Chapter 1

Keynote
20 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Geomechanics: The critical
engineering discipline for mass mining
Edwin T. Brown, Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre and Golder Associates Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Australia

Abstract
It is shown that the scale of the worlds largest surface and underground mass mining operations has grown at a
continuing rate over the last 100 years. Indications are that both the rates of production and the depths of open pit
and underground mines will continue to grow into the future. This can be expected to provide significant challenges to
the engineering discipline of geomechanics which is shown to have been a major contributor to the success and growth
of mass mining over the last 40 years. Important challenges for many operations remain in other engineering
disciplines to improve efficiency and achieve cost reduction. Nevertheless, the importance of geomechanics to the
investigation, design, construction and safe operation of profitable large-scale surface and underground mines requires
that it be recognised as the basic engineering discipline for mass mining. It is essential, therefore, that the industry
continues to support research into a range of geomechanics-related issues and the education and training of the future
generation of mining geomechanics specialists.

1 INTRODUCTION (sublevel, longhole) and variations of these mentioned." The

There are apparent trends in the international mining
industry towards the globalisation of company structures and
operations, the mining of larger and often lower grade
orebodies, mining at increasing depths, cost reduction through
the use of mass mining methods, the application of caving
methods of mining to more massive orebodies, and improved
safety and environmental performance. These trends bring
with them a range of management and engineering
challenges, many of which have geomechanics bases. The
purpose of this paper is to offer a wide-ranging exploration of
these issues, in the course of which, it will be argued that
geomechanics is the critical engineering discipline for the safe
and economic use of modern mass mining methods.
Following a discussion of the terminology to be used, the
commonly made assertion that there is an international trend
towards mass mining will be tested through a compilation and
assessment of historical production and mining depth data for
a number of selected open pit and underground mines. The
historical development of mining geomechanics and its
relation to the increased scales of both open pit and
underground mining will be reviewed. The key geomechanics
issues associated with the further evolution of large-scale
open pit mining and of underground mining by caving and
open stoping methods will then be explored and some of the
requirements for research to support these developments
identified. This exploration will draw on part of the work of the
International Caving Study (ICS) being carried out through the
Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre, Brisbane,
Australia. Finally, the difficult but critically important issue of the
provision of well-educated and trained geomechanics
practitioners to support current and future mass mining
undertakings internationally will be addressed.
2. TERMINOLOGY
At the outset it is necessary to define the term mass mining.
Despite its widespread use, clear definitions of this term are not
readily found. The web site for this conference
(www.massmin2004.cl) indicates that the conference will
address a range of mass mining problems and then says, "in
this category are understood to be caving methods (block,
panel and sublevel caving), large scale stoping methods
statement goes on to say that "MassMin 2004 will include not
only underground mining but also open pit mining." This
definition of mass mining follows that used in the Chairmans
Foreword to the Proceedings of MassMin 2000 in which the
MassMin series of conferences were described as "the
pinnacle international forum for discussing and sharing both
technical and operational issues and experiences associated
with the application of methods such as caving (block, caving
and sublevel) and large-scale stoping (sublevel and longhole),
including their derivatives (underground benching, front cave,
inclined footwall, etc)" (Chitombo 2000). Thus, the two recent
international conferences on mass mining define their subject
only in terms of the mining methods being used and not
through other parameters such as production levels. Because
of the nature of the mining methods identified as constituting
mass mining (including open pit mining), there is an implication
that the mining will be on a large or massive scale in other than
narrow orebodies whose dimensions will be substantial in all
three dimensions. Mass mining will also be taken to be highly
mechanised and non-selective (other than in the broadest
sense).
In his keynote paper to MassMin 2000, Hustrulid (2000)
arbitrarily took large scale undergound mines to have
production rates of at least 5,000 tonnes per day (tpd) or 15
million tonnes per year (tpy) and "involving the use of panel
caving, sublevel caving and sublevel stoping." For present
purposes, Hustrulids limit may be too low and so
underground mass mining will be taken to involve
production rates of more than 10,000 tpd. Although
underground coal mining by longwall methods has most of
the characteristics of mass mining, production rates are
rarely high enough for them to qualify under this criterion,
even when multiple longwall panels are operated at a given
mine. Accordingly, underground coal mining and its needs
will not be considered here. The writer has considered
elsewhere geomechanics practice in the Australian
underground coal mining industry and the industrys needs
for geomechanics research, education and training (Golder
Associates 2001).
Large open pits provide clear examples of mass mining.
For present purposes, examples will be assumed to be
provided by those pits that mine 30,000 or more tonnes of
ore per day (or 100 million tpy). For consistency with the

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 21

definition adopted for underground mines, the removal of
waste rock will not be taken into account. The largest open
pits currently mine in excess of 200,000 tpd (see Figure 2).
The other major term that requires definition in the present
context is geomechanics and, more particularly, that part of the
discipline known as mining geomechanics. The learned society
for geomechanics in Australia, the Australian Geomechanics
Society, defines its subject in the following way:
"Geomechanics is the application of engineering and
geological principles to the behaviour of the ground and ground
water and the use of these principles in civil, mining, offshore
and environmental engineering in the widest sense."
This definition includes the application of geomechanics
to a range of engineering purposes. In this regard, it is
almost synonymous with the term geotechnical engineering
which has been defined as "the application of the sciences
of soil mechanics and rock mechanics, engineering geology
and other related disciplines to civil engineering cons-
truction, the extractive industries and the preservation and
enhancement of the environment" (Anon 1999).
A more restrictive view of geomechanics is that it is that
group of "sciences" referred to in this definition of
geotechnical engineering, most notably soil mechanics and
rock mechanics (e.g. Brown 1993). This view derives from
the definition of rock mechanics developed by the US
National Committee on Rock Mechanics in 1966:
"Rock mechanics is the theoretical and applied science of the
mechanical behaviour of rock and rock masses; it is that
branch of mechanics concerned with the response of rock and
rock masses to the force fields of their physical environment."
The Australian Geomechanics Societys broader definition
of geomechanics which includes the applications as well as
the "theoretical and applied sciences" themselves will be
adopted here. As has been noted, this definition is almost
synonymous with that of geotechnical engineering.
Accordingly, on occasion, the adjective "geotechnical" may
be used in accordance with customary usage.
It follows from these definitions that mining geomechanics is
that part of geomechanics that is concerned with the
application of knowledge of the physical and mechanical
behaviour of geological materials (soils, rocks and water) to the
investigation, design and performance of mining structures
including excavations (Brown 1993). Blasting mechanics is
usually considered to be part of mining geomechanics as so
defined. For present purposes, mining geomechanics will be
taken to include the application of geomechanics to mine fill,
waste and tailings disposal and the long-term stability and
performance of mined and rehabilitated land forms on mine
sites. It also includes applications of geomechanics in the
investigation, design, excavation, stability, support and
reinforcement and performance of all infrastructure, service
and productive surface and underground excavations
associated with the mining process. Figure 1 illustrates many of
the components of mining geomechanics so defined.
Figure 1: Components of mining geomechanics (from Little
and Szwedzicki 1992).
22 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
3. HISTORICAL TRENDS TOWARD MASS MINING
It is instructive to consider the ways in which mass mining
has evolved over time, in terms of mining methods, levels of
production and mining depths. In these considerations, it is
necessary to consider open pit and underground mining
separately.
Figure 2 shows a compilation of historical and projected
daily production rates from the early 20th century for several
of the worlds largest open pits of the day. With the notable
exceptions of Bingham Canyon and Chuquicamata, none of
these pits have operated throughout the full period being
considered. The data plotted in Figure 2 were derived from
a variety of published and unpublished sources. The
available data, sometimes expressed as tonnes per month
and sometimes as tonnes per year, have been converted to
average tonnes per day for use in
Figure 2. Although some local inaccuracies may exist
because of the variety of sources of the data plotted,
the general trends indicated are considered to be
meaningful.
Figure 2 shows clearly that production rates from the
worlds largest open pits have grown progressively over
the last 100 years and that they are projected to continue
to grow over the next decade. This increased production
owes much to increased mechanisation and to increases
in the capacities of equipment such as blast hole drills,
shovels, loaders and trucks (Karzulovic 2004). A similar
and perhaps more significant trend from a geomechanics
perspective is the increase in open pit depths with time
shown in Figure 3. The open pit for which most data are
available, the Chuquicamata mine, Chile, was 280 m
deep in 1970, is about 850 m deep today and is projected
to become 1100 m deep in the next decade (Karzulovic
2004).
Also shown on Figures 2 and 3 are certain milestones in
the development and application of geomechanics to open
pit slope engineering. The increases in production and pit
depths that took place from the 1970s coincide with the
significant attention being paid to slope stability research at
that time, most notably in the project undertaken by
Professor Evert Hoek at Imperial College, London, in the
late 1960s and reported in the seminal book, Rock Slope
Engineering by Hoek and Bray (1974), and the Canadian Pit
Slope Project began in 1972 and reported in the Pit Slope
Manual published in 1976 and 1977.
Figure 4 shows a compilation of daily production rates for
some of the worlds largest underground mines of their day.
The data plotted in Figure 4 were collected in a similar way to
those for open pits plotted in Figure 2 and are subject to similar
qualifications. Figure 2 is dominated by El Teniente, the worlds
largest underground mine now producing around 100,000 tpd
with significant increases in production being planned. It will be
noted that the production from this mine increased steadily over
the first 30 years of production to about 1940 when the rate of
increase declined, possibly as a result of World War II. The rate
of increase jumped sharply from the mid-1960s with the overall
trend being projected to continue into the future.
At several times in the past, El Tenientes production rates
have been matched and occasionally slightly exceeded by
those of other block and panel caving mines such as
Climax, El Salvador, Miami and San Manuel. The largest
production rates achieved by other mining methods have
been those of the Swedish sublevel caving iron ore mines.
The production rates of the largest open stoping mines have
always been below those of the caving mines. The highest
current production rate from an open stoping mine known to
the writer is Olympic Dams approximately 25,000 tpd which
is planned to increase to 34,000 tpd in the near future. As a
general rule, the mining costs of stoping mines may be two
or three times those of caving mines.
Massmin 2004
Figure 2: Evolution of daily production rates of selected large open pits.

Figure 3: Evolution of the depths of selected large open pits.

Figure 5 shows the evolution of maximum mining depth
for selected underground mines that use mass mining
methods. Once again, the most complete set of data
available are for El Teniente. Figure 5 clearly establishes the
fact that mining depths are increasing, if anything at an
increasing rate with time. The depths of mines that use
mass mining methods as defined here are not as great as
those mining tabular orebodies of which the deep level gold
mines of South Africa provide the most notable example.
However, the depths of some of these mines are now
considerable in historical terms. The undercut level of the
Palabora block caving mine is at a depth of 1200 m below
surface (Calder et al 2000) as is the Freeport Deep Ore
Zone mine. Other block and panel caving mines in the
feasibility and planning stages (e.g. Bingham Canyon and
Chuquicamata) may well be even deeper. Sublevel caving
at depths of more than 1000 m is being practiced or planned
at Kiruna (Sweden), Perseverance (Western Australia) and
Ridgeway (New South Wales, Australia). The deepest mass
mining open stoping mine known to the writer is the Kidd
Mine in Timmins, Ontario, which is at a depth of about 2000
m and plans to reach 2990 m in about 10 years time.
Another open stoping mine, the Enterprise Mine at Mount
Isa, Australia, is at a depth of 1900 m below surface.
The precursor of the modern block caving method of
mining was developed in the iron ore mines of the

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 23

Menominee Ranges, Michigan, USA, in the late nineteenth
century (Peele 1941). Variations of the original Pewabic
method were soon developed at other iron ore mines in
Michigan and, from the early part of the twentieth century, in
the copper mines in western USA. Before evolving to the
use of full block caving, many mines initially used combined
methods involving, for example, shrinkage stoping and
caving methods for the subsequent mining of the pillars
between the primary stopes (Peele 1941).
By the 1920s and 30s, block caving methods were being
used in a wide range of mines exploiting massive, weak
orebodies. During this period, the method was introduced,
for example, at the King Mine which mined asbestos in
Quebec, Canada, the Climax Mine mining molybdenum in
Colorado, USA, and the copper mines in Chile (Peele
1941). Early block caving methods used hand, grizzlies with
transfer raises, and slusher methods of loading. Under
suitable geotechnical and other conditions, the productivity
of block caving mines was increased significantly by the
progressive introduction of mechanised loading using LHD
vehicles from the late 1960s. Mechanised panel caving was
used when Henderson commenced production in 1976 and
was introduced at El Teniente in 1982.
Peele (1941) notes that sublevel caving (SLC) was
introduced as a logical development of top slicing in the
Lake Superior Iron Ranges in the early part of the

Figure 4: Evolution of daily production rates at selected large underground mines.

Figure 5: Evolution of maximum mining depth for selected mines that use mass mining methods.

24 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

twentieth century. It was also used in a few other parts of
the USA in the same period. Perhaps the first large-scale
use of SLC was that at the Kiruna iron ore mine in
Sweden from 1957 (Gustafsson 1981). This marked the
beginning of the development of modern SLC mining. The
method was introduced into Australia, Canada and China
in the 1960s.
Forms of open stoping and sublevel open stoping have
long been practiced, particularly in narrow and tabular
orebodies. Peele (1941) notes that sublevel stoping
developed in the Michigan iron ore mines in about 1902.
Forms of the method were being used in disseminated
copper orebodies in Canada, the USA, what is now
Zambia, and at Mount Isa, Australia, in the 1930s. The
introduction of LHD vehicles, advances in drilling and
blasting technology and advances in mining
geomechanics, helped bring about changes in mine
design and increases in productivity using sublevel open
stoping and blasthole stoping methods from the late
1960s and the 1970s (e.g. Goddard 1981). In many major
metalliferous mining districts, these developments
brought about a change to these methods from cut-and-
fill methods under suitable geotechnical conditions (e.g.
Brown 1992, Pariseau et al 1984, Singh and Hedley
1981).
A good example of the evolution of non-caving
underground mass mining methods is provided by the
Mount Isa Mine in northwest Queensland, Australia.
Underground mining of silver-lead-zinc ore began in 1932
and of copper in 1943. Until 1963, open sublevel stoping
accounted for 95% of the underground production. From
1963, two new stoping methods were introduced,
mechanised cut-and-fill in the narrower silver-lead-zinc
Racecourse orebodies and sublevel caving of the southern
section of the 500 copper orebody (Davies 1967). Large-
scale mechanized sublevel open stoping with delayed filling
was introduced into the wider parts of the silver-lead-zinc
orebodies and the copper orebodies from the late 1960s
(Goddard 1981, Grant and De Kruijff 2000). Bench and fill
methods replaced what was left of cut-and-fill mining of the
silver-lead-zinc (now known more simply as lead) orebodies
from 1991 (Villaescusa 1996). It has been widely reported
and acknowledged that geomechanics input has been
centrally important to the successful development and
implementation of these various mining methods (Brown
1992, Davies 1967, Mathews and Edwards 1969,
Villaescusa 1996).
4. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
OF MINING GEOMECHANICS
4.1 Early mining geomechanics
In contradistinction to many fields of modern engineering
that have been preceded by, or developed in parallel with,
their companion engineering sciences, mining was
practiced for centuries (or even millenia) without the benefit
of any formal knowledge that we would now recognise as
applied mechanics, rock mechanics or geomechanics
(Obert and Duvall 1967). After all, Newtons laws were
discovered only in the second half of the 17th century, and
the bases of modern applied mechanics were developed
mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Based on the practices reported by Agricola (1556),
progressive improvement in the state-of-the-art of mining
was made, particularly in Europe and subsequently North
America. However, it was not until the 19th century that
engineering societies were founded in those continents and
engineers began to report their experiences in technical
publications. In the area that we would now recognise as
mining rock mechanics or geomechanics, the initial
concerns were with the effects of underground mining on
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
the surface (caving and subsidence) and then with the
stability of the excavations themselves (Obert and Duvall
1967, Turchaninov et al 1979). Reports dating from the mid-
19th century were based mainly on qualitative visual
observations but quite good measurements of surface
subsidence and of roof and floor convergence were made in
the last quarter of that century. At the same time,
mechanisms of caving, arching and the development of
ground pressure and deformations were postulated (e.g.
Fayol 1885). Young and Stoeks (1916) comprehensive
account of mining-related subsidence lists more than 100
papers published in the preceding 60 years dealing mainly
with subsidence in the European coalfields. These studies
of caving and subsidence may be considered to represent
an initial stage in the development of modern mining
geomechanics (Hood and Brown 1999).
4.2 The establishment of rock mechanics
as an engineering discipline
Obert and Duvall (1967) note that in the first two decades
of the 20th century, technical reports began to appear which
treated rock as an engineering material. These papers
addressed issues such as the mechanical properties of
rock, deep mining and rockbursts. Laboratory studies using
both photoelastic and material models of rock were reported
(e.g. Bucky 1934) as well as theoretical and empirical
studies of the states of stress around surface and
underground excavations.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the theories
developed were either empirical or applied the basic
concepts of structural mechanics and the strength of
materials. Subsequently, the theory of linear elasticity was
used to calculate the stresses around excavations of simple
shape (e.g. Terzaghi and Richart 1952, Savin 1961).
Greater insight was developed using elastic-plastic and
ground-support interaction concepts based on an analysis
by Fenner (1938). Much of this work was carried out in
Europe and then in the USA where the US Bureau of Mines
was a leader in theoretical and experimental studies from
the 1930s.
From the 1930s, the production of scientific and
engineering information about rock properties and the
design and stability of structures in rock accelerated
rapidly. The first issue of the first specialist journal
devoted to rock mechanics, Geologie und Bauwesen,
was published in Vienna in 1929. (After several name
changes, the successor to this journal is now known as
Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering.) Annual
colloquia on rock mechanics have been held in Austria
since 1950, and in 1951 the First International Strata
Control Congress was held in Liege, Belgium. In 1956,
the first of what became the annual U S symposia on
rock mechanics was held at the Colorado School of
Mines. For some years, these symposia were sponsored
by the major U S mining schools. In Eastern Europe, an
International Bureau of Rock Mechanics which had a
mining emphasis, was established at the Third
International Strata Control Congress held in Leipzig,
Germany, in 1958. Under the leadership of Leopold
Mller, the International Society for Rock Mechanics
(ISRM) was established in 1962. The ISRM held its First
International Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1964, the
year in which the first volume of the International Journal
of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences was published.
It may be concluded then, that by the early 1960s, rock
mechanics had become an identifiable engineering
discipline with its specialist journals, books, conferences,
societies, and courses and research programs in
universities. It was from this time that modern rock
mechanics and mining geomechanics underwent
significant development. That development has been
25
explored in some detail by Hood and Brown (1999). Only
selected aspects of that history will be outlined here. The
many seminal contributions made in respect of
underground coal mining and the deep level hard rock
mining of tabular orebodies, in particular, will not be
considered. The development of geomechanics studies
for the open pit and underground methods of mining
being considered here will be dealt with separately,
although there are obvious overlaps in areas such as
geotechnical characterisation, rock and rock mass
properties and methods of analysis.
4.3 Modern mining geomechanics
By the mid-1960s, open pit mining was being carried out
on an increasing scale and at increasing depths. As a
consequence, the stability of open pit slopes became of
major concern, not only from the obvious perspective of
safety but also in terms of the overall economics of
operations. By 1970, specialist conferences on open pit
slope stability were being held (e.g. Van Rensberg 1970,
Brawner and Milligan 1971). An example of a major open pit
slope failure occurring in that period was that at the
Chuquicamata mine, Chile, in 1969 (Kennedy and
Niermeyer 1970).
The application of the emerging discipline of rock
mechanics to open pit slope design was undeveloped at
the beginning of this period. Quite often, attempts were
made to apply soil mechanics principles or to treat the
problem as one in elastic stress analysis. In retrospect,
Stacey (1993) noted that "in the early 1970s, a review of
hard rock slopes around the world by height and slope
angle put the majority of slopes less than 500 ft (150 m)
in height, with slope angles for the higher slopes
typically in the 45o range or less. At the time, slope
design technology was still developing and most of the
pits had been designed on the "45 degrees seems
reasonable" philosophy."
An important advance was made when the crucial role
played by discontinuities in controlling the stability of most
open pit slopes became clear. Although it had long been
recognised that these structural features influenced slope
behaviour (Terzaghi 1962, Mller 1964), many workers had
assumed that a jointed rock mass could be regarded as an
equivalent orthotropic medium. Soon, the need to describe
and model the strength and deformation behaviour of key
discontinuities became clear (e.g. John 1962). Pioneering
work presented to the First ISRM Congress by Patton
(1966) had shown that, at low normal stresses, the
roughness of joint surfaces has an important effect on the
shear strength of joints.
In the mid- to late 1960s, research programs on open pit
slope stability were being carried out, or were begun, in
several parts of the world including Canada, South Africa,
the UK, the USA and the USSR. One of the most significant
of these programs was the industrially sponsored project led
by Professor Evert Hoek at the Royal School of Mines,
Imperial College, London. Hoek and other early workers
recognised the value of the structural geologists approach
of using the stereographic projection for analysing structural
data. Hoeks team, and others, developed methods of
collecting and analysing discontinuity data and of using the
stereographic projection to identify likely modes of rock
slope failure. They also developed simple but effective
instruments and procedures for the field and laboratory
measurement of rock properties. From the late 1960s,
significant contributions to these areas of rock mechanics
were also made by several groups of international experts
working as part of the ISRM Commission on Testing
Methods to develop and publish a range of suggested
methods of rock characterisation, testing and monitoring
(Brown 1981).
26 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
New methods were developed for analysing single
plane sliding and wedge failures, using both analytical
solutions and the stereographic projection. Some of
these methods had been developed initially for civil
engineering applications (e.g. John 1968, Londe 1965).
The influence of blasting practice and drainage on slope
stability was recognised, as was the importance of
monitoring the performance of slopes. A comprehensive
account of this work was published by Hoek and Bray
(1974) in their classic text, Rock Slope Engineering.
Subsequently, revised editions were published in 1977
and 1981. Overviews of this early work were given at the
3rd ISRM Congress in Denver by Hoek and Londe (1974)
and by Goodman (1974).
By the mid- to late 1970s it was recognised that the
solution of some types of slope stability problem required
that approximations be made to the strength and
deformation characteristics of large masses of rock
containing several sets of discontinuities. The Hoek-
Brown empirical rock mass strength criterion, developed
originally as part of an industrially funded project on
underground excavations in rock (Hoek and Brown
1980), was soon used to address this issue in slope
stability analyses (Hoek and Bray 1981). At about the
same time, probabilistic and risk analysis approaches to
slope stability studies were being developed (e.g. Coates
1977, McMahon 1975).
It had been recognised that, in some cases, the rock
mass should be regarded as a discontinuum or an assembly
of interacting blocks each of which may be free to translate
or rotate (e.g. Trollope 1968). It was in studies of the
dynamics of rock slopes in jointed rock that Cundall (1971)
originally developed his distinct element approach to the
numerical modelling of discontinua. It had also been
recognised that, in many cases, intact bridges of rock are
present between discontinuities (Jennings 1970). Although
techniques for dealing with this problem were developed,
they involved a number of assumptions and uncertainties.
As will be discussed in Section 5 below, this remains a
largely unresolved problem today.
So we see that by the early 1980s, most of the basic
geomechanics knowledge, methods of collecting rock mass
characterisation and mechanical property data, and the
techniques and framework for slope stability analyses were
in place. The ability to carry out geomechanics studies of
open pit rock slopes was enhanced by the numerical
analysis methods that had been developed in the preceding
15 years or so and by the ever increasing computing power
that became available to engineers. The use of a
geomechanics based approach to rock slope design in
place of the presumptive approach used previously has
allowed deeper and steeper open pit slopes to be
engineered, optimised and managed with positive results in
terms of productivity and profitability (Karzulovic 2004,
Stacey 1993). More recent developments and the current
geomechanics issues associated with large scale open pit
mining will be discussed in Section 5 below.
From the early to mid-1960s, the emerging engineering
discipline of rock mechanics was applied increasingly to
large-scale underground metalliferous mining in several
parts of the world. In Australia, a number of mining
companies used the expertise built up on the Snowy
Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme in the 1950s and 60s
(May 1980). In 1963, Mount Isa Mines established what was
for some time one of the strongest applied rock mechanics
programs on a particular mine site anywhere in the world
(Mathews and Edwards 1969).
Although open stoping and caving methods of mining
were well established, cut-and-fill mining of metalliferous
orebodies became increasingly important from the mid-
1960s and the subject of basic and applied research
Massmin 2004
programs in Australia, Canada and Sweden. Importantly,
this work involved government research organisations,
industry groups which often sponsored and managed the
research, university research groups and individual mine
sites which often contributed field test sites as well as
staff expertise. The results of these various studies are
reported in the specialist conference proceedings edited
by Stephansson and Jones (1981). Subsequently,
attention was focussed on the geomechanics problems
associated with open stoping methods of mining, building
on the mining geomechanics knowledge and techniques
developed in the "cut-and-fill era" (Brown 1992). Up to
the 1980s, advances were made in site characterisation
and mine model formulation, in situ stress measurement,
design analysis, numerical modelling, support and
reinforcement systems including cable bolting, fill
technology (hydraulic fill, rock fill and, more recently,
paste fill), mine scheduling and pillar recovery, and
performance monitoring and retrospective analysis
(Hood and Brown 1999).
From 1972 to 1976, Professor Evert Hoek and his team at
the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London,
carried out an industrially sponsored research project on the
design of large underground excavations in rock, modelled
on the highly successful rock slope project. The results of
this project were reported by Hoek and Brown (1980). A later
project carried out in Canada with the support of the
Canadian mining industry built on this foundation,
developing a number of new computer-based analytical
tools and advancing the state-of-the-art of rock support and
reinforcement for hard rock applications (Hoek et al 1995).
Significant mining geomechanics research programs,
associated largely with open stoping methods of mining
continue in Canada to the present day.
The importance of geomechanics to underground mass
mining was emphasised by the series of international mass
mining conferences held in Denver (Stewart 1981),
Johannesburg (Glen 1992), Brisbane (Chitombo 2000) and
now Santiago (Karzulovic and Alfaro 2004). In the context of
the theme of this paper, an important development occurred
in 1997 when the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research
Centre, Brisbane, Australia, and the Itasca Consulting
Group, Inc, Minneapolis, USA, began work on the
International Caving Study (ICS) Stage 1 (ICS I). This study
was sponsored by an international consortium on mining
companies engaged in, or planning, caving operations. The
issues addressed by this study and its successor, the
International Caving Study Stage II (ICS II) will be outlined
in Sections 6.1 and 8 below. Suffice to say that, as shown
by Figure 4, the need for these studies arose from the
companies interest in mining larger, better quality and
deeper orebodies by highly productive mass mining
methods.
Despite this apparently positive picture of the continued
development and application of mining geomechanics in
both open pit and underground mass mining since the early
1960s, there have been some disturbing developments (or
absence of them) in the past 10-15 years. There has been
a decline in the numbers of government funded research
organisations working on mining geomechanics, the closure
of a number of University mining programs, and an apparent
drying up in the supply of well educated and trained
geomechanics practitioners available in some parts of the
world. These issues will be discussed in Sections 8 and 9
below.
5. GEOMECHANICS AND
LARGE-SCALE OPEN PIT MINING
The development of mining geomechanics for large-scale
open pit mining was outlined in the preceding section where
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
it was shown that most of the fundamental knowledge and
tools were in place by the early 1980s. Since that time,
geomechanics practice in large open pits has evolved, most
notably in the area of slope management. This overview of
geomechanics and large-scale open pit mining draws
heavily on recent papers by Caldern et al (2003), Flores
and Karzulovoic (2000), Hoek et al (2000a,b) and
Karzulovic (2004).
Hoek et al (2000a,b) emphasise the fundamental
importance of a comprehensive and reliable geological
model to any large open pit slope design. Geological models
are now routinely developed, stored and manipulated using
powerful computer-based modelling tools. The ability to
interface these models with geotechnical data and stability
analyses, including numerical analyses, adds to their utility
in open pit slope engineering. The geotechnical and
hydrogeological characterisation of the rock masses forming
the current and future pit slopes is the next essential step in
the process. Although the techniques for doing this have
been established since the early 1980s, advances in the use
of digital technologies for collecting, storing, processing and
manipulating data have been made in recent years (Brown
2003). The process of collecting and evaluating
geotechnical data in large open pits is never-ending. As with
underground mining where the problem is even more acute,
one of the major difficulties is the fact that it is possible to
sample and characterise only a small proportion of the rock
mass directly in advance of excavation.
Although the emphasis in both geological and
geotechnical data collection and model formulation for open
pit mining is on structural features, the nature and properties
of the rock material should also be considered. The
possibility of failure through the rock material in high slopes,
and the impact of variable rock strengths associated with
weathering and alteration, should not be overlooked. Hoek
et al (2000a,b) discuss the relative impacts of several types
of alteration of the rocks at the Chuquicamata mine, Chile,
for example. It is common practice, and indeed necessary
for practical purposes, to divide the rock mass around the pit
into structural or geotechnical domains within each of which
a constant geotechnical model may be used. As mining
proceeds and more data become available, it may be
necessary to refine the original definition of these
geotechnical domains.
The next step is to carry out a series of slope stability
analyses for the stage in the life of the pit being considered.
Hoek et al (2000a) discuss the approach generally used in
the following way:
"The current state of practice tends to separate slope
designs into two distinct categories. The first of these
categories is for those designs that can be dealt with in terms
of kinematically possible structurally controlled failures. For
example, failures that involve wedges sliding along the line of
intersection of two intersecting faults can be analysed using
limit equilibrium models. This type of failure is commonly seen
in slopes of up to 20 or 30 m high in hard jointed rock masses.
The design of such slopes can sometimes be based upon an
analysis of simple wedge failure.
The second category is that which includes non-
structurally controlled failures in which some or all of the
failure surface passes through a rock mass which has
been weakened by the presence of joints or other
second order structural features. An assumption
commonly made is that these second order structural
features are randomly or chaotically distributed and that
the rock mass strength can be defined by a simple
failure criterion in which smeared or average non-
directional strength properties are assigned to the rock
mass. This approach is frequently used for the analysis
of the overall stability of large slopes where it is
believed that no obvious failure mode presents itself."
27
 Hoek et al (2000a,b) go on to point out that
experience shows that these two categories alone are
inadequate for open pit slope design. Many or most
large scale slope failures do not appear to follow either
of these relatively simple models. They are generally
more complex that these models assume, often
involving failure on a major structure, rock mass failure
of the type discussed in the preceding paragraph and/or
a step-path failure controlled by joints and intervening
rock bridges as illustrated in Figure 6. In addition, these
complex failures such as that shown in Figure 7 may be
truly three dimensional so that they are not amenable to
representation and analysis in simple two dimensional
form. Clearly, these failure mechanisms are difficult, if
not impossible, to foresee ahead of the event. Even
when examined after the failure, the exact mechanism
and the failure surfaces are not always easy to identify.
The writer has had recent experience of this difficulty in
the cases of two open pit failures that were only in the
order of 40 m high. The development of predictive
techniques for identifying and analysing these large,
complex failures is seen to be perhaps the most
outstanding geomechanics research need for large-
scale open pit mining. Any successful approach is likely
to involve computer based geological and geotechnical
modelling, advanced numerical analyses, probabilistic
methods and the use of risk analysis techniques. At a
fundamental level, further research is also required to
better define the strength and deformation properties of
discontinuous in situ rock masses.
Figure 6: Candidate failure surface involving a number of
different shear failure mechanisms (Hoek et al 2000a).
Figure 7: A large-scale open pit slope failure (Hoek et al
2000a).
28 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
It is now widely recognised that it is impossible to prevent
some slope failures in large open pits, especially on the
scale of benches. Indeed, it is considered that any pit in
which no failures occur is less than optimally designed for
profitability. Modern practice is to use a risk management
approach in which the risks are identified and managed
(e.g. Cataln and Caldern 2004, Caldern et al 2003, Call
et al 2000, Karzulovic 2004). The monitoring of slope
movements and the establishment of acceptability criteria
are important elements of this approach.
As well as these geomechanics issues, the general issue
of materials handling and the costs involved is probably the
other major challenge faced by large-scale open pit mines
as their depths approach and exceed 1000 m. These issues
are outside the scope of this paper and of the writer's
knowledge and expertise, and so will not be discussed in
any detail here. However, their significance should be
acknowledged. An overall future need will be to limit the
amount of waste and ore hauled from depth to the surface
using conventional methods. A change away from trucks to
in-pit conveyors could enable overall pit slopes to be
steepened as well as saving on the capital, operating and
maintenance costs of vehicles and haul roads. A further
possibility into the future would be to carry out some parts of
the processing cycle in underground chambers excavated
below the pit floor. This concept has a number of
geomechanics implications in terms of stand-off distances
from the pit and the stability of the underground excavations
themselves.
6. GEOMECHANICS AND CAVING
METHODS OF MINING
6.1 Block caving geomechanics
Current practices and trends in block and panel cave
mining are discussed in the paper by Flores et al (2004a).
Many, if not most, of the major challenges faced in
engineering the modern generation of block and panel
caving mines, and those in the feasibility or planning stages,
involve geomechanics issues. Many of these challenges
arise because of the high rock mass qualities of the
orebodies being mined (in which the critical issues of
cavability and fragmentation are accentuated), the greater
depths at which caving is being initiated, the associated
problems with extraction level stability, and the increasing
heights of caving columns. In some cases, the interaction of
the cave with a pre-existing open pit becomes an additional
consideration (e.g. Glazer and Hepworth 2004).
Table 1 lists the major geomechanics-related issues and
activities involved in the investigation, preliminary study,
planning, design, construction and operating stages of block
and panel caving mines. Even a cursory consideration of
these issues and activities will demonstrate the vitally
important role that geomechanics plays in modern cave
mining, even without considering tailings management,
environmental management and mine closure issues, all of
which can have significant geomechanics components.
Most of the issues and activities listed in Table 1 have been
discussed in detail by Brown (2003) and in a range of papers
presented to this and previous mass mining conferences. In
order to provide some further detail, some of the geomechanics
methods and processes involved in cavability assessment and
in cave inducement are set out in Figure 8 which comes from
the CaveRisk risk assessment methodology developed as part
of ICS I (Brown 2003). Although this and the other issues listed
in Table 1 have received a considerable amount of attention in
recent years by both in-house groups in mining companies and
in research projects such as the ICS, current levels of
understanding of caving mechanics and cave engineering do
not always match industrial requirements, particularly when
major risks are involved in new mining ventures that "break
Massmin 2004
 Table 1: Major geomechanics-related issues and activities
associated with modern block and panel caving mines

PRELIMINARY STUDIES Geotechnical model formulation

Cavability assessment
Fragmentation assessment
Mining method selection
Identification of potential major hazards
Subsidence prediction
Risk analysis

MINE PLANNING, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
Undercut level selection and undercutting strategy
Excavation sequencing
Extraction level design and construction, including support
and reinforcement
Subsidence prediction
Infrastructure location, design and construction

MINING OPERATIONS Undercutting and caving initiation

Draw management
Monitoring (e.g by seismic monitoring) and managing cave
propagation (e.g. by draw control, rock mass conditioning and
cave inducement)
Monitoring excavation (including extraction level) performance
Management of major operational hazards including
uncontrolled collapses, rockbursts, mud rushes and air blasts
Monitoring the development of surface subsidence

new ground". The need for continuing fundamental

investigation of these issues will be outlined in Section 8 below.
The centrally important issues of caving mechanics
and cave propagation are addressed in the paper by
Flores et al (2004b). In the bench-marking exercise
carried out as part of ICS II (Flores et al 2004a), it was
concluded that there were no geotechnical tools available
with which to define the likelihood of vertical caving (a) Initial undercutting defining a flat, tabular cavity where
propagating through ore columns of varying heights the stress release caving mechanism predominates.
(sometimes outside the limits of precedent practice) in
rock masses of varying rock mass qualities and
strengths, and subjected to a range of possible in situ
stress fields. The model used for caving initiation and
propagation by stress caving
is illustrated in Figure 9. Flores et al (2004b) carried out a
series of parametric two dimensional stress analyses to assess
the effects of several aspects of geometry, stress field and rock
mass strength on vertical cave propagation. They defined a
Caving Propagation Factor for use in estimating the likelihood (b) The upward caving propagation makes the cave back
of vertical cave propagation in the initial engineering stages of curve, increasing the importance of the stress caving
cave mining projects, including those involving a transition from mechanism.
open pit to underground cave mining.

(c) Additional upward caving propagation increases the

curvature of the cave back, and makes predominant the
stress caving mechanism.

Figure 9: Evolution of the cave back and caving

mechanisms through time due to the upward propagation of
Figure 8: Cavability logic tree (Brown 2003) caving (Flores et al 2004b).

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 29

 Figure 10 shows a similar diagram to Figure 8 for a
second risk management focus issue, excavation stability.
In order to illustrate the application of geomechanics
knowledge and techniques, and because it is becoming of
increasing concern under the higher stress conditions being
encountered in deeper mines, the general issue of
extraction level excavation stability will be discussed in
more detail in the following sub-section.
6.2 Extraction level excavation stability
Brown (2003) lists and discusses the major factors
influencing extraction level layout and design as being
fragmentation, undercut strategy and design, geotechnical
conditions, operational factors (relating to the efficient
removal of broken ore), major operational hazards and the
stability, reinforcement, wear and repair of drawpoint brows.
The paramount importance of geomechanics issues is
again apparent. The stability, support and reinforcement of
extraction level excavations has long been a source of
difficulty, production delays, cost increases and even the
loss of productive sectors in caving operations. In addition
to geotechnical factors, poor mining practices such as poor
sequencing and poor draw control can cause excavation
instabilities.
Figure 10: Excavation stability logic tree (Brown 2003)
Extraction level excavations can be subjected to high
stresses because of the high percentage excavation on this
level, the stress concentrations associated with the
advancing cave front, and the increasing depths at which
extraction levels are being developed. These excavations
are also subjected to complex stress paths and repeated
static and dynamic loading cycles during mine development
and operation. Depending on the relation of the rock mass
quality to the induced stresses, squeezing (or plastic
deformation) or brittle fracturing (including rockburst)
conditions may exist. (There is also an important third case
in which instabilities are associated with structural features
(e.g. Flores et al 2004a). This case will not be considered
here.) The first case can be understood and managed
through the use of ground-support interaction analysis and
the application of the support and reinforcement principles
that are well established in civil engineering tunnelling
(Brown 2003). Leach et al (2000) provide an instructive
example of the calculation of ground reaction curves and
their application in the design of extraction level excavations
in the C-cut area of the Premier Mine, South Africa. Van Sint
Jan et al (1987) provide an excellent example of the
successful application of modern support and reinforcement
principles and practices on the extraction level of the El
30 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Salvador mine, Chile, with emphasis on the use of a flexible
support and reinforcement system and pre-reinforcement.
However, further research is required to develop reliable
numerical methods and rock mass constitutive laws for use
in predictive analyses (e.g. Wattimena 2003).
The case involving brittle fracture or even rockbursts has
been, perhaps, the more difficult of the two general cases to
understand and manage. The writer suggests that advances
can be made by addressing this problem through the
application of concepts and techniques developed in studies
of brittle rock behaviour in other engineering applications.
The ideas considered to be worthy of further exploration in
this context are the influence of stress path on rock mass
behaviour and the adaptation of the Hoek-Brown empirical
failure criterion (Hoek and Brown 1980, 1997) for brittle,
slabbing conditions developed by Martin (1997) and Martin
et al (1999).
In laboratory and field and field studies of the behaviour of
Lac du Bonnet granite, Martin (1997) found that the start of
the fracture or failure process began with the initiation of
damage caused by small cracks growing in the direction of
the maximum applied load. For unconfined Lac du Bonnet
granite, this occurred at an applied stress of 0.3 to 0.4 sc
where sc is the uniaxial compressive strength of the intact
rock material. As the load increased, these stable cracks
continued to accumulate. Eventually, when the sample
contained a sufficient density of these stable cracks, they
started to interact and an unstable cracking process
involving sliding was initiated. The stress level at which this
unstable cracking process is initiated is referred to as the
long term strength of the rock, scd.
As illustrated in Figure 11, Martin (1997) first determined
the laboratory peak, long term and crack initiation strengths
for the Lac du Bonnet granite. He was able to fit Hoek-Brown
failure envelopes to these curves, although the laboratory
crack initiation curve was found to be a straight line on s1
versus s3 axes. Subsequently, in a field experiment carried
out at the Underground Research Laboratory site in
Manitoba, Canada, the initiation of cracks around a tunnel
Figure 11: Hoek-Brown failure envelope for Lac du Bonnet
granite based on laboratory peak strength (Lab Peak), long-
term strength (Lab scd) and in situ crack initiation stress
(sci) determined by microseismic monitoring (after Martin
1997).
Massmin 2004
excavated in the Lac du Bonnet granite was recorded using
microseismic emissions. As shown in Figure 11, these data
corresponded well with the laboratory crack initiation data. It
was found that crack initiation at approximately constant
deviatoric stress, (s1 - s3), could be well represented by the
Hoek-Brown criterion with mb = 0 and s = 0.11 (Martin et al
1999), in which case, s1 - s3 = 0.33 sc.
This criterion was used in conjunction with elastic stress
analyses to give good predictions of the geometry of the
spalled zone around the tunnel. It has since been used to
predict brittle spalling or slabbing (as opposed to general
shear failure) conditions in a number of underground
excavations (e.g. Cai et al 2004). The suggestion is that this
criterion could also be used in analyses of the likelihood of
brittle rock fracture around extraction level excavations in
block and panel caving mines. In addition to the uniaxial
compressive strength of the rock material, the state of stress
on the boundary and in the rock around particular
excavations would have to be estimated. This can be done
through a three dimensional elastic stress using the finite
difference code, FLAC3D. Wattemina (2003) used this
approach to show how elevated stresses may be produced
in the extraction level excavations ahead of and near the
cave front, depending on the undercutting strategy used,
how the stresses at a given level in the extraction level
change as the cave front approaches and passes over the
point, and the effect of high horizontal in situ stresses on the
stresses induced in the major and minor apices. Depending
on the geometry of the problem to be investigated, two
dimensional plane strain analyses may be used in some
cases.
It has been found that the loading path taken to the
current state of stress in geological materials can influence
the strength able to be developed by a soil or rock mass.
This is particularly the case when plastic deformation is
involved. However, when deformation is essentially elastic
until "failure" and brittle fracture as opposed to general
plastic deformation occurs, it has been found that the
strength envelopes of "hard" rocks are essentially stress
path independent (Brady and Brown 2004). It is considered
likely, therefore, that as in the cases described by Martin et
al (1999) and Cai et al (2004), elastic stress analyses and
Martins representation of the Hoek-Brown criterion for crack
initiation will suffice for making a first-order estimate of the
occurrence and extent of brittle fracture around extraction
level excavations in strong, massive rock. Clearly, this
postulate will have to be tested by parametric numerical
analyses and by comparison, and possible calibration, with
high quality field data. This is considered to be a fertile topic
for future research. In such studies, the influence of
repeated loading would have to be considered.
6.3 Sublevel caving geomechanics
Generally, sublevel caving (SLC) is suitable only for
steeply dipping orebodies with reasonably strong orebody
rock enclosed by weaker overlying and wall rocks. The ore
must be of sufficient grade to accept dilution, perhaps
exceeding 20%, arising from the entrainment of barren
country rock in the ore stream. The method produces
significant disturbance of the ground surface, imposing
some possible limitations on its applicability. SLC may have
higher production costs than the other underground mass
mining methods being considered here because of the
relatively high development requirement per tonne
produced and the intensity of the drilling and blasting
required to generate mobile, granular ore within the caving
medium. Reduction of these development costs is one of
the objectives of modern SLC operations.
The choice between longitudinal and transverse layouts
involves consideration of a range of factors such as orebody
dip and plunge, orebody dimensions, the in situ stresses,
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
and the frequency and orientations of the discontinuities in
the rock mass. Transverse layouts generally have
advantages over longitudinal layouts for orebodies of
sufficient width (Bull and Page 2000) and are used for
modern high production SLC operations such as the Kiruna
Mine, Sweden (Quinterio et al 2001) and the Ridgeway Gold
Mine, New South Wales, Australia (Trout 2002).
In the last decade or so, larger sublevel and production
drift spacings and drift sizes have been introduced in large-
scale, highly productive SLC operations. For example, the
layouts used at Kiruna have been progressively scaled up
since the mining method was introduced more than 40 years
ago (Hustrulid 2000, Marklund and Hustrulid 1995). A major
effect of the scale-up, even with increased drift sizes to
accommodate larger equipment, has been to reduce the
proportion of ore extracted during development from 15% to
5%. Subsequently, full-scale trials have been conducted
with the sublevel interval increased from 27 m to 32 m, the
drift width increased from 7 m to 11 m, and the burden
increased from 3.0 m to 3.5 m (Quintero et al 2001). The
transverse sublevel caving layout used at the Ridgeway
Gold Mine, New South Wales, Australia, has a sublevel
interval of 25 m, a cross-cut drift spacing of 14 m and a drift
size of 6 m wide by 4 m high (Trout 2002, Power 2004).
Despite the attention that they have received,
fragmentation and the gravity flow of caved ore remain
major issues for SLC operations (e.g. Bull and Page 2000,
Rustan 2000, Power 2004). It appears that some of the
classic concepts introduced by Janelid and Kvapil (1966)
and widely used for many years, may not be applicable to
the coarser fragmentation and flow of stronger orebodies in
which flow may be episodic, chaotic and not interactive
(Power 2004). Modern SLC designs have departed from
those derived from considerations of Janelid and Kvapils
theories. Further investigation is required to develop an
improved understanding of these issues. Advances made
recently suggest that realistic numerical simulations of SLC
flow may soon be achievable (Power 2004).
Draw control and dilution remain major concerns for some
SLC operations. Well-designed and controlled drilling is
required for successful sublevel caving. Blasting under
confined conditions remains an issue requiring further
investigation. Finally, geomechanics problems have arisen
in production headings as a result of the concentration of
field stresses in the lower abutment of the mining zone.
Modern support and reinforcement principles and
techniques derived from civil engineering and other forms of
mining practice can help overcome these problems (e.g.
Struthers et al 2000). However, this and the other issues
identified may become accentuated as SLC is practiced at
increasing depths.
7. GEOMECHANICS AND LARGE-SCALE
OPEN STOPING METHODS
As outlined in Section 3, large-scale open or sublevel
stoping of massive or steeply dipping stratiform orebodies
has been practiced successfully for more than 30 years.
Since open stoping requires unsupported, free-standing
stope boundary surfaces, the strength of the orebody and
country rock masses must be adequate to provide stable
walls, faces and crowns of excavations. The orebody
boundary must be fairly regular since selective mining is
precluded by the requirement for regular stope outlines
associated with the use of long blast holes. Blast hole
penetration of stope walls due to drilling inaccuracy leads to
dilution (Brady and Brown 2004). Greater control of drilling
accuracy may be obtained with larger diameter blast holes.
Hamrin (2001) refers to 140-165 mm holes being drilled
accurately to depths of 100 m in bighole open stoping.
Pillar recovery or secondary stoping is commonly
31
practiced in open stoping. Backfill with a range of properties
may be placed in the primary stope voids and secondary
stoping or pillar mining performed by exploiting the local
ground control potential of the adjacent fill. Alternatively, on
the boundaries of ore blocks, pillars may be blasted into
adjacent stope voids with the possibility of extensive
collapse of the local country rock. Successful ore recovery
would then require draw of fragmented ore from beneath
less mobile, barren country rock with the potential for
dilution (Brady and Brown 2004). Dilution may also occur
from overbreak and the sloughing or failure of fill. On the
other hand, there is also the potential for ore loss arising
from insufficient ore breakage within the stope boundaries
(Villaescusa 2000).
The evidence shows that the development and
successful implementation of these mining methods has
relied heavily on advances in, and the application of,
mining geomechanics knowledge and techniques in areas
such as rock mass characterisation, numerical stress
analysis, mine sequencing analysis, support and
reinforcement including cable bolting and pre-placed
reinforcement, crown pillar stability, fill technology and
drilling and blasting technology (e.g. Alexander and
Fabjanczyk 1981, Brady and Brown 2004, Goddard 1981,
Grant and De Kruijff 2000, Potvin and Hudyma 2000,
Simser and Andrieux 2000). As the depth and scale of
these operations increase, problems of excavation
stability and dilution can be expected to be exacerbated
and the contributions made by geomechanics
accentuated. In some cases, depending on the mining
methods and equipment used, it may become necessary
to reduce some excavation sizes. The role of fill, including
the paste fill now being used increasingly, in ensuring the
stability of local and overall mine structures will become
ever more critical. The timely supply and placement of fill
in stopes, sometimes over long distances, can also be
expected to become a critical factor in some cases.
Increasing productivity by reducing development and
stope cycle times is likely to become an overall objective.
8. RESEARCH
The summary of the development and application of
mining geomechanics to mass mining given above shows
that, since the 1960s, the mining industry has been active in
working with university and government research groups on
research programs that were identified as being relevant to
the industrys needs. Although, by the very nature of
research, not all sponsored research produced significant
results, there can be no doubt that the industry gained much
benefit from its involvement in mining geomechanics
research (e.g. May 1980, Watson 1987). At the time, there
were strong government, industrial and university mining
geomechanics research groups in many countries including,
to the writers personal knowledge, Australia, Canada,
France, Germany, India, South Africa, Sweden, the UK, the
USA and the USSR. Not only were those programs
important in terms of their contributions to knowledge, but
they were also the sources of significant numbers of highly
trained geomechanics specialists for the industry.
A major feature Hood and Browns (1999) interpretation of
the history of mining geomechanics is the great influence
that a number of inspirational leaders had on the rapid
development of the discipline and of the most influential and
highly acclaimed research groups from the 1960s. As would
be expected, several of these "founding fathers" are no
longer living and many of those that are have either retired
from their university or research positions or now work as
consulting engineers. As a result, with a few exceptions, the
strong research groups that they built up have either
disappeared or now operate at much lower levels than they
32 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
did at their peaks. Furthermore, in a number of countries
(e.g. Germany, UK, USA), government funded mining
research organizations and mining research programs have
either been closed completely or are supported at
significantly reduced levels.
Despite this, some mining geomechanics research is
still being carried out in some of the countries identified in
the opening paragraph of this section, and new programs
have emerged in countries such as Chile and China.
However, to the best of the writers knowledge, no major
research programs on open pit slope stability on the scale
of those carried out in the late 1960s and 1970s, are
currently underway. As indicated in Section 5, there is a
pressing need in this area. It is understood that plans for
an industrially sponsored research project on large-scale
open pit geomechanics are being developed in
association with the mass mining technology initiative to
be outlined below.
Although many of the research programs that previously
supported the development of initially cut-and-fill and then
open stope mining no longer exist, the geomechanics of
caving methods of mining has been studied for the last eight
years by the ICS. The main topics addressed have been:
rock mass characterisation and the simulation of in situ
jointing;
review, development and calibration of methods for
cavability and fragmentation assessment;
undercut and extraction level design;
flow of broken rock using numerical models, a large-scale
physical model and mine scale marker tests;
development of a draw control and scheduling system
using linear programming and mixed integer linear
programming;
pre-conditioning of strong rock masses using hydraulic
fracturing methods;
development of geotechnical guidelines for the transition
from open pit to underground mining by caving methods;
development of a risk assessment methodology for block
and panel caving; and
collation of caving practice and knowledge, and the
results of research, in a readily accessible form.
Some of these topics are also being addressed on mine
sites and by other research groups outside the framework of
the ICS (e.g. pre-conditioning at Codelcos Andina Division).
Although useful advances have been made (e.g. Brown
2003), much remains to be done to develop the
understanding and knowledge required for the engineering
of the next generation of underground mass mining
operations. For some time, the sponsors of the ICS have
been working with the programs Technical Director, Dr
Gideon Chitombo, to establish the successor to the ICS in
the area of mass mining technology. The proposed research
areas and the associated research tasks are listed in Table
2 (Chitombo 2004). Clearly, many of these research tasks
have geomechanics orientations. Research on these topics
is considered to be essential in developing the knowledge
and techniques required to successfully mine in the
underground mass mining environment of the future.
9. EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The importance of the engineering discipline of
geomechanics to mass mining being argued here implies a
requirement for a continuing supply of well-educated and
trained (the writer distinguishes between the two) engineers
to advance and apply the discipline. The requirement is not
only for geomechanics specialists to work on mine sites, in
consultancies, in research organisations and as teachers,
but also for practicing mining engineers who have a good
working knowledge of the discipline and its impact.
Massmin 2004
 The shortage of mining geomechanics engineers in many
parts of the world, including those mainly English-speaking
countries with which the writer is most familiar, is part of a
perceived wider shortage of mining engineers and other
professionals for the minerals industry. In some countries,
the closure of mining and minerals engineering courses, of
specialist postgraduate courses, and of mining research
groups, has given cause for concern (Hood and Brown
1999). As a result, in several mining countries, the
professional institutions, industry leaders, those universities
still active in the field and the minerals industry press, have
discussed and sought solutions to what is seen as being a
critical future shortage of minerals industry professionals. In
Australia, for example, a study carried out by a taskforce of
the peak industry body, the Minerals Council of Australia
(Minerals Council of Australia 1998), resulted in the
establishment of the Minerals Tertiary Education Council
(MTEC). MTEC aims "to build a world-class tertiary learning
environment for the education of professional staff for the
Australian minerals industry." The development and delivery
of a flexible-format, web-based rock mechanics education
program for undergraduate mining engineers forms part of
MTECs program (Lilly et al 2003). Thankfully, as university
mining and minerals education has declined in some
countries, it has been maintained or developed in some
others, including Chile.
The problem is many-facetted and almost as old as the
industry itself. Some aspects of the problem are associated
with young peoples interests and aspirations, some may be
attributed to the secondary education systems in some
countries, some are the responsibility of universities and of
university funding systems, while some must be visited on
the mining companies themselves. This is not the place to
explore the reasons for, and advance possible solutions to,
the overall problem. However, some specific comments
about mining geomechanics are warranted.
A research training through post-graduate research
into an industry-related problem, followed (or preceded)
by mine site experience is considered to provide an
especially strong preparation for mining geomechanics
specialists (Golder Associates 2001). The decline of
mining geomechanics research groups in some parts of
the world, and the failure to establish them in others, has
had deleterious effects on the supply of well-trained
specialists for the industry. Nevertheless, it must be
recognised that some strong university mining
geomechanics research groups with interests in mass
mining exist in Canada and Australia, for example. In
addition to contributing to advances in knowledge and
understanding, industry support for projects like the ICS
and the proposed mass mining technology project should
serve the further important purpose of helping train some
of the industrys current and future engineering
specialists to the advanced levels that will be necessary
to develop solutions to the problems likely to be
encountered in future mass mining operations.
The writer has the highest personal regard for many of the
experienced geomechanics specialists working on mine
sites and in consultancies in his home country, Australia,
and in several other parts of the world, including Chile.
These specialists come from a wide range of initial
educational and subsequent training backgrounds. In some
countries, many geomechanics specialists have civil
engineering, geological engineering or engineering geology,
rather than mining, backgrounds. However, the living and
social conditions on many remote mine sites (including the
fly in-fly out system), the lack of opportunities for career
advancement in specialist fields, and some company cost-

Table 2: Proposed mass mining technology research areas and tasks (Chitombo 2004)

Research Area Research Tasks

Geotechnical Characterisation Effective use of geophysical methods for assessing fundamental

geological, geomechanical and hydrological rock mass parameters.

Mechanics of Caving Better prediction of cave initiation and propagation for the "new mining
environments" including surface subsidence prediction.
The mechanics of in situ to primary to secondary fragmentation for
caving operations.
Influence of pre-conditioning on cave initiation and propagation.

Caving Engineering Mechanism of confined blasting and corresponding drill and blast design
principles and guidelines.
Gravity flow and engineering studies (large-scale physical models and
field studies) and development of mine scale flow rules and design
guidelines.
More effective cave monitoring systems (3D) and design of appropriate
instrumentation geometries including on-line analysis and interpretation.
Risk approaches for major hazard identification including air blast, rock
bursts, major collapses, mud rushes, and subsidence.
The impact of pre-conditioning on rock mass strength reduction and
change of in situ fracturing.

Systems Engineering Application of more effective cave/draw management strategies.

Process management and effective use of automation.

Enabling Technologies Rapid horizontal development (safe and quality).

Effective (and continuous) ore handling systems including mechanical
gatherers.
Mechanisation of secondary rock breakage.

Mine Profit Optimization Mining sequence, scheduling and mining rates.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 33

cutting policies, can make it difficult to attract and retain
geomechanics specialists on mine sites. Indeed, on some
Australian operations, there appears to be an increasing
trend to use consultants rather than company staff for
geomechanics functions (Anon 2004).
As indicated above, this is not the place to explore
possible solutions to this critical problem. The essential
point to be made in the context of this paper is that a
shortage of mining geomechanics specialists could provide
a major impediment to safe and profitable surface and
underground mining in the challenging mass mining
environment of the future.
10. CONCLUSIONS
The scale of the worlds largest surface and underground
mass mining operations has grown at a continuing rate over the
last 100 years. Indications are that both the rates of production
and the depths of open pit and underground mines will continue
to grow into the future. This can be expected to provide
significant challenges to the engineering discipline of
geomechanics which has been shown to have been a major
contributor to the success and growth of mass mining over the
last 40 years. Important challenges for many operations remain
in other engineering disciplines such as project management,
materials handling, environmental engineering, water supply
and management, information and communications
technologies, and management and systems engineering to
improve efficiency and achieve cost reduction. Nevertheless,
the importance of geomechanics to the investigation, design,
construction and safe operation of profitable large-scale
surface and underground mines requires that it be recognised
as the basic engineering discipline for mass mining. It is
essential, therefore, that the industry continues to support
research into a range of geomechanics-related issues and the
education and training of the future generation of mining
geomechanics specialists.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writer is most grateful to the Organising Committee of
MassMin 2004 for having invited him to prepare this paper
and present the associated keynote lecture. He wishes to
thank the Director and staff of the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral
Research Centre and the Manager and staff of the Brisbane
office of Golder Associates Pty Ltd for having provided him
with facilities and assistance in the preparation of this paper.
He is particularly grateful to Dr Gideon Chitombo, German
Flores (who also prepared Figures 2-5), Dr Antonio
Karzulovic, Neil Hepworth and Dr Gavin Power for having
provided ideas and material used in the paper.
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Massmin 2004
 Chapter 2
Geotechnical
Characterization
for Mass Mining
38 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Mining geotechnical investigations:
The need for an integrated approach
Allan Haines, T. Campbell McCuaig and Esther Theron, SRK Consulting, Australia

Abstract
The need for an integrated approach in mining is a key element during all phases of the evaluation of a mineable deposit.
The integration of the geological, structural, hydrogeological and geotechnical disciplines, as feeds into the mine
planning and scheduling process, are essential elements in the conversion of a deposit into a mine. Having the
geotechnically related risks and benefits defined at an early stage may well differentiate the project from others queuing
up to obtain financing, whether from internal or external sources. From the initial greenfields site, from scoping to drill
out and the establishment of an advanced project, pre-feasibility, feasibility and ramp-up into operations it is beneficial
to establish the links between the geotechnical characteristics and mining risks.
This paper will examine the timing, functional silo mentality, the influencers and modifiers on mine design, the benefits
resulting from integration and some operational examples to illustrate the benefits of this approach.

1 INTRODUCTION Hydrogeologiststo provide input into the impact of

In the future environment of surface and underground
mines, we face both a trend towards the development of
super pits and super caves, and a tendency for the
underground development of ageing pits. These super
projects, or long-life ore factories, sprout from the calls for
increased production and more cost effective solutions for
mass mining projects, and perhaps from the belief that bigger
is better. The move to fewer, larger, longer life projects
exposes operations to an elevated level of risk from singular
events. One of the most crippling and potentially fatal events
in these mass mining operations is geotechnical failures.
Safe and efficient operation of large scale open pit and
underground excavations thus requires an even stronger
focus on geotechnical issues. As geotechnical
investigations rely on information supplied by the entire
range of mining related disciplines, effective integration of
these services is becoming even more crucial.
Having the geotechnically related risks and benefits
defined at an early stage may well differentiate the project
from others, all queuing up to obtain financing, whether from
internal or external sources, in todays ever-competitive
marketplace.
In the authors experience, the introduction of an
integrated geological structural hydrogeological -
geotechnical approach, as early as possible in the
development of a project, saves time and expense
throughout all phases of the project life.
2 FUNCTIONAL SILO MENTALITY
A geotechnical investigation requires the integration of
data from a number of sources. The geotechnical engineer
will thus be required to interact with a number of individuals.
Depending on the status of the project these individuals will
range from:
Exploration/resource geologists...to define the geological
model and resource footprint,
Structural geologiststo assist with the interpretation of
the rock mass fabric and applying geological and spatial
context around the geotechnical data,
Mine geologiststo describe the performance of the
encountered geological conditions,
ground water on the excavation stability,
Engineering geologiststo characterise the rock mass
from strength and performance requirements,
Mining engineersto develop the mining methodology
(including blasting) from the geological and geotechnical
interpretations,
Mine planning engineersto plan the mine geometry,
layout and scheduling in the most optimised fashion.
The authors have noted that the lack of cross-discipline
integration is commonplace in the industry. The industry
as a whole suffers from a 'functional silo mentality,
whereby tasks are undertaken in an assembly line
fashion, often in isolation or with an incomplete
understanding of how the results impact on the entire
mining project or operation. Cross-discipline
communication is often the critical issue.
This is evident for example, when the exploration
geologists often do not communicate well with mining and
resource geologists, who do not communicate well with
geotechnical engineers, and so on. Often, neither task team
understands the others requirements, nor how they can
help address the issues those teams face for the ultimate
benefit of the study.
The way consultants are used in the Australian
industry often exacerbates this problem, in that
companies select people for specific tasks on a
perceived value for money basis. Therefore, one
consulting firm may be used for geology, another for
resource estimation, another for geotechnical
engineering, and another for mining engineering. This
presents additional challenges in ensuring the effective
flow of information and knowledge across the task teams
and, therefore, the entire operation.
The functional silo mentality is a substantial challenge
facing the industry and, therefore, focus is required on
cross-training consultants and clients so that they are
aware of issues facing each of the mining disciplines and
can communicate across these disciplines. This helps to
effectively break down the functional silos to allow the more
effective flow of information and understanding throughout
the mining process, and thus should result in more informed
decisions.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 39

3 TIMING
Geotechnical investigations should be incorporated into
an exploration or mining project at a very early stage. The
specific investigation can take many forms depending on
the type, scale and location of the project. It should have
equal status alongside the geological, resource,
metallurgical, mine planning and financial modelling studies.
It is equally important to know that:
the resource exists in a certain form and location,
that it can be mined safely and economically by open
pit or underground methods,
that the ore can be processed,
that it has a market that can be reached, and
that the project will produce a viable return on investment.
The main benefit of an integrated approach is that the
geotechnically related risks can be understood and
quantified as early as possible, especially where a mine
design is sensitive to these parameters. The main
geotechnical risks or issues that need to be addressed from
an early stage can be related to the following:
rock mass characteristicswhich can be managed with
empirical methodologies, but require geological context to
properly establish their spatial variability
structural fabrican evaluation of the controls on the 3D
distribution of rock damage (discontinuities), and the
interaction between primary, secondary and tertiary
structures and the excavation,
ground waterwater pressure can significantly reduce
the stability of the excavation,
in-situ stressesand their redistribution during mining
needs to quantified,
seismicitycan have a detrimental impact on the stability
of the rock mass,
mine excavationand its interaction with the geotechnical
environment can be modelled to determine the
development of adverse tensile and shear stresses that
may lead to failure of the excavation profile.
All of the project scientists and engineers play a role
during the development of a deposit from initial exploration
or discovery through project scoping, pre-feasibility,
feasibility, detailed engineering design, start-up, production
and closure. The project risk profile can be changed by
informed decisions taken by engineers, financiers,
stakeholders and government that are involved in the
emergence of a new mining project.
From the initial greenfields site, from scoping to drill out
and the establishment of an advanced project, pre-
feasibility, feasibility and ramp-up into operations, it is
beneficial to establish the links between the geotechnical
characteristics and mining risks.
There is a real benefit in investing time and capital during
early exploration to provide initial estimates of geotechnical
risk. In our experience there is the potential to reduce
expenditure during feasibility if the integrated geotechnical-
geological model is understood right up front.
The geotechnical engineer must identify what will be the
key influences on mine design and be aware of that which
may subsequently modify the design.
These aspects are normally assessed in relation to the
risk profile for the project and whether a competitive
advantage can be obtained by optimising the design
process. It is the application of the influencing and modifying
components that can result in significant cost saving during
the project life and which may ultimately extend the
operational life of a mine. This is illustrated in Table 1 for a
steep slope strategy as applied to open pit design.
40 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
4 BENEFITS FROM INTEGRATION
The main benefits resulting from an integrated approach
can be categorised into savings in time and associated cost
with a better scope for communication among the
professionals involved.
Incorporating geotechnical investigations as early as
possible in a project study can be beneficial in guiding future
work, especially into feasibility. With this approach, it is
possible to reduce the dependence on long and costly
feasibility studies in which the geotechnical risk profile had
not been adequately defined earlier on.
The estimate of capital and operating cost expenditure
can be better quantified early on, by following a more
rigorous and integrated approach. By getting the overall
slope angle for an open pit closer to its expected value at an
early stage, there can be substantial cost savings in
estimates of waste stripping. For example, the difference
between a 45 and a 50 overall pit slope, for a pit perimeter
of approximately 3000m over a slope height of 150m, can
result in an additional US$ 15M of waste stripping. In this
example there is also a corresponding shift in the pit crest of
approximately 25m.
These values are illustrated in Figure 1 and Figure 2.
5 PLANNING ON A RISK BASIS
The follow extract from a 1997 paper by Oskar Steffen on
the planning of open pit mines on a risk basis states the
case with regard to the value that should be attached to
geotechnical information during the development of a
mining project.
"As in the case of mineral resource estimation, the
determination of slope angles is dependant on the
understanding of geological and geotechnical information
and the confidence of design is equally based on the degree
of certainty which applies to the data available. Unlike the
case of mineral resource estimation, where the exploration
is specifically targeted to provide ore reserve information,
the requirement for slope design only becomes necessary
once a prospective mineral resource has been discovered.
Exploration core has usually limited value for slope design
purposes as the target areas for slope design are not
necessarily the same as for the orebody. Drilling
requirements for geotechnical purposes also differ
considerably from that for mineral exploration. Hence a
limited campaign for geotechnical purposes is usually
undertaken in addition to whatever value can be obtained
from the original exploration campaign.
It is therefore not uncommon to have a slope design
which has a much lower degree of confidence than that
pertaining to the mineral resource definition. By definition,
the mineable reserves within the resource are determined
by applying a mine design which could economically exploit
the resource."
It is again emphasized that the evaluation and definition of
the geotechnical risks as early as possible in the
development of a project must be understood by all. The
geotechnical risks described earlier in this paper must be
investigated and quantified using the most appropriate
techniques. In the case of caving it is almost impossible to
fully define the nature of the cave without exposing the ore
material in an exploration decline.
The geotechnical evaluation should advance at the same
rate as that for the resource model.
6 OPERATIONAL EXAMPLES
Case 1
A SLOS operation in Australia has experienced difficulties
with oversize in the stope drawpoints. The causes of the
Massmin 2004
problem are varied and the overall study has had to review:
Production issues
Stope design, sequencing and performance monitoring
Geological and structural interpretation
Geotechnical aspects
Blasting practice
As part of the study, SRK were contracted to focus mainly
on improving the data collection, analysis and interpretation
from a structural geology and geotechnical point of view.
This has involved cross discipline training of personnel with
varied backgrounds and establishing processes and
procedures that will outlive the current staff complement.
The key components of this integrated study were related
to the geotechnical evaluation of the rock mass
characteristics. From the results of the geotechnical
database, it was shown that the Laubscher RMR/MRMR
and Mathews / Potvin Q'/N' rating systems are applicable as
predictive tools for the determination of rock mass stability
relative to the excavation.
In addition, a structural evaluation assisted in the
determination the controls on the development of oversize.
The initial interpretation has established the broad
spectrum of rock mass and structural characteristics that
influence the occurrence and frequency of oversize.
The benefits from this process of integration convert to
more effective data and information, with some additional
effort, which may not have been possible without this
concerted approach.
Case 2
In Australia and West Africa there are numerous
examples of open pits that have been developed through
some of the most hazardous geological materials with
regard to slope stability.
The saprolites and saprocks within the zone of oxidation
exhibit a range of geotechnical characteristics from the dry
to partially saturated to the fully saturated condition that
classify them as extremely challenging to say the least.
They represent the geotechnical engineers "worst
nightmare".
Below these are commonly found the unoxidised mafic
and ultramafic rocks which commonly exhibit structural
complexity and weakness associated with joint coatings of
dickite, brucite and tochilonite. An understanding of the
spatial relationship of these rock weakening mineral
coatings with regard to the mining excavation is vital to
ensure that the most appropriate design parameters are
selected. The value to be derived from a comprehensive
geological and structural geological assessment of a
property in association with the geotechnical engineer can
be significant in our experience.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Slope design work in these materials requires a fully
integrated approach to determine the relic structural fabric of
the saprolites, and to a lesser extent in the saprocks. This rock
mass fabric is normally identifiable in the unweathered rocks.
A typical weathering profile is illustrated below.
Transported
Pallid Clay
Saprolite
Saprock
Joint Oxidised Rock
Unweathered Rock
Designs in this range of materials requires that all of the
geological and geotechnical characteristics must be
evaluated as early as possible as the open pit design
parameters must be derived for both soil, soft rock and hard
rock environments.
The use of empirical rock mass classification systems can
provide very good indicative slope angles from the first
series of exploration cores. These can be supplemented
when exploration declines or shafts are excavated.
SRK have previously provided training in geotechnical
core logging to exploration geologists and mine geologists
at a similar site in Western Australia. In practice, only the
orezone and a limited amount of core into the hangingwall
and footwall are logged. This data would otherwise be lost,
as the core is subsequently cut and sampled.
Recent developments have seen both scoping and feasibility
level studies required for new prospects on the same mining
lease. In the first instance, no additional drilling or logging was
required. The study could be completed in some detail, within
a short time and at minimal cost. Similarly, the feasibility study
required very little additional specific geotechnical drilling and
logging. The savings here were both in direct cost and, most
critically in this instance, in time.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
SRK would like to acknowledge the assistance provided
by its staff and clients in the compilation of this paper.
REFERENCES
Haines, A and Terbrugge, PJ, 1991. Preliminary
estimation of rock slope stability using rock mass
classification systems, 7th Int. Congr. on Rock Mech,
ISRM, Aachen, Germany.
Laubscher, DH, 1990. A geomechanics classification
system for the rating of rock mass in mine design, Jl S Afr
Inst Min and Metall, Vol 90, No 10, pp 257-273.
Steffen, OKH, 1997. Planning of Open Pit Mines on a
Risk Basis, J SAIMM March/April 1997.
41
42
Influencers
Typ Key
Component
Ground Water Can have significant
Drainage benefits from slope
depressurisation, unloading
of potential failure surfaces,
dry working conditions
and improved blasting.
Pit Limit Improves slope
Blasting geometry, reduces
spill berm width,
and reduces secondary
cleaning and accidents
from rock falls during
bench cleaning
following blasting.
Anchoring of For local bench
Bench Crests crest stabilisation,
ramp protection
Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
and for steepening
of desirable slope
sectors.
Unloading of For cutting back
Upper Slope upper weaker
material to allow
steepening of
lower slopes in
more competent rock.
Massmin 2004
Table 1: Steep Slope Strategy Matrix: Modifiers and Influencers on Slope Geometry
Modifiers Assessed
Benefit
Adjustments to Structure Backfilling Slope Displacement Piezometric
Slope Geometry andGDM during Mining Monitoring Profile Monitoring
Adjustments to slope Density and orientation Permits steeper Determines the nature Determines the May obtain an
geometry and of structures will hydraulic gradients of displacement nature of the improvement of
mining sequence determine the to be developed (acceleration/ hydraulic gradient between 5 and 10
may be necessary permeability and behind back deceleration) and the in overall slope
to accommodate modify the shape filled faces resulting from effectiveness angle, depending
drainage and gradient of the influence of drainage on type of material
requirements dewatering surface of drainage. and slope height.
The optimisation of Modifies the selection Special pit limit Determines the Relative benefit of May obtain an
bench height and of bench face angles, blasting techniques nature of dry versus wet improvement of
face angle on the local geometry, stack may be minimised displacement faces will influence between 3 and
pit limits can be and overall angles. should early (acceleration/ blast design and 5 in bench stack
determined from Can be a predictive backfilling be deceleration) final face angle slope angle,
geotechnical tool for deeper an option. resulting from will determine depending on
considerations. pit sectors. the improved stack angles. achievable
Can also modify the blasting practice. bench height.
influence of post-
or pre- split blasting
Modification of Effective for toppling Failure of anchors Effectiveness of Effective dewatering May obtain an
the slope geometry failures below are not crucial anchoring can will reduce the improvement of
can benefit the ramps and crucial following backfilling. be monitored design load on between 3 and
influence of surface infrastructure from dis anchor tendons. 5 in bench face
anchoring at placement records angle, depending
bench crests. on orientation of
most critical
structure.
Overall slope angle The relative competence Implication of Crucial to ensure To ensure that May obtain an
of upper slope of the upper and failure of upper that unloading has the measured improvement of
will be reduced lower slope material slope is not crucial. been effective for groundwater profile between 3 and 5
to produce the will determine Can prevent the stability of does not exceed in the bench stack
required unloading the benefit deterioration of both the upper the design slope angle for
of unloading weak upper slope and lower slopes. conditions. the lower
and protects surface competent material.
infrastructure. The benefit will
depend on the
proportion between
upper and lower
slope heights.
Figure 1: Cost saving in waste stripping (per m of pit perimeter) with slope steepening

Figure 2: Shift in pit crest with slope steepening

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 43

 Estimation of geotechnical
variables for mass mining
Mark Howson, Principal Consultant Geologist, Rio Tinto Technical Services, Bristol, UK

Abstract
In a major underground mining project, once mining starts, change can be very expensive if rock mass behaviour is
found to differ from what was expected. However, issues such as ground support, caveability and fragmentation are
typically major uncertainties at the planning stage. All these issues depend to a large extent on rock mass properties
whose correct estimation is worth millions of dollars in either savings or avoidance of over-expenditure.
A significant rock volume is rarely homogenous. Its strength will be subject to zones of weakness in otherwise stronger
rock, and sampling through geotechnical logging of drill cores yields a wide scatter of values. Distributions must be
estimated and used to assess rock mass behaviour, as averaged values can be misleading.
A methodology is presented that is being used for several potential underground mining projects around the world. It is based on
non-parametric geostatistics applied to Geotechnical Variables (GVs) such as Fracture Frequency, RMR and Q. The influences
of mining, data sparseness, sources of bias, lithology, geological structure, and other spatial attributes are incorporated in the
estimation of a geotechnical model. This may then be compared with reality for validation, and used in mine planning.

1 INTRODUCTION

Geotechnical Variables (GVs) include Fracture

Frequency, Joint Condition Rating, RQD, IRMR and Q.
They may be based on drill hole logging and are used to
quantify rock mass strength in various ways, so that mining
attributes, including ground support, caveability and
fragmentation, can be predicted.
This paper is not concerned with the relative merits of
different GVs, or their derivation, but with methods for their
estimation as a block model. The objective is to use data
collected largely from drill holes to represent the disposition Figure 1: Drill holes and a planned excavation
of the GV in the whole mass of rock in a detailed and
unbiased manner.
The approach presented here is being used to investigate
the underground mining potential of some major deposits in Using linear interpolation, one might estimate an RMR of
the Rio Tinto group, including two Porphyry Coppers and 45 at the excavation, therefore, no additional ground
two diamond pipes. support is required but this would be incorrect!
Geostatistical estimation and modelling of in-situ grades The correct estimate is that 50% of the rock is 60, and
is a familiar process in mining. A related approach can be 50% is 30. Therefore additional support is expected to
applied to GVs but may only be successful if their special be required for 50% of the excavation. When estimating
characteristics are fully accommodated. This paper refers GVs, averages can be misleading. We must estimate
to methods used for grades, using geostatistical terms that the distributions of these non-additive variables.
are explained in standard texts such as the work by Isaaks GVs are also generally "non-parametric". A parametric
and Srivastava (1989). variable such as some grades can be assumed to have
a characteristic distribution such as a Gaussian curve. This
assumption can generally not be made for GV distributions,
2 NON-ADDITIVE AND NON-PARAMETRIC which may be multi-modal.

A significant rock volume is rarely homogenous. Its 3 THE MULTIPLE-INDICATOR APPROACH

strength will probably be subject to zones of weakness
in otherwise stronger rock. Sampling it by
geotechnical logging of drill cores yields a scattered
distribution of GV values, with high and low values
occurring in close proximity. How can this be
represented in a model?
GVs are best considered as non-additive, a quality that is
illustrated by the hypothetical case of two drill holes near to
a planned excavation, as sketched in figure 1.
The drill holes have RMR values as shown, and between them,
a planned excavation is equidistant from each hole. Assuming that
development in rock of RMR less than 40 will need additional
ground support, the task is to estimate the RMR at the excavation,
and specify if additional support will be required.
The non-additive and non-parametric character suggests
"Multiple Indicator Kriging" (MIK) as a geostatistical
interpolation method. This is described by Barnes (1999)
and is often used for estimating disseminated gold grades.
However, significant adaptations must be made for GVs.
In MIK, the distribution of a variable is estimated as a
series of discrete "Indicators". These are proportions
(between 0.0 and 1.0) of each block that are above a series
of "threshold" values of the variable.
For example, given some RMR thresholds selected as 30,
40, 50, 60 and 70, the indicators for a hypothetical model
block were estimated as 0.95, 0.7, 0.6, 0.4 and 0.02,
respectively. These describe a bi-modal distribution, whose

44 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

median is at about RMR 55, and where 30% of the block is
expected to be below RMR 40.
In practice, perhaps 7 to 17 indicators are selected
through the range of GV values, at regular intervals, or
sometimes bunched-up at parts of the range where more
detail is required. They are estimated as separate variables
in their own right, and then used together to describe the
distribution in each block and to determine median, other
quantiles and other information.
4 INDICATORS THEN REGULARISATION
Typically, geotechnical drillhole logging is in "domain
intervals" of similar geotechnical values, but often of
unequal lengths. Geostatistical estimation assumes that
each of the input data has equal sampling support. For
GVs, this means derived from equal lengths of core.
Therefore it is necessary to determine equal-length data
from the unequal intervals.
It is normal in grade estimation to determine mean values
for equal drill hole lengths in a process known as
regularisation or compositing. However, because GVs are
non-additive, a procedure involving mean values is
inappropriate.
However, indicators are similar to grades and are additive
variables. Therefore they are determined first for the logging
intervals. They are assigned as values of 0.0 or 1.0 depending
on whether the GV value is below or above the threshold in
question. These are composited into regular lengths, which may
typically be a sub-multiple of a model block dimension. Each
composite has a series of values from 0.0 through 1.0, which
represents its distribution of the GV.
Figure 2 illustrates the calculation of composited
indicators from log intervals, using hypothetical Joint
Spacing Rating (JSR) values as an example.
Figure 2: From logs to composited indicators
The JSR log on the left has variable intervals up to 5 m in
length. The indicator thresholds 15, 20 and 25 have been
selected by cumulative frequency analysis of the JSR
populations. The resulting indicator values, still in the
variable intervals are in the middle, and the composites that
were calculated in regular lengths of 5 m are on the right.
5 OPEN PIT MINING INFLUENCE
Confirmation of the quality of logging and data derived
from drill holes, and the assessment of any bias is important
in an estimation project.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
A particular example of data bias arises where an
underground mine is planned to extract the vertical
continuation of an orebody below an open pit. Here, GV
values near the collars of holes that were drilled in the pit
must be tested for systematic reduction due to blast
damage or stress release. It is likely that a zone of rock
adjacent to the final open pit topography must be modelled
as a separate domain (see below) to accommodate this
effect.
6 DOMAIN DEFINITION
The term "domains", used in a geostatistical sense
describes sub-volumes of the rock mass where samples
(i.e. logging) of a domain may be used to estimate model
values elsewhere in the domain. It is not usual to use data
from one domain to estimate values in another.
An early stage in estimation is to define the domains, and
with an understanding of their geological or other origin, to
characterise the behaviour of the GVs within them.
Typically the basis for separation into domains includes
differing lithology, faulting, shearing, folding, alteration,
weathering, and, as discussed above, mining blast damage
and stress release.
Figure 3 shows an example of domain definition relating
to faults in a project that was conducted in feet.
Figure 3: Variation of GVs adjacent to faults.
In this case, the faults had been interpreted as hangingwall
and footwall surfaces to define "fault envelopes".
In the graph, values within the envelopes are shown at
Distance = 0. The other distances show that the influence of
faults extends for about 3 m (10 ft) into adjacent rocks. In
this project, the domain of "faulted rock" was defined as
including this extra 3 m on either side.
7 DOMAIN CHARACTERISATION
GVs often exhibit strong trends within a domain. For
example, rock strength in a kimberlite pipe often increases
gradually but steadily with depth, due to the decreasing
effect of surface weathering.
It is particularly valuable to characterise the general
spatial behaviour of a GV in the context of the geology, as
this information will be used where data is sparse during the
Kriging process, as discussed below.
45
 Indicators provide a useful tool for this purpose. Figure 4
shows an example where core-length-weighted mean
indicators for RQD (named d1 to d8) characterise the
change in RQD at a series of levels perpendicular to
bedding through a sedimentary sequence.
Figure 4: Characterisation of change in GV in a domain
using indicators.
8 CROSS-VALIDATION
The application of geostatistical analysis to GV
indicators is similar to the same process in grade
estimation. It characterises spatial continuity of the
indicators to provide variogram parameters that control
the Kriging process for the most accurate estimation.
Cross-validation is a technique that may used to assess
the effectiveness of the process. However, it is not a fully
accepted procedure.
Cross-validation is applied by omitting a datum (e.g. a
composite) from the input dataset, and then estimating its
value from the other data by point Kriging. This is repeated
for all the data in the set, resulting in a list of point estimates
that may be compared with the corresponding true values.
The closer the estimates, the better the parameters are
considered to be. The best parameters are then applied to
block model estimation.
A problem with cross-validation as typically applied is that
often the data that contribute most to each estimate are
those from the same hole - typically vertically above and
below, following the hole orientation, which produces a
biased test.
The authors opinion is that the technique is useful if all
data from the same hole are omitted from the dataset
when one of its data is estimated. The effect is similar to
comparing a previously estimated model with logging
from new holes, as described below under Model
Validation.
In an estimation project it may be more appropriate to use
limited time resources for better domain studies rather than
cross-validation. However, it provides a useful tool for
comparing estimation techniques as described below.
9 DATA SPARSENESS AND KRIGING
A problem often encountered is that the GV data from drill
holes may be relatively sparse compared with grade data in
the same deposit. For example, many holes may have been
drilled during the exploration phase, when geotechnical
logging was not done, and it is impossible to re-log them.
Furthermore, it may be possible to justify only limited further
drilling for geotechnical purposes. Therefore, it is necessary
to make the most of what data are available.
46 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The following strategy utilises the domain characterisation
discussed above, with a variation of the usual MIK
interpolation method.
When estimating grades using MIK, the variant of Kriging
used (within MIK) is usually Ordinary Kriging (OK).
Typically, to estimate the value of a model block, the Kriging
process will include the influence of values from all data that
lie within a search radius of the block. If too few values are
found within the radius, then the block is not assigned a
Kriged value, but a pre-determined mean value for the
domain. For GVs using MIK, this would be a local mean
indicator value derived from the domain characterisation.
A problem with OK is that an unnatural "halo effect" is
often produced with GVs. This occurs where data are
sparse at the boundary where blocks estimated by Kriging
are adjacent to blocks that were assigned mean values. At
these locations, confidence in the Kriged block values is low.
The strategy proposed to deal with this issue is to use the
Simple Kriging (SK) variant within MIK for GV indicators.
Unlike OK, SK always includes the influence of a pre-
determined local mean in its result. Where there is a high
level of data in the vicinity, this influence is low, but it
increases as the data become sparse, until the point at
which too few values are found within the radius. Then, as
in OK the block is assigned a pre-determined mean value
for the domain. However, with no abrupt change in the
influence from the local mean, the halo effect is avoided.
Because GVs often exhibit strong trends within a domain,
local means derived by well-conducted domain
characterisation may themselves be close to reasonable
block value estimates. Therefore, the level of confidence in
a SK result that is based largely on a local domain mean
may be justifiably high, even for an area with sparse data.
Considering SK as an alternative to the more usual OK is
suggested in the context of MIK with GVs. Graham (2003)
used cross-validation to compare OK and SK estimation of
indicators using a set of RQD data from a Porphyry orebody.
The results support the methodology described in this
paper.
10 ESTIMATION OF COMPOUND GVs
Certain GVs such as the In-situ Rock Mass Rating (IRMR)
described by Laubscher and Jakubec (2001) are
combinations of several component values. IRMR is the
sum of Ratings for Block Strength (BSR - derived from Intact
Rock Strength, IRS), Joint Spacing (JSR) and Joint
Condition (JCR).
Values of IRMR can be determined for each logging
interval, and then used to estimate model IRMR values by
the straightforward MIK approach described above.
However, the component ratings may have distinct
distribution patterns of their own, and in places, they may
behave differently with respect to one another. Variation in
each component may be more regular and predictable than
their sum of the three components.
An alternative approach may be to separately estimate a
model for each rating using MIK, as above, and then to
combine the three models to produce an IRMR model. This
may produce a more accurate result and has an additional
advantage of making the three ratings models also
available.
The combination step involves combining the indicator
distributions for the three ratings in each block to produce a
single IRMR distribution. How best to do this is still the
subject of investigation, and a full explanation is beyond the
scope of this paper. However, a provisional method is being
used, which works best if it is assumed that the three ratings
are not correlated.
Offen (2003) tested this approach to IRMR estimation,
and the provisional method for combination of distributions.
Massmin 2004
The cross-validation technique was used with data from a
Porphyry Copper monzonite unit. Both the direct estimation
of IRMR indicators and the estimation of ratings and then
combination to produce IRMR indicators were compared
with true indicator values. The results confirmed that the
method described here might be better.
In a recent project, this method had major advantages in
dealing with sparse data. While most drillhole intervals had
information for JSR, and adequate numbers had BSR and
JCR, there were relatively few with all three. However,
modelling each rating separately, and then combining the
block models maximised the utilisation of what data were
available in each case.

11 MODEL FINALISATION

When the Kriging process is complete, it will yield one or

more series of block model data files, or columns of data in
a database. Each of these contains the values of one
indicator, for all the blocks in the model. Each value is the
estimate of the proportion of a block that is over the
respective threshold value. A series of indicators constitutes
the model of a GV, giving the distributions of that GV for
each block.
The block values may be utilised in their current form, with
no further processing. For example, if it is assumed that an
excavation in rock of RMR less than 40 will need additional
support, then one would use drawings showing the RMR 40
indicator for development planning. A planned mine access
may be routed through areas with high RMR 40 values i.e.
with RMR mainly above 40 - to minimise the support costs
and/or the probability of ground failure. When the design is
complete, the blocks intersecting the access can be
summarised to determine what overall proportion is below
RMR 40, and so to estimate how much of it will require
additional support.
Another method of displaying or utilising the models is to
determine the median GV for each block. A database query
may be required to select, for each block, those indicator
values that are just above and just below 0.5. The GV value
that represents exactly 0.5 can then be found through linear
interpolation between the two. Other quantiles can be found
in a similar manner.
12 MODEL VALIDATION
It is desirable to compare the model with reality, to
determine the accuracy of what has been estimated.
Figure 5 shows an example where an RMR log from a
newly drilled hole is compared with a previously
estimated model.
The figure shows a plot of RMR against down-hole
depth. The erratic ("noisy") thick grey line is the RMR log
of the new hole. This is being compared with the
previously estimated RMR distribution values from those
blocks in the model through which the trajectory of the
hole passes. The five black lines with a more vertical
nature are quantiles representing the block distributions.
Left to right, these are for the 5, 25, 50, 75 and 95
percentiles respectively.
In this example, the grey line should be outside the
band defined by the 5 and 95 percentiles for 10% of the
plot. As the accuracy and detail of the estimation is
improved, one would expect this band to become
narrower. It would follow the log more closely, but still
with 10% outside.
The hole in this example was drilled in a basement
complex of granites, gneisses and schists. It is in a barren
area of the deposit, and so drilling data are relatively sparse.
However, there are two earlier holes with geotechnical
logging that pass by several 10s of metres away.
Figure 5: Comparison of model with logged data.
It can be seen that a model that could predict the new holes
log exactly would require drilling data at an impossible level of
detail. However, with much sparser data, estimating
distributions using the indicators can represent the ground
conditions in an adequate manner for planning.
Other methods of model validation may compare
estimates with mining performance.
One example is where an underground mine is planned to
extract the vertical continuation of an orebody below an
open pit. The pit slope angles as they were mined can be
compared with estimated model values at the same
locations, to assess the effectiveness of the model.
Another example is where some underground
development has already been mined. The model values
can be compared with the ground conditions that were
encountered. It should be possible to derive some empirical
relationships that will enable mining costs to be predicted
from the estimates.
13 CONCLUSIONS
Estimation and modelling of geotechnical variables for
predicting mining conditions is necessary in planning an
underground mass mining project.
It is important to estimate distributions of GVs rather than
mean values, which can be misleading. In geostatistical
terms, GVs are best treated as non-additive and non-
parametric variables. These qualities suggest using a
"Multiple Indicator" approach to estimation.
Indicators provide a means of expressing the spatial
distribution of a GV. They are applicable to logged data, and
then through estimation, to mine development, and major
excavations.
Data quality and bias are important considerations in an
estimation project. This includes bias introduced by mining
that may not be evident in holes that were drilled earlier.
The definition of geostatistical domains on the basis of
lithology, faulting, shearing, folding, alteration, weathering
and mining effects is an essential part of the estimation
process.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 47

 Domains may show weak or strong trends in GV variation,
which must be characterised. Graphs showing indicator
behaviour are recommended. The information obtained will
be used to counter the problem of sparse data.
Calculation of indicators from logged data, followed by
regularisation or compositing is recommended prior to
geostatistical processing.
The geostatistical analysis stage (variograms etc) is much
the same as in grade estimation and so is not described
here. However, a variant of the MIK interpolation method
using is proposed as a strategy for making the most of
sparse data. This relies on the domain characterisation for
effectiveness.
Estimation of GVs such as IRMR that are combinations of
several component ratings may be best achieved by
estimating and then combining their components.
Comparison of a GV model with reality enables its
accuracy, and correlation with mining performance to be
investigated.
On-going investigation of techniques for estimation and
utilisation of GVs to predict rock mass behaviour are vital in
Rio Tintos strategy to develop safe and profitable world-
class underground mines.
14 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks are due to staff and management of Rio Tinto
Technical Services, and at business units in Rio Tinto for their
support in this work, and for permission to publish this paper.
48 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
15 REFERENCES
Barnes, T, 1999 "Practical Post-Processing of Indicator
Distributions" Apcom99, 28th International Symposium,
October 20-22, ISBN 0-918062-12-8, pp 227-237.
Graham, J M, 2003. "The application of geostatistical
procedures on the geotechnical variable, RQD, on data
from Bingham Canyon Mine, Utah, USA." MSc
dissertation, Camborne School of Mines, University of
Exeter.
Isaaks, E H, & Srivastava, R M, 1989. "An Inroduction to
Applied Geostatistics", Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-
19-505012-6 or 0-19-505013-4 (pbk.)
Laubscher, D H, & Jakubec, J, 2001. "The IRMR/MRMR
rock mass classification system for jointed rock masses",
Underground Mining Methods: Engineering
Fundamentals and International Case Studies, (Eds: W A
Hustrulid and R L Bullock), 475-481. Soc. for Mining,
Metallurgy and Exploration.: Littleton, Colorado.
Offen, J. (2003). "Estimation of the geotechnical variables of
RMR using geostatistics, at Bingham Mine, Utah." MSc
dissertation, Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter.
Massmin 2004
 DEESA - An approach to determine
if an orebody will cave
Richard Butcher, Associate, Dempers and Seymour Pty Ltd

Abstract
Block caving or sub level caving rely on the ability of the rock mass to cave for production. It therefore follows that
cavability assessments should be a key geotechnical aspect for all caving projects. In most cases, it is not only necessary
for the geotechnical engineer to determine if an ore body will cave but at what mined dimension will caving occur. At the
present time no single geotechnical approach exists that can totally simulate the complex interaction of the rock mass
and the mining stresses that occur during caving. It is therefore evident that cavability assessments should be broken
into a series of logical steps, using a number of tools to simulate cavability adequately. This paper critically discusses the
application of existing cavability determination methods and proposes a logical step based approach to cavability
determination using the most reliable tools available today.

