The Principles of Evaluating the Risk of Rock and Gas Outburst in Copper Ore Mines

Rock and gas outburst is one of the most significant natural hazards faced by the mining industry. In the last decade, this issue has appeared in firm rock mining (including copper ore mines) in addition to coal mining. A number of methods have been developed for coal mining to assess the hazard posed by gasogeodynamic phenomena, but in the case of copper ore mines, no studies have led to forecasts of this risk. To face the challenge, the authors decided to propose their own concept of risk assessment principles based on a threshold analysis of the phenomenon and a continuous analysis using fuzzy logic. A series of tests were performed to support the paper, investigating selected parameters which directly affect the risk. The evaluation principles for gasogeodynamic phenomena presented herein were the result of experimental investigations carried out by the authors.