Assessment of drainability of overlying undrained water-bearing stratum using mine up-holes

One of the determining factors for ensuring the stability of rock pillars (waterproof layer) during the development of underground water bodies is the magnitude of the groundwater pressure on the pillar. Thus, the possibility of water breakthrough into mine workings depends not only on the physical and mechanical parameters of the rocks that make up the waterproof layer, but also on the operating pressure. The risk of breakthrough can be reduced both by increasing the strength properties of pillar rocks and by reducing the pressure of groundwater in the overlying water body. In the absence of engineering reclamation measures to strengthen pillar rocks, reducing the risk of breakthrough by draining a water body to levels corresponding to safe mining operations is an urgent scientific and practical task, determined by the tendency of the mineral resources industry to develop minerals in increasingly complex hydrogeomechanical conditions. These are associated with the depletion of easily accessible reserves for open-pit mining and the transition to a combined or underground mining method. Moreover, urban construction field also faces the challenge of developing underground space below water bodies. In this article, on the example of the Yakovlevskoye iron ore deposit, using the method of numerical geofiltration modeling, the optimal parameters of a system of vertical throughout drainage wells are selected to reduce pressure in the overlying undrained high-pressure aquifer. The obtained results indicate the feasibility of using this approach to reduce the risk of breakthrough in the conditions of the Yakovlevskoye field.

Kotlov S. N., Tselischev N. A. Assessment of drainability of overlying undrained water-bearing stratum using mine up-holes. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2024;(12-1): 212-226. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2024_121_0_212.

S.N. Kotlov¹, Cand. Sci. (Geol. Mineral.), Leading Researcher, e-mail: kotlov_sn@pers.spmi.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4788-921X,
N.A. Tselischev¹, Engineer, e-mail: Tselischev_NA@pers.spmi.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7737-9686, 
¹ Empress Catherine II Saint-Petersburg Mining University, 199106, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

S.N. Kotlov, e-mail: kotlov_sn@pers.spmi.ru.

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