Control Measures
The blue area of activities in the flowchart describes the control measures (Figure 48) that can be implemented to mitigate the seismic hazard, as defined in the previous eight steps of the process. Ground support and exposure controls aim at mitigating the consequences of seismic activity. These techniques are employed in all seismically-active mines. Changes in mine design and conditioning the rock mass aim to reduce the seismic hazard. These controls are generally more difficult to apply but, in some cases, can be very efficient in reducing seismic risk.
Figure 48 Flowchart of the seismic risk management process emphasing the data collection activities
Gap#3; Ground support: It is generally accepted that the best of current ground support systems cannot survive events of Richter Magnitude exceeding ~MR 3.
How to fill the gap: Development of new and more energy absorbent ground support systems.
Gap#4; Precursors to large seismic events: Current exposure control techniques rely mainly on simple indicators such as changes in event rates, with relatively low success.
How to fill the gap: New approaches, integrating mining, geotechnical and seismic data to evaluate the seismic response of the rock mass needs to be investigated.
