Mine Slope and Subsidence Monitoring Partnership

This partnership investigates the use of existing stability/subsidence monitoring technologies used in the mining and quarry industries and evaluates the potential for early instability detection design. Approaches, results, and practices are shared to facilitate safety benefits throughout the mining industry.

Upcoming meetings

• June 12, 2023
  

Past meetings

• None

Charter

[revised 7/24/2023]

Purpose and Goals

The evolution of real-time geotechnical monitoring at mining operations has progressed rapidly in the last few decades, with recent efforts largely focusing on improving safety performance and predicting the onset of instability that could endanger personnel and equipment. The effectiveness of monitoring systems, and monitoring programs in general, hinge on the appropriateness of mine-specific alarm thresholds that are selected by mine personnel.

In response to this, the Mine Slope and Subsidence Monitoring partnership investigates the use of existing stability/subsidence monitoring technologies used in the mining and quarry industries and evaluate the potential for early instability detection design. The mission of this partnership is to facilitate sharing of best practices with regards to the use of these technologies in order to conduct and disseminate impactful research that benefits the mining industry as a whole. The knowledge gained within this partnership will improve the research impact of NIOSH as well as diversify and expand its partnerships.

The partnership is neither constituted to carry out negotiated rulemaking; nor to function as a federal advisory committee. The specific goals of the partnership are as follows:

• Work toward solutions to issues related to successfully implementing proper slope/subsidence monitoring technology at mine sites
• • Develop and support best practices related to effective use of the monitoring technology.
  • Build relationships with researchers, engineers, and operators across federal agencies, and extramurally (e.g., universities, consultants, mining companies).
  • Identify related monitoring applications in mining projects and share work openly between groups.
  • Identify training needs and opportunities related to data collection and processing.
  • Look for collaboration points through organizations and societies associated with the mining industry.
  • Evaluate the success of the partnership on a regular basis.

The partnership will operate with the following principles:

• Use the latest and best available scientific methods and procedures in the accomplishment of the work.
• Work closely, openly, and in a spirit of cooperation with all organizations.

The short-term value of this partnership will be the opportunity to ask questions, hold discussions, and share experience and best practices for identifying applications of appropriate slope and subsidence monitoring technologies within the mining industry. The long-term value of this partnership will be increased guidance and documentation of geotechnical monitoring use from federal agencies; increased number of funded projects at universities investigating the use of proper monitoring technologies in the mining industry; and increased adaptation of monitoring technologies at mining operations to solve issues that otherwise may seemed infeasible.

Partnership Composition

The intended audiences of the partnership are researchers/engineers within the federal government, universities, and private sector that work to measure slope movement (displacement) and ground subsidence in support of safe operation of mine sites around the globe. This partnership is led by the NIOSH Mining Program, is supported by the MSHA Mine Waste & Geotechnical Engineering Division as well as the Roof Control Division and encourages involvement from partners both internal and external to the agency.

Related research projects

• Highwall Safety: Rockfall Catchment Design and Slope Performance Monitoring at Surface Mines and Quarries

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