THE AUSTRALIAN Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) says that it has been working with the CSIRO to adapt the technique of microseismics for use in coal mines.
Microseismics is routinely used in hard-rock mines as a hazard-management tool for rockbursts. Its use in coal, however, has been limited by the challenges of seismic propagation in a coal environment.
Application of microseismics to providing warnings of roof-weighting, wind blast, and other caving issues has been demonstrated, along with potential for monitoring fault movement, and gas flow though fractures. However, this work has always involved manual processing of the data, resulting in long delays before results were available. Realising the potential of microseismic monitoring will require the automation of processing, so that results can be made available in near-real-time.
A real-time system benefits a mine by enabling a forewarning to be given of face and roadway roof instability, allowing proactive measures to be taken to prevent fall of ground. The economic implications are significant: A longwall stoppage due to geotechnical problems can cost a mine around a million dollars a day, so the detection and prevention of a major fall could save several million dollars.The researchers says that the primary objective of this project was to develop a prototype real-time microseismic monitoring system for strata control management and forewarning of geotechnical hazards.
The group says that most of the problems preventing routine use of seismic monitoring have been successfully addressed.
The final report is available from the ACARP web site.
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