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Groundfall hazards assessment methodology to minimize the number of fatal accidents in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM): a case study of Peruvian mining

Navia Vasquez, Carolina
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2021
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Abstract
In Peru, mining plays an important role in the economy because it generates employment and contributes 10% to the gross domestic product (GDP). The artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector represents 85% of the Peruvian mining workforce (500,000 workers), and about 28% of Peru’s gold production comes from this sector, which is mostly informal. Groundfall is one of the main causes of fatal accidents in ASM,because hazards are often not properly identified, and the miners do not always understand the associated risks . Relative to other mining scenarios, in the context of ASM, groundfall risks are even more challenging to manage due to limited equipment and training. Rock quality classifications and other geomechanical hazard assessment techniques can help mitigate against groundfall, but these tasks are not easy to conduct in ASM, often because the miners lack the necessary field experience to properly apply subjective qualitative descriptions to correctly describe the quality of the rock mass and determine the associated risks.The primary objective of this study is to identify geomechanical and operational factors that lead to groundfall in Peruvian mines, including artisanal and small-scale mines. A second objective is to identify human behavioral factors that contribute to accidents and fatalities due to groundfall. A third objective is to use the identified geomechanical characteristics and human behavioral factors to develop a preliminary risk assessment matrix for injuries and fatalities due to groundfall. The methodology used incorporates critical geomechanical, operational, and design groundfall hazards identified in the field; it also incorporates information from fatality reports between 2013 and 2019 from the Peruvian Supervisory Agency for investment in Energy and Mining. The thesis outlines the workflow of a proposed groundfall risk assessment methodology which could be adopted and applied elsewhere outside Peru. The results indicate that behavioral factors such as age and time of service have a notable influence on fatality rates due to groundfall in the Peruvian mining industry. In addition, common geomechanical, design, and operational factors likely to cause groundfall are identified. An, additional contribution of this research is the generation of a new database based on information collected and translated from Spanish from 44 fatality reports obtained from the Peruvian Minister of Energy and Mining from 2013 to 2019. The potential impact of this work is to reduce geotechnical hazards and improve mine safety in ASM operations based on in-situ data collection and statistical analysis.
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