Utilization of fuzzy Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment technique to rank the underground mining methods

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Mine exploitation, Mining engineering, Amirkabir university of technology, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Mining Engineering / Amirkabir University of Technology

3 School of Mining and Geosciences. Nazarbayev University

Abstract

The need to use minerals in recent years has led to the development of the volume of mining operations and, as a result, increased mining depth. With the increase in the depth of mines and as a result the number of geotechnical/geomechanical parameters/variables with uncertainty, underground mining activities can be associated with hazards and risks with catastrophic consequences. Choosing an appropriate and safe underground mining method, studying, and ranking them from the risk assessment viewpoint along with mine design from the early stages of mining can lead to the reduction of life and financial risks. It can also be effective in preventing accidents. Considering the importance of the subject, in this research, using the fuzzy WASPAS technique, we studied, ranked, and determined the importance of some of the most important underground mining methods from the perspective of risk assessment and taking into account the uncertainty and risk of geomechanical parameters. The research started with the design of a questionnaire and a survey of experts. Then the fuzzy WASPAS method was implemented. Finally, by performing relevant calculations, the final weights of underground mining methods were determined and they were ranked. The results of the research show that the methods of Room & Pillar, Sublevel Stoping, Cut & Fill, and Sublevel Caving have the highest weight, respectively. Therefore, compared to the other methods, the method of Room & Pillar has the highest and the method of Sublevel Caving has the lowest potential in creating risk and instability.

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