Environ Earth Sci (2013) 69:21–28
DOI 10.1007/s12665-012-1930-6
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Vertical shaft collapse at the Jinchuan Nickel Mine,
Gansu Province, China: analysis of contributing factors
and causal mechanisms
Feng-shan Ma • Qing-hai Deng • Dickson Cunningham
Ren-mao Yuan • Hai-jun Zhao
Received: 4 July 2011 / Accepted: 21 August 2012 / Published online: 4 September 2012
Ó Springer-Verlag 2012
Abstract In mining areas, vertical ventilating shafts are
often threatened by ground movements induced by under-
ground mining. In this paper, damage characteristics rela-
ted to collapse of the vertical ventilating shaft at the No. 14
exploratory line in Jinchuan Nickel Mine, China are doc-
umented. The damage mechanism is then analyzed based
on comprehensive consideration of geological conditions
and distribution of underground excavations. The results
indicate that the high dip angle of the ore body and fault/
fissures were responsible for the damage of the shaft when
ground movements occurred. Although the damaged shaft
was repaired in a short time, its stability and safe usage are
F. Ma  H. Zhao
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China
Q. Deng
College of Geological Science and Engineering,
Shandong University of Science and Technology,
Qingdao 266590, People’s Republic of China
Q. Deng
College of Resources and Environment Science, Chongqing
University, Chongqing 400044, People’s Republic of China
D. Cunningham
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Eastern
Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT, USA
R. Yuan
Key Laboratory of Active Tectonics and Volcano,
China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100029,
People’s Republic of China
R. Yuan (&)
Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration,
Huayanli A1#, Chaoyang district, Beijing 100029,
People’s Republic of China
e-mail: yuanrm@gmail.com
•
still threatened by potential future ground movements,
because the shaft is located within a subsiding depression
induced by underground mining. This case study indicates
that when designing an underground mining operation, it is
very important to locate a shaft outside of any area where
future mining-induced subsidence may occur.
Keywords Shaft collapse  Vertical ventilating shaft 
Underground mining  Jinchuan Nickel Mine  China
Introduction
In underground mining areas, a vertical ventilating shaft
behaves like a throat that helps maintain a safe and clean
operating environment. The stability of shafts can be
influenced by many factors, such as the size and shape of
excavations, construction techniques, and engineering
geological and hydrogeological conditions (Bruneaua et al.
2003a, b; Lu and Cui 1999; Rejeb and Bruel 2001;
Yao et al. 2003; Li et al. 2006; Zhao et al. 2008). However,
often when a shaft is being designed and built, only sub-
surface support measures are considered by designers.
Little consideration is given to the potential influence of
local ground movements that could be induced by under-
ground mining during the lifetime of the mine, even though
it could be one of the main controlling factors on shaft
stability. In recent years, many characteristics of shaft
deformation caused by local, mining-induced ground
movements in coal mine areas have been reported
(Hiramatsu et al. 1979; Bukrinsky 1984; Palaski 1989;
Torano et al. 1999; Yang and Ma 2007). However, ground
movement features in metallic mining operations are
commonly different from those in coal mines because of
differences in host rock types, geological setting and
123
22
mining conditions (Xu 1994, 1997; Yuan et al. 2008; Zhao
et al. 2008, 2009). In this paper, damage to the vertical shaft
at the No. 14 exploratory line in Jinchuan Nickel Mine is
taken as a case study, in order to demonstrate how a shaft in
an underground metallic mining operation was detrimentally
affected by mining-induced ground movements.
The main ventilating shaft in the No. 2 mining area of
Jinchuan Mine is located along the No. 14 exploratory line and
undertakes the ventilating task for two transport tunnel sys-
tems at heights of 1,250 and 1,000 m. Construction of the
vertical shaft started in October 1999 and finished at the end of
2000. The shaft has a total depth of 714 m. In order to ensure
safety, advanced support technologies were employed in
design. Therefore, the shaft was expected to be very safe.
However, the shaft was situated in a potentially dangerous
environment, because the potential existence, progressive
growth and areal extent of mining-induced local ground
movement were neglected by the designers. After about
4 years, the shaft was destroyed during the period from 9 to 22
March 2005, and was filled rapidly by collapsed rock frag-
ments. Only the upper section of the shaft from the surface to a
depth of 170 m remained unfilled and open.
