Mr Jonathon JTaylor, Mr Robert GarnetMcCauley, Mr Josip Balaban, Mr Paul Gpalmer
Physical mine hazards typically include mine openings to surface (shafts, raises, adits, etc.), near surface mine workings (i.e., crown pillars), waste rock piles, and tailings storage facilities. Depending on the accessibility and stability of these physical hazards they can present varying degrees of risk to the general public and may result in damage to property, injury, or even fatality. Often the risks associated with these hazards, if left un-rehabilitated, increase with time. What might have once been considered a low risk situation during operations or directly after closure, can become a higher risk if the stability degrades over years and/or decades. In Ontario, preventing inadvertent access and protecting openings or potential subsidence from the public are the primary focus of rehabilitation solutions for physical mine hazards. The successful investigation, assessment of risk, and rehabilitation related to these types of hazards often requires a multidisciplinary team. The integration of this expertise often results in innovative solutions for complex physical mine hazard rehabilitation. Recent rehabilitation project experiences have shown that using various investigation methods can greatly assist in assessing the long term stability and developing an overall property rehabilitation strategy that considers all of the physical mine hazards on a site. Strong coordination between the various disciplines will result in an optimized rehabilitation strategy, avoiding duplication of cost and effort. This presentation will discuss some of the methods of investigation, risk assessments and rehabilitation strategies employed in the successful closure of number of mine hazard projects located within communities and remote locations. There will be a focus on unique rehabilitation strategies that were applied to specific circumstances where standard practices could not be applied.
