Practical Considerations in Establishing the Statistical Reliability of Geomechanical Data

In an underground mining operation, the design of safe excavations can be influenced by the quality and quantity of collected geomechanical data. Data collection is the first step in mine design, and a sufficient level of confidence in the input data should be reached depending on the project stage and the design requirements (e.g. temporary and non-entry vs. permanent and entry excavations). This paper compares two statistical analysis methods for quantifying the level of confidence in the intact rock properties obtained through a series of laboratory tests. The laboratory testing database of an underground hard rock mine was used to highlight the variations in the two methods. The impact of the two methods, from an engineering perspective, was illustrated with an example using the Kirsch analytical solution. This investigation demonstrated that the selection of the appropriate analysis method should be guided by the project requirements.