U.

G Mining Unsupported Methods

The unsupported methods of mining are used to extract mineral deposits that are roughly
tabular (plus flat or steeply dipping) and are generally associated with strong ore and
surrounding rock. These methods are termed unsupported because they do not use any
artificial pillars to assist in the support of the openings. However, generous amounts of roof
bolting and localized support measures are often used.
1. ROOM AND PILLAR MINING
Room-and-pillar mining is the most common unsupported method, used primarily for flat-
lying seams or bedded deposits like coal, trona, limestone, and salt. Support of the roof is
provided by natural pillars of the mineral that are left standing in a systematic pattern.
Room-and-pillar method is used for mining flat bedded deposits using the flat open
stopes. Hanging wall of such stopes extends for large areas and therefore have to be prevented
from collapsing by leaving pillars, which support the hanging wall of the stopes (Fig. 2). In order
to avoid the mining losses the pillars are usually left where low-grade material or internal waste
present in the ore. In case if the ore grade material has been left in the pillars it is unrecoverable
and therefore mine geologists have to exclude these volumes from the ore reserves. The flat
ore body and large open areas allows to, establish several production areas with an easy
communication between different sites. These factors make the room-and-pillar method a highly
efficient system for recovery ore from the flat beds.

(Fig.2) ROOM AND PILLAR MINING

 It is the most common supported pillar method, designed and used primarily for mining
flat-lying seams, or tabular orebodies, or gently dipping bedded ore deposits of limited
thickness (like coal, oil shale, limestone, phosphate, salt, trona, potash, and bedded
uranium ores,).
 It is commonly classified as an open-stoping method
 Pillars are usually round or rectangular and are completely surrounded by open
excavations called ‘rooms’
 It is differentiated from other open-stoping methods, in that the support rock typically
extends from hangingwall to footwall in the form of pillars.
 The “hangingwall” is above the mining cavity, and the “footwall” is below it.
 Is also known as Board and Pillar .
 A mining system in which the mined material is taken out across a horizontal plane while
leaving “pillars” of unscathed material to support the overstrain leaving open regions or
“rooms” underground.
 The pillars may or may not be removed after the removal of the ore.
  Used in mining coal, iron and copper ores mainly when found as manto or blanket
sediments, stone and aggregates, talc, soda ash and potash.
 The key to the winning room and pillar mining is opting the optimum pillar size. If the
pillars are so small the mine will fall down. If the pillars are so big then significant
quantities of valuable material will be left behind reducing the profitability of the mine.
 Pillars are left in place in a regular pattern while the rooms are mined out.
 Room-and-pillar mining method has a low recovery rate (a large percentage of ore
remains in place underground).
HISTORY
Room and pillar is one of the oldest existing mining methods, dating back over 1000
years. In its early use, detailed stope planning was very uncommon and mine operators
would typically follow apparent high grade areas, leaving pillars only when necessary to stabilize
openings.
 Early 20th Century America~when lack of planning still existed, room and pillar mining
was referred to as ‘gophering’ because of the random and asymmetrical pillars that
resulted from development.
 13th Century ~ Room and pillar mining was in use throughout Europe.
 18th Century~ Room and pillar mining was in use throughout United States.
SEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT
I. EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT
1. Establishing ownership of the mine.
2. The geology of the mine must be analysed, as this will determine factors like the
lifespan of the mine, the production requirements, and the cost to develop and maintain.
3. Mine layout should be determined. It is desirable to keep the size and shape of rooms
and pillars consistent. Mine layout includes the size of rooms and pillars in the mines,
but also includes factors like the number and type of entries, roof height, ventilation, and
cut sequence.
 Room and pillar mines are developed on a grid basis except where geological features
such as faults and presence of ground water require the regular pattern to be modified.
 The size of the pillars is determined by calculation.
 The load-bearing capacity of the material above and below the material being mined and
the capacity of the mined material will determine the pillar size.
 Random mine layout makes ventilation planning difficult, and if the pillars are too small,
there is the risk of pillar failure. In coal mines, pillar failures are known as squeezes
because the roof squeezes down, crushing the pillars. Once one pillar fails, the weight
on the adjacent pillars increases, and the result is a chain reaction of pillar failures. Once
started, such chain reactions can be extremely difficult to stop, even if they spread
slowly. To prevent this from happening, the mine is divided up into areas or panels.
 Pillars known as barrier pillars separate the panels. The barrier pillars are significantly
larger than the “panel” pillars and are sized to allow them to support a significant part
of the panel and prevent progressive collapse of the mine in the event of failure of the
panel pillars.
Planning Considerations
The feasibility of room and pillar is subject to a detailed planning process that must aim to
maximize net present value (NPV) while maintaining a safe working environment.
“The most important factors being safety, recovery, ground support, efficiency, and legal
requirements”.
1. Pillar Size
 As pillar size decreases, reserves increase but so does the need for ground support.
 Two aspects to be considered: Ventilation and equipment. As pillar size decreases,
room size increases which changes ventilation requirements and equipment options.
Larger rooms oblige bigger fans to achieve minimum air flow velocity but allow for much
larger equipment which can improve efficiency and operating costs.
2. Pillar Layout
Regular pillar layouts create more efficient roads for mechanized equipment to travel on.
Optimal mechanization planning works to minimize haulage grades, and keep haul roads
straight as possible and in excellent conditions, while avoiding the need for abrupt turns.
Regular pillar layouts also create less resistance to air flow which decreases flow
requirements.
3. Overview
 In the resulting plan, all federal and local legal requirements must be met:
 minimum pillar safety factor
 minimum flow/velocity air requirements
 maximum pillar height
 Government authorities should be contacted prior to development.

