Passive Seismic Imaging of Stress Evolution with Mining-Induced Seismicity at Hard-Rock Deep Mines

Abstract This work aims to examine the stress redistribution with evolving seismicity rates using a passive seismic tomographic tool. We compiled a total of 26,000 events from two underground mines and partitioned them into multiple clusters in a temporal sequence, each of which contains 1000 events. To image stress redistribution associated with seismicity rates, we then run the tomographic studies using each cluster to yield seismic tomograms and computed the corresponding seismicity rate. We found that high velocity anomalies grew with the increase of seismicity rates, and they switched to a shrinking tendency under low seismicity rates. Results of this study imply that seismicity rates increase with increasing stress concentration and decrease with decreasing stress concentration. This study highlights the value of utilizing passive seismic tomography for estimating stress evolution associated with the change of seismicity rates at underground mines. Our findings illuminate the applications of using mining-induced seismicity to assess stress redistribution associated with seismicity rates at hard-rock mines, providing insights into seismic hazards for deep mining.