) 1–11

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

European Journal of Operational Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ejor

Decision Support

Combined optimisation of an open-pit mine outline and the transition

depth to underground mining
D. Whittle a,∗, M. Brazil b, P. A. Grossman a, J. H. Rubinstein c, D. A. Thomas a
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
b
Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
c
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Miners harvest minerals from ore-bodies in the ground by a variety of specialised mining methods, with
Received 4 August 2016 most falling into the categories of open-pit and underground. Some ore-bodies are harvested by a combi-
Accepted 1 February 2018
nation of open-pit and underground methods. In these cases there is often material that could be mined
Available online xxx
by either method, and an economic choice has to be made. This is referred to as the transition problem
Keywords: and it has received some attention in the mining literature since the 1980s and more recently has had
OR in natural resources attention in the mathematics literature. The transition problem is complicated by the need in many cases
Graph theory to leave a crown pillar (un-mined rock above the underground mine) and for this crown pillar to have a
Cost benefit analysis prescribed shape.
Strongly connected components We have developed a method to optimise the design of an open-pit mine, while solving the transi-
Closure problem tion problem and taking into account the need for a crown pillar with a prescribed shape. We base it
on an existing method to optimise the design of an open-pit mine, framed as a maximum graph clo-
sure problem. Our method introduces non-trivial strongly connected sub-graphs (NSCSs) of the graph, a
complication that previous authors on maximum graph closure problems do not appear to have covered.
To obviate the need to check every method for compatibility with NSCSs, we reduce the problem to an
equivalent problem without them. This has the added advantage of reducing overall processing time in
cases where the number of NSCSs is large.
© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction transitioned from open-pit to underground); Sunrise Dam (an An-

In this introduction we first present some general mining, plan-
ning and optimisation background information, then review the lit-
erature on the topic of optimising the transition from open-pit to
underground.
Mining is a global industry producing around 17 billion tonnes
of mineral fuels, metals and industrial minerals annually (Reichl,
Schatz, & Zsak, 2016). The vast majority of minerals are extracted
by methods falling into the categories of open-pit (an open exca-
vation from the surface) and underground (a network of tunnels
and/or shafts giving access to the minerals underground). Some
ore-bodies are harvested by a combination of open-pit and un-
derground methods, either starting with an open-pit followed by
underground mining or less commonly, the reverse. A few exam-
ple Australian mines are Telfer (a Newcrest owned gold mine that
∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: david@whittle-dg.com, Dwhittle1@student.unimelb.edu.au
(D. Whittle).
gloGold gold mine that transitioned from open-pit to underground)
and Golden Grove (an MMG owned copper and zinc mine that
transitioned from underground to open-pit) (Rankin, 2013). Before
commencing any such transition a project study is conducted in
which strategic mine plans are created. The study may take many
months or years. An example is the Grasberg copper mine in In-
donesia owned by Freeport-McMoRan. Study work on the transi-
tion from open-pit to underground commenced some time before
1995 but was not completed until 2008. Construction commenced
in 2011, and first production is forecast for 2018. The expected cap-
ital cost is US$6b (Freeport-McMoRan, 2016). With such large sums
of money at stake, it is very important to correctly set key de-
sign parameters, such as the extents of open-pit and underground
mines.
Any kind of mine planning exercise relies on having a model
of the ore-body in the ground. In the vast majority of cases, the
ore-body is represented in a regular block model. This is a model in
which each block record in a regular three-dimensional grid carries
information about the rock type and mineral grades. In this paper,
we restrict our interest to regular block models.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2018.02.005
0377-2217/© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: D. Whittle et al., Combined optimisation of an open-pit mine outline and the transition depth to underground
mining, European Journal of Operational Research (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2018.02.005
 International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 103 (2018) 43–54

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of
Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrmms

A risk assessment proposal for underground cavities in Hard Soils-Soft Rocks T

a,⁎ a a b
Zimbardo Margherita , Cannone Claudio , Ercoli Laura , Nocilla Alessandra
a
DICAM, University of Palermo, Italy
b
DICATAM, University of Brescia, Italy

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Underground calcarenite quarries in Marsala (Sicily) have been involved in a number of collapses that have,
Underground quarries seriously damaged numerous buildings. The stability conditions were therefore examined in order to assess risk
Hard-soil/soft rocks conditions within the historical centre of the town and the surrounding areas, which are subject to urban ex-
Stability factor pansion. Starting with an extensive collection of historical information, the research was carried out through
Risk charts
surveys of the cavities, systematic sampling of material, petrographic analysis and geotechnical testing. The
results of laboratory tests and in situ investigations provided a geotechnical characterization of both the intact
material and the rock mass. Correlating the deformability, yielding and strength parameters of the intact rock to
the structural features, it was possible to define the range of variability of the shear strength parameters of the
rock mass. The geotechnical parameters obtained were then introduced in the three-dimensional finite element
codes and the stability and safety conditions of underground quarries were evaluated. Once the geometrical
conditions of the single cavity (in its own location relative to the surrounding environment) were defined by
means of a new parameter K, the safety factor was defined according to the intact rock and the rock mass
strength and deformation modulus using the proposed abacuses. Solutions provide risk charts that allow the
quantification of the hazard due to the presence of cavities adjacent in the subsoil. The applicability of the
Abacus was investigated through an analysis of a real existing geometry in which collapse is not yet occurred and
through a back analysis process on already collapsed underground cavities in three sites. Risk charts can be
considered as a useful starting tool to be used in order to optimize the planning of specific surveys.

