Mechanisms Influencing Timber Support Integrity for Rock Collapse Mitigation in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining

Catastrophic rock collapses pose a significant threat to the safety and sustainability of Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM), endangering workers and the supply of critical minerals vital for technological progress. While regulation discussions continue, engineered solutions to mitigate rock collapse stability in ASM remain underexplored. This novel study mechanistically investigates the potential of timber as an innovative and alternative underground support system to mitigate rock collapse in ASM by assessing how timber type, size, and support patterns (uniform vs. staggered) influence rock integrity, and further determine the optimal support configurations that can yield efficient mechanical integrity in rock masses to mitigate long-term collapse in ASM. Experimental tests (uniaxial compression test) with and without timber-embedment in the rock specimens, alongside Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations, were conducted to obtain the parameters that were upscaled to mining-field settings to validate laboratory findings. Results indicate that timber support can increase bulk uniaxial compressive strength ( UCS ) by up to 62% and bulk Young’s modulus ( E ) by 156%. Larger timber size tends to induce more brittle failure modes, combining shear and tensile fractures. Finally, thin-sized soft timber with a uniform support pattern in rock mass is the most efficient and optimal support system for rock collapse mitigation in ASM, yielding +56% UCS . The findings highlight timber’s potential to significantly improve stability and sustainable mining in ASM operations, in addition to advancing rock mechanics studies in ASM. • Investigated mechanisms controlling mechanical integrity due to timber support in ASM • Timber support boosts stiffness (+156%) and strength (+62%) in embedded rock specimens • Rock support with SS exhibited greater strength (+62%) and stiffness (+156%) relative to US patterns • Thin-sized support is more efficient for underground support than thick-sized timber support • Timber material hardness is critical parameter influencing rock support integrity in ASM