1 INTRODUCTION methods and research before a cavability determination

In recent years, there has been renewed interest in
the use of cave mining methods to extract massive low
grade ore bodies. The main reason for this renewed
appeal is that only cave mining methods can compete
with open pit operations in terms of tonnages produced
and mining costs. Since caving methods fundamentally
rely on the ability of the ore body or country rock to cave
in a controlled manner for ore production, cavability
assessments are a prime geotechnical focus. However,
despite much work having been undertaken in this field
at the present time, no single accepted geotechnical
approach exists to determine if and when an ore body
will cave. This lack of a common approach may be
attributed to the fact that a number of different
approaches exist to determine if an ore body will cave
(e.g. Laubscher 1994, Matab &Dixon 1976, Butcher
2002 and Brown 2003).
Laubscher (1994) states that "All rock masses will
cave. The manner of their caving and resultant
fragmentation size distribution needs to be predicted if
cave mining is to be implemented successfully".
Therefore the emphasis of cavability determination
changes from "if to "when and how" caving will occur. It is
not only important for the geotechnical engineer to
determine if an ore body will cave but at what mined
dimension will caving occur. In the case of a block cave
these questions are critical in determining the economic
viability of the project. A six month delay in achieving the
undercut dimension for sustained caving production will
have serious consequences in terms of a project being
able to meet required financial returns.
This paper critically discusses the application of existing
cavability determination methods and proposes a logical
step based approach to cavability determination using the
most reliable tools available today.
2 EXISTING CAVABILITY DETERMINATION METHODS
Much work has been conducted into the field of cavability
and it is important to review some of the most common
approach can be formulated. Experience plays a major
factor in cavability assessment internationally. In this
respect the following are considered as common
experiential methods of denoting the cavable size of pre-
break or undercut:
Length x width of undercut (Bartlet, 1997).
Area undercut/ pre-broken or mined (Jofre et al, 2000).
Defined cavable hydraulic radii range (Owen & Guest
1994, and Butcher, 2003).
Minimum span.
The important point to note about experiential cavability
methods is that they are normally employed on mines with
a long history of caving under known geotechnical
conditions (Jofre et al, 2000).
The most widely used methods of predicting the area
that has to be mined to induce caving are empirical
correlations between the rock quality and the undercut
area. The most commonly used method is Laubschers
stability graph (See Figure 1). Laubscher modified
Bieniawskis RMR classification system to suit caving
operations for the chrysotile asbestos mines in
Zimbabwe after the need to classify the ore and country
rock for geotechnical purposes was identified (Heslop,
1973). Laubscher also recognized that the shape of the
mined area (i.e. hydraulic radius) was an important factor
for cavability determination (Laubscher, 1975). The first
stability graph was published in 1987 (Diering &
Laubscher, 1987). Since that time a number of variations
of this graph have been published with the most recent in
1994. Over the years attempts have been made to use,
integrate or modify Mathews stoping graphs for
cavability purposes (Stewart & Fosyth, 1995, Trueman &
Mawdesley, 2003). In general, these methods have not
been accepted by the mining industry. In summary,
empirical methods using a correlation between the
quality of the rock mass and the shape of the mined area
(or hydraulic radius) are frequently employed as a
method to determine cavability.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 49


Figure 1: Laubschers stability graph (1994)
Bartlett (1992, 1997) shows that for an ore body to cave
continuously, a sufficiently large area must be undercut. The
required dimensions of this area are a function of the rock
mass strength (jointing, and joint shear strength
characteristics) and the regional stress field that prevails
before and as mining progresses. Taking this into
consideration, a detailed finite difference numerical
modelling exercise was commissioned for Premier Mine to
predict the extent to which an undercut had to be advanced
(Bartlett 1997). This exercise clearly showed that caving in
all rock types was joint controlled. If accurate joint and rock
mass parameters could be determined, numerical models
could be used to predict the hydraulic radius to initiate
caving. Bartletts work demonstrates that the practical
application of numerical modelling as a tool for cavability
determination relies on the quantum and
representativeness of collected geotechnical data. This
work suggests that a detailed collection of rock mass data
and knowledge of the mining stress regime is fundamental
for cavability determination, if numerical methods are used.
Taylor (1980) detailed important geotechnical and rock
mass structural aspects to be considered in the
determination of cavability:
The number of joints, attitude and spacing of joints. A
combination of flat and vertically spaced joints is
conducive to caving.
The shear strength properties of the mentioned joints.
The magnitude and orientation of principle stresses.
The importance of rock strength increases as the number
of joints decreases.
The important conclusion from Taylors work is that the
rock mass structure and its orientation to the mining stress
regime are important considerations in terms of cavability.
The importance of the variability rock mass structure and
mining stress orientation in terms of cavability assessment
was researched by Butcher (2002). Ehancing the concepts
forwarded by Taylor (1980) and Matab & Dixon (1976) the
ChasSM (Complex structural modelling) method was used
to generate joint patterns from an ore body that caved. This
method allowed the percentage of unstable cave back
blocks to initiate and propagate caving to be determined.
50 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The important point from this work is that a cavability
rationale was established by simulating the variability of
structural data in relation to the orientation of the stress
regime.
Guest and Cundell (1994) describe the use of a 3D
distinct element programm (3DEC) to simulate Vertical
crater retreat (VCR) caving behavior. The results of the
modelling were difficult to interpret and were only fully
understood after mining had been completed.
In recent years, work has been conducted on numerical
modelling caving behavior using the 3D Particle Flow Code
((PFC), Itasca, 1998). Using PFC, the ore body is modelled
as a large number of rigid spherical particles whose
behaviour is controlled by a constitutive relationship that
defines the tensile and shear behavior of the particle
contacts.
At the present time the use of the code is in the
experimental stages. Brown (2003) shows that codes like
FLAC 3D are used on a regular basis for cavability
determination. This is despite the normal disadvantages of
using such programmes for modelling (Butcher 2004,
Trueman & Mawdesley, 2003). It is the Authors experience
that numerical approaches are not normally used in isolation
from other methods for caving assessment.
In summary, the discussion reveals that the following
methods are commonly used for cavability assessment:
Experience.
Empirical stability graphs.
Structural analysis.
Numerical analysis.
A combination of abovementioned techniques.
The use of a combination of techniques is an important
aspect to note since each individual method will have
inherent shortcomings. From the Authors experience, the
following techniques are normally used together:
Experience.
Laubschers stability graph method.
FLAC 3D modelling.
3 DEESA CAVABILITY ASSESSMENT APPROACH
At the present time, a number of techniques (either
individually or a combination) are used to determine
cavability. The main reason for this is that there is no single
geotechnical approach that can totally simulate the complex
interaction of the rock mass and the mining stresses that
occurs during caving. In addition, engineers may have
limited confidence or experience in some of the methods
listed. The critical point is to recognise that the various
caving assessment methods have their own applications,
advantages and disadvantages.
DEESA is a method that divides cavability assessment
into a series of logical steps. The results of each step should
correlate with the previous steps and confirm the final mined
dimension for caving after the process has been completed.
The steps in the DEESA approach are:
D: Do you have a project?
E: Experiential cavability assessment
E: Empirical, cavability assessment
S: Structural cavability assessment
A: Analytical/numerical cavability
assessment
Step 1: Do you have a project?
Since cavability assessment is a complex and time
consuming process, it is important that the project appears
robust in terms of economic viability before detailed cavability
work commences. The costs to undertake a cavability
assessment are considerable. This situation is exacerbated
Massmin 2004
further in cases where very competent ore bodies are being
considered as potential targets for caving. In such cases,
where the Mining Rock Mass Rating (MRMR) exceeds 60, it
may be necessary to sink an exploration shaft or decline early
in the project to gather rock mass structural data. Should this
type of exploration programme be necessary, it could add
significantly to the study costs. It is therefore prudent to ensure
that a project appears viable before detailed geotechnical work
commences. This can be done at desktop study level by
assuming that the ore body will cave and by determining pre-
break and undercut dimensions on a production basis only. In
situations where an exploration shaft or decline has to be sunk
(early in the study) to gain geotechnical information, it is
important that the following aspects have been determined
before excavation commences:
That the project concepts have been finalised.
That the project risks/ potential risks have been
determined.
The project appears viable with strong DCF (Discounted
cash flow)indicators when related to corporate hurdles.
That the resource has been geologically defined to an
indicated category.
That all existing geotechnical data has been analysed,
complied and the conceptual geotechnical model has
been formulated.
The potential impacts of mining stresses are understood.
That the aims of the exploration programme are defined.
A geotechnical investigation and risk study have been
undertaken for the exploration shaft / decline.
From the Authors experience it is becoming common to
consider geotechnical exploration programmes without the
above being achieved.
Step 2: Experiential assessment
An industrial bench marking exercise should be
conducted to determine cavability characteristics of the
type of deposits being caved. The experiential
information is used as a "reasonableness" check for the
various cavability assessment techniques outputs. A
literature review of cavability should also be undertaken
to determine what issues are of importance in terms of
the type of ore body being considered and accuracies of
previous studies. An example of this is the importance of
joint trace lengths in cavability assessment for ore bodies
where MRMR > 60.
Normal industrial bench marking exercises focus on the
collection of the following types of information:
Geology/ rock mass characteristics.
Mining experience during caving.
Block height.
Areas mined to induce caving, hydraulic radius and
minimum span.
In experiential terms ore bodies can be divided into two
groups (Butcher, 2003) for caving purposes:
Hard deposits: caving is achieved with mined hydraulic
radii of between 35 to 40m.
Soft deposits: caving is achieved with mined hydraulic
radii of 17 to 25m.
Hard deposits are considered to have MRMR
classification values greater than 45.
In situations where there is no previous caving experience
relating to the ore body being investigated an experiential
asessment has obvious limitations. The author suggests
that caving experience may be limited to situations where
MRMR <70 and the hydraulic radius is <46m. In these
situations the decision to progress to the next project stage
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
must be determined on a corporate risk basis. In this regard
the following procedures are recommended:
Determine the difference between the geotechnical
cavability characteristics of the project and the
experiential range.
Conduct an executive poll of experts to consider if the
caving is possible.
Conduct fault tree risk analysis to determine the
probability of caving not occurring. The risk analysis
should also include the effects of the risk mitigation
features such as VCR blasting to assist caving.
Use the results from the risk analysis to determine the
total financial risk to the project.
The decision to proceed with the project should then be
made at a corporate level based on the results of this risk
exercise.
Step 3: Empirical assessment
In this step stability graphs are used to determine
cavability. The most commonly used method is Laubschers
stability graph (See Figure 1). This graph is used to predict
the areas to be undercut or pre-broken by determining the
correlation between the rock quality and the hydraulic
radius.
Rock quality is established using the MRMR classification
system. The Laubscher stability graph method has been
successfully utilised for more than ten years. However, the
method has the following disadvantages (Butcher, 2003):
Inexperienced engineers find the MRMR classification
system difficult to use.
The true kinematic nature of the rock mass can only be
estimated.
The impact of major geological structures on caving can
only be estimated.
The impact of cave back stresses can only be estimated.
The results from the method can be challenged when
applied to the hard ore bodies.
One of the major problems is that the MRMR adjustments
are subjective. This tends to make the system unpopular
with inexperienced engineers but usable for highly
experienced caving practioners, who have a complete
understanding of the geotechnical environment associated
with cave mining. A further problem causing uncertainty is
the practice of using the full ore body statistical range of
MRMR values as the stability graphs Y axis value. This
can lead to:
The violation of the undercutting from weak ground to
strong ground rule (Butcher, 1999). This due to the fact
that the use of the statistical MRMR range means that
cognizance of different ore body geotechnical domains is
not assumed in terms of cave initation.
Uncertainties in assigning the representative MRMR
value for caving assessment.
A large variation in predicted hydraulic radii or a range of
predicted hydraulic radii.
It is good practice for geotechnical investigations to focus
on defining the weaker areas of the ore deposit to be caved.
The MRMR values in these areas should be statistically
assessed to determine the most representative value of the
weaker area. This representative MRMR value should then
be used as the stability graph Y axis. It is only when a
deliberate decision is made to violate the weak to strong
mining rule, should the full statistical range of MRMR values
be used as the "Y" axis values. In such situations a
considerable amount of engineering judgement is required
to determine the most representative MRMR value.
Recently, the use of Laubschers method has been
challenged, especially when applied to more competent ore
bodies. This is due to the lack of data and experience to
51
confirm graph predictions for more competent deposits. It
has been further stated that the method should not be used
when the MRMR of the ore exceeds 50 (Trueman &
Mawdesley, 2003). These observations tend to confirm the
work carried out by Butcher (2000). Butcher studied the
caving history of seven block caves where Laubschers
method had been successfully used. This work found that
the accuracy of the method was limited to a 45/45 zone on
the stability graph (See Figure 2).
Understanding the disadvantages of Laubschers method,
Trueman and Mawdesley (2003) proposed an empirical
cavability assessment based on the Mathews stability
graph approach (Mathews et al, 1980). To date this
approach has not gained wide industry acceptance.
Figure 2: 45/45 zone
However, the following contributing factors of this work to
the science of cavability must be recognised:
Identifying and understanding the limitations of
Laubschers stability graph.
Introducing the concept of isoprobalistic contours to
cavability assessment.
Updating the transitional zone data based on the stability
graph.
In summary, despite the forementioned disadvantages,
Laubschers stability graph remains the only internationally
tested empirical method available to date. As with all empirical
methods it naturally has its applications, advantages and
disadvantages. It is the authors opinion that main danger lies
not in the method itself but not recognising the methods
limitations. In this respect, the following guidelines for the use
of this empirical method are proposed:
This method should only be used to assess cavability to
scoping study levels.
The project geotechnical model should be formulated and
the caving geotechnical environment should be
conceptually understood before the method is used. This
is required for the MRMR adjustment determination.
A certain amount of experience is required to obtain
MRMR adjustments and determine caving dimensions
accurately. Therefore, the method should be used by an
experienced engineer.
That further analyses are required, when :
52 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
- The MRMR value of the ore to be caved is greater
than 45.
- The ore body is deeper than 1000m for a k ratio of 1
and an RMR> 50 (Truman & Mawdesley, 2003).
- Where constrained blocks are to be caved
(Brown, 2003).
Step 4: Structural assessment
The cavability of an ore body is primarily dependant upon
the relationship between ore body jointing and cave back
stresses. Therefore, an accurate prediction of caving is only
possible when the relationship between these aspects is
understood. In addition, not only is it important to
understand the impact of the stress/joint relationships but
also to evaluate:
The impact of major structures on caving.
The impacts of stress / joint pattern variation on cavability
across the ore body.
Such issues are examined by undertaking a structural
cavability analysis which relies on being able to:
Define the ore body geological structure (on both the
macro and micro scale) and the mining stress regime.
Define the critical structural / stress conditions for cave
initiation and propagation. In essence Are there enough
unstable cave back blocks for caving to occur? and what is
the impact of large structures on triggering the onset of
caving.
Laubscher and Jakubec (2001) recognised the importance
of the abovementioned aspects and proposed a hydraulic
radius adjustment graph. It would appear that this graph mainly
takes account of the influence of major structures and stresses.
The Author has found that major structures may reduce the
required hydraulic radius for caving initiation by 20% In terms
of further modelling the influence of major structures on the
caving process. This can be achieved by some form of
deterministic and probabilistic analyses.
The impacts of stress / joint pattern variation on cavability
across the ore body are revealed by the use of ChaSM
(Stacey 1999). In this method, cavability is determined from
statistically representative joint plots of the back of the
undercut or pre-break. From these plots the total number of
back blocks required to initiate and propagate caving is
determined. Figure 3 shows a ChaSM joint plot.
Figure 3: ChasM (Butcher 2001)
Massmin 2004
 The main functions of a structural cavability assessment
are:
Defining the ore body structural regime.
Defining the critical structural aspects for caving (e.g joint
trace length in the case of hard ore bodies).
Understanding the potential impacts of structural
variability across the ore body.
Defining if major structures could trigger the onset of
caving.
Determining if the rock mass is deterministically
susceptible to caving.
Confirming the joint orientation and stress adjustment
assumptions for the MRMR values used in the stability
graph assessments.
Determining the critical inputs and parameters for
advanced numerical caving assessment.
Taking cognisance of the above, the Author suggests the
following structural cavability assessment approach:
Determine ore body macro structural regime from
geological and geotechnical models.
Determine the relationship between the major ore body
structures and mining stresses. Then use Laubschers
graph (See Figure 4) to adjust empirically predicted
caving dimensions.
Conduct deterministic analyses to identify if structural
failure is possible in relation to large-scale geological
structures.
Compile statistically representative joint plots of the
undercut or pre-break back. Assess if the rock mass is
structurally capable of caving and determine critical
dimensions for caving from statistically representative
joint plots.
Step 5: Analytical / Numerical assessment
Brown (2003) gives a full description of the most common
numerical modelling packages used for cavability
assessment. The main aim of this step is to study the
relationship of the cave pre-break or undercut geometry,
and the mining stress regime. Numerical modelling
packages such as MAP3D, Phase2, FLAC 2D and FLAC 3D
are commonly used. In such models, cavability is usually
assessed by examining the height of the yielding zone
above the cave back where different cave back geometries,
orientations, muck pile support pressures and parameters
are modelled. This type of analysis can be extended by
using such codes as 3DEC and PFC. Numerical modelling
is an important step in:
Confirming undercut or pre-break dimensions.
Determining the best orientation and retreat direction of
undercut/pre-breaks for caving.
Determining the influence of differing stress regimes and
material parameters.
Confirming the best geometrical shape of undercuts/pre-
breaks in terms of caving.
As with all numerical methods, input parameters such as,
material parameters, model mesh sizes and input boundary
conditions, can have a major impact on the results
(Trueman & Mawdesley, 2003). It is the Authors opinion that
such disadvantages do not preclude the use of such codes
as long as the engineer is aware of their limitations and that
the modelling results are compared to the preceding steps
for reasonableness.
4 CONCLUSIONS
A common mistake is to assume that empirical methods
can only be used to obtain the final caving dimension. In
many cases this approach may lead to predictions being
challenged. This is because empirical systems may not
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
fully describe the complexity of the geotechnical
environment where caving is being considered. At the
present time no single geotechnical approach exists that
can totally simulate the complex interaction of the rock
mass and the mining stresses that occur during caving.
The most important aspect to understand is that various
approaches have to be used to determine if and when an
ore body will cave. DEESA is a method that breaks
cavability assessment into the series of logical
approaches. The results of each approach step should
correlate with each other thus confirming the final mined
dimension for caving.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper has been published with the kind permission of
Dempers and Seymour Pty Ltd. I gratefully acknowledge Dr
Clive Seymour for his assistance in the preparation of this
paper.
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Laubscher, D H, 1990. Geomechanics classification
system for the rating the rock masses in Mine Design, J
Sth Afr Inst Min Met, 94 (8): 270-293.
Laubscher, D H, (1994). Cave Mining State of the Art, J
Sth Afr Inst Min Met, 94 (8): 270-293.
Laubscher, D H and Jakubec, J, 2002. The IRMR/MRMR
rock mass classification system in jointed rock masses.
International Case Studies in Underground Mining (Ed : W
A Hustrulid), 474-481. Society of Mining Engineers, AIME:
New York.
Mathews, K E, Hoek, E Wyllie, D C and Stewart, S B V,
1981. Prediction of Stable Excavations for Mining ar
Depths below 1000 meters in hard Rock. CANMET
Report, 802-1571.
54 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Mahtab, M, A and Dixon, J D, 1976. Influence of Rock
Fractures and block weakenings on cavability, SME of
AIME, February 1975.
Owen, K C, and Guest, A R, 1994. Underground mining of
Kimberlite pipes. XVth Congress. Johannesburg, SAIMM,
1994, Vol. 207-218.
Stacey, T R, 1999. Complex Structural Modelling
Systems, SA Construction World, May 1999.
Stacey, T R and Hanines A, 1984. Design of large
underground openings in jointed rock- An Integrated
Approach. SANCOT Seminar.
Stewart, S B V and Forsyth, W W, 1995. The Mathews Method
for Open Stope design, CIM Bulletin, 88 (992): 45-53.
Taylor, H W, 1980. A Geomechanical classification applied
to mining problems in Shabani and King Crysolile
Asbestos Mining Research, University of Rohdesia.
Trueman, R and Mawdesley, C, 2003. Predicting cave
initiation and propagation, CIM Bulletin, Vol 96, No 1071.
Massmin 2004
 Assessment of primary fragmentation
from drill core data
David E. Nicholas President, A. Srikant, Rock Mechanics Engineer, Call & Nicholas, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, USA

Abstract
Estimating the in-situ fragmentation is of critical importance for the design of a block cave operation. The fragment size
distributions at the drawpoints during the life of the block cave are evaluated based on the estimated in-situ fragmentation
and control the downstream design of the block cave mine. Various authors have developed methods for estimating the
fragment size distributions using structural mapping data, but this information is normally available only at a few levels
at the base of the block cave.
This paper provides an approach for using drill core data for estimating the fragment size distributions within the block
cave. The method is rendered more useful because variations in fragmentation characteristics within the deposit, which
show up in the change in core piece lengths, can also be accounted for at the design stage, and operations can be
planned and scheduled based on the life-of-mine fragmentation estimates.

1 INTRODUCTION allows for characterization of different parts of the block cave

The assessment of primary and secondary fragmentation
is an important aspect of the design and planning of any
block cave operations. In caving terminology, primary
fragmentation occurs at the cave front and is dependent on
the nature of the rock fabric and associated stress induced
fracturing. Secondary fragmentation refers to the size
distribution that reports to the draw-bells as a result of
comminution, breakage and attrition during drawing of the
caved material. The characterization and evaluation of a
rock mass for caving scenarios relates to the evaluation of
primary and secondary fragmentation.
Data collected from drill holes in all exploration programs is
used for the development of geological databases and models.
In recent times, data on the length of core pieces has been
collected from the drilling program through several projects
around the world, primarily for the assessment of rock quality for
the design of excavations. Recognizing that the measurement of
the RQD (rock quality designation) is often not adequate for
assessing rock quality for design, field engineers have also
measured additional core piece length information, as shown in
Table 1. This has made it easier to estimate the length of core
pieces in different size categories.
Length Drilled
Recovered Length
Whole Core Length
Number of Whole Core Pieces
Longest Piece
Length of pieces > 0.2 m
Length of pieces > 0.4 m
Length of pieces < 0.01 m
Length of Broken Zone
Table 1: Drill-hole piece length data collected at several
projects.
The authors have developed an approach for the
assessment of fragmentation using the data collected from
exploration and geotechnical drilling programs. This approach
utilizes the drill core piece length information along with
available or estimated joint set characteristics. The procedure
based on primary and secondary fragmentation.
2 IMPORTANCE OF FRAGMENTATION
ESTIMATION IN BLOCK CAVE MINES
Fragmentation is a major factor in an assessment of the
feasibility of cave mining in large, competent orebodies
(Calder et al, 2000, Carter and Russell, 2000, Chen, 1996,
Nickson et al, 2000). Since the large mines depend heavily
on large mechanized drilling and loading equipment, the
assessment of the economic viability of caving in competent
orebodies is determined by LHD productivity and the cost of
breaking large fragments to a size that can be efficiently
handled by the available equipment.
The distribution of fragment sizes helps assess the
requirement and design of material handling systems in the
mine. This information can also be used for evaluating the
production capability of a deposit designed for extraction
using the block caving method. Fragmentation has a
bearing on drawpoint spacing, dilution entry into the draw
column, draw control, drawpoint productivity, secondary
blasting/breaking costs and secondary blasting damage
(Laubscher, 1994). In addition, the estimation of hang-ups
helps in production planning and scheduling as well as
equipment selection for the mitigation of hang-ups.
3 METHODS FOR ESTIMATING FRAGMENTATION
Various techniques have been developed for estimating the
in-situ fragmentation and several methods for estimating the
breakdown of the material within the column have been
proposed. However, field-testing and calibration of these
techniques is important before they can be integrated into the
planning process. The development of tools for the estimation
of expected fragmentation will significantly improve the process
of planning and scheduling of block cave operations.
Several authors have tried to address the problem of
estimating block sizes in different stages of a block cave
operation, and there are several schools of thought on the
nature of degradation of material as it travels down a block
cave column. McCormick (1968) has suggested that
fragments break down within 100 meters of draw. Hustrulid
(2000) has proposed that the breakdown of material should

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 55

be linked to Bonds third theory of comminution, with gravity
providing the energy to break the rock to smaller sizes within
the draw column. The primary mechanism of breakdown of
material is the repeated slitting of the blocks within the draw
column based on the concept that blocks with high aspect
ratios will split to blocks of more stable aspect ratios.
Methods of estimating fragment size distributions in block
cave mines have been based on joint set parameters
estimated from structural mapping in available excavations
or outcrops. While this is acceptable in the absence of any
other means of assessing the fragmentation, the results can
often be misleading since the structural mapping is often
carried out in limited areas and the results are applied
uniformly to the entire deposit.
The Block Cave Fragmentation (BCF) program
(Esterhuizen, 1999) is probably the most widely used
method for estimating the fragment size distributions in
block cave operations. The program uses the statistical joint
set information to create primary fragments. The generation
of fractures due to stresses at the cave back is also included
in the primary fragmentation estimates. Secondary
breakage is achieved through aspect ratio reduction,
attrition and compressive strength failure of the primary
blocks in the draw column. Figure 1 shows typical
fragmentation curves estimated using the BCF program.
Figure 1: Typical Results from the BCF program
Programs such as BCF rely on joint set characteristics
observed at the base of the deposit. This information can
be misleading since the jointing characteristics may be
different as the cave progresses upwards. The prediction of
fragment size distributions at different times during the life of
the mine helps in taking decisions regarding the size and
type of mining equipment planned for use in the ore
handling systems in the mine.
Fractal concepts have been used for the development of
fragmentation estimates from drill core data. Poulton et al
(1990), Hardy et al, (1997), and Mojtabai et al, (1988), have
reported that the cumulative number of pieces in a fractured
rock mass plotted against the equivalent spherical dimension of
the fragments exhibits a fractal relationship in the power form:
y = x-b
where
y = number of fragments with a spherical diameter
less than x,
x = spherical diameter of the fragment, and
b = fractal dimension.
The main assumption in the use of the fractal technique for
the estimation of fragment size distributions from drill hole data
56 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
is that a certain range of core piece lengths from the drill hole
is representative of the true 3-D distribution of fragments. In
general, this range is from 20 to 80 centimeters. The
distribution of the core piece lengths is plotted on a log-log plot
and the slope of the curve in the 20 to 80 centimeter range is
calculated to be the fractal dimension. The derivative of the
power function is multiplied by the volume of a sphere and
integrated between zero and various fragment lengths up to the
longest fragment length to develop a 3-D distribution of the
fragment sizes. A typical fragmentation curve based on the
fractal analysis is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Typical results from single parameter fractal
fragmentation model.
The use of single parameter fractal models for estimating
fragmentation is extremely sensitive to the longest piece
chosen and does not result in the standard "S" shaped
fragment size distribution. The two-parameter Weibull
functions give the "S" shaped curve, but is difficult to use for
the fragmentation without a subjective percentile cut-off
since the function is an infinite distribution.
Figure 3: Typical results from two-parameter Weibull
fragmentation model.
4 THE CORE2FRAG PROGRAM
The lengths of core pieces recovered from drilling in a
joint rock mass represent some measure of the in-situ
block sizes. Estimation of the block volumes from these
core piece lengths using a cubic or spherical block
shape assumption can underestimate the block sizes. In
the case of a regularly jointed rock mass, the shape of
the rock blocks is related to the distribution of joint set
spacings.
The Core2Frag program was developed for converting the
drill hole core lengths to block volumes given the length of
the drill hole core pieces, the orientation of the drill holes
with respect to major joint sets (the orientation of the joints
is estimated from cell mapping information) and some
simplifying assumptions regarding the shape of the blocks
and the location of the core piece within the block.
Massmin 2004
 The primary assumption in the development of primary
fragment size distributions from drill core data is that each
drill-hole core piece represents one in-situ rock block. The
relationships between the joint spacing and lengths of the
different joint sets, evaluated from the joint set
characteristics gathered from available excavations,
outcrops or oriented core drilling programs, can be utilized
for estimating the shape of the rock blocks.
are calculated from the core lengths based on the side of
the block intersected by the core piece as shown in Figure
5. The block volumes are calculated for the each piece in a
drill interval and a volumetric block distribution is generated
for all the drill intervals (Pratt et al, 2002).

The other assumptions used in the development of the

Core2Frag program are:
a) All blocks have the same aspect ratio and the block
shape is defined by the joint sets
b) The drill hole passes through one apex of the primary
block

The Core2Frag program requires the following inputs:

a) Drill-hole piece length data, either in raw form or else
sorted into bins of fixed sizes.
b) Average dip and dip direction for up to six joint sets
c) Aspect ratios calculated from the spacing of the joint
sets.
d) A length correction factor for drill-hole not passing
through an apex of the block (Figure 4).

Figure 5: Drill hole intersecting orthogonal block

The formulation given above is for orthogonal blocks and

is shown for simplicity. The Core2Frag program uses vector
formulations for defining the blocks and calculating the block
volumes. Typical fragmentation estimates using the
Core2Frag program are shown in Figure 6 for drill-hole core
piece length data from different areas within the same rock
type.
The Core2Frag program also incorporates a secondary
fragmentation module in which the primary blocks are
broken mostly by reduction of the block sizes to a stable
aspect ratio. The draw height is used to control the number
of times the blocks are split within the draw column. Each
time a block is split, a certain amount of fines is also
created. The secondary fragmentation distribution is thus
generated and the program stores the secondary blocks for
use in the subsequent analyses related to hang-ups.

Figure 4: Effect of drill-hole intercept not passing through

corner of block

Three joint sets are randomly selected and used to

develop the shape of the rock block. The volume of the
block is then calculated using the drill core piece length, as
described below.
Assuming that a drill hole passes through a corner of the
block, the angles between the drill core piece and the axes
making up the block defined by the three selected joint sets
are calculated as:

= angle between core and set 1 = 1h/L

= angle between core and set 2 = 2h/L
= angle between core and set 3 = 3h/L

where 1 = unit normal vector to set 1

2 = unit normal vector to set 2 Figure 6: Primary fragmentation estimates using Core2Frag
3 = unit normal vector to set 3 in different areas in same rock type.
h = vector of core piece
L = length of core piece
A hang-up module, incorporating the logic developed by
These angles determine which side of the block is Robin Kear (as reported by Esterhuizen, 1999), is also
intersected by the core piece. The volumes of the blocks included in the program. Five blocks are randomly selected

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 57

from the blocks created by the secondary fragmentation
module. The blocks are rotated and passed through a
drawbell. If the blocks do not pass through the drawbell, a
hang-up is recorded. The type of hang-up depends on
where in the drawbell the blocks get stuck. The blocks
stored from the secondary fragmentation module are
passed through the hang-up module till the actual tonnage
passing through the drawpoint is reached.
5 CONCLUSIONS
While an attempt has been made by the authors for the
estimation of primary and secondary fragmentation based
on the drill core data, the work is in no way complete. The
program needs to be tested against a standard set of data
to ensure robustness and consistency of the results. Data
collection procedures from exploration drill holes need to be
developed to provide inputs for the Core2Frag program.
As with other methods of estimating fragmentation, the
Core2Frag programs will need extensive field-testing and
calibration before it can provide reasonably accurate
quantitative results. The authors are proposing to use
drawpoint fragmentation assessment as a means of direct
calibration of the procedure and program. The authors are
currently working to develop a standardized procedure for
data collection from the drawpoints and some work in this
regard has been initiated at the DOZ Block Cave operated
by PT Freeport Indonesia (Srikant et al, 2004). At present,
however, the Core2Frag program can be used to
qualitatively compare fragmentation in different areas within
block cave mines as well as open pit mines.
Though the process of calibration of fragmentation
estimates has a suitable feedback loop in the case of open-
pit design and, in many cases, stope design, this calibration
process is more difficult to use in the development of design
parameters in block cave design because (1) the
development and equipment are put in place much in
advance of actual production and (2) there is limited scope
for adjustment or modification of major design parameters,
especially those aspects of block cave design that are
based on fragmentation.
6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank David Flint and George McDonald of
Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold for supporting the
development of the Core2Frag program, which was
58 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
developed for use on several projects in PT Freeport
Indonesia. The guidance and constructive criticism from the
engineers at Call & Nicholas, Inc. is also gratefully
acknowledged.
7 REFERENCES
Calder, K., Townsend, P. and Russell, F., "The Palabora
Underground Mine Project", Proc. MassMin 2000,
AusIMM, Brisbane, 2000.
Carter, C.J., and Russell, F.M., "Modeling and Design of
Block Caving at Bingham Canyon", Proc. MassMin 2000,
AusIMM, Brisbane, 2000.
Chen, D., "Geotechnical assessment of block cave mining
in Northparkes Mines, NSW, Australia", Rock Mechanics
Tools and Techniques (ed. Aubertin, Hassani, Mitri),
Balkema, Rotterdam, 1996.
Esterhuizen, G.S., BCF Version 3.0 A Program to
Predict Block Cave Fragmentation - Technical Reference
and Users Guide, Littleton, Colorado, 1999.
Hardy, A.J., Ryan, T.M. and Kemeny, J.M., "Block size
distribution of in situ rock masses using digital image
processing of drill core", International Journal of Rock
Mechanics and Mining Sciences, v 34, n 2, Feb, 1997.
Laubscher, D.H., "Cave mining the state of the art",
Jour. South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy,
October 1994.
McCormick, "How wide does a drawpoint draw?", EM/J v
169 n 6., 1968.
Mojtabai, N., Cetintas, A., Farmer, I.W., and Savely, J.P.,
"In-place and excavated block size distributions", Proc.
30th US Rock Mech. Symp., West Virginia University,
Morgantown, 1988.
Nickson, S., Coulson, A., and Hussey, J., "Norandas
Approach to Evaluating a Competent Deposit for Caving",
Proc. MassMin 2000, AusIMM, Brisbane, 2000.
Poulton, M.M, Mojtabai, N., and Farmer, I.W., "Scale
invariant behavior of massive and fragmented rock",
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
Sciences & Geomechanics Abstracts, v 27 n 3, June
1990.
Pratt, R.W., Srikant, A., Nicholas, D.E. and Flint, D.C.,
Analysis of DOZ Fragmentation, CNI Report, May 2002.
Srikant, A., Nicholas, D.E., and Rachmad, L., "Visual
Estimation of Fragment Size Distributions in the DOZ
Block Cave", Proc. MassMin 2004, Santiago, August
2004.
Massmin 2004
 A review of empirical methods used
to estimate rock mass compressive
strength and deformability in the
mining industry
E. Villaescusa, J. Li, Western Australian School of Mines,
Curtin University of Technology, Australia

Abstract
The most widely used empirical relations, based on rock mass classifications, to estimate the rock mass compressive
strength and deformation modulus are reviewed. The estimates from the relationships are compared for a wide range of
general rock mass conditions and the most appropriate relationships are chosen. In addition, the selected relationships
are used to quantify the scale effect by comparing the intact rock properties determined in the laboratory with the rock
mass properties estimated using data from 15 mine sites. The results from the rock mass classifications are then
compared with the actual estimates used at those 15 underground mines, where the geotechnical engineers simply
downgrade the intact rock parameters (based on underground observations and experience) as inputs to numerical
modelling. Finally, the paper compares the rock mass strength estimates using a recently developed method based on
rock mass critical strain with corresponding estimates using the conventional Hoek-Brown method.

1. INTRODUCTION discontinuities, as well as the physical properties of the

The deformation modulus and compressive strength of a
rock mass can be determined by in situ testing. Such tests
are used in civil engineering and involve among others,
plate bearing, hydraulic pressure chamber, flat jack, radial
jack, and direct shear tests (Lama and Vutukuri, 1978 and
ISRM, 1981). These tests are extremely expensive and time
consuming, and consequently, rarely carried out within the
mining industry. On the other hand, over the last two
decades, a number of empirical relations to estimate the
deformability and compressive strength of a rock mass
based on rock mass classifications have been developed
(Bieniawski, 1978; Serafim and Pereira, 1983; Kalamaras et
al, 1995; Hoek and Brown, 1997; Sheorey, 1997; and Hoek,
1998). Furthermore, at some mines the rock mass
properties are estimated by simply downgrading some of
the intact rock properties, which are then used as inputs to
numerical modelling. The results from the numerical
modelling are calibrated with observations of the rock mass
behaviour at the mine sites and the input of the rock mass
parameters are "fine tuned".
2. ROCK MASS COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH AND DEFORMABILITY
The rock mass compressive strength is a measure of the
peak load carrying capacity of a rock mass (i.e stress driven
failure) and is likely to be a fraction of the intact rock
strength due to the presence of geological discontinuities
(Hoek and Brown, 1980). The actual value depends upon
the geometrical nature and strength of the geological
intact rock bridges.
The modulus of deformation (or deformation modulus) is
the ratio of stress to corresponding strain during loading of
a rock mass including elastic and inelastic behaviour. This is
different to the modulus of elasticity or Youngs modulus,
which is the ratio of stress to corresponding strain below the
proportionality limit of a material, i. e. intact rock (ISRM,
1975).
3. EMPIRICAL RELATIONS BASED ON
ROCK MASS CLASSIFICATIONS
Given that large scale testing of a rock mass is cost prohibitive
in mining operations, a practical alternative is to estimate the
rock mass properties from rock mass classifications and intact
rock core sampling testing. Consequently, a number of empirical
relationships to determine the deformability and strength of rock
masses using the rock mass classification indices have been
proposed since the late 1970s.
3.1 Estimation of rock mass compressive strength
A number of empirical relations for determining the
compressive strength of a rock mass are available in the
literature. The most widely used relationships are given in
Table 1. In all but two cases, the empirical equations
incorporate the uniaxial compressive strength of the intact
rock coupled with a rock mass classification system. Table 1
also includes a procedure proposed by Hoek and Brown
(1997) to calculate the rock mass compressive strength by
fitting the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion envelope to the
Hoek-Brown criterion as shown in Figure 1.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 59


Figure 1. Hoek-Brown and Mohr-Coulomb criteria and rock
mass compressive strength (Hoek and Brown, 1997).
Table 2 shows uniaxial compressive strength values for
typical intact rocks, as well as GSI and rock mass strength
values from Hoek and Brown (1997) and the resulting
estimated rock mass compressive strengths calculated
using Eqs.1 to 6 from Table 1. Analysis of the data suggests
that Equation 2 (Trueman, 1988) may not work well for
cases in which a rock mass has a low uniaxial compressive
strength of intact rock and high GSI or RMR values. For a
quartz mica schist having a uniaxial compressive strength of
30MPa and a GSI (or RMR) of 65, the calculated rock mass
compressive strength using equation 2 is 24.7MPa, which is
much higher than the value (8.2MPa) calculated using the
Mohr-Coulomb to fit the Hoek-Brown criterion (Hoek-Brown
method).
Similarly, it can be seen that, in most cases, the values
of a rock mass compressive strength calculated using
equation 3 (Singh, 1993) are higher than the values
estimated using the Hoek-Brown procedure. Again, for
the quartz mica schist the estimated rock mass
compressive strength is 39.6MPa, which is higher than
the uniaxial compressive strength of the intact rock
(30MPa).
In addition, equations 2 and 3 do not explicitly consider
both the uniaxial compressive strength of intact rock and a

Table 1. Empirical relations for determining compressive strength of rock masses.

Empirical Relations & Procedure Reference Equation Number

cm = ce(RMR 76 - 100)/18.75 Ramamurthy, 1986 (1)

cm = 0.5e0.06RMR 76 Trueman, 1988 (2)

cm = 0.7 Q 1/3 Singh, 1993 (3)

RMR89 15
cm = 0.5 c Kalamaras et al, 1995 (4)
85
cm = ce(RMR 76 - 100)/20 Sheorey, 1997 (5)

cm = 0.022ce0.038GSI Hoek, 1998 (6)

Mohr-Coulomb to fit Hoek-Brown criterion

(Hoek-Brown method) Hoek and Brown, 1997

Note: is the bulk unit weight of intact rock (kN/m3); c is uniaxial compressive strength of intact rock; Q is the
classification index of Barton et al (1974); GSI is Geological Strength Index (Hoek et al, 1995) and RMR76 and RMR89
are Rock Mass Rating of Bieniawski in 1976 and 1989.

Table 2. Rock mass compressive strength determined by empirical relations.

Rock mass description c GSI or cm (MPa)

(MPa) RMR Hoek & Brown (1997)# Eq.1 Eq.2 Eq.3* Eq.4 Eq.5 Eq.6

V/g quality hard rock mass 150 75 64.8 39.5 45.0 57.4 57.4 43.0 57.0
Average quality rock mass 80 50 13.0 5.6 10.0 22.7 18.8 6.6 11.8
V/p quality rock mass 20 30 1.7 0.5 3.0 10.8 2.4 0.6 1.4
Massive gneiss 110 75 43.0 29.0 45.0 57.4 42.1 31.5 41.8
Quartz mica schist 30 65 8.2 4.6 24.7 39.6 9.7 5.2 7.8
Graphitic phyllite 15 24 1.0 0.3 2.1 8.7 1.2 0.3 0.8

* The bulk density of all rock types is assumed as 26kN/m3, and Q-index in Eq.5.12 is calculated by using RMR = 9 in
Q + 44 (Bieniawski, 1984).
# Compressive strength of rock mass was calculated using the Hoek-Brown method (Mohr-Coulomb to fit Hoek-Brown
criterion).
/ In Eqs.1, 2 and 5; RMR76 = GSI and in Eq.4; RMR89 = GSI + 5.
V/g is very good and V/p stands for very poor.

60 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

rock mass classification system, and consequently are not
considered further in this study. Eqs.1 and 5 are also
excluded since these estimated rock mass compressive
strength are very low compared with the results obtained
using the Hoek-Brown method. This leaves Eqs. 4 and 6
coupled with the Hoek-Brown method as the recommended
choices for estimation of a rock mass compressive strength
using intact rock strength and rock mass classification
systems.
3.2 Estimation of rock mass deformation modulus
The most widely used empirical relations for
determining the deformation modulus of rock masses are
given in Table 3. Eqs. 7 and 8 are only valid when
RMR>50 and Q>1, respectively. It is noted that in cases
when the ranges from 50 to 55 or Q is less than 2, the
deformation modulus values estimated using these
equations appear to be too low, (see Figure 2). In
addition, both equations may not provide a reasonable fit
for the field measured data, since they are not applicable
for a wide range of values.
Figure 2. Deformation modulus of rock mass versus rock
mass rating (Hoek and Brown, 1988).
Table 3 Empirical relations for determining rock mass deformation modulus.
Empirical relationships
Em = 2RMR76 100 (RMR > 50)
Em = 25 logQ (Q > 1)
Em = 10 (RMR76 10) /40
Em
= 0.5 [1 cos ( * RMR89/100)]
E
c
Em = 10 (GSI10)/40 (c < 100 MPa)
100
Note: Em is the deformation modulus of rock mass and is Youngs modulus of intact rock.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Equation 10 appears to overestimate the rock mass
deformation modulus. This can be explained by the
extensive literature review of Heuze (1980), which showed
that the deformation modulus of a rock mass is about 20 to
60% of the intact rock Youngs modulus. When RMR 57,
the ratio of deformation modulus of rock masses to Youngs
modulus of intact rocks using Equation 10 is greater than
0.6.
Furthermore, Hoek and Brown (1997) recommended to
use Eq.9 to estimate the rock mass deformation modulus,
and modified it into Eq. 11 in order to consider the intact rock
strength. Hoek and Brown (1997) indicated that the
deformation of better quality rock masses is controlled by
the geological discontinuities; while for poorer quality rock
masses the deformation of the intact rock pieces contributes
to the overall deformation process. Consequently, only
Eqs.9 and 11 are recommended to estimate the rock mass
deformation modulus.
Li (2004) has estimated the rock mass compressive
strength using the Hoek-Brown method (Mohr-Coulomb to
fit Hoek-Brown criterion) and the rock mass deformation
modulus using Eqs. 9 and 11. The results for a number of
mine sites are listed in Table 4 indicate the rock mass
parameters to be a proportion of the intact rock parameters.
Figure 3 shows the calculated ranges for c /cm, which
appear to be log normally distributed. The results show that
on average cm is approximately 1/4 of c. Figure 4 shows
the calculated ranges for E/Em, which appear to be negative
exponentially distributed. The results show that on average
Em is approximately 1/3 of E.
Figure 3. Histogram of - Rock mass classifications.
Reference Equation Number
(GPa) Bieniawski, 1978 7
(GPa) Barton et al, 1980 8
(GPa) Serafim and Pereira, 1983 9
Mitri et al, 1994 10
Hoek and Brown, 1997 11
61
 Table 4. Intact rock and rock mass classification data with estimated rock mass parameters.

Mine Site Rock Type RMR76 mb S a c E cm Em c/ E/E

(MPa) (GPa) (MPa) (GPa) cm

Ora Banda Host rock 70 5.82 0.0357 0.5 185 100 60.3 31.6 3.07 3.16
Ore body 55 3.41 0.0067 0.5 145 55 30.8 13.3 4.71 4.14

Harlequin Quartz 56 5.19 0.0075 0.5 116 83 29.6 14.1 3.92 5.89
Porphyry 57 3.66 0.0084 0.5 76 ----- 17.1 13.0 4.52 -----
Gabbro (dolerite) 66 8.02 0.0229 0.5 165 66 56.2 25.1 3.17 2.63
Basalt 62 4.37 0.0147 0.5 86 61 22.1 18.5 3.94 3.30
Granodiorite 59 6.94 0.0105 0.5 228 ----- 67.5 16.8 3.79 -----

Bullen Quartz 59 5.32 0.0105 0.5 106 ----- 28.2 16.8 3.80 -----
Porphyry 61 4.22 0.0131 0.5 221 ----- 55.2 18.8 4.28 -----
Gabbro 67 8.31 0.0256 0.5 281 ----- 98.4 26.6 3.01 -----
Basalt 70 5.42 0.0286 0.5 246 ----- 75.4 28.2 3.19 -----

Kambalda Basalt (Tramways Dome) 78 7.75 0.0868 0.5 180 78 76.9 50.1 2.34 1.56
Nickel Basalt (Kambalda Dome) 78 7.75 0.0868 0.5 228 80 97.4 50.1 2.35 1.60
Mines Basalt (Widgiemooltha Dome) 78 7.75 0.0868 0.5 130 79 55.5 50.1 2.32 1.58
Intermediate Porphyry 68 5.42 0.0286 0.5 110 87 33.7 28.2 3.24 3.09
Felsic Porphyry 79 8.03 0.0970 0.5 219 62 97.0 53.1 2.26 1.17
Ultramafic (Talc chlorite) 66 6.53 0.0229 0.5 59 80 27.0 23.2 2.19 3.45
Ultramafic (Talc magnesite) 66 6.53 0.0229 0.5 30 33 10.0 13.8 3.00 2.39
Ultramafic (Antigorite) 73 8.39 0.0498 0.5 226 70 88.0 37.6 2.57 1.86
Ultramafic (Lizardite) 62 5.66 0.0147 0.5 109 37 31.0 20.0 3.52 1.85

Mt Charlotte Dolerite (Unit 8) 75 7.78 0.0622 0.5 177 70 70.3 42.2 2.52 1.66

Mt Isa Pb Mine Shales 75 9.01 0.0622 0.5 185 80 76.8 42.2 2.41 1.90

New Ultramafic 51 3.95 0.0043 0.5 40 25 7.7 7.0 8.42 3.57

Celebration Gabbro 72 9.94 0.0399 0.5 208 81 82.6 33.5 2.47 2.28

Mt Marion Ultramafic 60 7.91 0.0117 0.5 103 67 32.5 17.8 3.17 3.76

Outkumpu Volcanite 76 5.7 0.0695 0.5 222 70 83 46.7 2.67 1.50

Pyrite 84 9.2 0.1690 0.5 105 122 55.7 70.8 1.89 1.72

Centenary Felsic 69 6.94 0.0319 0.5 220 75 75 29.9 2.93 2.51

Granitoid 64 8.29 0.0183 0.5 210 81 71 22.4 2.96 3.62
Magnetic Dolerite 69 6.28 0.0319 0.5 231 91 76 29.9 3.04 3.05
Magnetic Quartz Dolerite 69 6.28 0.0319 0.5 242 89 79 29.9 3.06 2.97
Lamprophyre 58 4.24 0.0094 0.5 123 70 30 15.8 4.08 4.40

Darlot Basalt 55 3.41 0.0067 0.5 153 91 33 13.3 4.63 6.80

Felsic 69 6.94 0.0319 0.5 167 ----- 57 29.9 2.93 -----
Granitoid 64 8.29 0.0183 0.5 130 ----- 44 22.4 2.96 -----
Magnetic Dolerite 69 6.28 0.0319 0.5 235 99 77 29.9 3.05 3.30
Magnetic Quartz Dolerite 69 6.28 0.0319 0.5 240 87 79 29.9 3.03 2.91
Tuff 64 4.15 0.0183 0.5 126 ----- 33 22.4 3.80 -----
Lamprophyre 58 4.24 0.0094 0.5 131 81 32 15.8 4.08 5.14

Kanowna Belle Grit 82 11.57 0.1353 0.5 140 70 73.8 63.1 1.90 1.11
Porphyry 68 7.97 0.0286 0.5 110 65 38.5 28.2 2.86 2.31
Conglomerate 82 11.57 0.1353 0.5 140 70 73.8 63.1 1.90 1.11

Yilgarn Star Ultramafic 63 5.60 0.0164 0.5 150 61 43 21.1 3.49 2.89
Ore 47 3.77 0.0028 0.5 40 27 8 5.3 5.00 5.09

Junction Dolerite 75 11.06 0.0622 0.5 335 92.6 148 42.2 2.26 2.19
All ore 68 4.78 0.0286 0.5 141 74.7 42 28.2 3.36 2.65

Telfer Gold Malu Quartzite 78 10.94 0.0868 0.5 250 80 117.5 50.1 2.18 1.60
Outer siltstone 47 1.36 0.0028 0.5 30 20 4.0 4.6 7.32 4.35
Footwall sandstone 58 4.23 0.0094 0.5 150 60 36.3 15.8 4.13 3.80

62 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Mine Site Rock Type RMR76 mb S a c E cm Em c/ E/E
(MPa) (GPa) (MPa) (GPa) cm
Hoek and Massive strong rock mass 75 7.25 0.062 0.5 110 ----- 43 42 2.56 -----
Brown Average quality rock mass 65 4.5 0.02 0.5 30 ----- 8.2 13 3.66 -----
(1997), Poor quality rock mass 24 0.66 0 0.53 15 ----- 0.34 0.87 44.12 -----
Hoek Massive weak rock 80 16.3 0.1084 0.5 51 ----- 28.3 40.2 1.80 -----
(1998) Massive strong rock mass 80 7.25 0.1084 0.5 110 ----- 48.9 56.2 2.25 -----
Average quality rock mass 70 4.5 0.0357 0.5 30 ----- 9.05 17.3 3.31 -----
Poor quality at shallow depth 20 0.55 0 0.55 7.5 ----- 0.52 0.5 14.42 -----

Figure 4. Histogram of - Rock mass classifications. Figure 6. Histogram of E / Em - Numerical modelling

experience.
4. NUMERICAL MODELLING PRACTICE
IN UNDERGROUND MINING
Comparisons of the estimated parameters using rock
In underground mining practice, geotechnical engineers mass classification and those used in numerical modelling
estimate the rock mass compressive strength and are shown in Figures 7 and 8. The two methods appear to
deformation modulus by either using the Hoek-Brown estimate different rock mass compressive strengths for the
criterion (1988) or by simply downgrading some of the intact same rock mass environments. However, the deformation
rock strength parameters, which are then used as input to moduli estimated using both methods are similar.
numerical modelling. The input parameters are usually
adjusted and finetuned with information from underground
observations, and geotechnical instrumentation. Table 5
shows a number of input data that were used by mine site
based practitioners during their numerical modelling of
mining sequences. In most cases, they concluded that the
stress outputs and the related excavation stability
assessments from numerical modelling were acceptable
and used during actual orebody sequencing. Figure 5
shows the calculated ranges for , which also appear to be
log normally distributed. The results show that on average
is approximately 1/5 of . Figure 6 shows the calculated
ranges for , which also appear to be negative exponentially
distributed. The results show that on average is
approximately 1/2 of .
Figure 7. Histogram of Oc / Ocm .

Figure 5. Histogram of - Numerical modelling experience. Figure 8. Histogram of E / Em.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 63

 Table 5. Estimated rock mass parameters from numerical modelling experience.

Mine Site Rock Type c (MPa) E (GPa) cm (MPa) Em (GPa) c / cm E / Em

Ora Banda Host rock 185 100 95 40 1.95 2.50

Ore body 145 55 70 16 2.07 3.44

Harlequin Quartz 116 83 18 15 6.44 5.53

Porphyry 76 ----- 10 12 7.60 -----
Gabbro (dolerite) 165 66 38 32 4.34 2.06
Basalt 86 61 14 19 6.14 3.21
Granodiorite 228 ----- 31 9 7.35 -----

Bullen Quartz 106 ----- 16 15 6.63 -----

Porphyry 221 ----- 28 12 7.89 -----
Gabbro 281 ----- 73 38 3.85 -----
Basalt 246 ----- 56 32 4.39 -----

Mt Charlotte Dolerite (Unit 8) 177 70 100 65 1.77 1.08

Mt Isa Pb Mine Shales 185 80 94 60 1.96 1.33

New Ultramafic 40 25 ----- 11 ----- 2.27

Celebration Gabbro 208 81 ----- 32 ----- 2.53

Kambalda Basalt (Tramways Dome) 180 78 90 50 2.00 1.56

Nickel Basalt (Kambalda Dome) 228 80 114 50 2.00 1.60
Mines Basalt (Widgiemooltha Dome) 130 79 65 50 2.00 1.58
Intermediate Porphyry 110 87 55 30 2.00 2.90
Felsic Porphyry 219 62 109 50 2.01 1.24
Ultramafic (Talc chlorite) 59 80 30 20 1.97 4.00
Ultramafic (Talc magnesite) 30 33 15 10 2.00 3.30
Ultramafic (Antigorite) 226 70 113 55 2.00 1.27
Ultramafic (Lizardite) 109 37 55 30 1.98 1.23

Mt Marion Ultramafic 103 67 33 18 3.17 3.76

Outkumpu Volcanite 222 70 45 59 4.93 1.19

Pyrite 105 122 71 43 1.48 2.84

Kanowna Belle Grit 140 70 73.8 63 1.90 1.11

Porphyry 110 65 38.5 28 2.86 2.31
Conglomerate 140 70 73.8 63 1.90 1.11

Yilgarn Star Ultramafic 150 61 13.1 12 11.45 5.08

Ore 40 27 13.1 12 3.05 2.25

Junction Dolerite 335 93 200 90 1.68 1.03

All ore 141 75 108 78 1.31 1.00

Telfer Malu Quartzite 250 80 75 58 3.33 1.38

Outer siltstone 30 20 2 8 15.00 2.50
Footwall sandstone 150 60 15 17 10.00 3.53

Hoek Massive strong rock mass 110 ----- 43 42 2.56 -----

and Brown Average quality rock mass 30 ----- 8.2 13 3.66 -----
(1997), Poor quality rock mass 15 ----- 0.34 0.87 44.12 -----
Hoek Massive weak rock 51 ----- 28.3 40.2 1.80 -----
(1998) Massive strong rock mass 110 ----- 48.9 56.2 2.25 -----
Average quality rock mass 30 ----- 9.05 17.3 3.31 -----
Poor quality at shallow depth 7.5 ----- 0.52 0.5 14.42 -----

64 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

5. ROCK MASS STRENGTH FROM CRITICAL STRAIN
Recent work at the Western Australian School of Mines
(Li, 2004) established a correlation between critical strain for
intact rock and rock masses using 81 data points collected
from Western Australian underground mining operations.
From this study a linear relationship between the critical
strain for rock masses and intact rock can be approximately
expressed as follows
(12)
where and are the critical strain of intact rock and rock
masses expressed in % units respectively. The critical strain
for intact rock is defined as follows (Sakurai, 1982, Li, 2004),
(13)
The critical strain for rock masses is defined as follows (Li,
2004),
(14)
The conceptual average axial stress versus axial strain
plot for the intact rock and rock mass are shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9. Comparison of intact rock and rock mass
behaviour
Eq.12 can be used to estimate the rock mass
compressive strength as follows (Li, 2004)
(15)
Table 6 shows a comparison of rock mass compressive
strength values using Eq.15 and those calculated using
the Hoek-Brown method (Mohr-Coulomb to fit Hoek-
Brown criterion) and the rock mass deformation modulus
using Eqs.9 and 11. The results suggest that, in most
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
cases, similar rock mass strength is estimated using both
methods.
The comparisons of the rock mass compressive strengths
calculated using the Hoek-Brown method and Eq.15 are
also shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10. Comparison of rock mass compressive strength
estimated using Hoek-Brown method and Eq.15.
6. CONCLUSIONS
A comprehensive review of rock mass classification
and numerical modelling input data was carried out for
a large number of Australian mining operations. The
data were reviewed with respect to rock mass
compressive strength and deformation modulus. The
methodologies proposed by Kalamaras and Hoek and
Brown are recommended for rock mass compressive
strength, while the methods of Serafim and Pereira, as
well as Hoek and Brown are recommended to estimate
the rock mass deformation modulus. A comparison of
data from the same mining sites showed that mine-
based geotechnical engineers actually use slightly
lower rock mass strength values than those estimated
using rock mass classifications. Finally, a recently
developed methodology based on rock mass critical
strain was compared to the Hoek and Brown method
and the results suggest that both methods predict
similar rock mass strength estimates.
7. REFERENCES
Barton N. R., Lien R. and Lunde J. 1974, Engineering
classification of rock masses for the design of tunnel
support, Rock Mechanics, vol.6, pp189 236.
Barton N. R., Lset F., Lien R. and Lunde J. 1980,
Application of the Q-system in design decision,
Subsurface Space, (ed. M. Bergman) 2, pp553 - 561.
New York: Pergamon.
Bieniawski Z. T. 1978, Determining rock mass
deformability Experience from case histories,
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
Sciences & Geomechanics Abstracts, vol.15, no.5, pp.237
247.
Bieniawski Z. T. 1984, Rock Mechanics Design in Mining
and Tunnelling, A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam.
Heuze F. E 1980, Scale effects in the determination of
rock mass strength and deformability, Rock Mechanics,
vol.12, pp167 192.
65
 Table 6. Rock mass compressive strength calculated using Hoek-Brown method and Eq.15.

Mine Site Rock Type RMR76 c E cm Em cm (MPa)

(MPa) (GPa) (%) (GPa) H-B method Eq. 15

Ora Banda Host rock 70 185 100 0.185 31.6 60.3 46.2
Ore body 55 145 55 0.264 13.3 30.8 27.7

Harlequin Quartz 56 116 83 0.140 14.1 29.6 15.6

Porphyry 57 76 ----- ----- 13 17.1 -----
Gabbro (dolerite) 66 165 66 0.250 25.1 56.2 49.9
Basalt 62 86 61 0.141 18.5 22.1 20.6
Granodiorite 59 228 ----- ----- 16.8 67.5 -----

Kambalda Basalt (Tramways Dome) 78 180 78 0.231 50.1 76.9 91.3

Nickel Basalt (Kambalda Dome) 78 228 80 0.285 50.1 97.4 112.8
Mines Basalt (Widgiemooltha Dome) 78 130 79 0.165 50.1 55.5 65.1
Intermed. Porphyry 68 110 87 0.126 28.2 33.7 28.2
Felsic Porphyry 79 219 62 0.353 53.1 97 148.2
Ultramafic (Talc chlorite) 66 59 80 0.074 23.2 27 13.5
Ultramafic (Talc magnesite) 66 30 33 0.091 13.8 10 9.9
Ultramafic (Antigorite) 73 226 70 0.323 37.6 88 95.9
Ultramafic (Lizardite) 62 109 37 0.295 20 31 46.5

Mt Charlotte Dolerite (Unit 8) 75 177 70 0.253 42.2 70.3 84.3

Mt Isa Pb Mine Shales 75 185 80 0.231 42.2 76.8 77.1

New Celebration Ultramafic 51 40 25 0.160 7 7.7 8.8

Gabbro 72 208 81 0.257 33.5 82.6 68.0

Mt Marion Ultramafic 65 114 78 0.146 17.8 46.0 36.3

Outkumpu Volcanite 76 222 70 0.317 46.7 83.0 117.0

Pyrite 84 105 122 0.086 70.8 55.7 48.1

Centenary FELSIC 69 220 75 0.293 29.9 75 69.3

Granitoid 64 210 81 0.259 22.4 71 45.9
Magnetic Dolerite 69 231 91 0.254 29.9 76 60.0
Magnetic Quartz Dolerite 69 242 89 0.272 29.9 79 64.2
Lamprophyre 58 123 70 0.176 15.8 30 21.9

Darlot Basalt 55 153 91 0.168 13.3 33 17.7

FELSIC 69 167 ----- ----- 29.9 57 -----
Granitoid 64 130 ----- ----- 22.4 44 -----
Magnetic Dolerite 69 235 99 0.237 29.9 77 56.1
Magnetic Quartz Dolerite 69 240 87 0.276 29.9 79 65.2
Tuff 64 126 ----- ----- 22.4 33 -----
Lamprophyre 58 131 81 0.162 15.8 32 20.2

Kanowna Grit 82 140 70 0.200 63.1 73.8 99.7

Belle Porphyry 68 110 65 0.169 28.2 38.5 37.7
Conglomerate 82 140 70 0.200 63.1 73.8 99.7

Yilgarn
Star Ultramafic 63 150 61 0.246 21.1 43 41.0
Ore 47 40 27 0.148 5.3 8 6.2

Junction Dolerite 75 335 92.6 0.362 42.2 148 120.6

All ore 68 141 74.7 0.189 28.2 42 42.1

Telfer Malu Quartzite 78 250 80 0.313 50.1 117.5 123.7

Outer siltstone 47 30 20 0.150 4.6 4 5.5
Footwall sandstone 58 150 60 0.250 15.8 36.3 31.2

66 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Hoek E. 1998, Practical Rock Engineering, [Online],
Available: http://www.rocscience.com/roc/Hoek/Hoek.htm
[2000, October 2].
Hoek E. and Brown E. T. 1980, Underground Excavations
in Rock, Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, London.
Hoek E. and Brown E. T. 1997, Practical estimates of rock
mass strength, International Journal of Rock Mechanics
& Mining Sciences, vol.34, no.8, pp.1165 1186.
Hoek E., Kaiser P. K and Bawden W. F. 1995, Support of
Underground Excavations in Hard Rock, Balkema,
Rotterdam.
International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) 1975,
Report of the commission on Terminology, International
Society for Rock Mechanics, Lisbon.
International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) 1981,
Rock characterization, Testing and Monitoring: ISRM
Suggested Methods, ed. Brown, E. T., Pergoman Press,
Oxford.
Kalamaras G. S. and Bieniawski Z. T. 1995, A rock mass
strength concept for coal seams incorporating the effect of
time, in Proceedings 8th International Congress on Rock
Mechanics, ISRM, ed. Fujii T., A A Balkema, Rotterdam,
vol.1, pp.295 302.
Lama R. D. and Vutukuri V. S. 1978b, Handbook on
Mechanical Properties of Rocks, vol. III, Trans Tech
Publications, Clausthal.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Li, J. 2004, Critical Strain of Intact Rock and Rock
Masses. PhD Thesis, Western Australian School of
Mines, Curtin University of Technology, 186p.
Ramamurthy T. 1986, Stability of rock mass, Indian
Geomechanics Journal, vol.16, no.1, pp1 74.
Sakurai S. 1982, An evaluation technique of displacements
in tunnels, Proceedings of Japanese Society of Civil
Engineering, No. 317, pp.93 100 (in Japanese).
Serafim L. J. and Pereira P. J. 1983, Consideration on the
geomechanical classification of Bieniawski, in
Proceedings of International Symposium On Engineering
Geology and Underground Construction, vol.1, pp.II.33
II.42, LNEC, Lisbon.
Sheorey P. R. 1997, Empirical Rock Failure Criteria, A A
Balkema, Rotterdam.
Singh B. 1993, Indian case studies of squeezing grounds
and experiences of application of Bartons Q-system, in
Workshop on Norwegian Method of Tunnelling, CSMRS,
New Delhi.
Trueman R. 1988, An evaluation of strata support
technique in dual life gateroads. Ph.D. Thesis, University
of Wales, Cardiff.
67
68 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Chapter 3
Mass Mining
Methods I: Fundamentals
70 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Feasibility studies for caving
operations The "State of the Art"
Mike A. Struthers, Principal, AMC Consultants (UK)

Abstract
Technical reviews of a number of feasibility studies for potential caving operations, and involvement in operating mines,
have illustrated a number of opportunities for improvement in these investigations. This paper presents a view on the
"State of the Art" of feasibility studies as applied to caving projects, and highlights some of the remaining challenges. In
particular, the need for in-situ stress determinations as input to such studies is discussed, and research into a number
of alternative methods should continue to be trialed in the hard rock mining industry.
The value of effective risk assessment is emphasised, the process beginning during the pre-feasibility, and carried
through into the feasibility study and on to operations, undergoing numerous updates and revisions. Independent review
during the Study process is also invaluable.

1 INTRODUCTION Rockmass characterisation, and presentation of the

Design for caving methods of mining remains one of the
most significant challenges in mining geomechanics and
engineering, particularly in green-field sites. During the past
2-3 decades design has been based predominantly on
methods developed by Laubscher (eg. 2001), but in recent
years alternative empirical schemes and numerical methods
have been applied in parallel with the conventional MRMR
assessments.
This has occurred in parallel with a desire by industry to
exploit much more competent orebodies than were
historically considered suited to caving, a trend which itself
has challenged the applicability of the established design
methods. This has been complemented by, and to some
degree driven by, the International Caving Study (ICS).
This trend has applied to both sub-level, block, and panel
cave projects. At a more detailed level, knowledge of a number
of specific aspects (eg. cave draw) has advanced considerably.
Involvement in, and review of, a number of Feasibility
Studies for caving projects has highlighted some common
observations regarding the "state of the art" as it is applied
to such studies.
2 TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
Although the degree of sophistication used to address
particular geotechnical issues in feasibility studies into
caving projects does vary, in most cases the level of
confidence one can have in the range of fundamental input
parameters is summarised below:
Rockmass characterisation usually good.
Major structures moderately well-defined spatially, and
associated ground conditions similarly defined, but their
influence on (and reaction to) the caving process is poorly
understood.
Stress regime poorly understood.
Deposit hydrogeology poor to fair.
We are as an industry generally competent at the
following tasks during the Study process (though there of
course is always room for improvement):
Ore resource modelling and estimation.
Mining method selection.
results (though there remains much scope for improving
modelling of geotechnical data).
Fragmentation analysis (though estimation of secondary
fragmentation and size and frequency of hang-ups
requires improvement).
Options analysis for materials handling systems, and
simulation studies.
Ventilation modelling and design.
Cost modelling and economic analysis.
Specific design tasks which remain challenging, and on
which further research is required, include:
Cavability predictions in strong rockmasses, particularly
where stress-induced caving is expected to play a major role.
Specifically, the state of pre-mining stress.
Assessing the likely role or impact of major structures on
cavability, and excavation stability close to the cave zone.
Estimation of the rate of cave initiation and propagation.
As a consequence, estimation of surface subsidence
(timing, extent, magnitude).
Estimation of draw and recovery characteristics, and
factors such as dilution entry. Specifically, monitoring of
draw behaviour, and draw modelling.
Assessing the degree of seismic risk
Under some circumstances, assessment of the likely
water inflows into the cave, and hence assessment of
inrush risks.
All these aspects are of course more challenging in
greenfield sites, with no prior mining experience, and little in
the surrounding region.
In-situ stress determination is one the most challenging
problems facing studies into deep caving operations. It is
beyond the scope of this paper to discuss in detail the
various methods of stress measurement in use today.
Overcoring techniques remain the preferred methods where
access is available, but often for feasibility studies it is not.
Hydraulic fracturing can obtain stress determinations from
deep boreholes, but the method has its limitations.
A range of core-based measurement methods are under
development, such as DSCA (Differential Strain Curve
Analysis), the ASR (Anelastic Strain Recovery) method, the
AE (Acoustic Emission) method, DRA (Deformation Rate

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 71

Analysis), and PSHA (Principal Strain Hysteresis Analysis)
(Oikawa and Yamaguchi, 2000). Oikawa and Yamaguchi
tested rock cores from 2200m below surface, with some
success when compared to a range of other assessments.
However, these are not in-situ tests, and the methods are
not without their detractors. Sjberg and Klasson (2003)
presented encouraging stress results from use of a SSPB
Borre probe in deep boreholes in Sweden, and significant
research into a variety of methods has been undertaken in
Korea, supporting a number of large civil construction
projects. This has included the Compact Conical-ended
Borehole Overcoring (CCBO) method (Seong-Seung Kang
et al, 2003).
Further research is required (and warranted) into a
number of these methods. Of the above alternative
methods, only the AE technique is generally applied and
supported by research in hard rock mining circles. The
mining industry should support development trials of some
of these other methods in hard rock mines.
The need for reliable assessments of in-situ stress is
widely recognised, and in some cases (eg Argyle Diamonds,
WA) has been a factor in decisions to establish earlier mine
access than would otherwise have been available, to
provide valuable confirmatory data during the feasibility
process.
3 RISK AREAS
In addition to the technical risk areas listed above, there
are also a number of other risks which can impact
dramatically on the success of a project:
Unintentional bias in studies conducted in-house. This is
a substantial risk, despite the best efforts of those
involved (Bass, 1987). Rigorous independent audit and
review of the Study at various stages is considered
essential (McCarthy, 2002).
The pressures of time and money, which are substantial
factors in large studies, and which can lead to rushed
investigations of certain issues, and a reluctance to re-
visit early assumptions later in the Study process.
The move from Pre-Feasibility to Feasibility Study is
recognised as a risk if, as noted by McCarthy (2002), the
Pre-Feasibility Study has not been sufficiently
comprehensive. McCarthy argues it is the Pre-Feasibility
Study which is the most important stage of investigation.
Insufficient challenging of sophisticated analyses done by
consultants, such as stress modelling, or modelling of
draw behaviour. This can be due in part to lack of
knowledge on the part of those reviewing the results.
Both these examples of complex modelling can be prone
to significant errors, or at least generate
misunderstandings, where not calibrated against local
conditions. The latter is of course not always possible, but
the results should be assessed with this clearly in mind.
We suffer from two syndromes; the "Black Box", and "If its
in colour, its true!".
The track record of feasibility studies has generally been
poor, and a number of investigations from the 1970s
onwards have analysed performances and sought
explanations. In a study of production rates in US projects,
Tatman (2001) found that 35% of mines did not achieve their
planned rate. In a study of 105 cases, McCarthy (2003)
found that three factors commonly led to under-
performance; lack of impartiality of the study team, criticism
of the way the study was organised or funded, and
unrealistic study deadlines.
4 UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES
A number of major caving projects have not performed to
the expectations which existed at Feasibility. Some have
72 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
performed better than expectations, some not. Examples of
unexpected performances include:
Unexpected seismicity in capital access development at
depth, when earlier mining on higher levels gave no
indication such problems may exist. The impacts were on
cost and development rates.
Significantly delayed cave initiation, compared to
Feasibility predictions. The impacts were on costs, and
production rate (ramp up).
In another case, significantly faster cave propagation than
expected, and rapid cave breakthrough. Though good for
the cave and production rates, there were impacts on
plans for surface preparation and security in advance of
the breakthrough.
The tragedy at Northparkes, investigations of which have
been well published (eg. Hebblewhite, 2003).
Marker trials and modelling of draw at a sub-level caving
mine which have clearly demonstrated different widths of
isolated draw compared to modern conventional
estimations.
Increasingly, areas of uncertainty or risk are being
recognised at feasibility, and where they cannot be
designed out of the project, contingency plans are
established. These rely on recognising the on-set of a
unfavourable condition, and it is here that modern
monitoring methods are proving very successful.
One example is the Ridgeway Gold Mine in Australia. A
major component of the feasibility study was identification of
the major mining risks associated with using the SLC
method. This process resulted in a series of Major Hazard
Management Plans (MHMP), each related to a specific
group of hazards (Dunstan and Power, 2003). A range of
monitoring strategies and so-called triggers were
implemented, including deep open holes, and seismic
monitoring (Pfitzner, 2003).
5 ARE SLC MINES OPTIMISED?
The author contends that many sub-level caving (SLC)
operations may not be as profitable as they could be or, at
least, the industry lacks the analytical tools to make such an
assessment.
Some SLC mines perform better than expectations, but
this can be due to a number of factors, including (i)
excessively conservative or optimistic expectations during
feasibility, (ii) errors in assumptions on recovery and
dilution, or (iii) inaccuracies in drawpoint reconciliations,
allowing the mine to draw beyond plan on the levels below,
recovering material left behind.
Some SLC mines do not perform as well as expected.
Often SLC designs are functional, but in many cases are
probably sub-optimal, largely as a function of the complexity
of the problem. But optimisation requires a committed mine
staff who recognise the value of controlled experimentation;
robust marker field trials; and a large orebody which
provides the time for incorporating the results of trials into
subsequent level designs. The expanding range and
application of numerical models (eg. the new draw model
CaveSim (Sharrock, 2004)) has considerable potential in
this regard, with proper calibration.
SLC layout design is a compromise between drift and
brow stability, and primary recovery (draw). Figure 1
shows a preliminary design chart for use during the early
stages of design, prior to undertaking any stress analyses
of proposed layouts. The proposed development
extraction ratio (ER%, defined as the ratio of widths of the
SLC drifts and intervening pillars) is plotted against the
stress/strength ratio on the sublevel. Under difficult mining
conditions, designing for an ER in excess of 40% is
probably optimistic.
Massmin 2004
 Once refined, guidelines such as this can reduce the need
to significantly re-design a mine layout, when stress
analyses undertaken later in the design process highlight
some fundamental geotechnical problems. With an
estimate of the isolated draw zone width, preferably from
both empirical and numerical methods, an improved
preliminary SLC layout may be defined.
Figura 1: SLC development design chart
6 RISK ASSESSMENT
Risk assessment is increasingly a feature of Health and
Safety legislation around the world, and is an invaluable
tool in mining feasibility studies. A major outcome of a
risk assessment, beyond an understanding of the degree
of risk to the operation, is a clear set of contingency plans
and monitoring triggers which, with regular updating,
remain important management tools throughout the life of
the project. A typical example is the risk of inrush or
mudrush into the cave, in which meteoric or sub-surface
waters mix with fines, from either the surface weathered
zone or within the cave, to create a potential risk of
inrush at the drawpoints. Various strategies have been
adopted by mines at which this risk is considered
sufficient to warrant specific mitigation or contingency
planning.
Mining consultants and project owners alike have a
tendency to unwittingly mask areas of uncertainty by
averaging important design inputs, to simplify design
tasks (and reporting). A statement such as ".the
average MRMR of the orebody is 55, and the HR
required for caving is 25m" may be an elegant summary
of a complex problem, or a misleading over-
simplification. If the latter, through the Study process this
simplification filters out inherent variability, as the design
team concentrate on other necessary downstream
tasks. Risk assessment assists in maintaining the profile
of known uncertainties, and ensures those risks are
incorporated into all future planning.
Some mining organisations (eg. Rio Tinto plc, Newcrest
Mining Ltd) have fully embraced risk assessment as a core
to any feasibility investigations, and roll the results through
into the operating phase, continually updating the risk
assessment as conditions change.
Risk assessment software such as the NSCA Electronic
Risk Database (ODonoghue and Quelch, 2001) can
significantly ease and streamline the risk assessment
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
process, and includes features such as risk calculators, and
automated reporting.
7 THE WAY FORWARD
In the authors experience, feasibility studies for caving
mines should always incorporate two components:
Emphasis on independent reviews at various stages in
the Study, for both Pre- and full Feasibility Studies, and
Rigorous risk assessment at all stages of investigation,
and continuing into operations as a crucial management
tool, with well defined triggers, responses, and
accountabilities. The process must be objective, with
independent input to overcome unintentional bias. The
risk team must be carefully selected, comprising a mixture
of Study team members and some who are independent
from the Study (either within or from outside the owner
organisation).
Continued research is also required into certain
fundamentals:
More sophisticated investigation of the impacts of major
structures on cave initiation and propagation, through
historical review, modelling, and sensitivity studies.
Further research into alternative methods of stress
estimation or measurement from deep boreholes.
Continued increase in the use of numerical stress
analysis and material flow models, but accompanied by
rigorous interrogation and questioning of results, by
independent specialists.
Improved design methodologies for optimising SLC
layouts, balancing the opposing requirements of
development stability and draw recovery / performance.
The International Caving Study (ICS) continues to
contribute to understanding of caving operations, and the
development of new design methodologies and tools. The
findings from these studies are only slowly disseminated to
the industry at large, given the financial support provided to
the project by its sponsors. Some of the items listed here
are being addressed by the ICS, some not.
8 CONCLUSIONS
Caving methods of mining have experienced a
rejuvenation in the last 5-10 years, and substantial
advances have been made in the range and sophistication
of techniques used in feasibility studies into caving
operations. Some significant challenges however remain.
The trend towards caving of increasingly competent
rockmasses (which were historically not considered suitable
for these methods) has presented some unique challenges,
and required modifications to classical design tools, and
development of new alternatives.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author is grateful to his colleagues in AMC
Consultants for their comments and input to this article.
REFERENCES
Bass, C. B, 1987. Reserve Data for Project Planning.
AusIMM Reserves and Resources Symposium, Nov.
1987.
Dunstan GE and Power G, 2003. Managing technical risk
at Ridgeway sublevel caving mine. Proceedings of the
Mining Risk Management conference, AusIMM,
Melbourne, Australia.
Hebblewhite, B K, 2003. Northparkes Findings The
implications for geotechnical professionals in the mining
73
 industry. Ground Control in Mining Technology &
Practice. AGCM Conference.
Laubscher, D H, and Jakubek, J, 2001. MRMR
Classification for Jointed Rockmasses. In: Underground
Mining Methods Handbook: Engineering Fundamentals
and International Case Studies. SME, 2001.
McCarthy, P L, 2002. Feasibility Studies and Economic
Models for Deep Mines. First International Seminar on
Deep and High Stress Mining. Australian Centre for
Geomechanics, Perth.
McCarthy P L 2003. Managing Technical Risk for Mine
Feasibility Studies. Mining Risk Management Conference,
Sydney NSW 9-12, September 2003.
ODonoghue, L and Quelch, J. Managing Health and
Safety Risks - NSCA Risk Management Tools. National
Safety Council of Australia Limited, Brisbane,
Queensland, 2001.
Oikawa, Y and Yamaguchi, T. Stress measurement using
rock core in an HDR field. Proceedings World
Geothermal Congress 2000, Kyushu - Tohoku, Japan,
May 28 - June 10, 2000.
74 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Pfitzner, M, 2003. Monitoring a blind sub-level cave - A
case study of an integrated approach at Newcrest
Minings Ridgeway Gold Mine. Ground Control in Mining
Technology & Practice. AGCM Conference.
Seong-Seung Kang, Katsuhiko Kaneko, Jun-Mo Kim,
Yuzu Obara. Clarification of the regional and local in situ
stresses using the CCBO technique and numerical
analysis. Island Arc, vol.12, p.p.247-255, Blackwell
Science (2003).
Sharrock, G, 2004.
Sjberg, J and Klasson, H. Stress measurements in
deep boreholes using the Borre (SSPB) probe. Special
Issue of the IJRMMS: Rock Stress Estimation ISRM
Suggested Methods and Associated Supporting
Papers, Volume 40, Issues 7-8, Pages 955-1276
(October - December 2003).
Tatman C R, 2001. Production Rate Selection for Steeply
Dipping Tabular Deposits, Mining Engineering October
2001, pp. 62-64
Massmin 2004
 Production capacity
of a mass caving
Jos Pesce, Gerente General, Alfonso Ovalle, Consultor Asociado, Metlica Consultores S.A.

Abstract
This paper reviews the factors that affect the maximum production capacity of a mass caving operation (block caving,
panel caving). After analysing the multiple planning, design and operating factors that traditionally are considered to
affect the determination of the maximum possible production capacity, it is concluded that there are only two factors that
have an influence: column height and caving rate. Surprisingly the extraction rate has no influence in determining the
maximum production capacity of a mass caving. The definition of the column height and its feasible range are analysed,
describing how to determine the minimum, maximum and optimal column heights. Regarding the undercutting rate, a
discussion about the theoretical and practical aspects is presented. There is reference in the paper to practical examples.

1 FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE
MAXIMUM PRODUCTION CAPACITY OF
A MASS CAVING OPERATION.
The relevant factors normally considered in the planning,
design and operation of a mass caving operation are
presented in Table 1.
Some of these factors are basically to define the
applicability of the mass caving mining method, such as
cavability, primary fragmentation, stability of mine openings,
dilution, repairing of openings, water and mud inflow and the
undercutting sequence. If any of these factors is
unmanageable, the applicability of the method will be at
stake. It can be argued that the primary fragmentation can
be solved inducing the caving, which could be done if the
evaluation parameters of the project justify it.
This analysis supposes that the mentioned factors fall in
the range that allow that applicability of the mass caving
method to the ore body. The interest is to focus on those
factors that affect the determination of the maximum
capacity of the ore body under study.
The authors, through their experience, have reduced the
factors of Table 1, to only three basic independent factors
affecting the maximum capacity of a mass caving:
undercutting rate or development velocity (measured in
square meters to undercut per year), extraction rate or draw
down rate (measured as mm/day), and the panel or column
height (measured in m).
Therefore, the interrelation between these three factors
affecting the maximum capacity of a mass caving will be
analysed.
2 DISCUSSION OF COLUMN HEIGHT.
The column height of a massive caving operation is firstly
limited by the geometry of the ore body to exploit. There are
caving operations with column heights ranging from 50 to
600 m. For very high ore bodies the definition of the column
heights to select should follow the following criteria, of
course with due consideration to the business aspects of the
exploitation searching to maximize profits or returns:
The column height must be able provide a minimum profit.
The most frequent incentives to choose a low column are:
accelerate the start up time of the project (minimize the
start up capital cost); restrict the exploitation to a high
grade sector (improve the cash flow); adaptation to
existing infrastructure (less capital expenditure), as for
example the existence of a main transport level.
The selected column height must be the maximum which
is compatible with technical criteria. The incentives to
choose big heights are to minimize development costs
and to maximize the production capacity.
The optimum column height is determined by strategic an
economic criteria. Shown in figure 1 are the form of the
cost curves depending on column heights, some of which
increase with column heights and some of which
decrease with column heights. There exists therefore, a
column height or a range of column heights, with a
minimum net present value of the cost.
There are four technical factors whose relationship with
column height needs to be underlined: stability of
openings, useful life of drawpoints, dilution, and the risk of
loss of ore.
o The stability of openings, especially those of the
production level (which are the greater part of the
permanent openings of the exploitation method) depend
mostly on the type of rock on which they are on, of the
stress environment and on the design of the fortification.
This is one aspect that must be taken into account when
considering column height. The instability of a sector can
cause the loss of productive areas that can seriously
affect the fulfilment of the production program.
o The useful life of drawpoints is a function of the design and
the construction quality of them, of the secondary blasting
and of the abrasion caused by ore flow. In general, the
draw point repair cost is increasing with column height.
o The dilution has a behaviour related to column height, to
extraction management and to the number of faces
exposed to diluents. It is possible that with proper
extraction management, dilution will be decreasing with
increasing column height.
o The risk of loosing ore because of broken and lost ground
is an increasing function of column height. This depends
on the extraction grid selected, on the particular geology,
on the correct undercutting sequence and on the
regularity of draw.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 75

 Table 1 RELEVANT FACTORS AFFECTING A MASSIVE UNDERCUTTING: DEPENDENCY ON BASIC FACTORS

Overall Factors Specific Factors Basic Factors

Undercutting Extraction Column
rate rate height

Design and Global geometry Interference with other productive

construction sectors _ _
Base area geometry _
Column height _
Overall extraction sequence _
Quantity of independent fronts _
Design Extraction grid _
Desing of operating modulus _
Materials handling system _
Modality of undercut _
Undercutting sequence _
Nature Geotechnics Primary /seconday fragmentacin _
Stability of openings and constructions _
In-situ and induced stresses _
Geology Water and mud _
Characteristics of dilutant material _
Operations Modality of operation Unit processes _ _
Secondary fragmentation _
Availability of resources _ _
Utilization of resources _ _

3 DISCUSSION OF THE UNDERCUT RATE For both bodies, two undercutting rates are considered:
20.000 m2/yr and 36.000 m2/yr.
The undercut rate or the velocity to incorporate new Also, two extraction rates are considered: 150 mm/day
production area depends on various factors. and 300 mm/day.
For example, there is a great difference in the These examples have a referential specific gravity of 2,6
undercutting rate between the systems called "previous t/m3.
undercut", "post undercut" or the intermediate situation
named "advanced undercut". This is due to the space and
access restrictions of the previous undercut system, which
limits the rate of development and constructions, basically
due to the coordination difficulties of the different unit
operations that compose the undercutting. In a normal or
"post undercut system" it is possible to achieve an
undercutting rate of around 36.000 m2/yr in one face, while
in a system of "previous undercut", for the same situation, it
is difficult to surpass 24.000 m2/yr.

The undercut rate depends ultimately on the following

factors:
Design of the undercut system
Equipment availability to build that design
Work organization
Operations and sequence restrictions

4 PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
OF PRODUCTION CAPACITY

A simulation of the production capacity of a mass caving

operation is presented in figure 2, based in a mass balance
between the amount of material incorporated by
undercutting and the amount of material consumed by
production.
Two ore bodies are considered, each with the same base
area of 300.000 m2, one with a 150 m high column and the
other with a 300 m high column.

76 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Figure 2 presents the production capacity for the 150 m
high column ore body, with an undercutting rate of 20.000
m2/yr and with an extraction rate of 150 mm/day (120
mm/day with 80% area utilization).
The maximum capacity is slightly more than 21.000 tpd,
which is attained at the 4th year of production, with a life of
12 years. The steady state total active area is 62.000 m2.
Table 2 summarizes the results for the 150 m and 300 m
high column bodies, for all possible situations.
5 EXTRACTION RATE, RAMP UP TIME
TO STADY STATE AND ACTIVE AREA
It can be seen in table 2 as pointed by the arrows that the
extraction rate, which is intuitively thought of as defining the
maximum capacity, plays no role in this definition. It only
matters in how fast the steady state is reached, but once it
is reached, a fast extraction rate only means a fast depletion
rate of the columns. If the column depletion rate is faster

Table 2: Production capacities of examples

Area to Column Extraction Undercut Active Production Ramp

undercut height rate rate area capacity up

m2 m mm/day m2/yr m2 tpd yrs

150 150 20.000 61.000 21.000 4

300 20.000 31.000 21.000 3
150 36.000 120.000 38.000 4
300.000 300 36.000 56.000 38.000 3

300 150 20.000 120.000 42.000 7

300 20.000 60.000 42.000 4
150 36.000 220.000 76.000 7
300 36.000 110.000 76.000 4

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 77

that the undercutting rate, the production capacity will
decrease. If the undercutting rate is faster than the depletion
rate, the production capacity can then grow. But the
determinant factor is the undercutting rate and not the
extraction rate. As seen in the summarize of table 2, for a
given column height and a given extraction rate, a higher
extraction rate means less active area and a low extraction
rate means more active area, but in both cases the
maximum attainable capacity of the ore body is the same.
The amount of active area to keep has two main
motivations. On one side, with the least possible active
area, the operations will be more concentrated and there will
be lower costs in items such as ventilation, supervision,
maintenance of openings. This is true up to a certain extent,
because exaggerated operations concentration increases
the operational interferences and therefore the operating
cost, influencing even the extraction rate in a negative way.
On the other hand, it is of interest to keep a large active area
to minimize the risks of not complying with the production
program in case of unforeseen situations that may cause
large areas to go out of production. There is a compromise
situation in between these two situations, to keep costs
down and to keep risks down.
Undoubtedly that in the short time, a variation of the
extraction rate will vary the production capacity of the active
area, but these are temporary effects that cannot be
maintained on the long run. If in the short range, there is an
increase of the extraction rate, the production capacity will
momentarily increase, and this situation can be maintained
for a time lapse smaller than the average life of the columns,
after which the production rate will decrease to values even
lower than what was being produced before the
disturbance. The only way to avoid this drop in production is
increasing the undercutting rate before the columns whose
extraction rates were increased, are depleted.
The previous discussion indicates that planning the
production capacity for a given sector or project, must
necessarily be complemented with strategic/operational
considerations as have been mentioned.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The maximum production capacity of a massive caving
depends only on the column height and on the undercutting
rate for a give ore body.
78 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The extraction rate has no influence in the determination
of the of the maximum capacity of a mass caving, only
affecting the ramp up period to achieve steady state, and
once this is attained, it only determines the amount of active
area available for production.
An effort to increase the extraction rate past certain limits,
besides the geomechanical and dilution risks that this may
cause, will only decrease the total active area available for
production, and will increase the risk of fulfilling the
production programs.
Of the two independent factors that influence the
maximum production capacity of a mass caving, the column
height is fixed as an initial design parameter, with an
economic criteria that considers the technical restrictions
imposed by the ore body, and once the floor of the
production level is fixed, there is little room for change in the
column height, except for changes in the cut of grade of the
draw points, that will only have a marginal effect on the
column height. It is the other factor that can be handled
easier, the undercutting rate, which can be increased with
an industrial engineering analysis orientated to the
optimization of development operations.
REFERENCES
Alvarez, Ricardo; Pesce, Jos. 1987. Blocs foudroys. Le
comportement du tirage et le phnomne de la dilution.
Un modle de prdiction. Diplome dtudes approfondies,
Gnie Geologique et Minier, Ecole de Mines de Nancy,
France. pp-54
Araneda, Octavio. 2002. Private communications.
Laubscher, D.H. 1994. Cave mining: state of the art.
Journal of the South African Institute of Mning and
Metallurgy, Oct. 1994, pp 279-292
Ovalle, Alfonso; Codoceo, Javier. Sept. 1977. Factores
que inciden en la productividad de un bloque en la mina
El Teniente. Revista Minerales, Instituto de Ingenieros de
Minas de Chile, pp 5-29, Santiago, Chile.
Ovalle, Alfonso. Nov. 2001. Programa de simulacin de
capacidad productiva en panel caving. Excel.
Massmin 2004
 Production capacity
of a mass caving
Jos Pesce, Gerente General, Alfonso Ovalle, Consultor Asociado, Metlica Consultores S.A.

Abstract
This paper reviews the factors that affect the maximum production capacity of a mass caving operation (block caving,
panel caving). After analysing the multiple planning, design and operating factors that traditionally are considered to
affect the determination of the maximum possible production capacity, it is concluded that there are only two factors that
have an influence: column height and caving rate. Surprisingly the extraction rate has no influence in determining the
maximum production capacity of a mass caving. The definition of the column height and its feasible range are analysed,
describing how to determine the minimum, maximum and optimal column heights. Regarding the undercutting rate, a
discussion about the theoretical and practical aspects is presented. There is reference in the paper to practical examples.

1 FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE
MAXIMUM PRODUCTION CAPACITY OF
A MASS CAVING OPERATION.
The relevant factors normally considered in the planning,
design and operation of a mass caving operation are
presented in Table 1.
Some of these factors are basically to define the
applicability of the mass caving mining method, such as
cavability, primary fragmentation, stability of mine openings,
dilution, repairing of openings, water and mud inflow and the
undercutting sequence. If any of these factors is
unmanageable, the applicability of the method will be at
stake. It can be argued that the primary fragmentation can
be solved inducing the caving, which could be done if the
evaluation parameters of the project justify it.
This analysis supposes that the mentioned factors fall in
the range that allow that applicability of the mass caving
method to the ore body. The interest is to focus on those
factors that affect the determination of the maximum
capacity of the ore body under study.
The authors, through their experience, have reduced the
factors of Table 1, to only three basic independent factors
affecting the maximum capacity of a mass caving:
undercutting rate or development velocity (measured in
square meters to undercut per year), extraction rate or draw
down rate (measured as mm/day), and the panel or column
height (measured in m).
Therefore, the interrelation between these three factors
affecting the maximum capacity of a mass caving will be
analysed.
2 DISCUSSION OF COLUMN HEIGHT.
The column height of a massive caving operation is firstly
limited by the geometry of the ore body to exploit. There are
caving operations with column heights ranging from 50 to
600 m. For very high ore bodies the definition of the column
heights to select should follow the following criteria, of
course with due consideration to the business aspects of the
exploitation searching to maximize profits or returns:
The column height must be able provide a minimum profit.
The most frequent incentives to choose a low column are:
accelerate the start up time of the project (minimize the
start up capital cost); restrict the exploitation to a high
grade sector (improve the cash flow); adaptation to
existing infrastructure (less capital expenditure), as for
example the existence of a main transport level.
The selected column height must be the maximum which
is compatible with technical criteria. The incentives to
choose big heights are to minimize development costs
and to maximize the production capacity.
The optimum column height is determined by strategic an
economic criteria. Shown in figure 1 are the form of the
cost curves depending on column heights, some of which
increase with column heights and some of which
decrease with column heights. There exists therefore, a
column height or a range of column heights, with a
minimum net present value of the cost.
There are four technical factors whose relationship with
column height needs to be underlined: stability of
openings, useful life of drawpoints, dilution, and the risk of
loss of ore.
o The stability of openings, especially those of the
production level (which are the greater part of the
permanent openings of the exploitation method) depend
mostly on the type of rock on which they are on, of the
stress environment and on the design of the fortification.
This is one aspect that must be taken into account when
considering column height. The instability of a sector can
cause the loss of productive areas that can seriously
affect the fulfilment of the production program.
o The useful life of drawpoints is a function of the design and
the construction quality of them, of the secondary blasting
and of the abrasion caused by ore flow. In general, the
draw point repair cost is increasing with column height.
o The dilution has a behaviour related to column height, to
extraction management and to the number of faces
exposed to diluents. It is possible that with proper
extraction management, dilution will be decreasing with
increasing column height.
o The risk of loosing ore because of broken and lost ground
is an increasing function of column height. This depends
on the extraction grid selected, on the particular geology,
on the correct undercutting sequence and on the
regularity of draw.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 75

 Table 1 RELEVANT FACTORS AFFECTING A MASSIVE UNDERCUTTING: DEPENDENCY ON BASIC FACTORS

Overall Factors Specific Factors Basic Factors

Undercutting Extraction Column
rate rate height

Design and Global geometry Interference with other productive

construction sectors _ _
Base area geometry _
Column height _
Overall extraction sequence _
Quantity of independent fronts _
Design Extraction grid _
Desing of operating modulus _
Materials handling system _
Modality of undercut _
Undercutting sequence _
Nature Geotechnics Primary /seconday fragmentacin _
Stability of openings and constructions _
In-situ and induced stresses _
Geology Water and mud _
Characteristics of dilutant material _
Operations Modality of operation Unit processes _ _
Secondary fragmentation _
Availability of resources _ _
Utilization of resources _ _

3 DISCUSSION OF THE UNDERCUT RATE For both bodies, two undercutting rates are considered:
20.000 m2/yr and 36.000 m2/yr.
The undercut rate or the velocity to incorporate new Also, two extraction rates are considered: 150 mm/day
production area depends on various factors. and 300 mm/day.
For example, there is a great difference in the These examples have a referential specific gravity of 2,6
undercutting rate between the systems called "previous t/m3.
undercut", "post undercut" or the intermediate situation
named "advanced undercut". This is due to the space and
access restrictions of the previous undercut system, which
limits the rate of development and constructions, basically
due to the coordination difficulties of the different unit
operations that compose the undercutting. In a normal or
"post undercut system" it is possible to achieve an
undercutting rate of around 36.000 m2/yr in one face, while
in a system of "previous undercut", for the same situation, it
is difficult to surpass 24.000 m2/yr.

