Santander Mine Geotechnical

Ross Greenwood
Senior ConsultantRock Mechanics
SummaryEmpirical Design Guidelines
Rock Mass Assumptions: An RMR range between 45 to 55 (Q range 0.6 to 2.0) is
considered a reasonable estimate for use in empirical stability analyses in the Norte/Rosa
area.
Man-Entry Span: A supported man-entry span of up to 10m is reasonable in the orebody.
Stope Design: Based on the established 18m sub-level spacing for a 5m orebody span
the recommended stope strike length is 30m, and for a 20m orebody span the stope strike
length is 20m. The stope lengths include a ~8 to 12 meter length of the previous stope
where the rock fill is not considered to be consolidated.
Pillar Height (m, orebody width HW to FW) 5 10 15 20
Rib Pillar Design: Recommended rib pillar
Pillar Width (m, along strike)
4 6 widths
8 are based
10 on the orebody span:
W:H ratio 0.8 0.6 0.53 0.5
FoS (does not consider sill pillar) 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.1

Sill Pillar Design: Current sill pillar design above 4510 panel (10m thickness) is
appropriate for a 5m orebody span. Spans greater than 20m should be assessed on a
case basis.
Orebody The
Span (m, HW torequirements
FW) for5 a supported
10 temporary
15 sill (<15m span) with additional
assessment
Pillar Thickness (m,of the sill pillar rock 10mass and
on-dip) 15 the impact
30 of the Magistral Fault are:
Mean PoF (%) 14 17 15

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Rock Mass Quality
Geotechnical data compiled by DCR Ingenieros S.R. Ltda.
No spatial reference given to where the data is located (e.g. proximal to the mineralized zone or all
data).
Lower rock mass numbers (<30) are attributed to fault zones.
Report notes that underground mapping indicated RMR values lower than those estimated from drill
core.
These graphs have been assumed to represent conditions proximal to the orebody.

Norte rock mass conditions are not as good as those at Central and Sur.
Approximately 50% of the Norte rock mass has RMR less than 50.
RMR range between 45 to 55 (Q range 0.6 to 2.0) is considered a reasonable
estimate for use in empirical stability analyses in the Norte/Rosa area.

Norte Central Sur

3 Santander Mine
 SAN-019

Good rock mass conditions, RMR range 50 to 65

(estimated from photos) .

4 Santander Mine
SAN-016

Fair and poor rock mass conditions, RMR range

35 to 50 (estimated from photos). Structure and
alteration appears to be affecting rock quality.

5 Santander Mine
SAN-033

Fair rock mass conditions, RMR range 40 to 55

(estimated from photos)

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 Small Scale Structures
Small scale features mapped from underground (no core orientation?).
Sub-vertical set dipping parallel to mineralization.
Intermediate dipping mineralization conjugate set.
Steeply dipping set perpendicular to mineralization.
Orientations are assumed to reflect structure proximal to the
orebody.

Orebody strike ~150

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Man-Entry Span
Based on the empirical man-entry span of Ouchi et al (2004), a
supported span of up to 10m is reasonable in the orebody.
Wider spans have been achieved in the Rosa orebody (up to 14 m).
Reviews of drill core show locally better than average ground conditions (as reflected in
rock mass quality statistics (Slide 6) and core photos.
The wider spans that have been mined with very limited support is considered to be
lucky, rather than good design.

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Stope Design Building Blocks
Stope height of 18m (floor to floor) used a building block (based
on as-built survey).
Typically the drill drive is adequately supported, or
The stope height is considered from floor to back (22m)
Orebody width (dip span, HW-FW) is generally 5 to 20 m.
Exact FW mining contact or internal waste zones are not yet delineated.
Overall Norte orebody strike length is 150m.
Total 4510 block height is 60m.

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Stope Design
Rock mass numbers, and structural orientations (as
presented by DCR) used for the stope design.
Stresses are assumed to be low (~100m depth) and
lithostatic (1=2=3)
No signs of high stress in development or stoping.
Intact rock strength (as presented by DCR) is within
the range 90 to 140 MPa.
100 MPa used for analyses.

Results
Back, HW, and FW stability is an issue with wider
spans, however the back will be controlled with long
support to maintain stability over the wider spans.
Stoping over the full panel height is not considered an
option.
Based on the established 18m sub-level spacing:
For a 5m orebody span the recommended stope strike length is
Stope stability graph after Trueman (2000)
30m.
For a 20m orebody span, the recommended stope strike length
is 20m.
The stope lengths include a ~8 to 12 meter length of the
previous stope where the rock fill is not considered to be
consolidated.

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 Rib Pillar Design
Rib pillar design considers the orebody width (pillar
height) relative to the length of ore retained along
strike (pillar width).

Results
Rib pillar design provided considering the range of
orebody
Pillar Height spans:
(m, orebody 5 10 15 20
width HW to FW)
Pillar Width (m, along strike) 4 6 8 10
W:H ratio 0.8 0.6 0.53 0.5
FoS (does not consider sill 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.1
pillar)

Narrower rib pillars could be considered following

assessment of actual performance.
Rib pillars could be eliminated with the use of Pillar stability graph after Hudyma (1988)
cemented backfill.

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Sill Pillar Design
4580 SN1

Currently a 10m sill pillar has been retained above the

Norte 4510 panel. 10m crown pillar retained
Based on a ~5m orebody span this is an appropriate pillar
5m
thickness resulting in a Class B through D pillar with PoF =
5 to 50%).
4510 SN4
There are indications that the orebody may be up to 9m 9m
wide in this area, and the pillar becomes a Class A with a
significantly increase in PoF. Cross section through Norte mining area

Results
The existing Norte 4510 sill design is appropriate for 5m
orebody span.
A re-design of the sill pillar below the Norte 4510 panel will
be required due to the potentially wider orebody spans.
Re-assessment should consider actual ground conditions,
potential mining spans, mining methodology, ground
support ,and the impact of the Magistral Fault.
Spans >15m should be evaluated on a case basis.
The requirements for a supported temporary sill (<15m
span) with additional assessment of the sill pillar rock mass
and the impact of the Magistral Fault are:
Orebody Span (m, HW to 5 10 15
FW)
Pillar Thickness (m, on-dip) 10 35 80
Mean PoF (%, i.e. RMR=50) 15 17 15
Unsupported 5mW x 10mH crown pillar (solid line) and 10mW x 10mH
crown pillar (dashed line) plotted on Carter (2008) scaled span graph.
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 Cable Bolt Design
Results
Cable bolt design chart indicates that supporting spans up to 15 m will likely reduce the risk of failure.
Spans greater than 15 m have reduced confidence.
As a generic design (not considering local wedge support) the recommended cable anchor length for up to 15 m dip-span is
6.5 m (based on single strand 15.4mm diameter cable) installed on a 2.0m square pattern.
Long anchors are installed offset to primary anchors.
With appropriate trial testing, equivalent capacity Swellex anchors are considered appropriate as a substitute for cable
anchors.
Cables should be installed with a face plate, barrel and wedges, and with ~5t tension (if possible).
An assessment of structures at each large span should be completed to identify wedges beyond the generic support
capacity.

Design confidence zones, lengths, and spacing graphs after Hutchinson & Diederichs (1996)
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