I. MINING
a. Retreat mining via Pillar Recovery
 Is often the final stage of room and pillar mining. Once a deposit has been exhausted
using this method, the pillars that were left behind initially are removed, or “pulled”,
retreating back towards the mine’s entrance. After the pillars are removed, the roof
(or back) is allowed to collapse behind the mining area.
 Cannot be used in areas where subsidence is not acceptable, reducing profitability.
 Sometimes retreat mining is not used and the underground space is repurposed as
climate controlled storage or office space instead.
b. Multipass Mining
 Taking the whole orebody in one slice or in multiple slices. The need for multiple
slices can arise when the orebody is very thick and the pillars cannot support the full
height of the deposit.
 Used in mines where there is uncertainty in stress conditions.
II. MAINTENANCE AND REMEDIATION
Many room and pillar mines have been abandoned for as long as 100 years. This
drastically increases the risk of subsidence unless properly maintained.
CYCLE OF OPERATIONS
1. Drilling
  holes are drilled into the ore body
2. Charging
 explosives are implanted in the holes
3. Blasting
 workers detonate explosives
TYPES OF BLASTING:
a. Swing
Uses a cut pattern when there is only one free face open. The burn cut is the most
common drilling pattern in metal mines. This refers to a group of holes that are parallel and
centrally located at the face and are detonated on the first few delays. This cut provides relief to
the remaining holes allowing them to break.
b. Slabbing
Used once a free face has been established so that there is a group of drill holes parallel
to an open face. This free face allows the fragmentation of the rock to be the same as a swing
with less explosives which leads to lower costs. It is important that the drilling and blasting
engineers carefully monitor and plan out the cuts so that the number of slab rounds can be
maximized.
4. Ventilation
 Floating debris in the air such as dust particles are sucked out. Oxygen is also
supplied in for the mine workers.
5. Loading
Ore is loaded into trucks
6. Scaling
 Scraping ore particles from the blasted area to achieve a regular size of the room
and pillars
7. Secondary Supports
 The used of secondary support such as rockbolts, reinforcement rods, and
shotcrete.
EQUIPMENTS
 Slushers And Dozers
- alternative when rubber tire vehicles are not practical
 Low Profile Underground Trucks
- have capacities of up to 60 tonnes and can economically transport ore over long
distances.
 Roof Bolter
- bolting and scaling rigs are necessary for room and pillar mining
 Jumbo
 - room and pillar is generally carried out with two or three boom jumbos equipped
with hydraulic drills.
 Mechanized sets with LHD’s
- used for loading of the ore and waste which can then tram the ore economically for
about 500 feet
 Crawler Mounted Long Hole Drills
- used for vertical drilling
 Shuttle Car
 Continuous Miners
 Drag Chutes + Bob-Cat Loaders

