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<br />Memo to Tony Waldron <br />Bowie No. 2 Geotechnical Adequacy <br />page 4 <br />1.2 MINING SCHEDULE AND RATE OF SUBSIDENCE <br />The preparer states; "It is reasonable to assume that the initial subsidence is negligible <br />compared to the final, maximum subsidence." The report further states; "While <br />subsidence of small magnitude will occur during mining of entries and rooms, the majority <br />of the subsidence will occur during and after pillar recovery. These statements are <br />generally true, but not necessarily certain; particularly if discontinuities in the rock mass, <br />such as faults, are encountered during development. These discontinuities can become <br />the locus of dramatic short-term ground mass response. Instances of this phenomena <br />occurred within the East workings of the Bowie No. 1 mine (previously the Orchard Valley <br />minel. For this reason it is important to anticipate the possible subsidence implications of <br />faults within the mine plan area. <br />The preparer relates a general conceptual characterization of subsidence response above <br />retreating longwall workings, as developed by Gentry and Abel above the York Canyon <br />mine's longwall workings. The application of longwall subsidence experience to room <br />and pillar extraction assumes that efficient and relatively complete pillar recovery will be <br />accomplished. In instances where pillar recovery, due to bad ground conditions, <br />equipment problems, or water problems is less efficient than projected, the distribution of <br />strain, the magnitude of ultimate subsidence, and the timing of subsidence will be <br />effected. Therefore, it will be important to establish the effectiveness of pillar recovery in <br />retreat early in the operation of the Bowie No. 2 mine. Further, if recovery proves to be <br />less than projected, it may be necessary to place high resolution monuments above early <br />panels to determine the actual character of ground subsidence manifested. <br />1.3 SUBSIDENCE MAGNITUDE AND PROFILE <br />~ he preparer references an NCB method for projecting the maximum subsidence above a <br />panel of sub-critical width. Figure 15-3, a reproduction of Figure 3 of the Subsidence <br />Engineer's Handbook (SERI, is used to determine the projected maximum subsidence <br />above a partially extracted super-critical panel. Exhibit 15 determines a subsidence factor <br />ISmax1 of 0.472 for this situation, which results in a maximum projected vertical <br />subsidence of for the 12.0 feet extracted height of 0.472 x 12.0 feet = 5.7 feet. The <br />preparer next applies figure 4 of the SEH, which corrects maximum projected subsidence <br />for the effects of sub-critical panel width. Exhibit 15 determines an s/S (subvsidence <br />correction factor) of 0.23. In accordance with SEH methodlogy the super-critical panel <br />maximum subsidence is multiplied by the susbsidence correction factor to determine the <br />projected subsidence above the sub-critical panel. In this case the preparer projects a <br />maximum expected vertyical subsidence above the sub-critical panel of 0.23 x 5.7 feet = <br />1.3 feet. <br />