Studies for rockburst prediction in the Carrara Marble (Italy)

The exploitation of Carrara Marble dates back to Roman times. Throughout these twenty centuries, quarrying activity was mostly developed in the Carrara district in open pit quarries. In the last decades many quarries have been moved into underground. In some areas the mining stopes are subjected to rock burst. In order to overcome this hazard, detailed studies were carried out on Carrara Marble’s geostructural and geomechanical setting, as far as laboratory determinations of its basic physical and mechanical parameters, focused on obtaining knowledge of the right geomechanical assessment and marble rock-mass behaviour and on developing mining prospecting and stability analysis. On the basis of those studies, it is now possible to predict by means of FEM analysis, the occurrence of rock-bursts and to define the geometry and sequence of quarrying activity, such as the supports to be placed.