Multivariate statistical analysis to investigate the seismic response to production blasting at Goldcorp Eleonore

Abstract

The blasting of mining stopes is an important driver for mine seismicity. The factors controlling seismic response are not well understood. Mines mostly rely on the number of events and associated moment magnitudes. Geological and operational parameters are often neglected although known to be potential seismic drivers. A database was created for more than 83 production blasts between 230 m and 800 m below the surface from March 2016 to June 2017 at the Goldcorp Eleonore mine. The database consists of 78 parameters defining spatial, temporal, mining, geometrical, geological, drill-and-blast, and temporal blast properties and their associated seismic response. A multivariate statistical analysis was conducted using the created database to better understand the key factors controlling the seismic response of the rock mass to production blasting. The geological structures’ orientation and location relative to the stope, the stope geometry and the drilling pattern were identified as major factors contributing to induced seismicity at the Eleonore mine