Updated in situ stress database for Southern Africa

At the deep levels of many mining operations in South Africa, the stresses in the rock are an important consideration in the planning of any mining layout. Over many years, a lot of in situ stress measurements have been carried out in the country. In 1998 a database of available in situ stress measurements and interpretations of in situ stresses was prepared for Southern Africa. Since that time additional in situ stress measurements have been carried out in various mines in South Africa. The database has now been updated with these additional measurement results. The stress variation with depth and across the Southern African area will be described in the paper. A database of this sort is very useful for planning purposes since, by interpolation or extrapolation from the database information, an estimate of in situ stresses can be determined in situations where no specific data are available. The intention is that the database has unrestricted availability.