The undercut rate depends ultimately on the following

factors:
Design of the undercut system
Equipment availability to build that design
Work organization
Operations and sequence restrictions

4 PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
OF PRODUCTION CAPACITY

A simulation of the production capacity of a mass caving

operation is presented in figure 2, based in a mass balance
between the amount of material incorporated by
undercutting and the amount of material consumed by
production.
Two ore bodies are considered, each with the same base
area of 300.000 m2, one with a 150 m high column and the
other with a 300 m high column.

76 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Figure 2 presents the production capacity for the 150 m
high column ore body, with an undercutting rate of 20.000
m2/yr and with an extraction rate of 150 mm/day (120
mm/day with 80% area utilization).
The maximum capacity is slightly more than 21.000 tpd,
which is attained at the 4th year of production, with a life of
12 years. The steady state total active area is 62.000 m2.
Table 2 summarizes the results for the 150 m and 300 m
high column bodies, for all possible situations.
5 EXTRACTION RATE, RAMP UP TIME
TO STADY STATE AND ACTIVE AREA
It can be seen in table 2 as pointed by the arrows that the
extraction rate, which is intuitively thought of as defining the
maximum capacity, plays no role in this definition. It only
matters in how fast the steady state is reached, but once it
is reached, a fast extraction rate only means a fast depletion
rate of the columns. If the column depletion rate is faster

Table 2: Production capacities of examples

Area to Column Extraction Undercut Active Production Ramp

undercut height rate rate area capacity up

m2 m mm/day m2/yr m2 tpd yrs

150 150 20.000 61.000 21.000 4

300 20.000 31.000 21.000 3
150 36.000 120.000 38.000 4
300.000 300 36.000 56.000 38.000 3

300 150 20.000 120.000 42.000 7

300 20.000 60.000 42.000 4
150 36.000 220.000 76.000 7
300 36.000 110.000 76.000 4

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 77

that the undercutting rate, the production capacity will
decrease. If the undercutting rate is faster than the depletion
rate, the production capacity can then grow. But the
determinant factor is the undercutting rate and not the
extraction rate. As seen in the summarize of table 2, for a
given column height and a given extraction rate, a higher
extraction rate means less active area and a low extraction
rate means more active area, but in both cases the
maximum attainable capacity of the ore body is the same.
The amount of active area to keep has two main
motivations. On one side, with the least possible active
area, the operations will be more concentrated and there will
be lower costs in items such as ventilation, supervision,
maintenance of openings. This is true up to a certain extent,
because exaggerated operations concentration increases
the operational interferences and therefore the operating
cost, influencing even the extraction rate in a negative way.
On the other hand, it is of interest to keep a large active area
to minimize the risks of not complying with the production
program in case of unforeseen situations that may cause
large areas to go out of production. There is a compromise
situation in between these two situations, to keep costs
down and to keep risks down.
Undoubtedly that in the short time, a variation of the
extraction rate will vary the production capacity of the active
area, but these are temporary effects that cannot be
maintained on the long run. If in the short range, there is an
increase of the extraction rate, the production capacity will
momentarily increase, and this situation can be maintained
for a time lapse smaller than the average life of the columns,
after which the production rate will decrease to values even
lower than what was being produced before the
disturbance. The only way to avoid this drop in production is
increasing the undercutting rate before the columns whose
extraction rates were increased, are depleted.
The previous discussion indicates that planning the
production capacity for a given sector or project, must
necessarily be complemented with strategic/operational
considerations as have been mentioned.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The maximum production capacity of a massive caving
depends only on the column height and on the undercutting
rate for a give ore body.
78 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The extraction rate has no influence in the determination
of the of the maximum capacity of a mass caving, only
affecting the ramp up period to achieve steady state, and
once this is attained, it only determines the amount of active
area available for production.
An effort to increase the extraction rate past certain limits,
besides the geomechanical and dilution risks that this may
cause, will only decrease the total active area available for
production, and will increase the risk of fulfilling the
production programs.
Of the two independent factors that influence the
maximum production capacity of a mass caving, the column
height is fixed as an initial design parameter, with an
economic criteria that considers the technical restrictions
imposed by the ore body, and once the floor of the
production level is fixed, there is little room for change in the
column height, except for changes in the cut of grade of the
draw points, that will only have a marginal effect on the
column height. It is the other factor that can be handled
easier, the undercutting rate, which can be increased with
an industrial engineering analysis orientated to the
optimization of development operations.
REFERENCES
Alvarez, Ricardo; Pesce, Jos. 1987. Blocs foudroys. Le
comportement du tirage et le phnomne de la dilution.
Un modle de prdiction. Diplome dtudes approfondies,
Gnie Geologique et Minier, Ecole de Mines de Nancy,
France. pp-54
Araneda, Octavio. 2002. Private communications.
Laubscher, D.H. 1994. Cave mining: state of the art.
Journal of the South African Institute of Mning and
Metallurgy, Oct. 1994, pp 279-292
Ovalle, Alfonso; Codoceo, Javier. Sept. 1977. Factores
que inciden en la productividad de un bloque en la mina
El Teniente. Revista Minerales, Instituto de Ingenieros de
Minas de Chile, pp 5-29, Santiago, Chile.
Ovalle, Alfonso. Nov. 2001. Programa de simulacin de
capacidad productiva en panel caving. Excel.
Massmin 2004
 Continuous mining
for caving method
Francisco Carrasco J., Vctor Encina M., Ren Le-Faux C.
Instituto de Innovacin en Minera y Metalurgia S.A., IM2,
Fernando Geister B., Direccin Investigacin y Desarrollo, Codelco Chile

Abstract
Continuous mining system is an alternative mine design to perform block caving method. This paper describes the whole
configuration of the system and its generic parameters, showing technical and economical convenience of its application.
The system is based on simultaneous ore extraction from all active draw points. To do that, it is proposed to use a set of
stationary extractor devices in each drawpoint. Extractors feed a conveying system trough transfer points, the conveyor
system hauls the ore to an underground crusher or sizer after which a conventional belt conveyor system transports the
crushed material to surface.
The proposed system is able to get high rates of extraction, allowing the owner to set great production capacity even if
the extension of the footprint is no so large. Cost of production will be less than conventional LHD system; full automated
and remote operation can be done from a control room based on standard central command technology of stationary
equipment in industrial plants.

1 INTRODUCTION
Since 1998, Codelco Chile has been developing its
Technological Programs for Underground Mining with its
Institute for Innovation in Mining and Metallurgy, IM2, which
has introduced the Continuous Mining concept as one
commanding objective, aimed to surpass the limit of the
dominant critical technological dimension of underground
mining methods, which in present time tends to be less than
0.5 t/m2-day when mining hard rock by caving mining
method.
After six years, those research projects have given some
results and in present time Codelco-Chile is running a
specific project to validate the new Continuous Mining for
Block Caving Method in an industrial scale.
Nowadays Continuous Mining concept is much more
pertinent, as we consider that long term plans of Codelco-
Chile, are demanding 550 ktpd of underground production
for next decade, what means more than 3 times than current
underground mines production.
Such a challenge cannot be face following continuous
improvements, but it requires a technological break out,
especially if we see that those mines will be located in low
grade, harder rock and in deeper stressed zones.
The strategy followed was to think the process first and
after that, to demand the technologies required to achieve
the requested output. That means work in a process driven
innovation instead of a technological one. In such a strategy,
it was set that the new mining method will be based on the
following concepts:
Method will be not adapted to rock characteristics, but
rock will be conditioned to best apply block caving
method.
Draw will be done simultaneously and continually, in time
and in ore flow, from all active drawpoints.
Mine has to be operated remotely and fully assisted by
automated tasks.
The target under those concepts are to be able to get a
greater rate of extraction and to reduce the mining costs
while assures a safe and reliable production process
independently of ore body rock and ore body location.
This paper describes the fundamentals of Continuous
Mining for Block Caving Method, its whole configuration and
its generic parameters to show its technical and economical
convenience.
2 FUNDAMENTALS
Mining process is composed by only two sub
processes: Fragmentation and Transportation.
Fragmentation is the process by means the rock in place
is transformed in broken ore and transportation consist
on remove those fragments and transfer them to a
mineral processing plant.
Fragmentation can be done by blasting or caving, and
different material handling systems can be used to
transport the ore depending of the size distribution of bulk
material.
In underground mining of large ore bodies, the most
economical mining method applied is the one called
Block Caving, consisting in get the fragmentation by
caving and extract the ore, like "milking" it, from a
drawpoints infrastructure arranged below the caved
material.
Initially this method was developed to mine ore bodies
whose rock was well fractured. As its costs are very
attractive, nowadays it is also applied in rock without or with
very few open discontinuities, what we call "hard rock",
where under stress conditions, fracturing can be induced
during the caving process.
Main aspects limiting block caving application in hard rock
under stress conditions are, large size of material resulting
of caving and seismic effect of caving propagation. Seismic
events caused by caving propagation may eventually cause
damage on infrastructure or equipment or even personnel
injuries.
Coarse material had push the designer to introduce large
loaders and secondary reduction equipment underground
with the consequence of enlarging drawpoint spacing and
drifts size and to have a batch process extracting the ore
from few drawpoints at a time.
Although many improvements have been introduced to
maintain acceptable safety and effectiveness as, large
size material handling equipment, mine design

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 79

adjustments and some production restrictions to avoid
seismic effects, mines productivity have became stuck
and limited to a mean rate of extraction less than 0.5
t/m2-day.
This stagnation can be due to improvement have been
oriented not to causes but to consequences of caving in
hard rock. That is, assuming as an unavoidable fact that
broken ore have to bring large pieces so, extraction process
had to be adapted to that condition.
When IM2 looked for new mining process able to increase
underground production, they realize they could choose to
continue with block caving if they look for complementary
technologies to aid its sub process to be more effective.
That means to have a sustainable caving process producing
well sized broken ore, to assure expeditious confined gravity
flow to drawpoints and to define a continuous material
handling process. These aiding technologies are based on
following concepts:
2.1 Preconditioning
As natural caving was not producing a suitable product
when applied on not well fractured hard rock, it was define
a target in looking for a treatment of ore mass before caving
with the purpose of:
To assure caving propagation: It is known that the more
fractured is the ore mass, the easier and faster is the
caving propagation process.
To improve the fragmentation: As in caving, fragments are
finally formed trough fractures, the more fractured the ore
mass, the smaller the size of fragments, and smaller the
size of larger pieces.
Then, an important work was done in developing
preconditioning technology adapting hidrofracturing
petroleum industry experience to mining, as part of the
research program of second stage of International
Caving Study, and in other internal research about
confined blasting method, both to be applied on rock
mass before caving.
This is not the paper to give a detailed description of those
preconditioning technologies, but we can say that great
progress has been obtained in experimental applications
performed at Andina and Salvador mines.
So for the purpose of designing the new mining process,
preconditioning is an enabler technology, as it is the base to
assure the ore will be caved in a reasonable time and the
product of caving will be well fragmented for allowing an
expeditious flow of broken material trough drawpoints.
2.2 Continuous and Simultaneous Drawing
The main requirement to this block caving reengineering
is to be able to increase the production coming from same
or similar extension of footprint mines. The target defined for
ore extraction was to design a system of continuous and
simultaneous ore drawing from all active drawpoints with the
following purpose:
To increase the rate of extraction: Drawpoints
utilization when using batch LHD system is very low, so
a way to increase the rate of extraction it to increase
such utilization by drawing them simultaneously. An
important increase of rate of extraction will result of
simultaneous extraction even extracting much less
than actually does LHD equipment when loading from
a drawpoint.
To assure the ore flow: Gravity flow can be seen as a
succession of loosening effect due to the extraction of
some material from the drawpoint. Based on experience
on gravity flow, it is easier to draw material when it is loose
than when it is settled or compacted, so continuous
drawing will aid to maintain a loosened status of broken
ore favoring ore flow.
80 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Continuous and simultaneous extraction cannot be
practiced using loaders, but it requires having special kind
of feeders to be installed on the drawpoints and a
continuous conveying system.
Both feeders and conveyor are now under designing and
testing process taking care of following conditions:
Material flow has to occur only when the feeder is on and
stops when it is off.
In case of blasting hangups, as it is expected to occur, the
feeder has not to be damaged.
Feeder and conveyor design has to allow performing
maintenance and repairing tasks free at all of any risk to
workers caused by material flow.
Continuous conveying system should be able to be loaded
simultaneously at different points along the conveyor and
should be able to stop and start up fully loaded.
Both feeders and conveyor should be operated in remote
and automated mode.
Then, by doing both continuous and simultaneous
extraction, a combined effect of easier and greater drawing
is expected to be achieved from the same active area. That
effect results in a greater rate of extraction and in a greater
utilization of time, in such a way that no stops of production
will be need for changing operation shifts.
2.3 Automation and Remote Control
Considering that this new method will be applied to new
projects during the next decade, when labor requirements
will be more exigent. Then, the target was to look for a
system of work that could assure a better comfort and life
quality for workers than current standards, avoiding as
much as possible, the personnel working on night shifts and
living far from family.
It was also looked for a centralized command of feeders
as a mean of draw control, for driving depletion strategies
on line and in real time.
Using stationary equipments, it is easy to have a
centralized command and control room governing the
process as a "rock factory", based on digital instrumentation
and information technology as commonly used in modern
industry. This command room could be located very far from
the mine, for example in a well developed city or even in a
different country.
Undoubtedly, this vision of the mine as a rock factory,
remotely commanded will contribute to improve mining work
condition and workers perception. So better possibilities will
be open to hire and keep personnel for mine development
and that mentioned day shift of production resetting and
maintenance.
3 MINE DESIGN
The following is a brief description of a Continuous Mine
design.
As previously mentioned, preconditioning is the
technology that traces the path to continuous mining system
described as follow. The ore body preconditioning take
place from undercut level, previous to the operation and
using technologies like hydraulic fragmentation and
massive blasting without a free face.
The undercut for caving can be done in any standard way
as it is done in every block caving mine of Codelco-Chile.
This operation marks the beginning of the extraction from
the drawpoints.
As it said before, each drawpoint is equipped with a
stationary feeder to extract the ore from the drawpoints for
feeding a continuous conveyor.
Continuous and simultaneous operation is required to
increase the rate of extraction. In fact, considering a very
conservative case, where the feeder has one half of the
Massmin 2004
extraction capacity of LHD equipment (6 t) and if it takes
twice the time to produce it, feeder productivity will be
approximately 46 t/h per drawpoint. Then the combined
effect of all drawpoint working simultaneously at that
productivity gives a rate of extraction of approximately 3
t/m2-d that is, 6 to 8 times the current rates.
Conveying system and an appropriate arrangement of ore
passes are to be set to transfer the ore to a crusher for
reducing the size of ore up to be compatible with belt
conveyor transporting, which has to convey the ore to the
mineral processing plant.
An isometric sketch of the whole system is shown as
follow:
For Conventional LHD system propagation rate of
extraction is 0.40 t/m2-d but in Continuous Mining with
preconditioning it will increase to 0.6 t/m2-d. After 30% of
ore extraction, no restriction in extraction rate is assumed
except material handling capacity.
Material handling capacity for Conventional LHD System
is 0.7 t/m2-d and for Continuous Mining is 2.8 t/m2-d.
Ore body footprint is as follows:
- Width: 270 m.
- Length: 800 m.
- Panel High: 200 m.
Two fronts of 270 m long (equal to footprint width)
production can be run from central part to extremes of the
ore body.

For Conventional LHD System, production in one front

is limited by the amount of production drifts, in this case
9 (30 m spaced) and the extension of a drift is defined
by some optimum distance of LHD hauling, usually 120
m.
So the maximum area in full production in such a front for
Conventional LHD System would be 32,400 m2 (270 m x
120 m) plus other 21,600 m2 in propagation giving a total of
54,000 m2 of active area per front.
On the other hand, for Continuous Mining System, whose
production module is composed by 36 drawpoints of 225 m2
each, one module is 90 x 90 m.
In order to balance the production in a stable output, it is
required to have 2 modules in propagation per each module in
full production. So we can say that production in CM will come
from blocks composed by 3 modules (1 full + 2 in propagation)
giving block dimensions of 270 m long by 90 m width.
Therefore, for the same front, it is possible to operate with
3 blocks giving a total active area of 72,900 m2.
On Table 1, it is presented a comparison of technical
performance of both systems applied to the same front of
production:

Figure 1: Isometric view unit MC Table 1: Technical performance CM

(1): UCL; (2): Drawbell; (3): Service Level (drawpoints); (4):
Production Level (secondary transport); (5): ore pass; (6): Conventional Continuous
Reduction Level; (7): Crusher equipment; (8): Ore pass to LHD mining mining
main conveyor. current future

In this scheme, unhangup process and secondary

Extraction rate
blasting will be done with conventional technology or with
new technologies nowadays under development. Propagation t/m2-d 0.40 0.60
The material handling configuration, based in automated Full t/m2-d 0.70 2.80
stationary equipments, allows an expert control system for Mean t/m2-d 0.57 1.33
commanding the system functioning in each one of its stages.
Production tpd 30,700 97,000
Continuous Mining is thought to operate continuously
during 18 hours, since 3 PM to 9 AM in the next day, letting Active area m2 54,000 72,900
a day shift of 6 hours per day to maintenance, repairing and width m 270 270
ore flow resetting. length m 200 270
If any drawpoint get hanged up during the operation time, Active drawpoint unit 240 324
it will remains in that status till next day shift when
production crew go into the mine to reset the flow, the same Ramp up time year 3.8 1.6
if a feeder or other equipment brakes down.
Development and preparing of new area can operate all
day in 4 shifts of 6 hours, for assuring opportune A Table 1 result suggests a great potential to increase the
replacement of exhausted area. production of Codelco-Chiles underground mining due to:
It can be seen an important increase in production per
4 TECHNICAL ECONOMICS INDEXS front is got with CM without a proportional increase of
active area.
To emphasize the impact of the new method on Table 1 refers to only one front of production, if more
production performance, it is presented ahead a fronts are available, CM has a potential of getting much
hypothetical example with following design criteria: more production than any calculation done applying
Drawpoint spacing arranged in an equilateral grid of Conventional LHD system.
15x15 m, corresponding to of 225 m2 of area per Also it can be seen an important decrease of time
drawpoint. required to get full production (ramp up) in CM System

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 81

 compared to Conventional LHD System, This will have a
great effect in NPV when applied in a new mine.
All these result leads the great conclusion of CM will give
a significant contribution to the business when applying this
new mining concept in new mining projects.
5 CONCLUSIONS
A new approach for innovation following the strategy of
thinking first the process, and after that, to demand the
required technologies to achieve the requested output was
applied to study mining process. That strategy has been
very fruitful leading the researches of Underground Mining
Technological Program started in 1998, trough unexpected
paths and getting surprising results, that can be interpreted
as a validation of the strategy of having a process driven
innovation focus instead of a technological one.
One product of Underground Mining Technological
Program is Continuous Mining for Block Caving Method,
which is a mine design and a mining concept able to face
future challenge of Codelco Chiles mines.
Continuous Mining for Block Caving Method concept is
based on three main fundaments:
Preconditioning as an enabler technology, to assure the
caving propagation and an expeditious flow of broken
material trough drawpoints.
Continuous and simultaneous drawing for increasing the
rate of extraction and day time utilization.
Remote commanding of stationary equipment to have a
draw control on line and in real time governing the
process as a "rock factory".
Although both preconditioning and continuous and
simultaneous drawing are nowadays under its final steps of
development, there are not fatal failures threatening the
research program, so in the near future an industrial
validation test of the whole system will be performed.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to all their colleagues of Codelco-
Chile operations and IM2 that helped them during the
development of this research and to ICS II team of
82 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
researchers that have been involve in hidrofracturing for
preconditioning. Also, the authors want to acknowledge the
permission given by Codelco Chile to publish this technical
paper.
REFERENCES
Chacn, E., Quiones, L., Gonzalez, J., Barrera, V., 2002.
Pre-acondicionamiento de macizos rocosos competentes
para la explotacin por mtodos de hundimiento, pp.19-
34. IIMCH magazine, Santiago, Chile Vol. 57, N 245,
may-june 2002.
Encina, V. and Correa, L., 2001. Minera Continua: Un
quiebre tecnolgico ad portas, in 52th IIMCH Convention,
7-10 November, La Serena, Chile.
IM2 Instituto de Innovacin en Minera y Metalurgia S.A.,
2001. Tcnicas de manejo de materiales en el nivel de
produccin, Divisin Salvador, Codelco Chile. Internal
Report.
IM2 Instituto de Innovacin en Minera y Metalurgia S.A.,
2002. Tecnologas de transporte continuo, Divisin
Salvador, Codelco Chile. Internal Report.
IM2 Instituto de Innovacin en Minera y Metalurgia S.A.,
2003. Diseo Conceptual para Minera Continua, Divisin
Salvador, Codelco Chile. Internal Report.
IM2 Instituto de Innovacin en Minera y Metalurgia S.A.,
2003. Estudio de metodologa de acondicionamiento de
macizo rocoso para hundimiento, Divisin Andina,
Codelco Chile. Internal Report.
IM2 Instituto de Innovacin en Minera y Metalurgia S.A.,
2003. Estudio de minera alternativa en Tercer Panel,
Divisin Andina, Codelco Chile. Internal Report.
Maass, S, 2003. Anlisis de competitividad de mtodos
de explotacin de minas mediante indicadores
tecnolgicos, 118 p. Final Thesis to obtain Degree in
Mining Engineer, Universidad de Chile.
Minera Chilena. N 275, May 2004, Santiago, Chile.
Prez, V, 2001. La investigacin e innovacin tecnolgica
en la minera del cobre, 54 p. Cochilco research,
Santiago, Chile.
Villarz, J., 2003. Industria del Cobre: Los desafos del
Siglo XXI. Codelco Chile CEO presentation in
Cooper2003, Santiago, Chile.
Massmin 2004
 Current practices
and trends in cave mining
Germn Flores, Codelco Norte Division, Codelco Chile
Antonio Karzulovic, A. Karzulovic & Assoc. Ltd., Santiago, Chile
Edwin T. Brown, Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre, University of Queensland, Australia

Abstract
Although many caving mines are now exploiting deeper and more massive orebodies, and several large open pits are planning
a transition to underground cave mining, there is no single and convenient reference on current practices and trends in cave
mining. Hence, as part of the International Caving Study Stage II (ICS-II) funded by nine major international mining companies,
a comprehensive benchmarking study was undertaken. The goal of this study was to establish current practices and trends,
with emphasis on the key areas that have large impacts on the economics of a mining project, geomechanics, mine design,
mine operation, and geotechnical hazards. Data were collected and interviews conducted during visits made to 17 mines in
Australia, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, South Africa, Sweden and the USA. A comprehensive review of the technical literature
provided information on a further 88 mines. This paper outlines the current trends and practices in caving mining, and
summarizes them in a table containing data that may be used during scoping and pre-feasibility studies of cave mining projects,
including transitions from open pit to underground mining.

1 INTRODUCTION
Table 1: Mines Visited
Several mines are planning a transition from open pit to
underground cave mining in the medium or long term. Country Mine Mining Method(s)
Accordingly, the International Caving Study Stage II (ICS-II),
managed by the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Australia Cadia Hill OP.
Centre, Brisbane, Australia, included a task of providing Mount Keith OP considering a transition to UG.
practical geotechnical guidelines for the transition from open Northparkes Mine that developed a transition
pit to underground cave mining. As part of this task, a from OP to UG by BC.
benchmarking study was carried out to collect data from
mines that have developed, or are planning to develop such Ridgeway UG by SLC.
transitions, and from other mines (open pits or underground) Canada Kidd Creek Mine that developed a transition
that could provide relevant data. The collected data were from OP to UG by SOP.
supplemented by a comprehensive review of the technical Chile Andina OP and UG by BC/PC.
literature. This study which was planned and executed so as Chuquicamata OP considering a transition to
to optimize data collection, included the following elements: UG by PC.
Survey Design: To facilitate data collection, an Excel
El Teniente UG by PC.
spreadsheet was designed, and e-mailed to the mines
included in the study. Salvador UG by PC.
Mine Visits: The mines listed in Table 1 were visited, and Indonesia Grasberg OP.
relevant information was collected. Grasberg DOZ UG by PC.
Additional Data Collection: A comprehensive survey of the
South Africa Finsch Mine that developed a transition
technical literature was undertaken to collect supplementary
from OP to UG by SOP.
data from 88 additional mines.
Data Processing: The collected data were analysed in order Koffiefontein Mine that developed a transition
to develop histograms and, where possible, correlations from OP to UG by SOP/SLC/FC.
showing current practice and trends in underground mining by Palabora Mine developing a transition
caving methods. When enough data were available the relative from OP to UG by PC.
frequency of selected parameters was computed, and when Sweden Kiruna Mine that developed a transition
the available data were limited, the relative importance of the from OP to UG by SLC.
parameters was assessed.
USA Bingham OP considering a transition
Benchmarking Report: The data, conclusions and
Canyon to UG by PC.
recommendations resulting from this study were presented
Henderson UG by PC.
in a Final Report submitted to the sponsors of ICS-II (Flores
and Karzulovic, 2002). OP Open pit mine/mining
The results of this benchmarking study reflecting current UG Underground mine/mining
practices and trends in cave mining, are summarized in this SLC / SOP Sublevel caving / Sublevel open stoping
paper. BC / PC Block caving / Panel caving

2 GEOMECHANICS

The analysis of the data on Geological Structures

indicates that:

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 83

a. In most underground caving mines, subvertical structures
(dips > 60o) predominate over subhorizontal structures
(dips < 30o).
b. In underground and open pit mines the data on the
orientations of structures are typically much better than
the data on their lengths, spacings, and apertures.
c. The geotechnical characterization of structures generally
is poorer for underground mines than for open pit mines.
d. In spite of the increasing use of numerical models, the
quality of input data on the mechanical properties of
structures is, in most of cases, poor.
The analysis of the data on Intact Rock and Rock Mass
Properties indicates that:
a. Usually the unit weight (g), and the uniaxial compressive
strength (UCS) of the intact rock are known, but
information on shear strength and deformability is much
poorer.
b. Typically UCS values are smaller for open pit mine rocks
(average: 80 MPa) that for underground mine rocks
(average: 130 MPa).
c. Typically RQD values are smaller for open pit mine rocks
(average: 60% to 70%) than for underground mine rocks
(average: 70% to 85%).
d. The most commonly used method of rock mass
classification in the underground mines studied is
Laubschers RMR (53%), followed by Bartons Q (26%),
and Bieniawskis RMR (15%).
e. Typical Laubschers RMR ranges found in different mining
conditions are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Typical Laubschers RMR Range
Mining Method Laubschers RMR Range
Open Pit 20 to 40
Open Stoping 40 to 80
Sublevel Caving 40 to 70
Block Caving 30 to 70
Panel Caving 40 to 80
f. The central trend relating Laubschers RMR and MRMR is:
MRMR = 0,9 RMR (1)
g. The geotechnical characterization of rock masses seems
to be poorer in underground than in open pit mines.
Indeed, in spite of the increasing use of numerical models
the quality of input data on rock mass properties is, in
most cases, poor to fair.
The analysis of the data on In Situ Stresses indicates that:
a. Currently the CSIRO Hollow Inclusion Cell is the most
commonly used method for in situ stress measurements.
b. Typically in underground caving mines the in situ major
principal stress, S1, varies from 30 to 40 MPa; and the in
situ minimum principal stress, S3, varies from 10 to 20
MPa.
c. In underground mines the mean value of the stress ratio,
KMEAN, is bounded as proposed by Hoek and Brown
(1980), where the depth z is in meters:
1500 100
0.5 + K MEAN 0.3 + (2)
z z
84 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
d. Similar relationships were derived for the minimum and
maximum values of the stress ratio, KMIN and KMAX:
1250 100 (3)
0.6 + K Min 0.2 +
z z
1500 90 (4)
1.0 + K Max 0.3 +
z z
The analysis of the data on Hydrogeology indicates that:
a. Most mines do not consider hydrogeological charac-
terization to be a high priority.
b. The most commonly used drainage systems are sumps
(78%), subhorizontal drains (14%) and drainage tunnels
(8%).
c. The most typical monitoring systems are observation
wells (open holes), piezometers and flow rate
measurement devices.
The analysis of the data on Geotechnical Software
indicates that:
a. For two-dimensional numerical analyses the most
commonly used codes are FLAC (50%), UDEC (33%),
and EXAMINE (10%).
b. For three-dimensional numerical analyses the most
commonly used codes are FLAC3D (44%), 3DEC (26%),
and MAP3D (18%).
3 MINE DESIGN
The analysis of the data on Mine Accesses indicates that:
a. The use of shafts as the only access has decreased since
1970.
b. The use of declines as the only access has increased
since 1970.
c. Before 1970 in 70% of the case surveyed, shafts were
used as accesses and in 30% declines were used.
d. In the period 1970 to 1990, in 46% of the cases shafts
were used as accesses, in 42% declines were used, and
in 13% both shafts and declines were used.
e. After 1990, in 36% of the cases shafts were used as
accesses, in 50% declines were used, and in 14% both
shafts and declines, were used.
The analysis of the data on Block Heights and Footprints
indicates that:
a. As shown in Figure 1, since 1970 block heights have
increased in block and panel caving mines. Before 1970,
the typical block height was 100 m; for the period 1970-
1990 it was 160 m, and since 1990 it has been 240 m.
b. In block and panel caving mines the footprint area varies
widely, but in 80% of the cases, it is smaller than 250,000
m2 with an average of 165,000 m2.
c. As shown in Figure 2, the ratio between footprint length
(L) and width (B) rarely exceeds 3, and in almost 60% of
the cases it is smaller than 2. Nevertheless, in many large
open pit mines currently considering a transition to
underground cave mining this ratio will be larger than 3.
d. It seems that most block and panel caving mines have
ignored a possible relationship between block height (H)
and footprint geometry (defined by its width B). As a
preliminary conclusion, and as shown in Figure 3, the
data collected suggested that:
If H/B 1 the cave will easily connect to surface (or to an
upper mined out level).
Massmin 2004

Figure 1: Evolution with time of block height in block and
panel caving mines.
Figure 2: Values of the footprint ratio L/B in block and panel
caving mines.
Figure 3: Relation between H and B in block and panel
caving mines.
If 2 H/B > 1 the cave probably will connect to surface (or
to an upper mined out level).
If H/B > 2 the cave could have problems to connect to
surface (or to an upper mined out level).
The analysis of the data on Caving Initiation indicates
that:
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
a. As shown in Figure 4, the shape of the initial area for
caving is predominantly square or rectangular, but in a
few cases other shapes (e.g. triangular) have been used.
b. As shown in Figure 4, the available data indicates that the
area for caving initiation has an average value of 10,000
m2, and typically varies from 5,000 to 15,000 m2.
Figure 4: Relative frequency of initial caving areas and their
shapes in block and panel caving mines.
c. As shown in Figure 5, the hydraulic radius, HR, of the
initial caving area varies from 15 to 45 m, with an average
of 20 to 30 m.
Figure 5: Relative frequency of hydraulic radii of the initial
caving area in block and panel caving mines.
d. In 60% of the cases some measures were taken to facilitate
cave initiation (slots: 53%, artificial chimneys: 7%).
The analysis of the data on the Undercut Level, UCL,
indicates that:
a. The distance between UCL drifts varies from 10 to 35 m,
with an average of 20 to 25 m.
b. The width of UCL drifts has increased with time. Typically,
before 1970 it was 2 to 3 m, during 1970-1990 it was 3 m,
and since 1990 it has been 4 m.
c. The height of UCL drifts has increased with time.
Typically, before 1970 it was 2 to 2.5 m, during 1970-1990
it was 3 to 3.5 m, and since 1990 it has been 3.5 to 4 m.
d. The undercut height shows no time-dependent trend. It
varies from 3 to 20 m, with an average of 8 to 12 m.
e. As shown in Figure 6, the average undercutting rate,
RUC, varies from 500 to 5,000 m2/month, with an average
of 2,000 to 3,000 m2/month.
85
 The analysis of the data on Support indicates that:
a. In most underground caving mines support on the UCL
consists of only bolts. In some mines this support also
includes mesh and shotcrete in the UCL access drifts.
b. In most underground caving mines support on the
EXL includes bolts (typically 1.8 to 2.4 m long, at
spacings of 1.0 to 1.3 m), mesh and shotcrete
(typically 50 mm). In many cases it also includes
cables, typically 5 to 8 m long, at intersections). Also
some mines use straps and osro-straps, as illustrated
in Figure 8.
c. Bolt lengths range from 1.2 to 3.8 m, with typical values
of 2 to 2.3 m on the UCL, and 2 to 2.5 m on the EXL.
d. Bolt spacings range from 0.6 to 1.4 m, being typically 1.0
m for both the UCL and the EXL.
e. There is no clear difference in the ratio of the bolt length,
L, to the drift width, W, used on the UCL and EXL. In most
cases the ratio L/W ranges from 1.5 to 3.
Figure 6: Relative frequencies of average undercutting
rates, RUC, in block and panel caving mines.

The analysis of the data on the Extraction Level, EXL,

indicates that:
a. The crown-pillar thickness (from the EXL floor to the UCL
floor) shows an increasing trend with time. Typically,
before 1970 it was 7.5 to 10 m, from 1970-1990 it was
12.5 m, and since 1990 it has been 15 to 17.5 m.
b. The spacing between EXL drifts shows an increasing
trend with time. Typically, before 1970 it was 12 to 16 m,
from 1970-1990 it was 20 to 24 m, and since 1990 it has
been 26 to 28 m.
c. The width of EXL drifts shows an increasing trend with
time. Typically, before 1970 it was 2.5 m, from 1970-1990
it was 3 to 3.5 m, and since 1990 it has been 4 to 4.5 m.
d. The height of EXL drifts shows an increasing trend with
time. Typically, before 1970 it was 2 to 2.5 m, from 1970-
1990 it was 3 to 3.5 m, and since 1990 it has been 3.5 to
4.5 m.
e. The draw point spacing shows an increasing trend with
time. Typically, before 1970 it was 8 m, from 1970-1990 it
was 12 m, and since 1990 it has been 15 m.
f. The influence area of draw points shows an increasing
trend with time. Typically, before 1970 it was 50 m2, from
1970-1990 it was 125 m2, and since 1990 it has been 200
to 225 m2.
g. The most commonly used extraction level geometry is the
herringbone layout (54% of the cases), followed by the El
Teniente layout (40% of cases).
h. As shown in Figure 7, the average draw rate, RDW, varies
from 0.05 to 0.7 m/day, with an average of 0.2 to 0.25
m/day.
Figure 8: EXL support by bolts, mesh and osro-straps at a
South African underground mine.

f. For preliminary estimations of bolt length, the following

relations are suggested:
Poor quality rock masses (20 RMR 40):

L (m) = 0.60 x W + 0.60 (5)

Fair quality rock masses (40 RMR 60):

L (m) = 0.45 x W + 0.45 (6)

Good quality rock masses (60 RMR 80):

L (m) = 0.30 x W + 0.30 (7)

Figure 7: Relative frequencies of average draw rates, RDW,
in block and panel caving mines.

86 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

g. Underground caving mines in rockburst prone ground Collapses correspond to the relatively slow failure of UCL
have also used mesh and lacing, as a complementary and/or EXL pillars, which triggers crown pillar failure, and
support for the EXL drifts. drift closure. Figures 10 and 11 illustrate this type of
h. The support of the draw points differs from one mine to geotechnical hazard.
another, but in most cases it includes steel arches, cable
bolts, and concrete and/or shotcrete. The number of steel
arches previously varied from 2 to 7, but currently most
mines used 2 to 3 steel arches.

The analysis of the data on Material Handling Systems

indicates that in 57% of the cases examined, caving mines
use production shafts; in 27% of cases they use conveyor
belts; in 12% they use trains; and in 4% they use trucks.

4 MINE OPERATION

The analysis of the data on Mine Operations indicates

that:
a. The powder factor for undercut blasting varies widely,
from 200 to 1000 g/tonne; with an average of 400 to 500
g/tonne.
b. LHD capacity varies from 7 to 19 tonnes, with an average
of 11 tonnes.
c. LHD tramming distance varies widely, from 25 to 300 m, Figure 10: Collapse of an UCL drift at Te 4 Sur, El Teniente
with an average of 125 to 150 m. mine, 1989.
d. In almost 50% of cases, the oversize limit varies from 1.8
to 2 m3 but has a wide range from 0.4 to 2.4 m3. The
average oversize limit is 1.6 m3.

5 GEOTECHNICAL MONITORING

The analysis of the data on Geotechnical Monitoring in

caving mines indicates that:
a. As shown in Figure 9, the most commonly used
monitoring systems are field inspections (100%), local
displacement measurements (82%), seismic monitoring
(64%), time domain reflectometry (64%), convergence
measurements (36%) and observation boreholes (36%).
b. As shown in Figure 9, the geotechnical monitoring systems
that have generally produced the most satisfactory results
are convergence measurements, field inspections, seismic
monitoring, time domain reflectometry, aerial photography
and water flow measurements.

Figure 11: Collapse of an EXL drift at Ten 4 Sur, El Teniente

mine, 1989.

The analysis of the data on Collapses indicates that:

Figure 9: Relative frequency of use and degree of
satisfaction of geotechnical monitoring systems used in
underground caving mines.
6 GEOTECHNICAL HAZARDS
a. The area affected by a single collapse has varied from
140 to 17,500 m2, with an average of 3,700 m2.
b. The most common causes of collapses are irregular draw
rate and/or poor draw management, presence of major
geological structures, deficient mine planning and/or poor
mining sequences, and lack of communication between
the geotechnical, planning and mine operations groups.
c. The most common remedial measures for collapses are
regularization of draw rates and/or improved draw
management, improved mining sequences, additional
support, and improved communication between the
geotechnical, planning and mine operations groups.
Rockbursts arise from mining-induced seismic events that
cause sudden and violent failure of a volume of rock, which
may or may not be defined by structures. Figures 12 and 13
illustrate this type of geotechnical hazard.

The main geotechnical hazards affecting underground

caving mines are collapses, rockbursts, subsidence, water
inflows and mudrushes, and hangups.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 87

 Figure 14 illustrates a subsidence crater associated with
cave mining.

Figure 12: Typical major rockburst damage without

structural control, affecting a UCL drift on Ten Sub 6, El
Teniente mine, 1991.

Figure 14: Subsidence crater caused by block and panel

caving at Salvador mine, Chile, 2003.

The analysis of the data on Subsidence indicates that:

Figure 13: Typical major rockburst damage with structural
control, affecting a drift on the Ventilation Level of Ten Sub
6, El Teniente mine, 1990.
a. The depth of a subsidence crater may vary from less than
100 to 1400 m, with the average being about 450 m.
b. The angle of break, a, varies from 40 to 90, depending
on the rock mass quality and the structures in the rock
mass (in few cases there are even overhanging crater
walls).
c. The most common factors that may exacerbate
subsidence are the presence of major unfavourably
oriented geological structures, a poorer rock mass quality
than expected, poor draw management and deficient
mine planning.
d. The most common remedial measures for dealing with
subsidence are geotechnical monitoring, geotechnically
improved mine planning and mining sequence and, in the
final analysis, relocating infrastructure that could be
affected by subsidence.
Water Inflows / Mudrushes correspond to sudden inflows
of water and/or mud from drawpoints or other underground
openings. Due to their nature these phenomena propagate
rapidly, endangering people, equipment and infrastructure.
Figure 15 illustrates the damage that can be caused.

The analysis of the data on Rockbursts indicates that:

a. The most common causes of rockbursts are the presence
of major geological structures, high stresses, a non-
favourable mining sequence, an excessive undercutting
rate, and an excessive draw rate.
b. The most common remedial measures for rockbursts are
seismic monitoring, improved mining sequences from
geotechnical considerations, reduced draw rates, and the
implementation of contingency plans (from access
restrictions to the closure of a mining sector).

Subsidence corresponds to the lowering of the ground

surface due to mining causing the development of a crater.
Within the caves zone of influence, the rock mass
undergoes deformations that could damage the mines
surface and/or underground infrastructure.
Commonly, the geometry of a subsidence crater is
defined by its depth, H, and the angle of break, a, defined as
the inclination with the horizontal of an imaginary line
connecting the UCL edge with the perimeter of the crater at
surface (defined by the limit of the zone where the rock Figure 15: Damage caused by a mudrush in an
mass shows large discontinuous deformations). underground caving mine.

88 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The analysis of the data on Water Inflows and Mudrushes
indicates that:
a. The most common causes of water inflows and
mudrushes are the presence of wet/clayey ore, fine
fragmentation, a crater acting as a water collector and
deficient draw management.
b. The most common remedial measures for dealing with
these hazards are surface stabilization, improved draw
management, development and implementation of
contingency plans, implementation of drainage systems
and instrumentation and monitoring.
Hangups arise from the arrest of cave propagation due to
the formation of a metastable geometry that could
eventually fail suddenly, generating air blasts and causing
significant damage in the underground mines excavations.
Figure 16 shows an example of this type of hazard. The
analysis of the data on Hangups indicates that:
Figure 16: Formation of chimney craters immediately after
the failure of the hangup at Inca West Sector, Salvador
mine, Chile (December 5, 1999).
a. The area of hangups has varied widely, from 1,000 m2 to
more than 35,000 m2, with an average of 12,000 m2.
b. Reported data on air blasts are related to hangups having
areas larger than 10,000 m2.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
c. The most common causes of hangups are unexpected
geological-geotechnical conditions, stresses too low to
induce stress caving, stresses high enough to develop
clamping forces arresting stress release caving,
reductions in the undercut height, non-standard undercut
geometry, no measures taken to facilitate cave initiation
and poor draw extraction/management.
d. The most common remedial measures for dealing with
hangups are increasing the undercut area, weakening of
the hangup boundaries, conditioning the rock mass in the
cave back and improved draw management.
7 CONCLUSIONS
The interpretation of the data collected in this study has allowed
current trends and practices in underground mining by caving
methods to be identified. Table 3 summarizes the currently used
values of the most relevant parameters. This compilation may be
of value in scoping and pre-feasibility studies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the JKMRC
and the sponsors of ICS-II: Codelco, De Beers, LKAB,
Newcrest Mining, Northparkes, Rio Tinto, Sandvik-Tamrock
and WMC. They also wish to express their gratitude to all those
who helped them to collect data at the mines visited: Andina,
Bingham Canyon, Cadia, Chuquicamata, El Teniente, Finsch,
Grasberg Open Pit, Grasberg Underground (DOZ),
Henderson, Kidd Creek, Kiruna, Koffiefontein, Mount Keith,
Northparkes, Palabora, Ridgeway and Salvador. Finally, the
authors wish to especially acknowledge the support provided
by Division Codelco Norte for this research.
REFERENCES
Flores, G and Karzulovic, A, 2002. Benchmarking Report,
prepared for ICS-II, JKMRC and Itasca Consulting Group,
Inc.: Brisbane.
Hoek, E and Brown, E T, 1980. Underground Excavations
in Rock, 527 p., Institution of Mining and Metallurgy:
London.
89
 Table 3: Typical Parameters for Block and Panel Caving Mines

Parameter Typical Value Comments

Rock Mass Quality 50 RMR < 60 If RMR > 60 rock mass cavability must be evaluated carefully.

Accesses Decline Currently 70% of mines prefer declines, and 20% use both
declines and shafts as mine access.

Block Height 210 m This typical block height could vary by 20%.

Footprint < 50,000 m2 30,000 m2 These typical areas could vary +20%. It is recommended to
Area 50,000 to 100,000 m2 75,000 m2 use equal or larger areas, but not smaller than the typical
> 100,000 m2 170,000 m2 values. Also, square areas are better than the rectangular
ones.

Caving Area 10,000 m2 Smaller areas are not recommended, especially in

Initiation massive rock masses.
Shape Square Internal corners must be avoided (eg an L shaped area).
Measures to Facilitate Slot Highly recommended to facilitate cave initiation.
Hydraulic Radius 20 to 30 m Avoid being close to the limit in Laubschers chart.

UCL Drifts Spacing 15 m This is the current practice.

Height 4m Could be increased but not decreased.
Width 4m
Undercut Height 8m Could vary, but be careful if using small undercutting heights.
Undercutting Rate 2100 m2/month Could be increased but be careful with induced seismicity,
especially if in a high stress environment.

EXL Drifts Crown-Pillar 17 m Could vary by 20% (measured from UCL floor to EXT floor).
Spacing 30 m Could vary from 26 to 36 m.
Height 4m Could be increased but not decreased.
Width 4m

Draw Spacing 15 m Could vary from 13 to 18 m.

Points Influence Area 225 m2 Could vary from 169 to 324 m2.

Draw Rates 0.20 m/day This is an average value. Typically lower values are used at the
beginning of caving, and higher values are used when more than
30% of the block height has been extracted.

LHD Capacity 11 tonnes Could vary by 20%.

Equipment Tramming Distance 140 m Smaller tramming distances are preferable.

Powder Factor 400 g/tonne For undercutting blasting. It could vary 20%.

Oversize Limit 1.8 to 2.0 m3 Could vary by 20%.

Subsidence RMR < 70 > 45 a is the angle of break.

RMR > 70 > 60

Geotechnical Hazards The project must take account that collapses, rockbursts, subsidence, water inflows and
mudrushes, and hangups could occur.

Instrumentation & Monitoring The most common monitoring systems include displacements and seismicity. It is recommended to
include a seismic monitoring system, especially in massive hard rock and/or high
stress environments.

(1) These typical values are intended only for the scoping and pre-feasibility stages of a mining project.
(2) RMR values are for Laubschers 1990 system.

90 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Current practices
and trends in cave mining
Germn Flores, Codelco Norte Division, Codelco Chile
Antonio Karzulovic, A. Karzulovic & Assoc. Ltd., Santiago, Chile
Edwin T. Brown, Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre, University of Queensland, Australia

Abstract
Although many caving mines are now exploiting deeper and more massive orebodies, and several large open pits are planning
a transition to underground cave mining, there is no single and convenient reference on current practices and trends in cave
mining. Hence, as part of the International Caving Study Stage II (ICS-II) funded by nine major international mining companies,
a comprehensive benchmarking study was undertaken. The goal of this study was to establish current practices and trends,
with emphasis on the key areas that have large impacts on the economics of a mining project, geomechanics, mine design,
mine operation, and geotechnical hazards. Data were collected and interviews conducted during visits made to 17 mines in
Australia, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, South Africa, Sweden and the USA. A comprehensive review of the technical literature
provided information on a further 88 mines. This paper outlines the current trends and practices in caving mining, and
summarizes them in a table containing data that may be used during scoping and pre-feasibility studies of cave mining projects,
including transitions from open pit to underground mining.

1 INTRODUCTION
Table 1: Mines Visited
Several mines are planning a transition from open pit to
underground cave mining in the medium or long term. Country Mine Mining Method(s)
Accordingly, the International Caving Study Stage II (ICS-II),
managed by the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Australia Cadia Hill OP.
Centre, Brisbane, Australia, included a task of providing Mount Keith OP considering a transition to UG.
practical geotechnical guidelines for the transition from open Northparkes Mine that developed a transition
pit to underground cave mining. As part of this task, a from OP to UG by BC.
benchmarking study was carried out to collect data from
mines that have developed, or are planning to develop such Ridgeway UG by SLC.
transitions, and from other mines (open pits or underground) Canada Kidd Creek Mine that developed a transition
that could provide relevant data. The collected data were from OP to UG by SOP.
supplemented by a comprehensive review of the technical Chile Andina OP and UG by BC/PC.
literature. This study which was planned and executed so as Chuquicamata OP considering a transition to
to optimize data collection, included the following elements: UG by PC.
Survey Design: To facilitate data collection, an Excel
El Teniente UG by PC.
spreadsheet was designed, and e-mailed to the mines
included in the study. Salvador UG by PC.
Mine Visits: The mines listed in Table 1 were visited, and Indonesia Grasberg OP.
relevant information was collected. Grasberg DOZ UG by PC.
Additional Data Collection: A comprehensive survey of the
South Africa Finsch Mine that developed a transition
technical literature was undertaken to collect supplementary
from OP to UG by SOP.
data from 88 additional mines.
Data Processing: The collected data were analysed in order Koffiefontein Mine that developed a transition
to develop histograms and, where possible, correlations from OP to UG by SOP/SLC/FC.
showing current practice and trends in underground mining by Palabora Mine developing a transition
caving methods. When enough data were available the relative from OP to UG by PC.
frequency of selected parameters was computed, and when Sweden Kiruna Mine that developed a transition
the available data were limited, the relative importance of the from OP to UG by SLC.
parameters was assessed.
USA Bingham OP considering a transition
Benchmarking Report: The data, conclusions and
Canyon to UG by PC.
recommendations resulting from this study were presented
Henderson UG by PC.
in a Final Report submitted to the sponsors of ICS-II (Flores
and Karzulovic, 2002). OP Open pit mine/mining
The results of this benchmarking study reflecting current UG Underground mine/mining
practices and trends in cave mining, are summarized in this SLC / SOP Sublevel caving / Sublevel open stoping
paper. BC / PC Block caving / Panel caving

2 GEOMECHANICS

The analysis of the data on Geological Structures

indicates that:

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 83

a. In most underground caving mines, subvertical structures
(dips > 60o) predominate over subhorizontal structures
(dips < 30o).
b. In underground and open pit mines the data on the
orientations of structures are typically much better than
the data on their lengths, spacings, and apertures.
c. The geotechnical characterization of structures generally
is poorer for underground mines than for open pit mines.
d. In spite of the increasing use of numerical models, the
quality of input data on the mechanical properties of
structures is, in most of cases, poor.
The analysis of the data on Intact Rock and Rock Mass
Properties indicates that:
a. Usually the unit weight (g), and the uniaxial compressive
strength (UCS) of the intact rock are known, but
information on shear strength and deformability is much
poorer.
b. Typically UCS values are smaller for open pit mine rocks
(average: 80 MPa) that for underground mine rocks
(average: 130 MPa).
c. Typically RQD values are smaller for open pit mine rocks
(average: 60% to 70%) than for underground mine rocks
(average: 70% to 85%).
d. The most commonly used method of rock mass
classification in the underground mines studied is
Laubschers RMR (53%), followed by Bartons Q (26%),
and Bieniawskis RMR (15%).
e. Typical Laubschers RMR ranges found in different mining
conditions are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Typical Laubschers RMR Range
Mining Method Laubschers RMR Range
Open Pit 20 to 40
Open Stoping 40 to 80
Sublevel Caving 40 to 70
Block Caving 30 to 70
Panel Caving 40 to 80
f. The central trend relating Laubschers RMR and MRMR is:
MRMR = 0,9 RMR (1)
g. The geotechnical characterization of rock masses seems
to be poorer in underground than in open pit mines.
Indeed, in spite of the increasing use of numerical models
the quality of input data on rock mass properties is, in
most cases, poor to fair.
The analysis of the data on In Situ Stresses indicates that:
a. Currently the CSIRO Hollow Inclusion Cell is the most
commonly used method for in situ stress measurements.
b. Typically in underground caving mines the in situ major
principal stress, S1, varies from 30 to 40 MPa; and the in
situ minimum principal stress, S3, varies from 10 to 20
MPa.
c. In underground mines the mean value of the stress ratio,
KMEAN, is bounded as proposed by Hoek and Brown
(1980), where the depth z is in meters:
1500 100
0.5 + K MEAN 0.3 + (2)
z z
84 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
d. Similar relationships were derived for the minimum and
maximum values of the stress ratio, KMIN and KMAX:
1250 100 (3)
0.6 + K Min 0.2 +
z z
1500 90 (4)
1.0 + K Max 0.3 +
z z
The analysis of the data on Hydrogeology indicates that:
a. Most mines do not consider hydrogeological charac-
terization to be a high priority.
b. The most commonly used drainage systems are sumps
(78%), subhorizontal drains (14%) and drainage tunnels
(8%).
c. The most typical monitoring systems are observation
wells (open holes), piezometers and flow rate
measurement devices.
The analysis of the data on Geotechnical Software
indicates that:
a. For two-dimensional numerical analyses the most
commonly used codes are FLAC (50%), UDEC (33%),
and EXAMINE (10%).
b. For three-dimensional numerical analyses the most
commonly used codes are FLAC3D (44%), 3DEC (26%),
and MAP3D (18%).
3 MINE DESIGN
The analysis of the data on Mine Accesses indicates that:
a. The use of shafts as the only access has decreased since
1970.
b. The use of declines as the only access has increased
since 1970.
c. Before 1970 in 70% of the case surveyed, shafts were
used as accesses and in 30% declines were used.
d. In the period 1970 to 1990, in 46% of the cases shafts
were used as accesses, in 42% declines were used, and
in 13% both shafts and declines were used.
e. After 1990, in 36% of the cases shafts were used as
accesses, in 50% declines were used, and in 14% both
shafts and declines, were used.
The analysis of the data on Block Heights and Footprints
indicates that:
a. As shown in Figure 1, since 1970 block heights have
increased in block and panel caving mines. Before 1970,
the typical block height was 100 m; for the period 1970-
1990 it was 160 m, and since 1990 it has been 240 m.
b. In block and panel caving mines the footprint area varies
widely, but in 80% of the cases, it is smaller than 250,000
m2 with an average of 165,000 m2.
c. As shown in Figure 2, the ratio between footprint length
(L) and width (B) rarely exceeds 3, and in almost 60% of
the cases it is smaller than 2. Nevertheless, in many large
open pit mines currently considering a transition to
underground cave mining this ratio will be larger than 3.
d. It seems that most block and panel caving mines have
ignored a possible relationship between block height (H)
and footprint geometry (defined by its width B). As a
preliminary conclusion, and as shown in Figure 3, the
data collected suggested that:
If H/B 1 the cave will easily connect to surface (or to an
upper mined out level).
Massmin 2004

Figure 1: Evolution with time of block height in block and
panel caving mines.
Figure 2: Values of the footprint ratio L/B in block and panel
caving mines.
Figure 3: Relation between H and B in block and panel
caving mines.
If 2 H/B > 1 the cave probably will connect to surface (or
to an upper mined out level).
If H/B > 2 the cave could have problems to connect to
surface (or to an upper mined out level).
The analysis of the data on Caving Initiation indicates
that:
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
a. As shown in Figure 4, the shape of the initial area for
caving is predominantly square or rectangular, but in a
few cases other shapes (e.g. triangular) have been used.
b. As shown in Figure 4, the available data indicates that the
area for caving initiation has an average value of 10,000
m2, and typically varies from 5,000 to 15,000 m2.
Figure 4: Relative frequency of initial caving areas and their
shapes in block and panel caving mines.
c. As shown in Figure 5, the hydraulic radius, HR, of the
initial caving area varies from 15 to 45 m, with an average
of 20 to 30 m.
Figure 5: Relative frequency of hydraulic radii of the initial
caving area in block and panel caving mines.
d. In 60% of the cases some measures were taken to facilitate
cave initiation (slots: 53%, artificial chimneys: 7%).
The analysis of the data on the Undercut Level, UCL,
indicates that:
a. The distance between UCL drifts varies from 10 to 35 m,
with an average of 20 to 25 m.
b. The width of UCL drifts has increased with time. Typically,
before 1970 it was 2 to 3 m, during 1970-1990 it was 3 m,
and since 1990 it has been 4 m.
c. The height of UCL drifts has increased with time.
Typically, before 1970 it was 2 to 2.5 m, during 1970-1990
it was 3 to 3.5 m, and since 1990 it has been 3.5 to 4 m.
d. The undercut height shows no time-dependent trend. It
varies from 3 to 20 m, with an average of 8 to 12 m.
e. As shown in Figure 6, the average undercutting rate,
RUC, varies from 500 to 5,000 m2/month, with an average
of 2,000 to 3,000 m2/month.
85
 The analysis of the data on Support indicates that:
a. In most underground caving mines support on the UCL
consists of only bolts. In some mines this support also
includes mesh and shotcrete in the UCL access drifts.
b. In most underground caving mines support on the
EXL includes bolts (typically 1.8 to 2.4 m long, at
spacings of 1.0 to 1.3 m), mesh and shotcrete
(typically 50 mm). In many cases it also includes
cables, typically 5 to 8 m long, at intersections). Also
some mines use straps and osro-straps, as illustrated
in Figure 8.
c. Bolt lengths range from 1.2 to 3.8 m, with typical values
of 2 to 2.3 m on the UCL, and 2 to 2.5 m on the EXL.
d. Bolt spacings range from 0.6 to 1.4 m, being typically 1.0
m for both the UCL and the EXL.
e. There is no clear difference in the ratio of the bolt length,
L, to the drift width, W, used on the UCL and EXL. In most
cases the ratio L/W ranges from 1.5 to 3.
Figure 6: Relative frequencies of average undercutting
rates, RUC, in block and panel caving mines.

The analysis of the data on the Extraction Level, EXL,

indicates that:
a. The crown-pillar thickness (from the EXL floor to the UCL
floor) shows an increasing trend with time. Typically,
before 1970 it was 7.5 to 10 m, from 1970-1990 it was
12.5 m, and since 1990 it has been 15 to 17.5 m.
b. The spacing between EXL drifts shows an increasing
trend with time. Typically, before 1970 it was 12 to 16 m,
from 1970-1990 it was 20 to 24 m, and since 1990 it has
been 26 to 28 m.
c. The width of EXL drifts shows an increasing trend with
time. Typically, before 1970 it was 2.5 m, from 1970-1990
it was 3 to 3.5 m, and since 1990 it has been 4 to 4.5 m.
d. The height of EXL drifts shows an increasing trend with
time. Typically, before 1970 it was 2 to 2.5 m, from 1970-
1990 it was 3 to 3.5 m, and since 1990 it has been 3.5 to
4.5 m.
e. The draw point spacing shows an increasing trend with
time. Typically, before 1970 it was 8 m, from 1970-1990 it
was 12 m, and since 1990 it has been 15 m.
f. The influence area of draw points shows an increasing
trend with time. Typically, before 1970 it was 50 m2, from
1970-1990 it was 125 m2, and since 1990 it has been 200
to 225 m2.
g. The most commonly used extraction level geometry is the
herringbone layout (54% of the cases), followed by the El
Teniente layout (40% of cases).
h. As shown in Figure 7, the average draw rate, RDW, varies
from 0.05 to 0.7 m/day, with an average of 0.2 to 0.25
m/day.
Figure 8: EXL support by bolts, mesh and osro-straps at a
South African underground mine.

f. For preliminary estimations of bolt length, the following

relations are suggested:
Poor quality rock masses (20 RMR 40):

L (m) = 0.60 x W + 0.60 (5)

Fair quality rock masses (40 RMR 60):

L (m) = 0.45 x W + 0.45 (6)

Good quality rock masses (60 RMR 80):

L (m) = 0.30 x W + 0.30 (7)

Figure 7: Relative frequencies of average draw rates, RDW,
in block and panel caving mines.

86 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

g. Underground caving mines in rockburst prone ground Collapses correspond to the relatively slow failure of UCL
have also used mesh and lacing, as a complementary and/or EXL pillars, which triggers crown pillar failure, and
support for the EXL drifts. drift closure. Figures 10 and 11 illustrate this type of
h. The support of the draw points differs from one mine to geotechnical hazard.
another, but in most cases it includes steel arches, cable
bolts, and concrete and/or shotcrete. The number of steel
arches previously varied from 2 to 7, but currently most
mines used 2 to 3 steel arches.

The analysis of the data on Material Handling Systems

indicates that in 57% of the cases examined, caving mines
use production shafts; in 27% of cases they use conveyor
belts; in 12% they use trains; and in 4% they use trucks.

4 MINE OPERATION

The analysis of the data on Mine Operations indicates

that:
a. The powder factor for undercut blasting varies widely,
from 200 to 1000 g/tonne; with an average of 400 to 500
g/tonne.
b. LHD capacity varies from 7 to 19 tonnes, with an average
of 11 tonnes.
c. LHD tramming distance varies widely, from 25 to 300 m, Figure 10: Collapse of an UCL drift at Te 4 Sur, El Teniente
with an average of 125 to 150 m. mine, 1989.
d. In almost 50% of cases, the oversize limit varies from 1.8
to 2 m3 but has a wide range from 0.4 to 2.4 m3. The
average oversize limit is 1.6 m3.

5 GEOTECHNICAL MONITORING

The analysis of the data on Geotechnical Monitoring in

caving mines indicates that:
a. As shown in Figure 9, the most commonly used
monitoring systems are field inspections (100%), local
displacement measurements (82%), seismic monitoring
(64%), time domain reflectometry (64%), convergence
measurements (36%) and observation boreholes (36%).
b. As shown in Figure 9, the geotechnical monitoring systems
that have generally produced the most satisfactory results
are convergence measurements, field inspections, seismic
monitoring, time domain reflectometry, aerial photography
and water flow measurements.

Figure 11: Collapse of an EXL drift at Ten 4 Sur, El Teniente

mine, 1989.

The analysis of the data on Collapses indicates that:

Figure 9: Relative frequency of use and degree of
satisfaction of geotechnical monitoring systems used in
underground caving mines.
6 GEOTECHNICAL HAZARDS
a. The area affected by a single collapse has varied from
140 to 17,500 m2, with an average of 3,700 m2.
b. The most common causes of collapses are irregular draw
rate and/or poor draw management, presence of major
geological structures, deficient mine planning and/or poor
mining sequences, and lack of communication between
the geotechnical, planning and mine operations groups.
c. The most common remedial measures for collapses are
regularization of draw rates and/or improved draw
management, improved mining sequences, additional
support, and improved communication between the
geotechnical, planning and mine operations groups.
Rockbursts arise from mining-induced seismic events that
cause sudden and violent failure of a volume of rock, which
may or may not be defined by structures. Figures 12 and 13
illustrate this type of geotechnical hazard.

The main geotechnical hazards affecting underground

caving mines are collapses, rockbursts, subsidence, water
inflows and mudrushes, and hangups.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 87

 Figure 14 illustrates a subsidence crater associated with
cave mining.

Figure 12: Typical major rockburst damage without

structural control, affecting a UCL drift on Ten Sub 6, El
Teniente mine, 1991.

Figure 14: Subsidence crater caused by block and panel

caving at Salvador mine, Chile, 2003.

The analysis of the data on Subsidence indicates that:

Figure 13: Typical major rockburst damage with structural
control, affecting a drift on the Ventilation Level of Ten Sub
6, El Teniente mine, 1990.
a. The depth of a subsidence crater may vary from less than
100 to 1400 m, with the average being about 450 m.
b. The angle of break, a, varies from 40 to 90, depending
on the rock mass quality and the structures in the rock
mass (in few cases there are even overhanging crater
walls).
c. The most common factors that may exacerbate
subsidence are the presence of major unfavourably
oriented geological structures, a poorer rock mass quality
than expected, poor draw management and deficient
mine planning.
d. The most common remedial measures for dealing with
subsidence are geotechnical monitoring, geotechnically
improved mine planning and mining sequence and, in the
final analysis, relocating infrastructure that could be
affected by subsidence.
Water Inflows / Mudrushes correspond to sudden inflows
of water and/or mud from drawpoints or other underground
openings. Due to their nature these phenomena propagate
rapidly, endangering people, equipment and infrastructure.
Figure 15 illustrates the damage that can be caused.

The analysis of the data on Rockbursts indicates that:

a. The most common causes of rockbursts are the presence
of major geological structures, high stresses, a non-
favourable mining sequence, an excessive undercutting
rate, and an excessive draw rate.
b. The most common remedial measures for rockbursts are
seismic monitoring, improved mining sequences from
geotechnical considerations, reduced draw rates, and the
implementation of contingency plans (from access
restrictions to the closure of a mining sector).

Subsidence corresponds to the lowering of the ground

surface due to mining causing the development of a crater.
Within the caves zone of influence, the rock mass
undergoes deformations that could damage the mines
surface and/or underground infrastructure.
Commonly, the geometry of a subsidence crater is
defined by its depth, H, and the angle of break, a, defined as
the inclination with the horizontal of an imaginary line
connecting the UCL edge with the perimeter of the crater at
surface (defined by the limit of the zone where the rock Figure 15: Damage caused by a mudrush in an
mass shows large discontinuous deformations). underground caving mine.

88 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The analysis of the data on Water Inflows and Mudrushes
indicates that:
a. The most common causes of water inflows and
mudrushes are the presence of wet/clayey ore, fine
fragmentation, a crater acting as a water collector and
deficient draw management.
b. The most common remedial measures for dealing with
these hazards are surface stabilization, improved draw
management, development and implementation of
contingency plans, implementation of drainage systems
and instrumentation and monitoring.
Hangups arise from the arrest of cave propagation due to
the formation of a metastable geometry that could
eventually fail suddenly, generating air blasts and causing
significant damage in the underground mines excavations.
Figure 16 shows an example of this type of hazard. The
analysis of the data on Hangups indicates that:
Figure 16: Formation of chimney craters immediately after
the failure of the hangup at Inca West Sector, Salvador
mine, Chile (December 5, 1999).
a. The area of hangups has varied widely, from 1,000 m2 to
more than 35,000 m2, with an average of 12,000 m2.
b. Reported data on air blasts are related to hangups having
areas larger than 10,000 m2.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
c. The most common causes of hangups are unexpected
geological-geotechnical conditions, stresses too low to
induce stress caving, stresses high enough to develop
clamping forces arresting stress release caving,
reductions in the undercut height, non-standard undercut
geometry, no measures taken to facilitate cave initiation
and poor draw extraction/management.
d. The most common remedial measures for dealing with
hangups are increasing the undercut area, weakening of
the hangup boundaries, conditioning the rock mass in the
cave back and improved draw management.
7 CONCLUSIONS
The interpretation of the data collected in this study has allowed
current trends and practices in underground mining by caving
methods to be identified. Table 3 summarizes the currently used
values of the most relevant parameters. This compilation may be
of value in scoping and pre-feasibility studies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the JKMRC
and the sponsors of ICS-II: Codelco, De Beers, LKAB,
Newcrest Mining, Northparkes, Rio Tinto, Sandvik-Tamrock
and WMC. They also wish to express their gratitude to all those
who helped them to collect data at the mines visited: Andina,
Bingham Canyon, Cadia, Chuquicamata, El Teniente, Finsch,
Grasberg Open Pit, Grasberg Underground (DOZ),
Henderson, Kidd Creek, Kiruna, Koffiefontein, Mount Keith,
Northparkes, Palabora, Ridgeway and Salvador. Finally, the
authors wish to especially acknowledge the support provided
by Division Codelco Norte for this research.
REFERENCES
Flores, G and Karzulovic, A, 2002. Benchmarking Report,
prepared for ICS-II, JKMRC and Itasca Consulting Group,
Inc.: Brisbane.
Hoek, E and Brown, E T, 1980. Underground Excavations
in Rock, 527 p., Institution of Mining and Metallurgy:
London.
89
 Table 3: Typical Parameters for Block and Panel Caving Mines

Parameter Typical Value Comments

Rock Mass Quality 50 RMR < 60 If RMR > 60 rock mass cavability must be evaluated carefully.

Accesses Decline Currently 70% of mines prefer declines, and 20% use both
declines and shafts as mine access.

Block Height 210 m This typical block height could vary by 20%.

Footprint < 50,000 m2 30,000 m2 These typical areas could vary +20%. It is recommended to
Area 50,000 to 100,000 m2 75,000 m2 use equal or larger areas, but not smaller than the typical
> 100,000 m2 170,000 m2 values. Also, square areas are better than the rectangular
ones.

Caving Area 10,000 m2 Smaller areas are not recommended, especially in

Initiation massive rock masses.
Shape Square Internal corners must be avoided (eg an L shaped area).
Measures to Facilitate Slot Highly recommended to facilitate cave initiation.
Hydraulic Radius 20 to 30 m Avoid being close to the limit in Laubschers chart.

UCL Drifts Spacing 15 m This is the current practice.

Height 4m Could be increased but not decreased.
Width 4m
Undercut Height 8m Could vary, but be careful if using small undercutting heights.
Undercutting Rate 2100 m2/month Could be increased but be careful with induced seismicity,
especially if in a high stress environment.

EXL Drifts Crown-Pillar 17 m Could vary by 20% (measured from UCL floor to EXT floor).
Spacing 30 m Could vary from 26 to 36 m.
Height 4m Could be increased but not decreased.
Width 4m

Draw Spacing 15 m Could vary from 13 to 18 m.

Points Influence Area 225 m2 Could vary from 169 to 324 m2.

Draw Rates 0.20 m/day This is an average value. Typically lower values are used at the
beginning of caving, and higher values are used when more than
30% of the block height has been extracted.

LHD Capacity 11 tonnes Could vary by 20%.

Equipment Tramming Distance 140 m Smaller tramming distances are preferable.

Powder Factor 400 g/tonne For undercutting blasting. It could vary 20%.

Oversize Limit 1.8 to 2.0 m3 Could vary by 20%.

Subsidence RMR < 70 > 45 a is the angle of break.

RMR > 70 > 60

Geotechnical Hazards The project must take account that collapses, rockbursts, subsidence, water inflows and
mudrushes, and hangups could occur.

Instrumentation & Monitoring The most common monitoring systems include displacements and seismicity. It is recommended to
include a seismic monitoring system, especially in massive hard rock and/or high
stress environments.

(1) These typical values are intended only for the scoping and pre-feasibility stages of a mining project.
(2) RMR values are for Laubschers 1990 system.

90 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Incline cave: A technical alternative
method to mine kimberlite
deposits at depth.
Miguel Paucar and Collin Mthombeni, Finsch Mine, De Beers, South Africa

Abstract
De Beers underground operations have mined kimberlitic pipes utilizing the Block caving as the preferred mining method
since the late 1950s. These pipes are been mined at shallow depth, with large ore body footprint size, and with low block
heights.
The requirement to extend the life of the existing operations has resulted in investigations for mining at greater depth and
higher block heights due to the decreasing footprint and volume of the orebody at depth. Therefore, it is strategic for De
Beers to design and propose alternative mining methods, which will reduce the technical risks at similar or lower costs
to ensure a safe and efficient ore extraction.
This paper describes the experience and challenges of the Block cave method to meet the technical requirements of
mining at depth and higher block heights. An incline cave mining method is proposed as an alternative method to meet
some of the challenges of mining kimberlite at depth.

1 INTRODUCTION shape with steeply dipping (80o to 85o) walls, as shown in

De Beers has been exploiting the Finsch Mine diamond-
bearing kimberlite pipe since 1966. Open-pit methods were
first used to exploit the diamond pipe. After the open-pit
operation the mine changed to underground operations and
the pipe was divided into series of blocks, as shown in
Figure 1. Block 1 and 2 were mined by a combination of
open pit and blasthole open stoping methods. Block 3 is
exclusively blasthole open stoping while Block 4 will employ
block caving (Preece, 1998). Block 5 is currently being
delineated and as part of the pre-feasibility study alternative
mining methods are being investigated.
Due to the pipes decreasing geometry (tapering at an
angles between 76 -86 degrees), and footprint size with
depth, the Block 5 drop down has been set at 250 metres.
This is more from a financial stand point than anything else.
This will result in a considerable change in the mining
environment, since no kimberlite pipe has at yet been mined
at these block heights.
As part of the investigations into determining the most
suitable mining method for the block, an inclined drawpoint
caving layout was identified as one. An incline drawpoint
layout was first introduced at Gaths Mine, Zimbabwe, as it
was not possible to maintain a horizontal layout
(Laubscher, 2000).
This paper describes the proposed mining method,
compared to the block caving method, using the Finsch pipe
geometry as a case study. Although the incline cave is
mostly applicable to dipping orebodies, there is no reason
why this method should not be applied to other mining
situations.
Figure 2. This shape is consistent, although it reflects the
hardness of the country rock that the kimberlite broke
through on its way to surface.
The kimberlite within the pipe can usually be sub-divided
into three broad facies:
The hypabyssal facies, which is plug-like, dyke intrusion,
comprising of a harder, more competent kimberlite.
The diatreme facies, which constitutes the mid portion of
the pipe, consist of various types of Tuffistic Kimberlite
Breccias (TKB).
The crater facies, which is the upper portion, is influenced
by the surface venting of the volcano.
Most of the pipes have inclusions of the country rock
through which they have intruded, being mostly basalt at
Finsch Mine or quartzite at Cullinan Diamond Mine. These
inclusions create a complex rock mass structures which are
exacerbated by the hygroscopic nature of kimberlite. On
exposure kimberlite deteriorates rapidly, leading to relatively
low design rockmass strength, being between 18 to 25 MPa
for TKB kimberlite.

2 GEOLOGY AND GEOMECHANICS

Kimberlite, the rock in which diamonds are generally

found, consists of a mixture of different rock materials
whose most important constituents are: (1) fragments of
peridotite, eclogite, (2) large crystals of peridotite or eclogite
altered by fluids in the kimberlite and by ground water and
(3) the matrix, which is the crystallized kimberlite magma.
The original kimberlitic volcanoes are now known as
"pipes" because of the typically carrot or inverted-cone Figure 1: Diagrammatic section of Finsch Mine.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 91

 Rockmass classification techniques, as well as numerical
modeling techniques have been applied to the mine design
and planning process. Due to the complexity of the
kimberlite, these models generally require extensive
validation by back analysis.
Figure 2: Cross section of a typical kimberlite pipe in South
Africa (Harlow, 1997).
3 BLOCK CAVE MINING CHALLENGES
IN KIMBERLITE PIPES
The challenges of mining kimberlitic pipes at depth are
that:
The decreasing footprint results in increasing the block
heights in order to optimize the required economic life
from the block being mined.
Figure 3: Layout and design of Incline cave - 3D model of levels and infraestructure required.
92 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Higher in-situ stresses, poor rock conditions (structures)
and water resulting in an increased risk of not achieving
mine production.
Common challenges for mining kimberlite pipes are the
difficulties being experienced in maintaining the extraction
level. The drawpoint horizon is only capable of standing for
a limited time and in the worst cases completely collapsed
tunnels may be required to be re-established and re-
supported several times at high cost during their productive
life (Laubscher and Esterhuizen, 1994). This is because the
extraction level is developed in relatively weak rock and also
as much as 50% of the rock on the extraction level is
extracted to create production tunnels, crosscuts and
drawbells required for mining. The rock strength capacity
starts being challenged, and also the rock is deteriorating
due the blasting/mining activities which cause serious
damage.
In an attempt to alleviate the situation, various
modifications are being made based on past experiences.
These modifications vary from various support techniques
and extraction level layouts (distance between drawpoints,
shapes of drawpoints, El Teniente v/s herringbone layouts)
to undercutting techniques (pre and post undercut, advance
undercut, undercut height, etc). Detailed information on
these modifications is to be found in Bartlett, 1998. Although
some benefit can be derived from these measures, it
becomes increasingly apparent that the horizontal
extraction level could be becoming totally unsuited to the
ground conditions that are being experienced. Anticipating
that the problems encountered would compound with depth,
the need to investigate an alternative mining method for the
kimberlite pipes at depth and higher block heights is
becoming more and more apparent.
Alternative caving mining methods previously being
applied in kimberlite pipes such as the Sub Level Caving
(previously applied in Kimberley Mines) and the Front Cave
(applied in Koffiefontein Mine) have been investigated. The
SLC was found to be not economically attractive due to the
Massmin 2004
amount of development, support and the drill and blast
running cost associated with the method. The Front Cave
had the limitation of not being suitable for higher block
heights and the limited production output due to the
geometry of the pipe.
4 DESIGN AND LAYOUT
OF THE INCLINE CAVE METHOD
will be blasted above the top extraction level to extend the
undercut to the contact of the orebody. Rings will be drilled
from the crosscuts, and blasted into the slot for a distance
of 11m to form the draw cones. A permanent drawpoint
brow will then be established at that position. Caving is
initiated once the slot and draw cones are connected
between the different levels, forming a continuous undercut
area inclined at 45 degrees, as shown in Figure 5.

4.1 General description

The incline cave method proposed here is based on the
false footwall incline cave method being applied in Gaths
Mine, Zimbabwe.
The preliminary design and layout presented in this paper
is just a step in the iterative process and will be revisited in
the cycle of planning and design before a final layout is
produced. All the design parameters for a horizontal block
caving layouts have been assumed to be the same for the
incline caving layout.
The method entails the development of a number of
extraction levels at the lower part of the block.
For the block height of about 250m, seven extraction
levels, at 15m vertical intervals, will be developed in the
bottom of the block (Figure 3). The extraction tunnels will be
15m apart, and will be staggered from level to level as in 1) Slot opening
sub-level caving. The ends of the tunnels will be located Scale 1:1000
along a plane inclined at 45 degrees as shown in Figure 4.
The eighth level will be the goundhandling level, where
the ore will be crushed and then conveyed to the shaft
station.

4.2 Block size and height

At 250m below the current mining level, the pipe has a
footprint of approximately 4 hectares (max 250m length by
150m wide). A mirror image (see Figure 4) incline layout
has been applied in order to limit the production working
area to the least number of levels. This layout has resulted
in 7 production (extraction) levels, with the bottom level
drawing the highest columns (220m) and the top level
drawing shortest column height (175m).

2) Undercut opening
Scale 1:1000

Figure 4: Section view of the pipe and level positions.

4.3 Undercutting
Continuous slots will be blasted, 4m wide and 15m high, 3) Caving and Loading
to connect the ends of the crosscuts on each level, as Scale 1:1000
shown in Figure 5 (slot opening). An additional wider slot

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 93


4) Retreat using SLC method
Scale 1:1000
Figure 5: Mining sequence of the Incline cave method.
The undercut initiation position was influenced by:
Geotechnical factors to ensure caving propagation,
High grade area,
The amount of development before caving ocurrs.
The selected option was to initiate undercut from the
south position; from the bottom level up, as shown in
Figure 6.
Figure 6: Method of undercutting From corner bottom up.
4.4 Remnants and wedge mining
The ore in the final triangular wedge of ground containing
the tunnels will be recovered by sub-level caving of the
tunnels, as shown in Figure 5. The wedge that could not be
mined after the sub level cave (SLC) mining will be allowed
to cave down to the next mining block.
4.5 Ventilation
It was first thought that the Incline Cave method would
have a much higher air requirements than a Block Cave. A
ventilation study was carried out by Anglo Technical Division
94 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
in conjunction with Blumhm Burton consultants. The
findings recommended a force exhaust system for the
development phase and an exhaust system for the
undercutting and production stages. The volume of air
required is 760 m3/sec. compared to 680 m3/sec. for the
block caving method.
5 STABILITY AND SUPPORT
From the experience at Gaths and Cassiar mines it has
been shown that if the inclined cave design is correctly
orientated in relation to the stresses and structures, the
general or global stability is much better than the traditional
horizontal block caving method.
The pillars formed in a conventional Block cave; by the
undercut and extraction level tunnel development (major
apex) and by drawbell opening (minor apex) are free-
standing pillars that are inherently weak and require
extensive support and major expense. The advantage of the
incline cave layout is that the drawpoints and production
tunnels are located in a narrow zone backed by solid
ground.
Support has always been an issue in Block caving;
the extraction level has to undergo various stress
changes. During undercutting operations it is under a
high compressive load, and once the undercut is
completed the extraction level tunnel goes under
tension or stress relaxation. Therefore for these severe
stress changes a increased level of support is required
for the extraction level. In the case of the incline cave
the stress distribution is different since it has
production tunnels in different levels. The amount of
support required on the production tunnels and
drawpoints will be less (lower cost) than in the block
caving due to the better stability.
The incline cave design provides more drawpoints than
the block cave method and the strengh of them is greater
too, meaning the drawpoint availability is higher, and
hopefully a lower repair cost.
Support is designed on the basis of experience, rock
mass characterisation, and expected stress changes
associated with cave mining as predicted by numerical
stress modelling. The support requirements for the various
areas in the mine excavations are:
Dolomite
Access ramps and rim tunnels 2.9m X 25mm fully grouted
rock bolts at a 1.5m square pattern installed during primary
development. In areas where additional support is
necessary, shotcrete and wire mesh will supplement the
rock bolt support.
Rim tunnel/loading drive break-aways 3.8m X 25mm rock
bolts, 6.0m fully grouted pre-tensioned rope anchors and
meshing/shotcrete if required.
Kimberlite
Loading drives in kimberlite sealant, 25mm shotcrete,
3.8m X 25mm rock bolts at 1.0m square pattern, meshing
and strapping and a final 100mm layer of shotcrete.
Slot tunnels As per the loading drives above except at the
intersections with the loading tunnels where additional 6.0m
rope anchors will be installed to support the large spans.
Loading drive contact support where necessary steel
arches will be installed in highly unstable contact areas to
support the key blocks.
Drawpoint support will be as per current mine practices,
these being the Koffiefontein type semi-permanent
Massmin 2004
drawpoint (SPD) support design for the front cave.
Consisting of 6m long anchors, RSJ sets and concrete.
6 PRODUCTION AND DRAW CONTROL
Ore is removed from the drawpoint by diesel LHD machines,
which will transport the ore to orepasses. All the levels feed a
common orepass system on both sides of the pipe. Unlike in
panel caving if an access tunnels get damaged, the column can
be drawn from the adjacent tunnel.
As Dr. D. Laubscher defines draw control: "Practice of
controlling tonnages drawn from individual drawpoints with
the object of: Minimize dilution, ensure maximum ore
recovery, avoid damaging load concentration on the
extraction level and avoid creation of conditions leading to
air blast, mud rushes, etc".
(Laubscher, 2000). The grade and fragmentation in the
dilution zone must be known in order to practice good draw
control. A poor draw control means drawing of fine material
at the expense of coarse material. Draw control discipline
must be applied so that coarse material must be drilled and
blasted at the end of the shift.
During the production phase, brow wear will occur, and
conditions may deteriorate because of weak rock, but the
instalattion of brow support as semi permanent drawpoint
(SPD) will reduce it and enhance stability in this area. Unlike
a conventional block-cave layout, a particular brow position
can be abandoned and mining can fall back along the
drawpoint to a more stable location. This is made possible
by the greater length of drawpoint drifts and the absence of
extraction pillars with limited dimensions. In falling back, the
effect on the draw control and interaction with other levels
should be considered.
7 CONCLUSIONS
The incline cave method is a combination of sub-level
caving and block caving (low cost - high production in weak
rock) but it has never been applied in the mining of
kimberlite pipes, although successes have been noted at
King section, Gaths Mine in Zimbabwe and Cassiar Mine in
Canada (Laubscher and Esterhuizen, 1994). However, due
to advantages mentioned before, we believe that this
method warrants further investigation in order to minimize
risks inherent to unproven technology. The risks can be
reduced by fragmentation analysis, draw control, dilution
model through PCBC studies, scheduling of activities using
a software tool, and simulation of mining equipment
requirements and the overall ore extraction system.
The advantages and disadvantages of the method are as
follows:
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Advantages
High productivity due to close drawpoint spacing.
Covering levels from 790m down to 880m, makes easier
to recover ore from upper levels.
In the event of damage to an access tunnel, columns can
be drawn from the adjacent tunnel because they are
placed in different levels.
More drawpoints covering larger footprint area more
productivity.
Stress distribution is improved, especially during
undercutting and reduction in tunnels support cost.
One drawpoint is dedicated to a tunnel on a level, makes
automation more applicable.
Disadvantages
Never applied in kimberlite mining.
Long lead time is needed to install most of the
infrastructure in place before the start of undercutting.
More metres to be developed and capital investment are
relatively higher.
Multi-tipping level is seen as major challenge due to
ventilation.
Supervision not concentrated in one level.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Alan Guest, General
Manager, Geotechnical Engineering for his encouragement
and comments during the preparation of this paper. The
authors acknowledge the permission of Management,
Finsch Mine and the Director Operations, De Beers
Consolidated Mines to publish this paper.
REFERENCES
Bartlett, P, 1998. Planning a mechanised cave with coarse
fragmentation in Kimberlite, PhD thesis.
Diaz, G and Tobar, P, 2000. Panel caving experiences and
macrotrench An alternative exploitation method at the El
Teniente mine, Codelco Chile. Massmin 2000, Brisbane,
Australia, pp. 235 247.
Harlow, G, 1997. The Nature of Diamonds Cambridge
University press in association with the American
Museum of Natural History.
Laubscher, D, 2000. A practical manual on Block Caving
For the International Caving Study.
Laubscher, D and Esterhuizen, G, 1994. Inclined-
drawpoint caving a cave mining method. XVth
Congress, Johannesburg, SAIMM. Volume 1 pp. 247-250.
Owen, K and Guest, A, 1994. Underground mining of
kimberlite pipes. XVth Congress, Johannesburg, SAIMM.
Volume 1 pp. 207-218.
Preece, C, 1998. Finsch Mine; Open pit to open stoping to
Block caving, Underground mining methods, pp. 439 453.
95
 Quantifying open
stope performance
E. Villaescusa, Professor of Geomechanics, Western Australian School of Mines

Abstract
Stope performance is reviewed with respect to the overall stope design process. Global and detailed design issues are
identified along the way, and the stope design note is described in detail. Stope performance is quantified based on
depth of failure measurements, which are calculated using block models of Cavity Monitoring System wireframes and
tested against the stope design boundaries. Finally a stope performance assessment summary data sheet is also
provided.

1 INTRODUCTION extraction of individual stopes. Finally, a monitoring and

The sublevel open stoping method (SLOS) are used to
extract large massive or tabular, steeply-dipping competent
orebodies surrounded by competent host rocks which in
general have few constraints regarding the shape, size and
continuity of the mineralization. In general, open stopes are
relatively large excavations in which ring drilling is the main
method of rock breakage (Villaescusa, 2000).
The SLOS method offers several advantages including, low
cost and efficient non-entry production operations, utilization of
highly mechanized, mobile drilling and loading production
equipment, high production rates with a minimum level of
personnel. Furthermore, production operations are
concentrated into few locations such as ring drilling, blasting
and drawpoint mucking. The disadvantages include a
requirement for a significant level of development
infrastructure before production starts, thus incurring a high
initial capital investment. However, most of the development
occurs within the orebody. In addition, the stopes must be
designed with regular boundaries and internal waste pockets
can not be separated within the broken ore. Similarly,
delineated ore can not be recovered beyond a designed stope
boundary. Consequently, ore dilution, consisting of low-grade,
waste rock or minefill materials, may occur at the stope
boundaries. Furthermore, ore loss due to insufficient breakage
can also occur within the stope boundaries.
The stope performance is measured by the ability to
achieve maximum extraction with minimal dilution. Hence,
the success of the method relies on the stability of large
(mainly un-reinforced) stope walls and crowns as well as the
stability of any fill masses exposed
2 STOPE DESIGN PROCESS
Stope design for dilution control requires interactions
among geology, mine planning, rock mechanics and
operating personnel (Villaescusa, 1998). The overall
rational methodology for the stope design process is shown
in Figure 1. Six key stages (and key personnel) are
identified, with the orebody delineation and rock mass
characterization stages as the basic input. The tasks
consists of an early determination of rockmass properties on
a block scale, followed by an estimate of the likely loading
conditions from the mining sequences. The process
requires a global and a detailed design stage, where global
design issues are relevant and applicable within entire
areas of a mine, such as an extension of an existing
orebody, while detailed design issues are applicable to the
back analysis strategy is required to allow a documented
closure of the mine design loop.
3 GEOLOGICAL AND GEOTECHNICAL
CHARACTERIZATION
The stope design process starts with an initial orebody
delineation process to provide an interpolated outline of the
grade contours. This information is critical and is initially
used to locate the required drilling and mucking drives along
the orebody in question. The accuracy of the delineated
grade boundaries is a function of the nature of the orebody,
the amount of drilling information and the mining access
through the orebody. For narrow orebodies, development is
carried out under strict geological control, a process that
requires geological mapping of drives and crosscuts
through the orebodies (and sometimes additional in-fill
drilling) in order to define the stope ore-waste contacts.
The suggested approach is to obtain representative
(mine-wide) rock mass properties required during the
global excavation design and stability analysis stages. In
most cases, this information is obtained from diamond
drill holes (core logging of non-oriented holes, as well as
geotechnical holes) and direct mapping of underground
openings. Geophysical tools can also used for orebody
delineation and rock mass characterization. The
confidence in the geological information must be
sufficient to establish the nature and irregularities of the
orebody, the nature and location of major controlling
geological structures, the general rock mass
characteristics as well as to perform an economic
evaluation to determine whether a particular block should
be mined. This type of information requires that the
sampling process extend beyond the orebody boundaries
in order to determine the likelihood of failure from
orebody hangingwalls, footwalls or stope crowns.
Experience has shown that the interpolated grade may
define the economics of a stope, but the geological structures
and the location (and alignment) of the drives up-dip may
define the final shape. Lithology and the presence of major
faults and joints relative to the stope wall orientations need to
be anticipated in order to control dilution (See Figure 2). A need
exists for routine geological mapping and timely interpretations
to keep the geology current and to determine areas of low rock
mass strength, associated with clay fracture filling and
moderate to complete wall alteration. Interpreted geology maps
across all stope levels, on a stope composite basis, are
essential tools for evaluating the likely influence of rock type

96 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

and major geological discontinuities on the actual stope
performance.
Figure 1. A formalized stope design methodology from data
collection to stope reconciliation.
Figure 2: Massive stope hangingwall failure controlled by
large scale faults.
4 GLOBAL DESIGN
Global design issues are related to the design and
stability of large sections of a mine, such as a new orebody
extension at depth or at the abutment for an existing
deposit. Global design issues are schematically
represented on Figure 1, and listed in detail in Table 1. The
issues involved include global orebody delineation, design
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
of mine access and infrastructure, dimensions of sublevel
intervals, backfill requirements and infrastructure,
equipment and ventilation considerations, etc. Stress
analysis of the global production schedules is critical to
determine the loading conditions (stress and displacement)
likely to result from a proposed mine-wide stoping
sequence.
Table 1. Global (block) design issues.
Exploration drilling requirements for
orebody delineation for the designed area
Area wide rock mass characterization
from borehole data and direct access
Overall mining method selection
Quantity and grade of ore required
with respect to scheduled metal targets
Access and infrastructure development requirements -
ore handling systems, workshops, etc.
Production scheduling, details and timing
Induced stresses from scheduled sequences,
including extraction directions
Primary and secondary stope dimensions
(including regional access pillars)
Backfill system requirements
Equipment requirements
Ventilation
Global economic assessment
5 DETAILED DESIGN
Detailed design is related to the extraction of individual
stopes within a global area and it represents the process of
establishing an optimum extraction method for an individual
stope, subject to a number of variables and constraints.
Blasthole geometry, firing sequence, ground support,
ventilation and economics are some of the key variables
considered. The constraints include the orebody
boundaries, the geological structures, any existing
development, and in some cases, any adjacent backfill
masses (See Figure 3).
Detailed design is achieved by means of a stope design
note issued to the planning and operating personnel. Such
a document includes detail on the overall extraction
philosophy, plans of sublevel development, sections
showing blasthole design concepts and drilling and blasting
parameters, ventilation, geology, rock mechanics and
overall firing sequence.
All the topics included on a stope design document are
inter-related. The extraction philosophy provides a general
overview of the design, safety and production issues for a
particular section of an orebody. Properly reinforced stope
development is required to allow access for drilling, blasting
and mucking. Development size is a function of the stoping
method and the equipment utilised. Knowledge of the nature
and stability of the adjacent backfill masses is needed to
design cleaner rings or to avoid toeing of blastholes into the
backfill.
Structural geology considerations such as the presence of
major geological discontinuities often influence the blasting
sequences. Other factors considered are the stress re-
distributions within and around a stope and likely to control
fall-off behaviour on the exposed walls. In addition, the
97
retreat direction of the blasthole rings must take into account
the stope ventilation network, with a retreat direction into
fresh air.
6 STOPE DESIGN NOTE
A stope design note covers many aspects involved in the
development and production of a stope (See Table 2).
Technical presentations are required to encourage technical
input from all the members of the design team (geology,
rock mechanics, planning, operations and management).
They usually occur twice within the design process: at the
conceptual design stages and prior to the issue of the final
drill and blast design. Feedback from both meetings should
be incorporated into the final stope design.
Table 2. Stope design presentation issues
Geological structures
Stope access and development requirements
Ore passes, loading bays, etc.
Stope cut-off location
Production blast directions
Stability issues, ground support requirements
Stress re-distributions assessment
Backfill or permanent pillar demands
Production schedule
Ventilation requirements
Detailed economic analysis
Figure 3. Multiple lift stope showing main ring and diaphragm ring details.
98 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Once a final stope design status has been achieved, the
blasthole design is undertaken by considering the
production rigs that will be used, the ore limits, the survey
pick-up of the access development, the extent and
sublevels of the stope, as well as the ring burden and toe
spacing (See Figure 4). The ore limits are usually updated
in accordance with the completed stope development.
A scaled floor plan showing details of the latest survey
information including any vertical openings and status of
surrounding stopes will be provided to assist the drillers.
Locations of hangingwall, footwall, cut-off detail and location
of the main rings are also included. A long section that
includes a schematic view of the stope cut-off raise, the cut-
off, the production rings and the trough undercuts, is also
completed. This section helps to explain the stope design
philosophy, and becomes a useful tool during drilling and
blasting of the stope.
7 STOPE EXTRACTION
The actual firing sequence used to extract individual
stopes is likely to influence stress re-distribution as well as
blast induced damage within a stope. Stress and blast
induced fall-off within a stope boundary may lead to poor
mucking performance during extraction. Although fall-off
resulting from stope firing is not the only source of poor
fragmentation, it can be minimized by avoiding excessive
undercutting of the stope walls (See Figure 5).
A number of design options can be used to reduce stope
undercut; including for example, firing the cut-off slot to the
full height of the stope before blasting of the main rings
commences. This can be followed by the sequential blasting
of the main rings to the full stope height (Villaescusa, 2000).
The objective is to reduce the number of stope faces
exposed, thereby reducing the potential for time related
Massmin 2004
Figure 4. Cross section view showing drilling details in multiple lift open stoping.