1. Introduction extension were formed, causing conditions of instability. This is evident

Human settlements built on soft rock deposits are often character-
ized by the presence of open pit excavations and, frequently, under-
ground quarries excavated since the time of the first settlements. These
had the double purpose of extracting the necessary material for the
construction of cities and, at the same time, preparing defensive moats,
shelters and secure underground walkways or access to the sea and
coastal settlements 1–3. In the town of Marsala (Fig. 1), in Sicily, nu-
merous underground galleries, such as the Fossa delle Navi, were built
during the Punic age and were used to connect different parts of the city
or to provide access to places of hypogenic worship and sepulchral
areas 4 (Fig. 2). The resulting excavated material of suitable mechanical
characteristics was then used for the construction of urban structures.
Preferably, quarries were initially excavated in the underground in
order to preserve arable lands (Fig. 3). However, in the modern era, the
building material was - and still is - collected in large open pit quarries,
usually located outside the city limits.
As a consequence of urban expansion, quarries of exceedingly large
in the failure phenomena that occurred and in the instabilities detected
in the reinforced concrete structures placed on the ground (Fig. 4).
Hence, accurate surveys are mandatory, as laid down by the city's re-
cent urban planning project,5 which was established in order to take
into account the instability caused by large cavities, and to design
adequate stability solutions.
Instability problems of this nature are common in many areas of the
world. Indeed sinkholes can occur wherever unstable underground
cavities exist at a shallow depth. As a matter of fact, much of the
published research has focused on the stability assessment of shallow
caves, pillars of underground shallow excavations, open stope, ex-
cavation spans in mining activities or in the underground cultural
heritage. Indeed sinkhole development of the ground, due to collapse, is
a noticeable risk to the stability of the surrounding area.6,7
The stability problems of underground cavities with a large span
and little cover have been studied in karstic areas 6,8 or in the presence
of underground stone in mines excavated with the room and pillar
method, as in the Marsala quarries, at shallow depth. 7 Regarding the

⁎
Correspondence to: DICAM, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 8., 90128 Palermo (PA), Italy.
E-mail address: margherita.zimbardo@unipa.it (Z. Margherita).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2018.01.024
Received 23 March 2017; Received in revised form 2 January 2018; Accepted 5 January 2018
Available online 03 February 2018
1365-1609/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 8 (2016) 886e895

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Rock Mechanics and

Geotechnical Engineering
journal homepage: www.rockgeotech.org

Full Length Article

Failure of hanging roofs in sublevel caving by shock collision and

stress superposition
Zong-Xian Zhang
Department of Arctic Technology, University Center in Svalbard, Longyearbyen N-9171, Norway

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Hanging roofs or high hang-ups, a common problem in sublevel caving mining, usually result in a large
Received 6 April 2016 ore loss and undermine mining safety. This paper analyzed the formation of a hanging roof and showed
Received in revised form that increased confining pressure and reduced free surface were its main characteristics. In order to
25 May 2016
break down a hanging roof, a new method based on shock wave collision and stress superposition was
Accepted 22 June 2016
Available online 17 September 2016
developed. In this method, two blastholes containing multi-primer at different positions are simulta-
neously initiated at first. By doing this, a new free surface and a swell room can be created. After these
holes are fired, a long delay time is given to the next blasthole so that the fragments from the first two-
Keywords:
Shock wave collision
hole blasting have enough time to fall down. This new method was applied to three hanging roofs in one
Hanging roof production area, and all of them were successfully broken down. Field inspection indicated that almost
Sublevel caving no damage was caused in the nearby drifts/tunnels due to the new method. In addition, the far field
Rock fracture vibrations were found to be smaller than the maximum vibrations induced by some other blasts.
Hang-up Ó 2016 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting by
Underground mining Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction same time, unfortunately, there exist various problems in present

The modern sublevel caving, possibly developed in the iron
mines of Sweden (Hustrulid and Kvapil, 2008), is a widely used
mining method in metallic mines across the world. This method
has many advantages regarding safety and mechanisation (Janelid
and Kvapil, 1966). Because mining operation is carried out only in
drifts, the safety of this method is relatively good, compared with
other mining methods such as cut-and-fill, and room and pillar.
However, sublevel caving has two main disadvantages: high ore
loss and high dilution. Therefore, how to reduce ore loss is an
important task for sublevel caving.
Investigations including Janelid (1968), Kvapil (1982), Ren
(1994), Stazhevskii (1996), Hustrulid (2000), Rustan (2000),
Quinteiro et al. (2001a), Power (2004), Selldén and Pierce (2004),
Zhang (2005, 2014a,b, 2016), Brunton et al. (2010), Wimmer
(2010), Tawadrous (2015), and Nordqvist and Wimmer (2016)
have indicated that rock blasting has a great impact on fragmen-
tation and recovery. Furthermore, there is a great potential to in-
crease ore recovery by improving blasting (Zhang, 2016). At the
E-mail address: zongxian.zhang@unis.no.
Peer review under responsibility of Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics,
Chinese Academy of Sciences.
underground blasting. One of such problems is the hanging roof in
sublevel caving.
In a normal condition, after a sublevel ring is blasted, the ore
mass in the ring is completely destroyed into various sizes of
fragments, and a new front face is formed. When ore extraction in
the ring is completed, the new front face is partly occupied by the
waste rocks (or mixed with ores). As a result, a large number of
waste rocks move down to the drift floor and waste-rock boulders
often partly block the draw point, as shown in Fig. 1a. However,
sometimes, after a ring is blasted, the upper part of ore mass in the
ring is either poorly fragmented or seriously confined. Under this
circumstance, when extraction in the ring is finished or it cannot
continue, the upper part of ore mass is hanged there and an empty
room is formed below the upper part, as shown in Fig. 1b. This
hanged part of ore mass is called hanging roof, also called
“remained roof” or “high hang-up” (Hustrulid and Kvapil, 2008),
which is similar to but not same as an ordinary hang-up in caving
mining. An ordinary hang-up frequently happens in block caving
and sublevel caving, and it may break up by itself during extraction.
Different from an ordinary hang-up, a hanging roof does not break
up by itself. A hanging roof is common and it results in a large ore
loss in sublevel caving. As reported by Zhang and Naarttijavi (2006),
the ore loss due to hanging roofs was up to 380,000 t in Malm-
berget mine during two-year production. In addition, a hanging