In the following sections, damage characteristics of the
ventilating shaft are described in detail, and the failure
mechanism of the shaft is then analyzed by comprehensively
considering the site’s geological conditions and the scope of
underground mining. The research results should be of use to
mining engineers and designers at other underground mining
sites to inform site selection decision making for construction
of shafts and other mining infrastructure.
Overview of the studied area
Description of the mine site
The Jinchuan Nickel Mine is located in the border areas of
Jinchang City, Gansu Province, in West China (Fig. 1). Its
output of nickel accounts for 80 % of the total output in
China. At present, underground mining with backfill is
Fig. 1 Geological sketch map
of the Jinchuan Mine area,
Gansu Province, China
123
Environ Earth Sci (2013) 69:21–28
used in the Jinchuan Nickel Mine, which is consequently the
largest mine employing the backfilling method in China.
The Jinchuan Nickel Mine district is situated at the base
of the northern slope of the Longshou Mountains, adjacent
to the Chaoshui Basin (Fig. 1). The ore deposit is about
6.5 km long, tens of meters to 570 m wide, and its depth
reaches more than 1,000 m. The ore-bearing rocks are
ultrabasic intrusions that are cut by NE-ENE trending
faults (F8, F16, F17) that divide the district into four rela-
tively independent mine fields, referred to as mine fields
No. 3, No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 from west to east (Fig. 1).
The country rock types in the mine fields consist of two
suites: (1) a thick succession (2,000 m?) of Proterozoic
high-grade metamorphic basement rocks mainly composed
of migmatite, schist, marble and gneiss, and (2) quaternary
cover sediments with a thickness of 25–280 m. The ore-
bearing ultrabasic rocks are intruded into the Proterozoic
basement as irregular dikes. The strike of the ultrabasic
rocks is 310° and they dip SW between 40° and 70°
(Fig. 1). The ore body lies in the central and lower part of
the ultrabasic rock mass. The highest grade ore is located in
the middle of the ore body and the lean ore is in concentric
peripheral zones around the high grade core.
Generally, there are three main groups of faults in the mine
areas (Fig. 1). The first group consists of NW trending thrust
faults such as F1 and F3. The second group consists of oblique-
slip thrusts oriented approximately E–W such as F18 and F16-1.
The faults cross-cut the ore body with significant displace-
ment. The third group consists of NE-striking normal faults
such as F17. This third group of faults is abundant within the
ultrabasic rock mass. Rock stability surrounding the slopes is
strongly influenced by Group 3 faults.
The No. 2 mine is the biggest mine in the Jinchuan
Nickel Mine area because of its rich nickel reserves and
high outputs. Three-quarters of its reserves are classified as
high-grade ore or very high-grade ore, accounting for
75.2 % of the total reserves. Ore body No. 1 is the principal
ore body in the No. 2 mine and extends from 350 ms below
the surface to over 1,000 m, dipping 65°–75°. It is about
1,600 m long and 100 m thick on average.
Environ Earth Sci (2013) 69:21–28
Fig. 2 Contour map of land subsidence monitored by GPS in No. 2
mine area from May 2001 to November 2008. Contour lines are in
millimeters
Ground movement in the mining area
Large-scale underground mining in the No. 2 mine area has
induced rock mass movements generating a large subsiding
basin (Fig. 2). According to GPS data collected from May
2001 to November 2008, the subsidence defines a bulls-eye
pattern with the maximum value of 1,287.5 mm of subsi-
dence in the center (Fig. 2). The shaft on the line No. 14 is
about 340 m away from the subsidence center within the
edge region of the subsidence basin (Fig. 2). The ground
surface deformation around the shaft is significant, com-
prising up to 470 mm of vertical displacement and 226 mm
of horizontal displacement. For every 6-month period,
subsidence increases by 23–40 mm and horizontal dis-
placements increase by 13–27 mm. This indicates that the
ground deformation is developing steadily at high rates.
Therefore, it appears that the stability of the vertical shaft
has been seriously affected by ground movements caused
by underground mining.
