Chevron Mining, Inc. Highwall Slope Stability AAI has investigated various aspects of highwall stability at several pits at the Kemmerer Mine, including large-scale slope failure, wedge analysis, and most recently, rockfall risk assessment. Alternative catch bench and berm designs were evaluated using the statistical CRSP program and numerical UDEC models. Both programs were calibrated using [...]
Slope Stability
West Elk Mine—Somerset, CO AAI has provided underground geotechnical engineering services to Mountain Coal Company’s West Elk Mine since the 1980s. Services include installation of geotechnical instrumentation, in-situ stress measurements, laboratory rock properties testing, periodic ground control reviews, pillar and barrier sizing analysis, shield size specification, geotechnical characterization for shaft design, subsidence evaluation, and geological [...]
Longwall Optimization In 1997, AAI conducted three studies for West Ridge prior to mine development. The first study addressed longwall panel orientation based on local fracture mapping, conducted by AAI, and a review of local and regional geologic data. The second report dealt with preliminary gateroad design and pillar sizing. The third report described mine [...]
Geotechnical Evaluation and Longwall Feasibility AAI performed geotechnical and economic evaluations for the feasibility study of longwall mining at the Trapper Mine for Mencon, LLC. A geotechnical evaluation was conducted for the purpose of (1) identifying geotechnical hazards to longwall mining and (2) establishing geotechnical parameters for mine design. The tasks of the geotechnical program [...]