A stope firing sequence also determines the rate of

exposure of the main geological discontinuities intersecting
a stope (See Figure 6). A rapid exposure of a large fault
may occur after mass blasting or after progressive firing to
a fault (See Figure 6a). Such exposures may not allow
sufficient time for a gradual stress relief. If the orientation of
the stress field is unfavorable, large shear stresses may
result and induce local and regional fault movements
leading to stope fall-off. In order to optimize stability, stope
firings should proceed across a structure to allow
progressive stress relief of the shear stresses (See Figure
6b).

Figure 5. Stope wall undercutting within a stope firing

sequence.

structurally controlled fall-off. Undercut of the main rings can

Figure 6. Exposure of large geological features during
be avoided by designing the troughs to be blasted with
stoping operations.
coinciding faces.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 99

 Table 3. Example of potential problems and solutions in open stoping.

Open Stope Activity Potential Problem Potential Solution

Rock mass characterization Design may not be stable Back analyze

previous extracted stopes

Different domain for design Geological engineering judgement

Within stope boundaries

Insufficient information More geological mapping

Major discontinuities Consider firing sequences

intersect stope walls and cablebolt reinforcement

Stope design Design by default Better preparation job

use databases of stope performance

Tonnage and grade do not Better geological interpretation needed

match the design

Stope access is not in the Better planning

appropriate location

Orebody delineation do not match More definition drilling, use

the geological interpretation geophysical techniques

Excessive development in waste Optimize the block design

Not following the design Spot check and quality control,

better communication with production

Drilling and blasting Excessive hole deviation Down hole surveys, better
operator skills, laser alignment

Not following design Efficient supervision

Not drilling to required depth Efficient supervision

Poor workmanship due to bonus driven There may not be a short term solution

Explosive malfunctioning Review pattern

Area of low or high powder factor Use modelling blasting software

Falloff Less aggressive design?

Inability to establish failure Use information from seismic system

triggering mechanism

Mucking Orepass hang-up Limit intake size (use screen)

Large fragmentation/fall-off Optimize drilling and blasting

Long tramming distances Improve block design

Poor ventilation Review ventilation system

Poor reporting practices More personnel training

Poor drawpoint condition Support and reinforcement

Continuous fall-off inside the stope Exclusion periods

Stope survey Ability to survey as stope is extracted Communication with survey department

Limited access Establish stope access doors

Poor ventilation, laser beam Improve ventilation

can not shoot through

Fall-off may damage equipment Wait until ground stabilizes

100 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

8 STOPE PERFORMANCE

A stope performance review is undertaken as a technical

audit of a stope design process. The review is performed
during the stope extraction (after each firing) to monitor the
conditions at the exposed stope walls, including backbreak,
underbreak and broken ore fragmentation. The purpose of
the review is to determine any variations from a planned
stope design extraction strategy. To achieve this, a series of
stope surveys can be carried out after each significant firing,
and also following the completion of all firings (See Figure
7).

Figure 8. Production profile from a high lift bench stope

Figure 9. Cumulative plot of time vs volume for fired and

mucked volumes.

Figure 7. Longitudinal section view of a large scale bench With the advent of the Cavity Monitoring System (CMS)
stope showing consecutive surveys indicating minimal stope survey technique (Miller et al., 1992), information about
backbreak. the actual variations from a designed stope shape can be
routinely obtained and used analytically to calculate dilution,
depth of failure and to determine structural control by large
faults at the stope boundaries. Contours of depth of failure can
The performance review provides a mechanism to be determined by filling the CMS wireframes with blocks and
record the observations from operators and technical using the stope orientation information to orient the block model
personnel in order to indicate problems and successes such that Y direction of the blocks is perpendicular to the
during stope extraction. A database that highlights hangingwall, the X direction parallel to the strike and Z direction
lessons to be learnt and improvements to be made can parallel to the dip of the stopes as shown in Figure 10.
be adopted for each stope. Table 3 shows some of the
typical problems and possible solutions (by no means
exhaustive) encountered in open stoping. In addition to
those problems, stopes left open over long periods of
time may be influenced by time-dependent regional fault
behaviour. Stress re-distribution, production blasting and
backfill drainage from adjacent stopes are likely to
influence stope stability over a period of time. Blast
damage and the effects of water from backfill can be
transmitted along common fault structures intersecting a
number of stopes. Instability may create difficult remote
mucking conditions due to large material falling off into
the stope. These delays (stope production tails) actually
extend the stope life, which in turn may contribute to
more overbreak and more mucking delays. Figure 10. A CMS wireframe filled with 0.25m x 0.25m x
Production profiles are usually shown as histograms of 0.25m blocks.
mucked volume on a daily basis. The data in Figure 8
show that long-hole winzing (or any re-slotting) actually The block model can then be interrogated using the lode
slow down productivity. Since dilution is defined as any hangingwall and footwall and the CMS wireframes. The
material that is extracted beyond the boundaries of a blocks inside the CMS wireframe, yet outside the lode
designed orebody outline, a comparison of mucked hangingwall boundaries (depth of failure) need to be
versus designed volume can be used to estimate dilution determined. Once the thickness for each column of blocks
as shown in Figure 9. in the Y direction is calculated, the information can then be
contoured using 0.5 metre intervals as shown in Figure 11.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 101


Figure 11. Longitudinal view of hangingwall depth of failure
contours showing structurally controlled failure
Figure 12. Depth of failure for different hangingwall stope geometries.
Figure 13. Depth of failure for different hydraulic radius
102 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Information from failure depths can be used to
compare stope performance between double and single
lift stopes for a similar range of strike lengths and rock
mass conditions (See Figure 12). Back analysis of CMS
data can be used as a diagnostic tool to identify stopes
where blast damage may be causing early failures as
shown in Figure 12(a). The stope highlighted by a large
circle shows a depth of failure that is not in accordance
with the other stopes of similar size and shape at this
particular mining operation.
The data in Figure 12(b) show that for this site similar
depths of failure were experienced within the short stopes
(25m high down dip) compared with the large stopes (50m
down dip). A stronger geometrical control on the behaviour
was experienced within the large stopes, where a range of
failure depths can be established for stopes having a similar
strike length. The depth of failure within the short stopes
was controlled by factors other then geometry, such as blast
damage or time dependency. The depth of failure increases
sharply when the hydraulic radius exceeds 8 as shown in
Figure 13. The depth of failure in the stope footwalls is not
controlled by stope geometry.
The stope performance can also be quantified by plotting
depth of failure versus critical span as shown in Figure 14.
The economical impact of dilution can readily be linked to
depth of failure. The larger the critical span for this particular
Massmin 2004
 detrimental effects of failures (See Figure 15) can only be
established using an economic model of dilution.
In order to ensure that the actual stope performance
information is used to the best advantage, and to improve
future designs, the details of stope design and its underlying
assumptions can be documented in a Stope Atlas, where
the history of the stope performance is recorded from the
initial firing through to final stope completion. The
information contained varies depending upon the stoping
practices at a particular mine site. The following issues may
be included:
Figure 14. Depth of failure for different spans within a Geology
shallow dipping tabular open stope operation. Geological orebody model and interpretations, geological
structural and rock mass properties.
operation, the larger the failure depth. A reduction on the Stope design
critical spans may require additional pillars (hence ore loss). Initial stope design geometry, documentation of changes
The balance between additional pillars versus the to design parameters, the reason and the results.

Table 4. Suggested stope performance assessment summary

STOPE PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Stope name: By: Date:

Material Designed Actual Tonnes mucked

Ore (t)

Grade (%)

Internal dilution (%)

External dilution (%)

Underbreak (%) -

Fill dilution (%) -

Geology:
The effects of major geological structures, rock types and properties
Reasons for any difference between design and actual grade and tonnes

Development:
Problems and concerns regarding ground conditions
Performance of ground support

Drilling:
Whether any holes or ring section could not be drilled as planned, set-up or deviation problems. Reasons for variation
from design.

Blasting:
Any problems encountered with charging, firing or design sequence.
The results of the blast, eg. Fragmentation, misfires, freezing of holes, induced failures

Production mucking:
Ventilation problems or otherwise with chosen circuit. Drawpoint and orepass conditions. Broken ore left in base of
stope?

Backfill:
Condition of fill passes, filling times and cement ratios used, any problems encountered.

Rock mechanics:
Stope and adjacent development stability. Timing of failures, and features that contributed to dilution, effects of blasting,
structure and stress.
Exposure and stability of adjacent fill masses.

Planning and design:

General comments on original vs. actual extraction. Recommended changes to design procedure. Financial analysis of
stope extraction.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 103

 Stope summary
A one page stope performance review for easy reference
(See Table 4).

9 CONCLUSIONS

The Stope performance is measured by the ability to

achieve maximum extraction with minimal dilution. The key
variable used to compare performance is depth of failure,
which is calculated using CMS wireframes and the
designed stope boundaries. The data show that depth of
failure can be used to identify blast damage and other
factors controlling stability such as time dependency. Depth
of failure increases significantly when the stope size
exceeds a critical value and can be readily used to develop
economic models of dilution.

REFERENCES
Figure 15. The detrimental effects of stope back failure
following stope blasting leading to ore contamination and Miller, F., Jacob, D. and Y. Potvin, 1992. Cavity Monitoring
ore loss. System: Update and applications. 94th Annual General
Meeting. Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy,
Montreal.
Stope extraction
Villaescusa, E., 1998. Geotechnical design for dilution
Drilling and blasting practice, in-the-hole survey data and
control in underground mining. Mine Planning and
comparison to design, fragmentation assessment.
Equipment Selection. Singhal R. (ed), Balkema,
Stope performance
Rotterdam, 141-149.
Maximum spans achieved, stope survey (CMS) data,
Villaescusa, E. 2000. A review of sublevel stoping.
back analysis of failures, geotechnical information that
MassMin2000, Chitombo G. (ed), The AusIMM:
contributed to understanding the failures, ground support
Melbourne, 577-590.
performance.

104 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Mining method selection for diamond
mines - Challenges in the Arctic
Jaroslav Jakubec, Chris Page, SRK Consulting, Canada
Paul Harvey, BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc, Canada

Abstract
Following South Africa and Russia, Canada has become the latest country to open an underground diamond mine. The
Koala North underground mine, North Americas first underground diamond mine, formally opened in November 2002.
The Canadian Arctic poses several challenges that are not common on mines located in warmer climates and the mining
method selection process must take such challenges into consideration. This paper illustrates the decision making
process used at EKATI Diamond Mine to select an underground mining method that is applicable for kimberlite pipes in
Arctic conditions.

1 INTRODUCTION methods and to provide access to the lower elevations of

EKATI Diamond Mine was the first diamond mine in
Canada. Since its opening in 1998, the mine has produced
more than 23 million carats. Currently its annual output
contributes to approximately 6% of world diamond
production by value.
EKATI Diamond Mine has another "first". Mass
underground mining has found a new frontier in the Arctic
with the successful commissioning and operation of the
Koala North mine (see Figure 1).
the Panda and Koala pipes which will also be developed as
underground operations once the open pit mining is
completed.
This paper does not aim at detailed mining method
description but rather tries to comment on the specifics of
kimberlite mining in the Arctic context. It is restricted to the
kimberlite pipes not to dikes or sills.
2 CHOICE OF MINING METHOD - BASIC
CONSIDERATIONS

The context for a mining operation is usually something

Figure 1: Open benching method was introduced at Koala
North kimberlite pipe. The photograph shows upper
extraction levels
The work carried out for the choice and design of the
mining method at Koala North identified a number of
significant differences between underground operations in
kimberlite and those in other hard rocks. In addition to the
specifics of mining kimberlite, the challenges posed by the
Arctic conditions also had to be considered. These
differences are due to the specific context of kimberlite rock
mass properties, the typical evolution of mining in
kimberlites and, also, the consideration of the very harsh
weather and often the presence of permafrost
The Koala North pipe has been selected as a trial
underground mine for the purpose of testing mining
that man cannot change: the in situ rock mass and
geometrical characteristics of the economic mineralization,
the weather, the topography, geographical location - are
things that must be taken into account and the planned
operations must be appropriate to this context and not
continually in conflict.
A mining method must be appropriate to the context of
rock mass, orebody geometry and geology. Those are the
conditions which cannot be changed and in which the
mining method must perform. If the mining method is in
conflict with the context then it will not perform as expected
(and expectations usually come from other mines where the
method is applied).
In summary the choice of a mining method depends on
the following:
Geology
Orebody size and geometry
Grade distribution
Rock mass competency
Disturbances
External constraints
Geology - includes continuity and predictability of the
lithology that hosts the economic material; whether the ore
can be visually identified or whether cut-off is to a grade
boundary.
Geometry - actual mining shapes, size, attitude, dip;
variability of short and long range geometry that might affect
planned dilution
Grade distribution - values contoured to different cut-offs;
geometry and continuity of value shapes; value of dilution

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 105

 Rock mass - strength and competence of the rock mass
for both orebody and host rock and affect on excavation
stability (especially unplanned dilution) and fragmentation
from blasting or natural caving
Geological structure - major through-going, significantly
weakening, structures that could affect very large
excavations or mining directions and sequences
Disturbances - in situ stresses, magnitude and
orientation; presence of water that could decrease stability
or cause wet muck rushes and/or protection of ground
water; high rock temperatures or presence of permafrost
External Constraints - production rate required versus the
TVM (tonnes per vertical metre), rock mass conditions and
mining method; protection of surface and avoidance of
caving or limiting of subsidence.
3 BASIC MINING METHODS - REVIEW
Most of the underground mining methods can be grouped
into three basic categories:
Caving methods
Open stope methods (unsupported)
Supported methods
3.1 Caving Methods
Natural caving
This includes a group of methods that rely on the rock
mass that will cave under gravity and/or stress. The method
has several variations depending on orebody size and
geometry and on the rock mass quality.
Block Caving - applies usually to smaller ore bodies
where the whole footprint is caved at once.
Panel Caving - all the major caving mines use panel with
a caving face that progresses across the footprint of the
orebody.
Inclined Caving - where there is a significant dip or plunge
and the production level can be fitted to the plunging
geometry with a "Sub-Level Caving" type layout.
Front Caving - applied where the rock mass is too weak to
maintain the production development over a large area or in
steeply dipping ore bodies. A single line of draw points is
developed, caved and exhausted before starting the next line.
Induced Caving
This includes methods where the ore might be too strong
to cave (but the hanging wall will cave, or where extraction
is developed directly from surface or from an open pit floor);
or where the fragmentation from natural caving is too
coarse.
Sub-Level Caving (SLC) - very regular pattern of diamond
shaped blast hole rings. This method is typically used in
competent rock mass.
Blast or Hydrofractured Assisted Caving this method
had limited use in the past on some of the De Beers mines.
It was also used at Northparkes mine but as a remedial
measure not as a primary mining method. New advances
are currently being made in this field in South America and
Australia.
Open Stoping with mass blasting of pillars - typical open
stoping geometry with an array of pillars left and then mass-
blasted and most of the draw is under choke conditions.
3.2 Open Stope Methods
These include methods where the stoping excavations
are un-caved and unfilled; excavations must remain
reasonably stable usually for the life of the mine.
Room-and-pillar - regular or random pillar layout in flat
lying geometry usually less than 15 to 30; method very
sensitive to ground conditions
Open stoping with permanent pillars - applied in steeper
deposits where room and pillar cannot be operated.3.3
106 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Supported Methods
These methods use back fill, either cemented or un-
cemented, to modify the size and shape of the open
excavation or to provide a working platform.
Open stoping - usually large excavations drilled with rings
and filled with cemented fill. Although this method is widely
used in the world, it is not used in diamond mining.
Cut-and-Fill - there are several varieties of cut and fill
which generally use un-cemented fill with varying amounts
of back support; it is notable as a "man-entry" method and
is sensitive to the quality of the ore rock mass. The varieties
of this method include:
Conventional cut and fill
Post-Pillar cut and fill
Bench-and-Fill
Drift-and-Fill - usually applied where the rock mass is too
weak for conventional Post-Pillar cut and fill. Excavations
are mined and then filled before starting the next
excavation. Depending if the mining progresses up or down,
overhand or underhand cut and fill could be developed.
4 KIMBERLITE CONTEXT
Someone once said "kimberlite is not a rock"! And there
is some substance to this statement. Kimberlites, although
they often appear strong and competent, can weather and
lose strength when exposed to moisture. They can also be
very absorbent to blasting and therefore difficult to break.
Kimberlites generally behave very differently to other hard
rocks and the most significant kimberlite issues that could
influence mining method selection are discussed in
following paragraphs.
4.1 Country Rock
Most of the known kimberlite pipes in Canadas Slave
Province have intruded into strong and competent
granites. This high contrast in rock mass properties
between granite and kimberlite could be both a bonus
and a possible problem. When the kimberlite is
excavated, the stress balance is upset and kimberlite
can yield to re-distribute the stresses back into the
country rock. The bonus is that rock mass dilation is
minimal due to the stiffness of the material and once the
stress is re-distributed the pipe walls can be very stable
allowing maximum recovery of the kimberlite ore with
relatively little dilution.
4.2 Pipe Geometry
The geometry of kimberlite pipes is relatively unique with
their carrot shaped bodies. There is often increased
complexity of the root of the pipe and a single pipe can
break into separate zones with quite variable geometry.
There is always a risk of assuming that the pipe geometry is
regular where there is not enough pierce points. Often there
are significant overhangs of country rock or gouges where
the kimberlite has protruded into the pipe walls; as well,
extremely large fragments of country rock can be slightly
detached from the pipe wall and be surrounded by
kimberlite.
4.3 Pipe Contact Zones
The kimberlite pipe contact zones in the mining context
are disturbed rocks adjacent to the pipe. Two types of
contact zones can be recognized; the internal pipe contact
zone within the kimberlite body and external pipe contact
zones located in the country rocks (Jakubec, 2003). Both
contact zones could have significant impact on a mining
operation from the point of view of stability, cavability, wet
muck flow and dilution. It is not always easy to recognize the
contact zones in the drill core and as a result they could be
Massmin 2004
overlooked when considering mining method choice and
designs.
4.4 Kimberlite facies and Inclusions
There can often be several facies within the same pipe
with very contrasting rock mass properties and susceptibility
to weathering. This could pose difficulties for selecting a
single mining method.
Kimberlites often contain varying amounts of country rock
as a result of emplacement and formation of the pipe.
These waste xenoliths can sometimes be extremely large in
size and can have significant affects on excavation behavior
and could pose problems for caving or material handling.
4.5 Kimberlite Weathering
The susceptibility to weathering can impose constraints on
operations and mine design. Where rapidly weathering
kimberlite is present, no water should be allowed to come into
contact with kimberlite. Exposed kimberlite surfaces might have
to be kept completely dry with the application of sealants and the
use of dry drilling. This could pose a significant problem in an
Arctic environment since there are no commercially available
sealants for wet conditions or very cold climate.
Figure 2: Photo illustrates rapid weathering and strength
deterioration of clay rich kimberlite.
Another issue could be floor deterioration resulting in very
poor tramming conditions for mechanized equipment.
However, excellent running surfaces could be obtained
when the kimberlite drawpoint roadways freeze with
impacted ice in winter.
Lastly, the kimberlite susceptible to weathering could form
mud resulting in conditions that give rise to mud or wet muck
rushes into the underground excavations.
5 ARCTIC CONTEXT
The Artic imposes another layer of complexity when
considering the mining method selection. The main issues
are associated with:
The frigid subzero temperatures and extremely
challenging weather conditions
Permafrost which can extend to over 400m below surface
in certain parts of the Arctic
In the context of EKATI, the permafrost is usually located
only in the country rock as the softer, more erodable
kimberlite often results in a shallow lake below which the
ground is not frozen a talik zone. The permafrost can
effectively prevent the flow of ground water and significantly
improve the rock mass competency
The impact of the freezing temperatures and permafrost
can impose the following design and operating constraints:
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Freezing muckpile - broken rock (ore or waste) can freeze
after blasting and may require re-blasting before mucking.
Also, snow could accumulate in open drawpoints during the
storms.
Freezing of the cave material - free caving material can
subsequently be wetted during thaw and then be re-frozen
sufficiently solid that it causes caving problems or bridging
that interrupts the natural flow of broken material.
Icing-up of blast holes: - ice build up in the drillholes was
experienced at Koala North during the freshet and freeze up
season and requires re-drill.
Stabilizing effect of frozen pipe walls - during the winter
months exposed pipe walls will be frozen and very stable.
De-stabilizing effect of ice jacking freezing of water in
the open joints will cause volumetric expansion and
movements of the loose blocks. Subsequent melting could
destabilize the blocks resulting in a rockfall.
Figure 3: Snow accumulation outside the drawpoint could
pose operational problems.
Fogging - affect of very cold air coming into contact with
warmer and moist conditions, especially in a draw point or
in a decline. This could have a significant impact on haulage
and people and material movement.
Trafficability - build-up of ice on roadways, especially at
the portals to declines and in the open drawpoints, requires
special and continual attention to prevent slippery
conditions. (At exhaust shafts, to such an extent that could
constrict the opening and flow of air.) For example, at
Polaris Mine, located in the Canadian high Arctic, damp
passes could freeze completely in a matter of weeks.
Effect of underground cold on productivity - the
effectiveness of both men and/or equipment can be affected
if air must be kept below freezing to preserve the
strengthening effect of the permafrost.
Shotcrete mix for cold climate - special additives are often
required to ensure that shotcrete will set. Constituents have to
be stored above freezing before use and heated water or
heated aggregates and brine is necessary. Similar
considerations are required for grouting of rock reinforcement.
Brine drilling - if rapid weathering rocks are not present
and dry drilling is not possible then brine is necessary to
combat freezing.
6 DECISION PROCESS FOR
MINING METHOD SELECTION
The decision process that was used for identifying the
most suitable mining method was based on the following
fundamentals:
107
 Must be safe - no compromise on safety
Technically viable - work more or less as planned - one
can never be sure but the method must be appropriate to
the in situ context
Economically viable - this might be obvious but it is
important to take into account what might go wrong rather
than assume that everything will go as planned (often "as
hoped")
Should have sufficient flexibility within the method to be
able to manage problems (in underground mining results
seldom go entirely according to plan and problems need
to be anticipated and solutions in place)
The decision process can be divided into two main steps:
First, ensure that the concepts on which a method
depends are technically viable; the method must work
approximately as designed.
Second, that the mining rate and grade deliver a value
well in excess of the cost. There must be sufficient "room"
to operate at the desired production rates and that dilution
can be managed. In most methods the dilution can be
decreased at the expense of recovery and recovery does
not usually have a significant impact on the net present
value. It is very important to keep a close watch on the
risk/reward relationship; a formal risk analysis cannot be
left until the end of the study; it is a continuing process.
Technical Considerations
The dominant technical considerations that have to be
tested during the process are:
Caving - If caving is necessary then it must cave: there
are several recognized methods for estimating caving and
empirical information database.
Stability - If a stable face is needed (open benching), or
stable open stopes are necessary, or the economics are
sensitive to the cost of ground support then stability is an
issue. There are again several recognized approaches that
can be used for stability assessment but the overriding
consideration for kimberlites is the question of weathering
on exposure and, in the Arctic conditions, the potentially
strengthening effect of permafrost.
Fragmentation - If the orebody will cave and is sufficiently
competent for a caving layout then what will be the
fragmentation? The estimation of fragmentation is not
nearly as well understood as rock mass stability and
cavability but methods are being developed to get better
estimates
Mud rush - If a natural or pre-break cave is feasible but
the rock mass in the cave or in the country rock is
susceptible to weathering and degradation, is there a
potential for mud rush and can the mud rush potential be
managed?
Rock masses that are insufficiently competent for caving
layouts are unlikely to be sufficiently competent for open
stoping with cemented back fill either; in this case the
methods like drift-and-fill have to be considered. Howeve,r
such methods have extremely high cost and very low
production rates and are unlikely to be economical in the
Arctic.
If either open benching or caving is an option then
choosing between the options is now a question of
operational achievements.
Operating Considerations
As we said before: safe and economical. The economics are
mostly a question of managing grade (dilution) and production
rate (having the mining room and understanding the things that
might go wrong and reduce the planned rate). These are the
operating considerations as outlined previously.
Dilution - In most kimberlite pipes the dilution comes from
the wall of the pipe (in larger pipes there are occasions
108 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
when some of the kimberlite facies are also low value and
form dilution); in the Canadian Arctic the waste is usually a
very competent granite type rock; the stability and,
therefore, the amount of waste material that will fall into the
space left as the kimberlite is extracted will depend on:
The thickness of the contact zone within the wall rock; the
contact zone will almost definitely fail and is the minimum
amount of waste material that will fall into the excavation
Overall slope stability of the exposed wall rock beyond the
contact zone; a function of rock mass competence,
through-going weakening structures and geometry -
standard slope stability considerations
The enhanced stability initially given by permafrost must
be considered especially if the freezing conditions mean
there is slope pressurization from ground water
The action of near-surface ice-jacking from freeze/thaw
cycle
Operating Issues - The operating factors are nearly all a
question of the challenging cold:
Freezing muck piles: muck-piles that are moist and are
not immediately moved can freeze and require re-blasting
Icing-up of blast holes
Fogging: mixing of very cold and heated and moist air
usually at the draw points: a question of direction of flow
and pressures
Ice build-up: at the entrance of declines and ventilation
shafts: simply a question of operating procedures
Freezing of cave: limited or extensive freezing of the
cave could interrupt the flow of material and could result
in major, high hang-ups
Productivity of men and equipment: there appears to
be adequate information from mines like Polaris, Nanisivik
and Raglan, and now Koala North for reasonable
assessment of this issue
7 MINING METHOD BASICS EKATI CASE STUDY
As a result of the decision process four basic methods
can be identified as candidates in a possible order of
increasing costs:
Natural caving
Open benching
Pre-break caving
Supported methods with cemented fill
It should be noted that currently the only significant
underground diamond mining experiences are from De
Beers operations, mainly in South Africa. The methods that
are, or were, used in any significant way include natural
caving, VCR assisted caving, open benching, and sublevel
caving. Besides the International kimberlite pipe in Russia
which uses the drift and fill method to combat poor ground
conditions and some trial developments at Aikhal kimberlite
pipe, there are no operations using back fill in kimberlite.
Some of the operational issues specific to kimberlite
mining in Arctic conditions for the four selected methods are
discussed below.
7.1 Natural Caving
The natural caving is low cost (although up-front capital
can be high) and is the best for managing dilution through
good draw control. If the method is feasible (can achieve a
sustainable cave, can maintain a stable production level and
oversize and hang-ups are manageable) then operating
problems specific to the Arctic environment are possibly
limited due to the considerable height of caved material
overlying the production level for much of the caves life.
Mud: many kimberlites can form mud; the build-up of
snow and ice in the crater and the thawing of this material
could cause problems
Massmin 2004
 Freezing of cave: if the ice in the base of the cave forms
the equivalent of a cirque (glacier in a depression) and
does not thaw during summer this might interfere with the
cave.
7.2 Open Benching
Open benching, if properly operated, is a cheaper method
than SLC as it does not operate under choke conditions and
therefore the drilling and blasting and development layout
does not have to be as tight. As the name implies, all the
blasting faces are open and a certain level of stability is
required:
Remote control loading: much of the draw would be in the
open and operators would have to stand in a safety bay to
guard against rocks falling from the pipe walls; but with the
advances in tele-remote this is no longer an issue.
Blast hole loading: the open draw points pose a risk; can
be modified by having a number of rings pre-loaded or as
in case of Koala North a scoop-movable, heavy duty steel
barricade was used in the drawpoint before charging (see
Figure 4).
Open bench stability: individual face heights might need
to be limited in order to maintain overall face mining front
stability.
Loss of drill holes: damage due to blasting, freezing
closed or potentially weak ground
Freezing of muck-piles: very cold temperatures
combined with wet rock
Coarse fragmentation: small blasts in potentially damaged
and unstable faces; need for remote secondary blasting
Ventilation: open draw points; extreme cold in the work
place impacting on productivity, equipment selection and
requiring regular breaks and dedicated warming facilities
u/g. Also need to regulate air onto levels and install air
dryers on compressors to ensure no moisture that can
freeze in compressed air lines
Loss of brows: over-break of brows and need for
charging and hole cleaning in an open draw point; pre-
charging is probably advisable if explosives can resist
freezing temperatures
Pipe wall stability: the pipe walls and contact zones may
be a source of loose material and/or massive failures;
dilution and possible risk at open draw points
If open benching does not proceed as planned then SLC
might very quickly become a more predictable and therefore
more effective method. The good results that have been
achieved by Koala North are encouraging.
Figure 4: Protective steel barricade was used in the
drawpoints during the blast hole charging.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
7.3 Pre-break Caving
Sub-level caving
Sub-level caving is a choke method and it relies on broken
material to confine the blast and keep the broken ore near
to the draw point. Although it is considered a high dilution
method in the context of narrow kimberlite ore bodies with
strong country rocks that will not cave this may not be a
consideration unless the grade carrying kimberlite does not
go all the way to the surface.
The use of SLC may overcome some of the concerns with
open benching, such as:
No requirement for remote control loading
No need for remote secondary breakage (both these two
could be an issue if kimberlite is "sticky" and doesnt flow
well)
Draw points always full of muck so less problems with
ventilation
No open benches thus no risk of rock fall into the
drawpoint
SLC has some of the same problems as open benching
such as concerns with brow stability and loss of drill holes.
There are also some additional concerns:
Mud: because the SLC is a top down method the risk of
wet muck flow is higher than in block cave. This is also
supported by De Beers experiences in South Africa.
Freezing of cave: Wet broken material could freeze,
bridge and interfere with the draw.
Blast assisted caving
VCR type (or other types of layouts) caving assistance
might be best considered under the management of
cavability for natural caving methods. The method was
successfully introduced at De Beers and Bultfontein
mines in Kimberley (Granger, 1992). In the context of
kimberlite the VCR can "suffer" from the same problem
as any method relying on blasting, and that is drillhole
stability in poor quality ground. Since the method does
not communicate with the surface there are no Arctic
specific issues for kimberlites that are in talik zones.
Kimberlites located in permafrost could have potential
challenges associated with stability and effectiveness of
explosives.
7.4 Supported Methods with Cemented Fill
In a situation where caving is not feasible and where the
economic material does not go through to surface, then
open stoping with post fill is a possibility. This is probably the
most widely used mining method outside diamond mining
and needs no further explanation here.
Apart from the same operating issues that would affect all
methods, the one particular issue affecting the backfill
method in the Arctic context would be risk of freezing the fill.
If the fill material is below freezing and the kimberlite
orebody is in permafrost or more likely the material has
to be cemented; back fill would have to be kept in storage to
be above freezing and possibly special additives might be
required. Polaris successfully operated with cemented fill
and therefore there are solutions to these issues.
8 CONCLUSIONS
The mining method selection process for kimberlite pipes
located in the Arctic poses numerous challenges that have
to be considered. Without taking kimberlite characteristics
and severe weather conditions into context the mine design
could fail.
The Koala North project using "open benching" is a
successful outcome of a decision process that BHP Billiton
Diamonds went through to reach a compromise between
109
the certainty of operational outcomes and economics whilst
ensuring no compromise on safety.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank BHP Billiton Diamonds for
permission to publish this paper. Also, the help of Tyla Hay
of SRK in making this paper a reality is greatly appreciated.
REFERENCES
Granger, Q.P., 1992. VCR - assisted Block Caving a
Viable Future for Kimberley Mines. MASSMIN 92,
SAIMM, Johannesburg, South Africa, pp.11-19
Jakubec, J., 2003. Role of Geology in Diamond Project
Development. 8th International Kimberlite Conference
Abstracts. Victoria, Canada

110 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 In Situ Leaching as
a mass mining method
Steve Hildebrand and Dan Ramey, CRCMining, UQ Experimental Mine, Isles Road, Indooroopilly,
QLD 4068, Australia And Mining Solutions, Inc., Tucson, AZ USA

Abstract
In situ leaching is a proven mining method that has been used for over forty years within the USA. It can be considered
as the primary method for mining or it can be used as the final stage in the extraction history from an ore body, much
like salvage mining. When an ore body is appraised for mining, generally open pit mining and underground mining
techniques are considered. The historic evolution of the minerals industry has led to the mining of the highest grade and
most accessible deposits first. As the world continues to mine out its shallow and high-grade ores, deeper and lower
grade ores are being accessed at ever increasing expense. More energy at an ever increasing cost is required to
process deeper and lower grade ores.
In situ mining represents an opportunity to successfully employ mass mining methods that can achieve the goal of low
cost production from low grade and/or deep ore bodies. In addition in situ mining can increase the consumptive
efficiency of ore bodies that are currently using conventional mining methods during their life cycle.
The mining operations at San Manuel, Arizona are an example of using in situ technology for mass mining. The San
Manuel Mine was comprised of an underground sulphide block caving mine, an oxide open pit mine and an in situ
operation located between these two larger production entities. The combination of these three mining methods
increased the consumptive efficiency of the ore body. In situ mass mining allowed additional mineral resources to be
placed into production and transformed a mineral resource into a mineral reserve.

INTRODUCTION THE CONCEPT OF MASS MINING

In situ mining technology has been used in the metals,
energy and industrial mineral segments of the mining
industry for many years. In this discussion of in situ
leaching as a mass mining technology, the discussion will
confine itself to comments about resources within the
copper industry.
The copper industry has been, and remains, an
increasingly competitive environment and the world price is
a dominate influence on the industry. The ability for a
mining company to remain economically competitive in the
current copper market depends on its ability to generate
cash flow and returns on investments, even during periods
of significantly depressed copper prices. Due to the
influence of the world copper market, the copper industry is
forced to have a flexible cost profile, which allows greater
control over the major cost components used to produce
copper. Escalating mining and recovery costs require
methods that are more efficient and responsive in order to
remain economically competitive within the world market.
Historically, most successful companies have relied on
applying traditional technology to rich ore bodies. As time
progresses, the largest, richest and most accessible of the
known copper ore bodies become depleted. However, a
great deal of copper mineralization known to exist is too
deeply-buried and/or low-grade to be mined economically
using conventional techniques, which involve massive
material handling and processing. However, the leaching
potential of a particular resource is often an under exploited
resource, to which most copper companies need to examine
and develop to its fullest potential. The ability to access
these resources depends on the development of alternative
mining technologies. The application of in situ mining
technology is one method of accessing the full potential of
these resources.
It would be presumptuous to offer a definition for a
concept that is in common usage today in the mining
industry. However a few comments are worth while. A
distinction of mass mining is that it must be a continuous
process of mining which provides a consistent feed to a
reduction plant, for example a concentrator. The concept of
mass mining applies to underground production whose
costs profiles must be comparable to those obtained in large
open pit mines. Gideon Chitombo1 states that "The holy
grail of mass mining is to produce large tonnages of ore at
a similar cost to a large open pit mine,"
Within the copper industry, mass mining can apply equally
to sulphide or oxide resources. The methods of mass
mining underground are known widely and include block
caving, sublevel caving, panel caving, and others. The
mass mining process flow is coupled to a reduction unit
such as a heap leach or a concentrator.
In most mines the end product of production is measured
in tonnes of ore. For instance, the Magma Copper
Companys San Manuel Mine in Arizona had an
underground block caving sulphide operation that was rated
at greater than 55,000 tonnes per day (tpd). If this was an
oxide operation, it would have delivered tonnes of ore to a
heap leach operation, not a concentrator.
However if we are to consider in situ leaching as a method
of mass mining, the end product of mass mining must be
presented differently. With in situ leaching (ISL) the end
product is a pregnant leach solution (PLS) with a particular
copper tenor that is considered on a mass or load basis.
With a sulphide or oxide underground operation, a mass or
load basis can be calculated enabling a true comparison
with ISL mass mining. A comparison of mass mining
techniques can accurately be accomplished using daily
production rates and unit cost of production. The following

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 111

two tables using hypothetical tonnages and costs are situ leaching techniques follows. Classifying ISL operations
presented to strengthen this comparison. can be accomplished by determining whether the resource
A comparison of mass mining rates described on a daily has previously been mined or not. If the ISL mine is virgin
basis is shown in Table 1. The information demonstrates that resource, it is called a "green-field" application, while if the
although the descriptive metrics for the mining methods are ISL mine is following previous mining efforts; it is called a
different they can all be compared on a daily mass basis. "brown-field" application.
A brown-field application is a situation in which the
remnant resource is mined with ISL techniques following
Table 1 open pit or underground mining activity. "Brown-field"
applications have occurred in numerous sites within the
Mass Daily tonnes Copper Daily copper industry. Magma Copper Company (and later BHP
Mining Or Tenor Copper Copper) operated a successful in situ leaching operation at
M3/hr (kg) Miami, Arizona for over forty-five years. Block caving at
Miami was curtailed over fifty years ago and the initial in situ
solutions were treated in cementation cells for direct smelter
Sulphide UG 55,000 0.65% 358,000 feed. The San Manuel Mine, also in Arizona, operated a
Oxide 90,000 0.35% 315,000 very successful in situ leaching operation in the remnant
block caving ore body and the oxide resource left after the
In situ 2,270 2.00gpl 109,000
completion of open pit mining.
The green-field applications of ISL technology have not
been advanced into operations yet because most mining
If we assume typical costs for an underground sulphide companies have not developed their ISL technology.
block caving operation, an oxide open pit operation and an Examinations of virgin resources have been primarily
in situ leach operation on a daily cost basis, the values completed by evaluating the potential of open pit or
presented in Table 2 can be generated. underground techniques. However, recently there has been
much greater interest within the mining community for
examining new resources, that have never been mined, for
the potential of open pit, underground and in situ leaching.
Table 2
A recent green-field property that evaluated underground,
open pit and ISL mining technology was Poston Butte
Mass Total Daily Daily Cost
porphyry copper deposit at Florence, Arizona. Magma
Mining Costs Copper lbs. per lb.
Copper Company and later BHP Copper examined the
property and initiated a proof of concept test for in situ
leaching. The results of the evaluations can be summed up
Sulphide UG $550,000 780,000 $0.705
by the abstract from another paper which states, "Low costs
Oxide $350,000 700,000 $0.500 associated with in situ copper leaching provide the
opportunity for developing copper resources which are
In situ $75,000 240,000 $0.313
uneconomic by conventional mining methods."
In the future, new copper resources will be located deeper
underground and generally have lower tenors. All three major
Table 2 illustrates the cost relationship between 3 mining categories of mining, underground, open pit and in situ leaching
situations. Although the comparison is theoretical, the will have to be considered in order to make a thorough
values presented in the two tables are based on the examination of a resource. These resources will be evaluated
experience of the authors. Generally, the underground using a sequential methodology moving from very well known
sulphide mine will have a larger work force and a physically methods and costs to less well known methods. There is also
larger reduction plant. An oxide mine will also have a larger the possibility to mix the major technologies if the resource is
work force, use heap leaching or vat leaching for dissolution conducive to simultaneous development. "Target orebodies for
of copper and higher costs. An ISL operation generally has mass mining can be technically challenging and require the
a much smaller work force and the reduction plant is application of ingenious operational practices to maximise
simplified to an SX-EW operation. The ISL mine will usually extraction rates and achieve lowest possible operating costs
have a lower unit cost for a pound of copper than while maintaining high levels of safety." This is a challenge for
underground operations. mass mining and ISL is a technique that meets the demands of
modern mining.
UNDERGROUND ACCESS
IN SITU LEACHING; A NEW DIRECTION
There is another important distinction involving in situ
leaching operations versus other underground mass mining Each in situ leaching opportunity requires a logical
techniques. All mass mining methods require physical approach to the investigation of its potential, evolving from
underground access to the ore body. Access is also simple to more complex techniques. A quick and relatively
required by an ISL mine however, in most in situ operations, inexpensive analysis of a resource, termed a portfolio
access to the underground ore body is obtained by drilling analysis, examines the resource in a general way to quickly
holes from the surface, which act as injection and recovery eliminate those resources which clearly demonstrate their
wells. There is no requirement for the work force to have unsuitability to ISL mining.
physical access to the underground in an ISL mine. The If a resource is acceptable after the first analysis, the next
elimination of the necessity to place personnel underground investigation, termed a fatal flaw analysis, delves into the
is an improvement from a safety point of view. resource in more depth. The fatal flaw analysis considers those
characteristics which are favourable to ISL or any which would
CLASSIFYING IN SITU MINES be fatal and preclude any additional project development.
The third examination, which is technically termed the critical
If it is accepted that in situ leaching is a legitimate mass element analysis, completes the formal examination of a
mining method, then a discussion of the types of possible in resources potential for in situ technology. This investigation is

112 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

performed with a thorough look at all major disciplines required
for a successful ISL mine and includes a detailed financial
examination. The owner will be able to make knowledgeable
decisions concerning the potential of an ISL mine, balancing
potential risk with potential gain. Whether to proceed with the
development can be made at this time. The final phase in an
in situ investigation involves a large scaled test which becomes
the proof of concept examination.
ISL MINES RESEARCH POTENTIAL
There have been many successful in situ leaching mines,
mining not just copper but also uranium and other industrial
minerals. There is the potential to investigate other mineral
leaching in the future. These different minerals will require some
"proof of concept" testing either done through the auspices of a
research centre or by interested mining companies.
The equipment used typically with ISL mining operations
is commonly accessible and has an extensive history of use.
However, as this technology develops new methods and
new technology will be developed such as the use of
hydraulic pumps. Sensing probes are being developed that
help move ISL mining from the status of an art, into a
recognized technology. Drilling is a major cost component
for an ISL mine, whether on the surface or underground,
and research into methods and new approaches is ongoing.
CONSUMPTIVE EFFICIENCY
In comparing various mining methods, there is an
economic tool called consumptive efficiency that is
useful. Consumptive efficiency can be defined as the
measure of resources contributing to production and is
determined as the percent of an ore body that contributes
to production.
All mines have economic limits that continuously change with
time and market conditions. These economic conditions
provide boundaries to the amount of ore that can be placed into
production at any point in time. These boundaries separate
economic ore from uneconomic ore, and as the resource is
mined, move ore from a reserve to resource status. The
highest consumptive efficiency of an ore body would involve
the use of a single or multiple mining techniques which allows
mining of the greatest amount of the ore body.
Figure 2 Aerial View of San Manuel Mine
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
THE SAN MANUEL IN SITU MINE A CASE STUDY OF
AN ISL MINE
The San Manuel Mine was developed initially in the 1950s
as an underground block caving mine of a massive low grade
porphyry copper deposit. The deposit was sliced in half by a
normal fault that displaced the down-thrown block a thousand
metres to the West. Figure 2 is an aerial view of the Open Pit,
production shafts and ISL mining location.
Weathering of the upper half (San Manuel), which was
closer to the surface, occurred over time eventually creating
a copper oxide cap comprised primarily of chrysocolla. The
down-thrown block, called the Kalamazoo, is primarily
chalcopyrite. Average sulphide tenor in the San Manuel
portion of the orebody was 0.65% copper with an acid
soluble tenor of 0.45%.
The underground block caving mined the lower portion of
the San Manuel orebody for over 40 years before production
was shifted to the Kalamazoo exclusively. In the early
1980s during a slump in the world copper price, Magma
Copper Company began an extensive investigation of the
potential of exploiting the oxide resource.
In 1985 several reverse circulation injection holes were
drilled in order to verify collection points underground on 4
different levels. Drill holes were cased and a mild acidic
solution injected. The location of PLS collected
underground was documented as well as ground water
dilution. Acid and copper fronts in the collection solution
were verified.
In 1986, a large scale test was directed by an organization
called the San Manuel Oxide Committee (SMOX),
composed of metallurgists, analytical chemists, and oxide
personnel from the Magma mine. The constant overview by
this committee was instrumental in determining the
economic feasibility of the project. In addition the
determination to initiate open pit mining of the upper portion
of the cap originated with this committee.
In 1987 and 1988, engineering of the underground in situ
PLS pumping system was begun and constructed in a
partnership between contractual construction workers and
Magma miners. This project involved construction of three
major underground pump stations, an independent electrical
supply and a 100% backup source. A SCADA system was
designed with each pump station and operated with a
programmable logic controller. Two 12" 316L stainless steel
pipelines were installed in an operating shaft at the mine
site. This PLS handling system was designed for
1,817m3/hr
This PLS handling system ran flawlessly for more than
twelve years with only minor equipment maintenance
requirements.
Figure 3 ISL Mine at San Manuel
113
 In January 1995, open pit mining of oxide was terminated.
A comparison of the unit cost of production between open
pit mining and in situ leaching showed that in situ had
greater economic potential. In late 1993 engineering for a
surface PLS pumping system was initiated with construction
and commissioning completed just prior to the termination of
the open pit mining. Figure 3 shows the ISL mine within the
San Manuel ore body.
Much of the construction was completed in an active
subsidence zone from the underground block caving
activity. The ISL system was designed to handle
2,725m3/hr. Over 25,000 metres of HDPE pipe in various
sizes and SDRs was installed during this period.
Figure 4 has a view of the in situ wells fields and the top
two pump stations.

Figure 6 PLS Pumping Well

Figure 4 ISL well fields

Figure 5 is a typical well field with both injection and

recovery wells and using a production mode known as well-
to-well leaching. All wells were developed in a similar
manner so that changes in operation for hydrological
reasons could be easily accomplished.

Figure 7 Copper Cathode for Export

The consumptive efficiency of the ore body was maximized

Figure 5 ISL Well Field
Figure 6 shows a typical production well surface
arrangement.
The finished product from the SX-EW plant is shown in
Figure 7 and was five nine copper (99.999%) pure, meeting
all LME and Comex standards easily.
CONCLUSIONS
The experiences at San Manuel demonstrate that in situ
leaching is a mass mining method. The daily production
rates for the ISL mine, although lower than the other
underground and surface circuits, were sufficient to
influence the overall finances of the entire mining operation.
by utilizing three unique mining techniques in the same ore
body at the same time.
The competiveness of the current copper market makes it
important for companies to place consumptive efficiency as
a goal in their strategic planning process. The ability to
utilize more than one mining technique at an ore body is a
proven method to attain higher efficiencies. In situ leaching
can be, and will be, a mass mining technology that will allow
many companies to extract additional value from their
resources. In situ leaching is also an opportunity for
research and development as the technique is utilized in the
copper industry and with other minerals.
REFERENCE
Chitombo, Gideon, "Mass Mining Challenge,
Opportunties and Trends Part 1, MiningNews.Net, 31
July 2000
Ramey, Dan and Beane, Richard, "In situ Project
Evaluation: Magma Coppers Approach, COPPER 95
COBRE 95
Chitombo, Gideon, "Mass Mining Challenge,
Opportunties and Trends Part 1, MiningNews.Net, 31
July 2000

114 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Chapter 4
Mine Planning I:
Fundamentals
116 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Mine project life cycle
Robin M Kear, Independent Mining Advisor

Abstract
Significant projects are often undertaken in the mining industry. These projects can extend mine life by several years and
involve considerable resources. Such projects are normally developed through several stages from conception to
implementation and each of these stages has a specific function with a particular environment thus requiring different
management and technical skills. In order to correctly manage and staff a project during these stages and also to enable
an orderly progression through the project it is helpful to recognise the requirements of these stages.
This paper examines a mining project from the delineation of a resource to implementation and attempts to identify the
individual stages, the broad concepts that define them and the management issues that need to be considered. The
views are based on the authors experience on several mining projects. It is hoped that the paper may assist a reader
in ascertaining their requirements when commencing or during a project execution.

1 INTRODUCTION 3.1 Strategic Environment

Mining projects are normally highly expensive, have a
long lead time and extend mine life for many years. The
actual planning of a project can take considerable time and
resources. Because of these factors it is important that a
project moves through various distinct phases prior to
construction. These phases should ensure that if the project
is not viable, expenditure is curtailed as soon as possible or
if viable, then the best possible return is obtained with the
minimum risk. These project phases require different mind
sets and consequently have different intellectual
environments. This and the purpose of each phase are often
misunderstood which can cause significant problems in
bringing a project to a successful conclusion.
For the purposes of this paper, a mining project covers the
phases after the ore resource has been defined, either as an
extension of an existing mine or as new ore body. This
paper examines the phases through which a project moves
and, should the mine prove viable, to the final construction
and implementation. The paper is more a discussion of the
various principles and concepts involved rather than a
definitive study.
2 PROJECT CONCEPTION
Most major mining projects will be one, or a combination
of the following
A new ore body has been discovered.
An extension to an existing mine.
An expansion of, or a change to, an existing mine.
This environment is required when the development of a
strategy is required. The strategy is the broad plan required
to achieve an objective. This requires "free" or lateral
thinking and all possible scenarios, which could lead to the
objective, need to be identified. Normally, for a mining
project, the objective is to obtain the best economics from a
particular resource. In summary "Define the Goal".
3.2 Tactical Environment
In this environment the objective is to develop and implement
the tactics required to achieve a strategic objective. In the
mining sense this would be the procurement and utilisation of
resources such as capital and labour to achieve the defined
strategic plan. In summary "Achieve the Goal".
The mining industry operates mainly in a tactical
environment. A strategy is set and the organisation and
management effort is concentrated on the best employment
of the available resources to achieve the strategic
objectives, such as production and construction targets.
However, when a new project commences it is important for
the strategy to be first determined and requires that the
planning team shifts from the tactical to the strategic
environment. This can present various problems especially
as not all people are strategic thinkers, and even those who
are will require some time to adjust to this environment.
During the progress of a project the environment changes
from strategic to tactical as shown in the following figure.

Within most mining groups the objective of a project is to

increase the value of the company. In some situations other
factors may enter the equation. It is therefore important to
define what parameter or parameters the project must
satisfy. Also the correct environment should be set up to
ensure that project phases are correctly undertaken.

3 INTELLECTUAL ENVIRONMENT

For the purposes of this paper, two environments will be

considered. The first being strategic and the second tactical.
The following broadly defines the differences between them. Figure 1 Environment over Time

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 117

 Strategic issues are most prominent at the start of a
project falling off as criteria are defined. Tactical issues grow
over time. Expenditure on a project normally follows the
tactical curve, that is, increases over time.
The following paragraphs broadly indicate the
requirements of each phase and the transition between
these environments.
4 PHASE 1 - CONCEPTUAL
The purpose of the conceptual study is to determine if
there is a potential project and if so justify the expenditure
for a pre-feasibility study. A potential project would be one
which meets the required selection criteria. Normally the
selection is based on economics but could be on other
parameters. This phase will indicate some of the major
design criteria.
Unfortunately, it is this conceptual phase that is often
inadequately undertaken. With a rush for production, major
criteria can be arbitrarily set to continue with present
practice or something that has been observed on a visit to
another property. Often a junior engineer is requested to do
some basic calculations and if positive the study leaps into
the detail. What is required is to stand back from the present
situation and critically examine all facets of the situation. To
do this adequately requires properly experienced engineers
who have had the necessary exposure to the mining
industry. Unfortunately engineers of this type are not too
common and are often thought to be "too valuable" to
"waste" on a study. However, this stage of the project starts
to lay the foundations for subsequent work, has the most
impact on the outcome and is therefore of the utmost
importance.
In order to successfully complete a conceptual study it
should comprise of the following components.
4.1 Identification of Major Design Parameters
All potential options must be looked at such as the mining
method, production rates, major design boundaries and
mine elevations. Where possible, constraints should be left
out of the equation. This will enable the costs of these
constraints to be evaluated when they are later applied.
Assumptions should be positive and tests done to evaluate
the effects of varying the parameters between the perceived
confidence limits. These iterations should identify the major
design criteria for the project. Various techniques are
available to assist in these evaluations, one of which is the
evaluation or economic surface analysis of the project.
4.2 Develop the Economics
A cash flow model is required to assist in the evaluation of
the various options. The model should be simple and easily
understood. The purpose of the model is to allow for the
ranking of alternatives rather than for absolute values.
Checks should be made on the effect of different selection
criteria to determine if these affect the choice of an option. If
so then this should be discussed with the management to
ensure that the correct selection criteria have been chosen.
If the selection criteria are to be economic then it is normally
best, at this stage, to use the Net Present Value (NPV) at
the required hurdle rate rather than say the Internal Rate of
Return (IRR). There are many views on this and the team
must be sure that they are using the correct parameter for
ranking of the alternatives.
4.3 List the Assumptions
In order to complete this stage of the investigation various
assumptions will be made. These will need to be confirmed
during later phases and as such will be required to be
included in the further schedule and budget.
118 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
4.4 Identify Trade off Studies
From the assumptions and other parts of the investigation
various alternatives will be identified. These will require to
be further investigated and incorporated into the on going
schedule and budget.
4.5 Develop the Pre Feasibility Scope, Schedule and
Budget
If a potential project is identified then the conceptual study
is required to justify the expenditure for the subsequent
phase, normally a pre-feasibility study. A schedule and cost
for this study must be produced for approval. The schedule
should show the various trade off studies and data gathering
exercises identified during the conceptual study.
This conceptual phase should not be rushed and the
design team should be small and comprise of senior staff.
The staff should not have routine responsibilities as well as
the project. Ideally the team should vary between the
following numbers:-
Table 1 Phase One Manning
Position Maximum Minimum
Number Number
Project Manager 1 0
Mining Engineer 1 1
Mech/Elect Engineer 1 0
Metallurgy 1 0
Geotech/Geology 1 0
Accountant 1 0
Secretary 1 0
Total 7 1
Some of the disciplines may not be required to be full time
but the team should have access to these skills for particular
areas of the investigation.
Routine responsibilities for the team should be as
minimum as possible as these are normally tactical whereas
the study is strategic. These modes require different
mindsets and changing from one to the other is difficult. In
the end neither is completed satisfactorily. A small team is
required, as a conceptual study is extremely fluid with major
changes occurring regularly. Each member must be aware
of the latest status of these changes. After being involved in
several projects the author has devised the following
formula for strategic planning
Kears Rule of Planning -- C proportional to n^2
Where n is the number of components and C is confusion.
Although this may seem facetious there is some truth in
an inverse relationship between numbers and the ability to
be innovative, especially during conceptual planning.
Obviously there should be some form of progress
management during the study and the best would appear to
be management by milestones. It is pointless to attempt to
identify every task that must be undertaken, as the tasks in
this stage will constantly be changing. To be continuously
updating the schedule to reflect this will require enormous
resources and probably all the teams time. Rather identify
the broad areas that need to be accomplished and when
they need to be completed. This keeps the schedule simple,
preferably on one page or at most two. The individual(s) will
Massmin 2004
then know at what point these sections must be completed the work completed during this phase show that the project
and adjust the investigations accordingly. does not meet the requirements it should be stopped with
Once a conceptual study has been correctly undertaken it suitable documentation to revisit the study should any of the
is often observed that the study has raised more questions main drivers change over time.
than it has answered. In fact, this is as it should be as
various assumptions must be tested and trade off studies
Table 2 Pre-FeasibilityManning
will be required in the following stage.
The conceptual stage is strategic in nature and as such
Position Maximum Minimum
requires lateral thinking. Very little is routine and many
changes will take place during this stage. Number Number
Should the conceptual phase indicate that there is a
suitable prize, under various assumptions it should justify Project Manager 1 0
the following study phase. However, if the project does not Mining Engineer 2 1
appear positive even under optimistic assumptions the Mech/Elect Engineer 2 1
project should be stopped. In this case it is important to Metallurgy 2 1
document the work completed and also the major drivers Geotech/Geology 1 0
which could change the outcome. This will make it relatively
Accountant 1 0
easy to recommence should one of the drivers change, for
example the mineral price. Secretary 1 0
Total 10 3
5 PHASE 2 - PRE FEASIBILITY

This phase of the project is to firm up and or confirm the
issues identified in the conceptual phase and to justify the
expenditure for the feasibility and detailed design stage of
the project. The major design criteria should have been
decided during the conceptual study. However, it is often the
case that some parameters have not been settled due to
lack of data, or further investigation is required. Therefore
the pre feasibility study should be done in two stages.
5.1 Pre Feasibility Initial Stage
This stage is required to obtain the required data and/or
complete the investigations highlighted in the conceptual
study. The assumptions made during the conceptual study
should be tested and updated if required. There are often
trade off studies to be completed and visits to other
operations are useful at this point.
A major problem, which may be experienced, is the lack
of reliable non mining costs. It is sometimes supposed that
a project is a mining project and therefore all the detail and
planning is mining related. However, the design criteria can
be hugely affected by the non mining costs and these need
to be properly identified and quantified for the correct
determination of the design criteria. This first stage remains
strategic with a few tactical issues being required.
5.2 Pre Feasibility Second Stage
Once the assumptions and trade off studies have been
competed it is then required to commence detailing the design
criteria, develop a schedule of resources and budget for the
Feasibility stage. More detailed cash flow models are required
and a detailed justification for the feasibility should be
developed. Up to this point study expenditure and manpower
requirements are normally not high. The exception would be
data capture, for example a drilling program. Once the project
moves into the following feasibility and detailed design phase
considerable resources, both manpower and money, are
required. For this reason a detailed and reasonable accurate
justification is required prior to committing these resources. It is
important that all major issues have been resolved at the
completion of this phase. This second stage has a reduced
strategic component and the tactical issues are beginning to
become the predominant ones.
At this point the team will possibly expand and typical
numbers are shown in the following table
Control of this phase can still be on milestones, but these
will be more specific than in the previous phase.
Basically this phase, collects data that is required,
completes trade off studies, confirms that there is a viable
project and if so details and justifies the next phase. Should
6 PHASE 3 - FEASIBILITY AND DETAILED DESIGN
The purpose of this phase is to provide an estimate of the
required accuracy to justify the major capital required for
construction and implementation. Provided that the previous
phases have been satisfactorily completed, the project at
this stage should have a comprehensive design criteria
document. All major decisions should have been made.
Decisions, which are required in this phase of the project,
should relate to the specific system under design with no or
almost no impact on other systems.
This phase will require considerable manpower, either in
the team or contractors. If major changes are made during
this stage there is a very real danger that team members will
be working with obsolete design criteria with the possibility
of serious flaws in the design and the associated money and
timing consequences.
If the previous phases have been properly completed then
this stage is largely tactical. The design criteria having been
set now need to be incorporated into the design. Major
decisions should not be made during this stage but rather
the effort should be directed at producing the required detail
to give an estimate of the desired accuracy. This stage is
largely tactical, with the management concentrating on
using the available resources to produce a design to the
specifications of the required accuracy. Continuity between
this and the previous phase is required and a properly
convened steering committee is one technique to ensure
continuity by the inclusion of the conceptual and pre-
feasibility team members.
The high costs of this phase are mainly due to the number of
persons required with typical numbers being shown below
Table 3 Feasibility Manning
Position Maximum Minimum
Number Number
Project Manager 1 0
Mining Engineer 3 1
Mech/Elect Engineer 4 2
Metallurgy 3 1
Geotech/Geology 2 1
Accountant 1 0
Secretary 1 0
Technicians 300 100

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 119

7 APPROVAL
Whilst each phase of the project requires approval, the
move from the feasibility and detailed design to the
construction phase is a major event in the project
development. Considerable sums of money are involved,
not to mention that the mines future for many years is
probably decided at this point. The time required to obtain
approval should be included in the schedule as it can take
several months to obtain this approval.
8 PHASE 4 - CONSTRUCTION
The construction phase should have a dedicated
management team which should be different from the
design team. This phase is definitely tactical and requires
good control and discipline. It is essential that both schedule
and cost tracking systems are in place before commencing
construction. These systems should be able to show the
original schedule, possibly a revised schedule and the
actual to date with variances highlighted. These systems
should be installed and demonstrated before any activities
or expenditure take place.
The design team is still required to continue with details.
When approval has been granted it is normal that only 30%-
40% of the detailed design has been completed. Therefore
an excess of 60% of the design still has to be completed.
This should not be left to the construction team to manage
and hence the design team will still function well into the
construction phase.
Control of this phase is important firstly to ensure that
what has been designed is constructed and secondly the
quality of work must not be an impediment to the future
production. The Steering Committee becomes much more
of a control issue and should have members from both the
design team and the future production team. The committee
should not be under the control of the Project Manager.
9 SUB PROJECTS
Often, several possible improvements to the approved
design have been identified but rely on new technology or
systems still under development. Whilst the approved
design should be based on practical and achievable
systems there is often a window of time available to prove
up these newer systems and include them in the project.
The cut off times for proving these systems should be
determined and separate project teams be convened to
undertake this work with their own schedules and budgets.
The management of these teams should not fall under the
120 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
construction team as they will be focussed on the
construction. Rather it is suggested that either these fall
under the design team or preferably under their own
management structure.
10 IMPLEMENTATION - COMMISSIONING
Major projects most often do not just switch on. Systems
require time to bed down, people require time to learn new
techniques and, especially with mining methods, time is
required to build up production. If sufficient time is not
allowed for these activities the pressures on the team will
often dictate the use of "short-cuts". These "short-cuts" can
be extremely detrimental to the long term viability of the
mine and should be avoided. The best avoidance strategy is
to allow a realistic time for these activities and ramp-up.
11 SUMMARY
This paper has emphasised the conceptual phase of a
project. This is because the concepts set the foundation for
all further work. Properly done the other phases flow from
this stage and the team will be confident that the correct
criteria have been set. In practice and for various reasons it
is often the pre feasibility or feasibility study that is used as
the start point with the major criteria being arbitrarily set, this
does not often lead to the best utilisation of the resource. A
mine has only one resource and can mine this resource
once. There is only one method that will produce the best
economics for this resource, others may be economic but of
lesser value. In view of the magnitude of the capital normally
required for a mining project and the usual life of a project
of many years the effort in determining the best project is
well justified.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are doubtless many papers and textbooks which
cover the management of a mining project. The author
readily admits that these will probably give the reader much
greater insight into the issues involved however they tend to
deal with the management of a project whereas this paper
has attempted to highlight the issues to be managed.
This paper has been the result of the observations made
on many mines and the author would like to thank his many
clients for the ideas and discussions over the years. The
author stresses that this paper is based on his observations
and conclusions but hopes that these will form a basis for
discussion and may assist in the formulation of a suitable
strategy for a mining project.
Massmin 2004
 Block caving planning
under metal price uncertainty
Sergio Fuentes S., Mining Civil Engineer, Universidad de Chile, M.Sc. (Eng),
Queens University, 2003, Director, Metlica Consultores S.A., Chile

Abstract
The common practice in mine planning, irrespective of mining method, is to make decisions based on deterministic
future metal prices. Later, during the economic evaluation of the project, stochastic tools are employed to identify and
quantify risk factors such as metal prices when mine design and planning has already been completed. Given the
capital-intensive nature and long preproduction periods of mining projects, especially in block caving, incorrect price
assumptions present a significant source of uncertainty to project feasibility. This proposal outlines the introduction of a
stochastic simulation method in the primary phase of mine planning, assigning metal prices based on probabilistic
distributions. Utilizing this method combined with standard procedures for defining mining areas in block caving permits
characterizing and prioritizing ore reserves based on price uncertainty, giving an additional decision tool to mine
planners.

1. INTRODUCTION metal scenario, including identification and quantification of

associated risks at an early stage of the planning process.
Conventional mine planning encompasses all or part of
the development of a mine, including feasibility, profitability, 2. RISK RELATED TO COSTS, GRADES
detail development, scheduling of extraction sequences, AND METAL PRICES
operation of equipment and transportation. Mine planners
usually estimate the different parameters used for the The mining business is intrinsically more risky than most
planning process from standard procedures available in the other common business areas. Figure 1 shows a scheme of
engineering field such as cost information databases from uncertainties for open pit planning associated with the stage
similar operations, experience and engineering judgement. of the development of the pit (Blackwell,1993), and this
This standard approach is usually based on the state of the figure defines the uncertain information and conditions that
art associated with a given mining method. apply to mining generally.
Nevertheless, these procedures, databases and
experience are usually incomplete or have a large degree of
uncertainty related to the nature of basic estimations on
such as the heterogeneity of the rock mass, geological
environment and etc.
These uncertainties are present in every stage of the mine
planning and design process and include:
Definition of the geological model.
Ore resource or mineral inventory estimation.
Rock mechanics behaviour of a design.
Metallurgical performance.
Operational performance.
Cost and economic estimations.
Local political conditions and regulations.
Market product price forecasting.
Environmental issues.

From the above abbreviated list, it is readily apparent that

mining, and especially block caving, is inherently risky.
Traditionally, the decision making process under uncertainty
has been managed using standard risk and sensitivity analyses
for the cash flows of projects. However, sensitivity analyses
alone are not sufficient, and to be rigorous it is necessary to
check and adjust major assumptions used to define a project
such as the final exploitation limits and cut-off grade applied to
ore, and further re-evaluate cash flows.
The risk is greater with block caving as opposed to
conventional mining because the response time required for
adjustments of cut-off grades and mine costs, even if these
are possible, is large.
This paper proposes a method for managing uncertainty
during the block cave mine planning process under a multi-
Figure 1: Uncertainty of Factors in Mine Planning versus Pit
Development (Blackwell, 1993)
Traditionally mine planners have been managing
uncertainty in the planning and design process by using
iterative estimations and sensitivity analyses of project
cash flows. This process demands substantial and
intensive use of resources to identify the most important
parameters influencing the results of mine planning and
design.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 121

 Currently, many tools are available to produce data,
conduct sensitivity analyses, and produce final numbers
from a base scenario. These tools include geostatistical
approaches for ore grade estimations, probabilistic risk and
sensitivity analyses for cash flows, and economic indexes.
In most cases, operating and capital costs and similar
technical variables are defined within reasonable limits with
limited impact on project economics. This is in contrast to
the risk associated with external variables such as metal
prices and market forecasts that have much greater impact.
Although several tools are being used in the mining
industry for risk management, low metal price trends of
important commodities, along with the lack of availability of
high grade deposits, are pressing the mining industry to
produce, and improve on, more reliable designs and
production schedules. This is especially true in low grade
(marginal) and impurity rich (penalty producing) ore bodies
where profit margins are small, if they exist at all.
3. RISK AND UNCERTAINTY
Decision theory literature indicates two distinct types of
uncertainty (Rose, 1976):
Risk is a concept used to characterize situations where
past data can be useful in predicting an occurrence in the
future such as the probability of a road accident or the
tossing of a coin.
Uncertainty is a concept referring to situations where
there is no suitably supported past data or experience.
Metal prices fall more reasonably under the uncertainty
concept as it is not known when the metal price will return
to some past value.
The main questions here are, firstly how could we
characterize this uncertainty factor, and secondly, how could
we manage this characterization in block caving mine
planning procedures.
4. METAL PRICES UNCERTAINTY
Metal price uncertainty and its impact have been under
discussion for many years. The effects on mine planning are
critical, hence the continuing recurrence in mining industry
publications. Metal prices are critical inputs in defining ore
and waste, and the foundations of the mining business,
including ore reserves, are defined based on commodity
(metal) prices.
In 1903, Williams (in Rickard et al, 1907, page 1) wrote "It
has been estimated that 95 per cent of the commercial and
industrial enterprises which are started every year ultimately
prove unprofitable. Such business failures are primarily due
to incorrect estimation of the trade conditions which obtain
in every field of commercial operation". This quotation
shows that this problem has been of concern for at least a
century.
During the 1930s, other authors affirmed that forecasting
metal prices is perhaps the most doubtful and speculative of
any of the elements in mineral valuation. At that time some
of the important elements affecting price forecasts were
identified, including relative rate of growth of supply and
demand, competition, substitution of commodities,
technology trends, and international market conditions
being the most relevant.
More recently, organizations, such as the Chamber of
Mines of South Africa have stated (Storrad, 1981); "the
uncertainties associated with risk factors such as selling
prices can not be defined in a completely objective way.
Human judgement unavoidably plays the major part in
assessing these uncertainties, and the quality of the final
answer obtained therefore depends critically on the quality
of the judgement involved at this stage".
122 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The future is never certain and so metal price forecasts
cannot be expected to be accurate. Indeed, it therefore
follows that any economic evaluation will never be exact.
5. STOCHASTIC SIMULATION
"The fundamental rationale for using simulation in any
discipline (whether or not this is economics or operations
research) is mans unceasing quest for knowledge about the
future. This search for knowledge and the desire to predict
the future are as old as the history of mankind." (Naylor,
Balintfy, Burdick & Chu, 1968).
Although simulation has been applied to some extremely
diverse forms of model building, ranging from Renaissance
painting and sculpture to the spacing and computing of
neurological processes, it has come to mean something
quite specific.
Modern use of the word traces its origin to the late 1940s
with the work of Neumann and Ulman (Naylor, Balintfy,
Burdick & Chu, 1968). They used an original mathematical
technique termed "Monte Carlo Analysis" to solve certain
nuclear-shielding problems (Monte Carlo simulation was
named after Monte Carlo, Monaco, where the primary
attractions are casinos and games of chance).
At the beginning the term "Monte Carlo" applied only to
the use of stochastic simulation methods for solving strictly
deterministic problems. Later it was generalized and
became "a popularized synonym for simulation of
stochastic processes " (Naylor, Balintfy, Burdick & Chu,
1968).
Generally speaking Monte Carlo simulation is a form of
simulation where randomly generated values for uncertain
variables are used over and over again to simulate a model
(Goldman, 2000).
Stochastic or Monte Carlo simulations are based on the
generation of pseudo random numbers (usually between 0
and 1), which are introduced into the cumulative probability
functions for predefined variables. As a result of this
probabilistic definition of values, the model is fed a new
state permitting the updating of the internal database
describing the model.
Consequently, this procedure is repeated 100 to 1000
times or more, each time prompting a random choice of one
or more values for variables. A counter controls the
simulation, and the counter is increased until a predefined
condition or imposed constraint is met, as Figure 2 shows in
a very simplistic scheme.
Figure 2: Stochastic Simulations, Simplistic and Schematic
Representation
Massmin 2004
 The number of times the simulation must be carried out
depends on the confidence limits required for the final result.

6. GENERAL PROPOSAL FOR MINE PLANNING &

METAL PRICE UNCERTAINTY

Figure 3 shows the traditional procedure used to evaluate

metal price uncertainty in a project. In this example a Monte
Carlo Simulation (MCS) of the cash flow varying under a
random evaluation of a metal price distribution is used for
the entire life of the project.

Figure 4: Simple Open Pit Cross Section, Defining Price

Certainty Parameter (PCP)

Assuming a metal price probability distribution was

provided for the economic model, and each block was
evaluated independently N times (with N large), then 100%
of the time block W1 will be waste, but will always be
included in the design because it leads to the mining of the
highly profitable block O9.
The Price Certainty Parameter for this waste block is
100%, and the block has a 100% economic certainty of
being included in the design envelope for any given metal
price and should be mined.
On the other hand, if the peripheral block O6 were
included only 50 % of the time in a series of open pit
optimizations, then its PCP value is 50%.
Figure 5 below shows a flow sheet diagram describing the
proposed assignment and management of a stochastic
certainty index to each block of resources in the block
model as a result of a mine planning evaluation.

Figure 3: Traditional Mine Planning and Decision Process

During this standard deterministic mine planning process,

no probabilities of outcomes are specified, so the decision
maker (mine planner) must rely on personal judgement and
intuition to put the sensitivities of the variables into
perspective, and to assess what might happen with many
inter-related sources of price uncertainty, especially in the
case of a multiple metals ore body.
In this paper it is proposed to introduce probability metal
price distributions for the different valuable metals present in
the ore body in the primary economic evaluation of the
resource.
By providing a measure of this uncertainty will allow the
mine planner to make decisions during the many stages of
the planning process. As this measure represents the
certainty generated from metal price variability, the author
will name it the Price Certainty Parameter (PCP), which will
provide a value for the probability that any block has a
chance to participate in a profitable design, i.e. be
considered for mining in the planning process, even though
it may not be ore.
This Price Certainty Parameter (PCP) will not reflect the
exact final economic value of the mine plan and design,
because detailed estimation is carried out downstream of
this process. Even if the reserves are well scheduled, the
final certainty of the project should be less than the average
of the PCP when the discount rate and dilution are taken
into account.
Using a simple open pit moving cone example, it is
possible to deduce that the PCP is the probability of a
resource block being considered inside a profitable design.
That does not mean the block is profitable by itself, but, by
leading to ore, it might increase the value of the design as a
whole. Cleary we could observe this concept if we analyse
a block of waste located above a high grade ore block in an
open pit planning process as shown in Figure 4. Figure 5: Proposed Mine Planning Flow Sheet

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 123

 The Price Certainty Parameter of a resource block
could be defined as "The probability of that resource
block being included in a specific design, taking into
account metal price probability distributions". This
probability could be estimated as a result of several
random metal price evaluations of the mining limits for a
given mining plan or method.
For block caving the PCP parameter can be estimated
by evaluating each column of ore using randomly
obtained metal prices for each block in the column
several times. In the case of an open pit those
parameters could be obtained by carrying out several
optimization evaluations (e.g. Lerchs-Grossmann (1965)
or moving cone, Lizotte(1988)), where the PCP for each
block is re-calculated several times.
Using this characterization of "Certainty" as associated
with metal prices, it is possible to generate alternative
designs, envelopes and sequences, and make decisions by
referencing PCP values as a numerical parameter. This
parameter quantifies, in some way, the economic advantage
of mining a defined volume of material (ore or waste)
considered in the design before any economical evaluation
is carried out.
This characterization, with a numerical qualification of
resources in the entire block model, will help support the
making of decisions during the mine planning process.
The assumptions used to assign a certainty index (PCP)
to each block in the block model are:

Unknown Metal Price in the Future
The first assumption is that the market price of any given
metal in the future is unknown; intuitions, opinions, short-
term trends, etc. all produce a rough expected value range.
Metal Prices as Probability Distributions
It is assumed that we can represent each metal price
with a probability distribution describing possible future
price behaviour. There are so many factors affecting
metal price behaviour that it is impossible to
demonstrate that metal prices are deterministic
variables. It is also impossible to demonstrate that metal
prices are truly random variables taking values in
accordance with a probability distribution.
Figure 6: PCP Footprint Output for a Block Cave Column
Valuation
The ore reserves included as part as mineable envelop
can be characterized using standard tonnage-"certainty"
curves, as is shown in Figure 7.
This "tonnage - certainty" distribution (or
certainty/tonnage curve, comparable to a grade/tonnage
curve) can be obtained and should provide a good general
numerical measure of the risk in any particular design. This
distribution can give a global indicator of the resources
already considered in the mining envelope, including all
non-profitable columns added to the design due to
operational or geotechnical reasons.

The author considers the characterization of the uncertain

behaviour of metal prices as a random variable, and this is
far more reasonable than the assumption of a deterministic
model. The same assumption is made by all risk analysis
software packages.
There is a direct relation between the profitability of a
column and PCP because a high PCP value is an
indication of the profitability of the column for a wide
range of metal prices as used in the metal price
simulation.

7. MANAGING PRICE CERTAINTY

PARAMETER IN BLOCK CAVING

Specifically in block caving, using the "Price Certainty

Parameter" it is possible to characterize each column in the
entire area, representing the probability of each column
being included in a mine design for a given metal prices
distributions.
Additionally, as a result of the several evaluations for the
columns, an expected economic value is available for each
column and should to be used, together with PCP values, to
make a single informed decision in the mine planning
process without waiting for several economic evaluations to
be completed.
A footprint representation for PCP values associated to
each column can be observed graphically in Figure 6.
Figure 7: Tonnage Certainty Curves
This information provides the planning engineer some
confirmation that the operational mine envelope developed
is adequately mining with the available resource.
For the definition of an operational area to mine, each
project board should select the minimum "cut off certainty",
taking into account PCP distribution resulting from the area
under analysis, "risk guidelines" for the project, etc.

124 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 At this stage, some of the most important definitions in
block cave planning are achieved, only using mine planning
outputs
Once mineable envelope and final column heights to be
exploited are defined, the mining sequence definition is
made. Again, this situation could be solved using PCP
values as a good guideline for profitability of the ore
resources.
Scheduling columns that show highest PCP values at the
beginning of the mining sequence will imply highest profit
resulting in the initial production periods of the project.
8. CASE STUDY
A case study was developed using information from
Codelco-Chile, El Salvador Mine. The A- Norte Sector, located
in the Northern part of the main ore body as shows Figure 8,
was evaluated using the standard process (fixed metal prices)
and also using this proposed and complementary methodology
(stochastic metal price distributions).
Figure 8: General Plan View of El Salvador Mine
This marginal area was studied using five deterministic
copper prices (75, 80, 85, 90 and 95US$/lb), keeping
constant Mo, Ag and Au prices.
Figure 9: Trapezoidal Distributions Used
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The stochastic scenario considered trapezoidal
probabilistic price distributions for Cu, Mo, Ag and Au. The
specific distributions are shown in Figure 9.
This probabilistic distribution is usually used when the
behaviour of the variable is unknown, maximum and
minimum values are defined, clearly highlighting best and
worst commodity price scenarios. As well, a range with
equal probability (uniform) in between indicates the most
probable expectation, guess or feeling, etc., about the future
trend of mean prices.
In consequence, this probabilistic approach for our lack of
knowledge appears as a reasonable representation of this
ignorance and actual metal price forecasting.
If we consider that this sector will not be in production
before 2010, then the question is what metal price must be
used for ore reserve definition. Generally speaking, to make
the decision, we can use several metal price valuations, an
economical envelope using our best "engineering
judgement".
Standard methodology used in block caving planning,
permitted to obtain outputs associated with metal
production, ore production rate and copper ore grade
profiles as shown in Figure 10 to Figure 12.
Figure 10: Fine Copper Production
Figure 11: Mine Production Rate
125
Figure 12: Mine Production Rate
The main differences can be observed in 95 cents
scenario with longer exploitable reserves due to the grater
area to mine. Indeed, this scenario has approximately three
more times of ore reserves compared with the 90 cents or
stochastic scenario.
If we develop a standard economic evaluation, means
deterministic metal prices for each of them, we obtain
outputs such are shown in Figure 13.
Figure 13: Deterministic NPV Evaluation
Same cash flows were evaluating using MCS, obtaining
an expected NPV for several discount rates for each
scenario, as is shown in Figure 14.
126 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 14: Expected NPV Values using MCS
Using the certainty characterization made in the
Stochastic Scenario, it is possible to observe a direct
relation between the mean PCP value of each scenario and
NPV variability by metal prices and discount rate.
Figure 15: NPV Variability & Certainty by Scenario and
Discount Rate
9. CONCLUSIONS
The introduction and estimation of a certainty parameter
during the primary definition of the (ore) block model in the
block cave planning process, based on metal price
probabilistic distributions and Monte Carlo simulation
techniques, shows that:
There is a direct relationship between values of the price
certainty parameter (PCP) and the profitability of a given
resource block.
Independent of the cut-off certainty value used by the
mine planner, it is possible to obtain in one step a
complete picture of the economic potential of the
Massmin 2004
 resources under analysis, and consequently an advanced
measure of the economic risk associated with any given
design.
This proposed procedure provides mine planners with a
safe and profitable exploitation envelope and mining
sequence far more quickly than the standard
(deterministic plus sensitivity) methodology.
The estimation of the certainty value for each resource
block permits the concept of risk management to be
applied during the entire block caving planning process,
obtaining quantifiable support for many decisions instead
of using "engineering judgement". Further, the
identification of material in the (say) 40-50% and 50-60%
certainty range by location and volume would provide an
equivalent sensitivity analysis to several deterministic
scenarios.
In a similar manner to the development of the metal price
certainty concept, it would be advantageous to introduce
the same concepts to other uncertain variables such as
mineral inventory estimates (grades) and geotechnical
parameters to provide a more complete characterization
of the certainty of any given resource block.
The methodology developed can still be improved upon,
especially the fixed metal price probability distribution
which will continue to be a subject for discussion.
The basic objective of providing block caving planners with
an additional tool for making decisions prior to reaching the
stage of the final cash flow evaluation has been met. Without
this tool, and without substantial investment of time and human
resources, a single mine plan could lead to the rejection of the
decision to start a mine, or the starting of a mine with no
prospects of making a return on capital employed.
REFERENCES
Blackwell, G. H., (1993). Computerized Mine Planning for
Medium-Size Open-Pits, Trans. Instn. Min. Metall. (Sect.
A: Min, Industry), 102, May- August 1993, A83 A88.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Fuentes, S., (2003). Planning Block Caving Operations
with Metal Price Uncertainty, M Sc Thesis, Queens
University, Kingston, Canada.
Goldman, L., (2000). Risk Analysis and Monte Carlo
Simulation, Decisioneering Inc.,
h t t p : / / w w w. d e c i s i o n e e r i n g . c o m / m o n t e - c a r l o -
simulation.html.
Lane, K.F., (1991). The Economic Definition of Ore,
Mining Journal Books Ltd., London, England, ISBN 0
900117 45 1, pp 6 33
Leith, C.K., (1938). Mineral Valuation of the Future, The
Maple Press Co., New York.
Lerchs, H. and I. Grossmann, (1965), Optimum Design of
Open-pit Mines, Transactions, CIM, Vol LXVIII, pp. 17-24
Lizotte, Y., (1988). The Economics of Computerized Open
Pit Design, International Journal of Surface Mining, A.A.
Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands,Vol 2, 59-78.
Metlica S.A., (2001). Ingeniera Bsica A-Norte El
Salvador, Internal Report.
Metlica S.A., (1998). Manual de uso Mdulo de
Planificacin Block Caving, MineSight, Internal Report.
Naylor, T., J. Balintfy, D. Burdick and K. Chu, (1968).
Computer Simulation Techniques, John Wiley & Sons,
U.S.A., pp 1 22; 68-71.
Rickard, T.A. and H.C. Hoover, (1907). The Economics of
Mining, Ingalls, Gilman & Others (eds.), 2nd Edition, New
York, Hill Publishing Co, pp 1.
Rose, L.M., (1976). Engineering Investment Decisions,
Planning under Uncertainty, Elsevier Scientific Publishing
Co., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, ISBN-0 444 41522 X,
pp 42 136.
Storrad, C.D. (1981). South African Mine Valuation,
Chamber of Mines of South Africa, Johannesburg, ISBN 0
620 02155 1, pp 448 456.
127
 Towards an integrated approach
to block cave planning
Enrique Rubio, PhD, Candidate, Cristin Cceres, Graduate Student,
Malcolm Scoble, Department Head, University of British Columbia

Abstract
Block cave planning is a challenging task that is dependent upon effective predictive modeling of the rock mass and the
mining system. In reviewing the planning methodology of several operations worldwide it seems evident that such
models are not fully integrated within the planning process. The lack of integration challenges realistic production plans
and potentially results in conservatively using more resources than needed to achieve desired production targets.
This paper presents a methodology to develop a mine planning process for block caving that integrates geomechanical
and fragmentation models within the production schedule algorithms. This aims to demonstrate a more robust and
reliable approach to block cave planning. Case studies are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed
approach compared to some current practice.

1 INTRODUCTION more resources than needed to achieve a desired

production target.
Current mine planning practices at block caving
operations tend to be based upon a set of heuristic rules
that have been learned throughout the life of the mine and
similar deposits.
It is well accepted by the underground mining
community that geotechnical-geomechanical aspects of
the rock mass and the mining method need to be
included as part of the planning process. Nevertheless,
only a few attempts have been made in order to actually
integrate ground-related problems into underground mine
planning (Kazakidis and Scoble 2002). In block caving
their influence affects the definition of the mining
sequence, draw rate and draw point failure rate among
others. This paper relates to ongoing research whose
main objective is to embed the fundamental
geotechnical-geomechanical models into the production
scheduling tools so that the algorithms can respond to
variation in the rock mass behaviour.

2 THE CONCEPT
Several decisions related to mine design and mine
planning in block caving are based upon initial modeling that
holds a high degree of uncertainty related to the behavior of
the rock mass. Consequently, a fair amount of modeling
has to take place in order to achieve a comprehensive view
of the rock mass and the mining system. The relationships
between these initial models is shown in figure 1. The
modeling is normally used to estimate parameters such as:
stress distribution at the front cave to decide upon the
mining sequence; stress re-distribution on the cave back to
estimate ultimate fragmentation; fragmentation models to
estimate draw point productivity. Even though there may be
a fair amount of modeling at the beginning of a block cave
project, very little ouput tends to be carried forward into the
ongoing mine planning activities. For example, how often
do we see a stress model supporting any changes to the
undercut sequence within a yearly plan? The same could be
asked about the angle of draw or draw rate. At the moment
these rock mass models are not fully integrated into the
mine planning systems. This challenges the ability to
generate realistic production plans and often leads to using
Figure 1: Rock mass interaction within the mine planning
process
There are four main models identified in this research as
that are needed in order to sustain the regular mine planning
activities. These models are fragmentation, geomechanical,
geological and reconciliation models. Figure 2 shows how
these fundamental models should be supporting the mine
planning parameters, such as draw rate, undercut
sequence, development rate, tonnage, draw method
(Diering, 2004) and production targets.
The fragmentation model estimates the ultimate
fragmentation that leads to the estimation of mine design,
mixing parameters, mining equipment and draw point
productivity. The geomechanical model inducts the mine
design into a three- dimensional stress analysis computer
program such as FLAC 3D, MAP3D that can simulate the
effect from a stresses point of view of different mining
strategies in conjunction with the mining plan. The main
output of this model will be the stress distribution on the
cave back, front cave (abutment stress zone), and induced
stresses due to differential draw across the active layout.

128 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The geological model links data relating to structure, ground support and draw point repair. Therefore the
lithology and mineralogy with the ultimate metallurgical important relationship to be used in production planning is
recovery. This model aims to build the information towards the production drift availability versus maximum draw rate
a geometallurgical model that can provide a reasonable per draw point. Figure 3 shows an example of maximum
estimate of the metallurgical recovery based on the draw rate per draw point as a function of the production drift
combination of the composite lithologies. availability based on a given layout configuration (ore pass
The reconciliation model is one of the most important spacing), equipment size, cycle time, and number of loaders
models supporting the mine planning system. It provides the per drift.
tools to analyze the historical behavior of the mine. It can
capture information on the underground mine and will
provide a set of reliability measures regarding the
compliance with different production plans. This model also
provides the information to feed the fragmentation and
geomechanical models to calibrate and reconcile the initial
estimates.

Figure 3: Maximum draw rate per draw point as a function

of production drift availability.

A more comprehensive simulation model is under

construction to model the relationships shown in figure 3,
including draw point oversize and hang ups versus different
secondary blasting strategies.
In an attempt to model the effect of fragmentation on a
production schedule, an initial fragmentation model was
built for different lithological settings, that were categorized
Figure 2: Block caving fundamental models according to the quantity of rock over 2m3. This estimation
decreased in height in taking into account the effect of
This paper concentrates mainly on the fragmentation and secondary fragmentation. A block model was then
geomechanical models. constructed using as an attribute the percentage of the
block over 2m3. This attribute was built into the draw
column and depleted using PC-BC software (Diering, 2000)
3 FRAGMENTATION MODELS and average of the attribute >2m3 per draw column is
shown in figure 4.
Fragmentation models are essential to the estimation
of the productivity of a draw point. They consist of an
estimation of the primary and secondary fragmentation
based on initial rock mass jointing, joint conditions and
an estimation of the stress behaviour on the cave back
(Esterhuizen, 1994). This model should also estimate the
amount of rock over 2m3 in volume which seems to be a
good indicator of the medium height hang up frequency.
Stress behaviour plays an important role in the
estimation of the ultimate fragmentation. Therefore the
fragmentation models need to be linked to the
geomechanical model. Using a recently developed
algorithm the fragmentation models could eventually
integrate estimates of erosion as part of the secondary
fragmentation process (Jensen, 1999). There are a few
models that have succeeded in representing this
fragmentation models such as Joints (Villaescusa, 1991),
BCF (Esterhuizen, 1994). Further analysis and
calibration need to be done to assess the quality of these
models.
Little information has been found on the relationships
supporting draw point productivity as a function of Figure 4: Plan of the percentage of rock >2m3
fragmentation. In fact, individual draw point productivity as
a function of fragmentation alone is meaningless, since the The next step consisted of simulating a long term
productivity ultimately will be determined by the availability production schedule and reporting the amount of rock over
of the production drift. The drift availability is also a function >2m3. Within the production schedule the draw rate was
of the secondary breakage and other activities related to modified depending on the amount of rock over >2m3.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 129

Figure 5 shows the typical adjustment factor used based on
the amount of rock over >2m3. In this model there was no
consideration regarding production drift availability.
effect of the stresses on the front cave. In this paper the
abutment stress has been the starting point to build a full
scale model. The initial modeling was performed using the
MAP3D boundary element method (MAP 3D, 2003). The
rock mass parameters used in the modeling are shown in
table 1 (Karzulovic ,1999). The stress state is also shown in
table 2.

Table 1: Rock mass parameters

Parameter Value

Young Modulus [GPa] 40.0

Poissons ratio 0.2
Cohesion [MPa] 6.2
Friction angle [o] 43.0
Tensile Strength [MPa] 1.0
Figure 5: Draw rate adjustment as a function of percentage
UCS [MPa] 30.0
of rock >2m3

Finally the production plan and the forecast of the

tonnage of coarse fragmentation are shown in figure 6. Table 2: Far field stress state
The fragmentation forecast needs to be calibrated
against field observations. This step is considered to be
crucial in order to understand and modify several Stress component Value (MPa)
assumptions that are made at the beginning of the
modeling process.
O1 80

O2 50

O3 30

The stress state showed in table 2 represents the pre-

mining stress conditions at 1000 m depth. The orientation of
the principal stress is East West due to tectonics. The
spacing of undercut drifts is 15m. The initial model is shown
in figure 7. At this stage it was interesting to measure the
change in the stress conditions in the center of the pillars
supporting the undercut level. Points spaced 5m apart were
placed along the undercut pillars to measure the change in
the stress conditions, see figure 8.

Figure 6: Long term production plan including the

fragmentation forecast.

4 GEOMECHANICS ASPECTS OF
BLOCK CAVING MINE PLANNING

In this research the main aspects of rock mechanics

under study are as follows:
Stress distribution at the cave back which affects primary
fragmentation and alters the risk associated with air gaps
Seismic activity induced at the cave back by mining
activity
Stress re-distribution at the draw points induced by
uneven draw
Abutment stress acting on the front cave as a result of
stress re-distribution, causing early damage to production
and undercut drifts and other related production areas.

4.1. Abutment stress and angle of draw

The abutment stress zones have been examined closely
in the literature Lorig et al (1995) and McKinnon and Lorig Figure 7: Conceptual model to verify abutment stress
(1999). The abutment stress area is the result of the stress condition at the front cave.
re-distribution at the front cave due to the large extension of
the cave. Usually linear models are sufficient to capture the

130 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 8: Abutment stress zone using an elastic rock mass
model.
Figure 8 shows that the abutment stress zone extends up
to 30 m ahead of the front cave. The magnitude of the
vertical stress increases up to two times the initial pre-
mining stress.
It is generally accepted that the geometry of the cave
back controls the stress re-distribution on the front cave.
The angle of draw is a function of the amount of new
production area incorporated in a given period and the
draw performance in the area of old draw points. A low
new opened area and incremental height of draw ratio
leads to a steeper angle of draw than a higher ratio. An
example of the evolution of the angle of draw is shown
in figure 9. Usually this angle is measured in the
direction of the undercut sequence. Even though the
angle of draw is not the same as the angle of the cave
Figure 9: Evolution of the angle of draw throughout the
mine life.
Figure 10: Full scale model to assess angle of draw on the
stress configuration at the front cave area using MAP3D
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
back these two are coupled together through the caving
rate.
A full scaled model shown in figure 10 was constructed in
order to determine the relationship between the angle of
draw and the changes in geometry and magnitude of the
abutment stress zone.
For the model in figure 10 the deviatoric stress (1 2)
pre- and post-mining were computed and compared for
different angles of draw. There are two main results derived
from figure 11. The first is that as the angle of draw
becomes shallower then the deviatoric stress decreases.
The second is that the extent of the abutment stress area
increases as the angle of draw becomes steeper.
Figure 11: Change of deviatoric stress as a function of the
angle of draw.
A relationship similar to that shown in figure 11 is
useful to quantify the potential damage and loss of
undercut area as a result of a given production strategy.
Several mines around the world will mature and face the
question as to whether to keep drawing from old
"theoretically exhausted" draw points or to keep
undercutting. It is clear that the decision to stop
undercutting is economically correct since it leads to
capital cost savings. However, the geomechanical
implications of this decision may perhaps end up
jeopardizing the mines operational life.
4.2. Frictional forces as a result of uneven draw
The second aspect of the geomechanical model
supporting mine planning is related to the induced stresses
due to uneven draw. It is well known among the mining
community that isolated draw produces two effects: early
dilution and induced stresses on the production drifts.
Recently, Freeport has conducted extensive convergence
monitoring, Febrian et al (2004), that raises the issue of
induced stresses due to differential draw.
The flow of broken rock surrounded by compacted or
semi-compacted, broken rock induces frictional forces that
will develop on the flow boundary impacting the overall load
of the pillars sustaining the production tunnels (Jenike,
1962). Also Kvapil (1965) developed a gravity flow model in
which the components are illustrated in figure 13. The
components of the gravity flow model developed by Kvapil
are as follows:
1 Ellipsoid of motion
2 Funnel of loose material produced by the flow
3 Boundary of motion zone
4 Zone without motion
d deviation angle due to frictional properties of boundary
wall
Kvapil also recognized the fact that the flow is altered by
an angle due to the existence of a frictional force acting on
131
the wall. Angle will increase as the friction of the granular
material and the wall increases.
resolution of the stresses on the area under study. There
were 8 columns modeled using interfaces to enable the
differential movement of them. Vertical right and left
boundaries were fixed to prevent horizontal movement. The
bottom boundary was fixed to prevent vertical movement.
Gravity was applied with large strain coordinate update to
show the deformation of the elements.
The bottom boundary of the size of a column was freed in
the middle of the caved zone to represent extraction of
material. The properties used in the model are as follows

Density = 2.3 t/m

Cohesion = 0.0 MPa
Friction Angle = 40.0 deg
Dilation = 0.0 deg
Tensile Strength = 0.0 MPa
Youngs Modulus = 500 MPa
Poissons ratio = 0.3
Cohesion = 0.0 MPa
Friction Angle = 40.0 deg
Dilation = 0.0 deg
Figure 12: Induced stress as a result of uneven draw Tensile Strength = 0.0 MPa
Stiffness = 500 MPa/m

In order to prevent free falling material, a velocity was

assigned at the bottom nodes to represent the extraction
rate. In this case, 0.0001 meters per time step was
modeled. The model was cycle for 60000 cycles until the
vertical stress histories converged to a stable situation. Six
history points were located 15 m from the edge of the
opening to measure the evolution of the vertical stress.
Figure 14 shows the location of the history points and
velocity vectors.
Figure 15 shows the vertical stress history of points
located 15m from the edge of the opening. Vertical stress
increased from 18 to 28 MPa due to frictional forces
between the drawing and static columns.
A profile of the vertical stress across the production
level is shown in figure 16. It is possible to see that the
induced stress area due to frictional forces extends up
to 25 m from the edge of the opening. Beyond this point
the vertical stress stays at the same pre mining
condition.

