Abstract
In the last decade, in the mining district of Zaruma-Portovelo, there has been significant land subsidence related to uncontrolled mining activity. The purpose of this work was to carry out a surface and underground geomechanical characterization of a mining sector north of the city of Zaruma that allows the definition of potentially unstable areas susceptible to the mass movement. The methodology used consists of the following stages: (i) compilation of previous studies; (ii) surface and underground characterization of rocky material to establish its susceptibility to mass movement; (iii) interpretation of results; and (iv) proposal of action measures. Among the most relevant results, it stands out that 26.1% of the 23 stations characterized on the surface present conditions that vary from potentially unstable to unstable. In underground galleries, the studied mean values of the 17 stations indicate that the rock has a medium to good quality, representing a medium susceptibility to gallery destabilization. The results obtained for the surface areas (depths up to 50 m, where altered materials predominate) and the underground areas (depths > 50 m, where the alterations are specific) can be used to identify the areas with a more significant potential for instability. For both cases, it has been possible to define specific monitoring, control, and planning actions for sensitive areas.
Highlights
IntroductionGeological events related to land instability (mass movements, rock falls, and subsidence) are natural phenomena conditioned, fundamentally, by soil and rock properties, Sustainability 2021, 13, 3272
The data collected in surface outcrops made it possible to determine the primary lithology
The application of the evaluation processes used allowed the zoning of areas with a potential risk of land instability in the mining environment of Zaruma
Summary
Geological events related to land instability (mass movements, rock falls, and subsidence) are natural phenomena conditioned, fundamentally, by soil and rock properties, Sustainability 2021, 13, 3272. The most notable thing is that these phenomena put people’s lives at risk [5,12] and cause irreversible environmental damage [8,9,13]. According to a number of studies [12,14,15], human activity has a notable influence on this geological phenomenon type, mainly due to the induced modifications in the land. In uncontrolled mines or without the due technical considerations, adverse effects can be caused in environmental aspects and ground instability [16,17,18,19].
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