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2016.06.005
1674-7755 Ó 2016 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-
NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
 International Journal of Mining Science and Technology 28 (2018) 107–113

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Mining Science and Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmst

Coal rib response during bench mining: A case study

Morgan M. Sears ⇑, John Rusnak, Mark Van Dyke, Gamal Rashed, Khaled Mohamed,
Michael Sloan
Ground Control Branch, NIOSH, Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In 2016, room-and-pillar mining provided nearly 40% of underground coal production in the United
Received 12 May 2017 States. Over the past decade, rib falls have resulted in 12 fatalities, representing 28% of the ground fall
Received in revised form 30 June 2017 fatalities in U.S. underground coal mines. Nine of these 12 fatalities (75%) have occurred in room-and-
Accepted 18 August 2017
pillar mines. The objective of this research is to study the geomechanics of bench room-and-pillar mining
Available online 23 December 2017
and the associated response of high pillar ribs at overburden depths greater than 300 m. This paper pro-
vides a definition of the bench technique, the pillar response due to loading, observational data for a case
Keywords:
history, a calibrated numerical model of the observed rib response, and application of this calibrated
Deep cover
Bench mining
model to a second site.
Thick seam Ó 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology. This is an open
Retreat mining access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Rib response
Rib support

1. Introduction rebar bolts installed with 20 cm
40 cm steel bearing plates.

Bench mining is an underground mining technique typically
applied to room-and-pillar mines where full seam extraction on
development presents an unacceptably high risk of injury from
high pillar ribs or where the mining equipment is not designed to
extract the full seam thickness. To mitigate the increased risk asso-
ciated with high ribs and slender pillars, a more modest thickness is
extracted from the top of the seam on development. This is followed
by grading the floor and recovering the bottom of the seam with or
without extraction of the pillars during retreat mining.
A mine located in Eastern Kentucky extracts two seams at
depths ranging from outcrop to over 600 m. In some areas of the
mine, Seam A and Seam B are close enough together to be mined
simultaneously. Seam A (top) is mined on development 2–3 m high
for the entire length of the panel. On retreat, as each pillar is
extracted, the continuous miner is ramped down into the floor
(Seam B), two pairs of mobile roof support (MRS) units are set,
and the pillars are extracted at the full mining height of 4+ m. Dur-
ing the pillar recovery process, the floor is extracted in each entry,
from a ramp initiated outby the retreat line, sequentially just prior
to extracting the lifts from the pillars (Fig. 1).
Current rib support practices at the mine include the use of
1.5-m-long, 19-mm-diameter, grade 60, fully grouted tensioned
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: msears@cdc.gov (M.M. Sears).
Typically, one row of bolts is installed if the mining height is less
than 3 m, two rows are installed if the mining height is from 3 to
4.5 m, and three rows are installed if the mining height is greater
than 4.5 m. Row spacing for the top row is 1.2 m, while spacing
for the second or mid-pillar row can be increased to 2.4 m if the
bolts are anchored in the rock parting. Typically, the third row is
installed just prior to retreat mining at a maximum 2.4-m spacing.
During retreat, loose ribs are cut down and re-supported as neces-
sary, which can include the installation of extended length (2.4-m)
rib bolts if required [1].
2. Rib model development
Numerical modeling is a useful tool to help explain the stress
distribution and extent of rib fracturing in coal pillars. In order to
investigate the stress distribution and development of rib fractures
at this mine, the finite difference software FLAC3D was used [2].
Fig. 2 shows the geologic column that was simplified into four coal
layers and two stone layers for use in the FLAC3D model. The
FLAC3D model for the first case history site is a three-
dimensional model for a single pillar, 18 m wide and 30 m long,
rib to rib. Three pillar configurations were considered in the initial
model to better elucidate how each behaves during loading. The
pillar models were monotonically loaded to failure. The short pillar
represents development mining Seam A, which is labeled
‘‘Advance” in Fig. 2.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.12.010
2095-2686/Ó 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

A New Model for Evaluation of Cavity Shape and Volume

during Underground Coal Gasification Process

Amin Jowkar
MSc student, Department of Mining Eng., Petroleum, and Geophysics, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran.
Email: amin_jowkar@yahoo.com

Farhang Sereshki
Associate Professor, Department of Mining Eng., Petroleum, and Geophysics, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran.
Email: fsereshki@shahroodut.ac.ir

Mehdi Najafi
Assistant Professor, Department of Mining and Metallurgical Eng., Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.
Email: mehdinajafi@yazd.ac.ir

ABSTRACT

Coal seams are converted to syngas by advanced thermo-chemical processes through Underground

Coal Gasification (UCG) method. Inability to predict the shape and volume of the underground cavity

is an important scientific gap in UCG method which is the main subject of this paper. For this purpose,

firstly, a series of equations are introduced to predict the cavity growth dimensions over time.

