A Case Study of Potential Geologic Factors Affecting the Occurrence of Massive Ground Collapses at an Underground Limestone Mine in Southwestern Pennsylvania

Details

• Personal Author:
  Anderson T ; Evanek N ; Iannacchione, Anthony T.
• Description:
  Five massive ground collapses have occurred in underground limestone mines in the United States between 2015 to 2021, with two of the collapses occurring at a single mine. Preliminary investigations have been focused on pillar geometry. The effect of the variable strength and thickness of the overlying strata have yet to be analyzed. The strength and thickness of the overlying strata are potentially influenced by the structural features and the stratigraphic characteristics of the strata above the areas where massive collapses are occurring. This paper reviews some of these features and characteristics observed in a mine in southwestern Pennsylvania, where a more recent massive ground collapse has occurred. This operation is one of many mining the Loyalhanna Limestone using underground room-and-pillar methods. The conditions observed at this site help better understand how geologic structure contributes to the massive ground collapses at other current and future mining operations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Ground Control Ground Falls Ground Stability Limestone Mines Limestone Mining Pillar Mechanics Strata Control Underground Mines Underground Mining
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066972
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the 41st International Conference on Ground Control in Mining (ICGCM 2022), July 26-28, 2022, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Englewood, CO: Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME), 2022 Jul; :1-10
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the 41st International Conference on Ground Control in Mining (ICGCM 2022), July 26-28, 2022, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:16ba8eaad9c8b74e375d7dd2b3fade8843aa214307764b22967e348f889c0be7bcb807fda49b9dc87e559f4ec6e8ab08c0e4a08f4f6ce40f434a903e8317b971
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215545/cdc_215545_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.16 MB ]