Engineering geological conditions
The rocks that the shaft passes through can be divided into
four geological sequences: ultrabasic rocks, granite, marble
and migmatite (Fig. 3):
23
Fig. 3 Simple geological profile of the shaft showing damage
analysis. Dashed line represents subsurface damage zone
1) 1,717.00–1,510.00 m (depth interval 0–207 m): in this
section, the shaft passes through ultrabasic rock with
medium coarse texture and massive appearance.
However, joints and fissures are well developed with
a density of about 5–6/m. Three small faults were
found during the investigation. They are about
0.1–1 m wide and filled with fault gouge and breccia.
2) 1,510.00–1,489.20 m (depth interval 207–227.8 m):
the shaft passes through the contact zone between the
ultrabasic rock and granite. Fault F207 which strikes
057° and dips 58°SE is developed in the 207–217 m
interval of this zone, and filled with 0.3–0.5 m
thickness of fault gouge. The F207 fault zone is filled
with water and fractured peridotite, marble and
granite. The actual length of the intersection between
the fracture zone and the shaft wall is about 20 ms,
and fracture density is about 4/m between 221.2 and
225 m depth. Therefore, the engineering geological
conditions of the shaft in this section are extremely
poor.
3) 1,489.20–1,043.00 m (depth interval 227.8–674 m):
this section is mainly composed of red granite. The
trend of the rock masses is 55°–70°, dipping SW. The
fracture density is about 3–4/m, and the rock mass is
fragmented with poor stability.
4) 1,043.00–1,039.50 m (depth interval 674–677.5 m):
this section is a major fracture zone within diabase
rock, with a joint density of 11/m.
5) 1,039.50–1,003 m (depth interval 677.5–714 m): geo-
logical engineering conditions are poor in this section.
The rock mass is highly fragmented by the F16 reverse
fault that dips approximately 70°SW. The zone of fault
influence (damage zone) is about 40–50 m wide and
the fault is about 40 ms from the ventilating shaft. In
addition, there is substantial fissure water in the rock
123
24
mass above fault F207. In the F207 fracture zone, the
water yield is about 30 m3/h. There are a few outflow
points with small water yield below fault F207. No
special control measures were taken for groundwater
inflow during construction of the ventilating shaft.
Damage characteristics of the vertical shaft
Based on the post-collapse investigation, the damaged shaft
was filled with fragmental materials below a depth of
170 m. According to measurements taken at about the
280 m depth, the N–S radius of the shaft is about 6.36 m
and the E–W radius is about 6.4 m, both are smaller than
the original 6.5 m radius. A similar reduction in shaft
dimensions was identified at other depths. In order to
maintain a safe underground mining environment, the
engineers started to repair the shaft with the hope of
recovering its function. The following types of damage to
the vertical shaft were documented:
1) Cracking: this includes the ring-shaped crack around
the shaft wall, vertical cracks and cross-cutting cracks
with ‘X’ geometries. Fissures mainly appeared on the
NW and SE sides of the shaft wall. Most are vertical
cracks.
2) Sloughing: this is a universal damage type with
vertical shafts and sloughing strongly affected some
segments of the Jinchuan Mine shaft. Small blocks
bound by steep-vertical cracks fell down and destroyed
the shaft’s concrete support layer. Some cavities
between the support layer and the surrounding rocks
were also formed. The damage characteristics of the
concrete support layer indicate predominantly tensile
damage.
3) Impact crater: one big crater was found at a depth of
170 m with a long axis in a SE direction inclined 40°
from horizontal, which could have been caused by the
impact of a massive sloughing block falling from the
opposite shaft wall. The surface of sloughing debris in
the shaft is higher along the SE side (171 m) and lower
along the NW side (173 m).
Monitor results showed that the shaft was damaged
again shortly after being remedied. At first, new fissures
were found in the shaft wall in July 2006. Subsequently,
numbers of fissures increased gradually. According to a
special investigation on January 1st, 2007, there were two
large fissures cutting the remedied well wall. One occurs at
a depth of 32–36 m. The other occurs at a depth of 287 m.
Based on all of the observations described above, the
features of the deformation of the vertical shaft at the No.
