• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.781-792
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• 2020

Mine tailings, which are inevitably formed by the development of manganese nodules, manganese crusts, and hydrothermal seafloor deposits, have attracted attention because of their quantity and potential toxicity. However, there is a lack of data on the quantity of mine tailings being generated, their physicochemical properties, and their effects as environmental hazards and on marine ecosystems in general. The importance of treating mine tailings in an environmentally friendly manner has been recognized recently and related reduction/treatment methods are being considered. In the case of deep-sea mineral resource development, if mine tailings cannot be treated aboard a ship, the issue becomes one of the cost of transporting them to land and solving the problem of environmental pollution there. Therefore, the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology conducted research on the harmfulness of mine tailings, their effect on marine ecosystem, the diffusion model of contaminated particles, and candidate purification treatment technologies based on five representative controlling factors: 1) effects of pollution /on the environment, 2) effects of environmental/ biological hazards, 3) diffusion of particles, 4) mineral dressings, and 5) reducing/processing mine tailings. The results of this study can provide a basis for minimizing environmental problems by providing scientific evidences of the environmental effects of mine tailings. In addition, it is also expected that these results could be applied to the treatment of pollutants of different origins and at land-based mining waste sites.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.551-564
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• 2020

High-stress and complex geological conditions impose great challenges to maintain excavation stability during deep underground mining. In this research, large anisotropic deformation and its management by support system at a deep underground mine in Western Australia were simulated through three-dimensional finite-difference model. The ubiquitous-joint model was used and calibrated in FLAC3D to reproduce the deformation and failure characteristics of the excavation based on the field monitoring results. After modeling verification, the roles of mining depth also the intercept angle between excavation axis and foliation orientation on the deformation and damage were studied. Based on the results, quantitative relationships between key factors and damage classifications were presented, which can be used as an engineering tool. Subsequently, the performance of support system installation sequences was simulated and compared at four different scenarios. The results show that, first surface support and then reinforcement installation can obtain a better controlling effect. Finally, the influence of bolt spacing and ring spacing were also discussed. The outcomes obtained in this research may play a meaningful reference for facing the challenges in thin-bedded or foliated ground conditions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.809-828
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• 2016

In deep open pit mines, slope stability is very important. Particularly, increasing the depths increase the risks in mines having weak rock mass. Blasting operations in this type of open pits may have a negative impact on slope stability. Several or combination of methods can be used in order to enable better analysis in this type of deep open-pit mines. Numerical modeling is one of these options. Many complex problems can be integrated into numerical methods at the same time and analysis, solutions can be performed on a single model. Rock failure criterions and rock models are used in numerical modeling. Hoek-Brown and Mohr-Coulomb terms are the two most commonly used rock failure conditions. In this study, mine planning and discontinuity conditions of a lignite mine facing two big landslides previously, has been investigated. Moreover, the presence of some damage before starting the study was identified in surrounding structures. The primary research of this study is on slope study. In slope stability analysis, numerical modeling methods with Hoek-Brown and Mohr-Coulomb failure criterions were used separately. Preparing the input data to the numerical model, the outcomes of patented-blast vibration minimization method, developed by co-author was used. The analysis showed that, the model prepared by applying Hoek-Brown failure criterion, failed in the stage of 10. However, the model prepared by using Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion did not fail even in the stage 17. Examining the full research field, there has been ongoing production in this mine without any failure and damage to surface structures.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.335-346
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• 1991

It is observed that calcareous nodules of the Hwajeol Formation are locally skarnized in the Sangdong district, in which the skarn mineralization extends 5 Km westward from the Sangdong mine area to the Hwajeolchi area. After a hidden granite beneath the Sangdong mine was discovered by exploration drillings, the exploration teams of the Sangdong mine and the Korean Mining Promotion Corporation have assumed that the skarn nodule of the Hwajeol Formation was derived from emplacement of a granite in deep place and the occurrence of hidden ore bodies below the skarn, and they have discovered high grades of tungsten orebody in the same horizon of the Sangdong ore body. Mutual genetic relatioships between epidote and garnet may be explained by following chemical reactions $Ca_2FeA_{12}$ $Si_3O_{12}(OH)+CaCO_3=Ca_3(Fe,\;Al)_2$ $SiO_{12}+1/2CO_2+1/2H^+Ca_3FeSi_3O_{12}+SiO_2+CO_2=2CaFeSi_{12}O_6+CaCO_3+1/2O_3$. It is concluded that epidote and garnet are useful as target minerals indicating a potential occurrence of deep seated hidden ore body. Since the epidote may inform the emplacement of the granite, while the garnet in the skarn nodule of the Hwajeol Formation may reflect a strong hydrothermal mineralization taking place from the depth.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.23-41
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• 2023