Figure 13: Gravity flow model (Kvapil 1964)

Differential draw develops a frictional force that works

against the motion of the flowing rock mass. As result of this
behavior, a surface of contact between rock in motion and
static is developed. This frictional force is proportional to the
friction angle of the surface of contact, horizontal stress and
the length of the surface of contact.
A model using FLAC 2D (Board, 1989) was constructed to
analyze the behaviour of the frictional forces and the impact
of this frictional force on the stresses acting on the major
apex pillar. The number of grid elements was 50 x 50,
representing a 100m wide by 600m height muck pile. The
grid density increases with depth to achieve a better Figure 14: Velocity vectors and position of the history points.

132 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 15: Vertical stress measured at the history points
Figure 16: Profile of vertical stress across the production
level.
A second model was developed using PFC 2D to test
the effect of the frictional forces on the behaviour of the
gravity flow process. The rock mass was modeled using
an assembly of 1000 particles of a radius varying
between 1.8 and 2.2 m, a multiplier factor of 1.5 was
used to reach the desired initial stress condition. The
block dimensions were 200 height and 150 m wide. The
initial stress state was 6 MPa vertical stress at top of the
undercut level. The initial stress equilibrium was reached
after 8000 cycles. The friction coefficient assigned to the
particles was 0.5 according to the friction angle under
study.
There were two models in order to simulate even draw
and isolated draw condition. The even draw condition
was simulated by creating two opening at the bottom wall
and leave the model running for 25000 cycles. The
second model consisted of running 10000 cycles as the
first model, in which both opening were drawing particles,
and after one of the openings was closed simulating idle
draw point condition for 15000 cycles. Figures 17 and 18
are showing both of the models described above, being
17 the even draw simulation and 18 the isolated draw
simulation
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 17: PFC model simulating even draw
Figure 18: PRC model simulating isolated draw
From figure 18 is seeing that as a result of performing
isolated draw there was formed an stable arc. This is
consistent with the theory that a higher frictional forces
acting on the edges will tend to produce stable arcs; Egger
(1983), Morgan (1999), have presented similar behaviour in
soil mechanics. Therefore it is possible to conclude that
isolated draw does increase the frictional forces which
induce the rotation of the principal stresses tensor
approaching a state of equilibrium. The even draw scenario
shows that the pillar of rock overlying on the major apex
pillar continuously fails without allowing the frictional forces
to induce a consistent rotation of the principal stress tensor.
There were several measurement points defined above
the major apex pillar at 5, 30 and 60 meters above the top
of the pillar. Figure 19 shows the change of porosity at 5
meters above the major apex pillar. It is possible to see
from figure 19 that porosity consistently decreases as a
result of performing even draw. Figure 20 shows the
evolution of porosity using the isolated draw model. It is
seeing that by performing isolated draw the major apex
becomes fully loaded of body forces that make the muck
pile sited on top of the major apex to compact and
consequently failure.
133

constitutive relationship between stress and primary
fragmentation, as well as dilution behavior. Thus the
stresses will not only be linked to the undercutting sequence
but also to the entire production system.
REFERENCES
Figure 19: Porosity above major apex pillar measuring on
the even draw model
Figure 20: Porosity above major apex pillar measuring on
the isolated draw model
There is on going research to construct a more
comprehensive model to correlate the differential draw
versus the activity of body forces on the crown pillar
supporting the production level of a block cave operation.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Integrating geomechanical rock mass behavior into
underground production scheduling provides a more robust
mine planning model that will lead to a more realistic
financial plan. This should avoid hidden costs that may
impact the economics of the project and improve safety in
the workplace.
The integration of stress behavior into production
planning aims to better understand the behaviour of the
caving back, enabling mine planners to anticipate eventual
air gaps and rock bursting at the caving back.
It has been demonstrated throughout numerical modeling
that differential draw induces frictional forces that affect the
orientation of the principal stress tensor. This change on the
stresses configuration leads to higher probability of
experiencing of hang ups and compaction of the material
located above the major apex pillar inducing higher vertical
stress.
134 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
More research needs to be done to better understand the
Board, M. FLAC (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua)
Version 2.20. U.S. NRC, NUREG/CR-5430, October 1989
Cundall, P., and M. Board, 1988. A Microcomputer
Program for Modeling Large- Strain Plasticity Problems.
In Numerical Methods in Geomechanics (Proceedings of
the 6th International Conference, Innsbruck, Austria, April
1988), pp. 2101-2108. Rotterdam: A. A. Balkema.
Diering T, (2000). PC-BC: A Block Cave Design and Draw
Control System. Proceedings Massmin 2000. Brisbane,
AusIMM, pp301-335.
Diering T, (2004). Computational considerations for
production scheduling of block cave mines. Proceedings
MassMin 2004, Santiago, Chile.
Egger 1983
Esterhuizen, G S, 1994. A program to predict block cave
fragmentation. Technical reference and user guide,
version 2.1.
Febrian, I, Yudanto, W, Rubio E. (2004) Application of
Convergence monitoring to Manage Induced Stress by
Mining Activities at PT Freeport Indonesia Deep Ore Zone
Mine. Proceedings MassMin 2004, Santiago, Chile.
Itasca, 2000. FLAC3D, Fast Lagrangian Analysis of
Continua in 3 Dimensions. Version 2.0. Itasca consulting
group, Inc: Minneapolis
Jenike, A W, (1961). Gravity flow of solids. Trans. Inst.
Chem. Engrs. Vol.40, pp 264-271
Karzulovic, A,1999. Comentarios relativos a las
propiedades del macizo rocoso que conforman los pilares
del sector Teniente Sub 6 N FW1. Geotechnical note DT-
CG-99-016 from A Karzulovic & Asoc to El Teniente
Division, Codelco- Chile.
Kazakidis, V.N. and M. Scoble, 2002. Accounting for
Ground-related Problems in Planning Mine Production
Systems. Int. Jnl. Mineral Resources Engineering,
Imperial College Press, London, 11, 1, pp. 35-57.
Kvapil R. (1965). Gravity Flow of Granular Materials in
Hoppers and Bins. Part I and II, Int. J. Rock Mech. Mining
Sci. Vol 2, pp.35-41
Lorig, J L, Board, M P, Potyondy, D O and Coetzee, M J,
(1995). Numerical modelling of caving using continuum
and micro-mechanical models. In CAMAI95: 3rd
Canadian Conference on Computer Applications in the
Mineral Industry, pp 416-425.
McKinnon, S D and Lorig, L J, (1999). Considerations for
three dimensional modelling in analysis of underground
excavations. In Distinct Element Modelling in
Geomechanics (Ed: V W Sharma, X R Saxena and R D
Woods), pp 145-166. Oxford and IBH Publishing: New
Delhi.
MAP3D, 2003. MAP3D, Three-Dimensional Boundary
Element Formulation, versin 49. Mine Modelling Pty Ltd.
Morgan, J. K., and M. S. Boettcher. (1999). Numerical
Simulations of Granular Shear Zones Using the Distinct
Element Method: 1. Shear Zone Kinematics and the
Micromechanics of Localization, J. Geophys. Res.
104(B2), 2703-2719
Villaescusa, E, 1991. A three dimensional modelo f rock
jointing. PhD thesis (unpublished), University of
Queensland, Brisbane.
Massmin 2004
 Computational considerations
for production scheduling
of block cave mines
Tony Diering, Principal Consultant, Gemcom Software International Inc.

Abstract
Production scheduling for block cave operations can be complex. The factors to be considered include geotechnical
constraints, cave shape, draw point development sequence, draw point productivity, production block limits such as
loader capacity and/or ore pass capacity and variable shut-off grade or mining costs. In addition, for some caves, the
material flow can be very non-linear, especially when material moves between the draw point during the depletion
process.
Advantages and disadvantages of treating this as a single multi-period problem or as a number of smaller problems for
each time period are presented. The nature of the problem also changes during the life of a cave from initial production
build up to final closure.
Over the years, a number of different scheduling methods have been introduced into the PC-BC program to handle these
different situations. Methods include cave surface following, mining oldest draw points first so as to move a cave front,
NPV optimization or depletion of historical tonnages. LP techniques may be used in some, but not all cases. In addition,
special tools are required for updating long term plans due to short term draw order variations.
The logic, advantages and disadvantages of these different methods are described in this paper.

1 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM Minimum tonnage per period

The basic problem is to try to predict or schedule the "best"
tonnages to extract from a number of draw points for various
periods of time. The time period can be very short, such as a
day or it can extend over the life of mine. This is an old problem
in mining which has been solved (or not solved) to various
extents for different mining methods. In the case of block
caving, much work has already been done by A. Guest of De
Beers, the International Cave Study and also by others such as
NCL in Chile and T. Diering with Gemcoms PC-BC package.
In a typical instance, one will start off with a number of
draw points (di) from which it is desired to extract tons tij for
a number of time periods j. In doing this, the intent is to
maximize revenue R or some time discounted equivalent of
R (i.e. NPV). The allowable tonnages tij are heavily
constrained, to the extent that the constraints will often
determine the allowable values of tij. In many cases, the
objective may be to achieve a certain "draw profile" which is
in fact not primarily dependent on NPV or revenues. Even
in this case, NPV is still an important objective, since, if a
bad profile is achieved, then this is adverse from a mining
perspective which in turn leads to higher mining costs and
more dilution and lower grades which reduces the NPV.
This then becomes a linear or more likely non-linear
optimization problem typical in operations research. However,
the value of R can be a very non-linear function of the tonnages
tij, since the revenue is dependent on the draw point grades gij
which in turn are variable with tij and also on the interaction of
the tij from one draw point with all other ones. Of course, the
extent to which the problem can be solved depends on making
various assumptions about the process of solving the problem.
2 OVERALL OBJECTIVES
OF THE OPTIMIZATION PROCESS
As mentioned above the overall objective is to maximize
NPV subject to various constraints. Some of the constraints
which can be applied are as follows:
Maximum tonnage per period
Maximum total tonnage per draw point
Maximum total tonnage per period
Ratio of tonnage from current draw point compared with
neighbours.
Height of draw of current draw point with respect to
neighbours
Percentage drawn for current draw point with respect to
neighbours
Maximum tonnage from selected groups of draw points in
a period (Usually the groups of draw points are referred
to as production blocks or panels)
Many of these constraints are themselves quite
complex to estimate and may well be non-linearly
dependent on tij. A key factor in all of this is the
maximum allowable tonnage per draw points per period.
This is typically limited by what is called a PRC
(Production Rate Curve). This will specify the maximum
tonnage per square metre per day which is allowed to be
extracted from a draw point. The computation of this
curve is in itself complex.
In trying to solve the various aspects of the problem,
one needs to consider two main scenarios, solving for tij
for a single time period j, and solving for tij for multiple
time steps j=1,M If there are many time steps and many
draw points, then the total number of variables becomes
large if one is using non-linear programming solvers and
it then becomes desirable to linearize the problem by
various assumptions.
Another way to tackle the problem is to apply common
sense rules or heuristics which, perhaps, could provide
common sense solutions and also give an indication as to
what extent the problem is flexible enough to warrant
optimization procedures. For example, if the tonnage
requested from draw points always exceeds what is able to
be produced, then the problem is self limiting and no
optimization is necessary

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 135

3 NOTATION
The following notation is used in this paper.
N Number of Draw points
M Number of time periods
i The ith draw point
j The jth time period
tij Tons for draw point i for time period j
Ti Total tonnage allowed for draw point i
Tj Total tonnage allowed for time period j
cij PRC tonnage limit for draw point i for period j
bij Minimum tonnage allowed for draw point i in
period j. bij 0
eij Allowable difference in tonnage between draw
point and its neighbours
mij Mean tonnage of neighbours
hij HOD for draw point i in period j
F Objective Function to be maximized
gij Grade of draw point i in time period j
rij Revenue from draw point i in period j
(adjusted for mining costs)
dj Discount fraction in period j
NPV Net present value
HOD Height of draw
LP Linear programming problem
NLP Non-linear programming problem
4 A SAMPLE PROBLEM
Consider the sample problem of maximizing NPV for M
periods:
F = rij dj
= gij * tij *
Advantages of single step approach
Grades can be assumed constant (and known) for each
run
Less equations to solve
Objective function can be set up to maximize local draw
control constraints or some local dollar value or grade
target
Sequencing of draw points does not arise, since it is
known which draw points are active in each step
If some intermediate HOD surfaces can be established by
some other means (e.g. Upside down pit optimizer) then
these can be used as intermediate control surfaces for the
step by step approach. In this manner, the overall
problem of NPV optimization is removed from the problem
and it becomes one of draw control (or draw management
as it is sometimes referred to)
Disadvantages of single step approach
Decisions made now can potentially lead to a "bottle
neck" down the road. There is no forward looking
capability
Advantages of multi step approach
Solves the overall problem in a single step
Short term decisions are guided by future considerations
Disadvantages of multi step approach
Leads to large problems (number of draw points * number
of time periods)
Grades are more complex to model and likely to be non-
linear. Grade profiles may have to be simplified
Care has to be taken to input the development sequence
Convergence to a unique "best" solution is not assured
Likely to require commercial solver engines
In some cases, the extent of non-linear behaviour makes
dj numeric solution virtually impossible.

Constraints 6 THE DEVELOPMENT CYCLE OF DRAW POINTS

AND PRODUCTION BUILD UP
tij cij PRC limits per draw point
tij bij Lower limit per draw point In producing schedules, it is useful to consider what
tij Ti Total tonnage limits per draw point happens to draw points during their "life" in a schedule.
tij = Tj Tonnage limits for each period Consider the following steps:
The draw point is Planned status. During this time tij=0.
If we do this, the program will simply take the maximum Draw point has just been developed or undercut. During
allowable tons from the highest grade draw points as soon this time, the PRC limits cij are likely to be quite low and
as possible. Therefore, we need to add in extra constraints the tonnage from each draw point must be kept in close
which limit how tonnages are related to neighbouring draw alignment with the tonnages of its neighbours.
points. The time until the cave limit breaks to surface or other
previous cave zone (or gets "far away"). In general if a
tij mij + eij swell factor is 20%, then the broken zone will extend 5
tij mij - eij times as high as the height of draw. During this time, the
shape of the cave back is important. Thus the hij values
In general, there are considerable benefits to be gained if need to be constrained or monitored.
the problem can be formulated as an LP instead of NLP. In the final stages of draw, Height of draw is of less
Solutions are faster and the solver routines can generally concern and percent draw is of more relevance. It is
handle larger problems. So the problem will often be how to desirable to have draw points close in an "orderly"
linearize a problem or to convert it to a quadratic manner. Tonnage from one draw point compared with its
programming problem. neighbours is still important.
In the above example, the grades are variable and are The draw point is closed. This usually happens when the
functions of tij and tij (for previous periods). Thus the limiting tons for the draw point has been reached. In
objective is actually non-linear. This can be accommodated some circumstances, when variable shut-off grades are
by having a look up table to get the grades, but this will slow being used, then the limiting tons are also variable.
down solution time as well as probably resulting in multiple
local maxima in the objective function. During this overall process, the ability of the system to
meet various production demands varies significantly as
5 SINGLE PERIOD vs. MULTI-PERIOD well. In the early stages, the production capacity (C) falls
well short of the tonnage demand (D) and basically, draw
There are several advantages and disadvantages in each points are drawn as fast as is allowed (via the PRC curve).
approach. These are listed below: As more draw points are developed, the draw area
increases and the production rate for individual draw points

136 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

increases, then production capacity increases until C > D Draw points are usually assumed to be of known and
and results in some production flexibility. This is where the constant status during the short range runs.
scope for NLP optimization arises. Later in the life, there are Draw tends to be "Even" in the short term (i.e. proportional
no more new draw points available and the active draw area in that draw points which are behind are drawn faster and
starts to reduce resulting again in a stage where C < D. draw points which are ahead are drawn less.)
Here again, there is little or no need for NLP optimizers. Draw can be "Even" or in the form of a moving front or
This is studied in more detail later. even a "segmented moving front" for the long term. In this
For block cave mines (including panel caving), there are a case, the shape of the draw profile is more important.
number of different draw strategies which can be applied. It In the short term, it is quite likely that tonnage limits will
is useful to represent these graphically to better understand also be set for groups of draw points. For example,
their characteristics and behaviour. The graph below various production blocks or panels (or drifts) might each
(termed Draw Method Graph) shows a list of draw points on have their own tonnage target (or often referred to as a
the x-axis and the tonnage per draw point on the y-axis. "call").
Draw points are ordered on the X-axis by sequence with
oldest to the left and newest to the right. The number of
active draw points defines the "active area". Maximum tons
per draw point are constrained by the PRC limit and
minimum tons per draw point are also shown (often set
equal to zero). The PRC limit and active zone define the
capacity of the draw points for a given period. If D < C, then
there is some flexibility as to how tons are taken from each
draw point. For a moving front or panel caving method,
maximum tons are taken from the oldest draw points and
minimum tons from the newer ones. In PC-BC, this method
is referred to as AUTO as shown in the figure below.

6.2. A Panel caving example

This example demonstrates two aspects of the scheduling
process:
If actual historical tonnages result in an uneven HOD
profile, then the schedule needs to be corrective in putting
the HOD profile back on track
For a moving front, the HOD surface is inclined and
moves across the block cave footprint.
The top line below represents a target cave surface (or
shape). The line "Past" might represent actual tons drawn
after a given period of time. We want to evolve the shape to
The use of AUTO method often results in "idle" draw the top line.
points where no tons are extracted in a given period. This
is a very useful technique to study the minimum
development rate (commissioning of new draw points) to
achieve a desired production rate (reduced rate of capital
expenditure).
Other methods can also be represented in a similar
manner. See the EVEN, SMOOTH and COMBO
methods shown below. SMOOTH is similar to AUTO, but
ensures that no draw points are idle by having a
transition from the PRC limited tonnages of older to the
minimum tons for the newest draw points. EVEN
method tries to take tons from each draw point
proportional to what is remaining in the column. This is
the opposite of AUTO and takes the highest tonnages
from the newest draw points. "COMBO" is similar to
EVEN, but constrained by the maximum PRC.

6.1. Differences between daily and longer term

schedules
There are various differences between the two situations
which are listed below:
Usually in the short term, the target tonnages are aimed
to reach a given tonnage over the next few days (e.g. In step 1, the program is able to correct the tonnages
daily tonnages aim to reach a monthly target). (New) for most of the draw points except where maximum

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 137

current tons per draw point (2500t) per step is reached.
(New = Past + Current).
After a few more steps, we can see how the shape is
restored to the target, except for draw points to the right,
which have closed due to reaching their maximum allowable
tonnages.
It should be noted that if the PRC curves are changing
dynamically, then the program will continually need to make
these adjustments. Also, in the shorter term, hang ups will
restrict actual tonnages so that the correction process will
always be ongoing.
7 SCHEDULING CONSIDERATIONS FOR
A TWO DRAW POINT EXAMPLE
7.1. Single time step
It is common in the literature to study complex problems
by reducing the situation to a simple example with only a
few unknowns. The example here for block cave scheduling
provides a very useful tool to help study different aspects of
the overall problem.
The next figures show this concept. Each figure has
various comments by way of explanation.
The example above shows a situation with two draw
points and the two axes represent the cumulative tons
drawn for each draw point. At any point in time, the current
state of draw is represented by a single point on this graph
(see "Start" above. For a moving front example, we will
always draw some tons from the first draw points before the
138 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
second (or subsequent draw points are developed).
Thereafter, in a simple case, equal tons will be drawn from
each draw point until one or other of the draw points closes
due to the maximum tonnage for that draw point being
reached. This defines the "target tonnage line" for the
schedule.
Next, we know that we cannot mine negative tonnages
from any draw point. Thus, we can only move upwards and
to the right. We cannot move down or to the left on this
graph. The next constraint is the PRC limit for each draw
point. This is a limit on the maximum tonnage for each draw
point in a given period. These show up as vertical and
horizontal lines on the above graph. Points outside this
region are not feasible. In addition, there may be
constraints which limit the tonnage from one draw point
depending on the tonnages from neighbours. These are
referred to as "neighbour constraints". They are shown as
short diagonal lines on the above figure.
Next we define the production target for a given period.
This is the total tonnage from all draw points in a given
period. In this example, with only two draw points, we get a
straight line (of slope = -1). The ideal target would be where
the production line meets the target line. However, this lies
outside the feasible domain, so we have to look only at
feasible solutions. This is represented by the heavy line
where the production line is inside the domain defined by
the other tonnage constraints. At this stage, it is easy to see
that the required solution is where the heavy line comes
closest to the target line. See "best solution" above.
In the second example above, the production capacity of the
draw points has been reduced. Thus the ability of the system to
meet the required production tons is also reduced. In fact, there
is no feasible solution as the feasible domain (based on tonnage
constraints) does not intersect the production line. We thus
have one of two possible alternatives. One is to take the
maximum tonnage from each draw point so as to get as close
to the production target as possible. (This is referred to as a
PRC limited tonnage). The problem with this approach is that it
does not move us any closer to the target tonnage.
The second is to sacrifice some tonnage production so as
to be able to move closer to the target tonnage line.
Of course, there are a large number of similar alternatives
which could arise. But inspection of the graphical
representation is always useful in helping to understand the
different possibilities. One can imagine that with hundreds
or thousands of draw points, the solution is quite complex.
7.2. Multi-time steps
Next we look at a multi-step scenario. The production
tons for each period is represented by a diagonal line. The
Massmin 2004
distance between the lines depends on the production
target. In addition to the short term PRC limits for draw point
tonnages, we also have the maximum total tons per draw
point which define the overall "box" in which we need to
work.
The example below shows a typical production solution in
which tons are drawn in an unequal manner from each draw
point over the life of the draw points and the "solution"
moves towards the top right corner.
In this example, every change in direction of the tonnage
line represents a change in draw strategy driven by the set
of constraints and the target defined in that particular period.
In general, big changes would be considered undesirable as
would near vertical or near horizontal lines
Now (above), we superimpose on the production graph
the expected grades from each draw point. For draw point
1, the grades are (3.0, 4.0, 2.0, 1.0, 0.5). For draw point
number 2, the grades are (2.5, 3.5, 2.2, 0.8, 0.6, 0.1). By
"grade" we mean any variable which can be linked to the
dollar value of the draw points.
In this example, we now constrain the tonnages using
PRC and neighbour limits. It is seen that the overall trend
of the schedule line is similar to before, but cannot deviate
too far from the diagonal line connecting the bottom left with
the top right otherwise neighbourhood constraints are
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
broken. This represents a more realistic scenario. Draw
point 1 is mined faster than draw point 2 initially, since it has
higher grades, then draw point 2 is mined faster, then draw
point 1 again and so on. Doing this, instead of following a
single trend line, results in better NPV, while still obeying the
applied constraints for each step.
8 SOME PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Experience has taught us some basic factors to be aware
of:
You wont get the final solution the first time.
There is no "optimal" solution. You need to study and
compare different alternatives to get a better
understanding of the important factors and constraints in
a schedule.
Engineering judgement is still very important in this
process.
Aspect ratio (length to height) of the cave has a significant
effect on the production strategy.
The grade of dilution (and its effect on ore treatment) can
also be significant. In some block caves, the grade of
"dilution material" is often close to ore grade. This is
obviously a lot less "harmful" than dilution material of zero
grade, such as gabbro material in a kimberlite pipe.
However situation like this can induce operators to
disregard draw control practices that could damage the
geomechnical stability of the mine.
8.1. A "Northparkes" type deposit
Height to width ratio is high
Dilution is less significant
Usually has higher grade central core
Caveability and hydraulic radius are problematic
Usually all draw points active for most of cave life.
Strategy is to pull draw points at equal rate initially for first
20%-30% of HOD to get cave established and then pull
central core (high grade zone) faster than outer draw points,
while maintaining relatively smooth draw profile.
8.2. A "Kimberlite" type deposit
Height to width ratio 1
Dilution is very significant
Grades generally less variable
Need to pull new draw points as fast as possible (to PRC
limit) to try to get cave profile as flat as possible.
Have to close older draw points to limit age of draw points
(repair costs) and total number of active draw points.
8.3. Large Cu/Au type deposit
Height to width ratio < 0.8
Dilution is often, but not always problematic
Grades are variable, so sequence and cave shape affect
value significantly
New draw point sequence (undercut shape) is very
important.
9 CONCLUSIONS
Much of the logic around the scheduling of large open pits
applies to scheduling of block caves. In both cases,
geotechnical constraints are very important. In both cases,
the potential to add value to the overall project, through
careful scheduling is significant. Using tools, such as PC-
BC allows you to understand the scheduling characteristics
and achieve a sound engineering balance between
geotechnical risk and the reward of improved Net Present
Value.
139
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS REFERENCES

The author is grateful to National Research Council of
Canada who sponsored some of this work via the Industrial
Research Assistance Program. Thanks are also due to
Gemcom Software International Inc. for time and funding to
complete the work and submit this paper.
Diering, T, 2000. PC-BC: A block cave design and draw
control system, Proceedings MassMin 2000, Brisbane,
pp. 469-484.
Guest, A., van Houd, G.J. van Johannides, A. and
Scheepers, L.F., An Application of Linear Programming
for Block Cave Draw Control. Proceedings MassMin
2000, Brisbane, pp. 461-488.

140 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Block cave production planning
using operation research tools
Enrique Rubio, PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia Mining Consultant,
Tony Diering, Principal Consultant, Gemcom Software International

Abstract
In the pas, manual methods have been used to plan and schedule the extraction of ore from different block cave
operations worldwide. The basic assumption of these methods has been the validity of a set of heuristics, traditionally,
used to plan and schedule production coming out of an active panel. Currently, however, there are several operations
research tools (previously used in the manufacturing sector) that could be used in block cave mine planning. This paper
describes the application of mathematical programming to formulate optimization problems whose solution may perhaps
drive the production strategy of a block cave mine. Some of these strategies such as net present value optimization,
draw profile optimization and minimization of long short term gap have been formulated.
The construction of the optimization problems has required a rational study of which mining constraints are applicable
in each case. In doing so it has been found that the formulation of the objective function as well as the set of constraints
that define the feasible space of solutions are both critical to effective mine planning solutions. At the moment the full
scale algorithms have been incorporated into the PC-BC block caving commercial package. One of the results of this
research has been the integration of the opportunity cost into PC-BC to compute best height of draw in a dynamic
manner. The second result has been the development of draw method called NPV which maximizes the net earnings
per period. Another result has been the introduction of a new draw method called SURF, which aims to minimize the
difference between actual height of draw and the target represented by a surface.
Different mathematical techniques have been used to solve the optimization problems such as direct iterative methods,
linear programming, golden section search technique and integer programming. The results of applying optimization to
different operations worldwide will be presented and outlined in this paper. Finally a discussion about the role of
optimization in block caving will be presented

1 INTRODUCTION 2 OPERATIONS RESEARCH IN

The planning of a block cave mine poses considerable
difficulties in the areas of safety, environment, ground
control and production scheduling. As the industry is faced
with more marginal resources, it is becoming imperative to
generate production schedules which will provide optimal
operating strategies and make the industry more
competitive (Chanda, 1990).
Production scheduling of any mining system has a
profound effect on the economics of the operation. In a
marginal deposit the application of the correct scheduling
mechanism might affect the life of the mine. Usually the
scheduling problems are complex due to the nature and
variety of the constraints acting upon the system (Denby,
1994). Although several authors such as Caccetta and
Giannini (1988), Wilke et al (1984), Gershon (1987) have
attempted to develop methodologies to optimize production
schedules, none has satisfactorily produced a robust
technique which has an acceptable level of success. One
of the main reasons for this unsuccessful history has been
the failure in defining the objective function in relation to the
mine planning horizons.
In this research two main planning strategies will be
formulated as potential goals to be optimised as part of the
long term planning process. The first one is the
maximization of net present value, which has been a
traditional interest of mining companies to optimise in such
a way that all the mining, metallurgic and environmental
constraints are fulfilled. The second strategy developed in
this research is maximization of mine life, which often has
been associated with a societal goal to maintain
employment levels.
PRODUCTION SCHEDULING
The problem of computing a production schedule in an
underground mine can be understood as an operations
research problem in which there is an objective function
subject to operational constraints. Trout in 1994 developed
a model to optimize the cycle time of the unit operations
related to a long-hole mining method. Also Chanda in 1990
developed a model to optimize production from a slusher
block cave method using scrapers as production machines.
Both of these authors concentrated on a short term planning
problems that cover a time horizon of a few weeks to a few
months. Neither of these algorithms have recognized the
fact that the set of constraints is a function of the planning
horizon under study, for example, a long term production
schedule should contain much less detail than a short term
plan. However the long term plan includes clear definitions
related to mining reserves, production sequence, and
production rate. More sophisticated algorithms have been
developed by Guest (2000) and Matthews (2001) to analyse
and compute long term plans. Guest in 2000 postulated that
by following a set of surfaces that conceptually define a
draw control strategy dilution can be minimized and
therefore NPV maximized. Matthew also presented an
algorithm which could be used to define the optimum
opening and closure sequence in a cut an fill mine. Both of
these algorithms recognized the fact that by using integer
variables in their formulation the computation time often is
inadequate. Also both authors described that the solution
for the computing time is relaxing the integer variable to
reach a feasible solution in a reasonable time. It has been
proven (Terlaky, 1996) that by relaxing the integer variables

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 141

in a mixed integer algorithm the optimum solution can differ
dangerously from the solution provided by the optimizer.
One of the problems found in the current literature is that
there has been very little analysis of the adequate set of
constraints applicable for different planning horizons. Also
none of these algorithms have shown a case study in which
a large scale model had been computed.
Before stating the mathematical problem of computing a
production schedule in a block cave mine, it is important to
describe the operational constraints applicable to block
cave as a mining method, the following list presented by
Rubio, 2000 summarizes a few of them:
Development rate states the maximum feasible number
of draw points to be opened at any given time within the
schedule horizon. This constraint is usually based on the
geometry and geotechnics of the ore body and the
existent infrastructure of the mine, which typically will
define the number of accesses available to the mining
faces
Undercut sequence defines the order in which the draw
points will be open. This constraint usually acts on the
draw point status activating those that are at the front of
the production face. This component assumes that the
layout has been previously computed and it is fixed in the
optimization.
Maximum opened production area at any given time
within the production schedule has to be constrained
according to the size of the ore body, available
infrastructure and equipment availability. A large number
of active draw points might lead into serious operational
problems such as exceeding optimum haulage distance
or problematic maintenance of draw points.
Draw rate; the draw rate will control flow of muck at the
draw point. The draw ratio is a function of the
fragmentation and the caveability model. Ultimately the
draw ratio will define the capacity of the draw point and it
needs to be fast enough to avoid compaction and slow
enough to avoid air gaps.
Draw ratio defines a temporarily relationship in tonnage
between one draw point and its neighbors. It is believed
that this parameter will control the dilution entry point and
the damage of the production level due to induced
stresses.
Period Constraints; the period constraints forces the
mining system to produce the desired production usually
keeping it within a range that allows flexibility for potential
operational variations.
Note that in this formulation mining reserves are not part
of the set of constraints. This breaks the traditional
paradigm of computing mining reserves in advance of
computing a production schedule. In this case the mining
reserves will be computed as a result of the optimal
production schedule.
3 NPV OPTIMIZATION IN BLOCK
CAVE PRODUCTION SCHEDULING
According to the theory of non renewable natural
resources the problem of optimizing net present value can
be written as follows (Conrad, J M 1999):
Suppose a utility function t = ptqt C (qt), where is the
rate of depletion of the natural resources in period t, pt is the
spot price of the underlying resource, C (qt) is the production
cost as a function of the depletion rate. The objective is to
maximize the discounted utility function subject to the
limited amount of resources R0. Lets call the discount
factor pt which is a function of the discount rate and the
period of the depletion to be discounted.
The problem to solve can be formulated as follows:
142 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Subject to the depletion rate
Rt+1 Rt = qt R0 given and T a variable in the
optimization
Maximization of the discounted utility function subject to
the exhaustion constraint leads to the Lagrangian:
(1)
The first order optimality condition is presented by:
(2)
Note that represents the first derivative of the production
cost with respect to the depletion rate in period t. The
derivative of the Lagrangian with respect to the remaining
resources in period t is presented as follows:
(3)
Finally the derivative with respect to the Lagrange
constant is as follows:
(4)
By replacing (3) on (2) pt = Cq + t (5)
Equation (5) means that the marginal profit should equal
the marginal production cost plus a variable cost . This
variable cost is called the shadow price of initial reserves,
or the value of having an extra initial ton to be extracted
optimally in period t.
From an optimization point of view t represents the
opportunity cost of depleting a particular unit of resource in
period t instead of saving it for the next period of production.
In summary the mining interpretation for equation 5 is that
the result of applying the marginal cost plus an extra
"artificial" cost per period to define the economic outline per
period will lead to the strategy {qt }T0 that will deplete
optimally the mineral deposit.
In the context of an arithmetic example Gray (1914) was
the first author recognizing an additional cost to marginal
extraction calling it opportunity cost. The second author that
developed a formulation for non renewable natural
resources optimization was Hotelling, 1931 who introduced
the concept of depletion strategy. Hotelling stated that the
optimum depletion strategy is the one that depletes the
natural resources at such a rate that the growth of the rent
generated for depleting natural resources is similar to the
rate of return. Nevertheless it was Lane in 1988 who first
introduced formally a methodology to compute the
opportunity cost in mining. Lane postulates that the
optimum strategy should be optimal at the whole resource
depletion path, the optimum strategy should not only
Massmin 2004
maximize the individual cash flows but also include the
effect of these cash flows in the value of the remaining
reserves. The last could be summarized in the following
formula (6).
(6)
From (6) represents the maximum net present value for
the deposit, is the total amount of mineral resource to be
depleted, represents the marginal cash flow of depleting
one ton of ore in period t following the shut off grade w, with
w being part of the overall optimal depletion strategy. is
the time to deplete and process one ton of ore. is the
period discount rate. dV*
dT is the gain or the loss of depleting
one ton of ore in period t upon variable economic and
market conditions.
Note from 6 that the optimum marginal reserves for
depletion (left hand side of the equation 6), will be reached
when the contribution to the optimal NPV (V* ) of the last ton
depleted is equal to zero. Therefore the last ton of ore
depleted in period t should fulfill the following relationship:
(7)
The above formulation has tremendous implications from
the perspective of the economics of natural resources,
because it provides a mechanism to compute the Langrage
constants presented before in equation 5. Thus combining
5 and 7:
(8)
In summary the economy of natural resource theory says
that the optimum depletion strategy is the one that covers
the marginal cost plus the opportunity cost of depleting the
actual resources instead of leaving them in the ground for
the next depletion period.
One of the problems with the above formulation applied to
Block Caving would be to find the set of shut off grades
(shut off grade policy) that leads to an optimum solution.
The following section will show how the concept of
opportunity cost has been implemented in order to derive an
optimum depletion strategy.
3.1. Application of opportunity cost in block caving
production schedules
The following algorithm has been introduced into the PC-
BC software from Gemcom Software International (Diering,
2000) as part of their routines to optimize the NPV of a
production schedule.
Before stating the algorithm used to introduce the
opportunity cost in the production schedule it is important to
draw graphically all the constraints related to the production
schedule, figure 1 shows the feasible area for one period of
the production schedule.
Figure 1 the X axis represents the dollar value per draw
point, this value is computed by integrating vertically the
value of the draw column until it declines due to a decrease
in the metal content. The Y axis represents the tonnage to
be mined per draw point; this is one of the optimization
variables. The chart is divided into 4 areas by closed draw
points (C) which are draw points already exhausted, active
draw points (A) which are draw points in production, new
draw points (N) which is also an optimization variable and
represents new draw points commissioned to production in
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure1: Schematic representation of the feasible area of
production at any given period of the production schedule
the current period and planned draw points that are draw
points located next in the sequence. Also all the constraints
of the optimization have been graphically represented to
define the feasible area. The solution of the optimization will
provide a draw method (Diering, 2004) that defines the
tonnage to be drawn from everyone of the active and new
draw points. Note that the feasible area should be large
enough to contain the draw method that would fulfill the total
tons production target. Otherwise the problem is
considered to be fully constrained and sub-optimal solution
will be found.
The optimal draw method will be such that draw points
containing higher dollar value will be drawn more and
draw points with lower will be drawn less or not at all.
The draw points that are not drawn in a period are shut
down moving the boundary (C), shown in figure 1, to the
right. Consequently the next period in the schedule the
active area would be reduced and more new draw points
will be needed. Thus the chart in figure 1 is re-drawn for
this new period and the draw method re-computed. This
process is repeated until reaching the end of the life of
the mine.
The mechanism to incorporate the opportunity cost in the
production schedule consists of computing the dollar value
per draw point in every period of the production schedule.
The dollar value per draw point calculation will be used for
two purposes, the first one will shut down those draw points
that do not have enough remaining value and second will be
used to plot the chart shown in figure 1. Consequently the
active draw points will be drawn according to the draw
method described above to drive the NPV to its maximum
point.
The algorithm to add the opportunity cost in the
production schedule is as follows:
1. Set the initial boundary conditions
TMINi i I sets the minimum tonnage to be mined per
draw point with I draw points across the layout OCto =
t T sets the initial value of opportunity cost for the time
horizon of the production schedule
2. Incorporate new draw points according to the given
undercut sequence.
3. Compute dollar value per draw point DVit i Activet
+Newt, t T. Note that already contains the marginal
cost.
If draw point i contains less value than the opportunity
cost (DVti < OCkt ) and the tonnage drawn from draw
point i exceeds the minimum allowable (TMINi) then draw
point i is shut down.
Otherwise draw point i will still be in production and will
be drawn according to the draw method.
143
 If there is an extra capacity the newest draw points are
flagged as idle status. If there is not enough capacity the
tonnage target constraint is broken.
4. Deplete assigned tonnages from the draw column and
update the model. Then move to the next period t=t +1,
return to 2
After computing the production schedule in this first
iteration the opportunity cost per period is updated as
follows:
Compute revenue per period Rt = Valvuet *dt where
Valvuet is the average dollar value in period t and dt is the
total tonnage sent to the mill in period t
Development cost per period Dt = nt * DPC where nt is
the number of new draw points incorporated and used in
period t and DPC is the construction cost of a draw point.
Profit per period Pt = Rt Dt
Remaining deposit value per period
T Pk
Vt =
k=t+1 ( 1 + ) k-1
, where is the discount rate per period. Note that this
value is computed at every period of the production
schedule.
Opportunity cost per period is computed according
Vt
equation 6 OCt =
C external changes and by opportunity cost.
, where C represents the average mill capacity. This
equation does not integrate the term _ dV
dt
because it assumes that the economic conditions as well
as the market conditions stay steady along the life of the
mine.
Table 1 shows an example of how the system computes
one set of opportunity costs after one iteration.
Every iteration would produce a different set of
opportunity costs per period. Thus OCkt would represent
the opportunity cost of period t after iteration k. Calling the
optimum iteration z, OCzt would represent the optimum
opportunity cost policy that would drive the optimum
production strategy. The total tonnage drawn per draw point
would represent the optimum mining reserves. Thus this
algorithm integrates the production schedule and the mining
reserves optimisation in a single algorithm. This result is
fairly significant considering the fact that traditionally these
two processes are computed independently of each other.
Ultimately the above algorithm produces a variable shut
off grade policy that drives the production schedule to its
maximum net present value.
3.2. Opportunity Cost varying economic conditions
In the presented algorithm the term _ dV has not been
dt
included as the scenario under analysis has been steady
economic and market conditions. However in the real world
the metal prices change as well as the supply and demand
for metals. Therefore it would be meaningless to optimize a
production schedule without considering metal price
changes. However the problem would be to forecast how
the prices will behave in the future. The following algorithm
assumes that the vector of metal prices along the life of the
mine is known and is part of the evaluation variables.
For example if the market is facing a rise in metal prices,
then it may be more appropriate to wait for prices to recover.
Alternative, while waiting for increased prices the deposit is
losing value in delaying its operation. Yet there is a trade off
between the incremental value gained by economical
There are a few parameters that need to be defined to
formulate the integration of dV / dT into the optimization
algorithm such as:
RFt is the revenue factor per period.
MCt is the mining cost per period including the processing
cost.

Rt is the revenue earned in period t.

Table 1: Opportunity cost calculation after
iterating once the production schedule is the revenue that would be earned if the project is
delayed in one period of time. It takes economic parameters
nt Rt Dt Pt Vt OCt from t +1 period.

3 2,919,365 360,000 2,559,365 11,576,159 6,32 Pt is the profit earned in period t.

0 2,921,512 0 2,921,512 9,812,263 5,36
2 2,343,786 240,000 2,103,786 8,689,703 4,75 is the profit using .
1 1,451,375 120,000 1,331,375 8,227,298 4,49
0 1,374,377 0 1,374,377 7,675,651 4,19 Vt is the remaining value of the mine at the end of year t.
1 1,375,122 120,000 1,255,122 7,188,094 3,93
1 1,874,756 120,000 1,754,756 6,152,147 3,36 Wt is the future value of the mine at the end of year t using
1 2,543,706 120,000 2,423,706 4,343,656 2,37 economic parameters of year t +1.
0 1,892,513 0 1,892,513 2,885,509 1,58
1 1,901,043 120,000 1,781,043 1,393,016 0,76 Gt is the head grade simulated by the production
0 1,294,969 0 1,294,969 237,349 0,13 schedule.
0 208,914 0 208,914 52,170 0,03
0 57,387 0 57,387 0 0,00 The calculations proceed as follows:
0 0 0 0 0 0,00
0 0 0 0 0 0,00

0,1
DPC 120,000
C 183,050
NPV 12,850,476

144 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Table 2: Comparison of two different schedules
without and with dV/dT

Draw Point Name HOD_OC HOD_OC-dV/dT

E1N1 75 75
E2N1 75 75
E3N1 75 75
dV
Then the factor = Wt - Vt is known and the opportunity E4N1 105 216
dt E5N1 105 191
cost per period can be computed as follows: E6N1 105 205
E7N1 105 186
E8N1 105 172
E9N1 105 126
E10N1 105 122
Figure 2 shows the effect of dV/dT on the resulting NPV 000$ 14,965 15,047
opportunity costs. Note that the opportunity cost without Reserves 2,029,028 3,093,550
incorporating dV/dT does not have any relation to the
revenue factor or metal price. In contrast, the opportunity
objective function is avoided. Clearly the problem is 3D
cost including dV/dT has a direct correlation with the
because the decisions variables are, for example, when to
shut off a draw point, which represents the vertical
revenue factor. Yet the inclusion of on the calculation
dimension of the problem and also when to open a new
draw point, which represents the horizontal dimension of the
problem. The following representation of 4 draw points that
of the opportunity cost could lead to a totally different
contain 3 slices each is used to represent the problem in two
production schedule and therefore the set of opportunity
dimensions. This representation shows profit per slice
costs that does not include the term accounting for variable
scaled by 1000. The order in which the draw points have
economic conditions would drive to a sub optimal production
been sorted depends on the opening sequence previously
schedule.
defined.

Table 3: 2D representation of the slice file.

2,24 1,12 1,12 11,23

2,24 4,49 2,24 -3,38
9,98 3,24 5,48 6,61

Sllice #, j Draw point #, i

The next step of the optimization process is to find a

combination of the above blocks to extract in every period of
Figure 2: Opportunity cost with and without dV/dT
the schedule that will optimize the overall NPV. Therefore
the problem is to find a set of binary matrixes that will tell
Table 2 shows the resulting optimal height of draws for
when to mine every one of the blocks making up the slice
two different scenarios HOD_OC and HOD_OC-dV/dT. The
file. A representation of these matrices is shown in Table 4
first scenario (HOD_OC) does not include the term dV/dT,
with the extraction of the first year of the production
alternative HOD_OC-dV/dT does it. It is clear that the
schedule. The meaning of this matrix is that the first 2 slices
impact of the change in value due to economic change is
of draw point 1 and the 1 slice of draw point 2 are drawn in
significant. The algorithm without the differential of value
the first year of the production schedule.
with time does not reproduce a realistic scenario because it
does not account for the relation between shut off grade and
metal price returning lower NPV and mining reserves. On
the contrary, the algorithm with the differential of value on Table 4: Binary matrix representing the first period
time does couple price and grade, reporting higher NPV and of the production schedule.
mining reserves.
0 0 0 0
3.3. Integer programming approach to optimize NPV in 1 0 0 0
a block cave production schuedule
1 1 0 0
The problem of NPV maximization in a block caving
operation can be described as a large scale, multi-period,
mixed-integer linear programming problem. The
Clearly the binary variables should fulfill all the rules
development of the model to solve this problem began with
related to block cave mining. For example the slices as well
translating the optimization problem in two dimensions, so
as the draw point need to be mined following the matrixs
that the non linearity between tonnage and grade in the
sequence.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 145

 The above algorithm was written on AMPL 1999 which is
a system for writing the optimization problem in
mathematical language. Once the problem is written in
mathematical language AMPL translates the problem and
passes it to CPLEX which is the engine used to search for
the solution to the optimization problem.
The algorithm is presented as follows:
Problem dimensions
I , total number of draw points across the layout
J , total number of slices within a draw point
T , time horizon for the production schedule
Problem Parameters
The above algorithm has been tested using up to 100
draw points with 20 slices each and the time horizon for the
production schedule has been set to be 14 years. The time
to solve the problem has been around 2.5 hours using a
Pentium 4 computer, 2.1 GHz of speed and 520 MB of ram
memory.
Table 5 shows the resolution of a 7 draw point theoretical
problem. Every draw point contains 3 slices per column.
The economic values per slice are presented in the first
matrix, the following matrixes show how the depletion of the
slices will be performed in every of the production schedule.
Note that the draw rate used in this case constrains the
extraction of 1 slice per period, per draw point. Also the
maximum number of new draw points per period was set up
to be 2.

valvueij , dollar value for draw point i slice number j. This

parameter is similar to the matrix presented in Table 3

Ton_t arg et , production target for period t

dri , maximum draw rate for draw point i
newt , maximum development rate per period.
Mblocki, minimum number of blocks to be drawn from
each draw point i

Decision Variables

dijt =
{ 1, If draw point i, slice j is mined in period t

0, Otherwise

This set of variables represents the binary matrixes

showed in figure 4

Objective Function

i , j ,T d * valueij
Maxdijt ijt t ; where is the period discount rate
i , j ,t (1+ a )
Constraints
Table 5: Resolution of NPV optimization using integer
Draw point sequence within a draw point programming.
k

d
t =1
ijt dij +1k ;j=1..J,K=1..T,i=1..I The final reserves outline of the above problem is
presented in Table 6. Note that the algorithm does not
Draw point sequence across the layout smooth the final reserves outline ("hair cut") because this
k process is believed to be part of a second optimization,
d
t =1
ijt di +1 jk ;j=1,i=1..II,k=1..T which perhaps specifically may not be a task of the strategic
long term planning.
Every slice can be mined just once
T

d
t =1
ijt 1;i=1..I,j=1..j
Maximum development rate
I

d
i =1
ilt newt ;t=1..T
Maximum draw rate
j Table 6: Final reserves outline using integer programming.
d ijt dri ;i=1..I,t=1..T
j =1 This algorithm lacks several constraints that may apply in
Maximum production rate the planning of a block cave mine such as reserves outline
I, j smoothing, draw ratio between a draw point and its
d ijt ton _ t arg et1 neighbours. However the intend of this algorithm is to
i, j operate in conjunction with a system such as PC-BC that
Minimum number of slices per draw point could introduce the level of detail desired for the planning of
j ,T the block cave.
d
j ,t
ijt Mblocki ; i = 1..I

146 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

4 MINIMIZE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO
SURFACES USING QUADRATIC PROGRAMMING
There are two applications of this objective function; the
first one is the application of an angle of draw as the desire
draw profile, the second one is the minimization of
differences between actual height of draw versus a desired
target. The first application is related with having a "good"
draw performance which leads to retarding the dilution entry
point. If dilution is delayed the life of the mine is prolonged,
since draw points can still be opened for a longer period of
time. The second application of this objective function is
more related with the link between long term plans and the
short term plans. The long term plan provides the target
height of draw for a certain period of time and the short term
plan provides the current height of draw situation.
The first application to minimize the difference between
the current draw profile and a desired draw profile has
already been developed by Rahal, 2003. However this
author uses a linear function consisting of two main
deviations: current profile with respect to a target and
current production with respect to a target. The problem
with this formulation is that the minimum deviation could be
achieved by having a large deviation at the beginning of the
schedule and a small deviation at the end of the schedule,
eventually resulting in a total deviation equal 0. The
proposed algorithm in this paper is the minimization of the
square of the deviation which will produce a much efficient
search mechanism using quadratic programming and also a
better decision from a scheduling point of view. Therefore
all deviations either happening at the beginning of the
schedule or at the end of it will count the same for the
objective function.
Objective function
T I 2
min at * {^ dit dt }
t =1 i =1
at, number of active draw points in period t
dt, average tonnage drawn in period "t" from the active
draw points or any desired target
dt, tonnage to be drawn from draw point i in period t. This
is the main variable in the optimization process, which
ultimately leads to the production schedule
Constraints
Development rate
vt Newt t = 1..T . Note that this is an integer variable.
Tonnage target
I draw performance is to impose a desired draw surface that
d
i =1
it TTU t
t=1..T being TTU
I
d
i =1
it TTLt
and TTL the maximum and the minimum production rate
in period t respectively.
Draw rate
dit TU it * ait i=1 to I and t=1 to T
dit TLit * ait
Note that draw ratio dcf is part of the above constraint by
TUit l, being TU and the maximum and the
TLit it
dcft
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
inimum draw rate per draw point per period.
In this case mining reserves represent a constraint in the
optimization unlike NPV optimization where the mining
reserves represent a variable in the optimization process.
The way of introducing the reserves as a constraint is by
using a binary status variable called "closed" which
indicates whether the draw point has been depleted or not.
Since the status variable "active" is affected by the closed
status variable, reserves affect the status of the active draw
points. Therefore if a draw point has been depleted the
status variable "closed" would be 1 and the respective
"active" variable would be 0.
Some assumptions to solve the problem are as follows:
Integer variables were relaxed
Draw points shut down when they reach their Best Height
of Draw
Draw rates used were constant along the production
schedule
The algorithm used to solve the problem was the basic
Linear and Quadratic Solver commercialized by Frontline
Technology.
A model of 10 draw points with 10 slices each was set up
in order to solve the original problem. This optimization also
fits into the category of multi period problem, in this case 10
period optimization. A graph showing the overall cumulated
production drawn from draw points is shown in Figure 3. In
this example the main objective of the optimization is to
minimize the variance of the tonnages being drawn at any
given period of the production schedule. Note from Figure
3 that by applying this algorithm the height of draws per
period per draw point describes an overall angle of
extraction or draw. It is also possible to demonstrate that
the angle of draw is directly related to the draw ratio ( ).
Therefore the angle of draw can be easily planned and
evaluated by modifying the draw ratio constraint.
Figure 3: Angle of draw as a result of minimize the variance
of the tonnages drawn per period.
A different way of approaching the problem of optimizing
is believed to follow a particular cave behavior which
ultimately will minimize dilution. Figure 4 shows a draw
profile in which the first 2 years of the schedule were drawn
without constraints and the following years a particular
angle was imposed to be followed as the main objective of
the optimization.
The above methodology needs to be carefully constrained
with the minimum tonnage to be drawn per draw point
otherwise isolated draw (which is undesidable) could be an
optimal solution for the algorithm. Therefore the upper and
lower bound for the draw rate should be carefully studied
and controlled by the draw ratio parameter. It is clear that a
more relaxed draw ratio constraint will produce a more
productive schedule however this may induce the entrance
of early dilution and point load on the major apex pillar.
147
 Table 8: NPV optimization using variable shut off grade
approach

Note from table 8 that the increase in the NPV is due to

Figure 4: Minimize the difference between the current and the optimization of the blended grade and the reduction of
the desired draw profile. the development rate. The evolution of opportunity cost
throughout the optimization process is shown in figure 6.
5 CASE STUDY

The following case study presents a mine that contains

1219 draw points in the current layout. The mining method
is panel caving with traditional undercutting. The pre
computed mining reserves corresponds to 237 Mt with
0.98%Cu. The mill capacity has been set up to be a
maximum of 11 Mt/year. Figure 5 shows a 3D display of the
layout using PC-BC software.

Figure 6: Opportunity cost for different iterations throughout

the optimization process

The difference between shut off grades across the

Figure 5: 3D display of a 1219 draw points layout.
The current mining cost structure used in the optimization
is presented in table 7. These costs do not include fixed
costs which are added separately in the evaluation of the
production schedule.
economic layout for the base case and the optimized
scenario is presented in figure 7. It is interesting to note that
the last draw points in the optimized sequence and the base
case shut off grade is similar. Between sequence number
200 and 300 the shut off grade for the optimized case is
lower than the base case because there is no enough
flexibility or rather active draw points to fulfill the production
target. Then the optimization algorithm decides to keep low
grade draw points active to achieve the desired production
rate.

Table 7: Cost structure used in the optimization.

The maximum development rate per year was set up to

be 120 draw points. The draw rate varies per draw point
and it moves in range 0.5 to 0.65 t/m2/day.
Table 8 shows the result of the optimization using variable
shut off grade approach. It is possible to see that the
increase in the NPV is about 19% while the mining reserves
are reduced by 12% with respect to the base case. Figure 7: Resulting shut off grade throughout the life of the
mine.

148 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

6 CONCLUSIONS
Operations research tools can be used to plan and
schedule block cave mines. The level at which these tools
are applied would define the success of the resultant
production schedules.
The process of identifying the constraints that apply to the
corresponding planning horizon is a critical step in defining
the operations research problem. A wrong decision about a
set of constraints could lead to a good answer for the wrong
problem. The process of establishing the adequate
constraints enables mine planners to better understand the
mining problem.
The use of opportunity cost in production scheduling can
lead to improvement of the NPV of the operations by several
million dollars. The reserves as well as the development
rate are in this case rather an output of the optimization
process than an input.
Further research needs to be done in order to develop
new technologies that could perhaps have the ability to
integrate new constraints that would better forecast the
reaction of the rock mass to different mining strategies. In
particular the addition of uncertainty based upon actual
performance will be a key parameter to be incorporated in
the future generation of production schedulers in block
caving operations.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Funding for this research project was provided by
Gemcom Software International and the National Research
Council of Canada. Also University of British Columbia to
provide guidance along the research presented in this
paper. In particular Dr. Scott Dunbar, Dr. Malcolm Scoble for
their contribution to finish this paper.
REFERENCES
Cacceta, L and Giannini, L M, 1988. The generation of
minimum search patterns in the optimum design of open
pit mines. Bull Proc Australasian Inst Min Metall, 293(5):
57-61.
Chanda E C K, (1990). An Application of Integer
Programming and Simulation to Production Planning for a
Stratiform Ore Body. Mining Science and Technology,
11:165/172
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Conrad J M, (1999). Resource Economics. Cambridge
University Press; 0 edition (October 28, 1999). ISBN:
0521649749
Denby, B and Schofield, D, 1995. The Use of Genetic
Algorithms in Underground Mine Scheduling.
Proceedings XXVth APCOM, pp 389-394
(AusIMM:Brisbane)
Diering T, (2000). PC-BC: A Block Cave Design and Draw
Control System. Proceedings Massmin 2000. Brisbane,
AusIMM, pp301-335.
Diering T, (2004). Computational considerations for
production scheduling of block cave mines
. Proceedings MassMin 2004, Santiago, Chile.
Gershon, M, 1987. Heuristic approaches for mine
planning and production scheduling. Int J of Min and Geol
Eng. 5:1-13
Gray L C, (1914). Rent Under the Assumption of
Exhaustibility. The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 28,
No.3, May 1914 466-489
Guest A R et al, (2000). An Application of Linear
Programming for Block Cave Draw Control. Proceeding
Massmin 2000, Brisbane.
Hotelling H, (1931). The Economics of Exhaustible
Resources. The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 39,
No.2, Apr. 1931 137-175
Lane K L (1988). The Economic Definition of Ore. Mining
Journal Books LTD, London.
Rahal, D., Smith, M., van Hout, G., and von Johannedis,
A., 2003. The use of mixed integer linear programming
for long-term scheduling in block caving mines.
Proceedings APCOM 2003, Cape Town, South Africa.
Rubio, E., Scoble, M and Dunbar, W. S., 2001.
Scheduling in block caving operations using operational
research tools. In Proceedings Minespace 2001.
Proceedings Annual General Meeting of the Canadian
Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum, Quebec
City, Canada.
Terlaky T (1996). Interior Point Methods of Mathematical
Programming. Kluwer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Trout L P, (1995). Underground Mine Production
Scheduling Using Mixed Integer Programming.
Proceeding APCOM XXV, Brisbane, pp 395-400.
149
 Reliability theory applied to
block cave production scheduling
Enrique Rubio, PhD, Candidate, W Scott Dunbar, Associate Professor; Malcolm Scoble, Department Head,
Robert Hall, Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia

Abstract
The long term plan in a block cave mine is based upon a number of assumptions about the behaviour of the rock mass.
Production forecasts will rely on these assumptions even when data are available to suggest modifications to those
assumptions. This can compromise not only the economics of the project but also the global geomechanical stability of
the mine. Even though there might be several goals that a production schedule of a block cave mine could follow, at the
moment, there is no tool to measure how precisely those goals are met.
Reliability theory introduces a new metric to production schedules which ultimately will measure the ability of different
production strategies to achieve production targets. In this approach the reliability of a draw point can be computed
using historical forecasts versus historical production data. The individual draw point reliabilities can then be linked
though a set of equations to compute the overall block cave reliability. This aims to provide a different means to
schedule block cave mines adding an index of uncertainty to the overall production schedule as well as the factors that
contribute to it. Several examples will be presented as a proof of concept.

1 INTRODUCTION availability of the production system as a whole. As an

Historically, production schedules in Block Caving
operations have been computed using heuristic methods
learned over the years during the operation of the mine.
Some research on planning or scheduling block cave
operations has focused on the use of operations research
tools to allocate resources such as equipment and labor
(Rubio, Scoble and Dunbar, 2001) or to minimize costs or
maximize net present value (Smith and Rahal, 2001; Rahal
et al, 2003). There is no published record of the regular
application of such methods in a block caving operation.
Recently, operations research tools have been introduced to
facilitate the planning methodology either in the short term
planning (Chanda, 1990) and long term planning (Guest et
al, 2000). Nevertheless, there is still a need to introduce
algorithms that are able to adapt to the dynamic conditions
of an underground mine. One of the main problems that
block cave mines are facing at the moment is the lack of
integration of operational information into the construction of
production schedules. There have been a few attempts to
integrate uncertainty models into operations research
models stochastical programming methods (Smith, 1999)
have not been able to provide an easy way of integrating the
variance of the rock mass models into the mine planning
system. It is clear that the success of a production plan will
depend upon the ability of the mine planning system to
incorporate uncertainty found in rock mass behaviour and in
the mining system. The understanding of what constitutes
a successful mine plan in this paper is the means to be able
to forecast the correct amount of resources needed to
achieve a desired production target. Operations research
tools in mine planning tend to be limited to strategic mine
planning or long term production schedules that do not
incorporate the degree of detail needed at the operational
levels.
Reliability systems theory has been extensively used in
mechanical engineering to compute maintenance plans and
derive operational decisions. One of the advantages of this
methodology is that it can integrate all the operational
components of a production system, incorporating the
failure rate of the components as part of the forecasted
analogy, this could be implemented in a mine that is
composed out of different processes in which every one of
the components has a different failure rate.
This paper aims to demonstrate the ability of reliability
models to integrate operational information in the estimation
of the best production strategy.
2 CAVING METHODS AND UNCERTAINTY MODELS
Block caving has gained increased popularity in recent year
due to its ability to produce large tonnages at low operating
cost. However, there are several issues that add considerable
uncertainty to the mining method such as: caveability in
competent and highly stressed ore bodies (De Nicola and
Fishwick, 2000); seismicity due the presence of high stresses
that could adversely affect the mining method (Dunlop and
Gaete, 1995); stress redistribution due to a particular draw
strategy; ultimate fragmentation that may have been poorly
estimated for the rock mass; lack of precision in estimating the
grade distribution within the ore body; and dilution or the
manner in which waste is included in the caved rock mass as it
moves toward the draw points (Dolipas R, 2000). Inadequate
recognition and understanding of these issues can lead to
disruption of production performance. However, it has been
observed that some block cave operations perform better than
others when facing these uncertainties. It seems that the
amount of planning and its ability to integrate the above
mentioned issues plays a significant role in the success of a
block caving operation.
3 PLANNING AND SCHEDULING METHODS
APPLIED TO CAVING METHODS
In order to ensure that the ore production rate meets
requirements and to efficiently allocate resources such as
capital, equipment and labor, a block cave mine plan and
schedule must be defined. The aspects of mine planning
that need to be fully considered to properly plan a block
cave mine are as follows:
Draw point sequence:. i.e. the order and timing by which
the draw points should be incorporated in production.

150 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Active area: i.e. the number of draw points that should be
developed per period
Draw rate: i.e. how fast can material be extracted from
these draw points to provide the best value to the
operations.
Draw constraints: i.e. identification of the main operational
constraints that limit the productivity of a draw point.
Draw profile: i.e. what should be the distribution of
tonnages within an active panel to guaranty the global
stability of the mine
Geotechnical constraints: i.e. how does the draw profile
affect the geomechanical response of the rock mass
The above factors are linked through several production
rules that traditionally have been derived from heuristics and
experience at different operations. Figure 1 shows an
operating mine that has successfully forecast its production
ramp-up as a result of using the factors above and the
appropriate heuristic rules.
Figure 1: Production back-analysis of an existent operation
Currently, when a production plan is computed then all
draw points have the same chance of being part of the
schedule. However, in every block cave operation there are
draw points that tend to produce more easily than others or
the productivity of draw points varies across the active area.
This variance in draw point productivity clearly reflects the
uncertainty in predicting rock mass behavior to plan the
production associated with a particular schedule.
Production from a draw point depends on several rock
mass and design parameters such as: equipment size,
layout configuration, stresses on the production tunnels,
haulage infrastructure, seismic activity. One of the most
relevant parameters, however, appears to be the ultimate
fragmentation of the rock mass. Fragmentation models
such as BCF developed by Esterhuinzen (1994), Brown
(2003) and Wang et al (2003) could be used to estimate the
fragmentation curve of a given rock type and thus forecast
the frequency of oversize and hang ups occurring at draw
points. These fragmentations models will finally affect the
draw point productivity. However, current practice is to
employ a trial and error process until full production is
achieved without introducing the interruptions that the
secondary blasting activity adds to the production system.
Generally by adding the secondary blasting activity then the
productivity of a block or a production unit decreases and
therefore the time to achieve full production is usually longer
than planned. The impact of this situation on the economics
of the mine is significant.
Fragmentation models are also used to define other
aspects of the design and planning of a block cave mine,
such as: draw point layouts (Laubscher, 1994); mixing within
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
the caved zone; amount of secondary blasting activity
(Dessureault, Scoble, Rubio, 2000). There is a lack of
published work dealing with the relationship of
fragmentation to production scheduling. Fragmentation
tends to vary across the active area due to factors such as
discontinuity frequency, rock mass strength, and other
geomechanical factors such as the stresses acting in the
rock mass. In turn, the stresses are related to rock mass
properties, the rate of draw, the draw pattern and the
location of draw points as the operation proceeds. These
relationships are complex and are likely to be site-
dependent. Thus it seems clear that a robust production
planning tool should be empirically based and should
integrate available production data with measured
geomechanical data, such as: deformation, stress
indicators, fragmentation data, and rock mass properties.
4 UNCERTAINTY IN BLOCK
CAVE PRODUCTION PLANNING
The difference between forecast and actual production of
a draw point could be used as a measure of the reliability of
the draw point to produce ore. Figure 2 compares one
month of production between forecast and actual tonnage
taken from the same operation as shown in figure 1. Note
that even though the global tonnage forecasted has been
fulfilled, the distribution of tonnage per period across the
active area has not been achieved. This tonnage variance
per draw point induces two well known operational
behaviors: Under Pulling and Over Pulling. Under pulling
means that the actual tonnage is less than the forecast for
the draw point and over pulling means that the draw point
has exceeded its planned tonnage.
Figure 2: One month of tonnage reconciliation per draw
point
It is generally accepted that under pull and over pull
behaviour leads to early dilution entry, over induced
stresses, and increased discrepancies between planned
and operational performance. Therefore it seems clear that
production plans need to be based on a draw point by draw
point basis; otherwise imprecise analysis can place at risk
the life and economic return of the mine.
Figure 3 shows the monthly average relative deviation
between forecast and actual tonnages drawn from 40 draw
points during a 36 month period at an actual mine. It
demonstrates that draw points can vary considerably in the
precision of estimating production performance. It also
demonstrates the need for production planning to integrate
a new way of quantifying the historical production variance
between forecast and actual. Then this variance could be
used to correct the future forecast or even better help to
study the relationship between this deviation and rock mass
151
properties. This paper now will introduce this concept
Table 2. Actual tonnage drawn
through a method that computes a reliability parameter as a
measure of production variance
planned tons Mar-98 Apr-98 May-98 Jun-98

09 01H 1800 3500 2500 500

09 02F 3000 4500 5500
09 02H 2500 2400
11 01F 1350 2150

Table 3. Relative tonnage deviation:

actual versus forecast

planned tons Mar-98 Apr-98 May-98 Jun-98

09 01H 0.20 0.40 0.29 0.83

09 02F 1.00 0.50 0.10
Figure 3: Monthly average relative deviations between 09 02H 1.50 0.04
forecast and actual tonnages 11 01F 0.13 0.13

The reliability of a production plan is computed as a

function of the individual draw point reliability. The reliability
of a draw point is computed as another property of a draw
point, alongside grade, dilution, draw rate, as follows:
Draw points i = 1..l, Periods j = 1..J
The reliability of a draw point will be evaluated by
assuming that a 50% or less average monthly relative
tonnage deviation is acceptable. Then the reliability index is
computed as the percentage of the time that a draw point
has been reliable during its life. Thus the reliability index of
draw point 09 01H would be _=75%, since the deviations in
March, April and May were less than 50%. The reliability of
the selected four draw points is shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Draw point reliability

, actual tonnage drawn from draw point i in period j
Draw Point Reliability
, planned tonnage to be drawn from draw point i in
period j 09 01H 75%
09 02F 67%
ri j =
{ 1 if di j K

0 otherwise
09 02H
11 01F
50%
100%
is an indicator of the compliance over a deviation K of the Applying the same concept to the data shown in figure 3
plan with respect to the actual tonnage drawn. Finally the it is possible to see in figure 4 that there is a variation of
reliability of the draw point is computed as: reliability within the active panel. Consequently for the next
j monthly forecast there will be more confidence in predicting
j draw point 13 02F than 01 01F in achieving the production
r
j =1
i target.
Ri =
j
Table 1 and Table 2 show a production plan and the actual
tonnages drawn from four of the 40 draw points showed in
figure 3. Table 3 shows the relative deviation between
forecast and actual tonnages.

Table 1. Production forecast for four draw points

planned tons Mar-98 Apr-98 May-98 Jun-98

09 01H 1500 2500 3500 3000

09 02F 1500 3000 5000
09 02H 1000 2500
Figure 4. Reliability index of draw points in figure 1.
11 01F 1200 1900
As more observations are made, then the reliability index
can be recomputed. Figure 5 shows the change of the
reliability index with time for four draw points chosen from
the 40 draw points of figure 3. This shows that the reliability
index cannot be assumed to be independent of time and

152 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

therefore an adjustment of the index will be necessary to
develop long term schedules.

Figure 5. Change of reliability index with time for different

draw points

The next step in developing the application of the

reliability theory to block cave planning is to assemble the
individual draw point reliabilities into the block cave
reliability
5 APPLICATION OF RELIABILITY
THEORY TO PRODUCTION PLANNING
The reliability of the system relates to the probability of an
entire system failing, based on the knowledge of the failure
distribution associated with the systems component
(Kaufmann et al, 1977). Reliability theory has been used
extensively to analyze mechanical systems, even the
process of ants foraging (Herbers, 1981). In order to
compute the reliability of the system, it is first necessary to
map its component processes. The relationships between
these processes also need to be established. Then an
analogy with electric circuits is used to compute the system
reliability. For example, the reliability of two dependant
processes is computed as if these two processes were
connected in series. The same applies for two independent
processes in which the reliability is computed as if the
processes were connected in parallel. Figure 6 shows a few
different kinds of process connections, Herbers (1981), as
follows:
a) in series
b) in parallel
c) parallel - series
d) in series - parallel
Each of the above would have a different formula to
compute the overall system reliability.
Figure 7. Representation of a block cave mine
The ore passes, numbered from 1 to 3, and draw points
are indexed according to position with respect to ore pass
and draw point, e.g. would be the jth draw point in ore pass
i. Draw points in the same panel will be in parallel and in
series with the ore pass. Therefore the reliability of a panel
is given by:
j (i )
RPi = ROPi 1 C (1 RDik )
k =1
where is the reliability of panel i, is the reliability of ore
pass i, and is the reliability of the jth draw point located on
panel i. J(i) is the number of draw points in panel i. Since the
three panels in figure 7 operate in series, then the reliability
of the system shown is given by:
R = RP1 RP2 RP3
The base case scenario will consist of having the same
reliability for all elements equal to 0.8, i.e. ROP1 = RDij =
0.8 for all i and j. Then the system reliability would be R =
0.487. Now consider two cases:
Case 1: Suppose that the reliability of any draw point in
panel 1 decreases to 0.5 due to poor draw control and
operational factors. Then the reliability of the production
area would be R = 0.486 (See Table 5), not a significant
difference from the base case.

Case 2: If instead the reliability of any draw point in panel

3 (the cave front) decreases to 0.5, then the reliability of the
entire system would be R = 0.456. This is an interesting
result; since the reliability model suggests that it is more
important to keep draw points at the cave front in proper
operation rather than old draw points to enhance the
performance of the production area.

Table 5: Production area reliability

Figure 6: Processes connections presented by Herbers by panel for different cases
(1981)
Consider a mine with three production panels. Each panel Panel 1 Panel 2 Panel 3 System R
has an ore pass and several draw points linked to it, as
shown in figure 7. Each of the panels has to produce an Base case 0.799 0.794 0.768 0.487
equal tonnage at any given period to maintain the uniform
draw pattern in order to avoid early dilution as well as high Case 1 0.797 0.794 0.768 0.486
stresses in the production area. Case 2 0.799 0.794 0.72 0.456

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 153

 The reliability model could also be used to help decide become so large that a "hang-up" occurs. Production from
where to open a new draw point by showing in which way the draw points may still proceed, however, at a lower
the system becomes more reliable. For example, consider reliability. If production stops, then caving still occurs but
Case 2 above where there is a draw point in the cave front this induces potentially damaging stresses onto the
with low reliability and it is desired to open a new draw point adjacent draw points, thus affecting production from the
(with reliability 0.8) so that the entire production area panel in the long term.
becomes more reliable. Suppose also that operational Development of a realistic and robust production planning
constraints in panel 2 mean that the new draw point can model for block caving operations is a challenging task. The
only be located in panels 1 or 3. The calculation of the issues and factors described above should also be included
system reliability for both these scenarios is shown in Tables in such a model.
6 and 7 respectively.
6 CONCLUSIONS
Table 6: System reliability for a new
Even though current production scheduling methods may
draw point in panel 1 (shown in bold)
forecast the global tonnage to be mined per period
accurately, there is often exists a significant tonnage
Panel 1 Panel 2 Panel 3
variance between forecast and actual production on a draw
ROPi 0.8 0.8 0.8 point by draw point basis. This variance generally results
from inadequate integration of the fundamental models that
RDil 0.8 0.8 0.8 sustain the planning of a block cave operation and also the
RDi2 0.8 0.8 0.5 inability to deal with operational data.
Reliability theory has been studied as a means to allow
RDi3 0.8 0.8 mine planners to account for the actual production
RDi4 0.8 performance as part of the mine planning system. Also,
reliability theory provides a way to analyze the weakest link
RDi5 0.8 within a mine plan from a process point of view. There is a
RPi 0.8 0.79 0.72 System R = 0,46 need to integrate the more fundamental process models
and field monitoring data to improve the precision of
production scheduling
Table 7: System reliability for a new
draw point in panel 3 (shown in bold) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Panel 1 Panel 2 Panel 3 The authors are grateful to Gemcom Software

International Inc. for time and funding to complete the work
ROPi 0.8 0.8 0.8 and submit this paper.
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Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 36, 121-142.
155
 Integrating Work Index into
mine planning at large
scale mining operations
Jose A. Caceres S., MSc(Eng), PhD Candidate
Charles W. Pelley, PhD, P.Eng P.D. (Takis) Katsabanis, PhD, P.Eng.
Shadan Kelebek, PhD, Associate Professors, Department of Mining Engineering, Queens University

Abstract
Mine planning and mineral processing optimization are usually treated as two unconnected problems, especially at open
pit and panel caving mines where the cut-off grade is practically the only variable optimized and analyzed for in the
planning proposes.
Using existing planning tool, the output is a reserve consumption strategy privileging higher grades. With the earlier
consumption of the highest grades, every year produces revenues which are closer to the cost and potentially even
below cost. However, there are other ore characteristics that can also affect the profitability of the operation.
A new methodology has been developed, incorporating the grinding and flotation relationship into the mining economic
models for the simultaneous analysis and optimization of the throughput-work index-recovery relationship through
changes in the mining limits, sequence and redefinition of the reserve consumption strategy.
A mine-site that implements this new planning strategy, can expect to increase the NPV from 5 to 15% depending on
the actual operational settings.
Two case studies have been developed, showing how the inclusion of the work index in the economic model changes
the phase and mining sequence in an open pit mine and the caving sequence and the optimum column height in a panel
caving mine.

1 INTRODUCTION schedule, an operational plant with its behavior studied by

The most recent studies integrating mining and mineral
processing have been named "Mine to Mill". These studies
try to maximize the net present value by optimizing the
recovery-throughput relation for an on-going operation.
The concept has been previously explored.
Carlisle(1954), suggested the advantage of increased
throughput over the mill design capacity, Steine(1978)
shows the potential improvement of cash flow by the
throughput increments of increasing grinding size, without
considering the impact on the mine planning.
Camus(2002) suggests the advantage of increasing
throughput by sacrificing recovery, considering the recovery
as a lineal function of throughput.
These studies assume a maximum capacity in the mill,
accept the actual mine design and mining schedules,
and optimize only the cut-off grades. Initial apprehension
from mineral processing professionals for these kinds of
studies is understood as it is risky to assume a maximum
capacity without having information about the rock
properties. It is not valid to assume a potential recovery
without having certainty about product size as mineral
processing performances are evaluated by throughput
and recovery goals. Considering these factors, the
"initial" apprehension is largely justified and explained
by the uncertainty in one of the important variables for
the performance and design of conventional grinding
circuits, the Work Index (Wi).
The research presented here, developed by the Queens
University Mine to Mill project, incorporates previous
researchers findings but goes a step forward with the
inclusion of Work Index into the mining planning.
1.1 Wi Planning Methodology
The methodology is a recursive algorithm for long term
planning for operating mines. The method starts by
assuming a known mining method, an initial mining
laboratory testing or developed from historic data.
Better models or better optimization engines can improve
every step of the methodology. The target function is the
NPV for the long-term planning, and changing that target
would not change the structure of the methodology, just the
parameter and potentially the results.
1.1.1 Concentrator Elements
Considering an operating plant, the main work must be
centered in grinding and flotation. In conventional grinding
circuits, the first task is to build throughput-Wi-product size
relationships, usually based on the Bond approach,
calibrated and modified for real performance data. The
analysis will generate a set of equations or surfaces placing
a potential throughput in function of product size (Usually
P80) and Wi. The achievable production rate will be
indicated by the grinding analysis and must be constrained
by a maximum capacity analysis.
In flotation, the task is based on statistical analysis
using ANOVA, Stepwise Regression or Structural
Equation Modeling to build a predictive model for the
Metallurgical Recovery (Cu, Nickel.etc). The model can
be checked, corrected even replaced by flotation batch
tests, where the recovery is well correlated with control
variables (grinding size, average grade, lithology), the
support must be accompanied by a sensitivity analysis
where the predictive capacity can be checked. Back
analysis and/or cross validations are highly
recommended.
The flotation analysis must include the time/ residence
effect on the recovery, by the statistical analysis or the
flotation kinetics made on the plant.
The economical analysis in the concentrator must be able
to split the fixed and variable costs (considered fixed in this
marginal scenario where no new investments are
considered). The main items to be analyzed generally must
be the energy and iron consumption of grinding.

156 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The final elements must be the analysis of the maximum
capacity reachable for the concentrator; the analysis must
review all the plant stages and identify bottle necks.
Summarizing, the elements required in the Concentrator
to apply to Mine Plant Simultaneous Planning are the
following:
The P80-Tonnage-Wi Relationship
A Recovery (P8,Wi, Grade, , other), predictive model.
Maximum Capacity Analysis
The Fixed and Variable Cost Structure.
1.1.2 Mine Elements.
Assuming a mining method is already selected, a mining
limit and sequence has been defined, a cut-off optimization
has been carried out based on the traditional throughput
definition (Probably defined by the concentrator); the mine
must produce an initial reserve schedule and mining plan
with a average grade and Wi by period (if the Wi
optimization is going to be included). All these initial
approaches are useful to build a Base Case to use an initial
evaluation.
The same structures cost analysis carried out on the
concentrator must be repeated on the mine, splitting again
the fixed and the variable costs.
Finally, just like the concentrator, a maximum capacity
analysis must be included. For an open pit mine, the
capacity is almost unconstrained and is directly related with
the equipment. For underground mines upper limits exist
and must be identified.
Summarizing, the elements required to apply to mine and
plant simultaneous planning for mining professionals are the
following:
An Initial Reserves Schedule
A Maximum Production Rate Analysis
The Fixed and Variable Cost Structure.
1.1.3 Evaluation Methodology including a Variable
Recovery
A critical step is to accept the fact that recovery cannot be
estimated as a constant value for the next 25 years. All the
previous and following steps, and the extra value gained by
carrying out better planning, will be wasted if at the end,
somebody declares "The recovery for the next 25 years will
be 89.99%". The most critical step is to modify the actual
evaluation system in every mine site by including the
recovery as a reliable function of input data, like
throughputs, work index, grades or rock types. The
evaluation of any system depends on every operating
characteristic.
1.1.4 Base Case Economic Evaluation
Considering the data generated for the mine and the
concentrator, an economic evaluation estimating the initial
NPV has to be built. The economic evaluation must be the
result of the compromises assumed by the mine in the long-
term period, accepted by management, and define the most
relevant parameter of the mine. In most cases this will be
the NPV of the actual operation.
1.1.5 The Optimization Module.
The optimization model must recreate the economic value of
the base case, (based on the economic evaluation already
made) and must be able to calculate directly the target function,
net present value, cash flow or rate of return as a function of
changes in tonnage, recovery, grades, and Wi. This module,
core of the Mine to Mill, must be able to calculate average
grades facing increases or decreases in the production rate,
and simultaneously must calculate the new recovery caused by
new throughput and/or new grades and Wi.
The way to solve the problem in an open pit is using the
incremental technique provided by software package like
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Opticut. In underground mines, an incremental technique
can be set up.
Once all the variables are set up and related to each
other, it is possible to estimate the effect of changes in
throughput and Wi on recovery and liberation size to find the
optimum production rate.
The optimization engine could be an iterative method like
dynamic programming, or multivariable methods for non
lineal problems starting with the generalized reduced
gradient, considering an important number of starting
solutions to increase the chance of finding the global
optimal solution.
1.1.6 Wi inclusion.
The Wi has to be included in the base case, the
production plan, the recovery-production rate functions
and into the maximum capacity analysis. The Wi must be
included in the economic model affecting simultaneously
production rate, capacity and recovery, in the block model
or mining units, (Blocks, Benches, Stopes, Panel and
Areas) and reevaluate these mining units and apply the
method used to define the sequence depending of every
mining method. For example for an open pit, it is
necessary to build the profit matrix and apply the Lerch &
Grossman method or Moving Cone with the decreasing
price series or increasing cost series and define the new
potential phases and sequence and optimize the cut-off
grade including the variable recovery and re-evaluate the
production schedule.
For Panel Caving mines, the method is similar, accepting
the caving level, including the effects of Wi on the caving
limits, the caving sequences and Lanes method applied to
optimize the column height. Figure 1 shows this concept.
1.1.7 Stop Criteria.
The global methodology stops when the difference
between the NPV for the solution immediately posterior and
the actual solution is lower than a tolerance value.
Figure 1 Wi Inclusion Concept
2 INDUSTRIAL CASE
The following is a simplified industrial case where grades,
work index, mineral processing data and correlations belong
to an actual mine site in central of Chile. With the intention
of simplifying and enhancing the general character of the
exercise and protecting the mine information, the analysis is
based only on copper as the main valuable component.
The analysis considers a conventional circuit and applies
the methodology previously described for an underground
Panel Caving.
157
2.1 Concentrator Analysis
The grinding circuit is composed of a single open-circuit Table 1 Economic Parameters Underground Mine
mill plus a conventional mill initially designed for 33
[Kton/day], based on an average Wi of 15 [Kwh/ston]. The Parameters
capacity analysis shows that without a constraint in the
product size the technical maximum capacity will be 38 Cu Price 130.00 cUS$/lb
Kton/day, limited by the behavior of the rod mill. Additionally Discount 35.00 cUS$/lb
there is a product size constraint in the range 260-300 um Interest Rate 10.00 %
because of pulp transportation problems. Total Mining Cost 3.26 US$/Ton
The throughput, work index, and product size relations, Processing Cost 4.30 US$/Ton
calibrated with actual data, are shown in Figure 2. Mining Cost 0.98 US$/Ton
Statistical Analysis shows that the P80 explains more than Processing Variable Cost 2.15 US$/Ton
80% of the variance in the recovery data and flotation
kinetics ensures adequate residence time for a scenario of
38 Kton/day. This justifies no inclusion of a penalty in the Furthermore, it seems logical to assume that the "soft rock"
recovery associated with a lack of residence time. Figure 3 is associated with the higher grades which assumes when
shows the P80-Recovery relation considered. These figures planning using opportunity cost only one should get the best
are from Kelebek (2000). grades and softest rocks in the first years of the mine life.
Under this assumption it is enough to consider the average
Wi from the annual reports to equal 15 Kwh/st.

Figure 2 Actual Conventional Grinding Circuit Calibration

Figure 4 Optimal Sequence, Average Wi

Considering a production rate of 33 Kton/day, average, an

average Wi (15 Kwh) and the economic parameters from table 1,
the optimal caving sequence, is highly orientated to the south part
of the mine as shown in Figure 4. This follows higher grades and
higher column heights due to the copper price considered.
Table 2 shows the production plan and economic evaluation
resulting after smooth the caving sequences and considering
Figure 3 Recovery-P80 Relation the concentrator information shown in Fgures 2 and 3.
Table 2 Production Plan Average Wi
NPV = 1164.8 MUS$
2.2 Underground Mine
The underground mine is a Block Caving operation with a
maximum capacity of 48 Kton/Day because of area and
caving constraints. The analysis is based on copper for
envelope limits and caving sequences design. Lanes
methodology was used to define the optimum column
height. A copper price of 130 US$/Ton was used with an
interest rate of 10%. Table 1 shows the economic
parameters considered.
The base case considers the same economic parameters
from Table 1 and a production rate of 33 Kton/day. An
important first step is to examine what happens if work index
information is simply omitted because, for example, the high
copper price suggests that grade is far more important or as
in the recent past with a price of $US0.70 /lb, there is neither
the time or economic resource to get Wi information.

158 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The production plan is one from a mine site which does
consider mine to mill relationships and assumes a flat
recovery and a flat throughput. But, what happens if the
previous plan does not assume an average work index but
instead measures and includes those values in the block
model?
Because of work index inclusion, recovery is no longer flat
but changes according to liberation size, reflecting the
actual behavior of a flotation plant. The assumption of 15
Kwh/ston for the following 17 years has a cost in net present
value of 54 MUS$ as shown in Table 3. Very few planners
would predict that inclusion of the actual Wi in their plan
would reduce the NPV by 5%. This demonstrates the
problem with building production plans using non-evaluated
assumptions or, worst yet, to choose to ignore such an
important factor in their evaluations.
Table 3 Production Expected Work Index
NPV = 1111.5 MUS$
The important next step is to re-analyze, the caving
sequence and column heights now considering Wi and
concentrator relations. The resulting caving sequence, as
shown in Figure 5, is strongly central and north oriented,
because of the value added or subtracted by work index in
potential throughput increases, and variable recoveries.
Figure 5 Caving Sequence with Wi Inclusion
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The 33Kton/day production plan, after smoothing the
caving sequence and now including Wi and Cu grade has a
net present value of 1149.6 MUS$. This recovers 38 MUS$
of 54 MUS$ initially "lost" because it assumes a more
realistic flotation plant. Table 4 shows the production plan
and evaluation for this new sequence.
Table 4 Production Plan and Evaluation Wi-CU Sequence
It is necessary to define the optimal production rate based on
information from the block model, projecting grades and Wi as
function of changes in throughput. This analysis must connect
the reserve behaviour to define the optimal throughput with a
NPV maximization target. Figure 6 shows the profit and
recoveries for a simplified case considering a fixed grade.
Is important to highlight that this kind of "static" analysis
is only for the academic purposes, as it is impossible to
assume that with increased throughput the grades will
remain constant. Connecting every block each containing
the true differing grades, Wi and cost to the optimal
throughput decision, and associating the mining variables
such as sequences and column height while always
respecting the constraint of maximum column height and
extraction speed, is the key to real mine to mill optimization.
Building the optimal production plan under the concentrators
constraints, increases the NPV for the 17 years of mine life by
8,7 % as shown in Table 5, and increases the profit by 14 and
32% during the first two years. (Figure 7).
It is necessary to question if all the sequences and column
height analysis is necessary. Why not accept the actual
sequence and column heights and just go to the maximum
capacity of 38 Kton/day. This is similar to Carlisle (1954) who
states "Except for gross maladjustment of mill capacity to ore
reserves, the optimum rate of recovery in the short run is likely
to be close to designed mill capacity. In many mines it is
profitable to work the mill at greater than designed capacity".
Figure 6 Profit and Recovery as Function of Throughput
static analysis.
159
 Table 5 Expanded Production Plan Optimal Cu-Wi
Sequence NPV 1206
Accepting the original sequence and building a production
plan for 38 Kton/day (Table 6) without including the Wi
increases the NPV by just 1.3%, while increasing
throughput by 15% and forcing the P80 over the constraint
of 260-300 um, getting values around 310 um the year 1
and 322.8 um year 9. This is certainly not an acceptable
route.
Figure 7 Profit Comparison Underground Case
Table 6 Plan 38 Kton/day Original Sequence
A second and unavoidable question is whether it is
possible to get a lower Wi without decreasing Cu grade, is
there a correlation between them?. For some mines,
160 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
especially those based on selective mining, there is no room
for optimization, grades are extremely confined to small
spaces and there are no mining options. However, even
without sequence optimization, it is healthy to estimate the
behavior of a flotation plant based on something better than
an average value. The next industrial Case analyzes the
correlation between Wi and Grades for an Open Pit Mine.
3 ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS
After reviewing the underground case, the following
conclusions can be drawn.
Work Index is a variable that in any case justifies its
inclusion in mine planning at an early stage, and has an
importance equivalent product grades.
Inclusion of Work Index, will imply changes in mining
sequences and mining variables as important as column
height definition.
In concentrators where recovery is strongly related to
product size or P80, work index selection or modification
by better mining sequences is a valid way to increase
throughput without additional investment.
A flat recovery curve, smooth work index-P80
relationship, plus a flat grade profile, is the manner to
increase revenues without additional investment.
Metallurgical recovery improvements by work index
reduction have the potential to significantly increase cash
flow and NPV.
The improvement in mining sequences by the inclusion of
work index data has the potential for significant increases
in profitability, as demonstrated the case study presented.
Relating this analysis to initial project design and linking
the mine sequence and Wi, with the plant design is an
unexplored area with an enormous potential.
ACKNOWLEGEMENT
Mr. Carlos Valenzuela Vega Metalica Consultoress
Engineering Chief.
Metalica Consultores for the support provided to the
author.
The mines that provided the information used in this work
and congratulate them for risking the resources required to
generate the Work Index information and including it in the
block model.
REFERENCES
Bond F.C. (1961) "Crushing and grinding calculations" pp
1-12, British Chemical Engineering, 6, 1960 (Revised
1961 by Allis Chalmers Publication 07R923B).
Camus, J., (2002) "Management of Mineral Resources:
Creating Value in the Mining Business", An SME
publication ISBN 0-87335-216-5.
Carlisle, Donald (1954) "The economic of a fund resource
with particular reference to mining". The American
Economic Review. September issue, pp. 595-619.
Lane, K. 1988 "The economic definition of ore"
S. Kelebek, (2000) "Analysis of Andina data on the effect
of primary grind size on the recovery of Cu with
implications on processing tonnage", An internal Queens
University report for Metalica, Santiago Chile.
Steane H.A. (1978) "Coarser grind may mean lower metal
recovery but higher profit" Canadian Mining Journal, June
issue, pp 2-6.
Massmin 2004
 An evolutionary model for
underground mining planning
Jos Saavedra, Facultad de Ingeniera, Universidad de los Andes
Marco Alfaro, Facultad de Ingeniera, Universidad de los Andes and Metlica Consultores S.A.
Jorge Amaya, Centro de Modelamiento Matemtico, Universidad de Chile

Abstract
In this work we present a methodological approach for finding near optimal solutions to the problem of defining plans for
underground mines. This problem of obvious combinatorial nature is intractable by means of traditional techniques
(Mixed Integer Programming for example). The approach proposed here is based in the mechanism of natural selection,
we construct a Genetic Algorithm to conduct the search of a approximate solution to the problem. In order to acquire
this objective, we first need a model which characterizes the gravitational flow of material from the drawpoints, the
chosen model for this objective is a cellular automata specifically designed with very simple rules of local evolution. The
model was implemented and tested, the time needed for a solution in real type cases is much less than the time human
planner needs actually for the same task. Possible extensions to this model are presented.