14 exploratory line were concluded to be the following:
123
Environ Earth Sci (2013) 69:21–28
1) Large deformation. After the shaft was destroyed,
almost no original sidewall was preserved above about
270 m depth level of the shaft. In addition, the
diameter of the shaft decreased significantly. These
observations indicated that the contraction displace-
ment of the shaft is substantial.
2) High deformation rate. Because of high tectonic stress,
rapid excavation and unloading, and the influence of
underground mining, the deforming rate of the shaft
was very high. The shaft began to deform and fail
within only 2 years of being put into service.
3) Long-term deformation. Rocks under high confining
stress can display predictable rheological behavior.
Deformation behavior may be time-dependent and
divisible into three continuous phases: sudden onset
deformation, slow waning deformation and eventual
cessation and stability. The initial phase typically lasts
30 days or less. The second phase takes longer, usually
months to several years, followed by the final stage
when the wall rock tends to stabilize. However, owing
to the continuous impact of underground mining, wall
rock creep may also persist and thus it is difficult to
reach the third phase of stability. As a result,
considerable deformation and eventual failure may
result.
Damage mechanism of the vertical shaft
Influence of underground mining
Displacement of surrounding rock
Figure 4 shows the horizontal and vertical displacement
along the shaft wall with depth, which was based on the
results of numerical simulation. A cylindrical free face was
formed when the shaft was opened, so the wall rock was
free to move into the hollow shaft space. This is why
positive displacement values locally occur (positive
direction along the X axis in Fig. 4). Large horizontal
displacements occurred in three positions along the shaft
axis: from 1,250 to 1,350 m (depth interval 364–464 m),
and in zones directly above fault F207, and in the zone
between 1,050 and 1,175 m depth (Fig. 4a). Slip was
especially evident between 1,490 and 1,510 m (depth
interval 194–214 m), which coincides with the location of
fault F207.
The largest vertical displacement occurred in the rock
mass at the top of the goaf, the majority of which is in the
hanging wall of the ore body (Fig. 4b). The influence of the
underground mining is greater in the hanging wall than
in the footwall, similar to the horizontal displacement.
Environ Earth Sci (2013) 69:21–28
Fig. 4 Displacement of shaft
wall along the shaft’s axis based
on results of numerical
simulation: a horizontal,
b vertical
Along the shaft wall, the displacement becomes smaller
from surface to bottom. The direction of movement
becomes reverse-sense within the bottom part (positive
direction along the X axis in Fig. 4). The direction of the
rock mass movement in the mining area is always towards
the goaf. GPS monitoring data clearly show that the dis-
placement of the hanging wall is greater than in the foot-
wall, so it is reasonable that most of the shafts and
underground workings were designed to be constructed in
the footwall in the Jinchuan Nickel Mine. However, the
extent of the rock mass movement can quickly enlarge and
extend to the footwall with an increase in the volume of
extracted ore (Fig. 2). The shaft along the No. 14 line is
within the influence zone of underground mining and near
the ore body, although it is also located in the footwall.
Thus, the shaft was ultimately damaged due to the increase
in underground excavation.
Stress analysis of surrounding rocks
Figure 5 is the simulated horizontal and vertical stress in
the wall rock along the shaft where the elevation of
underground mining is at 1,100 m. The direction of hori-
zontal stress is generally towards the negative X direction
in Fig. 5a indicating tensile stress in the wall rock around
the shaft. Stress reached 7 MPa at the top of the shaft
where the shaft wall was easily damaged.
Corresponding to the trend of horizontal stress, the
vertical stress increases sharply at an elevation of about
1,510 m (depth below the surface of about 214 m), which
is within the damage zone of fault F207 (Fig. 5b). This
indicates that shear failure is more likely to occur at
approximately the 1,510 m elevation. Tensile stress values
are relatively higher at elevations from 1,250 m to the
bottom. Because underground mining was started at the
1,300 m elevation and the line 14 shaft is near the stope,
the influence of underground mining on the shaft wall rock
is greater from 1,300 m downwards.
Some peak values of the vertical stress occurred in the shaft
wall, including at the elevation intervals 1,490–1,520 m,
25
1,250–1,450 m and 1,000–1,050 m. Within these shaft
intervals, the shaft is theoretically more vulnerable to failure.
