Pillar Design

Itasca has developed unique and robust approaches to pillar design that recognizes the importance of understanding the rock behavior from intact rock and bedding to joints and faults. Itasca’s software can model the stress-strain response of continuous, blocky, or bedded materials exhibiting plastic, brittle, or creep behaviors. Consequently, any combination of lithology comprising the pillar-floor-roof system can be analyzed. This includes reproducing the complex combination of pillar sloughing (rib rash) and floor heave experienced at different extraction levels and vertical stress levels throughout a mine. Information derived from these pillar-scale models forms an essential input to larger-scale models, which have been used extensively for design of individual panels (width, remnant stub width, and extraction ratio) as well as barrier pillars, and the overall mine layout and extraction ratio. These larger-scale models have been validated through successful back-prediction of the timing and nature of large-scale catastrophic collapses experienced in the region.

Latest News
  • Itasca has announced the release of FLAC2D v9 Itasca has announced the release of FLAC2D v9, revolutionizing the way we analyze and predict...
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  • 6th Itasca Symposium on Applied Numerical Modeling The next Itasca Symposium will take place June 3 - 6, 2024, in Toronto, Canada....
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  • Itasca International Inc. announces the Selection of its New CEO Itasca International Inc. announces the Selection of its New CEO ...
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Upcoming Events
29 May
Getting Started with FLAC2D/FLAC3D
Objectives of the training: •Understand the FLAC2D/ FLAC3D numerical approach and the types ofproblems it can solve•Know how to manipul... Read More
5 Jun
IMAT Workshop
ITASCA is launching IMAT (Itasca's Mining Analysis Toolbox) our groundbreaking software tailored exclusively for underground and open p... Read More