Subsequently, these equations are extended in numerical simulation of the Computational Fluid

Dynamics (CFD), incorporating the commercial COMSOL software. According to the simulation,

the amount of oxidant necessary to convert a certain amount of coal (in the heterogeneous phase) is

calculated. The model results indicated that the shape and volume of cavity could be predicted at the

onset of the gasification process. The numerical results agreed well with the field data.

Keywords: Underground Coal Gasification (UCG); cavity shape; cavity volume; Computational

Fluid Dynamics (CFD); COMSOL

1. INTRODUCTION
Coal is an important source for power generation, currently supplying 41% of the global electricity

demand. Also significant quantities of coal are employed in metallurgical processes, gasification, and

cement industries as well as raw materials for activated carbon and some other industrial purposes

1
 International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 103 (2018) 43–54

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of
Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrmms

A risk assessment proposal for underground cavities in Hard Soils-Soft Rocks T

a,⁎ a a b
Zimbardo Margherita , Cannone Claudio , Ercoli Laura , Nocilla Alessandra
a
DICAM, University of Palermo, Italy
b
DICATAM, University of Brescia, Italy

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Underground calcarenite quarries in Marsala (Sicily) have been involved in a number of collapses that have,
Underground quarries seriously damaged numerous buildings. The stability conditions were therefore examined in order to assess risk
Hard-soil/soft rocks conditions within the historical centre of the town and the surrounding areas, which are subject to urban ex-
Stability factor pansion. Starting with an extensive collection of historical information, the research was carried out through
Risk charts
surveys of the cavities, systematic sampling of material, petrographic analysis and geotechnical testing. The
results of laboratory tests and in situ investigations provided a geotechnical characterization of both the intact
material and the rock mass. Correlating the deformability, yielding and strength parameters of the intact rock to
the structural features, it was possible to define the range of variability of the shear strength parameters of the
rock mass. The geotechnical parameters obtained were then introduced in the three-dimensional finite element
codes and the stability and safety conditions of underground quarries were evaluated. Once the geometrical
conditions of the single cavity (in its own location relative to the surrounding environment) were defined by
means of a new parameter K, the safety factor was defined according to the intact rock and the rock mass
strength and deformation modulus using the proposed abacuses. Solutions provide risk charts that allow the
quantification of the hazard due to the presence of cavities adjacent in the subsoil. The applicability of the
Abacus was investigated through an analysis of a real existing geometry in which collapse is not yet occurred and
through a back analysis process on already collapsed underground cavities in three sites. Risk charts can be
considered as a useful starting tool to be used in order to optimize the planning of specific surveys.

1. Introduction extension were formed, causing conditions of instability. This is evident

Human settlements built on soft rock deposits are often character-
ized by the presence of open pit excavations and, frequently, under-
ground quarries excavated since the time of the first settlements. These
had the double purpose of extracting the necessary material for the
construction of cities and, at the same time, preparing defensive moats,
shelters and secure underground walkways or access to the sea and
coastal settlements 1–3. In the town of Marsala (Fig. 1), in Sicily, nu-
merous underground galleries, such as the Fossa delle Navi, were built
during the Punic age and were used to connect different parts of the city
or to provide access to places of hypogenic worship and sepulchral
areas 4 (Fig. 2). The resulting excavated material of suitable mechanical
characteristics was then used for the construction of urban structures.
Preferably, quarries were initially excavated in the underground in
order to preserve arable lands (Fig. 3). However, in the modern era, the
building material was - and still is - collected in large open pit quarries,
usually located outside the city limits.
As a consequence of urban expansion, quarries of exceedingly large
in the failure phenomena that occurred and in the instabilities detected
in the reinforced concrete structures placed on the ground (Fig. 4).
Hence, accurate surveys are mandatory, as laid down by the city's re-
cent urban planning project,5 which was established in order to take
into account the instability caused by large cavities, and to design
adequate stability solutions.
Instability problems of this nature are common in many areas of the
world. Indeed sinkholes can occur wherever unstable underground
cavities exist at a shallow depth. As a matter of fact, much of the
published research has focused on the stability assessment of shallow
caves, pillars of underground shallow excavations, open stope, ex-
cavation spans in mining activities or in the underground cultural
heritage. Indeed sinkhole development of the ground, due to collapse, is
a noticeable risk to the stability of the surrounding area.6,7
The stability problems of underground cavities with a large span
and little cover have been studied in karstic areas 6,8 or in the presence
of underground stone in mines excavated with the room and pillar
method, as in the Marsala quarries, at shallow depth. 7 Regarding the

⁎
Correspondence to: DICAM, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 8., 90128 Palermo (PA), Italy.
E-mail address: margherita.zimbardo@unipa.it (Z. Margherita).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2018.01.024
Received 23 March 2017; Received in revised form 2 January 2018; Accepted 5 January 2018
1365-1609/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Journal of Sustainable Mining xxx (2018) 1e6

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journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jsm