CONDITIONS
R & P in HARD ROCK R & P in SOFT ROCK

Ore Resistance moderate to high mild to moderate

Host Rocks Resistance moderate to high moderate to high

Form tabular lenticular (variable) tabular (in layers), large

lateral extent

Diving generally <30° to the generally horizontal or

horizontal <15⁰ with the horizontal

Ore Grade low to moderate moderate to high

Uniformity variable good uniformity of grades

and thicknesses of ore

Depth Of The Deposit shallow to moderate on carbon, preferably less

than 600 meters

ADVANTAGES
1. Flexible – Can utilize multiple faces, and therefore be selective of production and grade.
2. Highly Mechanized – Not very strenuous on the workforce. Allows for high efficiency and
productivity.
3. Easy Maintenance – Usually utilizes mobile, trackless equipment which is easy to transport
in and out of maintenance areas.
4. Low Operating Costs –operating costs are usually considerably lower than most
underground mining methods.
5. Low Development Costs – Most of the development work takes place within the orebody,
which means ore production and development work are carried out simultaneously.
6. Good Working Conditions – Work takes place in large open stopes with good footing.
DISADVANTAGES
1. Roof Maintenance – A large portion of the roof is exposed making monitoring and
maintenance very time-consuming and costly. The roof can often require high lift
equipment for appropriate inspection.
2. High Capital Costs – Initial infrastructure and equipment fleet can be expensive, although
total costs are typically cheaper in the long run with lower operating costs.
3. Low Recovery – Room and Pillar can have one of the lowest recovery rates of any
underground mining method. There must be significant reserves left behind to support
the mine. Pillars may contain high grade ore which cannot be recovered.
4. Lack of flexibility in structural planning – It is difficult to make structural changes part
way through production because most of the previously mined out rooms must be
supported for the duration of the production life. The stress on a pillar is dependent on
the location of other pillars and stress distributions can change drastically with changes
in pillar location.
WHEN DO WE APPLY ROOM AND PILLAR MINING METHOD?
- There are no strict guidelines for minimum ore and waste rock strength but ultimately, for
room and pillar to be viable, the orebody should be competent enough to support itself without
significant ground support.
- Any deposit that could support an open excavation without major ground support could be
feasibly mined with some form of room and pillar.
- Room and pillar can be feasibility utilized on a number of different types of deposits, however
it is usually is not recommended for use in steep deposits (>55 degrees), where material is
able to flow by gravity.
- When thickness is constantly changing, it is difficult to use room and pillar.
- If the ore grade is continuous, regular pillar layouts are easy to justify but complications arise
with inconsistencies in ore grade. When it is difficult to predict the grade throughout the
deposit, it is difficult to produce an economically optimal pillar layout.
VARIATIONS
1. Classic Room And Pillar Mining Method
- most generic room and pillar mining, applies to horizontal ore deposits, with mineable strata
ranging from moderate to very thick.
- the stopes, the floor plan is maintained, allowing the transit of vehicles on tires. Ore bodies are
mined large vertical dimension in horizontal slices, starting at the top and ending with the floor
dismount on countertops.
2. Post-Pillar Mining Method
- applies to inclined deposits with dip between 20⁰and 55⁰.
- Mining development progresses upward from the bottom horizon and the rooms are backfilled
with backfill used on the next pass as the working floor.
- pillars are left in the same location at each subsequent horizontal level as production moves
upward.
3. Step Room And Pillar Mining Method
- found in orebodies dipping from 15 to 30 degrees.
- Orebody thickness is typically quite small, ranging from 2 to 5m. It is essentially an adaptation
of ‘classic’ room and pillar with the orebody being developed in a series of horizontal ‘steps’.
- Haulage ramps are specially design diagonally against the dip of the orebody at shallow
enough slopes to utilize trackless equipment.
- Mining advances downward along the step room angle with each step having a relatively flat
production floor. 
4. Steep Room And Pillar Mining Method
- similar to step room and pillar, is found in orebodies dipping from 15 to 30 degrees with limited
thickness. It differs in that the working floor matches the orebody inclination. Because of this,
trackless equipment is not able to be used and mining is considerably less efficient.
- This mining method is very seldom used in practice, especially in modern mine systems where
significant improvements have been made to mechanized equipment.
- less mechanized and requires the use of jacklegs for drilling and slushers for mucking since
the slope is too steep for mobile equipment.
- pillar shape is usually rounded so that the slusher can efficiently muck the ore out of the stope
without being caught up on a square corner or leave excess ore in front or behind a pillar.
MINING COMPANIES (Local)
1. Philsaga
2. DMCI Coal Mining (Bislig Surigao del Sur, Philippines)
MINING COMPANIES (Abroad)
1. Sunrise Coal ~ wholly owned subsidiary of Hallador Energy Company (NASDAQ:
HNRG), is Indiana’s 2nd largest coal producer. The company is focused on developing
coal reserves in the Illinois Basin.
2. Ciner~ Over 3.25 million tons of soda ash is extracted and transported by Ciner
Resources from the Green River Basin every year
3. OKD Company, Czech Republic (Coal Mining)
4. Crandall Canyon Mine, United States (Coal Mining)
5. Illinois-Wisconsin, USA (Zinc)
6. Denison Mines, Elliot Lake
7. Ambrosia Lake Uranium District
2. STOPE AND PILLAR MINING
Stope-and-pillar mining (a stope is a production opening in a metal mine) is a similar
method used in noncoal mines where thicker, more irregular ore bodies occur; the pillars are
spaced randomly and located in low-grade ore so that the high-grade ore can be extracted.
Unsupported method most widely used in hard-rock mines in which openings are driven
horizontally in regular or random pattern to form pillars for ground support.
 A method used in horizontal or near-horizontal ore bodies, where gravity is not usable to
move the ore around.
Stoping – is the extracting the desired ore or other mineral from an underground mine, leaving
behind an open space known as a stope. This process is used when the country rock is
sufficiently strong not to collapse into the stope.