However, the locations of maximum displacement and
highest stress values are not perfectly correlated. Substantial
vertical stresses were concentrated within the shaft segment
above 1,450 m elevation, whereas the largest displacements
occurred above the 1,300 m elevation level (Figs. 4, 5).
Damage positions of the shaft
According to the above analysis, the shaft wall is suscep-
tible to damage at different depth levels:
1) From the surface to the depth of 200 m: larger horizontal
displacements and the largest vertical displacement exist
within this segment. The horizontal and vertical stresses
also change sharply. Therefore, the shaft is easily
damaged and destroyed by tensile cracking. In addition,
there are three small faults/fissures above fault F207,
which could have enlarged and extended to the ground
surface due to the influence of continued underground
mining and induced subsidence. When the shaft was
being damaged, these fissures formed the slide faces.
2) Positions around the fault F207 (depth interval
200–220 m): at this depth, the thickness of the fracture
zone is about 10 ms, and is mainly composed of rock
fragments of lherzolite, granite and marble. Geological
engineering conditions are poor because of the
extremely fractured rock mass. Within this interval,
the direction of horizontal displacement changed
significantly, and the vertical and horizontal stress
also changed dramatically (Figs. 4, 5). In addition, the
vertical displacement there is larger than along other
intervals. Therefore, within this interval, the shaft is
vulnerable to damage and destruction by shearing.
3) Elevation interval from 1,350–1,250 m (depth interval
360–460 m): This segment is closest to the goaf,
where the largest horizontal displacements are docu-
mented. Therefore, it is one of the shaft intervals that
is most susceptible to destruction.
123
26
Fig. 5 Stress of shaft wall
along the shaft’s axis based on
results of numerical simulation:
a horizontal, b vertical
4) Influence zone of fault F16 (approximately 50 m from
bottom of shaft): starting at an elevation of about
1,000 m, the shaft closely approaches fault F16, where
structural planes of weakness are well developed. In
this location, larger horizontal displacements occurred.
The vertical and horizontal stresses also change
sharply at this depth.
Damage mechanism of the shaft
In general, displacement of wall rock induced solely by
underground excavations typically settles down after sev-
eral months if there are no other contributing factors. A
relaxation zone and compression zone then forms in the
wall rock, which stabilizes the material and prevents fur-
ther movements.
In fact, it is frictional resistance along existing planes of
structural weakness that prevents the rock mass from fur-
ther displacement and deformation. However, deformation
could be reactivated again by underground mining.
Excavation of rock volumes can cause a decrease in the
confining pressure in the wall rock of the shaft. Reduction
in normal stress reduces the shear strength of the structural
planes. This can be described by the following conceptual
model:
s ¼ ðrn  Drn Þ tan u þ c ð1Þ
where, rn is the normal stress on the structural plane, and
Drn is the drop value of normal stress induced by under-
ground mining.
The deformation modulus of the rock mass will decrease
with decreasing confining pressure. Underground mining
will reduce the friction force on structural planes, which
could promote sliding and displacements in the rock mass.
It is equivalent to a decrease in the average deformation
modulus of the rock mass. Thus, the displacement of rock
mass will be increased whereas the internal body forces
remain unchanged. Thus, the shaft will be destroyed when
the displacement becomes large enough.
123
Environ Earth Sci (2013) 69:21–28
The vertical ventilating shaft at the No. 14 exploratory
line is in the influence zone of ground movements induced
by underground mining. It is underground mining that
generated the decrease in the deformation modulus of the
shaft wall, leading to shaft damage and failure as defor-
mation increased. However, the shaft is not destroyed in
the elevation interval between 1,300 and 1,000 m, which is
closest to the goaf and therefore most likely to be influ-
enced by underground mining activity. Based on this
investigation, the shaft was damaged seriously at a depth of
about 270 m. The intact shaft wall was observed again
from a depth of 276 m. Therefore, the causal mechanism
for ruin and failure of the vertical ventilation shaft damage
must take into account other contributing factors.
Influence of the dip angle of ore body
In general, stress distributions within jointed rocks can
change when the rock is loaded. Stress may be partitioned
and focused along joint faces, and normal to joint faces
resulting in abnormal stress contour patterns (Fig. 6).
