Rubicon Gold Mine, Rockfall Protection – Rockfall Netting
The Kundana gold deposit is situated 21 kilometers west of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. The Kundana gold mine itself is made up of three individual gold mines; Hornet, Rubicon and Raleigh.
In late 2010, Barrick Gold contacted Geofabrics Australasia to request a design suggestion for 18,000m² of Rockfall netting drapery for a number of their pit slopes at Rubicon Gold Mine. Preparation was being made for a number of portal sites for a new underground mining operation. The suggestion was provided to Barrick Gold using the MACRO 2 design software. The software uses the formulations proposed by Muhunthan B. et al. (Washington State DOT, 2005).
"Rockfall protection systems are a crucial element in the design and maintenance of road and railway infrastructure networks and keep users safe from unstable rock slopes."
Barrick Gold ultimately selected double twist woven Rockfall netting as the drapery system most suited to their requirements. They also considered important aspects like; ease of installation, corrosion protection and ability to withstand unravelling in the event of wire breakage. This was a real threat given the potential for fly rock damage during blasting. It’s $/kN rate makes for an extremely cost effective system.