Research paper

3D representation of geological observations in underground mine

workings of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin
Marek Marcisz*, Krystian Probierz, Malwina Ostrowska-Łach 1
Chair of Applied Geology, Faculty of Mining and Geology, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, 2 Akademicka Str., Poland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The purpose of the paper is to present the possibilities of the three-dimensional representation of
Received 5 December 2017 geological strata in underground (access) workings in a hard coal deposit in the SW part of the Upper
Received in revised form Silesian Coal Basin, using CAD software and its flagship program AutoCAD. The 3D visualization of the
9 January 2018
results of underground workings’ mapping is presented and illustrated on two opening out workings
Accepted 22 January 2018
Available online xxx
(descending galleries). The criteria for choosing these workings were based on their length and the
complexity of geological settings observed while they were driven. The described method may be
applied in spatial visualization of geological structures observed in other deposits, mines and existing
Keywords:
Upper silesian coal basin
workings (it is not applicable for designing mine workings), also beyond the area of the Upper Silesian
Hard coal Coal Basin (USCB). The method presented describes the problem of the visualization of underground
Underground mine workings mine workings in a typical geological aspect, considering (aimed at) detailed visualization of geological
3D visualization settings revealed on the side walls of workings cutting the deposit.
CAD © 2018 Central Mining Institute in Katowice. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open
access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction crucial for designing and conducting safe mining operations

Mapping underground mine workings means following their
definition and presenting rock complexity revealed by the mine
workings in a graphical form.
Methods of mapping individual mine workings differ, because
they include mapping of vertical access workings (shafts and staple
shafts), horizontal access workings (dog headings), roadways
driven in coal and extraction mine workings (mainly longwalls).
Results of mapping are entered into geological logs which are a
basic mapping document and are usually very specific for given
workings, but currently they usually cover one seam or level.
Geological information obtained through mapping is used to up-
date information about the main coal seam and level maps. Basic
and special geological cross-sections are employed to prepare
special geological maps (e.g. isopach maps, i.e. lines of equal
thickness in a seam). This information is also the base to identify
seams and assess deposits.
Preparing data from mapping underground mine workings
provides proper recognition of the deposit structure, which is
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: marek.marcisz@polsl.pl (M. Marcisz).
1 of the geological structure of multi-seam deposits. Today's
Non-affiliated author.
(Dudek, 2013; Winkler, 2002; Winkler, Michalak, Jaszczyk, &
Bojara, 2007). The scope of the work usually includes: deter-
mining actual parameters of seam structure (thickness, strike di-
rection, dip direction and angle), reconstruction of fold structures
(recognising the style of structural folding), determining fault dis-
placements (strike direction and fault plane dip angle, stratigraphic
throw and separation of the fault, influence of the fault on
designing and maintaining mine workings: detecting the moment
of approaching the fault while driving a working, determining
displacement direction in the area across the fault), determining
the course of geological disturbances (changes in the thickness of
seams and layers, seam splits and erosive wash-outs) (Du
zniak &
Gabzdyl, 1991; Nie
c, 1982, 2012).
Graphic structures, projection rules, trigonometric equations,
dependences, nomograms, theorems and lists (profiles, maps,
cross-sections, diagrams, models) were a great help to realise them
(if it was not possible directly in a working).
Development of IT tools made it possible to document geolog-
ical phenomena in a digital form, enabling the preparation and
interpretation of all the aforementioned materials (Maciaszek,
Wa˛ sacz, & Szewczyk, 2015). In a digital recording there is no data
simplification and generalisation, resulting in the description of a
phenomenon losing its accuracy and resulting from the complexity

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsm.2018.01.001
2300-3960/© 2018 Central Mining Institute in Katowice. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Please cite this article in press as: Marcisz, M., et al., 3D representation of geological observations in underground mine workings of the Upper
Silesian Coal Basin, Journal of Sustainable Mining (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsm.2018.01.001
 International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

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International Journal of Mining Science and Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmst

Coal pillar design when considered a reinforcement problem rather than

a suspension problem
Russell Frith ⇑, Guy Reed
Mine Advice Pty Ltd, New South Wales 2282, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Current coal pillar design is the epitome of suspension design. A defined weight of unstable overburden
Received 13 May 2017 material is estimated, and the dimensions of the pillars left behind are based on holding up that material
Received in revised form 17 June 2017 to a prescribed factor of safety. In principle, this is no different to early roadway roof support design.
Accepted 18 September 2017
However, for the most part, roadway roof stabilisation has progressed to reinforcement, whereby the roof
Available online xxxx
strata is assisted in supporting itself. This is now the mainstay of efficient and effective underground coal
production. Suspension and reinforcement are fundamentally different in roadway roof stabilisation and
Keywords:
lead to substantially different requirements in terms of support hardware characteristics and their appli-
Coal pillar design
Overburden stability
cation. In suspension, the primary focus is the total load-bearing capacity of the installed support and
Rock reinforcement ensuring that it is securely anchored outside of the unstable roof mass. In contrast, reinforcement recog-
Bord and pillar mining nises that roof de-stabilisation is a gradational process with ever-increasing roof displacement magnitude
leading to ever-reducing stability. Key roof support characteristics relate to such issues as system stiff-
ness, the location and pattern of support elements and mobilising a defined thickness of the immediate
roof to create (or build) a stabilising strata beam. The objective is to ensure that horizontal stress is main-
tained at a level that prevents mass roof collapse. This paper presents a prototype coal pillar and overbur-
den system representation where reinforcement, rather than suspension, of the overburden is the
stabilising mechanism via the action of in situ horizontal stresses. Established roadway roof reinforce-
ment principles can potentially be applied to coal pillar design under this representation. The merit of
this is evaluated according to failed pillar cases as found in a series of published databases. Based on
the findings, a series of coal pillar system design considerations for bord and pillar type mine workings
are provided. This potentially allows a more flexible approach to coal pillar sizing within workable min-
ing layouts, as compared to common industry practice of a single design factor of safety (FoS) under
defined overburden dead-loading to the exclusion of other relevant overburden stabilising influences.
Ó 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology. This is an open
access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction The level of confidence in the design remaining stable is then

