Description of a Large Catastrophic Failure in a Southwestern Wyoming Trona Mine

Abstract

A large-scale collapse occurred in a room-and-pillar trona mine in southwestern Wyoming on February 3, 1995. An area measuring approximately 1 by 2 km (2800 by 7200 ft) collapsed abruptly without warning. This paper describes the resulting mine damage, airblast, gas emissions, and seismic event. The collapse is analyzed in terms of a cascading sequence of pillar-floor failure using established principles of failure stability. The dynamic nature of the failure is thought to stem from geological and mine geometry factors resulting in a "soft" pillar-loading system. While the specific mechanism initiating the collapse has not been identified conclusively, four candidate mechanisms are considered. Design methods to decrease the potential for large-scale collapse are summarized, and limitations in our ability to evaluate both the stability of old workings and long-term performance of new designs in this setting are described.

Department(s)

Mining Engineering

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

978-905809052-2

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2024 U. S. Rock Mechanics and Geomechanics Symposium, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 1999

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