Shaft collar in deep overburden - Aur Resources - - Louvicourt

Shaft collar in deep overburden - Aur Resources - Louvicourt

Originating Author: G.S. Martin R.C. Bryce Originating Contribution Logo:

Originally Published in: CIM Bulletin March 1994, Vol. 87, No 978

Aur Resources Inc. is the operator oj the Louvicourt Mine located 40 km east oj Val d'Or, Quebec. Les Entreprises Minieres Redpath LimiMe, a member oj the J.S. Redpath Group oj companies, was contracted to construct two vertical mine shaft collars in deep overburden. During the spring oj 1991 two vertical shajt collars were established in wet, running sand that was in ex-cess oj 20 m deep. This paper will illustrate the engineering and constroction techniques uSed in establishing these coUars and the methods used to overcome the various obstades that occurred during construction.

INTRODUCTION
The Louvicourt copper/zinc/gold/silver deposit is located 40 km east of Val d'Or, Quebec, is adjacent to the former Louvem Mine which operated at depths of 40 m to 850 m below surface (Fig. 1). This deposit was discovered in mid-1989 as the result of systematic exploration and diamond drilling based on a geological model. The Louvicourt project is operated by Aur Resources Inc. The property is being developed to produce 4000 t/d with an anticipated life of just over 17 years. Mill start up is scheduled for July 1, 1994, commercial production October 1, 1994, and full production by late 1995. The current production plan provides for 24 040 000 t averaging 3.890/0 copper, l.95% zinc, 0.039 oz gold per tonne and 0.99 oz silver per tonne, to be mined.

The Scope of Work

design engineering; clearing and backfilling suitable work areas at each of the two collars; establishing two circular slurry wall coffer dams from surface to bedrock through which the collars were excavated (Figs. 2-4); pressure grouting to control water inflows; overburden and rock excavation to obtain a collar depth of 33 m; and installation of concrete liners in both collars from the surface elevation to a depth of 30 m.

Shaft collar in deep overburden - Aur Resources - - Louvicourt

Site Investigations
Aur commissioned a local diamond drilling contractor to drill a pilot hole in the center of each shaft to determine the general geology of the area, ground conditions to be encountered and to confirm that ore would not be found in the shaft area. It was from this drilling that the sand seam was discovered at the exploration shaft site. Following negotiation of work, Redpath and Aur recognized the need fox: additional information on the bedrock profile . And nature of the material present at the bedrock! overburden contact. Further information was also required on the sand seam known to exist some 5 m below the bedrock surface (Fig. 5). Six to eight additional holes were drilled a minimum of 10 m into rock at each shaft site. Information obtained from the drilling program was plotted and analyzed. The bedrock is covered with some 20 m of wet running sand (Fig. 4). The bedrock itself is relatively flat but with undulations of up to 1.5 m present in the general area of the collars. Glacial till is present on top of the bedrock, in local areas, with depths of 300 mm being common. The surface topography is generally flat with a covering of approximately 1 m of organic vegetation and muskeg. Conifer trees populate most of the region. The east side of the property is bounded by an esker from which most of the fill material was obtained.

Method Analysis
Prior to finalizing a contract with Aur, Redpath performed an in-house study

Shaft collar in deep overburden - Aur Resources - - Louvicourt

3 on the various alternatives available to gain access to the bedrock. The alternatives included sheet steel piles, soldier piles with wood lagging, liner plate, and slurry wall construction. The sheet pile option was eliminated due to the risk involved in driving such long sheets and the added risk of not being able to penetrate the layer of till to obtain a satisfactory seal on the bedrock. The soldier pile and liner plate options were also eliminated due to the high risk of a run of material under the lagging or liner plate during installation. Consolidating the overburden by freezing techniques was also studied. It was eliminated because of the time required to implement the freeze and the cost of the program. The majority of construction methods studied would require the installation of a highly efficient and costly dewatering system. Slurry wall construction was selected as it posed the least over-all risk and a dewatering system would not be required. Petrifond Foundation Inc. of Montreal, Quebec was contacted and a contractual arrangement entered into for the construction of the slurry wall portion of the work.

Collar Construction
Slurry wall construction is not new. It originated in Italy during the 19408 and was first used in North America in 1957 [1]. Slurry wall construction involves digging a series of interlocking vertical walls from surface to bedrock using a bentonite slurry to support the excavated walls (Fig. 6). A conventional crane and a modified clam shell were used to excavate openings to bedrock. Any boulders encountered during excavation were either fished out using the clam shell or broken up using a massive drop hammer (chisel). The sequence of construction was to dig two walls (0.6 m by 2.4 m) side by side (referred to as a panel) to bedrock. As overburden was excavated bentonite slurry was pumped into the resulting opening. Once bedrock was reached, a

Shaft collar in deep overburden - Aur Resources - - Louvicourt massive chisel was used to chip a keyway into the surface of the bedrock. Using a combination of the modified clam shell and an air lift vacuum the keyway was cleaned of broken rock and other debris. Prefabricated cages of reinforcing steel were then lowered into the opening. Concrete was placed using the "Trernie" method. This method involves the displacement of the bentonite slurry by pouring concrete through a pipe extending to the bottom of the excavation. As the level of concrete rises trernie pipes are shortened; however, the bottom end of the pipe always remains in poured concrete to avoid mixing of bentonite and concrete. Panels were installed in an alternating fashion until a complete circle was developed. The joint between adjacent panels was constructed to obtain a mild keying effect; however, no reinforcing steel traversed the joint. The slot chipped into bedrock served as a keyway anchoring the. concrete wall to the bedrock. Upon completion of the circular concreted wall, overburden in the centre was removed in three-metre lifts using the crane and clam shell. The final reinforced concrete liner was placed (from the top down) in three-metre lifts alternating with the overburden excavation. When the excavation reached bedrock, construction of the concrete lining was suspended while a reinforced concrete curb ring was placed around the toe of the slurry wall (Fig. 9). Long resin grouted rebar was used to hold the concrete curb in position and minimize overbreak when initial rounds in the bedrock were blasted. Excavation of bedrock continued until sufficient depth was obtained to allow for placement of the concrete liner. This sequence of rock excavation and concreting continued until the final elevation was reached.

