Seventh International Conference & Exhibition on

Mass Mining – MassMin 2016

Paper Number: 83.00

Rehabilitation of the Collapsed Panel 1K North in Deep

Ore Zone (DOZ) Block Cave Mine, PT. Freeport
Indonesia
A Kurniawan1, A Sjadat2 and M Akhasyah3

1. Geotechnical Engineer, PT. Freeport Indonesia

2. Geotechnical Engineer, PT. Freeport Indonesia

3. Micro Seismic Engineer, PT. Freeport Indonesia

ABSTRACT
PT. Freeport Indonesia, Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) is a block cave mining operation which has been in
production for 14 years. The DOZ is located approximately 900 metres below surface with an average
production rate of more than 60,000 tons per day. The footprint of the Extraction Level will ultimately be 900
metres long and average more than 200 metres wide. The Undercut Level is located 20 metres above the
Extraction Level.
While developing Panel 1K on the northern portion of the Extraction Level, a major geotechnical problem
was encountered when there was a change in lithology and an associated fault intersection. This
geologically structured portion of the drift’s hangingwall was where a large collapse of the hangingwall
occurred between February and March 2011. This was immediately followed by a collapse of one of the
Undercut Level drifts directly above the Extraction Level in May 2011.
It was suggested that the best approach, in order to mitigate the risk during rehabilitation, was to
systematically open up the failed area under the protection of steel set support system. In order to achieve
this goal, approximately 60 tonnes of concrete was injected from the undercut level to fill the voids created
when the rockwall beam between the two levels failed. A Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system was
used to survey the effectiveness of the remedial concrete barrier’s condition before and after the introduction
of concrete. After the concrete injection phase was completed to a satisfactory level of confidence,
rehabilitation activities then started on the Extraction Level by taking out the now consolidated rock from
inside of the drift in small advances from under steel sets initially constructed in secure ground.
Controlled blasting was possibly the key aspect to the success of the initiative to open up just enough of the
drift in order systematically support the rockwalls before the next set was installed. The systematic support
installed consists of in-cycle shotcrete sprayed over mesh pinned with splitsets as best as possible into the
open rockwalls before spilling the next advance’s protection canopy with threadbars. Once secure the final
support was a robust installation of steel set and concrete and, in so doing, prepared a safe platform to
repeat this process until the failed zone was safely traversed.