Similarly, stress contour patterns also become abnormal
when unloading is induced by underground mining.
Numerical simulation results are shown in Fig. 6 by using
FLAC software to derive stress contours around under-
ground excavated ore bodies with different dip angles. The
stress contours are almost normal to the rectangle-shaped
ore body when the ore body is horizontal (Fig. 6a). How-
ever, the stress contours change and define two extended
directions when the ore body is inclined: one is normal to
the long axis of the upper ore body, whereas the other is
parallel to the long axis (Fig. 6b, c). When the long axis of
the ore body is vertical, the stress contours are almost
parallel to its long axis (Fig. 6d).
In the Jinchuan Nickel Mine area, the dip angle of the
ore body is about 70°, and most of the structure planes of
weakness are parallel to the ore body. During mining, the
confining pressure in the rock mass will decrease. There-
fore, the stress contours will evolve to resemble to those in
Environ Earth Sci (2013) 69:21–28 27

Fig. 6 Stress distribution state

for underground excavation of
rectangular-shaped ore bodies
with different dip angles.
Dashed lines represent country
rock dip. Solid lines represent
derived stress contours.
Beta = dip angle of long axis of
ore body relative to horizontal

Fig. 7 Ground movements and

fault effects induced by
underground mining at the
Jinchuan Nickel Mine

Fig. 6c. The intersection between the zone of largest stress
decrease and the shaft is approximately the zone of loose
rock mass. In this zone, the normal stress on the structural
planes is reduced, so the damage is most likely to be
focused there. In Fig. 3, the section of wall rock in the
depth interval from 90 to 255 m below surface was easily
loosened and the extent of deformation enlarged. Large
pressures would have developed in the lining of the shaft,
and finally the shaft failed. In addition, three fissures and
fault F207 occur within this segment. Shearing along pre-
existing faults and fracture surfaces was promoted because
of reduced normal stress on the fault/fractures planes. In
the end, the shaft was destroyed by large shear stresses that
promoted sliding and shaft lining collapse.
Fault effect
The investigation showed that most of the deformation and
wider distribution of damage zones occurred in areas with poor
geological engineering conditions. For example, in the Jinchuan
Nickel Mine, a tunnel with a strike of 320° was intersected by a
fault with a strike of 330°. The damage to the tunnel only
occurred near the fault. It indicates that the tunnel deformation
is closely related to pre-existing geological conditions. Where
the tunnel nears the fault, the deformation is very large, and the
rate of deformation is documented to be extremely high.
Engineers in the Jinchuan Mine monitored the deformation of a
tunnel at 220 and 70 m distances from fault F16 and recorded 6
and 23 cm displacement in 1 month, respectively.
Faults and other planar structures reduce the integrity of
rock mass. If a fault is in the influence zone of underground
mining, abnormal rock movements may occur near the
fault. The fault effect on rock mass movements is complex
and varies depending on host rock characteristics, fault
geometries and internal fault zone structures and fault
rocks. Figure 7 shows the fault kinematics due to ground
movement induced by underground mining. The relative
displacement between hanging wall and footwall of the
fault may increase as mining depth increases. Therefore,
the shaft is most prone to failure by increased shear stresses
in rheologically weak layers and fault zones (Fig. 7).
Based on the above considerations, the fault effect on
the shaft damage can be explained as follows (Fig. 3):
1) Three fissures are distributed above fault F207. Shear-
ing was concentrated in these fissure zones during the
development of underground mining. The hanging
walls collapsed, and shearing along the fissure surfaces
propagated to the ground surface generating a surface
scarp. The shearing along the fault surfaces resulted in
destruction of the shaft.
2) The 10 m-wide fracture zone of fault F207 has a highly
brecciated damage zone and thus poor rock strength
characteristics. Therefore, the shaft was easily destroyed
in this section by shearing within the zone, driven by the
changing stress conditions due to underground mining.
