The effect of protective pillars on the deformation of mine shafts

Abstract

Mine shafts have traditionally been protected by leaving the ore in the immediate surroundings of the shafts in place as a pillar. Empirical rules are used to determine the dimensions of these protective pillars. The face element principle introduced by Salamon has been used to compute functions which express the influence of mining in a horizontal seam on the rock mass above it. Values have been calculated for the tilt, distortion, horizontal and vertical strain, curvature, and vertical stress along a shaft for various values of Poisson's ratio, seam depth, pillar radius, mining geometry, and closure over the mined area. The results are compared with those obtained using empirical ideas, particularly the angle of draw concept in determining pillar size. It appears that the depth of the seam is of major significance and that no pillar is needed for the protection of a shaft when the mined seam is beyond a certain depth. On the other hand it is possible, at all depths, to replace the protective action of a shaft pillar by other mining schemes. A significant amount of information which has been published on experience gained during the mining of shaft pillars tends to indicate that in many mines shaft pillars are excessively large.