I. INTRODUCTION Another important source of problems in this deterministic

Underground mining operations are very complex in
nature. The main factors that determine this complexity
(between others) are the unsuitable knowledge of ore
resources contained in the mine and the parameters that
characterize them. From this point of view, we can obviously
see that human planners are unable to handling this
complexity and as a consequence very poor solutions are
obtained.
The problem of underground mining planning can be
defined as choosing the best production plan in order to
maximize the benefits derived from the operations. This
planning could be made in three distinct scenarios: short
term (operational), mid term (tactical) and long term
(strategical). In this paper we focus our attention to the
operational case.
Many resources are wasted in preparing mining plans.
Usually this task takes two or three workers dedicated only
to this work. Moreover, they dont have any tools available
and this imposes on the final solutions the human planner
bias. Some efforts have been made to solve this situation.
From the point of view of classical optimization we can
consider a model that has the following features:
The mine is subdivided into blocks of homogeneous
dimensions that conform a domain without holes (edge
connected).
When we extract a block from a given drawpoint, the
blocks that are in the same column descend in one
position (precedence restrictions) .
Ore extraction is supposed to be realized in a soft manner,
in the sense that adjacent columns cant show high
differences in height, this restriction prevents dilution
entry.
Usually the objective function of this kind of models is the
Net Present Value (NPV) of the economic result of the
business derived from the operations.
this point of view is the dominant one presented in the
work [6].
One of the problems that isnt resolved by this approach
is the incorporation of the stochastic behavior of
Gravitational Flow. Because of this, we call to this kind of
models deterministic.
perspective is the combinatorial explosion of the problem.
We have the following result:
Proposition I.1
If we call Sk,l,m the number of feasible sequences in
a sector of k blocks width by l blocks length by m
blocks height, with m k,l, the we have
(k l)m < Sk,l,m < (k l m)!
the proof of this proposition can be found in the work [7].
As an application of this result, if we consider a sector with
dimensions then we are in presence of at least possible
sequences, if we take 1 second in evaluating each one of
this sequences then we need at least
34048129883307965499746321664130 years in order to
resolve this problem. So an obvious conclusion is that
exhaustive search is a very bad strategy for this class of
problems.
Of course not every sequence is feasible. One possible
choice, in order to reduce this high number of sequences, is
to make an algorithm that can generate feasible sequences.
Its not hard to see that this approach faces other problems
that are not easy to resolve, for example to decide if a given
sequence is feasible.
In this paper we propose a model that breaks this
classical approach to the problem of underground mining
planning. We choose as an alternative an Evolutionary
Model because of the flexibility and good empirical results
in problems of higher complexity (like the one presented
here).
II. EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHMS
Genetic Algorithms (GA from now) were introduced by
John Holland in 1975. They are inspired in Darwins
mechanisms of natural selection. Such mechanisms
establish that an individual is generated as a mixture of the
genes from his parents by means of crossover, added to this

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 161

process of mixture there is a process called mutation
(change in some segments of genetic material).
This last mechanism implies in some way evolution
because add novel elements not present in the genetic
information from parents. Finally, the adaptation to the
medium makes that some individuals survive and inherit
their genes to his sons. The general form of an Evolutionary
Algorithm is the following:
t := 0;
initialize (P(0));
evaluate(P(0));
While Not has been done Do
P (t) : = select parents (P(t));
P (t) : = recombinate (P(t));
P (t) : = mutate (P(t));
evaluate (P(t));
P (t + 1) := natural selection(P(t); P(t));
t := t + 1;
Next
In this Algorithm t is the counter of generations and
evaluate (P) implies to evaluate fitness function to every
member of population P. This algorithm finish when the
fitness value of actual population P(t) in time t dont innovate
or after a fixed number of iterations.
The considerations in the moment of implementing GA
strategies are: chromosomic representation, population
size, fitness function, crossover and mutation operators,
crossover and mutation probabilities. For further reading on
this technique go to references [3], [5], [7].
III. MODELS FOR GRAVITATIONAL FLOW
If we want to incorporate the stochastic behavior of
granular flow in our model we need first consider models for
this phenomenon.
In the last decade, some efforts have been made. The
main results were obtained by chilean well known scientists,
Eric Goles [1] and Servet Martnez [4]. These two
approaches are similar in the kind of technique used, both
are cellular automata models.
Another interesting model is the one proposed by
Gregorio Gonzlez [2]. In this work the ideas presented in
[1] are refined. Applications to underground mining are
presented.
The most recent development in this area is the model
presented by Marco Alfaro [8]. This model is a Cellular
Automata that has the benefit of simple rules of evolution,
and as a consequence, its possible to obtain a efficient
implementation [9].
Independent of the chosen model, its fundamental
for the proposed methodology to have some
gravitational flow model. As we will see in the next
section, our model consider a gravitational flow model
in the kernel of the evaluation function of the proposed
genetic algorithm.
IV. PROPOSED EVOLUTIONARY MODEL
A. Extraction Charts
Operations in underground mining are realized in
turns. Such turns are usually of 8 hours each one and
each day is divided in three turns. Given a set of
drawpoints {i }ni=1 a Extraction Chart is an assignment
of tons to extract for each drawpoint en each turn. We
can if we wish consider another kinds of periods like
days, weeks, months, etc. Formally:
162 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Definition IV.1
Given a set of drawpoints {i}ni=l we define a Extraction
Chart as a matrix M Mmxn with the number of
drawpoints and m the number of turns. The coefficient mij
of this matrix is defined as:
mij : = tons (expressed in shovels) to extract in
drawpoint j in turn i
Observation IV.1
Extraction Chart M dont have to be a square matrix.
If we call to demand (in shovels) in turn i then we have
n
m
k =1
ik D1
" " in the last restriction gives the choice of not satisfy
the hole demand, if not we could force our algorithm to
extract blocks that gives worse solutions.
B. Chromosome Representation
The natural chromosome representation for a extraction
chart is a matrix like the one previously defined. This will be
the formal structure in which we will define the crossover
and mutation operators.
C. Crossover Operator
Given two individuals (matrix) from a given population, for
example M;N, we define the associated crossover operator
as:
We select randomly a number in the set {1,...,m} (i.e. we
select randomly a turn). Let i* such number.
We consider the submatrices of M and N given by M1 =
= (mij) i*i=1, j {1,...,n} and, M2 = (mij)mi=i* +1, j {1,..., n}
and analog for N.
We define the new matrices
M N
M = 1 and = 1
N2 M2
This crossover operator guarantees feasibility from turn to
turn of extraction charts, this because we maintain demand
inequality in each turn.
D. Mutation Operator
To define a mutation operator we have to randomly select
a turn (row in the extraction matrix). We proceed then to re-
balance the selected row with a number randomly chosen
between 0 and the demand of the turn, then we distribute
randomly in to the selected turn. This operator guarantees
feasibility of the selected row (the number chosen is less
than demand).
E. Fitness Function
In order to evaluate the fitness of a extraction chart
we have to run a simulation of the chart and then
obtain a list of blocks with laws of ore grades. With
this information we can obtain the benefit given by
that extraction chart incorporating NPV in this
calculation.
Massmin 2004
F. The Algorithm The results of the iterations are summarized in the
The search algorithm is described with the following following picture. This picture illustrate the behavior of the
pseudo-code: best solution in each iteration:

Algorithm.
Inputs:
Block Model
Location of Drawpoints
Population Size n
Parameters: Crossover and Mutation Probabilities
Iterations
Probabilities for Cellular Automata
Outputs:
Optimal Extraction Chart
Algorithm:
Initialize Extraction Charts Population
(n Extraction Charts):
P(0);
Fitness Evaluation(P(0));
For t = 0 To V FIG. 1: Best Individual Evolution.
Begin
Crossover (P(t)): P(t + 1); As we can see, the algorithm generates a sequence of
Mutation (P(t + 1)); solutions in which each one is at least equal or better than
Fitness Evaluation (P(t + 1)); the previous.
Next Generation Selection (P(t),P(t + 1));
End For B. Calibration of Model Parameters
In order to operate this GA, we need calibrate the
Function Fitness Evaluation(P(t)); functional parameters. The used example was the previous
For i = 1 To n one. We will vary crossover and mutation probabilities.
Begin To denote the instances of the problem we will use the
Simulate(Extraction Chart i(t)); notation An1/n2M, where n1 is crossover probability, n2
Cellular Automata(Extraction Chart i(t)); mutation probability, selection method A (Parents and Sons:
Economic Evaluation(Extraction Chart i(t)); PH; Only Sons: SH) and parent selection M (Roulette: R;
End For Drawing: S).
End Function
Each instance was runned 30 times and we determine in
V. NUMERICAL RESULTS which generation we reach the optimum. The following table
resumes the results.
A. Trivial Case
This case is a sector of 4 by 4 by 4 blocks, all of them with Instance Mean Standard Deviation
grade 0, i.e. sterile. This simple example has only two
extraction points, one in coordinates (1; 1; 0) and the other
in coordinates (3; 2; 0). The obvious solution to this problem PH80/20S 64.93 22.89
is to extract nothing from drawpoints. This example was PH90/30S 50.17 21.55
tested with the following parameters: PH80/30S 45.70 20.36
PH80/40S 38.33 20.33
Application Parameters PH80/50S 35.40 15.70
PH90/20S 61.13 27.64
Turn Number 5
PH100/20S 55.23 27.17
Max. Demand in each Turn 10 PH100/0S 100.00 0.00 (*)
PH100/100S 31.70 9.50
GA Parameters SH100/100S 100.00 0.00 (*)
SH80/20S 100.00 0.00 (*)
Iterations Number 100
PH100/100R 28.97 15.01
Population Size 10
Crossover Probability 0.8 (*) means that instance doesnt converge
Mutation Probability 0.2 never in 100 iterations.

Selection Policy Between Parents and Sons C. Another Factors

We prove many others effects: Maximum Demand,
Selection Method Drawing
Number of Blocks, Population Size, Drawpoints Number.
Almost all of them gives a linear dependence between the
The solution to this problem was obtained in 63 iterations. number of iterations needed to reach the optimum and the
increase of the values. The only factor that shows
exponential behavior is Maximum Demand, i.e., if we vary
0.02 0.10 0.02
the Maximum Demand parameter then the number of
0.10 0.51 0.10
iterations needed to converge grows exponentially. We
0.02 0.10 0.02
summarize this effects in the following table:

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 163

 Effect Variation Result constructed with the same philosophy so we can expect
some kind of integration and scale economies between +
Max. Demand Grow Exponential Grow both models.
Number of Blocks Grow Linear Grow In the future we hope to construct a model that
Population Size Grow Linear Decrease incorporates gravitational flow simulations and downstream
Drawpoints Number Grow Linear Grow operations.
Another source of extensions to the model is to consider
operational events as stochastic processes. In this way
D. Real Scale Example simulations of extraction charts would be more realistic. In order
This example was runned with the following parameters: to accomplish this objective is needed historical data to calibrate
the parameters of the involved stochastic processes.
Application Parameters
VII. CONCLUSIONS
Turn Number 12
As an obvious first conclusion we have that this problem
Max. Demand in each Turn 100 has a very large number of involved variables.
Number of Drawpoints 171 In this moment its really very difficult consider the hole
complexity of this problem. For example at the moment
Number of Blocks 400000
there arent appropriate models to handle the breaking of
the solid rock.
GA Parameters Another important conclusion is that the stochastic nature
of the phenomenon is hard to include in the modeling
process. Some attempts have been made but at the
Iterations Number 34
moment this efforts are in initial development. The proposed
Population Size 8 methodology could be applied in real type situations. The
Crossover Probability 1 response times are good compared with human planners.
The most important advantages of the methodology is that
Mutation Probability 1
we can test in an efficient way many choices and that the
Selection Policy Between Parents and Sons search procedure is well conducted.
Selection Method Drawing With this methodology we are in presence of a flexible
model that can be customized to satisfy the planner needs.

The results are summarized in the following table: VIII. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Results J.S. wish to acknowledge the support of FAI (Fondo de

Ayuda a la Investigacin), Proyecto Ingeniera 2004,
Execution Time 3:11 Universidad de Los Andes.
Iterations Number 34 REFERENCES

We can extrapolate this result and see that in real
situations it would take about 8 hours to finish the
optimization process.
VI. EXTENSIONS TO THE MODEL
The proposed model dont consider downstream
operations. These operations are in general the most
restrictive operations. For example in some downstream
operations smooth ore grade is required, the fine mid term
promise has to be accomplished, etc. In all of these cases
the proposed model dont give an answer.
Recently, an extension of the model proposed in this
paper have been implemented [10]. This model uses
Genetic Algorithms too and the main characteristics are:
1. Genetic Algorithms mechanisms in the search of
solutions.
2. Mixture Models for Ore Unload.
3. Operations are considered as transport problem.
4. Restrictions on the quantity of ore to be extracted from
drawpoints are imposed.
5. Capacity constraints in downstream operations are
considered.
6. NPV evaluation.
7. Drawpoint Grade behavior is assumed.
In real type situations, the response time of this
implementation are in the order of 3:00 hrs [10].
The next challenge is to integrate the model proposed in
[7] whit the one proposed in [10]. Both models were
[1] Eric Goles y Sebastin Pea: Modelamiento y
Simulacin del Flujo Gravitacional. Informe Final PB5-
10004, Apndice N2, 1996.
[2] Gregorio Gonzlez: Estudio del Comportamiento de un
Material Granular Mediante Modelos Computacionales.
Memoria para optar al ttulo de Ingeniero Civil
Matemtico, 1999.
[3] John R. Koza: Genetic Programming: on the programming
of computers by means of natural selection, The MIT Press,
Cambridge, Massachussets, 1992.
[4] Servet Martnez: Consideraciones Acerca del
Modelamiento de Flujo Gravitacional. Informe Final
PB5- 10004, Apndice N3, 1996.
[5] Zbigniew Michalewicz: Genetic Algorithms + Data
Structures = Evolution Programs, Springer, 1996.
[6] Nelson Morales: Modelos Matemticos para
Planificacin Minera. Memoria para optar al ttulo de
Ingeniero Civil Matemtico, Universidad de Chile, 2002.
[7] Jos Saavedra: Secuencias, Flujo Gravitacional y
Evolucin en Planificacin Minera. Memoria para optar
al ttulo de Ingeniero Civil Matemtico, Universidad de
Chile, 2002.
[8] Marco Alfaro, Jos Saavedra: Predictive Models for
Gravitational Flow. To be presented in MassMin 2004.
[9] Carlo Caldern, Marco Alfaro, Jos Saavedra:
Computational Model for Simulation and Visualization of
Gravitational Flow. To be presented in MassMin 2004.
[10] Andrs Donoso: Modelos para la Planificacin
Operacional de Produccin en Minera Subterrnea.
Memoria para optar al ttulo de Ingeniero Civil
Industrial, Universidad de Los Andes, 2004.

164 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Chapter 5
Gravitational Flow
166 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Theory of gravity flow (Part 1)
Andrs Susaeta, Mining Consultant, Professor Mining Department, University of Chile, Chile

Abstract
The results of 4 years of a research project over gravity flow based on sand model experiments, conceptual analysis
and back analysis from the Codelco mines is presented. The emphasis of the paper is on a "knew concept" of interactive
gravity flow, that has been developed from sand experiments results and conceptual analysis, and confirmed with
empirical observations from the 3 underground Caving operations of Codelco.
The proposed model for gravity flow is a function of extraction, material properties and layout geometry. This model
integrates the experimental and conceptual results to generate a general model of gravity flow or Mass Flow Behavior.
Several indexes and concepts to assess and control relevant issues of the gravity phenomena are proposed to
characterize and evaluate the Mass Flow Behavior.

1. INTRODUCTION
The understanding of the physical phenomena of gravity
flow is of utmost importance for the optimization of ore
recovery in caving methods, through a proper design of the
extraction level and of the draw practice and control.
With the results of several experiments with a specially
designed sand scale model, conceptual analysis of caving
material behavior, specific scaling relations and evaluation
of data from the three underground operating mines of
Codelco, a model of gravity flow propagation in a panel
caving is proposed.
The proposed model considers the basic variables that
define the stages of a cave before the flow is established:
initial state and caving propagation, but does not deal with
this two processes.
Initial state: The initial state of a caving column
corresponds to the "in situ" Rock Mass, that can be
characterized through several classification systems. All of
them considering IRS, FF and FC and the original stress
field. The potential for caving, the prediction of primary
fragmentation and the design of the caving layout has to be
assessed from this initial state.
Caving Propagation: The propagation of the caving,
determined by the caving sequence and draw policy,
generates a dynamic stress environment. The extraction of
15 to 20 % of the in situ draw column is required to
propagate the cave up to the surface or "waste" limit.
The proposed gravity flow model does not include the
caving propagation phenomena. It mainly deals with the
gravity flow generated by extraction in a caved panel / block.
The generally accepted knowledge and fundamentals
regarding gravity flow during the last century, acquired both
from models and mining practice can be summarized in the
following points :
A draw point extracted in isolation of its neighbors,
generates an isolated draw column.
The diameter of the isolated draw column is a function of
basically the fragmentation of the material (and of its
moisture).
In order to minimize dilution entry it is necessary to have
even draw of neighbor draw points.
The isolated draw diameter is independent of the draw
point width (common acceptance except Laubscher).
The nearer the draw points are the better the recovery of
the ore.
Fragmentation increases with the extraction of the ore
(The higher the extraction finer the material).
The higher the draw column, less the total dilution to be
extracted (one extraction level better than two).
Interaction between two drawpoints exists if the distance
between them is less than 1,5 times the isolated draw
diameter.
If all of these concepts were possible to achieve in the
design and normal operation of a cave mine, the following
model wouldnt be of great need to understand and manage
where and how to minimize the loss of ore due to dilution.
Fm = f (E (estraction), PM (material properties),
Gm (Layout Geometry))
The problem is that with primary rock cave mining, that
requires handling of big fragmentation, it has been more and
more difficult to achieve even draw (due to secondary
blasting, hang ups, loss of draw points due to collapses,
etc.) and to design fully interactive layouts that have a
proper geometry and ensure good interaction. The
proposed model can contribute to the understanding of the
gravity flow phenomena, to the control and draw practice
and for interactive design of primary rock layouts.
2. PROPOSED GRAVITY FLOW MODEL
The model integrates experimental and conceptual results
generated in two research programs that totalize more than
four years of investigation (CIMM Fondef 1037). It
proposes relations between the control parameters of the
variables that define the phenomena of gravity flow, based
on analysis over empirical results.
The behavior of gravity flow of particulate matter seen
under the perspective of mass movement, can be defined
as a function of the following variables:
where:
Fm :Mass Flow behavior.
E: Extraction of material can be characterized after
the parameters defined in the time series of a draw

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 167

 point defined in Figure N1 and through the
Uniformity Index.
Pm : The principle properties of the caved material from
the perspective of gravity flow, are the internal friction
angle () and moisture. The relation is that the greater
minor the Isolated Draw Diameter (Dta), and greater the
moisture of the material (up to certain limit) minor the Dta,
where :
= f ( (Density of caved material), R (Rock
characteristics), F (Fragmentation))
with:
: Density of caved material, corresponds to the apparent
density of the caved column expressed in ton/m3. The
density depends mainly of the hight of the column of caved
material (sv), and the alteration generated by the extraction
in the production level. The higher the density, the higher .
R : Characteristics associated to the rock, corresponding
to rugosity, IRS (Intact Rock Strength), angularity of
fragments, etc.
F : Fragmentation, corresponds to size of particles and
gradation. The greater the particle size (D80),greater .
Additionally the better the size graduation (all sizes present)
greater .
Moisture changes the mechanical properties of the caved
material giving it cohesion, and by it diminishing the Dta, up
to certain range of moisture, over which liquefaction risk
exists, generating "mud flows" that constitute one of the
great risks of the method.
Gm: Geometry of the layout considers distance between
extraction points and its distribution as well as the caving
geometry (topography, stress, pillars, etc.)
Fm (caving mass flow behavior) function has at least
three different models that characterize its behavior:
Figure N1 Flow Behavior
168 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
"Isolated Flow", "Isolated Interactive Flow", and
"Interactive Flow", that are described as follows.
ISOLATED FLOW
The main characteristics of the first model that
corresponds to "isolated draw" are:
Dta (Isolated draw diameter): A draw point that is
extracted in isolation generates a "vertical chimney
movement" of a diameter approximately constant in all
over its hight. This diameter is only affected by waste due
to attrition as any ore shaft. This diameter defined as
"isolated draw diameter" (Dta) is defined mainly by the
internal friction angle () of the caved material and its
moisture. The Dta is independent of the width of the
extraction point and is reached at a height of 2 x Dta from
the extraction point.
Uniform Settlement: Even if there is isolated draw when
draw points are closed and time is given the caved
material "settles uniformly". This phenomena is generated
by a slow propagation movement within the cave due to
equalization of stresses within the cave, towards the
isolated draw columns. Lateral movement is generated
towards the draw columns producing a uniform settlement
in surface. This has been observed both in models and in
caved areas. The dynamics (time propagation) of the
settlement or "slow density equalization" has not been
studied in detail, but is evidently much lower than the flow
in active draw.
INTERACTIVE FLOW AND ISOLATED
INTERACTIVE FLOW
It is proposed that the phenomena of gravity flow is
affected by the superposition of two states of the system
that generates the movement: (a) Extraction point open and
(b) extraction point closed:
a) Extraction Point Open
Behavior of gravity flow , corresponds to the actual
movement of the caved material when the draw point is
open (or when the equipment loads the material). According
Massmin 2004
to the results of the research team1 and other publications
the propagation of the flow in granular materials would
happen through subsequent failure of "pressure arcs"
formed by caved material.
These process generates a movement that is outspread
up to the surface as a descent.
The propagation is of such nature that the zone near to
the isolated draw zone in the low part of the column are
affected generating a lateral movement towards the draw
zone when distance between the draw points are less than
1,5 times its diameter.

b) Extraction Point Closed

Continuous media behavior : This corresponds to a
physical behavior similar to a continuous media (fluid).
When the draw point is closed (open draw) the density over
the draw point is much lower than in the immediate
surroundings, thus a slow equalization of densities occurs,
where sectors of grater density tend to move towards
sectors of lower density. This generates a slow arrangement
of the material towards "litho static equilibrium" with vertical
and lateral movement towards sectors of lower density
(zones of open draw movement).
In the left the movement is preferentially vertical over the
draw point when it is open, also lateral movement happens
when draw points are located less than 1,5 times the Dta
away. Then with closed draw point (continuous behavior)
lateral movement happens due to density equalization.
Figure N3 Isolated interactive Behavior , Layout "Tipo
The limit between an isolated and interactive behavior Teniente"
exists for open flow. When draw points are located at a
distance of 1,5 times Dta or less the "threshold" of Where :
interaction is achieved during open flow, generating a vta is the isolated flow rate
superposition of the two behaviors. These is called "isolated vti is the interactive flow rate
interactive draw".
The graphic representation of "isolated" and "isolated The difference between the "isolated interactive" flow
Interactive" draw have been taken from results from the and "interactive" flow is that in the latter the material of the
CIMM physical model tests. upper part of the caving descends uniformly, thus in the
The following Figures N2 and N3 show sections of the isolated-interactive, there is difference between the flow rate
sand model with isolated flow and Isolate Interactive over the draw point and over the pillar (nti and nta) forming
behavior. small craters in the surface of the cave.
For distances between draw points of less than 1,2 Dta,
the rates over the draw point and over the pillar are equal
below the cave surface.
The differentiation and management of these two models
of behavior is very relevant due to the effect over dilution
control and the recovery of a panel cave, normally designed
to operate in the limit of interaction (D = 1,5 Dta).
Each behavior can be defined as a function of the flow
rates Vti (interactive flow rate) and Vta (isolated flow rate):

Model of Behavior Relation of Flow Rate (Velocity)

a) Isolated Flow vti=0

b) Isolated - Interactive vta > Vti > 0
c) Interactive Flow vta = Vti

The transition from one model of behavior to the other for

a given design and cave material will depend basically upon
the parameters that define the Extraction (E).
According to results of a research with sand models,
stress simulations of the beginning of the gravity flow
movement and extensive mine back analysis results gravity
flow on a caved ground behaves according to the
idealization of the following figure N4, defined as
"Interactive isolated flow :

Figure N2 - Isolated Draw Behavior

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 169

Figure N4 Interactive Isolated Flow Behavior

With the above geometry the following Gi index is
proposed to characterize the degree of interaction that
represents the different behaviors of Fm :
In order to have interaction between the draw points the
proposed 1.5 *Dta was confirmed right through results of
several sand model tests and conceptual analysis3.
One draw point, can have only one of the three behaviors
at one instant in time, thus the function Fm (Mass flow
Model) should have the following time series:

Figure N5 Interaction Degree

Then with Gi definition :

Gi = 0 : with isolated flow

0 < Gi < 1 : with isolatinteractive flow
Gi = 1 : with completely interactive flow

This implies that the "interactive theory" proposed by DH

Laubscher is correct when Gi=1, that should be attained
with mine designs where Dpe is less than 1.2 * Dta, and Figure N6 Two draw points Mass Flow Behavior as a
there is complete uniformity of draw. function of Draw

170 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure N7 Flow Behavior Representation of Fm
The change from one kind of behavior to the other will
depend on the extraction practice (E), that will mainly vary
upon the uniformity with which the different draw points are
extracted.
Following Figure N7 shows the different behaviors that
conform the proposed gravity flow model:
With the proposed behavior the prediction of the dilution
entry point, and the way of mixing of the column is much
more complex than the model proposed by D.Laubscher,
even if total uniformity of draw is obtained, that for primary
rock cavings, would be rare.
The best approximation to the effective gravity flow of an
LHD operation would be an "isolated interactive" behavior.
It is important to bear in mind that even if there is interaction
the flow rate of the area outside the isolated draw column is
significantly slower than the isolated draw velocity.
According to the previous model the dilution entry as a
function of extraction percentage should look as the graph
of Figure N8:
3. CONCLUSIONS
The proposed Fm model integrates part of the previous
gravity flow concepts (Laubscher) broadening its
interpretation. The model is based in the results of physical
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
tests with sand and observations of caving operations.
The validation of the presented model has been done with
empirical results as presented in following paper.
The intensive experimental stage with a specially
designed sand model is an invaluable tool to observe mass
flow behavior. Efforts to keep with these experiments should
not be abandoned, specially to measure stress dynamic
behavior.
4. AKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author acknowledges the important contribution to
the presented results, of the CIMM Gravity Flow Research
Program and the FONDEF 1037 Project, and that of all the
professionals that participated in the experimental stage,
back analysis of the Codelco data and conceptual analysis
developed in these Projects. Both projects were managed
by Hugo Diaz, to a successful end.
Special mention to Dennis Laubscher for setting the
basement, without his acid critic and our long discussions
that led to permanent review of his interpretation of gravity
flow and caving design, I wouldnt have been compelled to
give an additional step.
171
Figure N8 Assessed dilution entry as per Fm Proposed Model
5. REFERENCES
Diaz, H., Susaeta,A, (2000), "Modelamiento del Flujo
Gravitacional", Revista Minerales, in Spanish.
Kvapil, R. (1965): "Gravity flow of granular materials in
hoppers and bins," Int. J. Rock Mechanics and Mining
Science, Parts I and II. Vol. 2.
Kvapil, R. (1982): "The mechanics and design of sublevel
caving system," Underground Mining Methods Handbook,
W. Hustrulid ed., SME, New York.
Laubscher, D. (1994): "Cave mining-the state of the art,"
The Journal of The South African Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy.
Mansson, A. (1995): "Development of body of motion
under controlled gravity flow of bulk solids," Licentiate
thesis, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden.
172 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Susaeta, et all , "Modelamiento del Flujo Gravitacional",
Informe Final, CIMM, 1999. Internal Document in
Spanish.
Susaeta, A., Proyecto Fondef 1037, "Desarrollo de un
Modelo de Flujo Gravitacional para Minera por
Hundimiento de Bloques", Mayo 2002, Sub Proyecto 2.
Internal Document in spanish.
Tamburino, A , Proyecto Fondef 1037, "Desarrollo de un
Modelo de Flujo Gravitacional para Minera por
Hundimiento de Bloques", Mayo 2002, Sub Proyecto 4.
Internal Document in Spanish.
Verdugo, R., Proyecto Fondef 1037, "Desarrollo de un
Modelo de Flujo Gravitacional para Minera por
Hundimiento de Bloques", Mayo 2002, Sub Proyecto 1.
Internal Document in Spanish.
Massmin 2004
 Theory of gravity flow (Part 2)
Andrs Susaeta, Mining Consultant, Professor Mining Department, University of Chile, Chile

Abstract
The objective of this paper is to introduce some control parameters for Fm (Model of Gravity Flow), and using them
prove, through empirical relations and findings from back analysis from Codelco mines, the validity of the proposed
model of gravity flow.
The uniformity Index is introduced and results of back analysis are presented to show relation between draw and
interaction, as well as a methodology to asses and evaluate interactive layout designs.
Some relevant results of the research team are applied to propose a methodology to assess Dta (Isolated draw
diameter) and evaluate layout interaction in the design stage.

1. INTRODUCTION Analysis of the equation

The proposed model for gravity flow depends on three
principal variables. One of them is related with extraction, that
can be characterized with the Uniformity Index, that is a practical
tool to plan and evaluate the effective uniformity of draw.
The relation of this variable with the proposed gravity flow
model is very important for design and operation of caving
layouts, specially in primary ore, where maintaining uniform
draw is not easy.
The layout design and its relation to the cave material
properties is one of the other control variables of the
proposed model and a very relevant issue for a successful
caving operation. A methodology to determine the isolated
draw diameter for different caving materials at different
extraction percentages is proposed, as well as a criteria to
ensure LHD layout interaction for all the ore column.
2. UNIFORMITY INDEX
As it can be seen the equation is constituted by two parts:
A first integer part (), that indicates the number of
inactive draw points in the vicinity, in other words draw
points without movement during the considered period of
time. Then as grows draw is less uniform.
The second part of equation (1) will be called Specific
index of uniformity (I.E.U.). With the normalization factor
r, the I.E.U. is a decimal number between 0 and 1, and
indicates the uniformity of draw among the active draw
points for the selected period of time.
So with the above definition:
Draw characteristic Specific index of uniformity
Completely uniform draw 0
Completely isolated draw 1

The measure of the uniformity of draw is a key issue for
draw control practice. It allows both control and proper
planning of the call order, as well as very easy graphical
representation of the entire mine draw practice.
The proposed index is (as per Susaeta, A, Saavedra, J. -
unpublished):
For example, a draw point with a configuration of 6
neighbors and a uniformity index of 1,009, indicates that for
the draw event analyzed, only one of its neighbors was
inactive and the rest of the draw points were extracted in a
relatively good uniformity.
A key issue regarding uniformity is to define which is
the maximum period of time that can be assumed, to
consider that there is still "movement" in the draw

I .U . = +
(t p t min )
( t max ti )
2
tmax n
where:
: Number of inactive draw points in the draw point
vicinity.
r : Factor of normalization, equal to 99/89.
tp: Tonnage extracted from draw point p under analysis,
in a specific period of time.
ti: Tonnage extracted from draw point i belonging to draw
point p vicinity in the same period of time.
tmax: Maximum tonnage extracted in the vicinity of draw
point p, in the same period of time.
tmin: Minimum tonnage extracted in the vicinity of draw
point p, in the same period of time.
n: Number of draw points belonging to the vicinity of draw
point p.
(1)
columns so as to generate interaction between them. A
period of three shifts (one day) was determined as the
farthest time where there is reasonable correlation
between the U.I and interaction for back analysis studies.
This result is on line with practical experience and stress
measurements of the mayor apex.
INTERPRETATION OF THE UNIFORMITY INDEX
Due to the vectorial nature of the index where two
informations are integrated in one number it is not possible
to categorize its results linearly. The following matrix (Figure
N1) is proposed to characterize the results, that defines
every draw event either as uniform, semi uniform or
isolated.

By definition the vicinity of draw point p includes that draw

point. Then as an example for a layout of a draw point with
6 neighbors cardinal n of the vicinity is 7.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 173

 Uniformity Index Characterization
Figure N1 Uniformity Index example matrix
This matrix can be modified to adjust different design
patterns and uniformity criterias. For programming
purposes special matrix have to be defined for the cave
boundary, where the total possible number of draw points is
less than within the layout.
Each call event (one shift) will have an associated
category of the U.I. Its graphic representation (Figure N2)
for a control period (whole life of mine, one month, etc.) can
be expresed for every draw point in percentage of tonage,
or time, within a specific category. The following figure
shows an example of the representation of a sector of a
case study, where the scale shows percentage of uniformity.
The red then is isolated draw.
Figure N2 - Uniformity Index Graphic Representation in
Plan
3. BACK ANALYSIS RESULTS
Using the described parameters, and the Fm concepts,
the information of all the Codelco Mines was analyzed to
determine relations between draw practice and interaction.
- Degree of Interaction (Gi)
A relation between the Gi (Gi = vti / vta) and the U.I
(Uniformity Index) was derived from a sector of El
174 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Teniente Mine, where vertical up holes were drilled
through the mayor apex into the caved material after it
was closed. The graph (Figure N3) where the U.I,
represented as percentage of time in isolation against
Gi (determined from lithological mapping of the ore over
the pillars) shows the relation between these two
variables.
These results were predictable from the Fm proposed
model. They confirm that draw must be uniform ideally
100% of the time. With this the maximum potential of
interaction degree (Gi) for the design can be attained. The
Gi for any LHD layout, as will be showed will be less than 1,
thus the potential of leaving part of the ore reserves over the
mayor apex is certain.
Figure N3 Interaction Degree versus Uniformity Index
The following table shows the results of the Dilution
Entry Point for several representative sectors. They confirm
that there is a direct dependency between U.I and Dilution
entry point, for points that have had over 70% extraction
with uniformity. The higher the percentage of time (or
tonnage) extracted with uniformity, the higher the dilution
entry point.
Sector Uniformity Index % Dilution Entry
%t = % t = Unif.
Isolation + semiuni
Inca Norte 34 66 57
Inca Central 57 43 41
Quebrada
Teniente 19 81 62
Teniente 4 34 66 54
The following graph (Figure N4) summarizes the
behavior of all LHD draw points of Andina III Panel. This
graph looks like the proposed behavior of Isolated
interactive flow. The Pedza (Dilution entry point of
isolated flow) was determined through a very accurate
tracer of dilution (construction material of previous level)
and the Pedzi (Dilution entry point from interactive flow)
was determined from the change of curve slope. The
real dilution percentage is not accurate because not all
dilution is ryolite. The improve in the draw practice
during the last year has improved the Pedza several
points.
Massmin 2004
Figure N4 Percentage dilution versus Extraction for LHD Area A

Figure N5 Relation of Dilution entry (isolated flow) versus draw practice for grizzly 9 x 9 m layout (secondary ore)

The analysis of the Pedza (Dilution entry point of isolated
flow) for Sector A (Andina III Panel) versus percentage of
uniform and semi uniform extracted tonnage (Figure N 5)
show a clear tendency (considering side dilution and other
practical effects) that confirms the previous results.
The generation of a data base that relates a layout with
fragmentation (f) and dilution entry (for isolated and
interactive flow) is not and easy task because it is very
difficult to encounter representative sectors with consistent
draw uniformity.
The above plus several observed results of the analyzed
caving operations confirm the proposed Fm model at a
mining scale.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 175

4. DESIGN PARAMETERS DESIGN INTERACTION POTENTIAL

CAVE MATERIAL AND ISOLATED DRAW
DIAMETER ESTIMATION (DTA)
The proposed function Fm (Model of Gravity Flow) is
controlled by the variables: Extraction, Material properties
and Layout geometry. The material properties of the caved
material (Pm) depend of moisture and the internal friction
angle (). Through conceptual analysis the following
expression was derived for :
Considering that the limit for interaction between two
neighbor draw points at a distance Dpe is :
Dpe < or = 1.5 * Dta (4)
Then if the following "ideal draw point spacing layout" is
considered (equilateral arrangement), the critical point for
interaction can be expressed as a relation between areas:

= 100 Cu / (1 + 2.332 Cu) (1)

and

Cu = D60 / D10 (material gradation or

uniformity coefficient) (2)

Where D10, D60 and D80 correspond to fragmentation size

(m) passing accumulated 10, 60 and 80 % respectively.

As defined through similarity analysis the internal

friction angle of the material (f) determines the Dta, so
these is the basic parameter to be considered during the
design stage.

For design purposes the following equations was derived

to assess the isolated draw diameter (Dta ):

(3)

Using standard size distribution for coarse, medium and

fine material for different percentages of extraction the
following table and curve (Figure N6) was computed with
the above equations: Figure N 6 Isolated draw diameter for different material
types as a function of extraction percentage
For design purposes, the layout has to be interactive at an
extraction percentage of at least 70% of the ore in the
column to obtain a minimum recovery. Ideally interaction
should be permanent, that means that the Dta for design is
near to the one calculated for a fragmentation of 90%
extraction. No detail evaluation of moisture effect was
introduced to the above calculations.

Dta as a function of material type (fragmentation) and percentage extraction

% Extraction D60 D10 D80 Cu Dta = 5*D80 * tg ()-7

(m) (m) (m) () (m)

Coarse Material - - - -
10.00 1.44 0.22 2.15 6.69 40.50 32.53
50.00 0.90 0.15 1.30 6.00 40.21 21.04
90.00 0.70 0.10 1.00 7.00 40.60 14.70
Medium Material
10.00 0.67 0.10 1.00 6.69 40.50 15.10
50.00 0.46 0.08 0.79 5.50 39.97 13.64
90.00 0.43 0.05 0.67 9.28 41.19 8.51
Fine Material
10 0,19 0,05 0,45 4,22 39,11 9,58
50 0,17 0,04 0,35 4,25 39,13 7,41
90 0,15 0,04 0,30 4,29 39,16 6,30

176 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The experimental results for a "Teniente Layout" shows
interaction over the mayor apex for distances of Dpe = 2,5
* Dta, as per Figure N8.

The only way to understand this is to assume that the two

draw columns of the trench act "as one wider draw point".
Interaction over the mayor apex will exist only if all the
following conditions are met:

a) Dpz (Distance between trench draw points) is less or

equal to 1,5 Dta => There exists a Interactive Trench
Diameter (Dzi).

The interactive trench diameter (DZI) is:

Dzi = Dpz + Dta

Figure N7 equilateral layout arrengement

According to following sketch (Figure N9):

The value is defined as the distance between the
drawpoints and the Dta (isolated draw width).
With the interaction index (Ii) defined as active area
(isolated draw area) divided by the total area of influence:
b) Operational uniform draw is strictly observed
(Interactive draw)
c) (Dpm + Dpz) is less or equal to 1,5 * Dzi

Aa
Ii =
At 5. CONCLUSIONS

With l = 1.5 (critical limit of interaction) the Ii critic can be The proposed gravity flow model can be presented as:
calculated for the equilateral layout:

Where UI is the uniformity index, Dta the isolated draw

Then the critical interaction limit, expressed as isolated diameter, and Id the dispersion index. Back analysis results
draw width to total area is (Ii critic) 0,403, or at least 40% show that in effective caving operations, Fm varies its
of the total area to be extracted needs to be under
isolated flow behavior in order to have total interaction.
Different geometries with the same critical limit (l = 1.5)
will have different Ii, as expected. Defining a "Dispersion
Index (Id)" for a design as the interaction index divided by
the critical interaction index, different layouts can be
compared.

li
id =
licritico

The interaction phenomena can be expressed in words,

considering the results of models and Fm conceptualization
and the critical interaction described above as follows:

The isolated draw cylinders form an "open area" (Aa).The

caved material surrounding them behaves as a solid due to
cohesion, forming "pillars" of these material (Ap Pillar
Area). These pillars will have the highest load at a height
where the isolated draw cylinders reach their maximum
width (HDta = 2 * Dta). If the stress of the static material,
plus the friction with the isolated draw column is less than
the of the caved material there will be isolated draw only
(Gi = 0). If the stress is grater than the internal friction angle
of the material the "pillar" will collapse at that location
(Interection height = 2 * Dta) contributing material towards Figure N8 Experimental result for a "Teniente" Layout
the isolated draw cylinder. with interactive Draw

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 177

 1037 Project, and of all the professionals that participated in
the experimental stage, back analysis of the Codelco data
and conceptual analysis. Both projects were managed by
Hugo Diaz, to a successful end.
Special mention to Dennis Laubscher for setting the
basement, without his acid critic and discussions that led to
permanent review of his interpretation of gravity flow and
caving design, I wouldnt have been compelled to give an
additional step.

7. REFERENCES
Figure N9 - Sketch
behavior through time in three modes: : "isolated",
"interactive-isolated" and "interactive", determined by the Gi
(degree of interaction).
The proposed control variables of the model have been
applied successfully, in planning and draw control
optimization in various mines in operation.
The Uniformity Index has proven a very handy tool for
practical draw control and back analysis of historical draw
practice.
According to the proposed model, and results of stress
monitoring in the sand model, the interaction potential of a
layout and its relation to draw practice can be effectively
observed from the stress changes over the mayor apex
(central pillar). This methodology to evaluate interaction
potential of different layouts should be complemented with a
devised experiment to measure effective f of the caved
material over the mayor apex. Further on, it is
recommended that the back analysis effort done by Codelco
mines is extended to a broader number of operations to
integrate additional panel caving experience into the model.
Moisture as a control variable of f remains to be
investigated in detail, because it has a very important
control over Fm that has not been evaluated in depth.
6. AKNOWLEDGMENTS
Diaz, H., Susaeta,A, (2000), "Modelamiento del Flujo
Gravitacional", Revista Minerales, in Spanish.
Kvapil, R. (1965): "Gravity flow of granular materials in
hoppers and bins," Int. J. Rock Mechanics and Mining
Science, Parts I and II. Vol. 2.
Kvapil, R. (1982): "The mechanics and design of sublevel
caving system," Underground Mining Methods Handbook,
W. Hustrulid ed., SME, New York.
Laubscher, D. (1994): "Cave mining-the state of the art,"
The Journal of The South African Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy.
Mansson, A. (1995): "Development of body of motion
under controlled gravity flow of bulk solids," Licentiate
thesis, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden.
Susaeta, et all , "Modelamiento del Flujo Gravitacional",
Informe Final, CIMM, 1999. Internal Document.
Susaeta, A., Proyecto Fondef 1037, "Desarrollo de un
Modelo de Flujo Gravitacional para Minera por
Hundimiento de Bloques", Mayo 2002, Sub Proyecto 2.
Internal Document.
Tamburino, A , Proyecto Fondef 1037, "Desarrollo de un
Modelo de Flujo Gravitacional para Minera por
Hundimiento de Bloques", Mayo 2002, Sub Proyecto 4.
Internal Document.
Verdugo, R., Proyecto Fondef 1037, "Desarrollo de un
Modelo de Flujo Gravitacional para Minera por
Hundimiento de Bloques", Mayo 2002, Sub Proyecto 1.
Internal Document.

The author acknowledges the important contribution to

the results of the CIMM research program and the FONDEF

178 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Predictive models
for gravitational flow
Marco Alfaro, Facultad de Ingeniera, Universidad de los Andes and Metlica Consultores S.A.
Jos Saavedra, Facultad de Ingeniera, Universidad de los Andes

Abstract
In underground operations the planner is faced with a very complex decision problem. The complex nature of this
decision depends on the complex behavior of ore extraction from drawpoints. Up to now it have been impossible to have
good models to predict the grade of ore extracted from the drawpoints. Some attempts have been made up to now to
model this phenomena. In this work we present a Cellular Automata based model for Gravitational Flow. The model
proposed here exploits the simplicity of local rules of evolution to acquire the objective. The model was implemented and
tested with satisfactory results at El Salvador Mine. The proposed model is analyzed from a mathematical point of view
in order to characterize its behavior. Some extensions to this basic model are presented. Some observed phenomena
is explained with the aid of this model, for example interaction between drawpoints. The mathematical analysis of the
model show that the implicit stochastic process involved is diffusive and in some way equivalent to Brownian Motion
phenomena in Two-Dimensional space. Finally, the way this model behaves has motivated us to call him the bubbling
process.

I. INTRODUCTION and fast. In Martnezs model the construction tries to model

In this paper we present a Cellular Automata which
models Gravitational Flow in Underground Mining. The
proposed model exhibits very simple rules of evolutions.
This simplicity allow us to get simple implementations.
The model was initially constructed for two-dimensional
case, the extension to three dimensional situations is
straightforward. This paper focuses in the mathematical
aspects of the model. An important stochastic process,
called by us bubbling process is derived from the model.
The behavior of this process is equivalent to random walk
type models.
II. CELLULAR AUTOMATA THEORY
avalanche phenomenon.
A. Goless Model
This model was presented by Eric Goles and Sebastin
Pea [2] in the context of the research developed in CIMM
(Mining and Metallurgic Research Center) in 1996. This
model presents a first approximation to this kind of models,
taking into account physical characteristics of material, for
example density and grade of each cell. The model is
defined as a Cellular Automaton, i.e., is defined on a two
dimensional space, which is subdivided into cells.
The cells are defined as entities which certain grade and
certain density:

To give a light introduction to Cellular Automata theory npm

lets give first a definition adapted from [1]: (1) grade : = 100 density = npe + npm
npe + npm
Definition II.1
A Cellular Automaton is an array of cells each colored
either black or white. At every step there is the a definite Where:
rule that determines the color of a given cell from the color npe is the number of sterile particles which are contained
of that cell and its neighbors on the step before. in the cell.
npm is the number of ore particles which are contained in
The main characteristics of a Cellular Automaton are: the cell.
1. His state, which is variable for each cell.
2. His neighborhood, the set of cells which interacts with the Two kinds of neighborhoods are defined for cell (k,m),
cell. depending on transition rules:
3. The set of rules or program: gives us the changes in state
with respect the neighbors.

Usually the set of cells is IN2 or some subset of it, its

possible to use other kinds of reticules (Hexagonal for
example) to represent cells.

III. SOME PRELIMINAIRES MODELS

In the last decade, some efforts have been made. The

main results were obtained by chilean well known scientists,
Eric Goles [2] and Servet Martnez [4]. In Goless model the Transition rules are divided into two cases. When (D and
main idea is the existence of two distinct dynamics: slow , are model parameters) the cell is considered as "not fill

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 179

enough", in this case a fast evolution dynamic is used. The
neighborhood used in this situation is the partial one, the
cell gets contributions from the three superior cells. Material
contribution (sterile or ore), is determined by a parameter
called upper neighbor probability (Pv2). The total
contribution is then calculated as:
(2) (D - dij ) * Pv2 = Upper Neighbor Contribution
(D - dij ) * (1 Pv2)
(3) = Another Neighbors Contribution
2 block. This process is repeated until the void reaches the
Otherwise, i.e., D-dij, < the cell is considered as "almost
complete filled", in this case a slow evolution dynamic is
used. The neighborhood used is the complete one and the
contribution of the cells is distributed proportionally between
the five neighbor cells:
IV. PROPOSED MODEL
This Cellular Automata uses as cells a reticulate of
squares (could be rectangles too), in which cells has two
possible states: full or empty. At the beginning all cells are
full. Then we extract a block (represented by a cell). The
generated void must be filled by another block, we see that
the upper blocks are in a privileged position to accomplish
this objective.
Inspired by this idea, we define the transition rule for the
evolution of the Cellular Automata. We assign a probability
distribution for the neighbors (the upper cells), and then we
select according this distribution the block which replaces
the void. The void now is in the position of the selected
surface (the last level of blocks). In the two dimensional
case we can see trough the next figure how look one block
with his neighborhood:

dij
(5) 5
= Neighbor Cells CONTRIBUTION
d
i=1 veci

In both cases material contribution comprehend sterile or

ore, the contribution in each case is proportional to his
content (npe y npm).
B. Martnezs Model
This model was proposed by Servet Martnez [4] in the
context of the research developed in CIMM (Mining and
Metallurgic Research Center) in 1996. Is based on the
stability of the particles and how they flow when this stability
is loose.
FIG. 2: Block Neighborhood. Two Dimensional Case.
After this first void reaches surface, we generate a new
void extracting a new block from the same position used
before (the positions here represents drawpoints). The
ascending void generated by the extraction of a block is
called by us as Bubble. The next figure show us a two
dimensional example of how one bubble evolve:

This Cellular Automaton considers and array that

guarantees strong stability for each cell. This model is
based in the following principles:
Three blocks are extracted from the base which originates
a void.
In front of any void space, the particles flow fall in vertical
way.
In other cases there is an instable equilibrium,
fundamental characteristic of the model, in these cases
the particles fall according to two priorities. First, the more
instable particles fall. Second, if we have particles with
equal instability, the one which has the older instability fall,
here is assumed that instability is increasing in time.

As an example lets look at one iteration of this model:

FIG. 3: Bubble Evolution.

V. THE BUBBLING PROCESS

The proposed Cellular Automata will be analyzed in two

dimensions. This approach simplifies calculations, the
extension to three dimensions is straightforward.

A. Some Useful Calculations

FIG. 1 Instability, makes that cells 7, 8 y 9 fall, in that order,
because cell 7 has an older instability. Then the same will
occur with cells 10,11, 12 y 13, which originates a surface
crater.
Given a block model of certain dimensions, its not hard to
see that the probability of a given bubble to reach position
of block (i, j) is:
(6)

180 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Where is a function defined as:
(7)
This calculation is trivial using Total Probabilities Rule. We
will call Bubble Probability to the quantity Pr (n (i,j) = 1).
If we consider as transition probabilities for the neighbors
(left, center, right) then we have:
(8)
Its very important to characterize the final cavity
generated by extraction of ore. We will see that empirical
tests require an additional definition in order to study this
feature of the model. As an example consider that transition
probabilities are . If we consider the blocks that obtain a
positive probability of being visited by a bubble then we
have as a resultant cavity the one given by Fig. 4 (a). If we
consider only the blocks that have bubble probability greater
than 0.001 we have situation described if Fig. 4 (b). Finally
cases 4 (c) and 4 (d) are for bubble probabilities greater
than 0.05 and 0.07 respectively.
FIG. 4: Final Cavities considering distinct bubble
probabilities : (a) > 0, (b) > 0:001,(c) > 0:05 , (d) > 0:07
(Labeled from top left to down right)
As we can see, different probabilities give different final
cavities. The main question is then: Which probability we
need to consider to obtain a good representation of the final
cavity? The answer to this question is given in the next
section.
VI. DEFINING SIGNIFICANCE LEVEL
Its not hard to see that equation 8 give us a probability
distribution that in each level approximates a Gaussian one,
i.e., the central block (the one in the same column as the
drawpoint) has a greater probability of being visited by a
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
particular bubble, and this probability decreases as we
move away from the central column. This result is
summarized in the next proposition.
Proposition VI.1
Denoting central column blocks as Bck (here k
denotes height with respect to drawpoint) and denoting
bubble probability for this column as then we have the
following valid relation when :
(9) lim p c ,k =0
k
This relation guarantees that in absence of height
restrictions the final cavity will have ellipsoidal form. This
asymptotic behavior is not found in real cases, in all real
cases always there is a limitation on sector height. In these
cases the final form of the cavity have parabolic form. This
kind of behavior can be explained with the aid of a new
concept introduced in the next definition:
Definition VI.1
Given a sector of height H, which translated to blocks
means that sector has height (in blocks). We define Cut
Probability, which is denoted by , as the quantity which
satisfies:
(10)
Where is understood as the closest value near is
interpreted as the value such if we consider only those
blocks with bubble probability greater or equal than this
number then in the last level of the given sector (at height )
the sum of probabilities is near (Usually takes value 0.95).
Mathematical interpretation of this quantity is clear in
the sense that blocks with bubble probability greater or
equal has an 95% of probabilities to be removed by
extractive process. With this tool we can deduce that the
final cavity has paraboloidal form. This theoretical fact
has very large support from empirical experience. All
simulations made using this Cellular Automata gives final
cavities whit paraboloidal form. Almost most important,
we can deduce from definition that cut probability is a
height-dependent quantity. The distribution of bubble
probabilities is more likely uniform distribution when he
take values greater.
VII. CONTINUOUS APPROACH TO
SIGNIFICANCE LEVEL
Our model can be seen as a random walk in one
dimension (in the two dimensional case) and a random walk
in two dimensions (in the three dimensional case).
The way to understand this fundamental fact is to
see that if we put together in one level all levels of a
given sector then the system evolves in the same way
as a random walk process would do. To fix ideas we
will analyze our model in the context of two
dimensional sectors. The general form of this random
walk process could be described mathematically
denoting by X(t) to the random variable that represents
the walker position in time t. Consider too a one
dimensional reticulate (for example Z) and
discretization of time T . The rules of evolution of one
dimensional random walk are given by:
181
 (11) X () =
{ X () 1
X ()
X () + 1
con probabilidad q
con probabilidad p
con probabilidad q

A. Real Space Derivation

Following B. Hughes [6], let us consider that the sites in
our reticulate will be indexed, as usual, with integer
coordinates. We denote by the probability that the walker
will be in site l after n steps. If random walk steps are i.i.d
(independents and identically distributed), with
representing the probability that walker actually in position
will reach position l in the next step, we have the following
fundamental relation:

l =
(12) Pn +1(l ) = p ( l l ) Pn(l )
l = FIG. 5: function with fixed .

this relation comes from Total Probability Theorem.

Following calculations and taking limits [5] we finally get a When we resolve the equation
Partial Differential Equation (PDE) for the function p(x; t)
(probability density starting from position x in time t):
(17)

2
(13) p ( x, t ) = v p ( x, t ) + D 2 p ( x, t ) with as a funtion of t we get that
t x x

Equation 13 is the well-known Diffusion Equation in

presence of drag velocity v. D is called diffusion constant.
B. Diffusion Equation Solution, Application
The solution of equation (13) is very well known in the
case with border conditions the solution is:
i.e. the final cavities are of paraboloidal form. The
extension to three dimensional case is straightforward.
VIII. APPLICATION TO A REAL CASE:
CODELCO- EL SALVADOR MINE

First we can see in Fig. 6 how the simulation tool looks.

(14)

which corresponds to Gaussian density functions with

average position vt and variance 2Dt in that position.

In our case we are in absence of drag velocity, so in this

particular case solution of equation (13) has the closed
form:

(15)

In order to find significance level in this approach we need

to resolve the following equation:

a
(16) r (a) = p ( x, t )dx = 0.95
a
FIG. 6: Simulation Tool

given some value of t. When we resolve this equation in In Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 we present examples obtained from
some particular case, for example when t = 200 and D = 1 simulations from a real sector of Salvador Mine. This
we find that . The function for this value of is plotted in simulations were made in Drawpoint 918N.
the next figure:

182 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


FIG. 7: Accumulated Variation Drawpoint 918N
FIG. 8: Grade Evolution from Drawpoint 918N
Finally in Fig. 9 we present an Error Map generated with
the aid of the tool.
FIG. 9: Grade Evolution from Drawpoint 918N
IX. SOME POSSIBLE EXTENSIONS
A. Energetic Model
The main idea behind this extension is to modify Cellular
Automata rules of evolution. For this purpose we first need
to assign to each cell of the model an energy value [5]. First,
we can consider each block having one kind of energy
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
which we call Potential Energy. For each block we can
calculate this energy by using the usual formula , where m
represents block mass, g is gravity acceleration constant
and h is height with respect to sector floor [5]. In second
place we have another kind of energy which we call radial
Energy, this energy is related to velocity field (which
uniforms at greater heights). This energy can be measured
as where m is the block mass and v is block movement
velocity (which is height dependent) [5].
For each block we define a function that assign energy:
(19) E ( Bijk ) : = Ep ( Bijk ) + Er ( Bijk )
we note that this expression is simple and we only need
recalculate if the block is moved [5]. The rule of transition for
our Cellular Automaton consists then in make a Stochastic
Drawing based in energy values of the neighbors blocks [5].
As the interactions between granular materials is
dissipative in nature, we can discount to the energy value of
a block certain quantity each time the block is moved, one
possible function that incorporate this factor could be:
(20) E ( Bijk ) : = Ep ( Bijk ) + Er ( Bijk ) l
where represents a little energy diminution and l the
number of times the block has been moved [5].
B. Fractional Simulation
One limitation of the presented model is that needs a
complete extraction of blocks from drawpoints. This
limitation is a very big one because of the actual dimensions
of blocks [5].
One possible approach is to discretize one given sector in
more units. This led the problem of have a model that needs
very much memory to run [5].
Another option is to allow the model to extract fractions of
blocks. The only modification that this concept imposes on
the original model is that we have to maintain for each
drawpoint a state number that tells how much ore remain in
the last extracted block. If the actual extraction needs more
ore that the remaining one the we have to generate another
bubble and refresh the state of the drwapoint [5].
X. CONCLUSIONS
As we can see, we have a very powerful tool for
Gravitational Flow Simulation. His theoretical characteristics
and flexibility make them a very good tool that can aid to
understand mine operations.
This model could serve not only as a prediction tool, we
can use it in planning labors or to decide when to close
some drawpoint for example.
Preliminary computational experiment show us that this
model could be better implemented. In that case we hope
that simulations could take fewer completion time. This
objective really makes sense when one thinks that a model
of this nature could be runned almost everyday.
XI. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
J.S. wish to acknowledge the support of FAI (Fondo de
Ayuda a la Investigacin), Proyecto Ingeniera 2004,
Universidad de Los Andes.
183
REFERENCES
[1] Stephen Wolfram: A New Kind of Science. Wolfram
Media, Inc. 2002.
[2] Eric Goles y Sebastin Pea: Modelamiento y
Simulacin del Flujo Gravitacional. Informe Final PB5-
10004, Apndice N2, 1996.
[3] Gregorio Gonzlez: Estudio del Comportamiento de un
Material Granular Mediante Modelos Computacionales.
Memoria para optar al ttulo de Ingeniero Civil
Matemtico, 1999.
184 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
[4] Servet Martnez: Consideraciones Acerca del
Modelamiento de Flujo Gravitacional. Informe Final
PB5- 10004, Apndice N3, 1996.
[5] Jos Saavedra: Secuencias, Flujo Gravitacional y
Evolucin en Planificacin Minera. Memoria para optar
al ttulo de Ingeniero Civil Matemtico, Universidad de
Chile, 2002.
[6] Barry D. Hughes: Random Walks and Random
Environments, Volume 1: Random Walks, Clarendon
Press, Oxford, 1995.
Massmin 2004
 Computational model for simulation
and Visualization of gravitational flow
Carlos Caldern, Facultad de Ciencias Fsicas y Matemticas,
Departamento de Ciencias de la Computacin, Universidad de Chile
Marco Alfaro, Facultad de Ingeniera, Universidad de los Andes and Metalica Consultores S.A
Jos Saavedra, Facultad de Ingeniera, Universidad de los Andes

Abstract
Some models have appeared in he last time to modeling the Gravitational Flow from drawpoints. Having a theoretical
model for a phenomena is only a part of the task. Another important task is the implementation and validation of the
model by means of software techniques. In this paper we explore the considerations, techniques and complexity of
algorithms needed for implementing one of such models. We present some results obtained with the implementation
and show how this computational model can be integrated with other tools. The graphical aspect have received special
attention, powerful libraries such as OPENGL are in the kernel of our implementation. Some examples of the utilization
of this model in real type applications are provided. The main advantage of this approach is that simulations are
executed in real-time. Conclusions and extensions are presented.

I. INTRODUCTION when we work with block models.

In underground mining operations there are many factors
that influence decision making process. One of the most
important factor is the inevitable stochastic behavior of
Granular Flow from drawpoints.
As underground operations arent selective (in contrast
with open pit operations), the planner must be careful about
quality of extracted ore from drawpoints.
Its fundamental to have models for gravitational flow. This
is the first task. In the past some attempts have been made
to modeling this phenomenon. Remarkable works are the
references [2], [4], [3]. All of these works have in common
the technique used: Cellular Automata. The most recent
work is the one by Marco Alfaro and Jos Saavedra [1].
This last model was implemented and validated and some
practical issues related to implementation were noted in the
development process. In this paper we present the main
characteristics of such a system and some visualizations of
the system in action.
The implemented software allows the analysis and
visualization of gravitational flow simulations, this can be
done trough a suitable discretization of ore material, this
model is called block model. It has some mathematical
properties which are reviewed in the work [5].
The main idea behind the algorithm is to generate a
bubble (by means of extracting a block from the floor of a
given sector), then with the aid of a probabilities matrix
(rules of evolution of Cellular Automaton) we evolve this
bubble until it reaches the surface [1].
The simplicity of the model and the efficiency of the
implementation allow us to make real time simulations,
which is extremely useful in terms of visualization and as
a consequence a better understanding of the underlying
physical phenomenon.
II. IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY
Related with the last point is the native support of
specialized algorithms that act on these kinds of data
structures.
C++ is Object Oriented. This allow us an easy
implementation and a desirable extensibility for future
versions. This is mainly related to modularity
characteristics of Object Oriented languages (Another OO
languages are: Java, Object Pascal, etc).
Another important feature of C++ is the ability to work with
pointers. This feature makes faster algorithms, because
thanks to pointer techniques we dont need copy and
manage the whole object, instead of that we only give the
memory direction and this feature can be used to simulate
the spatial movement of blocks.
C++ is a standard programming language. One of the
main features is that OPENGL could be used in conjunction
with C++. As we need to develop a powerful graphics
software this consideration is essential.
III. DATA STRUCTURES
Any implementation of an algorithm, is intimately related
with data structures used by the algorithm, thus the
description of that structure is very important to understand
how the algorithm works. The restriction that our simulation
must work in real time carry us to design a three-
dimensional matrix of pointers (or memory directions),
where the real data of each block were resident in other
distinct memory place without need of moving these data.
The location of a block in certain spatial position is made up
with the aid of pointers. In simple terms we can say that the
block in position (i, j, k) is referenced by Pi,j,k. For example, if
we want to describe the vertical movement of a certain block,
i.e., move the block from position (i, j, k) to position (i, j, k1),
then we have to do the following pointer operation:

C++ was the chosen language for implementing the
model. The reasons for this decision are:
This language has many desirable characteristics that
facilitate the development process, especially, C++ has
native support of vector classes which are very useful
Pi,j,k = Pi,j,k1
Bubble movement is made by using permutation of two
pointers, in particular the one who has the initial position of
the bubble and the one ho has the final position.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 185

 A void in space is represented by a special kind of pointer: The total cost Ct is then
the null pointer. When we make a permutation in this
situation there isnt lose in information. The transition
probabilities matrix is a cube of size 3.
The bubble is in the central position in the first level of the
cube. This matrix is designed to manage several physical If we use asymptotic notation then the cost of extracting
phenomena, for example relative movement or avalanche all the possible material from a given drawpoint would be O
phenomenon, nevertheless to incorporate successfully (h3).
these phenomena we need the physical information to fill
the matrix. VI. CALIBRATION OF CELLULAR AUTOMATON MODEL

IV. TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS As we saw in a past section we have a probability cube

that keeps the transition probabilities. We need calibrate
We call processing capacity to the quantity of material that those probabilities if we want to use properly the model.
can be simulated per second, i.e., the quantity of blocks that One way to calibrate our model is trough a quantity called
the simulator extracts per second. Using an example where Isolated Extraction Diameter(IED), which is characteristic in
we fill the block model at the top (i.e. the bubble must travel each kind of material. This physical parameter is related
the whole height of the block model), the processing with the paraboloid parameter p (of geometrical nature) in
capacity is about 4.000 blocks per second when the sector the following way:
has 240 blocks height.
The memory space that uses one block is about 20 Bytes IEH
taking into account his pointer, this means that in a sector = 2p
with dimensions 100 length by 100 width by 240 height EID
needs 48 Mb in memory. If we double the number of blocks
in each dimension then we need about 400 Mb of memory Where IEH : Isolated Extraction Heigth and IED: Isolated
(note that we will be moving about 20 millions of blocks in Extraction Diameter. When we have the information needed
each simulation). to calibrate our probabilities, we use an algorithm designed
for this purpose. The algorithm is as follow:
Some characteristics of the implementation in terms of
flexibility are the following: Initialize-Prob-Matrix
1. We can fill the block model at the top in the block model. Find(IED)
2. We can orientate the blocks according each possible pair If Height(IED) > IEH then
of linear independent vectors. Give More Weight to the borders
3. We can locate the drawpoints everywhere in the base of Else If Height(IED) < IEH then
the blocks model. Give More Weight to the center
4. We can establish sample frequency according to user Else
needs. Return Calibrated Matrix
5. We can give specific seeds to make simulations, this is End If
important when we want to make comparisons.
This procedure is justified by the fact that if Height(IED) >
V. BASIC ANALISYS OF ALGORITHMS IEH then paraboloid is very closed so we need to open it.
The another case is analogous. This procedure exhibits
This little analysis consist in determine the cost of good convergence and the maximum error is bounded by
bubbling function, this function carry a bubble from the 5%. In figures 1 and 2 we can see two snapshots of the
drawpoint to surface. Bubbling function its a recursive software in action in the calibration procedure.
function that executes while the bubble doesnt reach
surface, if we call c the cost of bubbling function without
recursion. We can see that c depends on the cost of the
instructions related with up-to-date bringing of probabilities
matrix.
To calculate the average cost that takes the algorithmin
extract all the possible material from a given drawpoint,
assuming that the final cavity has paraboloidal form [1], we
sum the cost of extract every block inside this paraboloid.
Its not hard to see that the extraction of block has a cost ,
because is analogous to get a bubble into position (i, j ,k).
If we have a paraboloid, then at height z we will have N(z)
blocks to be extracted. From elementary calculus we know
that N (z) = , where r2z is paraboloid radius at height z. Let
C(z) the computational cost of extracting all blocks at height
z then we have:

If our paraboloid have focus = (0; 0; p) and directrix

equation z = -p then we have:

FIG. 1: Results obtained from simulation to calibrate model

when Height(IED) > IEH.

186 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Te choice of graphics support libraries in three dimensions
was OPENGL, because of his efficiency and the ability to
work in several platforms (Windows or Linux/Unix).
In graphics terms, blocks grades can be differentiated by
they colors, its possible to visualize a specific zone of the
model that we want to analyze, in particular we can see cuts
in the three canonic directions. In figures 4,5 and 6 we can
see visualizations while Cellular Automaton is running.

FIG. 2: Results obtained from simulation to calibrate model

when Height(IED) < IEH.

VII. MODEL VALIDATION

Its important that the implemented model behaves as FIG. 4: Model Visualization 1.
theory predicts. In order to acquire this objective, one test
was designed to show blocks movement. If one block is
moved his color is darker than the ones with none or little
movement. We can see that high probabilities zones are
darker than low probabilities zones. A snapshot of this test
could be appreciated in figure 3.

FIG. 5: Model Visualization 2.

FIG. 3: Validation of the Model.

VIII. VISUALIZATION

Cellular Automaton visualization if essential for studying

his behavior, for this reason visualization windows were
implemented, these windows can be accessed at any time. FIG. 6: Model Visualization 3.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 187


IX. NUMERICAL EXPERIENCES
In order to test the model we carry out a numerical
experiment. We dispose blocks in a box in such a way that
5 layers were formed. Each layer has his own
characteristics constant grade. Simulation was made in a
box of dimensions:
Width = 1.00 mts.
Length = 1.00 mts.
Height = 2.40 mts.
The box was filled by blocks of 1.00 cm. by 1.00 cm. by
1.00 cm. And the layers were defined as:
Material 1 : 3167 [particles per million]
Material 2 : 1213 [particles per million]
Material 3 : 2690 [particles per million]
Material 4 : 7610 [particles per million]
Material 5 : 2570 [particles per million]
If we divide the number of particles per million by 1000000
then we obtain the grade of the layer. Some drawpoint were
placed in the base of the sector. As an example we will show
the graph from results obtained in our simulations (see
figures 7 and 8).
FIG. 7: Numerical Experience 1.
FIG. 8: Numerical Experience 2.
X. CONCLUSIONS, DETECTED
PROBLEMS AND EXTENSIONS
The most biggest detected problem in our implementation
is that needs very much resources if we want to carry out
good simulations.
188 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
As we saw, the number of blocks needed to run the model
grow a lot when we double the number of blocks in each
dimension, to be more accurate we have to multiply the
number of blocks by a constant factor of .
Data structure is designed to be small in terms of size. If
we want to consider a block model with many blocks we will
need more RAM memory if we want to run simulations
quickly. But as we saw, when we move about 20 millions
blocks in one simulation the memory needs are about 400
Mb. This imposes a natural limitation in our implementation.
As the times goes on, this memory limitation would
disappear and then the model could be runned very quickly.
The benefits of our implementation are clear: real time
simulation with good visualization is a very powerful aid for
mining industry.
For the future, there is a clear line of development. This
model could be extended to consider distinct block sizes. At
the moment the software only allow the use of a
dimensional homogeneous kind of block. If we can conduct
research that allow us to implement this feature we will be
able to have more realistic simulations.
At the other hand, more efficient classes could be
developed. The actual model could be refined and the
algorithms could be optimized. As an example of this last
asseveration we can for example modify bubbling algorithm.
Now this algorithm allows one bubble to travel from floor to
surface. We can modify this implementation allowing
several bubbles to be generated (for the same drawpoint).
This can be done because if one bubble is in level k then
another bubble in level k-2 will dont touch this bubble.
The calibration algorithm could be useful when research
about Isolated Extraction Diameter will be complete. At the
moment there is only a little knowledge of this phenomenon
and in the future we expect more work in this area.
Finally our computational model could be useful for many
reasons:
Planning tasks: If we have good simulations then we can
reduce uncertainty about grades values. This tool is the
one that gives good results with little time effort.
Visualization: The model can be stopped in every step.
This allow us to see how blocks movements have
developed.
Good execution times.
Real time interface.
XII. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
J.S. wish to acknowledge the support of FAI (Fondo de
Ayuda a la Investigacin), Proyecto Ingeniera 2004,
Universidad de Los Andes.
REFERENCES
[1] Marco Alfaro, Jos Saavedra: Predictive Models for
Gravitational Flow. To be presented in MassMin 2004.
[2] Eric Goles y Sebastin Pea: Modelamiento y
Simulacin del Flujo Gravitacional. Informe Final PB5-
10004, Apndice N2, 1996.
[3] Gregorio Gonzlez: Estudio del Comportamiento de un
Material Granular Mediante Modelos Computacionales.
Memoria para optar al ttulo de Ingeniero Civil
Matemtico, 1999.
[4] Servet Martnez: Consideraciones Acerca del
Modelamiento de Flujo Gravitacional. Informe Final
PB5- 10004, Apndice N3, 1996.
[5] Jos Saavedra: Secuencias, Flujo Gravitacional y
Evolucin en Planificacin Minera. Memoria para optar
al ttulo de Ingeniero Civil Matemtico, Universidad de
Chile, 2002.
Massmin 2004
 Simulating gravity flow in sub-level
caving with cellular automata
Glenn Sharrock, Senior Geotechnical Engineer - AMC Consultants
David Beck, Mining Engineer - Beck Mining Engineering
Geoff Booth, Senior Mine Geologist - WMC - Leinster Nickel Operations
Mike Sandy, Principal Geotechnical Engineer - AMC Consultants

Abstract
Block caves and sub-level caving mines are now operating at greater depths and in stronger rocks than ever before. The
rules of thumb and tools for design and layout of these mines were not developed for these environments and the
resulting cave designs are often in conflict with the operational and geotechnical requirements for large caving
operations in moderately to highly stressed environments.
In this paper, a new particle flow code - CAVE-SIM ( Sharrock 2003) is described for assessing the economic impact
of the changes to cave flow caused by different SLC layouts designed to ensure uninterrupted production. The modelling
package enables full integration of economic parameters and geological models into a three dimensional flow model of
an operating cave. In CAVE-SIM the user has full control over draw rates from individual drawpoints and there is full
tracking of the instantaneous grade and particle size distribution through each drawpoint.

1 INTRODUCTION

In recent times, a growing interest has emerged in the

simulation of granular flows in block caves (BC) and sub-
level caves (SLC). In particular, efforts are presently focused
on the development of computer simulation techniques for
predicting rock breakage or progressive growth of a caving
front and the associated granular flows in the cave void.
One promising technique is the recently-developed "Caving
Simulator" known as CAVE-SIM.
The key motivation for the development of CAVE-SIM is to
properly simulate the effects that alternative extraction
geometries and draw strategies would have on the
economic performance of BC and SLC operations. The
analytical engine of CAVE-SIM is based on the cellular
automaton (CA) concept first developed by John Von
Neumann in 1947. CA can efficently simulate granular flows
in an interacting, three-dimensional system of drawpoints.
However, before CAVE-SIM is described, a review of
existing simulation methods is required. 2 EXISTING METHODS

Prior to the development of CAVE-SIM, there were two

simulation methods used to study granular flows in SLC,
namely stochastic methods (SM) and discrete element
methods (DEM). The main difficulty with these methods is
the incapability to properly represent realistic geometry and
problem size within computational constraints. In contrast,
owing to the efficency of the CA concept, CAVE-SIM can
currently be applied to problems involving in excess of 30
million particles.

2.1. Stochastic Methods

Figure 1: 3D Mine Scale simulations of SLC in CAVE-SIM
coupled with MAP3D: n = 30e6 Particles.
Stochastic Methods assume that gravity flow is a
stochastic process; that is, "a process that can be described
by a random variable that depends on some stochastic
parameter which may be discrete or continuous" (Borowski
and Borwein 1991). The stochastic parameter in SLC
problems is typically: "the probability of downwards
propagation of a particle" or, "upwards propagation of
voids". Examples include Nilsson 1988, Bergmark 1975,
Heden 1976 and Power 2003.
It is important to understand that the physics of granular
flow are almost completely ignored in SM (Nedderman
1992). For example, fundamental physical laws such as

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 189

Newton's Laws and cohesive-frictional behavior (Coulomb
1776, Rankine 1857) are not necessarily a hard constraint
in SM simulations and particle contacts do not exist. This
means that the effects of stress and frictional behavior are
not considered. For example, lateral or sideways movement
of particles in an SM model are often constrained to a fixed
direction and governed by simple kinematic rules, when in
reality or in a CA model the material behaviour and the
forces acting on the particle can result in complex flow.
Complex flow phenomena such as arching, slow-infilling of
voids, inrushes and piping cannot be forecast or re-created
in an SM model.
For these reasons SM cannot offer the best possible
solution to SLC type problems; indeed SM have been all but
discarded in the field for which they were originally created
- bulk solids handling.
2.2. Discrete Element Method
The Discrete Element Method is by far the most promising
and widely used simulation method in granular science.
While SM sacrifices physics in favour of computational
efficiency, the DEM provides a detailed treatment of the
micro-mechanics of granular media. The DEM, as first
proposed by Cundall and Strack (1979) involves computing
the contact forces and resulting Newtonian dynamics of
individual particles in an assembly. As a result, the
distribution of shear and normal force, rotation, velocity and
displacement are determined for each particle. In recent
times the original two-dimensional scheme introduced by
Cundall and Strack (1979) has been extended to three
dimensions for six sided solids (Ghaboussi 1990), ellipsoids
(Lin and Ng 1997) and super-quadratics (Williams and
Pentland 1989). DEM is well suited to modelling the effects
of particle shape on granular flow (Sharrock 2003a; Figure
2).
While DEM is without doubt the most popular discrete
method in granular science, currently it cannot be applied
to solving mine scale SLC problems, largely because of
computational limitations. This is due in part to a
requirement for numerical stability in the central difference
approximation to Newtons second law. In addition, this
method also requires computationally intensive near
neighbour searches to determine particle contacts within
the assembly. With existing computing hardware, DEM is
most commonly used for assemblies of 104 or 105 particles
for short model time durations. Well known DEM codes
include PFC3D, REBOP, FASTDISC and FLOW3D.
Because of the accuracy of DEM, it is well suited for
detailed gravity flow studies on factors affecting complex
flow phenomena in SLC and BC mines. Some excellent
work has been undertaken in the International Caving Study
on this topic (Brown 2003). For this reason, CAVE-SIM
results have been tested against DEM simulations from
FLOW3D, a three dimensional particle flow code for sphere
clusters (Sharrock 2003a).
190 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 2: Calibration curves for inter-particle contact friction
angle vs material internal friction angle; axi-symmetric
biaxial test; undertaken with the 3D DEM code, FLOW3D;
using cluster particles (Sharrock 2003a).
2.3. Conclusion
It is proposed that neither SM nor DEM are ideally suited
to "mine scale" SLC simulations. SM does not include the
physics of granular flow, while DEM will continue to be
limited by the requirements for numerical stability for the
forseeable future. In contrast, cellular automata are well
suited to extremely large and complex problems in discrete
systems. CA permits very large systems to be studied
while including conventional physics. For this reason, CA
has gained wide acceptance in science and engineering
fields concerned with discrete mechanics.
3 CELLULAR AUTOMATA
The Cellular Automata (CA) concept was first developed by
John Von Neumann in 1947. Von Neumann reasoned that a
conceptual machine, or automaton, could be constructed by
dividing the physical space of a problem into a large number of
"cells" that interact according to partial differential equations
describing the physics of a system (Von Neumann 1966). In this
approach, cells contain discrete objects that are categorised by
individual "state" parameters that evolve dynamically according
to the partial differential equations.
CA has been used in a number of contexts; in quantitative
inquiries such as the investigation of physical materials,
engineering problems, mathematics and the traditionally
"qualitative" fields such as the social sciences. Examples
from engineering include computational fluid dynamics
(Cattaneo and Jocher 2002), particle physics (Fox et.al.
1994), gas dynamics (Frisch 1986), stress in granular media
(Hemmingson et.al 1997, Sharrock 2003a) and gravity flow
of granular media (Baxter and Behringer 1990).
CAVE-SIM is designed using CA techniques and
models particle friction, particle size distributions and stress
for a three-dimensional SLC model, governed by a series
of sequencing and draw-rule options .
Figure 3: 3D stress and segregation in a binary mixture:
CAVE-SIM (Sharrock 2003).
Massmin 2004
4 CAVESIM
CAVE-SIM can efficiently simulate the physics of very
large numbers of particles (ie >30e6 particles), for long
simulation times, over short computational periods (i.e.
<24hrs). In cave draw this is particularly important, since the
draw history and parameters such as tonnes and grade
require extremely complex, long duration simulations. For
example, CAVE-SIM has been used to simulate life of mine
recoveries of an entire SLC operation, at a ring-by-ring
resolution.
The ability to quickly model long simulation times means
that parametric studies on critical economic parameters
such as drawpoint spacing, drawpoint width, and sub-level
interval are possible in three-dimensions and a dollar value
can be produced for each of the different options. This is an
important advantage in comparison to other techniques. The
various technological developments, and associated
difficulties considered in CAVE-SIM are described in the
next five sections.
4.1. Physics
Over 200 years of research on gravity flow of granular
media indicates that particle shape, dilation, size
distribution, friction, cohesion and stress all significantly
influence the behaviour of a granular material (Coulomb
1776, Rankine 1857, Atkinson and Bransby 1978).
In addition, practical observations of SLC draw-behaviour
suggests that fragmentation and flow characteristics
occurring with choke blasting, conflict significantly with
assumptions of regular loose flow of uniform fine grained
material (Bull and Page 2000). In BC, comminution in the
cave muckpile is an important mechanism. These are only
two examples of a wide range of physical mechanisms
observed in actual caving operations that need to be
accounted for in a simulation.
Figure 4: Cellular Automata: Segregation in a vibrated bed
(Sharrock 2003).
The CA method allows flexibility in calibrating site-specific
mechanisms into the simulations, through calibration of size
distributions, particle shape and friction. Conversely PC-
BC, or purely stochastic techniques do not explicitly
simulate the physics of these effects and consequently, are
unsuited to complex three-dimensional simulations.
4.2. Problem Complexity
Since all practical problems in BC and SLC are three-
dimensional, simulation techniques should also be three-
dimensional. It has been noted by other authors that
practical problems in BC and SLC cannot be represented by
two-dimensional approaches relying on axi-symmetric,
plane strain or plane stress assumptions (Brady and Brown
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
1993, Duplancic 2002). Unfortunately, many of the existing
simulations techniques and scaled physical modelling
results are two-dimensional and therefore, are generally
unsuited to practical three-dimensional problems in SLC
and BC, or are simply "snapshots" of a three-dimensnional
cave, unable to produce reliably the phenomena that most
affect cave performance.
There are also mining engineering complexities that must
be accounted for, so that meaningful and practical solutions
can be computed. These include the formulation of mining
sequences, draw rules, and interpolation of grade block
models into the CAVE-SIM lattice. These issues are
discussed in the next sections.
4.3. Draw Rules and Draw Sequences
To facilitate the modelling of practical SLC mining
geometries and sequences, there are three material types in
CAVE-SIM. These are Firing Blocks, Draw Envelopes and
Gravity Flow Regions (Figure 5).
Firing blocks are polygonal solids defining blasted ring
material ie. regions of the rockmass turned from solids to
particles at a particular mining step.
Draw envelopes are three-dimensional draw volumes,
which simulate mucking. These envelopes control counting
of particles, deletion of particles, computation of cumulative
tonnes and grade for a particular drawzone and shut-off of
drawzone. There are three draw rules namely;
Draw Rule 1: Volume Shut-off - Stop drawing when the
total volume of material at that drawpoint exceeds a
particular percentage of the insitu ring volume.
Draw Rule 2: Shut-off Grade - Stop drawing when
instantaneous grade (gi), drops below shut-off grade (gs).
Draw Rule 3: Maximum Draw Percentage - In conjunction
with rule 1 and 2 it is useful to have a maximum threshold to
control the maximum amount drawn.
Figure 5: Firing Blocks and Draw Envelopes
Solids are rockmass regions that behave as a continuum,
either rigid body, elastically or elasto-plastically. CAVE-SIM
integrates with Map3D allowing for coupled studies on
drawpoint stability, caveability and particle flow.
4.4. Grade Block Model Interpolation
Methods have been developed to interpolate actual block
model grades into CAVE-SIM simulations, providing a
realistic spatial distribution of grade as an initial simulation
condition. At the commencement of each simulation, every
particle is assigned a grade, which is then integrated at the
instant of drawing to generate an estimate of dilution and
grade at each drawpoint. Additional routines have been
written to translate and rotate the block model to minimise
191
lattice space, thus maximising the number of particles that
can be simulated in CAVE-SIM.
Figure 6: 3D grade block interpolation, including block
model rotation (Block Size: 10m*10m*10m).
4.5. Problem Size Parallel Computing
A simulation must run in "reasonable" computational time,
so that alternative strategies or sensitivity studies can be
performed. Existing techniques relying on DEM are severely
restricted in terms of the problem size and complexity that
can be investigated (Sawley and Cleary 1999).
For example, relatively simple three-dimensional SLC and
BC problems require at least 30 million particles and
relatively long simulation times, which remain
computationally impractical with DEM. However, simulations
of this magnitude can be undertaken with CAVE-SIM
through parallel computing. Parallel computing greatly
increases the problem size and duration that can be
attempted with CAVE-SIM. Current CAVE-SIM versions
operate using distributed computing techniques through the
Message Passing Interface Interface (MPI), with
decomposition logic comparable to Hustrulid and Brown
(1997).
4.6. Verifications
Verification studies have been undertaken to compare
CAVE-SIM models with scaled physical models (eg Janelid
and Kvapil 1966 etc) and recovery and marker trial data
from actual mining operations. These studies indicate that
CAVE-SIM recovers accurate estimates of drawzone
eccentricity as a function of drawpoint width and depth.
Further verifications and applications of the code are
presently underway at three mining operations within
Australia and the initial results indicate that with minor
calibration, excellent estimates of recovery and dilution
curves are possible.
Figure 7 (a) Verifications of Kvapil (1965)a&b isolated draw
experiments using scaled physical models.
192 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 7 (b) Verifications of Just and Free 1972; effect of
drawzone width on drawzone eccentricity.
5 DEMONSTRATION CASE STUDY
Consider now a mine feasibility study undertaken with
CAVE-SIM at Mine X. Mine
X is an SLC operation that will extend from 500m to
1000m below the surface, with a strike length of 500m and
orebody width of 80m. Mine X would like to undertake a
sensitivity study on the effect of varying sub-level interval
and drawpoint spacing on level recovery and dilution.
In this study the objective is to simulate the flow of
granular material in an SLC with the aim of finding the "best"
drawpoint spacing (d), sub-level interval (s) and draw
strategy f(r) that provides the best recovery (r) of the
resource with minimisation of dilution (e). In this problem
there is a grade distribution model (block model), a cut-off
grade (gc), a shut-off grade (gs)and three draw rules which
determine the volume (vd) of material drawn from a
particular drawpoint relative to the total ring volume fired
(vr). The grade at the brow pile is called the instantaneous
grade (gi), while the instantaneous volume is (vi). The
sequential steps taken in this problem are as follows:
Stage 1: Drawpoint Stability Study
Prior to particle flow simulation, a sensitivity study is
undertaken to determine the range of stable drawpoint
dimensions, cross-cut orientations and sequences
applicable to this rockmass, over the specified operating
depth and pre-mining stress conditions.
Figure 8: 45 degree en-echelon SLC front. Colours denote
mining sequence.
Massmin 2004
 In this particular study, a non-linear stress analysis
indicates that a minimum drawpoint spacing of 15m is
required for stable drawpoints at the full operating depth of
the mine. Because there are indications of stress related
problems at this mine, a 45 degree en-echelon mining front
is desirable (Figure 8), which constrains the mining
sequence. In this example, the sub-level interval must be
less than 30m because of drilling equipment constraints.
The next stage is simulation of the isolated draw-zone, which
is calibrated to observed and recorded recovery and dilution
curves from other mines in similar conditions. A database of
such curves is maintained by AMC Consultants Pty Ltd.

Stage 2: Simulation of Isolated Draw

In this stage the particle assembly properties are
calibration to the measured or inferred behaviour of the
granular assembly. These parameters include size
distributions of the blasted and naturally fragmented
material, inter-particle friction angle, material friction angle,
cohesion and particle shape factor.
Size distribution curves for the blasted ring material are
well known from numerous studies. The principal difficulty
arises when estimating the size distribution of naturally
fragmented material in the cave void. CAVE-SIM
simulations have shown that smaller dilution particles in the
void result in faster ingress of waste at the drawpoint, hence
reduced recovery and increased dilution.
Figure 10a: Waste ingress (red) depends on size contrast
between blasted ring material and naturally fragmented
cave material. Long-sectional view; n =10e6 particles
(Sharrock 2003b).
loads or draw increments, resulting in the formation of the well-
known draw-ellipse at each drawpoint. Numerous authors have
studied this mechanism using scaled physical models and
have observed that the nature of the draw ellipse is
fundamental to good cave management (Kvapil 1965a, Just
and Free 1971, Power 2003).
In this stage a section of the SLC geometry is typically
selected over the entire operating height of the cave for a
detailed parametric study of the pre-specified drawpoint
spacings and sublevel intervals. A series of simulations are
then undertaken for these parameters, resulting in graphs of
height of interactive draw as a function of drawpoint spacing
and sub-level interval. This study guides the selection of
parameters for the full mine-scale simulations of the
operating SLC, which include grade.

Figure 9: Primary recovery curves from CAVE-SIM

simulations of blasted and naturally fragemented particle
assemblies, calibrated against numerically determined
inter-particle friction from DEM biaxial tests (Figure 2). Figure 10b: The height of interactive draw (hc) depends on
size contrast between blasted ring material, the stresses
Each simulation has two particle assemblies that induced in the granular medium, and the spacing between
represent the upper and lower bounds in the size drawpoints. Long-sectional view; n =10e6 particles.
distribution models for the naturally fragmented material. In
selecting the particle friction and cohesion a numerical
biaxial test (Figure 2) is sometimes used, or if site data is
available, the interparticle friction is altered until the
appropriate recovery curve is calibrated. In this stage the
cellular automata model is often calibrated against a
detailed DEM biaxial test.
The Firing Block geometry in this example is as indicated
in Figure 5 and Figure 10. Rings are dumped 10 degree
forward. Figure 10 shows the dilated state of the ring
material after 20% draw.

Stage 3: Simulation of Interactive Draw

Two example simulations of interactive draw are presented

in Figures 10a and 10b. In Figure 10b, an SLC is constructed
that consists of solid rock and blasted ore and waste (red). The Figure 11: The height of interactive draw (hc) versus
blasted ore is removed from each drawpoint in small bucket- drawpoint spacing, mean values for 200 drawzones.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 193

 Stage 4: Simulation of Entire SLC Extraction
The aim of the fourth stage is to undertake a "mine-scale"
simulation of an SLC to determine the production
parameters such as tonnes and grade for each drawpoint
and level. In this particular example there are 50e6 particles,
around 7 levels with 400 crosscuts and 3400 drawzones
(Figure 8), comprising 34 mining steps.
The end result from Stage 4 is an estimate of the effect
of drawpoint spacing and sub-level interval on "cave
recovery" both incrementally for each level together with
depth or time. An example of curves for both IDZ recovery
models is depicted in Figure 9.
These relations are then used to guide design
considerations for drawpoint spacing and sub-level interval
and also to provide simulated estimates of how grade
distribution, changing stress distributions and sequencing
affects life of mine production from the SLC.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The CAVE-SIM approach has significant advantages over
other modelling techniques in the terms of simulation size,
complexity and the simulated duration of draw. Moreover, the
method is readily calibrated using active mine data, which
provides key boundary parameters required in all simulations.
Current CAVE-SIM models provide excellent SLC dilution,
mass balance and ore movement estimates. Additional CAVE-
SIM features include seamless integration of grade, geology
and variable properties to produce an economic comparison of
mining options and their impact on cave performance.
Comparisons of CAVE-SIM models against actual
observations of granular flow forms the basis for "coupling" the
cellular automaton logic to the finite difference method. Further
CAVE-SIM applications include the simulation of ore-pass wear
dynamics, stope backfilling and segregation and blending and
reclamation in stock-piles.
A future version of CAVE SIM will comprise a coupled
discontinuum-continuum code in which elements of a
rockmass can be converted into particles subject to certain
structural and strength data. In such an approach, induced
rockmass damage in the continuum surrounding the cave is
used to initiate and drive cave propagation, while the flow of
particles is managed by the cellular automaton method.
7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors of this paper would like to thank Dr Duncan
Tyler for his reviews of this paper and his contributions to
the ideas presented.
8 REFERENCES
Atkinson, J H and Bransby, P L, 1978. The mechanics of
soils. MrGraw Hill, London: 4.
Baxter, G W and Behringer, R P, 1990. Cellular automata
models of granular flow. Physical Review A 42(2): 1017-1020.
Bergmark, J, 1975. The Calculation of Drift Spacing and
Ring Burden for Sublevel Caving, Report nr. RU 75-16,
LKAB, 981 61, Kiruna, Sweden, (in Swedish)
Borowski, E J and Borwein, J M, 1991. The Harper Collins
dictionary of Mathematics, 563 p. Harper Collins: New York.
Brady, B G H and Brown, E T, 1993. Rock Mechanics for
Underground Mining. Melbourne, Chapman & Hall.
Brown, E T, 2003. Block Caving Geomechanics. JKMRC
Monograph Series in Mining and Mineral Processing 3,
515 p. Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre, The
University of Queensland: Brisbane.
Bull, G and Page C H, 2000. Sublevel caving- today's
dependable low cost ore factory. Massmin 2000,
Brisbane, Queensland.
194 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Cattaneo, G and Jocher, U, 2002. Cellular automata for 2D
and 3D fluid dynamics simulations, Dept. of Information
Science web page, University of Milano. 2003.
Cundall, P.A. and Strack, O.D.L., 1979, A discrete
numerical model for granular assemblies, Geotechnique,
29, (1), pp. 47-65.
Coulomb, C A, 1776. Essai sur une application des regles
de maxims et minimis a quelque problemes de statique,
reatifs a l'architecture. Memoires de Mathematique et de
Physique 5: pp. 343-382.
Duplancic, P, 2002. Characterisation of caving
mechanisms through analysis of stress and seismicity.
Department of Civil Engineering PhD Thesis. Perth,
University of Western Australia: 153.
Fox, G C, Williams, R D, Messima, P C, 1994. Parallel
Computing Works, Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco. 2003.
Frisch, U, Hasslacher, B, Pomeau, Y, 1986. Lattice gas
automata for the Navier -Stoke's equation. Phys. Rev.
Lett. 56: 1505-1508.
Ghaboussi, J. 1990, Three dimensional discrete element
method for granular materials, Int. J. Numer. Anal.
Methods Geomech., 14, pp. 451-472.
Heden, H, 1976, Physical Models for Describing Gravity
Flow, in H. Heden, editor, Proceedings from the Seminar
on Sublevel Caving in Kiruna, LKAB, 981 61, Kiruna,
Sweden, pp.1-9, (in Swedish)
Hemmingson, J, Herrmann, H J and Roux, S, 1997.
Vectorial cellular automaton for the stress in granular
media. J. Phys. 1(Feb.): 291-302.
Hustrulid, A I, Brown, H, 1997. Parallel Implementation of the
Discrete Element Method, Colorado School of Mines. 2002.
Janelid, I and Kvapil, R, 1966. Sublevel caving, Int. J.
Rock Mech. Mining Sci: 129-153.
Just, G D and Free, B E, 1971. The gravity flow of material
in the sub-level caving mining system. First Australian
New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics.
Kvapil, R, 1965a. Gravity flow of granular materials in
hoppers and bins in mines - I, Int. J. Rock Mech. Mining
Sci: 35-41.
Kvapil, R, 1965b. Gravity flow of granular materials in
hoppers and bins in mines - II Coarse Material, Int. J.
Rock Mech. Mining Sci: 277-304.
Lin, X. and Ng, T.T., 1997 A three-dimensional discrete
element model using arrays of ellispoids, Geotechnique,
47, (2), pp. 319-329.
Nedderman, R M, 1992. Statics and kinematics of
granular materials. Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press.
Nilsson, L, 1988, A Theoretical Model of Gravity Flow in
Sublevel Caving, Report nr. 88-740, LKAB, 981 61,
Kiruna, Sweden, (in Swedish)
Power, G, 2003. Stochastic Methods for modelling draw
behaviour. Personal communication, G. Sharrock. Perth.
Rankine, W, 1857. On the stability of loose earth. London.
Phil. Trans.
Sawley, M L. and Cleary, P.W. 1999. A parallel discrete
element method for industrial granular flow simulations.
EPFL Supercomputing Review(Nov. 1999): 23-29.
Sharrock, G B, 2003a. Tool Shearing of Granular Media,
PhD. Thesis, University of Queensland
Sharrock, G B, 2003b. Cellular automata and the
simulation of cave-draw, Australian Mining Magazine
(November Edition), pp 62- 63.
Von Neumann, J, 1966. Theory of self reproducing
automata. Urbana, University of Illinois Press.
Williams, J.R. and Pentland, A.P., 1989, Superquadratics
and modal dynamics for discrete elements in concurrent
design, Proc. 1st U.S. Conf on Discrete Element
Methods, Eds. G.G.W. Mustoe, M. Henriksen, H.P.
Huttelmaier, CSM Press , Colorado.
Massmin 2004
 Geotechnical analysis of gravity
flow during block caving
Ramn Verdugo, Professor of Geotechnical Engineering, University of Chile, Chile
Javier Ubilla, Graduate Student, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA

Abstract
Block Caving is a mining operation method where taking advantage of the gravity forces, the ore is fragmented into
particles and extracted from different draw points. The actual phenomenon, usually called gravity flow that takes place
in the mine is complex, being still at the present the operation and design mainly empirical. In this paper the gravity flow
is analyzed using the computer code Flac 3D, modeling the fractured ore as a granular material with a Mohr-Coulomb
failure criteria and with a modulus of deformation as function of both the minor principal stress and stress path. The
computed results are in good agreement with empirical evidences observed in the block caving. The obvious question
of how a flow can be modeled with a computer code for a continuum media is also explained in the paper.