Generally, a method is classified as such if it meets 2 of these classifications:

1. The pillars are irregularly shaped and sized and either randomly located or located in low
grade ores rather than follow a systematic, invariant plan.
2. The mineral deposit is considered moderately thick to thick (less than 20 ft or 6 m), and the
opening is higher than they are wide. If it is sufficiently thick that it cannot be safely or
technologically mined in a single pass, then a benching or slabbing technique must be
utilized.
3. The commodity being exploited is a mineral other than coal. No coal deposits are mined by
the stope and pillar mining method.

Mining on the advance is the rule.

There are several reasons that the amount of development in stope and pillar mining is
less than in room and pillar mining.
1. The strict laws requiring multiple openings does not apply to hard rock mining unless strata
gases are present.
2. The development openings must often be driven through barren rock, increasing the
development cost and the desire to avoid unnecessary openings.

Because the method is less systematic and repetitive; there is, less tendency to recover
pillars in stope and pillar mining than in room and pillar mining. Total pillar extraction in hard-
rock mines is unheard of for 3 reasons:
1. Pillars are more relatively small and more difficult to recover with safety
2. The pillars are irregular in size and spacing don’t lend themselves to a systematic recovery
3. Caving to the surface accompanied by subsidence is not usually practiced in noncoal mines
Design Parameters
1. Rock mechanics considerations, especially of a ground-support nature
2. Economic factors, mainly cutoff grade and recovery
3. Technological concerns, such as equipment maneuvering and gradeability limits.

HISTORY
Stope and pillar mining is probably the oldest underground mining method, developed by
flint miners in Europe some 6000 to 8000 years ago (Temple, 1972) where the ancient miners
had learned the fundamental rules of stope and pillar mining:
1. To leave sufficiently large ore pillars for roof support
2. To limit the width of openings to minimize the possibility of roof falls

The earliest forms of stoping were conducted with hand tools or by  fire setting; later
gunpowder was introduced. From the 19th century onward, various other explosives, power-
tools, and machines came into use. As mining progresses, the stope is often backfilled with
tailings, or when needed for strength, a mixture of tailings and cement. In old mines, stopes
frequently collapse at a later time, leaving craters at the surface.

The method remains essentially unchanged except for the effects of mechanization and
vertical expansion to accommodate more massive deposits.

SEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT
- The choices of main openings for stope and pillar mining are similar to those of room and pillar
mines.

- If the depth is relatively shallow, a belt conveyor may be planned and the primary opening may
be a slope.

- If the depth is relatively deep, a hoist may be used and the primary openings will most likely be
vertical shafts.

- The use of diesel powered equipment may require that a ramp must be used instead.
Additional openings associated with the belt slope or ramp may be vertical shafts in many
cases

- Depending on the geometry and attitude of the ore body, secondary openings are constructed
on levels connecting the shaft with the production openings. If required by regulations or good
mining practice, parallel drifts and connecting crosscuts may be driven.

