Abstract

Using ESRI to Resolve Safety Issues Involving Historic Underground Mines
Track: Mining and Geosciences
Authors: Dustie Sargent

A ventilation shaft in one of many tunnels in a 1950's underground phosphate mine collapsed causing a sink hole at surface, a safety hazard for local ranchers. Utilizing historic underground maps, Teck determined the connection between the sink hole surface location and the underground workings. Historic data from were scanned and georeferenced, at times working from a mine grid with minimal real world locations. Current county parcel information helped develop historic lease and property boundaries. Underground drawings in local mine grid were georeferenced using geographic references. The oriented images were redrawn as shape files and layered with ownership data.

The GIS data was used to define the area and allow engineers to proceed with design and repairs. As a preventive measure Teck will build GIS data related to the entire underground workings of about eight mines in the historic Warmsprings Mine Complex and build a 3D model of the workings.