Modeling of rheological deformation processes for room and pillar mining at the Verkhnekamsk potash salt deposit

Introduction. The purpose of this work is to estimate and predict geo - mechanical parameters such as the stability time of pillars and roof, rate and magnitude of surface subsidence, displacement of mine workings contours considering salt rock creep. This is important in the development of potash deposits and is relevant for the extraction of reserves from previously abandoned pillars and areas. Materials and methods. The paper uses numerical (computer) modeling to assess the geo - mechanical state of salt mass at a particular point in time. A mining and geological model developed in the FLAC software with creep process FISH function. Results and discussion. The general mining conditions of Verkhnekamsk deposit mining have been investigated. The results show that the data obtained by the proposed model are in satisfactory agreement with the results of real observations. Conclusion. The paper shows that the backfilling contributes to a significant unloading of rib pillars from stresses when the roof is lowering on the fill mass. Resume. The proposed model of room and pillar mining elements deformation for potash deposit can serve both as a tool for retrospective analysis of mining and geo - mechanical situations at the Verkhnekamskoe deposit and as a predictive tool. Suggestions for practical applications and directions for future research. The developed methodological approaches can be useful when planning additional extraction of pillars or close - lying strata (several - stage stopping), because it allows predicting the time of roof lowering to the fill mass and relieving of pillars from increased stresses.