- If the deposits are discontinuous and occur on different horizons, then truck haulage and
ramps may be selected to maximum flexibility.
CYCLE OF OPERATIONS
- conventional mining practice:
Production cycle = Drill + Blast + Load + Haul

 Drilling: Hydraulic or pneumatic drill jumbos are highly avoured; rotary drill rigs can be
used in softer rocks.
 Blasting: Ammonium Nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO), gels, or emulsions; charging by hand
or by pneumatic loader; firing by electric, non-electric, or detonating fuse.
 Secondary Blasting: Drill and Blast; Impact hammer; drop ball
 Loading: A load-haul-dump (LHD) device and front-end loader are very common:
shovel, overhead mucker, and slusher occasionally used.
 Haulage: Truck, LHD, Belt conveyor, Shuttle car.

- Generally, the trend is toward larger and automated equipment that is diesel powered.
- Continuous mining equipment is not ordinarily used in stope and pillar mining operations.
When it is necessary to employ continuous miners, the cycle of operations is essentially
identical to that of room and pillar mining
- The most important auxiliary functions are health and safety (dust control, ventilation, noise
abatement), ground control (scaling roof with boom lift if high opening, rock bolts, timber,
shotcrete, cable, steel sets, arches) power supply and distribution, water handling, and flood
control.

CONDITIONS FOR SPM:

 Ore Strength: Moderate to strong.
 Rock Strength: Moderate to strong.
 Deposit Shape: Tabular, lens-type deposit.
 Deposit Dip: Preferably flat; dips < 30° mineable.
 Deposit Size: any, but preferably large areal extent, moderate thickness or bench if
greater. (maximum of 300ft or 90m)
 Ore Grade: low to moderate
  Ore uniformity: Variable; lean ore or waste left in pillars if possible.
 Depth: up to 2000ft(900m) in competent rock, up to 3000ft (1450m) in very strong rock.

ADVANTAGES
1. Moderate to high production rate
2. Moderate mining cost (relative mining cost about 10%)
3. High degree of flexibility; method is easily modified; operate several levels at one time.
4. Lends itself readily to mechanization; suitable for large equipment
5. Not labor intensive; extensive skills not required
6. Selective method; permits lean ore or waste to be left in the pillars.
7. Early development not extensive
8. Fair to good recovery (60 to 80%) without pillaring
9. Low dilution of ore (10 to 20%)

DISADVANTAGES
1. Ground control requires continuous maintenance of back if rock is not strong; high back
difficult to scale and support; ground stress on pillars and openings increases with depth
2. Large capital expenditure required for extensive mechanization.
3. Difficult to provide good ventilation because of large openings.
4. Some ore are lost in the pillars.

APPLICATIONS
1. Stope and pillar mining is used widely in both metallic and non-metallic deposits
2. It is the most popular of the underground non-coal methods in the US.
3. Used extensively for:
 limestones in Pennsylvania
 Marble in Georgia
 Copper in Michigan
 Zinc in Tennessee
 Lead in Missouri
 Oil Shale in Colorado
 Uranium in Canada and Utah
 Iron in France
4. It is used widely throughout the world.
VARIATIONS
- adapts very well to moderately dipping seams.
 Pitch Mining
-carried out if the deposit dip exceeds the gradeability of the mobile equipment in use.
Generally, this variation applies between dips of 15° to 30°. Then the mine often applies
the concept of bench mining.
 Bench mining
- applied when the thickness of the deposit is greater than 20ft(6m). In which the ore is
removed in multiple lifts or benches.
- a method of protecting employees from cave-ins by excavating the sides of
an excavation to form one or a series of horizontal levels or steps, usually with vertical or
near-vertical surfaces between levels.
- It is this flexible ability that allows Stope and pillar mining to adapt to a multitude of conditions
that makes it cost effective and popular with mining companies dealing with horizontal or nearly
horizontal mineral deposits.
3. SHRINKAGE STOPING
In shrinkage stoping, mining progresses upward, with horizontal slices of ore being
blasted along the length of the stope. A portion of the broken ore is allowed to accumulate in the
stope to provide a working platform for the miners and is thereafter withdrawn from the stope
through chutes.
Shrinkage stoping is another highly selective mining method designed for mining narrow
steeply dipping veins. Similarly, to cut-and-fill method, shrinkage stoping starts from the bottom
of the ore body and advances upward excavating the ore in horizontal slices (Fig. 4). However,
the key difference is that the broken ore is not removed completely from the shrinkage stope.
Approximately 60% of the broken ore is left in the stope where it is used as a working platform
for mining the next slice of the ore. The broken ore remaining in the stope, also serves as a
support for the stope walls. Shrinkage stoping is highly selective and cost-effective mining
method. However, its application is limited to the steeply dipping regular ore bodies in the very
stable host rocks. Regular shape of the ore body is also important for effective use of this
technique.
Shrinkage stoping is a vertical, overhand mining method whereby most of the broken ore
remains in the stope to form a working floor for the miners. Another reason for leaving the
broken ore in the stope is to provide additional wall support until the stope is completed and
ready for drawdown.

