Mining-induced earthquakes pose a risk to workers in deep mines, while natural earthquakes pose a risk to people living close to plate boundaries and even in stable continental regions. A 5-year Japan-SA collaborative project "Observational studies in South African mines to mitigate seismic risks" was launched in 2010. Here we report on progress since the report at Geosynthesis 2011 in Cape Town. Acoustic emission sensors, accelerometers, strainmeters, and controlled seismic sources have been installed at sites in Cooke, Moab-Khotsong and Sibanye gold mines to monitor the deformation of the rock mass, the accumulation of damage during the earthquake preparation phase, and dynamic stress as the rupture front propagates. These data are being integrated with measurements of stress, stope closure, stope strong motion, and seismic data recorded by the mine-wide network.
Reference:
Durrheim, RJ, Ogasawara, H, Nakatani, M, Yabe, Y, Milev, AM, Cichowicz, A, Kawakata, H, Moriya,H, Naoi, M, Kgarume, T and Murakami, O. 2013. Observational studies in South African mines to mitigate seismic risks: a mid-project progress report. Proceedings of the 13th SAGA Biennial and 6th AEM Conferences, Skukuza, Kruger National Park, South Africa, 6-9 October 2013, pp 1-4
Durrheim, R., Ogasawara, H., Nakatani, M., Yabe, Y., Milev, A., Cichowicz, A., ... Murakami, O. (2013). Observational studies in South African mines to mitigate seismic risks: a mid-project progress report. South African Geophysical Association. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/8119
Durrheim, RJ, H Ogasawara, M Nakatani, Y Yabe, AM Milev, A Cichowicz, H Kawakata, et al. "Observational studies in South African mines to mitigate seismic risks: a mid-project progress report." (2013): http://hdl.handle.net/10204/8119
Durrheim R, Ogasawara H, Nakatani M, Yabe Y, Milev A, Cichowicz A, et al, Observational studies in South African mines to mitigate seismic risks: a mid-project progress report; South African Geophysical Association; 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/8119 .