A decade of ground support research at the WA School of Mines

Mining in Western Australia during the next two decades or so will be approaching depths in which the induced stress regimes will approach the strength of the rock masses surrounding excavations. In such conditions, failure may occur violently due to the energy stored within the rock masses. Furthermore, in those highly stressed regions of a rock mass, sudden slip on major structures in the vicinity of the excavations are more likely to occur with an associated release of energy in the form of pressure and shear waves that excite the rock near the boundaries of excavations. In order to be prepared for such scenarios, and to ensure safe and economical excavations in the future, the Western Australian School of Mines (WASM) and a number of sponsoring companies have conceptualised and undertaken a number of research projects in ground support technology. The projects range from static and dynamic laboratory testing of support and reinforcement elements to in situ field testing and assessments of ground support corrosivity. The backgrounds for each of the stabilisation research projects at WASM have been summarised together with details of the methodology, current status, practical applications and future work.