Abstract
Reservas Norte (RENO) is one of the panel caving sectors of El Teniente mines, owned by Codelco Chile. The sector has experienced mine induced seismicity for many years. The work presented in this paper focuses on seismic activity recorded between the period from January 2004 to July 2008. The interpretation of the seismic data revealed that the sources of elevated seismic hazard (large events) at RENO during this period could be attributed to four major geological structures: Falla G, Falla F, Falla C, Falla N1. In particular, the seismic response of the four structures to undercut blasting activities is examined in detail. The use of numerical modelling has shown that it is possible to simulate this response after calibrating the model against the cumulative seismic moment released by the faults, as mining advances towards them. This calibrated numerical model can then be used to forecast future seismic responses. The main product of this work is a tool that can be used to rank different undercutting rates and geometries in terms of seismic hazard.
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