Use of mining and seismological parameters as premonitors of rockbursts

Abstract Comprising one of the deepest mines in the world, the gold mining region of the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) in southern India is known to be confronted with the acute problem of rockbursts that pose a hazard to workmen and cause disruptions in the production schedule. In combination with mining parameters, seismological data of these rockbursts events systematically monitored over the years using a regional seismic network have been employed to examine and model premonitory characteristics of the events. Linear empirical relations are established relying on correlations seen between the seismic energy released due to a rockburst, total tonnage of ore mined out and total number of rockbursts, as well as seismic events in some shallow and deep workings currently active at KGF. The deterministic model, although not free from certain limitations at present, has been applied to predict rockburst activity with some success.