The mining industry relies heavily on empirical analysis for design and prediction. An empirical design method, called the critical span graph, was developed specifically for rock stability analysis in entry-type excavations, based on an extensive case-history database of cut and fill mining in Canada. This empirical span design chart plots the critical span against rock mass rating for the observed case histories and has been accepted by many mining operations for the initial span design of cut and fill stopes. Different types of analysis have been used to classify the observed cases into stable, potentially unstable and unstable groups. The main purpose of this paper is to present a new method for defining rock stability areas of the critical span graph, which applies machine learning classifiers (support vector machine and extreme learning machine). The results show a reasonable correlation with previous guidelines. These machine learning methods are good tools for developing empirical methods, since they make no assumptions about the regression function. With this software, it is easy to add new field observations to a previous database, improving prediction output with the addition of data that consider the local conditions for each mine.

The integration of Knowledge Management (KM) in various fields, including academia and business, has been fostered by the promotion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The aim of this study was, on the one hand, to understand the key processes of KM in students of the Faculty of Education and the School of Engineering in a Spanish university, and, on the other hand, to evaluate the extent to which ICTs serve as support to these processes. To this end, the designed and validated MAINGC questionnaire was administered to 200 students who entered university in the 2018-2019 academic year. Fourteen ICT tools and four dimensions of KM were analyzed: information management, transformation of information into knowledge, management of the resulting learning, and ICT tools for KM support. The results showed differentiated patterns of technology use and perceptions of KM according to sex, age and degree. Indeed, education degree students reported higher perceptions of competence in KM processes compared to engineering students. Participants’ responses regarding ICT tools suggested that the use of these tools has not yet been fully integrated into KM processes and revealed that both groups of students showed different patterns of use within the academic environment.La integración de la Gestión del Conocimiento (GC) en diversos ámbitos tanto académicos como empresariales se ha visto favorecida gracias al impulso de las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TIC). El objeto de esta investigación ha sido, por un lado, conocer los procesos clave de la GC en estudiantes de la Facultad de Educación y de la Escuela de Ingenierías en una universidad española, y, por otro lado, evaluar en qué medida las TIC sirven como apoyo a estos procesos. Para ello se aplicó el cuestionario diseñado y validado MAINGC a 200 estudiantes que accedieron a la universidad en el curso 2018-2019. Se analizaron catorce herramientas TIC y cuatro dimensiones de GC: gestión de la información, transformación de la información en conocimiento, gestión del aprendizaje resultante y herramientas TIC en apoyo a la GC. Los resultados muestran patrones diferenciados en el uso de la tecnología y de la percepción de la GC en función del género, la edad y la titulación. Así, se observó que los estudiantes de Magisterio se sienten más capacitados que los de Ingeniería en relación con los procesos de GC. Referido al uso de herramientas TIC, las respuestas ofrecidas por los estudiantes encuestados sugieren que su empleo no está todavía totalmente integrado en los procesos de GC y que existen diferencias en los patrones de uso por parte de ambos grupos dentro el entorno académico.

Mining is an essential activity for obtaining materials necessary for the well-being and development of society. However, this activity produces important environmental impacts that must be controlled. More specifically, there are different soils near new or abandoned mining productions that have been contaminated with potentially toxic elements, and currently represent an important environmental problem. In this research, a contaminated soil from the mining district of Linares was studied for its use as a raw material for the conforming of ceramic materials, bricks, dedicated to construction. Firstly, the contaminated soil was chemically and physically characterized in order to evaluate its suitability. Subsequently, different families of samples were conformed with different percentages of clay and contaminated soil. Finally, the conformed ceramics were physically and mechanically characterized to examine the variation produced in the ceramic material by the incorporation of the contaminated soil. In addition, in this research, leachate tests were performed according to the TCLP method determining whether encapsulation of potentially toxic elements in the soil occurs. The results showed that all families of ceramic materials have acceptable physical properties, with a soil percentage of less than 80% being acceptable to obtain adequate mechanical properties and a maximum of 70% of contaminated soil to obtain acceptable leachate according to EPA regulations. Therefore, the maximum percentage of contaminated soil that can be incorporated into the ceramic material is 70% in order to comply with all standards. Consequently, this research not only avoids the contamination that contaminated soil can produce, but also valorizes this element as a raw material for new materials, avoiding the extraction of clay and reducing the environmental impact.