OVERVIEW On 13 December 2023, Tropical Cyclone Jasper, a Category 2 system, made landfall on the Far North Queensland (FNQ) coast. As the wettest tropical cyclone on record in Australia, it brought unprecedented rainfall, equivalent to two years’ worth, over the course of a single week. This deluge resulted in severe flooding, large-scale isolation, extensive […]
READ MOREProviding a decisively clearer view of real deformation at Bingham Canyon
OVERVIEW The Kennecott Copper Mine (Bingham Canyon) is 25 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The mine, in production since 1903, is one of the world’s largest and deepest open-pit mines and employs over 2000 people. Owned by the Rio Tinto Group, it has produced more copper than any other mine in history. […]
READ MOREMonitoring and Measuring Squeezing Ground Conditions at Gosowong Gold Operation
MONITORING WEAK ROCKMASS OVERVIEW The Gosowong Gold Operation is located on Halmahera Island, about 2,450 kilometres northeast of the national capital, Jakarta. It is an epithermal gold deposit with additional occurrences of silver. The mine uses a combination of cut-and-fill and long hole open stoping (LHOS) mining methods. Currently, PT. Nusa Halmahera Minerals operates two […]
READ MOREPrism and Prismless Monitoring in an Open-Cut Gold Operation
PRISM AND PRISMLESS MONITORING OVERVIEW Due to the loss of a significant number of physical prisms through vandalism, the on-site geotechnical team from Filminera Resources Corporation’s Masbate Gold Project, an open-cut gold mine in the Philippines, required a solution to effectively manage the mine’s safety, including their ability to detect and measure deformation. CHALLENGE GroundProbe’s […]
READ MOREGML Monitors Rear Wall of Shaft to Determine Optimal Targeted Ground Support
TARGETED GROUND SUPPORT OVERVIEW Underground environments are dynamic by nature, with the effectiveness of ground support consistently changing. Through monitoring, areas of high risk can be identified and rehabilitated in a targeted way. At a large, well-known hard rock mine in Queensland, Australia, visual inspections on the rear wall of a shaft showed cracking in the shotcrete. […]
READ MOREBroad-Area Monitoring Across Multiple Large Open-Pit Mines
BROAD-AREA COVERAGE OVERVIEW The Kolomela Mine operated by Anglo American is located 22km from Postmasburg in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The mine produces direct shipping iron ore. Kolomela Mine consists of three open-pits: Leeuwfontein, Kapstevel and Klipbankfontein. Kolomela Mine has undergone multiple ramp-ups and is currently producing in the order of 13 […]
READ MOREExtreme Cold Temperature Success at Chernigovets Coal Mine and Zarechnaya Coal Mine
SUCCESS UNDER EXTREME CONDITIONS OVERVIEW Siberia’s summers are short, while winters are long and harsh. The annual average temperature is 0.5°C, and thick layers of snow remain on the ground for at least six months. CHALLENGE In 2017, GroundProbe was challenged by the owners of two coal mine sites in Southwestern Siberia, Chernigovets and Zarechnaya, […]
READ MOREBrazilian Mine Demonstrates the Importance of Radar to Guarantee Safety
RAPID RESPONSE TIME OVERVIEW On 10 September 2014, the Retiro do Sapecado tailings dam, owned by Herculano Mineração (Herculano Mining), failed, resulting in three fatalities and damage to three mine trucks and two excavators. Preliminary investigations indicated the accident was caused by a geological phenomenon (inversion of relief) caused by underground channels. CHALLENGE Following the […]
READ MORERisk Reduction Strategy Incorporates Tailings Dam Monitoring at Samarco Mine
RISK REDUCTION OVERVIEW The collapse of the Fundão tailings dam in Mariana, Brazil in November 2015 resulted in the catastrophic loss of life and caused severe environmental, social and economic impacts. Taking immediate action to ensure ongoing safety, stability and ultimately avoid the possibility of a future failure, mine owners Samarco Mineração S.A. commissioned an […]
READ MOREOptimising Coal Recovery in a Time of Declining Coal Prices at PT Bayan Resources Tbk
OPTIMISING COAL RECOVERY IN A TIME OF DECLINING COAL PRICES “The deployment of the slope stability systems at our key mine sites has empowered our geotechnical staff to be proactive in the communication of timely, accurate and reliable slide movement information to our mine safety, operations and production teams.” – Warren Tamblyn, Manager Mine Geotechnical […]
READ MORE