Coupled thermo-hydraulic-mechanical (THM) processes are essential for the long-term performance of deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste. In this study, a numerical sensitivity analysis was performed to analyze the effect of rock properties on THM responses after the execution of the heater test at the Kamaishi mine in Japan. The TOUGH-FLAC simulator was applied for the numerical simulation assuming a continuum model for coupled THM analysis. The rock properties included in the sensitivity study were the Young's modulus, permeability, thermal conductivity, and thermal expansion coefficients of crystalline rock, rock salt, and clay. The responses, i.e., temperature, water content, displacement, and stress, were measured at monitoring points in the buffer and near-field rock mass during the simulations. The thermal conductivity had an overarching impact on THM responses. The influence of Young's modulus was evident in the mechanical behavior, whereas that of permeability was noticed through the change in the temperature and water content. The difference in the THM responses of the three rock type models implies the importance of the appropriate characterization of rock mass properties with regard to the performance assessment of the deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.279-282
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• 2002

In this study, mine tailing buffer zone in cathode was used to overcome precipitation of heavy metals that reducing remediation efficiency during electrokinetic remediation. Test results showed that heavy metal transportation affected by initial soil pH which was verified through traditional test and enhanced test with two type of soils. With mine tailing enhanced method 39% of extraction rate was achieved in surface soil and significant transportation trend was observed in deep soil.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.439-451
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• 2018

The stress path characteristics of surrounding rock in the formation of gob were analysed and the unloading was solved. Taking Chengchao Iron Mine as the engineering background, the model for analysing the instability of deep gob was established based on the mechanism of stress relief in deep mining. The energy evolution law was investigated by introducing the local energy release rate index (LERR), and the energy criterion of instability of surrounding rock was established based on the cusp catastrophe theory. The results showed that the evolution equation of the local energy release energy of the surrounding rock was quartic function with one unknown and the release rate increased gradually during the mining. The calculation results showed that the gob was stable. The LERR per unit volume of the bottom structure was relatively smaller, which mean the stability was better. The LERR distribution showed that there was main energy release in the horizontal direction and energy concentration in the vertical direction which meet the characteristics of deep mining. In summary, this model could effectively calculate the stability of surrounding rock in the formation of gob. The LERR could reflect the dynamic process of energy release, transfer and dissipation which provided an important reference for the study of the stability of deep mined out area.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.463-475
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• 2022

In the mine exploitation stage; one of the critical issues is the stability assessment of post-pillars. The instability of post-pillars leads to serious safety hazards in mining operations. The focus of this study is to assess the stability of post-pillars in the 130# stope in the central ore body at Trepça hard rock mine by employing both conventional (i.e., critical span curve) and numerical methods (i.e., FLAC3D). Moreover, a new numerical based index (i.e., Pillar Yield Ratio-PYR) was proposed. The aim of PYR index is to determine a border line between stable, potentially unstable, and failure state of post-pillars at a specific mine site. The critical value of pillar width to height ratio is 2.5 for deep production stopes (e.g., > 800 m). Results showed that pillar size, mining height and mining depth significantly have affected the post-pillar stability. The reliability of numerical based index (i.e., PYR) is verified based on empirical underground pillar stability graph developed by Lunder, 1994. The proposed pillar yield ratio index and pillar stability graph can be used as a design tool in new mining areas at Trepça hard rock mine and for other situations with similar geotechnical conditions.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.167-176
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• 2014

This paper proposes an optimum curve driving method for adeep-seabed mining robot(MineRo) in deep-sea soft ground. MineRo was designed as afour-row tracked vehicle. A study on the turning methods for the four-row tracked vehicle was conducted using three case by changing the velocity profile of each track. The configuration of the four-row tracked vehicle and soft ground equation are introduced, along with the dynamics analysis models of MineRo and soft ground, which were constructed using the commercial software DAFUL. Because the purpose of this study was to investigate a driving method on soft ground, the marine environment of the deep sea was not considered.

• Journal of Information Processing Systems
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.745-755
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• 2023

The wire rope is an indispensable production machinery in coal mines. It is the main force-bearing equipment of the underground traction system. Accurate detection of wire rope defects and positions exerts an exceedingly crucial role in safe production. The existing defect detection solutions exhibit some deficiencies pertaining to the flexibility, accuracy and real-time performance of wire rope defect detection. To solve the aforementioned problems, this study utilizes the camera to sample the wire rope before the well entry, and proposes an object based on YOLOv5. The surface small-defect detection model realizes the accurate detection of small defects outside the wire rope. The transfer learning method is also introduced to enhance the model accuracy of small sample training. Herein, the enhanced YOLOv5 algorithm effectively enhances the accuracy of target detection and solves the defect detection problem of wire rope utilized in mine, and somewhat avoids accidents occasioned by wire rope damage. After a large number of experiments, it is revealed that in the task of wire rope defect detection, the average correctness rate and the average accuracy rate of the model are significantly enhanced with those before the modification, and that the detection speed can be maintained at a real-time level.