Numerical Modelling

Definition of the undercutting geometry and size is an essential aspect of the design of a block and panel caving operation. Both geometry and size need to be properly established to guarantee the initiation and the development of sustainable propagation of the caving process Read more... about Influence of the undercut height on the behaviour of pillars at the extraction level in block and panel caving operations

Arenal Deeps is an Au mine located near Minas de Corrales, Uruguay, which was exploited via an open pit operation from 2004 until 2009 and underground since then, using both inclined room and pillar and transversal stoping methods. The progression of mining activities (down to ~320m BGS) has led Read more... about Application of numerical methods to underground excavations

Buenos Aires, Argentina, is expanding it’s metro network. Some 22 km of new tunnels and a number of metro stations have been constructed between 1998 and 2011, and three new lines including 20 km of tunnels are scheduled for construction in the near future. During these years, construction Read more... about Evolution of construction processes for metro stations in Argentina

A constitutive model to describe the mechanical behavior of sands under monotonic loading throughout the stress and strain range of engineering interest is presented. The model uses pressure-dependent elasticity, a three-invariant version of the Murata-Miura yield loci for plastic compression, Read more... about A constitutive model for sands: Evaluation of predictive capability

Groundwater inflow to open-pit and underground mines creates significant impacts both on mine operations and on the environment. Issues that commonly need to be addressed at different stages of engineering or environmental/ permitting studies include: (a) Engineering and economic risks Read more... about Use of Numerical Groundwater Modelling for Mine Dewatering Assessment

Water is a key component in the development of the mining industry; from potable water for human use to industrial water for mineral recovery. The rational and efficient use of water resources has became relevant in the evaluation and mine planning, since the exploration phase to closure, once Read more... about Groundwater Flow Modelling Applications in Mining: Scopes and Limitations

In 1998, shotcrete was used for the temporary support of a subway tunnel for the first time in Buenos Aires. The first author, consultant for the contractor, had developed a semiempirical method for the estimation of the structural support loads and used it to design the tunnel. The second Read more... about Fifteen years of experience with the estimation of structural loadings acting on temporary supports of tunnels in Buenos Aires