Blast induced seismic response at the goldcorp eleonore mine: Identification, delineation and characterization

Seismicity in the mining environment is controlled by factors including stope and development blasting, the presence of geological features, and stress conditions. The Goldcorp Eleonore mine is located in the James Bay region, Quebec, Canada. It’s 800-metre depth makes Eleonore a relatively shallow mine when compared to other seismically active Canadian mines. Despite the mine’s depth, seismicity is a geotechnical hazard that may be arguably attributed to a particular stress regime and complex geology. An improved understanding of the seismic responses following blasting can decrease seismic risk and is beneficial to mine planning and productivity. Seismic responses to blasting were spatially delineated using a density-based clustering approach. The spatial characteristics of clusters were assessed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The best-fit planar representation of seismic event clusters was identified. The orientation of the best-fit planar representations was then compared to the mine’s local jointing to investigate the causative seismic source mechanism for these events. The results of this study show that seismicity is linked to local jointing, and in particular to the different structural domains.