Shrinkage stoping is used in steeply dipping, relatively narrow ore bodies with regular
boundaries.
The miners, working upward off of broken ore, drill blastholes in a slice of intact ore to be
mined from the ceiling of the stope, and the holes are charged with explosives. From 30 to 40
percent of the broken ore is withdrawn from the bottom of the stope, and the ore in the slice is
blasted down, replacing the volume withdrawn.
 Shrinkage stoping is applicable to the mining of steeply dipping orebodies where the
orebody is competent enough to work under and the walls are sufficiently strong to be self-
supporting.
REQUIREMENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS OF SHRINKAGE STOPING
1. Dip of stope walls should generally exceed 60 degrees, for ore to settle freely; tendency
of broken ore to draw down first on hanging wall side decreases as dip steepens.
2. Ore body should be regular in shape, otherwise loose ore will lodge on footwall.
3. The ore should be strong enough to stand over back of stope, occasional slabs being
stulled.
4. Ideally, the ore should be of uniform value; at least payable throughout.
5. Walls should stand without crushing or spalling off into the broken ore when the ore is
being drawn.
SEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT
1. Construct a means of drawing ore in which muck flows by the gravity to the bottom of the
stope.
2. Provide a horizontal undercut at sill level into which the ore initially breaks and
subsequently flows, normally, either finger raise or box holes are used at the bottom of
the stope to allow flow to the haulage level.
• Before reentering the stope, any necessary ground control operations are carried out.
This usually consists of bolting or bolting with wire mesh to increase the holding ability of
the bolts
• In production cycle the following step are to be followed: drilling and blasting
• The use of Chutes
• Utilization of slusher
• Use of loader crosscuts
Production
• Drilling: (pneumatic airleg drill or stopper)
• Blasting: (ANFO, gels, pneumatic loader or pumping system)
• Secondary breakage: (drill and blast, impact hammer)
• Loading: ( bagoons, LHD, overhead loader)
• Haulage: (LHD,truck, trail)

CONDITION
 1. Ore strength: strong (other characteristics: should not pack, oxidize, or be subject to
spontaneous combustion).
2. Rock strength: fairly strong to strong
3. Deposit shape: tabular to lenticular, regular dip and boundaries
4. Deposit dip: fairly steep(>45 degrees; prefer 60 to 90 degrees to facilitate flow)
5. Deposit size: narrow to moderate width (3 to 100ft or 1 to 30 m), fairly large extent
6. Ore grade: Fairly high
7. Ore Uniformity: uniform, blending not easily performed
8. Depth: shallow to moderate (<2500ft 0r 750 m)
ADVANTAGES
1. Small to moderate scale operation
2. Lower initial capital required in machinery
3. Ore inventory- During development, all of the ore broken is recovered. Once mining
starts, only the muck required to maintain a working level in the stope can be extracted.
During mining, this is a disadvantage but once the stope is completed, the stope holds
an inventory of ore that can be removed as needed
4. Fairly good recovery (75 to 85%)
5. Costs- Given good ground conditions and the availability of reasonably paid, trained
miners, shrinkage stoping can be cost effective. This method is not capital intensive.
6. Ore production – If the orebody is developed by drifting on the vein, there is a steady
supply of ore during drifting, creation of the draw system and driving of access raise.
7. Little ground support is required in the stope
8. Low dilution (10 to 20%)
9. Stope development is moderate
10. Works very well in veins with widths of <8ft (2.4m)
DISADVANTAGES
1. The method is also a relatively low productivity method and the majority of the ore
remains in the stope for extended periods of time.
2. The method is labour intensive and requires experience in such methods. The working
conditions can also be difficult and relatively hazardous due to the fact that the broken
ore is used as a working platform and has to be drawn down daily. Voids, uneven
drawdowns and hang-ups can also cause problems.
 3. Labour issues- Shrinkage mining requires skilled jackleg miners. These miners are
required to use ladders on a routine basis and manually handle heavy and awkward
loads.
4. Not easily mechanized
5. Ore is subjected to oxidation, packing and spontaneous combustion
APPLICATIONS
• Steep dips
• Firm competent ore (operators working underneath backs)
• Comparatively stable hangingwall and footwall
• Regular ore boundaries
• Ore that is not affected by storage in the stopes (avouredon, cementation, combustion)
• Orebody width from 1m to 12m
• Low to moderate stress
Minerals Mined:
• Lead
• Trona
• Potash
• Limestone
• Salt
• Uranium
• Gold
About the Stope
• Stope width: 3-100 ft (1-30m)
• Stope length: 150-300 ft (45-90m)
• Stope height: 200-600 ft (60-180m)
• Spacing between drawpoints: 5-15m
Variations of shrinkage stoping
Longhole shrinkage stoping- Long-hole stoping as the name suggests uses holes drilled
by a production drill to a predetermined pattern as designed by a Mining Engineer.
• This method works well for shorter raises between 45o – 90o, however is prone to
freezing and remedial drilling is possibly required to extract slot to full height. 
•  Long-hole stoping can cater for varying ore thicknesses and dips (0 – 90 degrees)
 Vertical Crater Retreat (VCR) or Vertical Retreat Stoping: configuration method in stopes
where drilling large diameter is used to detonate horizontal slices of ore, leading them to the
base of the block being mined. The method progresses vertically, as successive slices of ore
are detonated.