The simplest model for coal pillar loading consists of an unsta-
ble overburden to surface, known as Tributary Area Theory (TAT),
overburden stability then being entirely controlled by the load-
bearing ability of the coal pillars formed in the workings (Fig. 1).
Whilst for bord and pillar-type mining design purposes, the TAT
model to surface has been and can be modified (by the application
of either pressure-arch concepts or by considering the sub- or
super-critical nature of the overburden at surface) to modify pillar
loading magnitudes, it is still generally true to state that the stabil-
ity of coal pillars is evaluated via a defined unstable section of
overburden imparting dead loads onto the coal pillars beneath.
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: russell.frith@mineadvice.com (R. Frith).
determined according to the design FoS over and above the
assumed coal pillar strength(s).
Since the Coalbrook disaster in 1960, the basic model of full TAT
to surface has been applied in empirical studies attempting to
define the strength of coal pillars by back-analysing failed cases,
including Salamon and Munro in the direct aftermath of Coalbrook.
Fig. 2 shows how pillar loading can be modified according to panel
width to cover depth considerations (W/H ratio) as part of what
may be termed as partial TAT [1,2]. In both cases, vertical dead-
loading of the overburden onto the coal pillars is the key pillar
design assumption.
Van Der Merwe makes the following statement in relation to
what occurred in the immediate aftermath of Coalbrook:
The attention was focused on pillar strength research, very little
attention initially being paid to overburden strength. This is not an

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.11.013
2095-2686/Ó 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Please cite this article in press as: Frith R, Reed G. Coal pillar design when considered a reinforcement problem rather than a suspension problem. Int J Min
Sci Technol (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.11.013
 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
1 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF UNDERGROUND SPACE AND
2 PILLAR DESIGN IN METALLIFEROUS MINE
3
4 T. Mallı, M. E. Yetkin*, M. K. Özfırat, B. Kahraman
5
6 Dokuz Eylul University Eng. Faculty, Mining Eng. Dept., Buca-İzmir/Turkey
7
8 *Corresponding Author: mustafa.yetkin@deu.edu.tr Tel: +902323017535

PT
9
10

RI
11 Abstract
12
13 The basic principle of the room and pillar design is to create an economical and safe

SC
14 underground working environment by leaving as little ore as possible due to the increase in
15 costs today. However, it is a very complex engineering issue to determine the economic pillar
16 size that will ensure the stability of the mine during production operations and work safety.

U
17 The design of the pillar is based on the production of pillar sizes allowed up to the
18 deformation limits without creating pillar defects and the production of as much valuable ore
AN
19 as possible. In this context, as the ore production is made, the vertical stresses that make up
20 the pillar are increasing and pillar safety is at risk.
21
M

22 In this study, a model is made for the Bayındır lead-zinc mine, which is working with room
23 and pillar method and is about to be completed. In the model, pillar stresses are evaluated at
24 four different stages. In stage 1, stress values are calculated on the pillar to be between 0.89-
D

25 0.92 MPa. In stage 2, it iscomputed to be between 0.81-0.84 and in stage 3, it is found to be

TE

26 between 0.33-0.66 MPa. As a result of the model according to these stress values, it is
27 predicted that the pillars can be fully recovered safely.
28
EP

29 Keyword: Pillar design, stress distribution, metalliferous underground mines.

30
31 1. Introduction
C

32
33 The room and pillar mining is designed for flat-bedded deposits of limited thickness, such as
AC

34 coal, salt, potash, limestone and metals (lead-zinc, copper etc.). This method is used to
35 recover mine in open stopes. The method leaves pillars to support the hanging wall, to recover
36 the maximum amount of ore and leave minimum amount of pillar size. Room widths vary
37 according to ore and dead rock properties. Room heights are usually as thick as the seam. The
38 heights and shapes of the pillars are dependent on the depth of the ore, the thickness and
39 strength of the seam, the structure of the dead rock and the operating equipment used
40 (Nazarov et al. 2006; Şimşir, 2015).
41
42 Pillars can be defined as the rock between two or more underground openings. Hence, all
43 underground mining methods utilize pillars, either temporary or permanent, to safely extract
 International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

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journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmst

Coal rib response during bench mining: A case study

Morgan M. Sears ⇑, John Rusnak, Mark Van Dyke, Gamal Rashed, Khaled Mohamed, Michael Sloan
Ground Control Branch, NIOSH, Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In 2016, room-and-pillar mining provided nearly 40% of underground coal production in the United
Received 12 May 2017 States. Over the past decade, rib falls have resulted in 12 fatalities, representing 28% of the ground fall
Received in revised form 30 June 2017 fatalities in U.S. underground coal mines. Nine of these 12 fatalities (75%) have occurred in room-and-
Accepted 18 August 2017
pillar mines. The objective of this research is to study the geomechanics of bench room-and-pillar mining
Available online xxxx
and the associated response of high pillar ribs at overburden depths greater than 300 m. This paper pro-
vides a definition of the bench technique, the pillar response due to loading, observational data for a case
Keywords:
history, a calibrated numerical model of the observed rib response, and application of this calibrated
Deep cover
Bench mining
model to a second site.
Thick seam Ó 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology. This is an open
Retreat mining access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Rib response
Rib support

