Abstract
This paper reviews the site investigation field data and access work performed between 2016 and 2019 in the study area located close to Gun-dong mine. The research was aimed at defining the cause of sinkholes and their relationship with the underlying karstic limestone bedrock and nearby mining activities. Only a limited number of small sinkholes appeared in 2014, 2016, and 2018 in the agricultural land close to the limestone mine. The previously open pit mine started its underground operations in 2007. Since then, the mine has developed, and is now comprised of, large underground excavations at several levels below the surface. The studies carried out concluded that the appearance of sinkholes may be related to a general lowering of the groundwater table because of nearby agricultural and mining activities and also due to over-extraction of water due to increased urban use. Whilst these are the best determinations, this paper identifies missing elements of the previous investigations mentioned above, some issues with the interpretation of poorly prepared borehole logs and the improper preservation of borehole cores. The authors make recommendations for a systematic approach for implementation of an investigation strategy. This paper concludes that the appearance of sinkholes is a natural phenomenon, developing over geological time. However, human intervention contributes to sinkhole formation, which in urban areas may result in human, property, and economic losses. A better understanding, based on a methodical approach and suitable technologies, can determine the causes of sinkholes and can lead to the formulation of solutions and the implementation of economically and socially acceptable mitigation measures.
Highlights
A sinkhole is usually defined as a collapse of sediments overlying bedrock or a depression in the ground formed as result of soil migration or leaching into underlying rock mass containing open fractures or cavities formed naturally due to karst development in carbonate rocks, such as limestone and dolomite, or due to mining activity
2008, carried out investigations using electrical resistivity methods to investigate the first small subsidence over a large area observed in the area
Additional boreholes (BH7, BH8, BH9 and BH10) were drilled to confirm the possible presence of the cavities indicated in the electrical resistivity survey
Summary
A sinkhole is usually defined as a collapse of sediments overlying bedrock (overburden) or a depression in the ground formed as result of soil migration or leaching into underlying rock mass containing open fractures or cavities formed naturally due to karst development in carbonate rocks, such as limestone and dolomite, or due to mining activity. Collapse of open voids in rock results in the formation of sinkholes [1]. Sinkhole occurrence is a global phenomenon associated with geological processes. Large sinkholes and subsidence can impact the topography of the region [2], the groundwater regime, cave
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