Grouting
During construction of both the production and exploration shaft collars, 100 mm diameter pipes were installed on 1.2 m centres in the slurry walls (Fig. 6). These pipes afforded easy access fordrilling (from surface) of grout holes deep into bedrock. The holes were then grouted using normal Portland cement and a microfine additive. Packers were used to allow for staged grouting of these holes from the bottom up. Contact between the slurry wall and bedrock was monitored for foreign material, voids, etc. during drilling and great care was taken to ensure that contact was sound. Grouting was timed so that it did not delay mucking and concrete lining of the collars. As part of the over-all grouting program the sand seam present in the exploration shaft collar was also grouted with normal Portland cement. Care was taken to ensure that all flows of wet running sand were stopped prior to terminating the surface grouting program.

Shaft collar in deep overburden - Aur Resources - - Louvicourt

The sand seam was approached with due caution when rock excavation proceeded (Fig. 5). Probe holes drilled from the shaft bottom into the seam indicated the presence of flowing water and sand. In an effort to curb a major inflow into the collar while blasting through the seam, both cement and chemical grouts were used. Grouting was discontinued when sand and water continued to flow into monitoring holes despite a comprehensive grouting program. After analyzing the risk involved in drilling and blasting into the seam without stemming the flow it was decided to institute a flash freezing program. Canadian Liquid Air was contacted and in less than five days liquid nitrogen was pumped into a manifold located around the perimeter of the shaft bottom (Figs. 7 and 8). Three days and six tankers of liquid nitrogen later. the seam was frozen to a point where drilling and blasting could resume. The seam was successfully crossed and the concrete shaft liner installed to stabilize the area. The 450 mm seam~ when exposed, encompassed the entire shaft bottom. Despite the flash freezing program water continued to flow in a localized area. This water was easily controlled by rerouting the water into a pipe inserted into the seam. There is little doubt that this collar would have suffered a severe setback had the decision not been made to flash freeze.

Jet Grouting
Excavation of overburden contained within the production shaft slurry wall proceeded without incident until close to bedrock. At this point a breech in

Shaft collar in deep overburden - Aur Resources - - Louvicourt

the centre of one panel of the slurry wall allowed some 200 m3 of wet sand to flow into the collar. This flow occurred within a matter of minutes. After evaluating several methods of correcting the situation it was decided to place a seal on the exterior of the wall. Two options were chosen: 1. series of 150 mm pipes drilled into bedrock to form a fence on the exterior of the wall; and 2. overburden on the exterior consolidated using grout placed by jet grouting techniques. The fastest and least costly option was to construct a fence made from ten pipes using a local water well driller. This option was abandoned after installing only one pipe. Turbulence in the interior of the collar caused by the drilling operation led us to believe that the breech may be more extensive than originally thought and continued drilling would trigger an additional inflow. A jet grouting rig was then mobilized by Petrifond and three test samples were placed in shallow overburden for retrieval later. A series of ten columns were placed at the location of the breech, each extending two meters above the bedrock (Fig. 10). These . columns of cement-consolidated overburden were allowed to cure. After 24 hours the test columns were dug up and examined. They were found to be well formed, approximately 750 mm in diameter, cured but easily fragmented with a small hammer. It was decided to resume excavation. At approximately the same location and elevation as the first run of wet sand, a second run occurred. The grouting rig was repositioned and the original columns were redone. Five additional columns were then placed directly behind the first to provide a double layer. Curing time was increased to 72 hours before excavation resumed. This time the seal held and bedrock was exposed. The breech, when exposed measured some 30 mm wide by 300 mm long. This opening was created by a small piece of overburden sloughing from the excavated wall during the concreting phase of the work. Consolidated overburden (from the jet grouting) was visible after cleaning the void. A minor amount of water flowing from the void was stopped by packing the opening with jute rope soaked in chemical grout.

Shaft collar in deep overburden - Aur Resources - - Louvicourt

Conclusions
Despite the problems that occurred in both collars this project was completed on time, within budget and without personnel injury. The owners recognized the major risks involved in a project of this nature and worked with a contractor with whom they were familiar. The owner and contractor jointly evaluated risks and potential for surprise and took these into consideration when planning, scheduling and budgeting. The slurry wall method of construction can, at first glance, appear to be costly. However, when full credit is given for minimal risk, time saved, and increased worker safety it is a viable alternative.

Recommendations
1. Perform extensive geotechnical and hydrogeological investigations prior to finalizing any plans or methods of construction. 2. Drill a pilot hole on the center of the shaft to learn the makeup and nature of the bedrock .. 3. Drill a minimum of three holes in the immediate area of the collar to determine bedrock profile. 4. Plan for surprises in budgets and schedules even when extensive site investigations have been undertaken 5. Ensure that the contractor and major subcontractors have the experience and resources to carry out the work.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank those individuals who played a role in making this project successful and accident free. They would also like to thank all individuals and suppliers who responded to the needs in an expedient manner.
[1]
Slurry Walls by Petros P. Xanthankos, Consulting Engineer

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