Geomechanical characterization of the ornamental rock in the Bottichino I deposit, Granma province

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to characterize the marmored limestone of Bottichino I deposit from the geomechanical point of view in order to update the parameters of the exploitation system. The parameters of the geomechanical classification of Bieniawski (1979) were determined as well as the cracking characteristics, obtained from the geological field survey and processed with the DIP V.5 software. Subsequently, the topographic updating of the deposit was modeled and the spatial representation of the main cracking systems in the three exploitation fronts was made, using the GEMCOM 6.5 software. As a result, the 3D spatial representation of marmored limestone blocks and the main directions of the cracks was obtained, identifying 3 families of predominant cracks, with natural block sizes from medium to large; the rock mass classified as good quality. Advancing directions of the mining front were defined by the determined geomechanical parameters and the recovery of monoliths was also bettered up when having a greater knowledge of the solid structure.

Keywords

• caracterización geomecánica
• calizas marmóreas
• rocas ornamentales
• yacimiento Bottichino I.