Evaluation and Remediation of an Abandoned Gypsum Mine
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 4
Abstract
The remediation measures taken for an abandoned gypsum mine in the Italian Alps are presented. The mine consists of four levels, excavated by the room-and-pillar method in an evaporitic formation. The two lower levels were flooded by water coming from adjacent strata after mining ended about 30 years ago. The dissolution process affecting the submerged pillars can jeopardize the long term stability of the entire mine. An overview of the problem is given, and experimental results of dissolution tests are shown. An analytical model developed to simulate the laboratory data is applied to determine the time to failure of the mine. It is demonstrated that the expected collapse time is relatively short. Remedial measures consisting of chamber filling with an appropriate mixture of cement, water, and silty clay are proposed. A theoretical analysis of their effects in delaying time to failure and minimizing its consequences is presented. The analysis allowed the optimal mechanical characteristics of the filling mixture to be determined. The results of a full-scale field test to check the validity of the remedial action are highlighted.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The paper is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Giuseppe Regazzoni, mayor of the municipality of Santa Brigida, for his efforts in convincing the regional authorities to finance the rehabilitation project. The help of Mrs. May and Mr. Spada in getting the financial support for this work is also gratefully acknowledged, as well as the contribution of Dr. Eleni Gerolymatou to the analysis of failure time and effect of remedial measures.
References
Auvray, C., Homand, F., and Sorgi, C. (2004). “The aging of gypsum in underground mines.” Eng. Geol. (Amsterdam), 74, 183–196.
Bell, F. (1978). “The physical and mechanical properties of the Fell Sandstones Northumberland England.” Eng. Geol. (Amsterdam), 12, 1–29.
Bertolini, L., Carsana, M., and Spada, M. (2010). “Filling a flooded gypsum mine with a flowable soil-cement mix.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., to be published.
Bieniawski, Z. T. (1967). “The mechanism of brittle fracture in rock: Part I—Theory of the fracture process.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 4, 395–404.
Castellanza, R., Crosta, G., Fusi, N., and Grizzetti, R. (2009). “Dissolution of evaporitic rocks: Implications on geomechanical behaviour.” Proc., Int. Conf. Eurock09, Rock Engineering in Difficult Ground Conditions—Soft Rocks and Karst, I. Vrkljan, ed., Taylor & Francis, London.
Deere, D. U., Hendron, A. J., Patton, F. D., and Cording, E. J. (1967). “Design of surface and near-surface construction in rock.” Proc., 8th Symp. on Rock Mechanics, Univ. of Minnesota, AIME, New York, 1966, 237–302.
Dobereiner, L., and De Freitas, M. (1986). “Geotechnical properties of weak sandstone.” Geotechnique, 36, 79–94.
El Shayeb, Y., Kounaili, S., Josien, J. -P., and Guerniffey, Y. (2001). “Towards the determination of surface collapse type over abandoned mines in the Lorraine iron basin.” Rock mechanics—A challenge for society, P. Särkkä and P. Eloranta, eds., Swets & Zeitlinger, Lisse, 819–824.
Gerolymatou, E., and Nova, R. (2008). “An analysis of chamber filling effects on the remediation of flooded gypsum mines.” Rock Mech. Rock Eng., 41(3), 403–419.
Ghoreychi, M. (2006). “Coupled processes involved in post-mining.” Proc., Int. Symp. Eurock 2006 Multiphysics Coupling and Long-Term Behaviour in Rock Mechanics, A. Van Cotthem, R. Charlier, J. F. Thimus, and J. P. Tshibangu, eds., Taylor & Francis, London, 45–53.
Green, W., and Ampt, G. (1911). “Studies on soil physics. 1: The flow of air and water through soils.” J. Agric. Sci., 4, 1–24.
Hoek, E., and Diederichs, M. S. (2006). “Empirical estimation of rock mass modulus.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 43, 203–215.
Hoke, G., and Turcotte, D. (2004). “The weathering of stones due to dissolution.” Environ. Geol., 46, 305–310.
Jahns, H. (1966). “Measuring the strength of rock in situ at an increasing scale.” Proc., 1st Int. Congress on Rock Mechanics, ISRM, Lisbon, 1, 477–482.
Jeng, F., Weng, M., Lin, M., and Huang, T. (2004). “Influence of petrographic parameters on geotechnical properties of tertiary sandstones from Taiwan.” Eng. Geol. (Amsterdam), 73, 71–91.
Kasim, M., and Shakoor, A. (1996). “An investigation of the relationship between uniaxial compressive strength and degradation for selected rock types.” Eng. Geol. (Amsterdam), 44, 213–227.
Lin, M., Jeng, F., Tsai, L., and Huang, T. (2005). “Wetting weakening of tertiary sandstones—Microscopic mechanism.” Environ. Geol., 48, 265–275.
Obert, L., and Duvall, I. W. (1967). Rock mechanics and the design of structures in rock, Wiley, New York, 542–545.
Philip, J. R. (1969). “Theory of infiltration.” Adv. Hydrosci., 5, 215–296.
Pratt, H. R., Black, A. D., Brown, W. S., and Brau, W. F. (1972). “The effect of specimen size on the mechanical properties of unjointed diorite.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 9, 513–516.
Sakamoto, A., Yamada, N., Sugiura, K., and Hamada, M. (2005). “An integrated cavity filling technique for abandoned underground room and pillar lignite mines and underground quarries.” Proc., Post-Mining (CD-ROM) ASGA, Nancy, France, 16–17.
Singh, M. M. (1981). Strength of rock: Physical properties of rock and minerals, McGraw-Hill, New York, 81–121.
Sorgi, C., and Watelet, J. M. (2009). “Fenomeni di degrado e rischio di crollo nelle cave di gesso abbandonate: L’esperienza francese.” Proc., Workshop: Siti Minerari Dismessi e Fenomeni di Degrado in Rocce Evaporitiche, R. Nova and R. Castellanza, eds. Patron, Bologna, Italy, 41–59.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 4 • April 2010
Pages: 629 - 639
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 21, 2008
Accepted: Sep 11, 2009
Published online: Sep 14, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2010
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.