Spotlight Feature Articles Ansul Modern Open Pits February 16 | Page 4

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MODERN OPEN PITS
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blasts were each 40 m in height and cast 30–35% of the blasted rock off the
face from in front of the haematite coated shear, which formed the back
scarps of the two rock failures. The drape mesh system was installed
between April and October of 2011. The system was very successful in
protecting personnel and equipment from rockfalls on the backscarp during
the subsequent mining phase.
A three drape Geobrugg system was selected. The three systems
comprised SPIDER®S4–130 mesh for crest support of highly broken rock
with the largest block size; TECCO®G80/4 mesh for general protection over
the main back scarp area; and DELTAX®G80/2 mesh, a light weight mesh for
smaller blocks on blasted slope batters.
The systems all utilised single twist high tensile wire mesh, with a tensile
strength of 1,770 N/mm2 (MPa), which is four times higher than mild steel.
The advantage of utilising a single twist high tensile wire mesh is the
uniformity of the mesh behaviour; the strength of the mesh is the same,
over the mesh drape system, regardless of where it is loaded, eliminating
any weak link in the system. This is critical when dealing with rockfalls, as
falling blocks can puncture the drape mesh. To confirm the suitability of the
mesh type required, the design for the drape system was based on 1:1 field
tests, which verified the load capacity of each mesh.
A further tender appointed an external contractor to undertake the
installation and this was supplemented with a day works crew (to support
the rope specialists) and cranes to assist in mesh installation and
emergency egress support provided by Grange Resources.

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Slope stability radar – IDS highlights time factor
IM spoke to Niccolò Coli, Mining Business Unit Manager of the Georadar
Division of IDS. The company has made rapid progress in recent years since
the introduction of IBIS-M in 2010, replacing Real Aperture Radar (RAR) with
a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR); and allowed the products to move from
monitoring focussed areas of pit walls to the whole pit wall at high
resolution. In 2012 a further addition was the FPM-360 system for full pit
monitoring, which enables the mine to integrate data from multiple IBIS-M
radars through a single user interface into full coverage of the entire pit.
IDS now has three core products in its mining range., the IBIS-FM long
range solution up to 4 km; the IBIS-FMT mobile/towable long range version
which is easily towable by light vehicle; and the latest product – the IBISRover, designed to improve safety in open pit mines. It is a mobile shortrange broad area slope monitoring radar and has a one man 15 min set-up
time. The IBIS-Rover is a valuable tool for long-wall open cut operations,
such as coal strip mining, wherever frequent relocation is required in
multiple-pit operations or for quick focus on critical areas at short-range
through the provision of an extended 270° field of view. The co