International Mining Companies

• Gold road mine in Arizona (Gold)
• Snip mine in Columbia (Gold)
• Porco mine in Bolivia (Zinc)
• Las Cuevas mine in Mexico (fluorspar)
4. SUBLEVEL STOPING
Sublevel stoping differs from shrinkage stoping by providing sublevels from which vertical
slices are blasted. In this manner, the stope is mined horizontally from one end to the other.
Shrinkage stoping is more suitable than sublevel stoping for stronger ore and weaker wall rock.

- A vertical mining method in which a large open stope is created within the vein.
- Used to mine large orebodies with steep dip tabular deposit or massive deposit and
continuation at depth.
 - Recovers the ore from open stopes separated by access drifts each connected to a
ramp.
- Blasting on each sublevel starts at the hanging wall and mining then proceeds to the
footwall
- The ore is extracted via sublevels which are developed in the ore body at regular
vertical spacing.
- Each sublevel has a systematic layout of parallel drifts, along or across the ore body.
- A main haulage drive is created in the footwall at the bottom, with cut-outs for draw-
points connected to the stopes above.
- Longholes can be inclined in any direction, but the ring or pattern usually forms a
plane, and the holes are blasted as a unit.
- Drilling and blasting is the main means of breaking the ore. The method extracts ore
and leaves the stope empty.
- The stope is often very large with the largest dimension in the vertical direction. The
method only applies to vertical or steeply inclined ore bodies.
- To prevent the collapse of the hanging wall, large ore bodies are divided into 2 or more
stopes. Pillars are left between the stopes to ensure the stability of the hanging wall.

The thickness of these pillars depends on many factors such as:

• Competence of the hanging wall
• Size of the stopes
• Method of drilling and blasting
• Importance of subsidence
• Value of the ore, and many other minor parameters.

- As mining removes rock without backfilling, the hanging wall keeps caving into the void.
Continued mining results in subsidence of the surface. Ultimately, the ground surface on
top of the orebody subsides.
- The stopes are normally backfilled with consolidated mill tailings after being mined out.
- There are three variations of sublevel stoping: blasthole method, open-ending method,
vertical crater retreat (VCR).

 Important parameters that describe successful sublevel stoping operation

 Optimal fragmentation
 Low damage of rock mass around stopes.
 - Originated in the early 1900’s in iron ore mines in Michigan, USA.
- It was developed over the years from a method originally known as short hole bench
and train mining.
- Earliest forms of stoping were conducted with hand tools or by fire-setting;
later gunpowder was introduced.

 Generally, in sublevel stoping, careful design and construction of drawpoints are

essential for successful operation. Therefore:

- Extra care must be taken when driving the developments.

- Rockbolts, grouts, wire mesh and shotcrete are all useful to increase the life of
drawpoints.

PRODUCTION
Drilling and blasting is the means of production. Generally there are two methods
of production:

1. Ring drilling
 The traditional and conventional method
 The method uses long hole extension rods to achieve the required length.