Conclusion
Underground mining at the Jinchuan No. 2 nickel mine has
caused a subsiding depression to form above the mine and

123
28
has triggered rock mass movements and failure of the
vertical shaft. The high dip angle of the ore body, fault and
fissure effect, and evolving subsurface confining stress
changes were important contributing factors to the shaft
failure. It will be very difficult for the shaft at the No. 14
exploratory line to recover its function by repairing it,
because current and future mining will most likely increase
the extent and magnitude of rock movements exacerbating
the existing problem. Despite employment of backfilling
methods, subsidence in the mine area and shaft damage
occurred and are still ongoing. Thus, the potential mitigating
effects of the backfilling method failed to thoroughly elim-
inate the risk of shaft damage and collapse at the Jinchuan
Nickel Mine.
To conclude, the clear lesson from the collapsed venti-
lation shaft at the Jinchuan Nickel Mine is the importance
of locating, designing and building shafts outside the
potential zones of ground subsidence induced by under-
ground mining.
Acknowledgments The research is funded by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China project (NSFC: 40972197, 41272298,
41002107). Grateful appreciation is expressed for this support.
References
Bruneaua G, Hudymab MR, Hadjigeorgioua J, Potvin Y (2003a)
Influence on faulting on a mine shaft—a case study: part
II-numerical modeling. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 40(1):113–125
Bruneaua G, Tyler DB, Hadjigeorgioua J, Potvin Y (2003b) Influence
on faulting on a mine shaft—a case study: part I-background and
instrumentation. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 40(1):95–111
Bukrinsky (1984) Shift mapping of rocks and the earth’s surface in
underground mining. NEDRA, Moscow. p 399
Hiramatsu Y, Okamura H, Sugawara K (1979) Surface and horizontal
displacements caused by mining inclined coal seams. In:
123
Environ Earth Sci (2013) 69:21–28
Proceedings of the 4th international congress of ISRM.
Montreux, Switzerland
Li WX, Zhao ST, Liang XL, Dai LF (2006) Influence of underground
mining on shaft towers in Luzhong mining areas. Chin J Rock
Mech Eng 25(1):74–78 (in Chinese)
Lu HL, Cui GX (1999) Mechanical mechanism of shaft lining
structure fracture in thick alluvium. J China Univ Min Technol
28(6):539–543 (in Chinese)
Palaski J (1989) The experimental and practical results of applying
backfill. Innovation in mining backfill technology. In: Proceed-
ings of the 4th international symposium on mining with backfill.
Balkema/Btookfield, Montreal/Rotterdam
Rejeb A, Bruel D (2001) Hydromechanical effects of shaft sinking at
the Sellafield site. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 38(1):17–29
Torano J, Rodriguez R, Cudeiro O, Paltchak N, Cuesta A (1999)
Ground movement related to mining steeply dipping coal seams.
MPES. IJSM. In: Proceedings of the 4th international sympo-
sium on mine planing and equipment selection, section 5.
Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, pp 289–295
Xu JM (1994) Rock mass movement and deformation under the
conditions of open excavation. In: Proceedings of the IAEG 7th
International Congress. Lisbon, Portugal, pp 4095–4100
Xu JM (1997) Derivation of nonlinear relation between displacement
and size of elastic body on its self-weight body force condition.
J Eng Geol 5(4):340–345 (in Chinese)
Yang F, Ma FH (2007) Movement mode of overlying Strata induced
by mining steep seam and its application. Science Press (in
Chinese), Beijing
Yao ZS, Yang JJ, Sun WL (2003) Experimental study on sliding shaft
lining mechanical mechanisms underground subsidence condi-
tions. J Coal Sci Eng 9(1):95–99
Yuan RM, Ma FS, Deng QH, Gao JK, Lu YJ (2008) Mechanism of
ground movement induced by underground mining of metal
deposit with steep occurrence and large thickness. Chin J Geol
Hazard Control 19(1):62–67 (in Chinese)
Zhao HJ, Ma FS, Li GQ, Ding DM, Gao JK, Lu YJ (2008) Analysis
and mechanism of ground movement, deformation and fracture
induced by underground backfill mining. Chin J Geotech Eng
30(5):670–676 (in Chinese)
Zhao HJ, Ma FS, Ding DM, Gao JK, Yang CX, Lu YJ (2009) Law of
ground movement and its deformation mechanism induced by
mining steep deposit. J Cent South Univ Sci Technol 40(5):
1423–1429 (in Chinese)