1. Introduction
Bench mining is an underground mining technique typically
applied to room-and-pillar mines where full seam extraction on
development presents an unacceptably high risk of injury from
high pillar ribs or where the mining equipment is not designed
to extract the full seam thickness. To mitigate the increased risk
associated with high ribs and slender pillars, a more modest thick-
ness is extracted from the top of the seam on development. This is
followed by grading the floor and recovering the bottom of the
seam with or without extraction of the pillars during retreat
mining.
A mine located in Eastern Kentucky extracts two seams at
depths ranging from outcrop to over 600 m. In some areas of the
mine, Seam A and Seam B are close enough together to be mined
simultaneously. Seam A (top) is mined on development 2–3 m high
for the entire length of the panel. On retreat, as each pillar is
extracted, the continuous miner is ramped down into the floor
(Seam B), two pairs of mobile roof support (MRS) units are set,
and the pillars are extracted at the full mining height of 4+ m. Dur-
ing the pillar recovery process, the floor is extracted in each entry,
from a ramp initiated outby the retreat line, sequentially just prior
to extracting the lifts from the pillars (Fig. 1).
Current rib support practices at the mine include the use of
1.5-m-long, 19-mm-diameter, grade 60, fully grouted tensioned
rebar bolts installed with 20 cm
40 cm steel bearing plates.
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: msears@cdc.gov (M.M. Sears).
Typically, one row of bolts is installed if the mining height is less
than 3 m, two rows are installed if the mining height is from 3 to
4.5 m, and three rows are installed if the mining height is greater
than 4.5 m. Row spacing for the top row is 1.2 m, while spacing
for the second or mid-pillar row can be increased to 2.4 m if the
bolts are anchored in the rock parting. Typically, the third row is
installed just prior to retreat mining at a maximum 2.4-m spacing.
During retreat, loose ribs are cut down and re-supported as neces-
sary, which can include the installation of extended length (2.4-m)
rib bolts if required [1].
2. Rib model development
Numerical modeling is a useful tool to help explain the stress
distribution and extent of rib fracturing in coal pillars. In order to
investigate the stress distribution and development of rib fractures
at this mine, the finite difference software FLAC3D was used [2].
Fig. 2 shows the geologic column that was simplified into four coal
layers and two stone layers for use in the FLAC3D model. The
FLAC3D model for the first case history site is a three-
dimensional model for a single pillar, 18 m wide and 30 m long,
rib to rib. Three pillar configurations were considered in the initial
model to better elucidate how each behaves during loading. The
pillar models were monotonically loaded to failure. The short pillar
represents development mining Seam A, which is labeled
‘‘Advance” in Fig. 2.
The slender pillar represents mining the full seam height of
both seams at the full extraction thickness of 4+ m. Although this

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.12.010
2095-2686/Ó 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Please cite this article in press as: Sears MM et al. Coal rib response during bench mining: A case study. Int J Min Sci Technol (2017), https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.12.010
 Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 68 (2017) 211–230

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journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tust

Numerical modeling of seismic wave propagation and ground motion in MARK

underground mines
⁎
Xin Wang, Ming Cai
MIRARCO – Mining Innovation, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Canada
Bharti School of Engineering, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Canada

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Dynamic rock support plays a critical role in ensuring mine safety and its design depends on several key design
Wave propagation modeling inputs. For rock support design and forensic analysis of rockburst damage, it is important to understand seismic
Ground motions wave propagation and ground motion distribution near excavation boundaries for seismic waves generated from
PPV contour a remote fault slip seismic event. This study aims at achieving a better understanding of wave propagation
Heterogeneities
patterns around mine tunnels and capturing ground motion (Peak Particle Velocity - PPV) accurately for dy-
SPECFEM2D
namic support design and forensic analysis. An advanced seismic wave propagation modeling tool, SPECFEM2D,
Underground mines
is used to study complex wave propagation in underground mines. Attentions are paid to studying the influence
of different mine excavations and geological structures on wavefields and ground motions near excavation
boundaries. The simulation results show that the wavefields and the ground motion distributions become more
complicated as more mine excavations and geological structures are involved. Moreover, the PPV distribution
around a tunnel can be altered, leading to high and low PPV zones around the tunnel. In addition, modulation of
travel time and long S-coda waves can be observed in the complex seismograms. Using the modeling approach,
areas in an underground mine that may experience high potentials of rockburst damage could be identified and
mine safety could be improved by implementing dynamic rock ground support in these areas.