1 INTRODUCTION
The mining industry is continuously growing and
developing new designs, equipment and procedures to
efficiently extract the ore from the mother rock. This is a
permanent duty since the international prices of the metals
are decreasing in the long-term perspective, forcing the
mining industry to reduce all the operational costs. In this
context, the analysis and better understanding of one of the
most economically attractive method of extraction used in
underground mines, the block caving, is important for
optimizing and improve the scenario of mine production in
long-term bases.
In all those natural ground conditions where the orebodies
are close to the surface, the extraction throughout the open
pit technique is usually adopted. Whereas, when the
mineralized body is deeper, depending upon the rock
quality, shape and dimensions, the so-called Cave Mining
procedures usually provide the lowest cost.
Cave Mining are called all those mining operations where
the orebody caves naturally after undercutting and then it is
retrieved through a grill of drawpoints (Kvapil, 1982). Under
this denomination is possible to include, block caving, panel
caving, inclined-drawpoint caving, and front caving
(Laubscher, 1994). This mining operation works due to the
fact that the hanging wall of rock caves when the excavation
goes forth. In block caving, a thick block of ore is undercut
by removing a slice of ore, so the unsupported block is
allowed to collapse due to its own weight. Then, the broken
ore is drawn off from below as the fractured rock falls driven
by the gravity forces.
Although in the last decades a tremendous effort has
been done in order to understand and predict the
phenomenon that control the cave mining, the actual results
are still rather insufficient. Consequently, a study oriented to
obtain new analytical insights has been undertaken and a
part of these results are presented below.
2 MODELING OF THE GRAVITY FLOW
In spite of the significant advances in computer hardware,
numerical modeling and development of new analytical
approaches dealing with gravity flow, the actual designs of
block caving are mainly based on both empirical procedures
and engineering judgement (Kvapil, 1965; 1982; Douglas,
1984; Mansson, 1995). This fact somehow shows that more
studies are still needed to assess the actual behavior of the
gravity flow associated to block caving.
A rigorous analysis of the phenomenon that takes place
during the gravity flow in the mining operation by block
caving should consider the following field conditions:
The initial intact rock that is caved by the mining operation
very seldom is homogeneous and continuos. On the
contrary, different geological structures and lithological
heterogeneities are normally encountered, which govern
the fragmentation, the principal stress directions and
stress relaxation. Additionally, the presence of water
significantly affects the rock crashability and the
resistance of the finer particles that result from the
fractured rock.
The boundary that separates the intact body and the
fragmented rock is a diffuse and movable zone, which
affects the dimensions and stress field of the crashed
rock.
It is recognized that gravity flow associated to isolated
draw points corresponds to a continuous flow of particles
that is concentrated only in a certain region of the granular
mass, the so-called drawzone, while the remainder
particles essentially do not move. Therefore, this
phenomenon generates a clear discontinuity that
encloses the region under flow (drawzone).
As the fractured rock is moving toward the draw points, it
is possible to expect a continuous secondary crashing of
the larger particles due to the high level of pressure
involved. Hence, the grain size of the material in the
drawzone is modified during the process of flow.
Any mathematical model for predicting the block caving
that attempts to incorporate all the considerations indicated
above definitely will be very complex and in addition, it will
have serious problems to obtain the input parameters.
Consequently, instead of going into new more refined
models, the authors have opted for the appropriate
implementation of already well established analytical tools
that may permit to clarify fundamental characteristics of the
gravity flow.
First it is important to realize that after the block caving
method of mining breaks the original massive rock, the
resulting fractured material resembles a coarse particulate
media. Therefore, the use of the mechanical laws of coarse

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 195

granular materials is totally pertinent. It is postulated that the
fundamental feature of gravity flow phenomenon is strictly
related to the particulate nature of the body of crashed rock
and its mechanical response is capture by its modeling as a
granular material. From a practical point of view, the
modeling of the fragmented rock as a single granular
material imply that all the process of secondary particle
crashing that likely occurs in the drawzones is not
considered. Additionally, the phenomenon associated to the
phase transformation from solid rock to particulate material
is not incorporated in the present analysis either. These two
simplifications can be considered limitations of the present
analysis.
On the other hand, it is important to realize that the mining
process of extraction of the crashed material that has
passed throughout the draw points is rather slow. Typically,
the loader equipment can take 6 to 8 ton of fragmented ore
each time, retrieving the material and coming back again for
the next load. Each of these cycles is ordinarily done in a
time interval of approximately 10 minutes. This non-
continuous operation of ore extraction together with the
rather large period of time involved in each cycle implies that
the inertial forces are small enough, so they can be
neglected. Thus, the whole phenomenon can be considered
essentially static, and therefore, the classical set of
differential equations for static equilibrium of a continuum
media holds valid.
Furthermore, although the operation of extraction is slow,
still it generates the flow of the granular material, which
creates a discontinuity around the drawzone. The
emergence of a discontinuity makes this state to diverge
from a continuum media. However, just before the
development of the failure of the granular material with the
generation of the drawzone, which actually means the
initiation of the flow, the granular material can be treated as
a continuum. Therefore, just until the starting of the flow, the
whole body of fractured rock would satisfy the set of
differential equations of a continuous medium. Accordingly,
the applicability of the equations of geometric compatibility
associated to a continuum holds also valid until the gravity
flow throughout the draw points is initiated.
3 GEOMECHANICAL MODEL
OF THE FRACTURED ROCK
At the present a significant number of mathematical
models that use different constitutive laws for representing
the mechanical response of coarse granular materials are
available. It is possible to indicate that the constitutive law
provided by the elasto-plastic stress-strain relationship has
shown to be the simplest and mathematically fully
consistent. Beside, the main features of coarse particulate
materials as the dependency of shear strength and stiffness
with the level of normal stresses and the increment of
stiffness during unloading processes can be easily
incorporated in the elasto-plastic stress-strain relationship.
The perfect plastic response occurs when the shear
strength is achieved, which is a function of the level of
normal stresses. The dependence of shear strength with the
normal stresses is incorporated by most of the failure
criteria, as for example, Mohr-Coulomb, extended Von
Mises, Lade-Duncan and Matsuoka-Nakai, among others
(Chen and Mizuno, 1990; Matsuoka and Nakai, 1974).
Considering that the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is well
known and it reproduces the ultimate state of stresses to a
great extend, it has been adopted in the present analysis.
This criteria is expressed as:
(1)
196 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Where, tf corresponds to the shear strength, sn
represents the normal stress to the plane that contains tf,
and f is the angle of internal friction of the granular material.
The right side of this relationship may have an additional
term named cohesion that accounts for those states of a
granular material that mobilize strength although the
confining pressure is zero. However, the granular materials
generated from the blasted rock definitely correspond to
cohesionless materials. Only in those situations of fine
material (clay and silt sizes) and under a condition of partial
saturation, a small level of cohesion may be observed, but
these stages are out of the scope of this study.
On the other hand, to take into account the effect of
confining pressure on the stiffness of a granular material,
the following expression for the deformation modulus as
been used (Jambu, 1963):
(2)
Where, Eo and n are material constants, s3 is the minor
principal stress, and Pa represents the atmospheric
pressure and its use in this expression is only for having non
dimensional values of the constants Eo and n.
Experimental evidence suggests that n = 0.5 is a
reasonable value for coarse materials, so it has been
adopted in this study (Duncan et al. 1980).
The third important feature of granular materials is related
to the sharp change in rigidity that is observed when
unloading processes take place. A typical result of a load
plate test carried out in a coarse granular material is shown
in Fig. 1, where a significant increase of stiffness during
unloading can be seen.
Figure 1: Typical load plate test with loading and unloading
performed on coarse soils.
According to the available information in the Institute for
Research and Testing of Materials, IDIEM, of University of
Chile, the resulting stiffness during unloading is in the order
of 4 to 10 times greater than the stiffness developed during
loading. This phenomenon is well-recognized in granular
materials and it is associated to the generation of a sort of
elastic region by the loading process. Therefore, any
change in the state of stresses has to be analyzed in order
to identify whether it corresponds to a step of unloading that
would need a change in the modulus of deformation. To
accomplish this, a simple procedure analyzing the stress
path increment in the q-p plane is proposed as shown in Fig.
Massmin 2004
2. In this stress path plot, p represents the mean stress (s1
+ s2 + s3)/3 and q corresponds to the maximum shear
stress ((s1 - s3 )/2
Figure 2: Regions of loading and unloading
where are also indicated the material properties used in the
analysis. It can be seen that the typical ellipsoidal shapes of
the drawzone of extraction observed in boxes filled with
sandy soils are quite well reproduced by the present
analysis.
Another interesting result is related with the distribution of
vertical stresses at the bottom of the granular material that
are shown in Fig. 4. The computed results indicate that
there is an important concentration of vertical stresses
around the draw point, which magnitude and locations are
mainly controlled by the friction angle of the material. These
results are show in Figs. 5 and 6, where it is observed that
the greater the angle of internal friction the greater the peak
of the concentrated vertical stress and the closer its location
to the opening. These results also show that as the angle of
internal friction increases the total zone where exists a
stress concentration becomes clearly smaller. Besides,
when the friction angle increases the smaller the drawzone
created by the flow. From these results, it is also interesting
to observe that if the frictional strength is high enough, the
peak vertical stress around the draw point can duplicated its
value respect to the initial geostatic value.

In Fig. 2, the point (po, qo) represents an initial state of (Eo = 2000 kg/cm2, Ko= 0.5, Density = 2.3 t/m3, = 35)
stress, which will be modified to a new state. When the
stress-path moves toward the failure envelope (EF), it is
possible to visualize a condition of loading, which is defined
by region 1. On the contrary, when the stress path is moving
away from the failure envelope it is possible to recognize a
process of unloading.
In addition, it is important to bear in mind that the modulus of
deformation has been considered explicitly as a function of the
minor principal stress. Thus, all those stress paths in the region
3 will automatically increase the soil stiffness because in this
region always there is an increase in the minor principal stress.
However, in the unloading region 2, the minor principal stress
decrease, being necessary to externally modify and to increase
the deformation modulus. When the stress paths go into this
region, the deformation modulus has been considered to
increase four-time respect to its previous value during loading.
This ratio of four between the stiffness in loading and unloading
has been adopted considering the minimum ratio observed in
coarse materials.

4 DESCRIPTION OF THE NUMERICAL ANALYSIS

Considering that the classical equations of a continuum

can be applied, the geotechnical model indicated above was Figure 3: Ellipsoidal shape of the drawzone.
implemented in the computer code Flac 3D. To analyze of
the gravity flow in a fractured rock mass a medium of 100 m
in length, with heights between 50 and 150 m were
simulated. A square mesh of nodes of 1 m per 1m was used.
To reduce the time of CPU, the analysis was basically done
for a plane strain condition.
The adopted procedure of loading, that is compatible with
the generation of a gravity flow, consisted in the definition of
the draw points via a set of nodes where external loads
could be applied. Initially, in these nodes an upward vertical
load equivalent to the vertical dead weight of the material
was applied. Thereafter, these loads were incrementally
decreased until the failure of the granular material took
place and the deformations become too large to be
managed by the computer code that was basically working
for the static analysis of a continuum. The previous load
step to this collapse was considered the initiation of the
gravity flow and its analysis is presented below.

5 ANALYSIS OF THE NUMERICAL RESULTS

For a single draw point, the deformation contours that are Figure 4: Distribution of vertical stresses along the bottom of
generated at the initiation of the flow are shown in Fig. 3, the granular material.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 197


Figure 5: Distribution of vertical stresses at the bottom, for
different friction angles of the materials.
Figure 6: Distance from the opening at which occurs the
peak vertical stress as a function of the friction angle.
On the other hand, from a practical viewpoint it is relevant
to estimate both the width of the drawzones, and the critical
distance between draw points at which the interaction
between drawzones becomes important.
To evaluate the maximum width of the drawzone, a
single draw point with different opening sizes has been
analyzed. The initiation of the gravity flow has been
established for this series of different opening sizes
considering a medium of 50 m high. The analysis has
been performed until the flow changes its mode of failure
and the whole material above the opening fails forming a
sort of vertical column.
When the opening has a size such that the arch effect
tends to show up, there is an important stress rotation close
to the opening that is reproduced by the computed results
presented in Fig. 7. These results also define the mode of
failure of the granular material, inducing the shape of the
drawzone indicated in Fig. 8 for the simulation of a 50 m
high fractured rock mass.
198 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 7: Rotation of principal stresses around the opening
Figure 8: Typical results of the drawzone shape in a medium
of 50 m high and small opening size.
On the other hand, it is possible to realize that if the
opening size is large enough, no arch effect would emerge
and the granular material simply will move down generating
a cylindrical drawzone with identical diameter of the
opening. It is postulated that the minimum size of the
opening that is associated with this type of failure it would
coincide with the maximum width of the drawzone where
arch effect is manifested. This concept comes from the fact
that the column failure is related with those sizes where the
arch effect is not developed. Similarly, the maximum width
of the drawzone is the critical distance until the arch effect
can act. It is important to point out that in this context arch
effect is related with a tendency of stress rotation and it
does not correspond with the arch that stop the flow.
The computed results for the critical opening associated
to the column failure is shown Fig. 9, being possible to
confirm the hypothesis of the existence of two different
failure mechanisms that control the movements of the
granular material.
Massmin 2004
 Furthermore, the critical distance at which there is
interaction between draw points was estimated through the
computations of a series of two consecutive draw points
located at different distance and subjected simultaneously
to the loading process that reproduces the gravity flow. The
results are shown in Fig. 11, and they suggest that the
actual interaction starts at a distance equal to 1.2 times the
width of the isolated drawzone. This result is practically
similar to the empirical value of 1.5 used in the block caving
(kvapil, 1992; Laubscher, 1994).

Figure 9:

Following the explained methodology, the numerical

analysis of the drawzone widths was carried out for different
values of the angle of internal friction of the simulated
crashed rock, considering a medium of 50 m high. The
computed results are shown in Fig. 10. It is interesting to
observe that these results indicate that the higher the
frictional strength the narrower the drawzone, which agrees
with what has been observed in experiments with coarse
soils of different frictional strength. A normal value for the
angle of internal friction of a fragmented rock is around 43,
which according to these results it means a drawzone width
of 22 m, what is compatible with the general experience in
block caving mining operation.

Figure 11: Isolated draw point and level of interaction at

different distance of the draw points.

6 CONCLUSIONS
Figure 10: Variation of the drawzone width with the angle of
internal friction of the fractured rock: The well-established theory for a continuum in
conjunction with a simple model for coarse granular
materials have been implemented in the computer code
Flac 3D. The numerical model is able to work until the

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 199

initiation of the flow. A simple load procedure to generate the
gravity flow has been implemented, so the initiation of the
granular flow can be reproduced. The obtained results are
in agreements with experimental evidences and field
observations.
It has been shown that the vertical stresses are
concentrated around the draw points, reaching values as
high as two times the initial geostatic vertical stress.
The numerical results indicate that the width of the
drawzone (zone of flow) is strongly affected by the frictional
strength of the fragmented rock and it decreases as the
friction strength increases.
Beside, the results suggest that the critical distance, at
which the interaction between two adjacent draw points is
developed, can be approximated to 1.2 times the width of
the drawzone generated by a single draw point.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors want to thank the financial support provided
by FONDEF under the grant No. 1037 that made this
research possible.
REFERENCES
Chen, W. and Mizuno, E. (1990): "Nonlinear analysis in
soil mechanics. Theory and implementation," Elsevier.
Duncan, J., Byrne, P., Wong, K. and Mabry, P. (1980):
"Strength, stress-strain and bulk modulus parameters for
200 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
finite element analysis of stresses and movements in soil
masses," Report No. UCB/GT /80-01. University of
California, Berkeley.
Douglas, P. (1984): "Physical modeling of the draw
behavior of broken rock in caving," Colorado School of
Mines Quarterly, USA. Vol. 79, No. 1.
Jambu, N. (1963): "Soil compressibility as determined by
oedometer and triaxial tests," European Conference on
Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. Wiesbaden,
Vol. 1, pp. 19-25.
Kvapil, R. (1965): "Gravity flow of granular materials in
hoppers and bins," Int. J. Rock Mechanics and Mining
Science, Parts I and II. Vol. 2.
Kvapil, R. (1982): "The mechanics and design of sublevel
caving system," Underground Mining Methods Handbook,
W. Hustrulid ed., SME, New York.
Laubscher, D. (1994): "Cave mining-the state of the art,"
The Journal of The South African Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy.
Mansson, A. (1995): "Development of body of motion
under controlled gravity flow of bulk solids," Licentiate
thesis, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden.
Matsuoka, H. and Nakai, T. (1974): "Stress-deformation
and strength characteristics of soils under three different
principal stresses," Proceedings Japan Society of Civil
Engineers, No. 232, pp. 5970.
Massmin 2004
 PFC3D modelling of flow
behaviour in sublevel caving
Hkan Selldn, LKAB, Matthew Pierce, Itasca Consulting Group, Inc.

Abstract
The behavior of sublevel caving is commonly evaluated with a dilution entry curve, where the proportions of ore and
waste rock are shown against extraction ratio. Such curves are obtained from both field and models. There is however
normally a large discrepancy between field and model curves. This is believed to be caused by the uniform mechanical
properties of the model material and the non-uniform properties of the actual rock.
Field dilution entry curves and observations have inspired a number of hypotheses on flow behavior. One hypothesis
has been modeled numerically using PFC3D. Three different uniform materials have been used, one waste and two ore
materials. The material around and between blast holes is believed to be highly fragmented and is modeled with particles
that have smaller size and lower friction than the ore between the ring plane and waste and remaining ore from earlier
rings. This second type of ore is believed to be fragmented but has not been allowed to move apart due to the limited
swell volume. It is modeled by coarser particles with higher friction and bonding between them to mimic the interlocking
among the not separated pieces. The bonding is zero next to the brow and increases to the top of the ring.
After partial draw from the model ring, a void between coarse ore and the still solid ore is observed in the model. The
dilution entry curve from the model displays a "pulsation" from alternating draw of ore and waste. Two types of hang-ups
are observed: 1. The coarse ore remains in its original position and arches over the sides of the ring. 2. Assemblies of
bonded coarse ore detach from the main assembly and hangs up at the brow. The first type of hang-up results in the
formation of voids behind the coarse ore. Both types of hang-ups allow waste to come to the draw point.
The model dilution entry curve resembles those obtained from the field. Particularly interesting is the characteristic
pulsation. The formation of "boulders" in the model looks like what can be observed in the field. The hypothesis is not
proven, but has been reinforced.

1 INTRODUCTION Table 1: Key data for the curves in Figure 1.

Sub level caving (SLC) is a mining method that causes Dilution entry Dilution at 110 %
extensive mixing of ore and waste rock. The dilution of at % extraction extraction
waste rock into the ore resulting in a crude ore with
considerably lower and fluctuating grade is one of the
Poor 42 44
challenges when employing this method. When the dilution
becomes excessively high at the end of the drawing of a Acceptable 48 36
ring, it is no longer profitable to mine this ore and the still Good 51 27
remaining ore has to be left as an ore loss.
A means of describing and evaluating SLC is to draw a
Dilution Entrycurve, which typically shows cumulative
dilution as a function of extraction. The extraction at which
the first waste rock appears in the draw point is the Dilution
Entry Point. This point is a measure of the amount of
undiluted ore that has been drawn. In a case of different
types of ore, the degree of mixing between these may also
be inferred.
The final dilution, when draw is terminated, is of more
interest since it is commonly used as cut-off together with
extraction ratio and has economical implications.
Dilution, recovery and extraction are mathematically tied
together and can not be used individually to evaluate
performance.
In the rather sparse literature on SLC, there are a few
dilution entry curves published. Kvapil (1982) gives a set of
curves exemplifying good, acceptable and poor extraction
(see Figure 1). It is not stated whether the curves are based
on model or field data. However, an abundance of physical
model data was available at the time when the graph was
first published, while field data was minimal.
The dilution entry points are interpreted to be at the values
given in Table 1. Figure 1: Dilution entry curve interpreted from Kvapil (1982).

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 201

 Both 36% and 44% dilution appears to be high for a long hang up. Figure 6 indicates where this picture was taken
term average, but individual rings can reach those numbers. from.
Today, large amounts of field dilution entry curves are Quite unexpectedly, it shows a gap between the blast hole
available from dilution estimation by bucket weighing. line at the brow and the ore. This ore does reportedly
At Kiruna Mine, an on board weighing system records the appear to be solid, but it is believed to unravel into rather
weight of each bucket. Since the density of magnetite ore is well fragmented rock if and when it is brought into motion.
4.6 ton/m3 and 2.7 ton/m3 for waste, the mix of waste and There are other observations of a gap made from above, but
ore will influence the total weight. Thus the dilution can be pictures showing this are not available.
estimated.
The relevance of this estimate has been evaluated by
comparison with sampling data and has shown good
agreement according to Quinteiro et al. (2001).
The variation from bucket to bucket is however so large
that trends cannot be easily detected. Apart from dilution,
the weight of the bucket contents is influenced by filling,
packing and water. It is believed that these factors have a
more random nature, while there is a trend of increasing
dilution from beginning to end of ring draw.
For presentation a 10-bucket moving average is used and
an example of such a curve is shown in Figure 2. This
particular curve shows dilution in the first 10 buckets, which
is not common but the dilution entry rarely occurs later than
20%.
In Figure 2 a large variation can still be seen despite the
moving average. Since rushes of waste or ore are normally
observed during the draw of a ring, it is believed that these
are reflected in the curve. This phenomenon is commonly
called pulsation.

Figure 3: Illustration of Larssons hypothesis for the

pulsation phenomenon from Hustrulid (2000).

Figure 2: Field dilution entry curve.

Hustrulid has described this phenomenon and a

hypothesis for its causes in Hustrulid (2000).
According to Larsson, the reason for pulsation is the poor
mobility of the blasted ore, which is a result of the insufficient
swell volume. The only swell volume considered is that of
the cross cut, which only gives a swell volume of 5% of the
blasted ring (see Figures 3 and4). It is stated that: "A small
amount may be available through compaction of the caved
rock and in flow channels. For the purpose of this
discussion, this potential source of additional swell volume
will be neglected."
An attempt to model this pulsation is the scope of this
paper. There are however no observations reported
showing the situation in Figure 3, since the presence of
broken rock in the drawpoint normally makes it impossible
to see. In the case of a large hang up it is possible to see Figure 4: Difference in available swell volume and swell in
what is hung up. The picture in Figure 5 is taken of such a large scale and small scale sub level caving.

202 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 5: Picture taken from below showing an open gap
between the blast hole plane and a combination of frozen
ore and compacted waste in previous gaps. The (broken)
brow is the brighter material in the far right of the picture.

Figure 7: Interpretation of observations in the field.

2 MODEL DESIGN

The Particle Flow Code in 3 Dimensions (PFC3D)

developed by Itasca Consulting Group Inc. Itasca (2003)
has been used for the numerical modeling.
Four different models with a similar basic geometry have
been run in this study. The dimensions of the sub level
caving used during the SLC 2000 research project,
Quinteiro et al. (2001), at Kiruna mine were modeled
because of the wealth of records available. Thus the sub
level height was 27.5 m, the x-cut pacing was 24.75 m and
the x-cut size was 7 by 5 m, reduced to 6.28 by 4.25 due to
the ring geometry. The side holes were inclined 60o from
horizontal. The ring is tilted 80o from horizontal to the
hanging wall.
In the model there are three materials present: Fine ore,
coarse ore and waste rock. In order to create disturbed flow
as observed, the ore to be "frozen" was first modeled with
larger size particles and higher surface friction according to
Table 2.

Figure 6: Vertical cross section showing x-cut and Table 2: Basic model particle properties.
incompletely blasted rings. Long arrow indicates camera
direction in Figure 5 Fine ore Coarse ore Waste

Eq. Radius (m) 0,25 0,5 0,4

It was decided to also try to model this gap together with Friction coeff. 0,4 2,0 0,4
a temporarily frozen ore ring as shown in Figure 7. Density (ton/m3) 4,5 4,5 2,7
Gravity flow of a free flowing material has been
modeled in physical models by a number of researchers Zone thickn. (m) 1,0 2,0 -
since the late 1950s. This is believed to be the first
attempt to model disturbed flow numerically using a The relative positions of the different particle types are
mechanistic approach. shown in an overview in Figure 8 and in detail in Figure 9.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 203

 The particles are two-ball clumps where two spheres
are solidly connected so that they obtain an aspect ratio
of 1.5:1. This is done in order to achieve a more realistic
bulk friction then is obtained with only spheres.
Furthermore, a number of different, more elaborate
clump configurations were tested, without any significant
change in bulk friction.
The radius of the two balls is adjusted so that the clump
volume is equal to that of a single ball with the given
radius. In order to control total number of particles in the
models, no size distribution within each material type has
been used.
All walls were originally made of single balls with radius
0.3 m and with the same properties as waste rock. In the
two last model runs the ball wall at the ring face was
replaced by a planar wall with a friction coefficient of 0.4. As
will be described and discussed in detail later, all models
showed a pulsation behavior but only the last model
displayed "frozen" ore. This resulted from the introduction of
the planar wall as well as the bonding between coarse
particles.

Figure 9: A close up of Figure 8.

The characteristics of the four model runs are given in

Table 3 below. The Larsson hypothesis assumes good
mobility in the lower part of the ring while the swell volume
is insufficient in the upper part of the ring causing the
"freezing". Therefore it was decided to use a variable bond
strength starting with zero at the brow and increasing it to a
maximum at the top of the ring.
As reference, a model run with free, undisturbed flow was
made with only one size of ore with the same surface friction
and no bond strength, called "single size" in Table 3.

Table 3: Differences in key parameters

between the four model runs.

Parameter/ Fine/ Coarse ore Max. bond

Model coarse size friction strength (MPa)
Single size 0,4 0,4 0
Two size 0,25/0,4 2,0 0
Low bond 0,25/0,4 2,0 3,0
High bond 0,25/0,4 2,0 6,0

Before a run can start, the model has to be built and

Figure 8: Cross section of PFC3D model. The two different
types of ore, coarse and fine, are seen next to the blast hole
plane. All other particles in the model are waste rock.
allowed to come to rest. First the walls are created and the
model is filled with balls. Then the balls are brought to rest
with gravity and surface friction. The balls are then
converted to the two-ball clumps described above and
allowed to come to rest again.
Before draw can start, first the waste is allowed to rill out
while the ore is kept in place by a horizontal wall. Then this
last wall is removed and the ore can rill out on top of the
waste.
Draw is done with the aid of an invisible, vertical wall 1 m
outside the brow. Every particle center that passes this wall
is deleted and added to a list according to its type and

204 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

volume. After trying to model the actual digging this method colors to emphasize certain aspects. Unfortunately, they
was tested and was found to give no significantly different had to be converted to gray scale for this paper. As shown
result, but gives definite computational advantages. in the figures the waste is colored in layers with the
Each run was ended when a volume larger than 120% of thickness of one third of the sub level height. The top of the
the total volume of ore particles initially placed in the model third layer from the bottom is at the sub level above the one
had been drawn. 120 % extraction of volume is less when being modelled. The face of the next ring to be fired is a ball
applied to the heavy iron ore (4.5 ton/m3) and calculated per wall and looks like a string of balls inclined 80o from
volume. horizontal.
A special scheme was developed to take care of hang- In Figure 10 there is a horizontal line 20 m above the sub
ups, which did occur quite frequently during the runs. The level. This is also the height at which the side holes from two
maximum velocity of all particles was checked every one adjacent cross cuts meet. The top views in Figure 14 -
thousand calculation steps and when it was below 10-10 Figure 17 are looking down through this plane. The left hand
m/s, the model was regarded as hung up. side of these plots represents a plane of symmetry.
In order to mimic reality an extra dig was made by The extraction zone was divided into four sub zones
temporarily moving the invisible dig limit wall in steps of 0.5 containing 25% of the extracted rock as indicated in Figures
m starting 0.5 m inside the brow. The draw height was also 10-13.
limited to steps of 2.0 m. Clumps extracted in a hang up dig
were also recorded in separate list.
During the execution of a run 6 different views were saved
as JPEG files. These were a longitudinal, a transversal and
a perspective view together with a magnified version of
each. This save was done every 3000 calculation steps.
The saved images could be viewed in a sequence with
just a short delay between them thus giving the impression
of a movie. Sequences of images were converted into a
movie in AVI format and GIF movie format.
One important method for evaluation of the performance
of gravity flow is to find the shape of the extraction zone,
also known as ellipsoid of extraction or draw ellipse. This is
the imaginary body obtained when the original positions of
the extracted particles are mapped. The extraction zone is
of interest both to see the origin of the waste drawn and
what part of the ore is left behind.
Here the positions prior to "blasting" are used as the
original positions. The extracted particles are recolored
according to the interval of draw percentage in which it was
extracted. A sample of a resulting extraction zone is shown
in Figure 10.
Since every particle is recorded when it is drawn and in
the order they are drawn, it is possible to present dilution
entry curves similar to those obtained from bucket weighing.
Such curves have been produced showing a 10 bucket
moving average (100 particles) and cumulative dilution
together with vertical hang up indicator lines, all as a
function of extraction.
The models are all assuming pure, iron free waste behind
the blasted ore in the ring. That would normally be an
exception, as this ring is leaving a remainder, it is to be
expected that there is also a remainder from the previous
ring. Compared to a real ring, the results from the PFC3D
runs would exhibit excessive dilution.
It is possible to take the remainder from the immediately
previous ring into consideration under certain assumptions.
The coordinates of the remaining ore particles after
completed draw are put in a separate file. Then they are
moved horizontally 3 m (=burden) and combined with a file
containing the original particle positions. The waste particles
closest to the new positions are reassigned as ore and a
new list containing more ore particles was obtained.
This new list containing recovered remainder was used to
draw new dilution entry curves.

3 RESULTS

In the following pages the extraction of the four models

are show. First the vertical sections showing the height and Figure 10: Vertical section of extraction zone at center of a
depth of draw are given in Figure 10 - Figure 13. All images ring. Single size model. The horizontal line is showing the
originating from the PFC3D program were created using height of the top view planes in Figure 14-Figure 17.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 205

Figure 11: Vertical section of extraction zone at center of a Figure 12: Vertical section of extraction zone at center of a
ring. Two size model. ring. Low bond model.

206 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Figure 14: Top view of extraction zone 20 m above sub level.
Single size model. The center symmetry line is at the left
hand side and the face of next ring is at the bottom. The
draw point is at the lower left and the remaining ore is at the
lower right.

Figure 13: Vertical section of extraction zone at center of a

ring. High bond model.

Figure 15: Top view of extraction zone 20 m above sub level.

Two size model.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 207

 Figure 18: Single size model Dilution entry curve.

Figure 16: Top view of extraction zone 20 m above sub level.

Low bond model.

Figure 19: Two size model Dilution entry curve.

Figure 17: Top view of extraction zone 20 m above sub level.

High bond model.

208 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 20: Low bond model Dilution entry curve. Figure 22: Single size model Dilution entry curve including
remainder from previous ring.

Figure 21: High bond model Dilution entry curve. Figure 23: Two size model Dilution entry curve including
remainder from previous ring.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 209

Figure 24: Low bond model Dilution entry curve including
remainder from previous ring.

Figure 26: Vertical section of ore remainder at center of a

ring. Single size model.

Figure 25: High bond model Dilution entry curve including

remainder from previous ring.

210 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 27: Vertical section of ore remainder at center of a Figure 28: Vertical section of ore remainder at center of a
ring. Two size model. ring. Low bond model.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 211

Figure 29: Vertical section of ore remainder at center of a Figure 30: Vertical section of high bond model. The section
ring. High bond model. thickness is just over one coarse ore particle size thick. A
gap within the fine ore is visible between the sub level above
and the lower end of the "frozen" ore.

212 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The validity of a model with clumped spherical particles is
obviously a subject for discussions. The real world has
however proven to be very difficult to measure. In addition,
the sparse field results available commonly deviate
considerably from free flow model results.
This scope of the work presented here was to shed some
light on disturbed flow. There is however some observations
from these model runs that do resemble results from the
field.
It was decided to use the particle positions prior to
blasting as the basis for extraction zone analysis. This is
close to the situation at field marker tests, but slightly
different from a physical model.
When looking at the vertical sections and top views of the
extraction zones from the different models, obvious
differences are seen. The trend is a lower, wider but
shallower zone for the first three steps of increasing
disturbance. The most disturbed high bond model zone
follows this trend, except for depth where it is by far the
deepest. The loss of height has to be compensated by depth
in this case.
The dilution entry curves also exhibit significant
differences between the models. It is however not obvious
how to connect the curves to the features of the different
models. The curves do bear a resemblance with the sample
field curve in Figure 2.
The curves presented by Kvapil and reinterpreted in
Figure 1 are very different form both the field and model
curves. If these originate from physical model tests, one
reason could be poor resolution due to widely spaced
markers. Another possible explanation would be a fine
material, not as prone to hang-ups as the rather coarse
PFC3D material.
When summarizing dilution entries in Table 4, it may at
first be surprising to see the more disturbed models yield a
slightly lower dilution entry than the less disturbed. An
explanation for this could be that the less mobile coarse ore
allows the more mobile fine ore to flow more freely, thus
delaying waste entry.
Table 4: Key parameter values from model runs.
Dilution at
at 25% dil.
Extraction
100% extr
Recovery
Hang ups
Parameter/
at 100%
Dilution
entry
Model
Single size 34 66 1,3 61
Two size34 66 1,1 62 32
Low bond 32 68 3,4 69
High bond 47 53 6,1 55
Pulsation is clearly seen in all dilution entry curves and at
the beginning of draw they appear to be connected to the
release of hang-ups. As draw progresses this cannot be
seen anymore. No obvious differences in pulsation can be
seen between undisturbed and different degrees of
disturbed flow. The conclusion would be that the pulsation is
not solely caused by the release of ore by caving from the
"frozen" ore. This occurrence may however be detected in a
dilution entry curve and is possibly seen in Figure 21 as a
dramatic drop in dilution from over 40% down to 0% around
25% extraction.
Due to the fact that pulsation is observed even in models
with no difference in mobility between the ore and waste, the
Larsson hypothesis for the pulsation phenomenon as
described by Hustrulid in Figure 3 is not fully supported by
the model runs reported here.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The gap between frozen ore and the hypothetical fine,
mobile ore near the blast hole plane has been successfully
modeled in the high bond model. It is however only visible in
a thin vertical section, as shown in Figure 30. There the gap
is quite obvious. In the picture from a hung up draw point in
Figure 5, the gap is visible because the ore is "frozen" over
a number of rings. A large void makes it possible (but not
safe) to enter and observe the gap from below. In the model
only one ring is "frozen" and the waste can flow in and
prevent a void from being formed.
In the model, the fine, mobile ore from the side of the ring
can be seen flowing towards the center and the draw point.
This will help keep the volume directly beneath the "frozen"
ore more or less filled with rock and to some extent support
"frozen" ore.
This is not evidence for the existence of such a gap and
the means for creating a "frozen" ore by bonding is hard to
connect to experience from blasting research. However, it
has been possible to obtain simulation results that resemble
field observations.
A situation where there is only pure waste, as in the
models reported here, is very rare. In order to study the
influence of an ore remainder a procedure described at the
end of Section 2 was used.
In Figure 26 - Figure 29 the remainder is seen at the
center of the ring. The undrawn ore seen above the
extraction zone in Figure 10 - Figure 13 has moved
downwards and is spread thinly along the face.
The new dilution entry curves in Figure 22 - Figure 25 also
resemble the field curve in Figure 2, but the dilution appears
to be generally lower than when remainder is disregarded.
Any other result would have been surprising.
The surprise comes when studying Table 5. There is no
significant difference between the four different models. The
first conclusion could have been that it does not matter how
disturbed the flow is, the final result is still the same, dilution
around 20% and 80% recovery.
Table 5: Key parameter values from model runs
including the effect of an identical remainder.
at 25% dil.
Extraction
Parameter/
Dilution at
Recovery
100% extr
at 100%
Model
Single size 23 77 >100
Two size 22 78 >100
Low bond 19 81 >100
25
High bond 19 81 >100
34
40 The inherent assumption made that the remaining
"frozen" ore becomes as mobile and free flowing as the
waste rock after blasting the next ring must however be kept
in mind. The picture in Figure 5 explained in Figure 6 shows
that this assumption was not valid in that case.
The results do raise that question of how to assess the
success of a certain blast from dilution and extraction of that
ring. The final result of drawing a very disturbed ring after an
equally disturbed ring, where the remainder had turned free
flowing, appeared to be as good as that from drawing a two
free flowing rings in succession.
The conclusions from this work were:
Different degrees of disturbed flow could be modeled
numerically using PFC3D.
Dilution entry curves obtained from these numerical
models resemble those from field, while curves presented
in literature are quite different.
Pulsation was modeled successfully.
213
 Pulsation is not solely caused by insufficiently fragmented
ore that caves slower than the draw rate.
A gap between the ring plane and the "frozen" ore, as
observed in the field, could be modeled using a high level
of bonding.
A simplified approach to incorporating the effect of
remaining ore from the previous ring showed no
difference in the final extraction and recovery between a
disturbed and a free flowing ring, when modeled.
REFERENCES
Quinteiro, C R, Larsson, L, and Hustrulid, W A., 2001.
Theory and Practice of Very-Large-Scale Sublevel
214 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Caving. Underground Mining Methods: Engineering
Fundamentals and International Case Studies, (Ed: W A
Hustrulid and R L Bullock), 381-384. SME: Littleton, CO.
Kvapil, R, 1982. The Mechanics and Design of Sublevel
Caving Systems. Underground Mining Methods
Handbook (Ed: W A Hustrulid), 880-897. SME: New York.
Itasca Consulting Group, 2003. PFC3D, Particle Flow
Code in 3 Dimensions. Users Guide. Itasca Consulting
Group: Minneapolis, MN
Hustrulid, W A, 2000. Method Selection for Large-Scale
Underground Mining. Proceedings MassMin 2000, 29-56.
AusIMM: Brisbane, Qld
Massmin 2004
 Investigation of swell factor
in a block cave draw column
Gabriel S. Esterhuizen, SRK Consulting, Denver, Colorado, USA
Lufi Rachmad, P.T. Freeport Indonesia, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Alexander V. Potapov, Lawrence K. Nordell, Conveyor Dynamics Inc., Bellingham, Washington, USA

Abstract
Knowledge of the swell factor in a block cave mine draw column is important to predict the height of caving for a given
amount of material drawn. The swell factor depends on several parameters including the rock block geometry, the rate
of breakage of blocks in the draw column and the size distribution of the blocks. This paper presents the results of
numerical model analyses using discrete element method (DEM) software to investigate the initial and ultimate swell
factor values in a draw column. Three rock types with different block geometries and rock strengths are considered. The
results show how the height of the draw column, the rock strength and the tons drawn affect the swell factor. The DEM
method is shown to be highly appropriate for modeling the breakage and draw of irregular fragments in a draw column.

1 INTRODUCTION composite particles are brittle-elastic and are able to fail

Block caving is currently practiced in one major orebody
at P.T. Freeport Indonesia while open pit operations are in
progress in a second. Planning is currently underway to
extend both underground and surface operations. The
potential for interaction between underground caving,
surface operations and surface infrastructure is recognized.
The height of caving above an operating block cave
depends on the amount of material withdrawn and the swell
factor of the broken rock. Caving is inhibited when the void
space created by drawpoint production is occupied by
broken rock. Knowledge of the swell factor of the rock in a
draw column is necessary to predict the likely height of
caving.
This paper presents the results of a study that was carried
out using a Discrete Element Method (DEM) program
developed by Conveyor Dynamics Inc. (CDI). The objective
was to gain a better understanding of the changes in the
swell factor in a draw column for three different rock types
that occur in the Deep Ore Zone block cave of PT Freeport
Indonesia (Barber, Thomas and Casten, 2000). The project
also had the objective to evaluate the applicability of the
DEM program as a tool for block cave analysis.
according to the principles of fracture mechanics. It was
shown that composite particles constructed this way have
predictable elastic and breakage properties that depend on
the properties of the microscopic particle contacts. The
code has been widely used to simulate the failure processes
in milling and crushing applications, such as AG and SAG
mills and crushers (Nordell and Potapov (2001)). The code
is a powerful tool to improve our understanding of the
complex processes in a block caving draw column.
The 2D-DEM models were set up to simulate rocks in a
single draw bell and the overlying draw column, shown in
Figure 1. Appropriate input parameters were selected for the
DEM software to model the rock strengths of the three
selected rock types.

2 METHOD OF ANALYSIS

The recent development of advanced DEM codes has

made it possible to model the breakage and flow processes
of large numbers of particles in a draw column, allowing
changes in the swell factor to be studied.
The analyses were carried out by first calculating the rock
fragment sizes from the rock mass data using the BCF
program (Esterhuizen, 2003). This program makes use of
the rock strength, rock joint orientation and spacing and the
rock stress to calculate the size and shape of rock blocks in Figure 1. Vertical section showing blocks at start of draw
a rock mass. About 5,000 fully three-dimensional blocks of and addition of block to top of draw column
each rock type were used to provide input dimensions to the
DEM simulations. The figure shows a single draw bell model. The two
The University of Southern California and CDI developed vertical boundaries of the model are periodic boundaries,
DEM code (Potapov, Hopkins and Campbell (1995), Nordell effectively simulating infinite numbers of identical draw
and Potapov (2000)) allows up to one million particles to be columns positioned next to each other. The resultant is that
simulated. The particles to be simulated are composed of "mass draw" of the rock particles occur, rather than isolated
elementary DEM particles that are "glued" together. The draw. One consequence of mass draw is that all the

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 215

particles move downwards at approximately the same
velocity. Under mass draw conditions, less breakage will
occur because there is little differential movement and
interaction between the rock particles.
Initially the model simulates the broken rock just after
completion of the undercut. After the rock is drawn down by
5m an additional 10m of broken rock is added to the top of
the draw column to simulate caving, also shown in Figure 1.
This procedure was repeated until the column height
reached 150m. The effect of the increased height of draw
column is to increase the pressure in the column, which
enhances breakage of the rock in the column and reduces
the void ratio of the broken rock.
During draw of the rocks, the model also experienced
hangups at the drawpoint, just as one would expect in
reality. An algorithm was developed to bring down the
hangups in the model by "blasting" the three largest blocks
in the drawpoint area. The algorithm worked successfully
and the model was able to run without manual interruption.
Statistics of the void ratio in the draw column, the size
distribution of extracted rocks and number of hangups were
obtained at different stages of the model.
3 DEFINITIONS OF QUANTITIES
This paper refers to the following quantities:
Vv
Swell Factor =
Vv
Vv
Solid Fraction =
Vv + Vv
Where Vv is the volume of voids and Vr is the volume of
rock. The swell factor is expressed as a percentage. A swell
factor of 30% implies that 1m3 of intact rock, when broken
into smaller fragments, will swell to fill a volume of 1.3m3.
Since the results were obtained using two-dimensional
models, the 3D swell factor was calculated from the 2D
swell factor, by assuming the solid fraction will be the same
in all directions. The 3D solid fraction F3D was calculated as
follows:
F3D = F2D x F2D
Where F2D is the 2D solid fraction.
4 ROCK MASS PROPERTIES
The properties of the three rock types selected for
analysis were as follows:
Diorite: a strong rock type and is expected to fragment
into larger blocks than the remainder of the ore-body. The
average Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS) is 111
MPa. Three joint sets were identified in the diorite with
joint spacings varying between 0.45m and 0.54m
Skarn: represents the Forsterite and Magnetite rock types
in the ore body has an average UCS of 77 MPa. These
rocks are weaker than the Diorite and contain more
frequent joints. Three joint sets were identified within the
skarn rocks with average spacings of 0.32m to 1.16m.
Breccia, a weak rock found in irregular shapes within the
skarn portion of the DOZ orebody with an average UCS of
22 MPa. Since the breccia lies within the skarn, it was
216 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
assumed to contain similar joint sets as observed in the
skarn.
The rock mass properties were based on cell mapping,
core logging and laboratory test results which formed part of
the routine mine design activities.
5 CALCULATION OF PRIMARY BLOCK DIMENSIONS
The dimensions of the rock fragments at the top of a draw
column were calculated using BCF. The BCF runs were set
up to simulate the DOZ cave and the stresses that may be
expected to exist in the horizontal cave back. The 3D blocks
generated by BCF were converted to 2D blocks by writing
the dimensions of each face of the blocks to a file, the block
face with the smallest area which also contains the longest
block edge was selected as representing the block in two
dimensions. This face was selected because it would
represent the least resistance to breakage in the draw
column (it is the most slender face of the block). The
cumulative size distributions of the blocks generated by
BCF are shown in Figure 2.
(1)
(2)
Figure 2: Cumulative size distribution by volume of diorite
and skarn/breccia primary rock fragments created by the
BCF program.
6 DEM MODEL RESULTS
(3)
Figure 3 shows plots of the 150m high draw column at the
end of the draw sequence for the diorite, breccia and skarn
respectively. The obvious difference between the weak
breccia rocks and the stronger diorite and skarn is clearly
seen. In the breccia plot it can be seen that the blocks are
relatively finely broken right up to the top of the draw
column. This breakage mainly occurs on impact when the
fragments are dropped onto the top of the draw column. The
diorite and skarn rocks also fractured on impact, but to a far
lesser extent.
During the analyses it was found that large gaps might
exist in the draw column near the draw points, owing to
differential movement of the rock fragments. To exclude
these gaps from the results, the solid fraction was only
calculated above a point that is 30m above the floor of the
draw bell. Gaps in the unconsolidated rocks near the top of
the draw column were also excluded from the results.
The swell factor results for diorite at different stages of
draw are presented in Figure 4. It can be seen that at the
start of draw the swell factor is relatively large, and remains
at a relatively high value near the draw bell. As the tonnage
drawn increases, the swell factor decreases in the central
Massmin 2004
part of the draw column, but remains relatively high near the
top of the column. The changes in the swell factor are the
result of breakage in the column and improved packing of
the fragments as they move down the column.
The smoothed swell factor results, as at the end of the
draw simulations, is shown in Figure 5 for all three rock
types. The swell factor is seen to be related to the rock
strength, with the stronger diorite having a higher swell
factor than the skarn and the weak breccia. The existence
of a densely packed "main zone" in the draw columns can
also be seen.
The average swell factor in the draw column at different
stages of draw is shown in Figure 6. This chart shows how
the swell factor is initially large, owing to the effect of the
draw point and the absence of cave pressure on the shorter
draw column at the early stages of draw. The average swell
factor then decreases as the tonnage drawn increases, and
the column becomes taller.
For ease of interpretation, the swell factor results were
further grouped according to the position in the draw
column, as follows:
a) Bell zone: The swell factor is averaged between 30m and
50m above the draw bell to provide an average value for
the higher swell factors in this area.
b) Main zone: Average swell factor in the densely packed
central part of the draw column.
c) Upper zone: The average swell factor in the upper 30 to
50m of the draw column, associated with loosely packed
and less broken rock fragments.
The results of this zoning of the swell factors is presented
in Figure 7, where it can be seen that three distinct swell

Figure 3: Plots of the draw columns at the end of the draw sequence when the column height is 150m, showing diorite,
breccia and skarn rock types from left to right.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 217

factor values are applicable in a draw column. The height of
the upper zone seems to be related to the strength of the
rocks. For example, the diorite swell factor starts to increase
from approximately the 80m mark, while the skarn and
breccia swell factors start increasing at the 100m mark.
These results are useful for calculating the swell factor
and estimating the height of caving for the different rock
types. One aspect that must be noted is that the draw in
these models represents a "mass draw" condition, in which
an array of drawpoints are all drawing at the same rate. The
effects of differential rates of draw, which will promote
breakage in the column, were not simulated. Other effects,
related to the two-dimensional models may also influence
the results. However, these results provide a unique insight
into the flow, breakage and swell factor of a block cave draw
column.
Figure 4: Swell factor variation for diorite rocks at different
stages of draw
Figure 5: Smoothed swell factor at end of simulation for
three rock types
7 CONCLUSIONS
The DEM model results show that the swell factor of
caved rocks at the top of a draw column may initially be
high, in the order of 40%. When secondary breakage occurs
in the draw column, the swell factor gradually decreases.
Swell factors in the draw column reduce to about 25-26% for
the stronger rocks and may be as low as 21% for the weaker
218 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
breccia. In a mature draw column, the swell factor remains
relatively high in the drawpoint area and towards the top of
the column, where limited breakage has taken place.
Figure 6: Average swell factor in the draw column at different
stages of draw
Figure 7: Average swell factor in different zones of the draw
column
The results indicate that the draw column may be divided
in three zones:
The drawpoint zone, with swell factors in the region of 28-
30% for stronger rock types and 24% for the low strength
breccia. This zone extends from the floor of the drawpoint to
a height of about 50m.
The main zone where the swell factor remains constant at
25-26% for the stronger rock types and 21% for the weak
breccia.
The upper zone where the swell factor increases to 28-
29% because of a lack of breakage. The height of the upper
zone is not well defined in the models but appears to be
about 30m-50m high.
The study has shown that the discrete element method
(DEM) is capable of producing realistic simulations of the
breakage processes in a block cave draw column. The
simulation outputs are very useful for gaining a better insight
into the processes of breakage and comminution in a draw
column. Further analysis and testing will be required to
further exploit this tool for block cave mine design.
Massmin 2004
8 ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the management of P.T.
Freeport Indonesia for permission to publish these results.
REFERENCES
Barber, J., Thomas L., and Casten T., 2000. Freeport
Indonesias Deep Ore Zone Mine. Proceedings Massmin
2000, Aust. Inst. Mining & Metallurgy, 289-294.
Esterhuizen G.S., Block Cave Fragmentation (BCF),
Users Manual, 2003.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Nordell, L.K., and Potapov, A.V., 2001. Comminution
Simulation Using Discrete Element Method (DEM)
Approach - From Single Particle Breakage to Full-Scale
SAG Mill Operation. SAG Annual Convention, Vancouver,
BC September-October, 2001.
Potapov, A.V., Hopkins, M.A. & Campbell, C.S., 1995. A
two-dimensional dynamic simulation of solid fracture. Part
I: description of the model. Int. J. Mod. Phys. C, 6, 371-
398.
219
 Study of interaction between ellipses
of extraction in a physical model
of granular material in 2-D
Vctor Encina, Claudio Fuentes, Matas Palma
Instituto de Innovacin en Minera y Metalurgia S.A., IM2, Santiago Chile

Abstract
Interaction between draw points is one of the keys for Caving Methods performance due to its direct relation with ore
recovery. Many studies and experimental observations have been performed to describe it, but few of them have
intended to explain the physical mechanism governing it.
This paper presents a hypothesis to explain the mechanism of interaction based on experiments made in a 2D-sand
model. Interaction is the movement of columns generated between draw zones due to gravity flow of granular material.
Experimental work confirmed that there is a critical draw point distance to get interaction and shows the ellipsoidal shape
of isolate draw zone during the initial steps of draw.
Movement in the column occurs simultaneously as a compression effect in the bottom and a vertical displacement in the
top, also, the upper part both over the draw zones and column, moves as a "stretch" of the material that causes a junction
of draw zones.

1 INTRODUCTION to a series of tests carried out at a fixed distance between

drawpoints.
Several authors have described the fact that some ore The 2-D physical model consists of three parts as follows:
coming from the columns of material between draw zones Part I: Vertical frame with two transparent glasses of
can be drawn trough drawpoints when its distance is less 30x70 cm, acting as a container of sand material and as an
than 1.5 times the isolated draw zone diameter, which is observation window. Container thickness is 1 cm.
called drawpoints interaction. This research looks for an Part II: Consist of a set of 29 vertical chambers or tubes
explanation about the physical mechanism governing such 0.5 cm diameter and 7 cm long. With two valves each, one
phenomenon. in the upper part and the other in the bottom part. The
A 2-D sand physical model was prepared to perform function of these chambers is receive a constant batch
several tests focused in record particles movement in volume of sand coming from Part I when the upper valve is
columns between draw zones. Many observations were open while the bottom one is closed, and in the opposite
registered and analyzed in order to get a detailed position of valves to stop the flow and to drain the material
description of the shape of sand particles displacement from to Part III.
the column to the draw zone. Part III: Similar as Part I, except that glasses are 30x50cm
The physical model is a thin frame with glassed flanks full 0.5 cm, in this case acting as a container to collect the
of colored sand. Sand was arranged with markers to allow material drained from Part II.
direct observation and to record digital images of the sand Granular material properties of sand used for the
particles at different steps of drawing under distinct experiments are as table 1.
experimental conditions.
The purpose of this paper is to describe the main results
of the research and its analysis to outline a hypothesis for Table 1: Material properties
the physical mechanism of interaction between drawpoints.
Testing of this hypothesis is no matter of this presentation Physical property Valvue
because it is part of following steps of this research.
Bulk density gr/cm3 1,5
Results suggest that material movement in the column
occurs simultaneously as a compression effect in the bottom Mass density gr/cm3 2,5
and a vertical displacement in the top, also, the upper part Refraction index 1,5 1,52
both over the draw zones and column, moves as a "stretch"
Compression resistence psi 14.000 a 36.000
of the material that causes a fusion of draw zones. Two or
more jointed draw zones continue joining among them until Hardness MOH 5_6
a unique central channel of flowing material is created. This Hardness Knoop 100g load 515 kg/mm
effect was named "Broom Effect" due to its appearance.
Static friction coefficient 0,9 - 1,0
2 EXPERIMENT SETUP

The experiment consists of a series of tests at different Particle size distribution was as Figure 1, so
conditions to study the behavior of sand located over and intermolecular forces were discarded since 80% of material
between five drawpoints. Following description corresponds is larger than 120 microns.

220 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Considering the drain chambers diameter, a large relation
of draw opening versus particle size is obtained.
opening _ size
= 40
particle _ size
To perform the experiment Part I was filled with sand
bands of different colors with the purpose of produce
enough contrast to facilitate the acquisition of digital images
as can be observed in Figure 2.
Figure 1: Sand grains size distribution.
Figure 2: Part I, Sand and markers.
Experiment arrangement, as presented in Figure 3, was
set to draw five drawpoints spaced at 2 cm with extremes
drawpoints 13cm apart from the edge of the frame as a way
to avoid any edge effect.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The extraction procedure consists of filling the draw
chambers beginning from the central drawpoint towards the
extreme ones. When all of five draw chambers are full, a
static image is taken to record the resultant movement of
particles.
Then, draw chambers are emptied and the procedure is
repeated until the ellipses of movement get the surface.
Later, the evolution of the phenomenon is obtained from
analysis of images.
Figure 3: Experiment condition sketch.
The experiment stops when movement ellipsoids get the
surface because at that moment drastic change of local
conditions takes place. In effect, the new force distribution
causes a completely different shape of movement zones,
where ellipses become parabolic shape.
Figure 4: Variables description.
Following measures are got from image analysis as
showed in Figure 4:
Ellipse width: Movement zone width
Column width: Distance between adjacent movement
zones.
Displacement: Vertical displacement of layer markers
Compression: Vertical distance representing the layer
thickness
3 RESULTS
The batch extraction of all five drawpoints presents three
phases clearly distinguished as it is shown in the images of
Figure 6.
221
 At the beginning (extraction 1 to 13), the movement zones Second phase, is the fusion phenomenon, where two or
are controlled by their own dynamic without interaction. more ellipsoids are jointed in their upper part as it is
Ellipse width grows with the extraction until it gets a described in Table 2.
maximum diameter as it is presented in Figure 5, where
each curve corresponds to a different high of measurement.
Also, it is observed that most of the ellipses get Table 2: Phenomenon Occurrence
approximately 1.6 cm width when they get the high of fusion
after extraction 13 to 15. So, considering that in this High Extraction
experiment drawpoints spacing is 2 cm, it can be said that cm Number
spacing is 1.25 times the maximum ellipse width.
Ellipses fusion First (1-2) 31 13
Second (3-4) 35 14
Third (3-4-5) 36 15
Broom Effect 46 16

During the fusion of two or more ellipses, a piston flow like

Figure 5: Graph, Behavior of ellipsoids widths. Measures
took at height 5, 10, 15 and 20 cm.
is observed in the upper part of the junction, where the
particles both over the ellipse and in the column move down
as a compact layer.
In this experiment, first fusion, of ellipses 1 and 2 was
observed at extraction 13, second fusion took place at
extraction 14 joining ellipses 3 and 4 and the third fusion
joined ellipse 5 with the already joined 3 and 4 after
extraction 15.
Third phase is the junction of first and third fusions that took
place at extraction 16, after which, a unique flow channel is
created in the center of the movement zone. This effect was
baptized "Broom Effect" because their appearance as it can be
seen in the right picture of Figure 6.

Figure 6, Images of 7th, 15th and 20th extraction.

222 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 After measure both the width of ellipses and columns at a
high near the fusion zone as it is showed in Figure 7, it is seen
that columns width are stable in a range of 0.4 to 0.6 cm after
the 14th extraction, this width remains in the same range even
after 16th extraction when all ellipses have been joined in
presence of Broom effect. This means that there are not lateral
movements of column particles going to draw zones.
Figure 7: Evolution of ellipsoids and columns width at 15 cm
high.
Displacement and compression were measured at upper
and bottom part of columns at a high of 20 and 5 cm from
the base of the container respectively.
Figure 8: Graph, displacement of the columns vs. extraction
measured at a height of 5 cm.
Figure 9: Graph, displacement of the columns vs. extraction
measured at a height of 20 cm.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
From graphs of displacement presented in figures 8 and
9, it can be set that at bottom part of columns no
displacement occurs until extraction 12, while in the upper
part, displacement begun at extraction 8. Also in the upper
part, displacement is near twice than bottom part and the
greater displacements occur in columns 1 and 3 when the
fusion of ellipsoids 1-2 and 3-4 respectively took place.
Compression measure is referred to layers thickness
decrease, in this experiment original thickness of both upper
and bottom controlled layers were 5 cm. Actual layer
thickness after each extraction are plotted in Figure 10
referred to bottom part and Figure 11 referred to upper part.
Since second to sixth extraction, compression progress
at bottom part of column is very clear, then, compression
remain quite stable until fusion starts to occur, specially after
broom effect (16th to 19th extraction) when layers thickness
decreases drastically.
On the contrary, at the upper part there is not
compression at all until 8th extraction. From then on, just
light compression can be observed before fusion process.
During extractions 12 to 14, fusions took place and light
layer "expansion" occurs until Broom effect appears at
extraction 16 when light compression is stable again.
Also it can be set from graphs of figures 9 and 10, that
there is not displacement at upper part of column until
extraction 8 despite compression at bottom part reached 0.5
cm at extraction 5. After extraction 8, displacement in upper
part grows slowly until at extraction 12, its magnitude is
equal to the compression magnitude at the bottom of the
column.
Figure 10: Columns compression measured at 0-5 cm
interval of height.
Figure 11: Columns compression measured at 15-20 cm
interval of height.
223
 From those observations, it can be set that on upper part
of columns there are not lateral displacements of particles
and at bottom part takes place a compression process that
move some particles from the column to the flow zone
causing the so called interaction.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Results can be summarized as follows:
a) Columns are created between ellipses of movement in
the first step of drawing when they grow up.
b) At a certain critical high, ellipses fusion occurs joining
their upper apexes.
c) When fusion process takes place, notable compression at
column bottom occurs, while at column top, important
displacement of the whole layer is observed without
compression both in the column and ellipses.
d) A process of fusion of already joined ellipses continues
until a unique flow channel is created in the center of the
movement zone to connect it to surface (Broom Effect).
Those results are presented in the sketch of Figure 12
that also represents the following hypothesis of interaction
mechanism.
Interaction occurs when a fusion of ellipses occurs. In
such situation, column between ellipses looses its upper
part and some lateral forces stop its work of supporting the
column. So, column bottom is compressed due its own
weight and material is pushed to the flow zone.
Figure 12: Sketch of hypothesis of interaction in bottom
zone of the column.
224 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
5 REFERENCES
R. Castro. 2001. Escalamiento para modelo fsico de flujo
gravitacional. Memoria para optar al ttulo de Ingeniero
Civil en Minas Universidad de Chile.
J. Ubilla. 2002. Flujo Gravitacional en medio granulares.
Memoria para optar al ttulo de Ingeniero Civil en Minas
Universidad de Chile.
Susaeta y H Daz. 2000. Estado del arte del
modelamiento de flujo gravitacional en minera por
hundimiento por bloque. Revista minerales
Septiembre/Octubre. pg. 17-26.
Rustan. 2000. Gravity flor of broken rock. What is known
and unknown, MassMin, The Australasian Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy, pg. 557-567.
Mark E.Kuchta, 2002. A revised form the Bergmark-Roos
equation for describing the gravity flow of broken rock.
Mineral Resources Engineering. Vol. 11 pg. 349-360
Imperial College Press.
A.J. Waters and A. Drescher. 2000. Modeling plug flow in
bins/hoppers. Powder Technology 113 pg. 168-175.
H.M. Jaeger and Sidney R. Nagel. 1992. Physics of
Granular State. 20 March Science, Vol. 255.
Proposed block cave international test using the large
scale JKMRC Physical Model submitted to the ICS II.
Executive Committee 17 April 2003.
Dietmar Schulze. Fundamentals of bulk solids mechanics.
http:www.dietmar-schulze.de/grdle1.html.
Anders Mansson. 1995. Development of body of motion
under controlled gravity flow of bulk solids. Licentiate
thesis Lulea University Of Technology.
Tomas Karlsson. Finite Element simulation of flow in
granular materials. Research Report, Lulea University Of
Technology.
Li. Yeng. 1981. Analysis of bulk flow of material under
gravity caving process. Colorado School of Mines.
Hide Sakaguchi & Hans-Bernd Muhlhaus. 2002.
Simulation assisted evaluation of physical model test for
ore flow. Institute for Innovation in Mining & Metallurgy.
IM2.
T. William Lambe, R. V. Whitman, 1989. Mecnica de
suelos. Instituto Tecnolgico de Massachussets Editorial
Limusa.
R. Kvapil Sublevel caving, SME Minig Engineering
Handbook, Ed. H. L. Hartman, Chap 20,2, 1992, pp 1789-
1844, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.
R. Sepulveda, J Rudloff. 1987. Anlisis del flujo
gravitacional y dilucin para el rea LHD de Teniente 4
Central. Memoria para optar al titulo de Ingeniero Civil de
Minas Universidad de Santiago de Chile.
Massmin 2004
 Full scale SLC draw trials
at Ridgeway Gold Mine
Gavin Power, Senior Geotechnical Engineer, Business Improvement, Newcrest Mining Ltd

Abstract
More than 30 full scale draw trials have been carried out at Ridgeway Gold Mine between 2001 and the present. These
draw trials, intended to improve business performance through an increased understanding of granular flow, have
yielded significant new information on behaviour of the SLC system at Ridgeway. This understanding has enabled the
mine to better forecast grade recovery, develop improved ring designs, and significantly cut the cost of mining.

1 INTRODUCTION

Ridgeway Gold Mine (Ridgeway), a part of Newcrest

Mining Limiteds Cadia Valley Operations, is located
approximately 20km south of Orange, some 250km west
of Sydney, Australia (Figure 1). The Ridgeway deposit is
a copper/gold porphyry, located at depths of between
600m and 1,300m. Current reserves at the mine are
38Mt at 2.32g/tAu and 0.72%Cu. It is mined using
sublevel caving (SLC), producing at 15,000 tpd. A
targeted success factor is maximizing ore recovery and
minimizing dilution. Feasibility predictions for life of mine
resource conversion were 102% tonnes for 94% metal at
a grade factor of 92%.

Figure 2: Section looking north showing ring geometry used

at Ridgeway

moving to adjacent drawpoints. The cycle is repeated until

the designated extraction is reached.
To assess the recovery effectiveness at Ridgeway, a
series of full scale field experiments commenced in 2001.
The aims of these experiments were:
Development of an understanding of the granular flow
mechanisms controlling dilution entry;
Assessment of the effectiveness of interactive draw
procedures;
Quantification of recovery and dilution in order to allow
better grade forecasting; and
Figure 1: Location of Cadia Valley Operations Development of improved ring design parameters.

Figure 2 shows the shape of a typical blast ring used at
the mine. In order to promote interaction between draw
envelopes, pillar widths are designed to be as small as
possible without creating geotechnical difficulties (8m).
Ring burdens of 2.6m are used and are dumped forward
by 10 to improve drawpoint and ring stability. The mine
layout was established from the principles of interactive
draw (Janelid 1974; Bull and Page, 2000). The aim is to
achieve interaction of the individual draw envelopes to allow
material at the sides of the ring to move more freely, reduce
hang-ups and increase width of the draw envelope.
Drawpoints on individual levels are retreated in a flat front.
Small tonnage cycles (typically approximately 15% per
cycle) are extracted from individual drawpoints before
This paper reports the current findings from these
experiments.
2 TRIAL PROCEDURES
The design of the Ridgeway marker trials is based on
similar experiments carried out at Grngesberg and Kiruna
Mines in Sweden. (Janelid, 1972; Gustafsson, 1998)
Marker drill fans are drilled within the burden of an unfired
ring, and loaded with uniquely coded markers made of steel
pipe. The markers are 250mm long to approximate the
mean particle size of blasted rock (previously established by
a fragmentation measurement program). Markers, filled
with cement to increase durability, are installed using the

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 225

mines production charging vehicle and grouted into place to
ensure that they do not move when nearby rings are fired.
Figure 3: Marker being installed from production charging
vehicle.
For the majority of the experiments each 2.6m burden
contained three evenly spaced marker fans of 6 or 7 holes.
The marker fan planes were spaced 650mm apart to allow
estimates of depth of the draw and back-break to be made.
Figure 4 shows a typical marker fan. Markers were placed
at one metre intervals along each hole in the fan allowing for
redundancy. A total of approximately 300 markers were
present in each of the marker rings fired.
Figure 4: Section looking north showing typical marker fan
After each ring was fired, the broken ore (with the
markers) was loaded from the drawpoint and tipped into the
orepass. The markers traveled down the orepass to the
crusher feed level, through the crusher onto the
underground conveyor system, where they were extracted
using the tramp steel electro-magnets. Tests indicated that
100% of markers tipped into the orepass and ore handling
system were recovered.
Analysis of marker collection timing relative to ring
extraction was used to assess incremental ring recovery
and dilution. A full description of the experimental method is
covered elsewhere (Power 2003a).
For each of draw trials, a number of different parameters
were collected. These included:
226 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Total recovery (% volume);
Recovery of each marker plane (% area);
Maximum width of draw;
Maximum depth of draw; and
Back-break (% volume).
Ring recoveries were interpreted by wire framing the
recovered marker plane sections and calculating the
resultant three-dimensional volumes.
3 TRIAL RESULTS
3.1 Primary recovery and dilution entry
The first trial, using a single marker ring, indicated that
material was flowing to the drawpoint through a narrower and
shallower zone than had been expected. After 120% draw, the
draw envelope was 11.9m at its widest point, and approximately
1.8m at its deepest (shallower than the 2.6m fired burden).
This first experiment indicated dilution was arriving at
the drawpoint after less than 20% draw of the design ring
tonnage. Interpretations indicated that volume of the draw
envelope was too small to have delivered the tonnages
drawn from the drawpoint without dilution being present.
The origin of the dilution was identified as from the depleted
drawpoint above. This interpretation was also supported by
the evidence of recovered shotcrete encased mesh and bell
wire used in the level above.
While early dilution entry had been recorded previously
elsewhere (Gustafsson, 1998; Hustrulid, 2000), it was
hypothesized that this diluting material originated from in
front of the fired ring rather than above it.
The initial trial results stimulated interest in further experiments.
Additional marker rings were installed and a number of drill and
blast parameters were varied in these trials, with the aims of
reducing drill and blast costs and increasing recovery. Whilst
these trials successfully validated reducing drill and blast costs
by 20%, they provided limited leverage on improving recovery
and dilution. Primary recovery (the percentage of the fired ring
recovered from the level on which it was fired) continued at 60%.
While this was lower than originally expected (based on empirical
dilution entry curves), the effect of ore recovery on lower levels
had not yet been quantified.
Figure 5 shows typical primary recovery results from a
draw marker trial. For this trial (as for the majority), two
marker rings were monitored side by side, and drawn
interactively as part of a panel of four adjacent rings.
Adjacent rings are staggered and this section represents a
plane 0.65m forward of the blast ring on the left (in XC0),
and 1.3m forward of the blast ring on the right (in XC2).
Figure 5: Typical results from a marker trial (section looking
north)
Massmin 2004
 The experimental findings show the widths of the draw
envelopes to be narrower than the width of the fired rings.
To date, no evidence of interaction between two adjacent
draw envelopes has been found. Comparisons from
isolated experiments also indicate interactive draw
procedures do not significantly widen draw envelopes at
Ridgeway.
The episodic nature of flow is also apparent from the
experimental measurements. Rather than showing the
even flow profiles it can be seen that flow proceeds in
stages from different parts of the ring.
Dilution entry from above is shown where material from
the top of the ring is being recovered in XC0, at low draw
quantities. At less than 1m forward of the blast ring, ore is
flowing from an area in contact with a depleted drawpoint
above.
Ore from a depth of 1.3m in XC2 also reaches the
drawpoint at a much later stage than the ore closer to the
solid face in XC0. Figure 6 shows a section through the
centre of XC0 (two consecutive rings were monitored in this
trial).
Figure 6: Typical trial section looking west
This is typical of most of the experiments, where the draw
envelope consistently developed up the solid face of the
ring, and then subsequently deepened. The late arrival of
the ore at the top of the ring suggests this material may be
coarser than most of the ring, and may have been pre-
empted by the flow of dilution from one of the cross cuts
above.
3.2 Secondary recovery
While primary recovery results are of value, it is unrealistic
to expect that all material is recovered on the level from
which it is fired. Ore which is recovered on the level
immediately below is classified at Ridgeway as secondary
recovery. Because each marker was uniquely coded, all
recovered markers were associated with the ring from which
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
they were fired, even though production from that ring may
have long since ceased. Figure 7 shows that in addition to
the material recovered as primary recovery, a significant
portion of the fired ring is also regularly recovered as
secondary recovery.
Figure 7: Typical secondary recovery results
As the primary draw envelopes reach the top of the fired
ring at less than 20% draw, they have the opportunity to
draw up into previously unrecovered material from the sides
of the rings above, increasing total recovery for these rings.
While the behaviour of primary recovery draw envelopes
can be predicted to some degree, secondary recovery
behaviour is more variable.
3.3 Tertiary recovery
Material recovered from two or more levels below that
from which it was fired is classified as tertiary recovery at
Ridgeway. Production below the Ridgeway marker trials
has not progressed to the extent that conclusive tertiary
recovery results can be recorded. However reconciliation
and modeling work discussed in Section 4 indicate that a
value of approximately 85% at 100% draw is currently being
achieved. This does not take into account the additional
recovery that will be gained if a low cost overdraw option is
taken at the end of the mine life.
3.4 Experimental findings summary
While individual experiments show the draw process to be
a rather chaotic, analysis of the collected results shows a
system that can be characterized relatively accurately. Both
primary and secondary recovery show a 95% confidence
interval of little more than 5% This is to some degree a
function of the favourable sample size.
Table 1 summarises the primary and secondary results of
the Ridgeway marker trials to date.
Table 1: Summary of results
Primary Primary +
recovery (%) Secondary
recovery (%)
Average 59.1 75.0
Standard deviation 10.2 10.0
95% confidence interval 5.4 5.6
Upper limit 53.7 69.4
Lower limit 64.5 80.6
227
 When Tertiary recovery is accounted for, this indicates The scale at the bottom of the photograph in Figure 9 is
that as applied at Ridgeway, the SLC mining method can 900mm long, indicating that the width of the opening is
yield recoveries and grade factors approaching those approximately 1.5m. This is similar to the depth of many of
achieved at open stoping mines, at significantly higher the draw envelopes measured in the marker trials. Note
production rates, and lower costs. that the rock mass on the right side of the photo appears to
be relatively solid. In some cases similar seemingly solid
3.5 Discussion walls collapsed as draw from the level below progressed.
While knowledge of ring recovery is important, it is an Figure 10 shows a photograph of another ring taken from
understanding of the underlying flow and blasting the same drive. Note in this figure the arch of rock, a
mechanisms that enables business improvements. remnant of the initial rock mass structure.
From one perspective, the relatively narrow draw
envelopes seen in the Ridgeway experiments were
expected. Results of full scale experiments carried out
previously in Sweden (Janelid 1972; Gustafsson, 1998) and
discussions with personnel from Kiruna Mine (Sellden,
2001) indicated that the draw envelope might be expected
to diverge from the edge of the drawpoint at approximately
70. While interactive draw has been considered as a
means of widening the draw envelope, evidence from these
trials indicates that this may be valid for physical modeling
experiments only (Janelid, 1974).
The finding that the draw envelope was shallower than the
fired burden was an unexpected outcome of these
experiments. Before the experiments, it was believed that
dilution entry was from in front of the fired ring, and full depth
(the ring burden) of draw was achieved. This dilution entry
from the front of the ring hypothesis had also been
postulated by others (Gustafsson, 1998).

3.6 Visual Observations Figure 9: Photograph taken from observation drive.

It has been considered a possibility that the marker
experiments themselves had affected the behaviour of the
rings being fired, and subsequently the flow of the broken
ore. While changing the system is likely to have some affect
on the blast performance, the magnitude of such an effect is
unknown, and draw markers are the best means of
quantifying draw performance currently available.
Observations made visually in rings without markers
indicate that the shallow draw phenomenon is also apparent
when marker trials are not present.
These observations were made possible through changes
in Ridgeways geological model which rendered a crosscut
developed at the edge of the orebody sub-economic. This
cross cut was therefore used as an observation drive, from
which the behaviour of rings fired on the level below could
be observed. Figure 8 shows the location from which these
observations were made.

Figure 10: Photograph taken from observation drive

Many similar observations led to the development of a

Figure 8: Observation drive at Ridgeway
From this drive, mechanisms controlling the shallow draw
envelope could be observed independently in rings which
were not monitored using markers. Photographs taken from
this drive can be seen in Figures 9 and 10.
hypothesis similar in some ways to that of Hustrulid (2000),
suggesting that the space available for the broken rock in a
fired SLC ring was inadequate to allow swell to occur
effectively.
While the rockmass closer to the blast appeared to be
more heavily affected, and flowed preferentially, the
rockmass further away from the blast was less heavily
affected. Often individual rock fragments in this region were
not disassociated from their neighbouring fragments.
Therefore when draw from the level below began creating
space, only the material closest to the blast was sufficiently
broken to move, while the material forward of the blast plane
was conditioned but could not be always be mobilized.
Obviously under such circumstances, dilution entry from
the waste side of the ring would be impossible and draw
would naturally progress vertically. Note that the
photograph in Figure 10 was taken at 25% draw, indicating
that early dilution entry from above was likely to have
occurred. It is also interesting to point out that in most

228 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

cases, the LHD operator on the level below had little generally a mixture of material from many different sources
indication that this effect was taking place in the fired ring (i.e. secondary, tertiary and external).
above. Occasionally a drawpoint opened up completely, but
until before the draw marker program, this was seen purely
as the effect of a hang-up, rather than the result of a regular Table 2: Ridgeway boundary conditions
pattern of fired ring behaviour.
These results indicated that a drill and blast issue may Recovery Known Known Dilution
have been a driving factor behind the shallow draw Class recovery stage of entry
behaviour. A subsequent intense focus on this aspect of the (%) draw (%) point (%)
operation did indicate some drill and blast issues which
were addressed. This produced a general reduction in Primary 60 120 20
hang-up frequency from 25% to 15%, and a reduction of Secondary 75 120 20
approximately 20% in drill and blast costs. To date however,
Tertiary 85.3 100 20
no significant changes in draw behaviour or recovery have
been seen in marker experiments.

4 FLOW MODELLING Primary recovery:

x = t, 0 20,
Advances have also been made in the field of flow x = 20 + 100 (1-e-kt),
modelling. Until quite recently, validated flow modelling where k = 1/80 loge (80/40), t > 20 (2)
could not be carried out for caving mines (Rustan, 2000).
However with the recent development of detailed validation Secondary recovery:
information (Power, 2003a), and advances in numerical x = t, 0 20,
modeling techniques (Pierce, 2003, Sharrock et. al. 2004, x = 20 + 120(1-e-kt),
Romer 2004) realistic numerical simulations will soon be where k =1/100 loge (120/65), t > 20 (3)
achievable.
To augment these, a relatively simple preliminary Tertiary recovery:
technique for the construction of recovery curves under the x = t, 0 20,
SLC system has been developed (Power, 2003b). This x = 20 + 325.2 (1-e-kt), where
technique for construction of recovery curves was k =1/80 loge (325.2/258.9), t >20 (4)
developed through the application of Wilhemys Law to the
problem of ring depletion. Wilhemys law states that the Figure 11 shows a plot of the resulting recovery curves.
velocity of a chemical reaction is proportional to the
concentration of the reacting substance, where:

a = the initial concentration of the reagent;

x = the amount transformed; and
t = time.

This law is described by the relationship:

dx / dt = k (a-x), 0 x a. (1)

This situation can be seen as analogous to draw from a

SLC ring in that the amount of material from a certain
recovery class, which can be drawn from a fired ring (e.g.
Primary recovery) is proportional to how much of the ring
remains to be drawn. Curves were developed for the four
recovery classes: primary, secondary, tertiary and external
(material from outside the mining limits).

The following parameters were substituted for those listed

above: Figure 11: Ridgeway ring recovery curves

a = the percentage of the ring initially available for For the practical purposes, these equations can be
recovery; simplified according to the following:
x = the amount of ore recovered at any stage of draw; Primary recovery:
t = the stage of draw at which this occurs. x = t, 0 t <20;
x = 20 + 0.5(t-20), 21 t <50;
x = 35 + 0.4(t-50), 51 t <80;
The boundary conditions listed in Table 2 were then used x = 47 + 0.35(t-80), 81 t <110;
in conjunction with this equation to create the recovery class x = 57.5 + 0.3(t-110), 111 t <140. (5)
specific equations shown in equations 2, 3 and 4. The
boundary conditions used for tertiary recovery were based Secondary recovery:
on analysis of copper and gold recoveries on the upper x = t, 0 t <20;
levels of the mine with respect to concentration of these x = 20 + 0.65(t-20), 21 t <50;
metals in the sub-economic mineralized halo above the x = 39.5 + 0.55(t-50), 51 t <80;
orebody. (Power 2003b). A dilution entry point of 20% was x = 56 + 0.5(t-80), 81 t <110;
used for all curves as material entering as dilution is x = 70.95 + 0.45(t-110), 111 t <140. (6)

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 229

 Tertiary recovery:
x = t, 0 t <20;
x = 20 + 0.9(t-20), 21 t <50;
x = 47 + 0.8(t-50), 51 t <80;
x = 71 + 0.75(t-80), 81 t <110;
x = 93.2 + 0.7(t-110), 111 t <140. (7)
Note that equations 2 - 7 are valid only for the current set
of Ridgeway boundary conditions (Table 2). If a new set of
boundary conditions is used it is necessary to reassess the
equations using the general law as a starting point.
Table 3 shows evaluations of mine performance using
different methods: feasibility data, values predicted using
the new recovery curves, and reconciled values. This
indicates that the new recovery curves are relatively
accurate. Over the life of the mine, it is estimated that the
grade factor will be approximately 7% lower than predicted
at feasibility.
Current efforts at Ridgeway center on creating a modified
SLC geometry which produces the optimal combination of
three important inter-dependant factors: drill and blast
design, granular flow behaviour and geotechnical response
of the rock mass.
It is expected that the results of marker trials at Ridgeway
and other mines in the near future will result in further
significant improvements in the understanding of granular
flow in SLC mines.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author is grateful to all of the people at Cadia Valley
Operations who took part in this program and helped
produce the results presented here. The author also wishes
to acknowledge the permission given by Newcrest Mining
Limited to publish this technical paper.
REFERENCES

Table 3: Comparison of feasibility, Bull, G and Page C H, 2000. Sublevel Caving Todays
predicted and reconciled metal recoveries Dependable Low Cost Ore Factory, in MassMin 2000
Conference Proceedings, Ed. Chitombo G., ISBN 1
Tonnes Metal Grade 875776 76 9, AusIMM, Melbourne.
Drawn (%) Recovered Factor Gustafsson, P, 1998. Waste Rock Content Variations
(%) (%) During Gravity Flow in Sublevel Caving: Analysis of full
scale experiments and numerical simulations, PhD thesis,
Performance to date Department of Civil and Mining Engineering, Lulea
University of Technology, Sweden
Feasibility 82 81 99
Hustrulid, W, 2000. Method Selection for Large Scale
Predicted 82 73 88 Underground Mining, in MassMin 2000 Conference
Reconciled 82 71 87 Proceedings, Ed. Chitombo G., ISBN 1 875776 76 9,
AusIMM, Melbourne.
Predicted life of mine
Janelid, I, 1972. Study of the Gravity Flow Process in
Feasibility 102 94 92 Sublevel Caving, in International Sublevel Caving
Predicted 102 86 85 Symposium, Atlas Copco, Stockholm.
Janelid, I, 1974. Rasbrytning, STU-rapport 73-3885
Pierce, M. 2003. Flow Simulation Progress, Internal report
Given any set of boundary conditions, this method allows to the International Caving Study
realistic recovery curves to be generated for the analysis of Power, G R, 2003a. Modelling Granular Flow in Caving
modified SLC designs before mining begins. Additional Mines: Large Scale Physical Modelling and Full Scale
confidence is gained from knowledge that the curves are Experiments, PhD Thesis, University of Queensland.
based on a proven scientific relationship and have been Power, G R, 2003b. Calculation of Ridgeway Ring
validated against full scale experiments in a real mining Recovery Curves, internal Newcrest memorandum.
environment. Rustan, A, 2000. Gravity Flow of Broken Rock What is
Known and Unknown, in MassMin 2000 Conference
5 CONCLUSIONS Proceedings, Ed. Chitombo G., ISBN 1 875776 76 9,
AusIMM, Melbourne.
The ongoing draw marker program in place at Ridgeway Romer, W, 2004. Caving/Dilution Simulation System
has allowed significant steps to be made in understanding Progress Report, report to Newcrest Mining Limited
the fundamental relationship between blasting and flow in Sharrock, G et. al., Simulating Gravity Flow in Sublevel
SLC mining and has contributed to a significant reduction in Caving, Massmin 2004
drill and blast costs. Newcrest considers the ongoing Sellden, H. 2001. Personal communication
operational use of draw marker tests is an important
business tool to enable successful application of SLC.

230 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Understanding gravity flow for mix and
dilution modeling at Henderson Mine
G. Carlson, D. Tyler, C. DeWolfe, Climax Molybdenum Company, Henderson Mine Empire, CO USA
L. Lorig, Itasca S.A., Santiago, Chile

Abstract
The original dilution model for Henderson was derived from ore recovery data and visual observations made by the
geologists and engineers at the Climax Mine. Henderson successfully used this simplistic model for ore reserves and
grade prediction through the late 1990s until it became apparent that it was deficient for the 7700 level drawpoint grade
prediction under the pre-existing 8100 level cave. Initial efforts to explain this disparity utilized visual dilutant records and
analysis of all exhausted drawpoints on the 7700 production level. A statistical, linear-program solution, predicting block
grades and dilutant amounts, was developed to approximate Henderson actual production data. At the same time a
mathematical model for drawpoint flow based on physical parameters was in development and was tested with
Henderson data. The resulting model mimicked the historical data, generated a matrix for block grade mixing, and
corroborated the statistical work. Today, Henderson has developed several matrices for its reserves based on these
models, drift/drawpoint spacing, geology, and column height, and has had significantly better success at predicting grade
and dilution than in the past. This paper will chronicle the events leading up to this change and the results to date.

1. BACKGROUND This study was also statistical in nature. A comparison

In an underground mine using a block or panel caving
mining method, it is important to recognize that the broken
rock in the ore column moves laterally as well as vertically
and mixes as it works its way down to the drawpoints for
final extraction. This movement causes mixing with a small
amount of waste material, thus changing the grade of the
ore from the original in-place grade estimate in the model.
Size of the fragmented waste and ore material has some
impact on the amount of waste mixed during the caving
process. The challenge for engineers is to try to quantify
this change in grade as they develop ore reserve estimates
and long and short range grade forecasts. To do this,
historically, the reserve has been multiplied by a factor or a
dilution model is used.
The historical dilution model used at Henderson had its
roots at the Climax Mine. With very few caving operations to
benchmark, this model was accepted in view of its apparent
success at Climax. As new data became available, this
model was updated and improved, but not changed
dramatically.
The original dilution model looked at the undiluted, in-
place, ore column from the ore reserve model for each
estimation block. These blocks were 80 feet by 80 feet by 50
feet high. The dilution equation stated that to get 92.5
percent recovery of the undiluted in- place reserve, it would
be necessary to accept a quantity equal to 15 percent of the
undiluted in-place reserve of sub-cutoff material that was not
in the reserve or "dilution". The grade of the diluting material
was set at .09% Mo, which represented the grade of the
waste rock nearest the ore column for a cutoff of .12% Mo.
This model was primarily statistical in nature, derived from
years of data from the Climax Mine. While the exact nature
of how dilution occurred was only inferred, this model
adjusted the ore grade effectively for large production areas
in which the ore columns were at various stages of maturity.
In the first years of production at Henderson, it was
noticed that there was no indication that grades were any
lower than the in-place estimates. However, in year three,
the grade began to drop below the in-place estimates as the
ore columns began to mature. This prompted a study in
1979 to improve Hendersons understanding of when and
how the dilution was occurring.
was made between the in-place grade and the actual grade
as a function of column height. It was found that for ore
drawn from the lower half of the ore column there was no
dilution and in the top half there was. Interestingly, for the
column as a whole the recovery and dilution results were
very close to the Climax dilution model estimate. As a result,
the following model was used for forecasting grades for
production planning. For the bottom half of the ore columns
no dilution was estimated. For the top half of the ore
columns, 85 percent recovery of the top half in place
reserves was combined with a dilution quantity equal to 30
percent of the top half in-place reserves.
This dilution model was used successfully for the first 100
million tons drawn from the 8100 level (the first level) at
Henderson. From this level, 97 percent of the estimated
diluted tonnage and 98 percent of the estimated diluted
molybdenum was recovered. On this level, the molybdenum
grade was relatively homogeneous trending from high grade
at the bottom of the ore columns to low grade at the top.
There was also no existing cave area above this level as it
was the first mining level at Henderson. When Henderson
moved to the second production level, or 7700 level, the
conditions and nature of the ore body changed. With this
change the nature of the way dilution occurred also changed
requiring additional studies leading to the development of
new dilution models.
2. CAUSE FOR CHANGE
As caving and production advanced on the second
production level (7700 level) through the mid to late 1990s,
the grade predictions from simulations became significantly
higher than the actual grades reporting to the mill. Since
annual tonnage and final product amounts are budgeted
based on these simulations, increased throughputs were
needed to meet targets and increased blending of high
grade portions of the cave were required to make up the
shortfalls. This, however, was not taken into account in the
simulations which meant the higher grade portions of the
mine were being exhausted faster than predicted.
In late 2000, the high grade panel of the 7700 level
exhausted leaving the remaining lower grade panel to
support all production. This lower grade panel was also

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 231

exhibiting significantly poorer grade performance than
simulations predicted. The initial attempt to quantify these
discrepancies was to analyze the ore block grade
performances in percent of predicted grade. Each
drawpoint that had produced on 7700 was analyzed by
plotting the block performances versus the model grades in
plan. Color codes were assigned based on percents above
or below predicted grade, warmer colors indicating higher
than predicted grades and colder colors indicating less than
predicted grades. Sections of the ore columns were then
developed to examine the vertical variations between model
and actual grades. These plots helped give visual insight
into actual performance which allowed general concepts to
be developed. Figures (1 and 2)
Figure 1 - Plan of total column grade performance 7700
Level, Mar. 2000
First, as shown in figure 2, it was readily apparent that the
bottom third of the columns was consistently over-
performing. Secondly, the apparent dilution of the upper
half of the column was significantly more than what the
reserve model was using. The third observation was the
consistent over-performance of those drawpoints outside of
the 8100 cave boundary.
Figure 2 - Typical N-S drawpoint column section looking
west.
This visual aid, although giving insight into the magnitude
of the problem, was crude and could not be used to quantify
a dilution effect, much less give the engineers a predictive
tool.
In early 2001, an attempt was made to refine the
performance analysis. This entailed graphing predicted,
diluted, and actual grade by ore block. This study
demonstrated that the 7700 drawpoints were behaving
according to only a few basic trends (Fig. 3). Only a few
232 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
drawpoints imitated the model used to predict grades.
These trends were assigned names and plotted for spatial
analysis. The only conclusion which could be drawn from
this plot was that dilution was increasing as the cave
progressed northward.
Having identified these basic trends, the same analysis
was performed for all the 8100 level drawpoints. Again, a
few basic trends were apparent and very few of the 800+
drawpoints on this level mimicked the prediction model.
What was noticed, which differed from the 7700 level, was
that the lower third of the column tended to under- perform
while the top half of the columns would over-perform (Fig.
4).
This was opposite of what was observed on the 7700
level but could be explained as the same curve for differing
grade distributions. 8100 level was placed in the middle of
the high grade zone of the Henderson ore body so the
highest grades were at the bottom of the columns.
Conversely, 7700 level had the highest grades at the tops of
its columns, thus the graphed curves represent how top of
column grades appear to report earlier than previously
believed (Fig. 3).
Figure 3 - Typical grade curve Henderson 7700 level.
Figure 4 - Typical grade curve Henderson 8100 level
3. DILUTION STUDY
Armed with this new information, a study was initiated in
an attempt to better define what was perceived to be strictly
an excessive dilution problem stemming from working under
an existing and exhausted caved level.
Massmin 2004
 Visual dilution examinations were being tracked on a
systematic basis by Henderson geologists but the data was
not being incorporated into any databases. Early
investigations into this data suggested a wide range of
dilution variations which could not be correlated with the
existing dilution model. Understanding that the visual
observations are qualitative rather than quantitative, only
limited information could be gleaned from this approach and
another avenue was required to explain the discrepancies.
A statistical approached was deemed to be a first step
since Henderson does have an extensive database of all
draw by drawpoint. To this end, Barnes Engineering was
contracted to perform an evaluation of the 7700 level
drawpoints for which there was draw data.
Statistics calculated for the level that had been drawn to-
date showed a reasonably good overall correlation of the
predicted grade to the grade received at the mill, after the
metal balance was calculated. Perhaps by coincidence, the
over-performance on the south boundary and the under-
performance to the north balanced out, however, the under-
performing area was where the production was active. A
closer examination by linear regression of each block, by
level, demonstrated that the grade correlations became
increasingly worse as draw reached higher in the columns.
A simple dilution model, with variable dilutant grades, was
developed to back-calculate how much diluting material
would be required to make the kriged grade match the
actual grade by block. This model showed, in the lower
blocks of the columns, the dilution to be negative since the
actual grades were higher than the kriged grades which is
impossible by the model of ore movement held at the time.
This model also demonstrated a significantly larger amount
of dilution required to force the match in the upper blocks of
the columns than the Henderson dilution model was
assuming (Table 1).
Table 1 Kriged versus actual grade comparison,
7700 Level (after Barnes, 2000).
Block Dilutant Grade
Block # Grade 0.00 0.05 0.10
(Elev. Range) Diff. % Dilutant Added (Removed)
dilution model. The main component of this mixing model
was the matrix developed for quantifying the percentage of
each block which reported at various intervals in order to
conserve mass. Table 2 is a representation of the matrix for
the Henderson 7700 level in 2000.
A further statistical study was invoked to determine the
differences between the grades reporting from the
drawpoints located under the exhausted 8100 cave as
opposed to those drawpoints located outside of the 8100
level shadow. This showed a significant increase of dilution
reporting under an existing cave, which was anticipated,
however, the mix-model parameters were essentially the
same in both cases indicating that the same mechanisms
were at work.
In March, 2001 Dr. William Hustrulid visited the mine to
examine the data and mine operations and give his insight
into the problems. Of note were his observations that the
fragmentation of the production ore was extremely fine and
his conclusion that the draw columns were probably "rat-
holing" to the 8100 level very early in their production life
causing the dilution effect.
During this timeframe, Loren Lorig of Itasca presented to
Henderson the REBOP program which was being
developed based on particle flow code. The REBOP code
embodies rules based on mechanisms observed in PFC3D
simulations (Pierce et al, 2003) and simulates the evolution
of Isolated Draw Zones (IDZs) and the interaction of
individual IDZs. In REBOP, the material above each
drawpoint is divided in many horizontal layers. The layers
are scanned repeatedly, from the bottom upwards,
conserving mass flow rate
Table 2 - Mix and dilution matrix showing percent of the
block recovered during the mining of any particular block.
(after Barnes, 2000)
between layers. Each layer either passes on the flow
rate dictated by the layer below, or passes part of it, with the
balance being made up by contributions from expansion of
the IDZ of that layer. If the layer intersects the free surface
of the caved material, flow rate contributions also derive
from the change in shape of the free surface.
Visually, particle flow code demonstrates how different
layers of granulated material would mix in a column as it is
extracted from a point of influence (Fig. 5).

