Ten years of continuous monitoring in a mining panel

Abstract In 1978, brine leakage occurred in a mining panel at IMC Kalium operation in Colonsay, Saskatchewan. Stringent controls were immediately imposed to control the inflow; with further investigative and remediation work in 1981–1982 and in 1984–1985. The work involved investigative diamond drilling, grouting, instrumentation and backfilling. The instrumentation program was designed to gather information on the grout/backfill system as a mechanism of brine flow control and to monitor the long term stability of the inflow area. The result of this extensive work was the successful control of the inflow. As important, the instrumentation program gave valuable information which permitted a sound and rational engineering decision for complete abandonment of the area. This paper describes the instrumentation planning and design process, the rationale for selecting the rock mechanical instrumentation, the reasons for their placement, the data communication system, the data recorded and interpretation.