In situ monitoring and analysis of rock mass behaviour prior to collapse of the main transport roadway in Linglong gold mine, China.

The new roadway is in an area with fairly complex geological characteristics with several large-scale faults and crush belts. It is also close to an old roadway, the average distance between the two being 10 m, and the condition of the rock surrounding the new roadway and the mined-out areas has had a serious effect on the old roadway. An integrated monitoring network was installed, involving level and subsidence measurements, multiple-point displacement inspections, cross-section convergence and stress measurements and acoustic emission monitoring. The latter provided very useful information relating to damage to, and fracturing of, the rock mass. The results showed that measures need to be taken to reinforce the new roadway in order to ensure the stability of the old one for the safe and reliable operation of the transport system.
The new roadway is in an area with fairly complex geological characteristics with several large-scale faults and crush belts. It is also close to an old roadway, the average distance between the two being 10 m, and the condition of the rock surrounding the new roadway and the mined-out areas has had a serious effect on the old roadway. An integrated monitoring network was installed, involving level and subsidence measurements, multiple-point displacement inspections, cross-section convergence and stress measurements and acoustic emission monitoring. The latter provided very useful information relating to damage to, and fracturing of, the rock mass. The results showed that measures need to be taken to reinforce the new roadway in order to ensure the stability of the old one for the safe and reliable operation of the transport system.