1. Introduction areas in a mine.

Progress has been made in understanding rockburst in underground
hard rock mines since the 1980s (e.g., Kaiser et al., 1992, 1996;
Tannant et al., 1993; Yi and Kaiser, 1993; Lightfoot et al., 1996; Kaiser
and Maloney, 1997; Stacey and Ortlepp, 2000; Simser et al., 2002; Cai
and Champaigne, 2009; Wang et al., 2009; Holub and Rusajova, 2011;
Bukowska, 2012; Cai, 2013; Kaiser and Cai, 2013; Konicek et al., 2013).
However, many deep mines in Canada, China, Chile, Australia, South
Africa, and some other countries are still facing rockburst issues due to
high in-situ stress and complex geological and geometrical conditions in
the mines. It is expected that the rockburst problem will further in-
crease as mining occurs at greater depths. Although rockburst research
has been accelerated over the past decade, ineffective rock support
always contributes to the toll of injuries and fatalities as a result of
seismic wave loading that triggers violent rock failure (e.g., Kaiser
et al., 1996; Yeryomenko et al., 1999; Cai et al., 2000; Cai, 2013; Kaiser
and Cai, 2013). In order to reduce the rockburst damage hazard, there
is a need to install appropriate rock support system that is capable of
absorbing the dynamic energy resulted from rock failure in burst-prone
In general, rock support design in burst-prone mines needs to con-
sider stress redistribution due to excavation and dynamic loading re-
sulted from seismic waves generated by large fault-slip induced seismic
events. The excavation effect on stress redistribution has been in-
vestigated extensively by many researchers (e.g., Tajdus et al., 1997;
Kwasniewski and Wang, 1999; Jing et al., 2002; Martin et al., 2003;
Albrecht and Potvin, 2005; Cai and Kaiser, 2005; Kontogianni and
Stiros, 2005; Tang, 2005; Roth and Ranta-Korpi, 2007; Cai, 2008a,
2008b; Cheng and Sun, 2010; Tang and Xia, 2010; Wang et al., 2010;
Zhao and Cai, 2010; Dou et al., 2012; Xu et al., 2012). Compared with
research on excavation effect on stress redistribution, however, the
effect of underground openings and geological structures on seismic
wave propagation and ground motion has not been studied extensively
for dynamic rock support design.
Analysis of seismic wave propagation is of great interest for solving
some engineering problems in a number of industries, such as the
mining, oil extraction, nuclear waste disposal, and earthquake en-
gineering (Goldstein, 1995; Dubinski and Mutke, 1996; Hildyard and
Milev, 2001; Hildyard and Young, 2002; Sprenke et al., 2002; Wright

⁎
Corresponding author at: MIRARCO – Mining Innovation, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Canada.
E-mail address: mcai@laurentian.ca (M. Cai).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2017.05.019
Received 21 April 2016; Received in revised form 27 July 2016; Accepted 20 May 2017
0886-7798/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology xxx (2016) xxx–xxx

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Assessment and planning of underground space use in Singapore

Yingxin Zhou a, Jian Zhao b,⇑
a
Defence Science and Technology Agency, 1 Depot Road, Singapore 109679, Singapore
b
Monash University, 23 College Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Underground space development has become an economic imperative for land-scarce Singapore. In 2007,
Received 11 September 2015 the government, under the Ministry of National Development, set up an inter-agency Underground
Accepted 21 December 2015 Master Planning Task Force that aims to map out the long-term development of the underground space,
Available online xxxx
bringing the underground space development to a strategic level. In 2010, the Economic Strategies
Committee made developing underground space part of the government’s long-term economic strategy
Keywords: with specific recommendations on master planning, geological investigations, investment in research and
Underground space
development, and various policy issues. The ESC report also recommended that the government should
Planning
Cavern
take the lead in catalysing the use of underground space. Based on these recommendations, the
Aggregate Singapore government have taken various initiatives and studies, and initiated various research projects
in support of these initiatives.
This paper gives a review of the history of underground space development, highlights the potential
utilisations, and discusses the various recent studies and planning issues, and examines possible strate-
gies for future use of underground space in Singapore.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction terms of population density per country after Monaco. Singapore

Singapore consists of one larger and several smaller islands, and
lies at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula with a roughly
diamond shaped area between latitude 1°090 N and 1°280 N and lon-
gitude 103°380 E and 104°060 E. With a high population density and
continually developing economy, Singapore faces a severe lack of
land space for development. The increasing population, coupled
with the government plan for more green space for the population,
means more competition for land. Table 1 shows the change of
land use distribution in Singapore from 1960 to 2007
(Malone-Lee, 2011).
Land has always been recognised as a constraint by the
Singapore government. According to the Department of Statics of
the Singapore government, the population in 2013 was 5.5 million.
With a total land area of 716.1 km2, the population density stood at
7540 persons/km2. This compares to a population density of
42,852 persons/km2 in Manila and 21,498 in Paris (Wikipedia,
2015). In fact, the population density of Singapore is not even in
the top 50 cities in the world. However, what makes it unique
and more challenging for Singapore is that Singapore is also a
country. To put it in perspective, Singapore would rank 2nd in
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: jian.zhao@monash.edu (J. Zhao).
must address both the needs of a modern metropolis as well as
the need of a country. The development of the underground
ammunition facility by the Ministry of Defence was case in point.
No cities in the world have to store ammunitions in their urban
area. In fact, most cities do not have to cater for defence require-
ments in such large proportions as Singapore. The storage of
ammunition near the population not only places severe constraints
on land use, it also places great demand on safety. This is the rea-
son why underground ammunition storage in Singapore has so
much advantage compared to other countries.
The land squeeze is expected to get worse according to planning
numbers published by the government. According to the land use
plan of the government published in 2013, the expected land use
will be 766 km2 by 2030 when the population is expected to
increase to between 6.5 and 6.9 million from the current 5.5 mil-
lion (National Population and Talent Division, 2013), a net increase
of land requirement of about 50 km2 from 716 km2 in 2013. Even if
the 50 km2 increase in land space can be achieved, this would only
represent a 7% increase, compared to the population increase of
between 18% and 25% based on the above numbers (Table 3).
Clearly, the pressure on land will only increase.
From Table 2, it can be seen that the largest land users are
Defence (19%), Housing (17%), Industry and Commerce (17%), and
land transport infrastructure (13%), accounting for 66% of the total

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2015.12.018
0886-7798/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Zhou, Y., Zhao, J. Assessment and planning of underground space use in Singapore. Tunnel. Underg. Space Technol.
(2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2015.12.018