Design and Construction of Rock Anchors in the Mining Industry

ABSTRACT: Rock anchors have been used successfully for a wide range of engineering applications. These have been used for increasingly higher loads and prestressing conditions, temporary or permanent applications, as a single or a group of anchors, as vertical or at an angle, on land and over water. The most notable application is for long span suspension bridge foundations; examples of other applications are retaining walls for deep excavation and tie-down of wind turbines. Mining structures, be it an onshore process facility or a nearshore marine facility, are typically heavy loaded. Many mines facilities' design-life keeps on increasing and require upgrades or expansion of the existing structures. These structures or their upgrades result in significant axial tensile and lateral loads; often requiring the use of grouted rock anchors. This paper presents design basis and few construction examples related to some mining structures where grouted rock anchors were used to provide an anchorage system to resist uplift and lateral loads.