Elk Creek Geotechnical Program Agapito Associates, Inc. (AAI) has been involved in long-term geotechnical investigation and design at the Oxbow Mining, LLC, Elk Creek Mine, dating back to the pre-development phase. Services provided by AAI include horizontal stress measurement, numerical modeling of seam interaction, rock mechanics testing, and mine-wide roof and floor characterization. Future mining involves [...]
Project Summaries: Instrumentation
Weeminuche Construction Authority After detailed design of cable trenches and final instrument specifications included as part of the instrument procurement process, AAI mobilized a field crew to the Ridges Basin Dam sight in June of 2005 to drill the boreholes and install the first piezometers and the inclinometer into the foundation rock at the bottom [...]
Instrumentation Installation The field work at the Kimballton Mine in Ripplemeade, Virginia, includes NX sample coring of the roof and floor of the 15E level of the mine, USBM-method overcore stress measurements, and installation of Geokon mupltiple-position borehole extensometers (MPBXs). An NX sample core hole was drilled through the ore zone and into the footwall [...]
Agapito Associates, Inc. (AAI) was contracted to conduct an investigation of a mine roof fall, review repair procedures, develop instrumentation recommendations, suggest modifications to blasting practices to improve blast round performance, and conduct regular follow-up reviews of mining operations. Ground control inspections were performed, ground support and monitoring recommendations developed, and ground control instrumentation monitored.
Longwall Gateroad Analysis AAI performed a comparative stability evaluation for the East Longwall Panel 8 Gateroads. Four different gateroads were analyzed, including three- and four-entry layouts. Analyses were performed using SALT4 and EXPAREA, both of which can model time-dependent salt behavior. SALT4 was used for two-dimensional analyses of gateroad profile stresses, while EXPAREA was used [...]
Carbondale, Illinois Agapito Associates, Inc. (AAI) was commissioned by Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC) to measure the three-dimensional in-situ stress state using the overcoring method and CSIRO Hollow Inclusion Stress Cells (HI cells) at three Peabody Energy coal mines: the Foidel Creek Mine, Twentymile Coal Company, located in Oak Creek, Colorado; the Francisco Mine [...]
West Ridge Resources, Inc. (WRRI) commissioned Agapito Associates, Inc. (AAI) to analyze subsidence potential from planned longwall mining in the vicinity of the Grassy Trail reservoir adjacent to the West Ridge Mine in Whitmore Canyon in 2004. The reservoir and earthen dam were constructed in the late 1950s and are a principal water source for [...]
Solution Mining of Nahcolite Natural Soda took over operations at White River Nahcolite in 2003. AAI has continued to support the operations in permitting, ground control, cavern development, and subsidence monitoring. To monitor potential caving above the solution mine caverns, AAI has installed TDR cables and monitored the response as solution mining has progressed.
Parsons Corporation-Colorado Department of TransportationIn 2010, Agapito Associates, Inc. (AAI) provided support to Parsons Corporation in preparing a plan to rehabilitate cross passage 5 in the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Hanging Lake Tunnel near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. As part of that evaluation, AAI mobilized core-drilling equipment to characterize the ground conditions behind the shotecrete lining [...]
Dominion Generation AAI completed drilling, foundation permeability, and unconfined compressive strength/density testing along with an instrumentation program on behalf of Dominion Generation (Dominion) at the Roanoke Rapids concrete dam. The principal purpose of the program was to drill core holes in various sections of the concrete dam, install geotechnical instrumentation, and complete permeability testing on [...]
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 [...]
BHP Billiton AAI contracted to BHP Billiton to procure, install, and assist in monitoring the geotechnical instrumentation in and adjacent to the first longwall panel mined at the San Juan Mine. BHP Billiton provided the design of the instrument arrays to be used and worked closely with AAI engineers and technicians to establish the technical [...]
Gannett Fleming In April 2007, Agapito Associates, Inc. (AAI) mobilized to Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, to provide core drilling services, complete stress determinations using the USBM BDG method, make borehole images, and install instrumentation for Gannett Fleming at Dominion Generation’s Roanoke Rapids Dam. Tasks included: Drill two 6-inch-diameter core holes vertically through the dam [...]
Canyon Fuel Company Longwall Mining—Shield Support Densities AAI has performed a full range of geotechnical analyses for SUFCO in support of their longwall operations, including pillar design, longwall shield support evaluations, and subsidence analyses. SUFCO currently mines with two-legged 970-T Joy shields in the Pines Tract (Upper Hiawatha Seam) under nominally 1,000 ft of cover. [...]
Numerous projects have been performed for Andalex. A technical review and recommendations were presented on the feasibility of converting mining operations in three seams from room-and-pillar to longwall. The project included reviews of the geologic setting, lithology, structure, and longwall mineable reserves, as well as evaluation of mine ventilation plan, methane control, ground control plan, [...]