These rods are normally 1.2 – 1.8 m (4 – 6 ft) long. The bit diameter is approximately 5 cm. The
hole length varies but it cannot usually exceed 24m.

2. Parallel Drilling  
 the hole diameter is 10-18 cm and the usual maximum applied is 20 cm.
 Larger holes cover more volume of ore
 Larger holes allow deeper holes to be drilled since the technique minimizes deflection.
Holes of 45-60 m long are easy and the maximum applied is 90-100 m.
 Longer holes are advantageous because the vertical spacing is increased between the
sublevels. Therefore fewer developments are needed.
Sequence of Development

The method needs a relatively comprehensive set of developments:

- A haulage drift, crosscut, drawpoint below the stope
- Raises between the sublevels
- For VCR, undercut is then developed
- In the other hand, a slot for blasthole or longhole stoping.

Cycle of Operations
 DRILLING
o large-hole pneumatic percussion drills
o Large- hole rotary drills,
o Small- diameter pneumatic percussion drills.
 BLASTING
o ANFO, emulsions and gels; charging by pneumatic loader, pumping system, or
by cartridges; firing electricity, with denoting cord, or with non-electric initiation
systems.
 SECONDARY BLASTING
o Drill and blast, mudcapping, impact hammer.
 LOADING
o Gravity flow to drawpoints;
o loading with front-end loader
o LHD
o shovel loader
o Slusher
o belt conveyor
o (diesel equipment now highly avoured)
 HAULAGE
o LHD, Truck, Rail , Belt conveyor (rare)

CONDITIONS
1. Ore strength: moderate to strong
2. Rock strength: fairly strong to strong
3. Deposit shape; tabular or lenticular, regular dip and bounderies helpful.
4. Deposit dip: fairly steep (>45, preferably 60 to 90 degrees)
5. Deposit size: moderate to thick width (20 to 100 ft or 6 to 30 m), fairly large extent
6. Ore grade: moderate
7. Ore uniformity: fairly uniform
8. Depth: varies from fairly shallow deep (once used at 8000 ft. or 2.4 km at homestake)

ADVANTAGES
1. Moderate to high productivity
2. Moderate mining cost (relative cost 20%)
3. Moderate to high production rate
4. Lends itself to mechanization; not labor- intensive
5. Low breakage cost; fairly low handling cost.
6. Little exposure to hazardous conditions; easy ventilate.
7. Unit operations can be carried on simultaneously.
8. Fair recovery (about 75%)
 9. Modest dilution (about 20%)

DISADVANTAGES
1. Fairly complicated and expensive development.
2. Inflexible in mining plan.
3. Longhole drilling requires precision (<2% deviation)
4. Large blast can cause significant vibrations, air blast and structural damage.

THREE VARIATIONS OF SUBLEVEL STOPING

1.) BLASTHOLE METHOD

 The miners must create a vertical slot at one end of the stope.
 Then they work in the sublevels to drill a radial pattern of drillholes.
 After a set of these- holes are loaded, blocks of the ore body are blasted into the open
stope.

2. OPEN- ENDING METHOD

 As in the blasthole method, a slot must be developed at one end of the stope
 Production is then achieved by drilling parallel holes from top to bottom of the
designated stope using a sublevel at the top of the stope that is the width of the stope
 Vertical slices of the ore are blasted into the open stope.

3. VERTICAL CRATER RETREAT

 the ore is blasted in horizontal slices using loading and blasting from the sublevel at the
top of the stope.
 Vertical longholes are drilled from drives developed in the ore between two levels
 large parallel holes are loaded with near-spherical explosives charges, and horizontal
slices of ore are blasted into the undercut.
 the last blast at the top of the stope is sized to be at least twice the normal blasting
thickness.
 The sizes of the stopes that are possible are obviously dependent on the strength of the
rock.
 Low explosive consumptions

MINING COMPANIES

LOCAL
 OCEANA GOLD DIDIPIO MINE
 engaged in optimized open pit mining and an underground sub-level open
stoping with paste backfill operation.
 Gold, copper and silver

ABROAD
 Sao Bento Mine, Brazil (gold); using the longhole version of sublevel stoping
 Mt. Isa Complex, Australia(copper) the largest stope; blasthole stoping
 Olympic Dam Mine, Australia(copper); blasthole stoping
 Polaris mine- lead/zinc ORE