Geostatistical Modelling of Hydraulic Fracturing Pressures at El Teniente Mine

In 2005, El Teniente mine began preconditioning the primary rock mass by hydraulic fracturing (HF). The major perceived benefits of this process are a decrease in the magnitude of the expected maximum seismic event and improved cave propagation. In addition, HF has resulted in new information on the propagation pressures of each fracture. Previous studies have attempted to relate propagation pressure to minor principal stress or confining stress.Considering the spatial continuity of propagation pressure and the significant quantity of collected data since the incorporation of the HF technique, minimum requirements for geostatistical modelling have been reached, permitting robust estimates inside the representative volume with acceptable errors (Cornejo, Muñoz and Rojas, 2012; Cornejo and Landeros, 2013). These results are then used to identify zones with higher magnitudes, which are mostly related to more complex geotechnical zones (intrusive and major faults) and caving singularities, making it possible to estimate the spatial extension of these zones.Finally, these results are integrated with other geomechanics aspects to support risk analysis of the mining plan.CITATION:Cornejo, J, Landeros, P, Benado, D, Caviedes, C and Pinochet, A, 2016. Geostatistical modelling of hydraulic fracturing pressures at El Teniente Mine, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 183–190 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).