Effect of freezing on weak rock mass behaviour

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Cigar Lake Mine is a prospective uranium property in northern Saskatchewan currently under phased remediation to restore underground workings after major water inflows in 2006 and 2008. The ore is planned to be mined within an area of hydrothermal alteration at the unconformity between sheared and altered graphite metapelite basement rock and overlying Athabasca Sandstone. The objective of this research is to determine how freezing affects the rock mass behaviour with direct application to the Cigar Lake Mining Method. Geotechnical challenges during mining the Cigar Lake orebody include control of groundwater and ground support of weak rock. Artificial ground freezing supports the weak rock associated with the orebody and the minimization of the potential for a large water inrush while mining the ore. The impervious nature of ice and