Rock mechanics for underground mining, 3rd ed Rw=gg>\
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by ,o*x\jrGw
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B. H. G. Brady 9<G-uF
Emeritus Professor, The University of Western Australia, and Consulting ?tV $o,11
Engineer, Montville, Queensland, Australia 2LEf"FH0~
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E. T. Brown o.*8$$
Emeritus Professor, The University of Queensland, and Senior Consultant, K!0vvP2H
Golder Associates Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Australia r`HtN{6r
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KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS 6;"jq92in*
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2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc `og 3P:y
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Preface to the third edition sy0|=E*;8"
Sometimes it is suggested that mining engineering and its supporting engineering 7%b?[}y4
sciences have reached a state of maturity. However, this proposition is inconsistent XFUlV;ek
with major developments in the twenty years that have elapsed since the preparation of ~C\R!DN,
the first edition of this book, and the ten years since it has been subject to any substantial [daUtKz
revision. Over those periods, innovations and improvements in engineering practice ~Uz,%zU#3
in mining and mining rock mechanics, and advances in the engineering science of @6~r7/WD
rock mechanics, have been extraordinary. For these reasons the third edition, which &$:1rA_v
results from comprehensive and thorough revision of the earlier editions, has involved "
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the replacement or substantial modification of the equivalent of about half of the text |$f.Qs~?
and figures of those versions of the book. -hZlFAZi
One of the key drivers for many significant developments in fundamental rock mechanics }4Ef31X8q
over the period has been the mining industry’s recognition of the economic N \1
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returns of better understanding and more rigorous application of the governing sciences ( d#E16y
embedded in its industrial operations and processes. The result has been some 8'
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notable advances in mining engineering practice, involving improvements in mining ,qz$6oxh\
methods in particular. For example, caving methods are now more widely applied 3WHj|ENW
as understanding of their scientific basis has improved and their economic and operational R7+3$F5B
advantages have been realised. Whereas sublevel caving was once regarded Bvk 8b
in some places as a method of marginal interest, the advent of very large scale sublevel |08b=aR6ro
caving, made possible in part by improved drilling technology and in part by AqM}@2#%%
understanding of the governing rock mechanics, it is now an attractive proposition for F=?0:2P0bD
many orebodies. Similarly, block caving is now conducted efficiently and reliably in P-[6'mw`
orebody settings that would have been inconceivable two decades ago. At the same *~YU0o
time, methods such as overhand cut-and-fill stoping and shrink stoping have declined nd_+g2x'
in application, replaced in part by open stoping and bench-and-fill stoping, where large &FH