1 (7700-7750) 9% -9% -11% -15%

2 (7750-7800) 11% -11% -14% -18%
3 (7800-7850) 1% -1% -2% -2%
4 (7850-7900) -9% 9% 10% 13%
5 (7900-7950) -19% 19% 22% 26%
6 (7950-8000) -26% 26% 30% 35%
7 (8000-8050) -31% 31% 35% 42%
8 (8050-8100) -32% 32% 37% 44%
Average -11% 11% 13% 16%

It was recognized that this model was unable to account

for the increase in ore grades in the lower parts of the
column. It was felt that during the mining of lower blocks, a
portion of the blocks higher in the column were being
recovered. With this in mind, a mixing model was built such
that there was a conservation of mass in the column with
reasonable mixing and dilution. The model was setup and
optimized using the MSExcel solver function with the Figure 5 - Flow and mixing from a physical modeling
objective of matching the pounds of molybdenum actually perspective (after Itasca, 2001)
produced.
Results from this revised mixing model eliminated the
negative dilutant tonnages in the lower portions of the draw As noted earlier, Henderson Mine was achieving lower
columns by allowing various amounts of other blocks to grades at the drawpoints on the 7700 level than predicted by
report. The dilution amounts in the upper portions of the the empirical draw model. This under-performance resulted
columns did not change dramatically from the simple in a disruption to the extraction planning process. The

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 233

 Table 2 - Mix and dilution matrix showing percent of the block
recovered during the mining of any particular block. (after Barnes, 2000)

Block (Elevation) Block being Mined

Reporting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1 (7700-7750) 53.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

2 (7750-7800) 24.5% 43.0% 16.1% 9.7% 5.8% 0.6% 0.2% 0.1%
3 (7800-7850) 15.1% 26.6% 39.7% 16.3% 1.0% 0.6% 0.4& 0.2%
4 (7850-7900) 9.6% 17.0% 25.3% 38.9% 5.3% 2.0% 1.2% 0.5%
5 (7900-7950) 1.4% 11.1% 16.6% 21.5% 43.5% 2.9% 1.7% 1.0%
6 (7950-8000) 0.2% 7.4% 2.5% 5.8% 22.5% 50.6% 7.3% 3.6%
7 (8000-8050) 0.0% 1.4% 0.5% 1.3% 4.8% 16.7% 51.1% 13.4%
8 (8050-8100) 0.0% 0.1% 0.1% 0.3% 1.0% 3.1% 9.4% 39.5%

Dilution 0.0% 0.0% 3.3% 7.6% 17.6% 25.0% 29.7% 31.9%

Total Percent Mined 104.0% 106.4% 104.1% 101.4% 101.5% 101.6% 101.2% 30.1%

empirical draw model was developed based on experience Information regarding kriged and actual grades for four
from the Climax mine, which did not have any overlying drawbells
waste layer. Statistical modeling had shed some light on the Draw rate (one foot per day or 160 tons/day per
subject but had not explained a method of prediction. Almost drawpoint)
immediately, Henderson engineers recognized the similarity
between the Barnes Engineering statistical model and Information regarding kriged and actual recovered grades
particle flow code. Numerical modeling was considered as for 4 drawbells included:
another method to understand this under-performance. The Kriged grades for eight ore layers for the 7700 level
numerical model selected for use was REBOP (Rapid models
Emulator Based On PFC3D; Itasca, 2000). Kriged grades for eleven ore layers for the 8100 level
Superficially, REBOP appears similar (at least in its model
objectives) to PC-BC (Gemcom, 1999; Diering, 2000), which is Nugget effect would account for a +or- 20% variation in
a code used for draw control in some block-cave mining kriged grade
operations. However, PC-BC takes as its starting point the Layers are 50 feet thick with base 25 feet above
assumption that each IDZ has a certain shape, called its draw production level invert
cone. The code uses empirical rules to estimate how material Waste layer for the 7700 level model assumed to be
is withdrawn from a draw cone and how material mixes 0.05% Mo (no waste layer for 8100 level model)
between adjacent draw cones. REBOP makes no
assumptions about the shape of the IDZs; it contains "micro" The results for drawbells 638310, 664608 and 256209 are
rules that govern how material flows from one layer to the next shown in Figures 6 through 8, respectively. Each figure
and how much material derives from mechanisms such as shows the following:
erosion and mass exchanges between adjacent IDZ catchment Actual results from the two drawpoints that make up the
volumes. The shape of each IDZ evolves continuously (in drawbell
contrast to the fixed draw cone of PC-BC), and emerges REBOP results assuming a 20% nugget effect in kriged
"automatically" as the micro-rules are applied repeatedly. grades
Potentially, this lower-level approach is closer to reality and Kriged grades for the ore "blocks" overlying the drawbell
allows local mechanisms and interactions to be reproduced.
However, at the time REBOP was used at Henderson the
approach was new and, as yet, untested, apart from the simple
examples. Therefore it was unclear at the start whether or not
REBOP would provide meaningful results.
Itasca was contracted to model some of the Henderson
drawpoints with the REBOP program to see if it would
correlate with actual Henderson data. Results were
requested in a matrix format which would allow comparison
with the statistical model. Four drawpoints were selected for
the initial study, three from the 7700 level and one from the
8100 level. All four drawpoints had identical drift and
drawpoint spacings.
Initial studies focused on simulating the flow to a limited
number of drawbells (nine) and comparing the grades
recovered in the center drawbell of the REBOP model with
the actual grades recovered in the mine. The drawbells
studied initially were 638310, 664608, 646607 and 256209.
The general information available for the initial studies
included:
Production level layout Figure 6 - Comparison of REBOP grades with actual grades
Intact rock density (unit weight of rock) for Drawbell 664608

234 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 7 - Comparison of REBOP grades with actual grades
for Drawbell 638310
Figure 8 - Comparison of REBOP grades with actual grades
for Drawbell 256209
4. MODEL VERIFICATIONS
Three of the four drawpoints modeled in REBOP (2 from
7700 and the one from 8100) behaved very similarly to the
actual data. A key difference between REBOP and the
Barnes Engineering model was the dominance of the major
block tonnage reporting. Comparing both methods against
a variety of other drawpoints demonstrated the REBOP
model in closer approximation to actual production history
overall and thus the first matrix developed into the newly
programmed production system was based on REBOP
results (Table 3).
Since the kriged grade model is no longer considered a
valid model to track production against, Henderson has
coined the term "EXPECTED" grade as the model from
matrix generation. All production data are measured
against this expected grade factor. The one drawbell,
646607, which did not perform according to the initial
REBOP runs was retested and is discussed later.
In an attempt to quantify the validity of the model, plan
views of "expected" vs. actual grade by block were
developed to see if there were any spatial relationships. A
distinctive under-performance zone became evident as well
as a distinctive over-performance zone. Correlation
for the under-performing zone was found to match
geology. Placing the geologic contacts of the intrusive
complexes over the performance maps (Fig. 9)
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
demonstrated a strong preference for geologic and/or
structural relationships to drawpoint performance. Of the
four test drawpoints given to Itasca for REBOP modeling,
the three which correlated best were all located in the Urad
Porphyry (2 from the 7700 level, one from the 8100 level).
The one drawpoint which did not correlate was located in
the Primos Interior porphyry of the 7700 level. In order to
determine variations between the new model and actual
performance, histograms were developed of the percent of
variation of actual to "expected" grades. The means of these
performances by block were then plotted for visual
correlation. Figure 10 shows this plot of all 7700 level
drawpoints based on location and/or geology against a
REBOP based draw matrix.
As was seen in the plan plots, three very distinct
performance trends were evident, indicating different
populations. The drawpoints located in the Urad Porphyry
showed the best correlation to the new REBOP based
model.
Figure 9 - (Expected Versus Actual Grade with Intrusive
Contacts)
The Primos Interior drawpoints displayed a radically
different curve in which the new model severely over-
predicted, and finally the zone outside of the 8100 shadow
to the south where the model consistently under predicted.
A second attempt to modify the under-performing drawbell
in REBOP, namely the 646607 bell, showed that by severely
decreasing one parameter, the erosion coefficient, would
bring results into line with the actual data. This parameter
decrease reduced the IDZ of the drawbell. Reducing the
IDZ diameter would in effect cause the "rat-holing"
postulated by Dr. Hustrulid. Further correlation for this
geologic control was the area examined by Dr. Hustrulid
which was all in the same under-performing rock type, the
Primos Interior.
Realizing that REBOP uses a point of influence for draw,
based on the geometry of the drifts and drawpoints, and
develops an isolated draw zone (IDZ) or "cylinder of
influence" from which it calculates the ore flow (opposed to
235
 Table 3 - Mix and dilution matrix showing percent of the
block recovered during the mining of any particular block. (after Lorig, 2001)

Block Mined
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 % Recovered

1 39% 3% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 43%
2 46% 17% 6% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 71%
3 15% 42% 15% 9% 5% 2% 0% 0% 88%
% Block Reporting

4 0% 33% 28% 13% 9% 5% 2% 1% 90%

5 0% 5% 37% 21% 12% 10% 4% 2% 90%
6 0% 0% 13% 33% 17% 11% 9% 4% 89%
7 0% 0% 0% 21% 28% 15% 11% 9% 85%
8 0% 0% 0% 2% 24% 25% 14% 11% 76%
Dilution 0% 0% 0% 0% 4% 33% 59% 73%
Total Pct 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Figure 10 - Mean of Actual block grades to Expected Grade

the previous method of assigning square blocks for the
drawpoint influence), an additional change was to
reconfigure the area of influence of a drawpoint (and it
associated block tonnage and grade) from the simple
square block reference with the drift/drawpoint geographic
center, to one based on the "point of extraction". In the case
of Henderson, this extraction point has been set at one
meter inside the drawpoint brow. From this, cylinders are
developed until they intersect points with adjacent drawpoint
cylinders. This results in a honeycomb shape for the
drawpoint influence as shown in Figure 11. As drift and
drawpoint geometry change, the associated area polygon
also changes. Kriged grades are weight averaged into a
new in-place grade prior to applying the appropriate mix
matrix. The results of all these changes give new block
tonnages and grade estimates into what Henderson now
calls "EXPECTED" grade.
Continuing to check actual mean grade deviations from
the model demonstrated the persistent under-performance
in the middle of the columns. Realizing that fines from the
exhausted cave above could migrate downward into the
columns and that REBOP was not designed to take this into
account at this stage of development, a trial and error
approach was utilized in the matrix in an attempt to account
for these discrepancies. The Henderson Production System
is an excellent platform for this methodology since it allows
for very fast computations of changes to the ore inventory.
These changes can then be statistically compared to actual
data to verify if the changes were beneficial.
Fig. 11 - New drawpoint area of influence, based on REBOP
modeling
After the introduction of the matrix flow, Henderson has
been tracking model production head grades to mill
corrected head grades on a monthly basis. Model
prediction is based on daily extraction from all production
drawpoints. To date, with all the production and model
variations, the model predicted mine head grade based on
actual production draw is the most accurate predictor of
grade reporting to the mill, averaging within 3% of actual mill
head grade after recovery calculations. This does not mean
that all drawpoints are reporting exactly to model
parameters, rather that the model overall is a good predictor
even with variations within.
5. CONCLUSIONS
Henderson now calculates and bases its ore inventory on
the REBOP mixing models provided by Itasca. These
models take into account drift and drawpoint spacing and
geometry, geologic zones, effects of previously exhausted
levels, and column heights. Model verification and fine
tuning continues but the flow concept has been verified. Not
all of the geologic and structural influences to the flow model
are understood. More research is needed to be able to
correlate the rock mass properties, such as a rock mass
rating, for example, to the cavability parameters used in

236 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

REBOP to be able to predict mixing and dilution. Several
other areas to be explored include cave boundary effects,
flow at the cave front, and the limits of draw influence when
draw is curtailed on adjacent drawpoints.
6. REFERENCES
Barnes, T., 2000. "Examination of Henderson Draw Data",
Barnes Engineering Report, (unpublished), 32 pgs.
Diering, T, 2000. PC-BC (2000): A block cave design and
draw control system. Proceedings MassMin 2000, pgs
469-484.
Gemcom Software International Inc, 1999. PC-BC User
Manual and Tutorial, Version 98.02. Gemcom Software
International Inc., 580 Hornby Street, Suite 901:
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 3B6.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Itasca Consulting Group, Inc., 2000. "REBOP (Rapid
Emulator Based On PFC3D) Formulation and Users
Guide, Version 1.0". Itasca Consulting Group, Inc:
Minneapolis.
Hustrulid, W., 2001. "Review of Panel Caving The
Henderson Mine", William Hustrulid Report,
(unpublished), 57 pgs.
Lorig, L., 2002. "Modeling of Drawpoint Flows and
Dilution at Henderson Mine" Itasca Consulting Group, Inc.
Report (unpublished), 55 pgs.
Pierce, M. E., P. A. Cundall, G. J. van Hout and L. Lorig,
2003. "PFC3D Modeling of Caved Rock Under Draw," in
Numerical Modeling in Micromechanics via Particle
Methods (Proceedings of the 1st International PFC
Symposium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany, November 2002),
pp. 211-217. H. Konietzky, Ed. Lisse: Balkema.
237
Behaviour of caved ore mass in sublevel
caving and its effect on ore dilution
Guojian Zhang, Anshan University of Science and Technology, China

Abstract
With respect to the problems associated with the sublevel caving mining method, this paper analyzed the behavior of
the blasted caved ore mass and its effect on the ore dilution during the mining and excavation process. Through the
analysis of the sublevel caving mining process from the blasting to the ore discharge, the study includes theoretical
analysis and, pilot tests. The paper developed the concept of the blasted caved ore mass, determined the shape and
characteristic of the blasted caved ore mass, studied the relationship between the discharged ore mass, loose volume,
and the blasted caved mass. The paper pointed out that in order to solve the ore dilution problem associated with the
ore discharge process we should treat the blast and ore discharge process as integral. Through proper design of the
blast parameters the paper demonstrated that we can control the shape and characteristics of the blasted caved ore
mass and the potential loose volume in accordance with the shape of the discharged ore mass. With such technique we
can reduce the ore dilution and achieve maximum extraction of valuable resources.

1 INTRODUCTION fragments will be reduced and consequently over squeezed

In order to solve the problem of dilution and loss of ore
associated with sublevel caving mining method, researchers
and engineers have conducted a lot of work to solve the
problem. Such work has formed a firm foundation to reduce
ore dilution. Since sublevel caving uses buffer blasts of fan
blast holes with middle depth to break ore in order to control
of the ore discharge to reduce dilution and loss of the ore for
improving the mine economics it is of significant importance
to understand the spatial shape of the fragmented rock and
its effect on the ore discharge.
2 MAJOR FACTORS XONTROLLING THE
SHAPE STATE AND ITS EFFECT ON
ORE DILUTION OF BROKEN ORE
The shape state and its effect on ore dilution of broken ore
refer to the spatial shape and its size of the broken ore,
which includes the fragment size, looseness coefficient, and
flow-ability, etc.
The material to be discharged is the fragmented ore. It is
fundamental to study the shape and state of the broken ore.
To understand the shape and the state of the broken ore is
vital importance to determine the discharge method and
optimize the discharge design.
Effect of blast design parameters on muckpile shape
and state of the blast caved ore
Different blast design parameters result in different muck
pile shapes, displacement, fragment size, and looseness of
the broken rock. In other words, we can alter the blast caved
ore fragment volume shape and state by changing the blast
design parameters. The blast design parameters refer to
thickness (burden) of the blasted ore, hole spacing, degree
of the fan hole inclination, the total open angle of the fan,
hole spacing of the hole bottom, explosive type and
property, charge configuration, initiation sequence and
timing, etc. These blast design parameters affect the
amount, fragment size, muckpile looseness, and the body
shape of the broken ore. The blast design parameters
cannot be neglected in order to solve the ore discharge
problem.
Under the same condition, increasing in the one time blast
overburden can result in increased broken ore volume.
However, relative free space obtained from the loose
muck tightening may occur and prevent a favorable shape
for discharging broken ore body from forming. This could
lead to dilution or lose when discharging the broken ore. On
the other hand, if the blast overburden is small the advance
rate is reduced and at the same time a favorable shape for
discharging broken ore body cannot be formed. Therefore,
a too small or too big blast overburden can cause dilution or
ore loss.
The vertical middle depth fan holes inherently provides
poor explosive distribution and yields coarse fragments on
the top of the caved broken ore file and uneven size
distribution. A careful design of the borehole distribution may
improve the energy distribution. Furthermore, using proper
delay time can also improve the blast results and produce
an ideal caved broken ore body shape for discharge to
reduce ore dilution and loss.
Effects of physical property of the coverage rock layer
and discharge procedure on the shape and state of the
caved broken rock
It is well known that the loss coverage rock around the
blasted ore material is loosened body and compressed
region (prior loosened part) under certain discharge
procedure.
The state of the coverage rock mass is the external
constrain to the formation of the caving broken rock. It
affects the state of the caved broken rock mass. While the
discharge procedure also plays an important part to the
formation and the state of the caved broken rock mass.
According to the ore discharge theory the loosened body is
a elliptical shape. The porosity within this ellipsoid body is
much larger than the outside compressed zone. This
causes the ore to be blasted exerts uneven pushing upon
the surrounding covering waster during blasting and
fragmented. Generally speaking, the structure change
mainly occurs inside the blasted rock mass, which is the
compensation space. The state of the loosened body is the
main factor determines the state of the caved fragment
mass.
Different discharge procedure methods (e.g. way of
shoveling, depth of shoveling, discharge protocol, etc.)
affect differently formation of the discharged body and
loosened body. Consequently, the discharge procedure
dictates the state of the blasted caved ore fragments body.
The loosened region from the previous discharge will affect

238 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

the state of the blasted caved ore fragments body. Whereas,
the blasted caved ore fragments body affects the formation
of the discharge body. If the state of the blasted caved ore
fragments body is not properly formed, the discharge and
loosened bodies will be unfavorably affected for the down
stream process. In summary, the discharge procedure
affects the formation of the discharge and loosened bodies.
The blasted caved ore fragments body and loosened region
affect the caved body. The property of the caved body
affects the properties of the discharge body and loosened
body. Therefore, the discharge body, loosened body, and
caved body are interrelated integral part. In order to reduce
dilution and ore loss it is important to study the interaction of
these three bodies for optimizing the controlling parameters.
Model blast experiment
After the models were cured and dry, the blasts were
conducted separately with each model. Before the blast,
models were placed on the top of a prepared flat rock
surface. A piece of detonating cord was used as explosive
for each small borehole and a small detonator from a noel
tube as initiator. Before the blast, crushed rock gravels were
used to cover the model. The thickness of the gravels was
over 0.8m. The setup was covered with hay mats, as shown
in Figure 2.

Effect of the physical mechanical property of the ore

body to be blasted on the state of the blasted caved ore
fragments body
The ore body is to be blasted target. Its property directly
affects the state of the blasted caved ore fragments body.
Under the same condition, blasting the ore body with
different properties will result in different states of the
blasted caved ore fragments body. Therefore, it is important
to understand the property of the ore body to be blasted,
such as blast ability, swell factors, etc. in order to achieve a
favorable state of the blasted caved ore fragments body.
In summary, there are many factors affecting the state of
the blasted caved ore fragments body. The major ones are
blast design parameters, the physical and mechanical Figure 2: Powder charge and detonator coupling.
property of the coverage waster, the property of the ore
body to be blasted, and the discharge protocol, etc. From In order to test the effects of the covering rock layer on the
the analysis above, after blast the blasted caved ore blasted caved fragment body, the models I, and II were
fragments body is similar to the loosened body and is a blasted with full hole-length loading. The models were
body with complex surface smaller in volume than the covered with pouring crushed rock. While the models III,
loosened body. The fragment size distribution, porosity, and and IV were blasted with part hole-length loading and
flow-ability within the body are determined from blast, ore covered with compressed crushed rock. The unloaded
body and surrounding rock material properties. length at the hole-bottom was expressed as percentage of
the charge length. 11% was used as unloaded length for
3 MODEL STUDY OF BLAST IN CEMENT MODELS each borehole for the model III and IV.
After blast, the covering layer was manually striped
In order to confirm the analysis in the above section, we horizontally layer by layer from the top to bottom. The caved
conducted blasts within cement models. These tests were to fragmented ore was sized by color. In order to determine the
simulate the sublevel caving blasts to understand the space state of caved ore mass, the profile of caved ore
blasted caved ore fragments body and blast design effects. mass was measured in each 4cm from the top of caved ore
mass to the flat rock, as shown in Figure 3.
Model construction and design
According to the real mining configuration, with sublevel
height 10m, route distance 10m, caving distance 3m four
models were constructed in ratio of 1:50. The models have the
same material: cement mixed with sand in weight ratio of 1:4.
The cement was #400 cement. The models were marked with
three colors, red, black, and green, respectively from floor of
the drift upwards. Two rows of blast holes were made 7.5mm
in diameter while the cement was wet, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3: Measurement and statistics of blast caved ore

mass.

Experiment result statistics

Caved fragment ore was sized and weighted by color. Its
k50, k80 and mean block were calculated and are shown in
Table 1 and Figure 4. The characteristic of blasting caved
Figure 1: Cement and sand model specification. ore mass according to the experiment is shown in Figure 5.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 239

 Table 1: Model Blast Result Statistics The experiment demonstrated that the caved ore mass is
similar to the loosened body and is a body with complex
zone K5 K80 mean large surface smaller in volume than the loosened body. The
(mm) (mm) (mm) (%) fragment size distribution within the body is increasing from
bottom to top, and on the top of the caved ore body near the
1 52.43 89.32 59.23 42.09 ore body there is a subsided area. The height, length, and
2 40.41 81.65 51.58 21.61 width of the caved ore body are larger than the height of
sublevel, the length of stope route distance and the width of
3 28.88 55.26 41.27 20.53
caved ore-bed, respectively. The caved ore body is
total 44.40 78.16 52.09 27.57 composed of two segments, one is the pure caved ore area,
1 42.13 69.49 49.05 17.91 the other is the ore and rock area near the caved ore body
2 44.74 70.91 50.83 16.39 boundary, as shown in Figure 6.
3 32.45 60.69 40.85 16.00
total 41.45 68.42 48.58 16.77
1 32.87 57.62 44.45 28.00
2 27.78 49.30 36.80 10.38
3 28.60 53.41 37.41 12.50
total 30.80 57.71 38.77 15.01
1 29.11 46.22 32.80 0
2 28.39 48.77 34.29 5.93
3 24.01 45.54 31.40 0
total 27.29 46.45 33.27 3.06

Figure 6: Ore and rock area of blast caved ore mass.

The maximum width of ore and rock area was nearly

Figure 4: Fragment ore curve of blast caved ore mass
Figure 5: State of blast caved ore mass
17mm in the experiment. The fragment ore piled into
coverage rock mass by explosive force and smaller
coverage rock permeated the caved ore body by gravity
formed the ore and rock area. By explosive force, the extent
of the caved ore piled into coverage ore mass was bound up
with the explosive force, looseness of coverage ore mass
and the black size near the contact zones of caved ore body
and coverage rock mass. The smaller the block is, the
stronger the explosive force is and the looser the coverage
rock is, the wider the ore and rock area is. The coverage
rock size of model IV is smaller than others, so its ore and
rock area is the widest. By gravity, smaller coverage rock
permeates caved ore. We saw this clearly during ore
drawing process.
The mixed up of ore and rock by explosive force is called
explosive dilution. It shows that its important to research the
characteristics of the coverage rock mass and the blast
caved ore mass.
After the coverage rock mass shaped, decreasing the
difference between the coverage rock size and caved ore
size, only can be got through changing the fragment size on
the top of the blast caved ore mass. Because model I
covered with rock naturally and model III with compressed
rock manually, the former is looser. The blast caved ore
bodies of the 2 models are similar, but the former is larger in
volume, the former subsided area is clearer and the former
fragment size distribution is not as even as the latter.
The experiment also demonstrated that the blast caved
ore mass from hole-bottom air deck blast is different from
the continuous loading. The fragment size distribution of the
former is very uniform. Especially the fragment size of
bottom is smaller and subsided area is smaller in volume.
This can be proved in model IV.
The state of blast caved ore mass is uneven. The fluidity
of the blast caved ore mass near the explosive face is
better, for the direction of explosive force is along the route
tunnel. And the fluidity of both sides perpendicular the route

240 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

tunnel is better. The larger the subsided area is, the clearer
the uneven is. During ore drawing, the uneven of blast
caved ore mass causes the rock flow to ore removal mouth,
which lead to ore drawing ceased and ore loss increased.
We call this rock short circuit. The rock short circuit should
be avoided.
The space state of blast caved ore mass is the foundation
of ore drawing, the work above advanced new question of
ore drawing, optimization of structure parameters and
dilution decreasing.

4 RESEARCH OF THE CHARACTERISTIC

OF BLAST CAVED ORE MASSS
INFLUENCE ON ORE LOSS AND DILUTION

At present, in mines adopting sublevel caving, with the

increasing of working depth, the coverage rock mass
Figure 7: Ore drawing experiment equipment.
formed at the beginning descends continually. During this
process the fragment rock of coverage rock is graded
naturally, its size decreases from top to bottom. And in buff Table 2: Ore drawing filler
blasts of vertical fan blast holes with middle depth, the
distribution of blast is uneven, which makes blast ore is Model zone Filler weight_g_ Q
uneven and decrease from top to bottom. All the above
changes the connection of blast caved ore and coverage 1_2 mm 2-4mm 4-6mm 6-8mm 8-10mm (g)
rock.
For the better of expounding the influence of the state of up 26.68 28.90 67.84 118.61 93.95 336
blast caved ore mass on the loss and dilution of ore, we middle 9.33 47.65 101.98 142.89 34.98 337
developed the study of contrast ore drawing models down 25.34 70.87 102.72 96.31 42.09 337
experiment on the basis of the cement models test and the
natural grading in coverage rock mass. In ore drawing total 1010
model, the ore is of high-grade magnetic iron ore and the up 18.72 90.10 112.04 149.11 0 370
coverage rock is baiyunyan. In order to make the middle 23.98 55.32 112.85 155.84 21.98 370
experiment credible, we did the experiment two times and
got the same result, as shown in Figure 7 and Table 2, 3. down 13.84 80.88 148.67 126.54 0 370
Through the results of the experiment, we can conclude total 1010
that when the ore drawing adopting the result of continuous
loading blast model, after 1~2 times of ore removal, the the blast caved ore mass, and make the body muckpile
coverage rock passed through the ore pile and reached the loose, and make the blast caved ore and the remain ore
ore removal work face, for the fragment ore size is larger. body in proper portion with each other, and get the best
The pure ore recovery is little. And the flow of ore is often benefits of ore drawing. The results from this study can help
prevented, which reduced the efficient of ore removal. The the research of ore drawing theory and optimization of
recovery is 82.57%, and dilution rate is 35.05%. When structure parameters from now on.
adopting the result of hole bottom air deck blast model, the Through the contrast experiment of ore drawing, we can
fluidity of ore got better and pure ore recovery increased, see the influence of the state of caved ore on the loss and
because the size difference between ore and rock reduces, dilution of ore.
which slows down the pace that the coverage rock passes Adopting hole bottom air deck blast, reducing thickness
through the ore and reaches the ore removal work face. Its of blast ore can improve the characteristic of blast caved ore
recovery is 84.50%, and dilution rate is 34.35%. The mass, and decrease the loss and dilution of ore.
recovery increases 1.93% and dilution decreases 0.70%.
The experiment proved that the result of blast is the main REFERENCES
factor influenced ore drawing, only to connect blast with ore
drawing, can we decrease the loss and dilution of ore. Liu X G. 1988. Foundation of Ore Drawing Theory.
Metallurgy Industry Press. Beijing.
5 CONCLUSIONS Xiong G H. 1988. Sublevel Caving Method. Metallurgy
Industry Press. Beijing.
This paper analyzed the state of blast caved ore in Wang C H. 1982. Theory of Ore Drawing. Metallurgy
sublevel caving theoretically, made pilot test, advanced the Industry Press. Beijing.
definition of the blast caved ore mass, pointed out that the Ren F Y. 1984. Equations of Ore and Rock Moving in
discharged ore mass, loose body and the blast caved ore Caving Ore Drawing and its Application. Northeast
mass should be treated as integral. In order to optimize Institute of Industry. Shenyang.
structure parameters and decrease ore dilution, the ore Janelid I 1968. Sublevel caving: how to use It what are the
drawing and blast should be studied together. advantages problems. World Mining. September 76~78.
The caved ore mass is similar to the loosened body and Kvapil R 1982. The mechanics and design of sublevel
is a body with complex surface smaller in volume than the caving systems. Underground Mining Methods
loosened body. The fragment size distribution within the Handbook(Ed: W A Hustrulid) pp880~897(SME).
body is increasing from bottom to top, and on the top of the Kvapil R 1992. Sublevel caving. SME Mining Engineers
caved ore body near the ore body there is a subsided area. Handbook 2nd Edition(Ed: H L Hartman) Chapter 20.2
The height, length, and width of the caved ore body are pp1798~1814(SME).
larger than the height of sub-level, the length of stope route Cox,J A 1967. Latest developments and draw control in
distance and the width of caved ore-bed one respectively. sub-level caving. Trans IMM,Sect A, vol 76,
Adjusting blast parameters can change the characteristic of ppA149~A159.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 241

 Table 3: Ore drawing contrast experiment result

model interval times 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 recovery Dilution rate

weight

1 T 27 28 32 24 27 27 29 24 218 72.77 32.57

Wy 0 4 8 5 9 10 15 20 71
Wk 27 24 24 19 18 17 14 4 147
2 T 26 21 30 35 25 31 27 38 32 265 81.68 37.74
Wy 0 0 7 9 10 19 16 17 22 100
Wk 26 21 23 26 15 12 11 21 10 165
3 T 26 26 33 36 36 31 28 216 65.35 38.89
Wy 0 6 10 12 15 21 20 84
Wk 26 20 23 24 21 10 8 132
4 T 19 21 35 30 32 35 35 51 30 288 92.57 35.07
Wy 0 0 8 10 9 11 18 24 21 101
Wk 19 21 27 20 23 24 17 27 9 187
5 T 26 24 37 50 44 34 45 37 297 100.50 31.65
Wy 0 0 8 10 11 16 19 30 94
Wk 26 24 29 40 33 18 26 7 203

total Q_1010gWy_450_Wk = 834_T = 1284 82.57 35.05

1 T 22 25 23 36 28 30 28 24 22 238 75.23 29.83

Wy 0 0 0 9 8 11 15 12 16 71
Wk 22 25 23 27 20 19 13 12 6 167
2 T 26 20 22 24 27 32 26 25 25 22 26 275 78.38 36.73
Wy 0 0 0 0 10 15 11 13 15 15 22 101
Wk 26 20 22 24 17 17 15 12 10 7 4 174
3 T 28 29 30 19 35 37 29 29 30 24 290 87.39 33.10
Wy 0 0 0 0 15 15 12 14 20 20 96
Wk 28 29 30 19 20 22 17 15 10 4 194
4 T 26 29 21 26 29 30 26 27 22 234 72.07 32.48
Wy 0 0 0 8 10 11 15 16 16 76
Wk 26 29 21 18 19 19 11 11 6 160
5 T 29 29 26 31 39 43 44 30 50 26 43 390 109.46 37.69
Wy 0 0 0 0 12 20 24 11 33 15 32 147
Wk 29 29 26 31 27 23 20 19 17 11 11 243

total Q=1010g, Wy=491, Wk = 938, T = 1429 84.50 34.35

T - Weight of the total removed.

Wy - Weight of the removed rock.
Wk - Weight of the removed ore.

Ren F Y. Qiao D P. Tao G Q. 2002. Mathematical model of
air flow caused by failing rock[A]. The Proceedings of the
2nd International Conference New Development in Rock
Mechanics and Rock Engineerig[C]. New York. Rinton
Press. Pp572~577.
JUST.G.D. and FREEG.D. The Gravity Flow of Material in
the sub-level Caving Mining System Proc.ist Australia-
New Zealand Conference On Geomechanics Vol.1 1971,
88~97.

242 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Chapter 6
Geomechanics
244 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 ALCODER: A new method for
evaluating stability of rock excavation
Guillermo Krstulovic L., Consultant, Geomecnica Ltd

Abstract
Rock excavations are evaluated in geomechanics by procedures including: (1) zonation of the rock by quality indices,
such as RQD, RMR, Q, GSI, Stability Number N, all having associated engineering recommendations for the design to
be excavated; (2) modeling by Simulator Algorithm, with outputs in terms of stress-strain of the excavated rock. Stress-
strain results given by the Simulator are usually interpreted by means of a rupture criterion. Stress-strain outputs,
however, do not correlate directly with engineering recommendations. To overcome this limitation ALCODER (Computer
Algorithm for the Design of Rock Excavations) yields outputs of the changes occurring in the deformation modulus upon
changing the confinement of the excavated rock, all according to the laws of classical mechanics. The new modulus
figures provided by ALCODER can be related with RQD, RMR, Q and GSI indices and Stability Number N through use
of empirical formulae available in the literature. The results enable useful engineering recommendations to be derived
for each design to be excavated. Examples are included of applications to mining designs of open-pit and panel-caving
geometry, yielding results that explain slope failures, abutment stress and collapses of underground production levels
by caving.

INTRODUCTION the rock in terms of deformation modulus, and tectonic

The methods used in geomechanics to address the
design of rock excavations have evolved along two
completely differentiated trends of development insofar as
the approach to the problem is concerned. These trends
are.
Empirical Approach. In the first step of this approach,
the quality of the in-situ rock is evaluated by means of a
"quality index," and the resulting index is then associated
with a practical recommendation for the mine design. The
rock quality zonation indices most frequently used in mining
are: RQD (Deere, 1966), Q (Barton, 1974), RMR
(Laubscher, 1977), GSI (Hoek et al., 1997) and Stability
Number N (Potvin & Nickson, 1992).
The empirical approaches are in a continual state of
review, yielding new uses for mine design. In the future, rock
quality indices may increasingly acquire a direct association
with the mining method used, thus facilitating the obtaining
of inputs and/or requiring specific responses from the
approach. This association has already been made between
RMR and mining by caving, between GSI and open-pit
mining, between N and sub-level stoping, and between Q
and tunnel design.
Analytical Approach. In this approach, a computer
algorithm is used as a mine design Simulator. In the
beginning, these algorithms were intended to make more
efficient the storage of geotechnical information required by
the Simulator , and to increase the speed of solving systems
of equations run on the computer. Efficiency in memory
capacity and equation-solving speed was particularly critical
when dealing with simulations of complex geometries in
three dimensions.
With the advent of computers of greater capacity
and processing speed, these limitations were
overcome. Simulators now available are not
substantially different in terms of their input
requirements and output results.
Invariably the input required by these Simulators is:
geometric description of the mine design, zonation of
and gravitational forces associated with the area to be
mined.
The deformation modulus (E) is directly or
indirectly a mandatory input for all Simulators now in
use. As discussed below, its value is normally
derived from empirical correlations between (E) and
RQD or RMR.
The output is invariably expressed as stress and strain
experienced by the rocks remaining after excavation. All of
these results are usually presented as drawings of the
excavation geometry in sequence. The drawings make use
of a nomenclature keyed to a color code to better represent
stresses and strains.
Contrary to the situation with the input, the output stress
and strain results bear no correlation with the empirical
indices that provide useful recommendations for the mine
design. Instead, these outputs are incorporated into a
theoretical (Mohr-Coulomb) or empirical (Hoek & Brown)
breakage criterion with results that must be interpreted by
the user.
In summary:
"Currently, the empirical and analytical approaches do
not yield a common output for both procedures and
must be interpreted separately."
ALCODER (Computer Algorithm for the Design of
Rock Excavations) is an analytical method that outputs
results for the stresses and strains in the remaining rock
after excavation. However, it avoids associating this
output to breakage criteria. Instead, ALCODER provides
outputs containing the changes that occur in the
deformation moduli (E) of these materials, i.e., changes
due to the changes in confinement that occur in the rock
during the excavation process. The new modulus figures
are transformed directly into rock quality indices: RQD or
RMR, or indirectly into GSI, Q or N by means of
empirical formulae drawn from the literature. In this
manner, the results of ALCODER can be associated with
engineering recommendations that are of use for mine
design work.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 245

BRIEF THEORETICAL OVERVIEW

Rock mechanics describes the stress-strain relationship

in its most elemental form by means of the following
expression:

(i) = E x e(i)

(i) = Stress applied in direction (i)

(i=1,2,3) = Stress (greatest, intermediate, least)
(i) = Unit strain resulting in (i)
E = Deformation modulus

This equation will be reiterated for gravitational or tectonic

stress, , as many times as there are rock elements that can
be made discrete in terms of the value of their modulus (E),
thus giving as a result many e values that must be made
compatible in order to maintain the integrity of the rock.
In a first approach, (E) is considered an intrinsic
parameter of the rock and in a simple form ,can be assumed
to be constant and of linear and elastic characteristics.
Laboratory and in-situ tests have shown that (E) does not
have elastic behavior. Notwithstanding this, other plastic
and/or elasto-plastic assumptions are not sufficiently Figure 2: Variation of (E) in Rock under Increasing
convincing to be taken for use to represent this parameter of Confinement (Deere et al. 1966)
the rock.
These same laboratory and in-situ tests have
demonstrated that the non-linear deviation of (E) can be
irrelevant for purposes of calculating stresses and strains.
In summary:

"The most frequently used analytical methods in rock

mechanics assume that the modulus (E) is constant
and of linear and elastic characteristics."

In this paper the constant nature of the modulus (E) is

questioned. The laboratory tests reported by various
authors, e.g., Jaeger & Cook (1969), Deere et al.(1966),
have demonstrated that the modulus (E) under conditions
of confinement varies in accordance with the magnitude
of the confining stress, 3. This variation is not minor
and, according to Yaez & Moreno (1993), can be greater
than 200%. Figures 1, 2 and 3 illustrate this
phenomenon.

Figure 3: Modulus (E) in Rocks under Different Degrees of

Confinement(Ynez & Moreno 1993)

Besides the axial strain that gives rise to (E), another

strain radial to the major stress originates a second modulus
(u) whose constant and unchanging nature when under
changing conditions of confinement is also questionable.
Notwithstanding the scant amount of existing information in
the literature, Kulhawy (1973) suggests that in igneous
rocks such variations are insignificant.

CHANGES IN MODULUS (E) WITH CHANGING

CONFINEMENT

Changes in (E) in response to confinement, s 3, are

conventionally expressed by means of the formula
proposed by Jambu (1963):

(E) = K x Pa (3 / Pa) n
3 = Least confining stress
Figure 1: Variation of Axial Strain at Different Magnitudes of Pa = Atmospheric pressure
Confinement (Jaeger & Cook 1969) K, n = Experimental constants

246 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The values of K and n can be obtained by means of
laboratory testing through the determination of the modulus
(E) at different magnitudes of 3. Calculations are facilitated
after approximating a straight line in the relationship of (E)
versus 3 in a graph plotted on a log-log scale.
Typical results of K and n for igneous, metamorphic and
sedimentary rocks were compiled by Kulhawi (1973) and are
reproduced here in Table 1. Additionally, typical results for rocks
encountered by Chilean mining are presented in Figure 4.
Figure 6 shows a reduction factor for the modulus
obtained in the laboratory as compared with the modulus
obtained in the field, as reported by other authors. The
reduction factor is expressed in terms of RQD
Correlation of (E)/RMR
Figure 7 shows the empirical correlation between (E) in
situ and RMR, as proposed by Serafim & Pereira (1983) and
Bieniawski (1978). This correlation takes on different
analytical expressions depending on the range of RMR
involved.

Correlation of (E)/GSI, (E)/Q and (E)/N

This author is unaware of any reports or proposals of
direct relationships between these indices and modulus (E).
However, procedures are given in the literature to associate
RMR with Q, GSI and N, which would make it possible to
overcome this limitation.

Figure 4: Increased Rigidity of the Modulus (E) with

Confinement (Krstulovic)

CORRELATIONS OF (E) WITH ROCK QUALITY INDICES

The literature on geomechanics contains formulae for

relating the modulus (E) with rock quality indices.

Correlation of (E)/RQD
Figure 5 shows an indirect correlation proposed by Sjogren
et al. (1979) to associate compressional velocity, Vp, with RQD.
The conversion of Vp to (E) is given by Figure 2.

Figure 6: Reduction Ratio for Modulus (E) in the Laboratory

(El) and in the Field (Em) as a Function of RQD.

Figura N5: Relacin entre Vp, Fracturas por Metro y

RQDPara Rocas Intrusivas, (Sjorgren)

Table 1
Summary of the Parameters K, n under Conditions of Confinement for Different Types of Rock
(Average values according to Kulhawi 1973)
Rock Type
Igneous Metamorphic Sedimentary
Plutonic Volcanic Unfolded Folded Clastic Chemical
K 683900 181400 398600 134900 62200 186400
N 0.03 0.12 0.02 0.19 0.20 0.17

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 247

 this figure, a color code is used in the results to show rocks
that have undergone degradation in their modulus value,
others that have not undergone any significant change, and
yet others that have had their rigidity strongly increased.
The degradation limits adopted are comparable to rocks
with an RQD of less than 25% or equivalent in-situ Vp, as
shown in Figure 2.

Figure 7: Empirical Correlation of (E)/RMR

SUGGESTIONS FOR ENGINEERING DESIGN WORK

ACCORDING TO ROCK QUALITY INDICES

In the opinion of this author, the rock quality indices now Figure 8: ALCODER Simulator Output with Variations in (E)
in use can make partial contributions to mine designs in the Resulting from Open-pit Excavation
conceptual, basic and detailed engineering stages.
Predictably, geomechanics professionals in the field make In the upper horizontal plan section of the ALCODER
use of one or another index depending on their availabilities Simulator, the output describes the
and requirements in order to derive relationships for direct location of materials in mine waste piles (RQD of less
use in their activities. than 25%) near the perimeter of the slope. In vertical profile,
By way of example , the "Cavability Number" index the occurrences of degraded zones under the rock subsoil
suggested by McMahond & Kendrik (1969) for the Climax, adjoining the upper topography are identified on the open-
Urad and Henderson mines, and by Krstulovic (1978) for the pit slope.
El Salvador mine, associates RQD with the additional The degraded rock in the subslope configuration was
explosives required for secondary blasting in mining by successfully verified in situ by means of an extensive
block caving. RQD is also used by Deere et al. (1969) and seismic profiling campaign. Figure 9 describes the seismic
Merrit (1972) as an index for estimating reinforcing required interpretation of these slopes.
for rock support.
The Q and N indices have been extensively used by
Hutchinson & Diederechs (1996) to estimate cable bolting
support requirements in tunnels and large underground
openings.
Laubscher (1977) has proposed numerous RMR relations
,and the modified MRMR to establish the geometric
configuration (hydraulic radius) of openings to be caved by
block caving. These indices have also been used to propose
a varied assortment of recommendations for the design
block caving mining infrastructure.
The practical use of all of these empirical suggestions in
mining is sufficient justification for an effort to be made to
associate the outputs of the analytical simulator with the
rock quality indices referred to above.

EXAMPLES OF APPLICATIONS TO UNDERGROUND

AND OPEN-PIT MINING

The results of ALCODER applications to mining deposits

of complex geometrical configurations are described below,
with an emphasis on determining slope failures in open-pit
mines, and abutment stress and collapses in underground
workings.

a) Slope Stability Conditions

Yaez & Moreno (1993) describe the use of ALCODER to
evaluate slope stability in large size deposits. RQD is the
quality index of reference.
Figure 8 shows a three-dimensional version of
ALCODER. The excavation process starts from an early
stage of the mine and extends until the date of the study. In
Figure 9: Seismic Profile Outputs in an Open-pit Mine (Bhen
1990)
The subslope configuration for degraded rocks provides
assurances of the safety of the mine because the only slope
failures that can arise under this configuration of

248 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

deteriorated rock can be retained by the berms used in geometry of the "hanging" wall. Figure 11 shows the results
these designs. obtained for different configurations of the back in a typical
tectonic environment. This figure leads to the following
b) Stability Conditions in Panel Caving underneath an conclusion:
Open Pit
METALICA Ing. (2001) evaluated stability conditions in "Abutment stress can be reduced by means of ore
projects calling for panel caving underneath existing open extraction policies that enhance the vertical geometry
pits. In this case, MRMR was used as a reference. of the hanging wall in the panel caving face."
Figure 10 shows an instant in the ALCODER sequence for
mining the advancing face in panel caving. The results are
shown as: (a) an upper plan section that includes the pit rim;
(b) a vertical profile that includes the pit slopes and the
panel caving face; (c) a horizontal plan section that includes
the level under caving.

Figure 11: Distribution of Abutment Stress. Tectonic

Figure 10: ALCODER for the Complex Plan Section Environment: Vertical 25 Mpa/Horizontal 30 Mpa
(a)/Profile (b)/ Plant Section (c) Output Example in the
Caving Sequence, 160 m height. The ALCODER Simulator also confirms the occurrence of
cracks in hanging wall rock. These cracks facilitate the
The rocks most affected have been degraded to a range separation of large volumes of rock that upon bearing down
of 20 or less in terms of MRMR index. At this quality they are on the back of production level openings bring about their
assumed to be suitable for caving from the back or the collapse.
hanging wall of the caving scheme. Figure 12 shows a schematic presentation of the
In the caving sequence given by ALCODER, the rocks in ALCODER results for panel caving with "hanging" geometry
the upper horizontal plan section (a) located near the pit rim in a mine that has experienced problems of collapse. This
do not undergo deterioration. The profile (b) shows the figure leads to the following conclusion:
caving wall with "hanging" geometry. This profile also
implies the formation of cracks in the rocks of the back of the "The events leading to damage by collapse can be
opening. These rocks, upon loosening, give rise to large reduced by means of an ore extraction policy that
blocks that cause the production level infrastructure to minimizes the horizontal projection of the hanging wall.
collapse. In plan section (c), which includes the production
level, the rocks show the effects of stress on the panel
caving face.
The "abutment stress," which gives rise to damage in front
of the face and the "collapse" that causes damage behind
the face, are the two major forms of undesired damage that
occur when using the panel caving method.
Panel caving mining practices combat the effects of
abutment stress by means of costly rock reinforcement.
Also, complicated mining sequences termed "prior caving"
have been used recently in an attempt to reduce such
damage.
For the problem of collapsing, established mining
practices do not have an established solution. The literature
cites cases of collapsing on production levels is such a way
as to necessitate the abandonment of large amounts of
mining reserves.
ALCODER, when used in this case, yields modifications Figure 12: Records of Collapses in a Mine Worked by Panel
of the confinement brought about in accordance with the Caving

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 249

 On account of all of the above, it is recommendable for
panel caving operations to investigate the spontaneous
progress of caving in their mines to determine the geometry
of the hanging wall at the mining face. An effective follow-up
of the progress of caving is very difficult to perform in situ,
but as an alternative it may be investigated through use of
ALCODER as discussed below.
c) Simulation of Progress of Caving (Computer
Animation)
METALICA Ing. (2002) studied the development of the
caving process for panel caving planned for mining on deep
levels near mine areas already caved. Figure 13 provides
an isometric view of the volume of rock studied. In this case,
the rock quality index used was RMR
Figure 13: Isometric View of the Volume of Rock Used for
study by Animation of Caving.
In principle, the mine plan included the development of a
tentative undercut to initiate caving. The ALCODER
Simulator then automatically deduces the rocks with
degraded (E) values comparable to an RMR range of 0-20.
The degraded rocks in this range that are located around
the perimeter of the back or hanging wall are assumed to
have caved and are removed from further consideration by
the Simulator.
As a result of this new condition, caving progresses in a
sequence in real time until it causes the collapse of the rock
on the surface.
Figure 14: Instantaneous View Produced by ALCODER in a
Caving Animation Sequence
250 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
When required, the ALCODER outputs make it possible to
construct a computer "animation" of the caving
phenomenon. Figure 14 shows a view of an instantaneous
portion of the entire output sequence.
The Simulator is assertive when it describes the formation
of cracks in the mountainous topography of the surface. The
fact that these cracks have been verified in situ conclusively
supports the reliability of the results obtained.
These results illustrate the following major points:
ALCODER makes it possible to verify the start and
progress of caving in accordance with the RMR/hydraulic
radius relation suggested by Laubscher.
ALCODER is a good alternative for use in formulating ore
extraction policies.
Using this methodology, the mine operator, who until now
was unaware of what was occurring in the cavity
undergoing caving, can now anticipate the required
geometry for the undercut in order to avoid "arching" on
the back or "hanging" walls.
CONCLUSIONS
ALCODER is an appropriate method to bring together for
use in one single interpretive effort the empirical and
analytical trends currently in use for the design of rock
excavations. Theoretically, ALCODER is based on making
use of the alteration that the deformation modulus (E) of
rocks undergoes under different states of confinement, a
subject that has been treated with sufficient backing in the
specialized literature. The development of large open pit
and underground excavations alter the confinement
conditions of rocks, thereby degrading the associated
deformation modulus or increasing its rigidity. The new
values of (E) obtained by ALCODER are associated directly
with the empirical rock quality indices. These same indices
can then be employed to suggest useful engineering
practices for mine designs.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author expresses his thanks for the facilities granted
by METALICA Ing. to reproduce practical results of
ALCODER in this paper.
REFERENCES
Barton N. et al. (1974). Engineering Classification of Rock
Masses for the Design of Tunnel Support. Rock Mech.,
Vol. 10.
Bhen G. (1990). Caracterizacin Geossmica de Rocas
en Taludes y Tneles. Revista Minerales. Inst. Ing. Minas
de Chile, Vol. 45 N 191
Deere D.U. et al. (1966). Engineering Classification and
Index Properties for Intact Rock. University of Illinois.
Contract AF 29(601)-6319
Hoek E. et al. (1997). Practical Estimates of Rock Mass
Strength. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and
Mining Science.
Hutchinson D.J. et al. (1996). Cablebolting in
Underground Mines. BiTech Publishers Ltd.
Jaeger J.C. et al. (1969). Fundamentals of Rock
Mechanics. Methuen & Co. Ltd. London.
Jambu N. (1963). Soil Compressibility as Determined by
Oedometer and Triaxial Test. Proceeding. European
Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Eng. Vol.
1 Weisbaden.
Krstulovic G. (1978). Relacin RQD y Tronadura
Secundaria en El Salvador. 2 Encuentro Nacional de
Mecnica de Rocas y Geomecnica. CIMM Stgo. Chile.
Massmin 2004
 Kulhawy F.H. (1973). Analysis of Underground Openings
in Rock by Finite Element Methods. Syracuse University
Contract H010023.
Laubscher D.H. (1977). Geomechanics Classification of
Jointed Rock Masses. Mining Applications. Trans. Inst.
Min. Metall. 86.
McMahon B.K. et al (1969). Predicting the Block Caving
Behavior of Ore Bodies. AIME 69-AU-51.
Metalica Ing. (2001). Geomecnica para el Diseo de
Explotacin Subterrnea en Panel Sur-Sur. CODELCO
Andina.
Metalica Ing. (2002). Anlisis Geomecnico Sector A-
Norte. CODELCO El Salvador.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Serafin J. & Pereira J.P. (1983). Consideration on the
Geomechanical Classification of Bieniawski. Proc. Int.
Symp. On Engineering Geology and Underground
Construction. Lisbon.
Potvin & Nickson (1992). Database of Unsupported
Stopes. Cablebolting in Underground Mines. BiTech
Publishers Ltd.
Sjogren et al. (1979). Seismic Classification of Rock
Mass. Geophysical Prospecting. 27.Yaez H.V. et al.
(1993). Metodologa de Anlisis para Evaluar Estabilidad
de Taludes de Gran Dimensin. Depto. Ing. Minas U. de
Chile. Degree Thesis.
251
 Modelling the progression of back and
wall caving in deep blasthole stope
failures at Kidd Mine using FLAC3D
Richard K Brummer, Christopher P. OConnor, Itasca Consulting Canada Inc., Canada
Graham Swan, Falconbridge Limited, Sudbury Mines/Mill Business Unit, Canada
Alex Henderson, Falconbridge Limited, Kidd Mine, Canada

Abstract
The Kidd Mine in Timmins, Ontario, operates the deepest blasthole stopes in the world, in an area of relatively high
horizontal stress. During 2003, back and hangingwall failures of several deep stopes started to occur. The back and
hangingwall failures appeared to be related to elevated levels of horizontal stress that initiated failure in locally weaker
wall rock units, and then caused post-failure displacements large enough to "push" the failed material into the stopes,
resulting in undesirable falls of ground and dilution. A field programme was undertaken to identify characteristics that
accentuated the failures, and in parallel a FLAC3D model was developed to mimic the observed failures. This FLAC3D
model is unique in that the geometry changes - following the evolution of failure and the progression of caved material
up into the back. Several innovative algorithms (using FLAC3Ds built-in FISH language) were developed to allow the
model to behave in the same way as the observed failures. After the model was calibrated, it was then used to
investigate the most important controlling factors that govern the back stability problem. This calibration and forward
prediction exercise allowed the mine to make the most cost-effective changes to the planned stope layouts to ensure
that subsequent stopes could be extracted in a controlled fashion.

1 INTRODUCTION decided that a FLAC3D model would in fact be capable

Falconbridges Kidd Mine currently produces from some
of the deepest blasthole stopes in the world, where little or
no empirical geomechanical design data exist. In this
technically challenging situation, a reliable stope design
methodology with the capability to mitigate risk and
exposure to ground control related production interruptions
is highly desirable. Such a methodology should be capable
of considering, on a stope-by-stope basis, all of the
following:
Spatial variability of rock mass strength in proximity to
stope backs and walls;
Intersecting and adjacent faults;
Overstressing effects caused by proximity to sill pillars
and abutments;
The general depth effect of increasing stress;
Stope sequencing, with single and multiple lead stopes;
Effectiveness of secondary ground support systems such
as cablebolts;
Stope excavation geometry effects relating to
primary/secondary stope width, panel length, sub-level
height;
Undercut hangingwalls associated with blasthole slotting;
Time-dependency of stope back/wall stability with 3-
6month mining cycles;
The stabilizing effect of backfill.
At the feasibility stage, the Kidd Mine lower stope
walls and backs were substantially designed using a
variation of the Stability Graph method, justified on the
basis of the limited data available at the time (Tannant
and Dieterichs, 1997). With development access and
production now underway and the ability to observe
actual stoping conditions, including the unexpected
caving of a number of primary stopes, a more powerful
tool was sought to account for the factors noted above
and to explain the mechanism(s) driving failures. It was
of fulfilling this objective, provided a reasonably
complete structural, geological and geometrical
description of the stable and failing stopes could be
obtained to calibrate the model.
2 DESCRIPTION OF FAILURES
Kidd Mine began blasthole stoping operations in the
mining block below the 6000ft level in early 2001 with
20m wide stopes and 35m sub-levels (back to floor),
see Figure 1. By mid-2002, while still in the primary
mining phase and 2 or 3 lifts away from sill break-
through, the back of 63-745 stope began caving in the
back and hangingwall, see Figure 2. Over the following
18 months five more primary stopes caved extensively
up through several levels, while others experienced a
degree of local overbreak and spalling. While some of
these caving events were accompanied by flurries of
microseismic activity, indicting the influence of high
stress and fault-slip type mechanisms, it was generally
agreed that rockbursting alone could not explain the
large-scale extent of these failures.
A systematic summary of the stoping performance logic
for the entire block was compiled, Table 1. This shows
that, out of a total of 20 mined stopes between 6200ft and
6800ft levels, 6 hangingwall panels caved extensively in
both back and hangingwall, 4 hangingwall panels caved
locally in back or hangingwall and only 1 footwall panel
caved locally in the back. Other information available to
the calibration process included extensive stope Cavity
Monitoring Survey (CMS) data and diamond drill core
logs, the latter examined for poor RQD values and fault
intersections and plotted in the 3-D space of the planned
stoping layouts. An example of this exercise is shown in
Figure 3 where the coincidence of low contours of RQD
and faulting with the occurrence of stope hangingwall
failure was not without significance.

252 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Figure 3: RQD contour and fault map +/- 5m on the 6400ft
level showing the affected hangingwall panels.

Table 1: Logic associated with caving/stability

in the primary stopes of the mining block.

Stope Panel back H/W Panel Cave

# RQD Zone x Width Back H/W

64-785 H/W Good No 20x20 No No

64-901 H/W Poor No 12x20 No No
64-786 F/W Good No 25x20 No No
64-822 F/W Good No 25x20 No No
64-822 F/W Good No 25x20 No No
68-841 H/W Good No 40x20 No No
68-845 F/W Good No 25x20 No No
Figure 1: Longitudinal view of Kidd Lower Mine, with caving 68-881 H/W Good No 35x20 No No
stopes outlined (above); plan view of 6700L showing 64-746 F/W Good No 20x20 Yes No
planned stope outline and mapped faults (below). 64-805 H/W Good Yes 30x20 No 5m corner
64-821 H/W Good No 25x20 No 5m corner
67-841 H/W Good No 25x20 No 5m corner
64-745 H/W Good Yes 25x20 No 5m corner
63-822 H/W Good No 40x20 Yes 5m corner
68-765 H/W Good Yes 35x20 3m 5m corner
dome
67-765 H/W Good Yes 30x20 5m Upper
dome 20 m
67-805 H/W Poor Yes 25x20 Yes Upper
20 m
63-785 H/W Good Yes 20x20 5m Upper
dome 20 m
63-745 H/W Good Yes 25x20 5m Upper
dome 20 m
66-765 H/W Poor No 20x20 ? ?

3 FLAC3D MODEL DEVELOPMENT

A FLAC3D model was built to characterise the behaviour

Figure 2: Section through 67-805 stope showing the
characteristic failure into the upper hangingwall back and
the hangingwall.
of the caving mechanism at Kidd Mine. To reproduce
discontinuous behaviour (caving) in a continuum model
(FLAC3D), a significant effort is first required to establish a
set of failure criteria that will adequately describe the caving
process itself, followed by the development of customized
FISH routines to replicate this behaviour (FISH is a the
programming language used by the Itasca codes). There

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 253

were four key criteria that were used in this study to define
the shape and extent of the caving:
Strain in a block;
Vertical displacement of a block;
Minimum principal stress component in the block;
A free path into which a block can fall.

The Kidd Mine models geometry was designed to include

sill conditions such as exist above 6400ft and 6000ft levels,
as well as the abutments of the mining block itself. A large
region discretized into 2mx2mx2m blocks was used to
provide sufficient resolution in the area of interest. These
blocks were all angled to match the dip of the orebody. In
addition to ore geometry, the model also distinguished
between the two orebodies at Kidd: the Massive Sulphide
and the Copper Zone, each with its unique set of rock
properties.
In running the model, an overall loop function was used to
determine if a block should be removed (i.e. cave) or not. At
the beginning of each step, this loop checked to see if the
strain, displacement, and stress criteria were met (all three
must be met to proceed). If the block met these three
criteria, the model then checked to see if in fact the block
had a free path to fall. When all four criteria were met, the
model automatically deleted the block, removing it from
further calculation steps. As the number of steps increased,
the number of blocks deleted also increased (assuming the
model predicted caving), resulting in the formation of a
caving front.
To "fine tune" this modelling process, an extensive
calibration exercise was conducted in order to find the best
set of parameters giving the strongest correlation to the
available CMS data. Eventually, after this exercise
produced reasonable agreement with Table 1 for a small Figure 4: Cross-section of 63-745 stope, with the caved
sample of stopes, it was expanded to include all of the region noted by the hatching in the hangingwall.
stopes in the entire mining block. Examples taken from
some of these calibration stopes will now be examined in
some detail.

3.1 Example results from calibrated models

The 63-745 stope falls within the massive sulphide region
of the orebody. The rock properties in the modelling are
taken directly from previous modelling conducted for the
mine (Andrieux, Brummer & Zhu, 2003). Figure 4 shows 63-
745 stope and the shape of the caved zone based upon
CMS data. In this particular stope, a weak shear zone in the
hangingwall was of special interest and was treated
explicitly in the FLAC model to account for the depth of
caving into the hangingwall itself. Note that the failure in the
back of the stope was limited to the corner along the
hangingwall contact.
Figure 5 shows the same stope as modelled in FLAC3D.
The caved shape closely matches the CMS data with the
shear zone being the focal point of the failure. Additionally,
part of the hangingwall has failed and the failure in the back
of the stope is mainly limited to the corner adjacent to the
hangingwall contact.
In a second example, Figure 6 shows a CMS section of
63-822 stope (which is in the Copper Zone of the orebody).
The failure in this stope had a very different shape with a
dome being formed that advanced vertically from the back.
Figure 7 shows the same stope as modelled in FLAC3D.
The only difference in the model for this stope is a change
in rock properties to reflect the contrast of the Copper Zone
rock behaviour compared to the Massive Sulphides, and the
lack of a shear zone on the hangingwall. It is interesting to Figure 5: Half-section of the FLAC3D model of 63-745
note that none of the criteria for caving in this model were stope after running through the customized caving model.
altered to reproduce this result despite the significant
difference in the caving shape.

254 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 6: Cross-section of 63-822 stope, with the caved
region again shown in the hatched region.
Figure 7: Half-section of the FLAC3D model for 63-822
stope showing the same progressive dome shape
geometry to the cave as from the CMS.
4 PARAMETRIC STUDY - IDENTIFICATION
OF CONTROLLING FACTORS
After the FLAC3D model showed a satisfactory degree of
calibration against the known behaviour of stopes with failed
and stable walls and backs, it was then used to investigate
the significance of each controlling factor. This was done
using the measured stope behaviour, as well as stope
behaviour predicted by the model. The first stage in the
process was to identify the factors that were considered to
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
be the most important in controlling stope wall and back
behaviour. These controlling factors were:
Stress Level (3 levels)
Weak H/W Shear (Yes/No)
Rock Quality of Stope Back (3 levels)
Stope Width (10m, 15m, 20m or 25m)
Panel Length (15m, 20m or 30m)
Ground Support Level (3 levels)
Ore Type (4 types)
Stope Time Open (<60d, 100d, 180d)
Depth (4000, 6000, 6800 or 7400ft)
Stope Type (FW Panel or HW Panel)
Even though there are relatively few possibilities for each
factor, the total number of potentially different stope types or
combinations of factors is very large (since
3234334342 = 62,208). For this reason, and
because each simulation took several hours of computer
time, a limited number of FLAC3D simulations were carried
out to match the actual stopes that had been mined, and for
which data was available (Table 1). These analyses were
augmented with additional hypothetical situations of
interest. This resulted in a pool of 53 different cases of stope
geometry and condition that were used to build a predictor
of stope performance. The parameter used for assessing
stope performance was the number of tonnes of caved
material, either through measurement or prediction using
the calibrated model.
It was postulated that there exists a relationship between
the individual factors and the tonnes of caved material as
follows:
Tonnes Caved = C [aiFi]
where:
C is some constant;
Fi are risk factors that can be taken by each parameter;
ai are unknown measures of the relative importance of
each parameter;
P is the function of the various factors.
In order to determine the relationship between the
individual controlling factors and the tonnes of caved
material measured or predicted, one simply plots the value
of the proposed function against the caved tonnes. But one
can take this relationship one step further - if the factors ai
are regarded as unknowns, one can find the values of ai that
minimise the sum of the squares of the error between the
predicted and actual caved tonnes. This procedure
amounts to an n-dimensional potential minimisation
problem, where the ai are co-ordinate variables in an n-
dimensional space.
Values of the relative importance of each of the controlling
parameters (penalty factors), based on best estimates of
actual stope behaviour are shown in Table 2.
The relationship between the failure predictor and the
tonnes of caved material (after sum of squares error
minimisation) is shown in Figure 8. Also shown in this figure
are two best-fit lines, one for short-term stope behaviour
and one for the long-term (6 month) stope behaviour. This
was simulated by adjusting the cycle time of the FLAC3D
model, it being noted in practice, that stopes standing open
for long time periods continue to cave. The FLAC3D model
also continues to cave if it is allowed to continue running,
enabling us to establish an approximate relationship
between a FLAC3D step and a real time step.
5 RISK ASSESSMENT OF REMAINING STOPES
After the above procedure was carried out, the sum of
squares minimisation automatically indicated the most
255
 Table 2: Relative importance of the controlling changed. Ore type, rock quality, and depth for example
factors, after sum of squares minimisation cannot easily be adjusted, whereas the stope geometry
(width, panel size) and support are under mining control.
Mining Stress H/W Fault Back Quality From Table 2 it is apparent that the most important factors
capable of being changed are panel length (757%), stope
1 100% NO 100% 50% 240% width (314%) and stope support (293%). The importance of
panel length was unexpected, but very welcome, since it
2 177 YES 174% 70% 170%
was relatively easy to change panel length, but more difficult
3 255% 90% 100% to make the required changes to the level layout to
accommodate different stope widths. It was also
255% 174% 240%
appreciated that supporting the stope backs using cable
bolts would have an important positive effect on stope back
Time Open (days) Panel Length (m) Ground Support stability. These two factors were therefore adopted as the
most critical factors to change in order to mitigate the stope
<60 100% 15 100% 1 293%
back and wall stability problems in the deep production
100 125% 20 428% 2 197% levels at Kidd Mine.
180 150% 30 757% 3 100% Also arising from the analyses was a "Black Box" predictive
model, capable of making a best estimate prediction using all
150% 757% 293% available data of the likely performance of future stopes. In
order to use the predictive model, it is simply necessary to
Ore Type Stope Width (m) Depth input the controlling factors for the stope in question, and the
"Black Box" predictor will indicate the number of tonnes of
GW 38% 10 100% 4000 69% caved material to be expected. If this caved material predicted
MS 100% 15 157% 6000 100% is less than 2,000 tonnes, this is regarded as "zero caved
material" because it is supportable with typical stope back
SO 38% 20 188% 6800 187% support (rebars). If however the prediction of caved material
38% 314% 2553% is unacceptable, it is possible to investigate the effect of
actions such as panelling with shorter panel lengths or
installing stope back cable bolts.
Stope Type Work is currently in progress to use this predictor to
FW 100% develop hazard numbers for future planned stopes, in order
to ensure that future mining delays are correctly planned for,
HW 359% and that sufficient productive stopes are available to prevent
359% production shortfalls.

6 CONCLUSIONS

As production at Falconbridges Kidd Mine has derived

increasingly from depths greater than 6000 ft (1800m), the
old empirical stope design methodologies have been found
wanting: little or no data exist and the many potential
variables contributing to failure cannot be "weighed". This is
in the face of ever demanding mining business economics,
where the adequacy and confidence of a stope design to
achieve budget with well-stated risk factors is necessary for
survival. In this paper a new, more rigorous approach to
blasthole stope design using FLAC3D has been described
that addresses these design limitations, providing a means
to derive confidence in a better reasoned stope risk
assessment.
In examining the general failure mechanisms associated
with a number of caving blasthole stopes at Kidd Mine, the
evidence pointed to a combination of weak hangingwall and
back ground conditions, exploited by increased stress due
to depth. Contributing design factors in order of importance
were found to be:
Excessive panel lengths of up to 30m
Excessive stope width of 20m
Inadequate ground support
Time to cycle stope

Of these, all but stope width are capable of being changed

Figure 8: Relationship between short-term and long-term
failure predictors after sum of squares error minimisation.
important controlling parameters, since these have the
highest numerical values. This was of great importance to
the mine, since the stope back caving problem had to be
addressed in the most effective and economical way. The
controlling parameters in Table 2 are not all capable of being
within the existing mine design, leading to an expectation
that the mines current instability problems can be mitigated
with depth.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the following Kidd
Mine staff who all made significant contributions to the

256 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

development of the model reported in this paper: Dave
Counter, Wayne David, Norm Disley, Damian Duff, Doug
MacPhee, Arie Moerman, Bill Mracek, Ed Pietersee, Jerry
Ran, Dave Richardson, Paul Roos, Shawn Seldon, Mike
Thompson, Chris Wright and to Alex Henderson for initiating
the project. Ken Liu of Noranda/Falconbridge also provided
valuable input on stope caving data at the start of the
project.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
REFERENCES
Tannant, A.A. and Dieterichs, M.S. (1997). Cablebolt
Optimization in #3 Mine. G.R.C./Laurentian University
Report to Kidd Mine, Sudbury, Sept., 55p.
Andrieux, P.P., R. K. Brummer & H. Zhu (2003). Numerical
Stress Analyses of Various Mining Sequences and
Geomechanics Considerations at the Falconbridge Kidd
#3 Mine - Phase II and Mine D, Itasca Consulting Canada,
Inc. Report to Falconbridge Limited, Kidd Mining Division,
August, 2003.
257
 Operational geotechnics in sub-level
caving in high stress regimes
John T. Keogh, Keogh Geotechnical Consulting Pty Ltd, Perth, WA, Australia
Peter R. OBryan, Peter O'Bryan & Associates, Perth, WA, Australia

Abstract
Three case histories are used to examine the geotechnical issues related to development and operation of sub-level
caves in naturally occurring and mining-induced high rock stress regimes. Understanding the responses of the ore zone
and the adjacent rock mass to caving is crucial to successful sub-level caving. The studies show that predicting likely
changes in responses with time and cave advance is equally crucial to maintaining continuous ore production. Design
of ground reinforcement and support schemes must be based on the expected maximum loading conditions. The
support schemes must be compatible with future ground movement and be of sufficient capacity to maintain the integrity
of the opening for safe access. The timing of development and installation of support can also be critical to the
effectiveness of this caving method. Reduced resource availability and production interruptions can significantly increase
costs. Thus development to ensure efficient, continuous production may require use of high-cost support schemes to
minimise needs for rehabilitation. Experiences with numerous reinforcement and support methods in different ground
and stress conditions are discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION The initial new development, based on 15m sub-level

The effectiveness of sub-level caving (SLC) relies highly
on uninterrupted production. Failure to make adequate
allowance for the potentially adverse influence of high rock
stresses, whether due to high ambient stresses or induced
by mining, can lead to delays, high rehabilitation costs and
ore loss.
It is important to understand how the stress regime will be
changed by proposed mining, and how mine openings will
respond to these changes. In particular it is crucial that SLC
production drifts are reinforced and supported to a level
which is commensurate with maintaining stability adequate
for mining under the expected ultimate loading conditions.
Data pertaining to local rock stresses and structural
geological and geotechnical conditions are thus essential to
SLC operations.
The timing and sequencing of development and SLC
production also need to account for expected rock stress
conditions and should be based around reducing the time of
exposure to adverse conditions and achieving maximum
effectiveness from ground control schemes.
Costs disbursed in rehabilitation of damaged SLC drifts
and brows can be expected to exceed those incurred in
installing the required comprehensive support during
development.
2 CASE STUDIES
The following case studies clearly demonstrate the need
to recognise and accommodate ultimate loading conditions
in order to maintain continuous production in an SLC
operation. The fundamental details of the case study
orebodies and mines are listed in Table 1 and Table 2.
2.1 Case Study A
Mine A, exploiting a large disseminated ultramafic (dunite)
hosted nickel sulphide orebody, was initially operated from
1977 to 1986, at which time it was placed on care and
maintenance. Mining was recommenced in 1990.
The newly planned productive mining was based on an
SLC system. The following sections describe key aspects of
the evolution of development and ground support methods
used from recommencement of stoping to late 1997.
intervals, was between ~375m (1145 Level) and 500m
(1030 Level) below surface. The previous mine owner had
partially extracted the higher grade (>2% Ni) ore located at
the northern end of this block of the disseminated orebody.
Development in the upper levels (1145, 1130, and 1115
Levels) was thus concentrated at the southern end of the
deposit. Transverse production drifts were used for these
sub-levels.
The mine plan required 4.5m wide by 4.5m high
cross-cuts to be developed from the hangingwall drive
to the orebody footwall position. Footwall drives would
then be developed to connect the cross-cuts and enable
future establishment of production slots between sub-
levels.
As cross-cuts were advanced by electric hydraulic
jumbos, weld mesh (5mm diameter wires at 100mm
spacings) and friction stabiliser bolts (2.4m long) were
installed across the backs and half way down the sidewalls.
Sprayed concrete (shotcrete) support which had been used
during previous mining in the adjacent development was
considered to be too costly.
Ground control issues that arose early during the second
phase of stoping consisted of:
Extensive unravelling of the rock mass within the
hangingwall contact zone
The hangingwall contact between felsic volcanic
hangingwall rocks and the dunite ultramafics comprised a
major shear zone up to ~15m wide. The felsic volcanic rock
mass was intensely fractured and contained thick seams of
clay gouge. The ultramafic contained numerous mylonitic
shears up to ~1m wide.
Unravelling would commence immediately after each
development cut. During installation of the friction bolts and
mesh, rock mass unravelling was exacerbated by the
effects of drilling and hammering of the bolts into the rock
mass. Due to the inability to tightly pin the mesh against the
rock mass, unravelling would continue until the mesh was
filled with loose rocks.
The very poor rock mass conditions encountered at the
southern end of the orebody prompted a change in drift
layout from transverse to longitudinal in an effort to avoid the
hangingwall shear.

258 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Table 1: Case Study Orebody & Mine characteristics

Orebody Characteristics Mine A Mine B Mine C

Host Rock Ultramafic Mafic Sediment Schist
Strike Length 200m 300m 300m 500m 700m
(~ north-south) (~ north-south) (~ north-south)
Width 100m 30m 35m
Dip 75 75 75
Production Layout Transverse Longitudinal Longitudinal
(some transverse)
Sub-level Interval 15m 22m 25m 25m
Cross-cut/Drive Spacing 14m - 17.5m 11m 12.5m
Cross-cut/Drive Sizes 4.8m x 4.8m 5.0m x 5.0m 4.5m x 4.5m

Table 2: Rock stress regimes at Case Study Mines

Mine Principal Stresses Magnitude (MPa) Plunge () Azimuth ()

Mine A (770m depth) Major 111 49 166

Intermediate 83 19 278
Minor 65 35 022
Mine B(600m depth) Major 44 0 050
Intermediate 27 0 140
Minor 18 90
Mine C (600m depth) Major 86 10 266
Intermediate 38 29 170
Minor 31 59 014

Large wedge failures from the backs of the development
Away from the hangingwall contact, large block/wedge
failures occurred from the backs of production drifts. The
blocks were defined by the intersections of persistent
geological structures which had been exposed by formation
of the openings.
Large spans formed at the intersection of the cross-cuts
and footwall drives were particularly prone to block failure
during development.
Time dependent rock mass deterioration
Relatively shortly after developing the three upper sub-
levels it was clearly apparent that the rock mass was
deteriorating with time. Friction bolts were being ruptured
close behind the rock surface.
SLC development at this stage was characterised by
excessive overbreak, particularly from the backs of the
cross-cuts. Loosening within the rock mass was deemed to
be excessive.
Approximately four years following resumption of
operations, with mining still taking place in the upper levels,
there was a fundamental change in the approach to the
mining and support of SLC development. It was concluded
that the previous approach would not provide sufficiently
stable cross-cuts, in particular production brows, to allow a
sustainable high SLC production rate.
The level and intensity of support installed in the SLC
development was significantly increased. Later
development openings were systematically supported floor
to floor with mesh-reinforced fibrecrete (shotcrete reinforced
with steel fibres), and reinforced with 5m long 250kN
cablebolts installed in rings containing 13 to 15 cablebolts,
spaced either 1.2m or 2.5m apart, depending on local rock
mass conditions. This ground control scheme significantly
reduced overbreak and improved SLC brow conditions for
continuous production.
All earlier development had to be rehabilitated as best
as practicably possible to the new ground support
standard. The majority of this development had
fibrecrete sprayed directly over the installed mesh and
down to floor level. The lower sidewalls had fibrecrete
applied directly onto the rock surface. Cablebolts were
also installed through the fibrecrete using the above
described scheme.
Due to the time lag between initial development and the
upgrade in the level of ground support and reinforcement,
ground control issues still occurred in this rehabilitated
development. These included:
Large scale failure in cross-cuts
Some of the cross-cuts experienced large scale back
and/or wall failures (up to several metres deep) even when
rehabilitated. These crosscuts were deemed to be
unsuitable for SLC drill and blast and/or draw control and
were abandoned and backfilled.
Poor SLC brow conditions
Due to the high yield capacity of the friction bolts and the
limited confinement provided by the weld mesh, the rock
mass around the drift opening deformed readily.
Rehabilitation was thus often installed after large
deformations had occurred. The main problems
experienced in these situations were dislocation and
blockage of blastholes and loss of brows.
The required rehabilitation works were extensive, and
were undertaken simultaneously with an increase in
production rate; hence the program was very difficult to
manage.
During 1997 a decision was made to establish a new SLC
mining area at a lower level, commencing at ~600m (920
Level) below surface. SLC mining of the upper block would
be completed at ~500m (1000 Level) below surface. The

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 259

920 Level required development of 19 cross-cuts up to
100m long. A hangingwall drive had been established
several years before, thereby allowing multiple face cross-
cut development. Stoping was planned to retreat from the
southernmost cross-cuts.
The major geotechnical issue with establishment of the
lower caving area was the adverse influence of
(unexpected) very high rock stresses on the new
development. Even with the new ground support regime,
significant damage was experienced, and the rate and
extent of damage to the cross-cuts increased with time.
Cross-cuts experienced rapid sidewall closure due to the
highly fractured rock mass dilating (bulking up) behind the
mesh reinforced fibrecrete layer. The competence of the
cross-cut backs also decreased with degradation of the drift
pillars. It became clear that the intensive ground support
could not prevent the cross-cuts being damaged
extensively. A number of factors must be recognised and
accounted for in such a situation:
Prioritisation of sub-level development and reducing sub-
level service life
The initial stages of development on the 920 Level
focused more on developing the entire level rather than only
in the southern area that was to come into production first.
The complexity of the development and ground support was
such that it was easier to manage if spread out, rather than
concentrated in a particular area. As a consequence, many
of the cross-cuts had to remain open for extended periods
of time while adjacent cross-cuts were completed, and the
initial cross-cuts had to be rehabilitated several times. One
cross-cut had to be abandoned due to extreme wall closure.
As a result a just in time approach was adopted when
developing cross-cuts.
Importance of immediate remediation
During mining of the 920 Level several of the cross-cuts
experienced major back failures. Rather than immediately
rehabilitating, or attempting to recover a cross-cut, there
was a tendency to delay action for several weeks or months.
At the same time, the adjacent cross-cuts were being
advanced, leaving the affected cross-cut lagging by up to
tens of metres. Production could not commence until all
cross-cuts were completed; hence the cross-cuts completed
earlier would have to remain open for an extended period of
time, giving rise to the possibility of disturbance and
damage.
It was therefore imperative that high priority was given to
rehabilitation of cross-cuts which had experienced major
failure.
Timing of the installation of rock reinforcement and
support
The objective of the ground support scheme was to
control the rate and extent of rock mass deformation
within the cross-cut development sufficiently to allow
production to be completed (i.e. consumption of the drive
by the SLC).
Delaying installation of ground support and reinforcement
frequently led to ground support and reinforcement not
being installed to the minimum standard, simply due to
sections of development being overlooked and/or poor
allocation of resources.
Generally, as the quantity of development that had not
been completed to standard increased, so did the difficulty
in managing the work force and equipment to undertake the
work and "catch up" to the schedule.
At some stage all new development had to be stopped
and resources re-allocated in order that a "catch up" phase
of ground support and reinforcement could be undertaken
on the older development.
260 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Greater difficulties were experienced in installing the rock
reinforcement (rock bolts and cablebolts) due to holes
becoming blocked/dislocated following movement of the
rock mass.
Installation problems almost invariably increased if rock
reinforcement was not installed progressively with drilling
(i.e. rock and cablebolts had to be installed immediately
after completion of drilling individual holes).
2.2 Case Study B
Underground mining at Mine B commenced in late 1989
after completion of an ~80m deep open pit. Gold
mineralisation was contained in a mafic conglomerate
between an ultramafic hangingwall and a meta-sediment
footwall. Underground mining at Mine B was completed in
2002 at a final depth of ~700m below surface.
SLC was chosen to extract the Mine B orebody
predominantly due to its width, relatively low grade (<4g/t)
and a weak hangingwall rock mass consisting of an
ultramafic conglomerate and talc-carbonate altered
ultramafic flow units.
During the life of the mine longitudinal sub-level layouts
were predominant, with ~5m square drives developed from
a central cross-cut. The width of the orebody usually
required 2 or 3 longitudinal drives to be developed on each
sub-level, with drives separated by 5m to 6m wide pillars.
Transverse production drifts were used on three sub-levels.
The vertical interval between sub-levels was 25m.
Generally ground conditions in the upper mine (to ~200m
below surface) were very favourable for SLC mining,
probably due to the inherently good rock mass quality of the
mafic conglomerate. Friction bolting of backs and walls was
the major form of rock reinforcement installed within the ore
development in the upper levels. Some intersection spans
were cablebolted.
As mining approached ~200m below surface, mining-
induced rock mass deterioration became apparent,
particularly along the walls of the longitudinal drives during
the final stages of SLC retreat to the central accesses. It
therefore became a standard ground support practice to
install mesh over the backs and down the walls in these
areas.
In the intermediate levels of the mine (200m to 500m
below surface) friction bolting and meshing became the
minimum ground support standard for all ore development
backs and sidewalls. Expansion shell anchor bolts were
also installed in some development. Overall, ground
conditions remained favourable for SLC.
At ~500m below surface (910 Level) mining-induced
stresses concentrated under the caving zone were causing
significant damage to ore development, including intense
fracturing of the development backs and shearing and
buckling of sidewalls. Development was being
systematically friction bolted (2.4m long) and meshed over
the backs and down the walls to within ~1.5m to 2m of the
floor. The friction bolts were being full-column cement
grouted to increase their load transfer capacity.
Increases in mining-induced changes to rock mass
conditions with increased mining depth were making
management of SLC progressively more difficult:
An excessive amount of time was required to unblock
blastholes. Some sections of drive backs had to be
stripped to remove up to 3m of broken rock, so that the
blastholes could be located.
Rockfalls were occurring due to failure of some of the
cement grouted friction bolts, which typically ruptured
within close proximity to the collar.
Slashing rings were frequently required to remove rock
bridges and to re-establish brows.
The rock mass exposed in sidewalls tended to unravel
from behind the mesh, typically commencing below the
Massmin 2004
 mesh level and propagating upwards. Locally mesh also
ruptured due to bulking up of the rock mass.
Rehabilitation of drives was required continuously.
The increasing level of damage clearly indicated the need
for change in ground support and reinforcement methods
and procedures to enable uninterrupted SLC production.
The major changes implemented included installation of 3m
long full-column cement grouted thread bars into drive
backs and sidewalls requiring rehabilitation. The thread bars
installed in sidewalls were partially de-bonded.
Some of the new development that was planned to be
used to perform extended cave draw (to muck ore "lost" on
upper sub-levels) was supported with mesh reinforced
fibrecrete followed by rock bolting with thread bars. In
addition to maintaining the integrity of the development the
fibrecrete was particularly important for preventing
excessive brow erosion and protecting cross-cut pillar
corners from damage commonly inflicted by LHDs.
By upgrading the level of rock reinforcement and support,
it was possible to reduce the level of rehabilitation required
in the ore drives prior to and during production. Later sub-
level development which incorporated the use of fibrecrete
performed exceptionally well.
2.3 Case Study C
The final phase of underground mining at Mine C
commenced in 1994 with establishment of a decline from
within an open pit that had been mined between 1988 and
1995.
A core and shell stoping method was used initially;
however, the method was changed to longitudinal SLC
relatively early in the life of the underground (which was
inferred to be due to excessive stress damage in pillars).
Due to the long strike length (>800m) and relatively narrow
width (>30m) of the orebody, a longitudinal layout with 1 or
2 ore drives was used. On each level the ore drives were
generally accessed via several cross-cuts developed from a
footwall haulage drive.
Even at relatively shallow depths below surface (<500m)
it became evident that mining was being carried out in a
very high stress environment. This was evidenced by
extensive damage to drives and high levels of seismic
activity. Ground support and reinforcement schemes used in
the mine varied considerably up until the occurrence of
several large magnitude seismic events. The seismicity
hazard was managed by:
Installing (inferred) seismic-resistant ground support and
reinforcement within the ore drives and in access
development to within a pre-determined distance of the
orebody. All development would be friction bolted,
meshed (7mm diameter wires at 100mm spacings) and
cone bolted (1.8m and 3m bolt lengths) to within ~1.5m of
the floor.
Implementation of "Exclusion Zones" whereby production
areas would be designated "No Entry" for a set period of
time after production blasts. To enable production to be
undertaken during periods of exclusion, the mine relied
heavily on the use of tele-remote LHDs.
Even though large quantities of rock reinforcement and
support were installed, SLC conditions continued to be very
poor up until conclusion of mining in 2003.
Prior to the mine closure, a major change to the ground
support regime was made in an effort to better manage
deformation of drive walls and hence reduce rehabilitation
costs and delays. The following sections describe the
change and the results achieved.
The effectiveness of the mesh in preventing excessive
loosening and unravelling of the rock mass was limited due
to inherent difficulties in tightly pinning the stiff heavy gauge
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
mesh against the irregular rock surface, and the fact that the
lower part of the sidewalls were not meshed. This was
because mesh installed along the lower half of the sidewalls
was progressively torn away during production bogging,
especially when operating tele-remote LHDs.
Due to the lack of confinement provided by the ground
support, the lower wall rock mass would unravel,
undercutting and destabilising the upper section of the wall.
Pillar corners, such as those formed at the intersection of
cross-cuts and ore drives, were also highly susceptible to
progressive damage during production bogging. In this
situation the only action taken was to halt the production
cycle to allow installation of new mesh, which almost
invariably would have to be replaced at a later stage.
Based on experience at Mines A and B, it was decided to
fibrecrete the lower sections of drive sidewalls, including
pillar corners at several locations, on the remaining sub-
levels at the mine. Prior to applying fibrecrete the lower
walls were re-meshed with a lighter gauge mesh (5mm
diameter wires at 100mm spacings) which could be tightly
pinned against the rock mass with friction bolts. After the
mesh was encapsulated by the fibrecrete, cone bolts were
installed. The toughness of the mesh-reinforced fibrecrete
made it less susceptible to LHD-inflicted damage and
significantly reduced the amount of rehabilitation required
during production.
3 CONCLUSIONS
The major conclusions drawn from the three SLC case
studies are:
Knowledge of the pre-mining stress regime and
geological and geotechnical conditions, and hence
ground response to mining, is critical to developing a
sound SLC strategy.
When SLC mining progresses into a high rock stress
environment, established ground support schemes,
typically based on mesh and rock bolts, cannot be relied
upon to prevent the rock mass from deteriorating to the
extent that systematic (uninterrupted) SLC production
becomes very difficult and considerably more costly.
Delay in and/or resistance to implementing an increase in
installed ground support capacity will increase the drive
length requiring rehabilitation and place a greater strain
on available mine resources.
The unforgiving nature of high rock stress environments
dictates that development be undertaken in a timely
manner as no amount of ground support can prevent the
deterioration of drive conditions. In a worst case scenario,
development can become unusable if left open too long.
Thus, sub-level drives must be developed on an as-
required, "just in time" basis. Development of drives in
advance of requirements must be avoided.
Ground control problems within production drives/cross-
cuts must be dealt with as soon as is practicable (ideally
immediately), otherwise operations will almost inevitably
be delayed.
SLC difficulties will tend to increase drastically with time
delays. The longer it takes to complete production, the
more developed drives will be subject to high stresses;
potentially resulting in higher levels of damage, leading to
increased requirements for rehabilitation.
The relatively high cost of fibrecrete, compared to mesh
and bolts, generally meant that Mine Management
considered it as the "last resort" for controlling
deteriorating ground conditions. Mesh alone cannot
provide adequate support where rock mass conditions will
continue to deteriorate with time. It is easily damaged by
the rock mass deformation and from LHD impacts.
Rehabilitation of mesh installations can add significantly
to the cost of mining.
261
 To achieve optimal effectiveness, ground reinforcement
and support should be installed as soon as practical. In
the case of grouted rockbolts, installation problems
arising due to hole blockages will tend increase with time.
Changes to the rock stress regime as the SLC extends
typically increase the demand on rock reinforcement and
support elements. While it may not be possible to identify
the exact nature of the changes in ground response, it is
essential to recognise that conditions will deteriorate with
increased depth and time.
The writers consider that it is possible, by analysis of
appropriate geotechnical data and close observation of
performance, to maintain uninterrupted production by
applying progressively higher capacity support schemes as
mining depth increases.
262 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The timing and sequencing of development and SLC
production must also be considered carefully to minimise
exposure to adverse conditions and achieve maximum
effectiveness from installed ground support. Costs can be
controlled by installation of comprehensive ground control
during development.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writers are grateful to the mining companies at whose
operations the works were performed and to the many
colleagues involved in the work on which the case studies
are based.
Massmin 2004
 Geotechnical events leading to closure
of an underground crusher chamber
Husni Arman Sahupala, Geotechnical Engineer, Tad Szwedzicki, Superintendent,
Underground Geotechnical Engineering, PT Freeport Indonesia

Abstract
Propagation of the zone of caving influence over the Deep Ore body Zone (DOZ) Mine affected ground conditions on
the conveyor level of the Intermediate Ore Zone (IOZ) Mine. A number of mining structures including a large North
Crusher chamber were affected by change in mining induced stress.
About three years before a decision was made to close and decommission the crusher the first warning signs of the
oncoming instability were noticed in a form of convergence. This was followed by damage to support, fall of ground,
acoustic emissions and ground deterioration on the whole conveyor level. Geotechnical events were accelerating in time
and in severity. As a result, based on risk analysis, a decision was made to decommission the crusher by ceasing
production and initiating salvage of the crushing equipment.
The increasing scale of geotechnical events resulted in suspension of salvage but subsequently, as geotechnical events
subsided, a decision was made to re-commence the salvage operation. Geotechnical analysis, monitoring, inspections
and supervision allowed for safe and successful completion of the salvage operation.

1. INTRODUCTION 3. Fall of ground / ground collapse,

The Intermediate Ore Zone (IOZ) Mine was the PT
Freeport Indonesias third underground block caving mine in
West Papua. The IOZ Mine block caving started production
in 1994, at elevation 3,474 meters caving to the surface at
3,626 meters (Hubert at al, 2000). In 2003 the mine was
closed with total production of over 50 million tonnes ore at
a grade of 1.07 copper and 0.35 ppm gold. Almost 50% of
ore was produced from north side of the IOZ orebody and
was crushed underground in the North Crusher. The crusher
together with ore feeders, conveyer drifts and accesses
were located on the conveyor level 30 m below the
production level.
The North Crusher chamber was excavated in 1993 as
12.5 m wide, 11 m long and 17 m high. During the
construction the crusher was supported with friction
stabilizers and chain link mesh at the back and at the
sidewall. The west wall was also supported with W-straps
and cable bolts (Rachmad and Sahupala, 2003).
After construction, the North Crusher and the whole
conveyor level were in a stable condition and no signs of
mining induced stress or ground deterioration were
detected. About three years before the closure, it was
observed that ground conditions started to deteriorate
slightly around the crusher chamber and sporadically in
other excavations in the vicinity of the crusher. After
horizontal convergence was detected a year before
closure, additional cable bolts were installed in the east
wall and the whole chamber was shotcreted. The
deterioration was caused by the progression of the zone
of caving influence of the Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) Mine
(Barber at al, 2000). The DOZ mine was operating at
elevation 3126 m, in proximity (about 350 m away) of the
IOZ Mine and its caving zone was progressing to the
surface effecting the stress distribution around the North
Crusher chamber.
For the purpose of geotechnical risk assessment
geotechnical events were classified as:
1. Ground deterioration (spalling, unraveling, fracturing,
crack formation, shear movement etc.),
2. Damage to ground support / mining structures,
4. Seismic events / acoustic emissions,
5. Change in water inflow.
A geotechnical study was carried out on causes of ground
deterioration and on the future stability of the crusher. This
was accompanied by geotechnical risk assessment,
implementation of a geotechnical monitoring program and
provisions for decommissioning of the crusher and the
conveyer level.
2. GEOTECHNICAL EVENTS LEADING TO
CLOSURE OF THE CRUSHER
First signs of ground movement on the conveyor level
were noticed in the crusher chamber almost three years
before a decision to close the crusher. In a period of twelve
to six months before the closure sporadic events such as an
acoustic emission, a fall of ground and some ground
deteriorations were noticed. The acceleration in number of
events and their severity was noted during the last six
months. Locations of the geotechnical events at the
Conveyor level in six months prior to closure are given in
Fig. 1.
Figure. 2 shows the sequence of geotechnical events vs.
convergence monitored across the chamber for one year.
An analysis of the progression in number and severity of
geotechnical events indicated that rock mass suffered from
stress induced by approaching caving from the DOZ mine.
Geotechnical risk of instability of the walls of the crusher
was carried out and it was recommended that the crusher
ceased production. The management approved the
recommendations and salvage of the equipment and
decommissioning of the crusher chamber and the whole
conveyer level started. Some of the major recorded and
monitored events during the six months preceding the
closure are described below:
Damage to a horizontal beam installed across the crusher
chamber. A steel beam stabilizing the crusher hopper and
overhead crane started to buckle, Fig. 3, about three years
before the crusher closure. After the initial deflection was
noted, several convergence stations were installed. For the
last year convergence monitoring showed steadily increase

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 263

Figure 1: Locations of the geotechnical events that took place at the Conveyor level in six months prior to closure.

Figure. 2: Geotechnical events on the conveyor level vs. cumulative convergence in the North Crusher.

264 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

convergence reaching up to 0.30 mm/day. Total cumulative
displacement measured for that year was about 0.25 m.
Damage to steel arch support in a ventilation drift.
Substantial deformation that led to collapse of steel arch
support took place gradually over a period of almost 18
months prior to the crusher closure.
Figure 3: Bending of a steel beam due to horizontal
convergence.
The collapse took place where a fault zone intersected the
drift. The volume of the fall of ground was in excess of 150
m3. With time, the collapse extended along the drift another
10 m towards the crusher, Fig. 4.
Damage to a conveyor drift. About six months before
closure, it was noticed that ground started to deteriorate at
an intersection between the tail of the conveyor drift and the
north crusher. The intersection was situated in marble,
which was considered weaker than the surrounding rock
mass.
Figure 4: Collapse of steel arch support
At the beginning vertical cracks were noticed and, within
a month, the rock mass between floor and grade line started
to spall and move. Despite installation of friction stabilizers,
mesh and W-straps support, about 5 months before the
closure a rock fall took place. The volume of the fall was
about 7 m3.
Ground deterioration on the extraction level. Ground and
support deterioration was noticed on the extraction level,
above the North Crusher. Around six months before closure
it was observed that the shotcrete was cracking and spalling
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
off and the ground was unraveling, Fig. 5. Just two weeks
before closure, a fall of ground occurred immediately above
the crusher and a few pillars in the area were yielding.
Figure 5: Ground deterioration on the extraction level above
the crusher
Ground deterioration in the crusher. Support in the North
Crusher showed signs of deterioration. About three
months before the closure, shotcrete started to crack on
both sides of the entry to the crusher and on the west wall
at a nearby feeder. The construction steel buckled on the
east side of the hopper chute. The cracks were vertical or
almost vertical indicating that the shotcrete failed in
extension due to vertical principal stress. It was observed
that cracks, once initiated did not extend, except a crack at
the North side of the entrance, which was propagating and
widening. At the time of closure it was about 3 m high and
150 mm wide, Fig. 6.
Damage to the intersection of service and drainage
drifts. The intersection between these two drifts was
heavily supported with concrete walls and steel support.
Two months before the closure, a crack was found in the
concrete sidewall beside a steel set. A month before the
closure, ground deterioration accelerated with new
cracks developing at the shoulder height. Within a week
prior the closure, welding on the steel caps were
sheared and steel posts moved from their place pushed
by ground behind the steel set. Steel cap elements were
bent and twisted.
Figure 6: A large crack at the west wall of the North Crusher
265
 Rock fall at a feeder. Three months before the closure, a
large fall of ground took place about 4 m away from the
chute of a feeder. The highly fragmented ground (about 150
m3) buried a part of the tail of the conveyor and a part of the
take-up tower. The rock mass consisted of weak marble and
sandstone and was supported with black friction stabilizers
and wire mesh. An inspection and investigations after the
event revealed that the support was heavily corroded. After
the rock fall, water seepage was noticed through fractures.
Geotechnical monitoring of convergence stations prior to
the fall showed that convergence increased to 0.35 mm/day.
After the rock fall, ground deterioration propagated along
the conveyor drift and was progressively accelerating prior
to the closure. Cracking, spalling and slabbing took place at
the shoulders, ribs and backs along the drift. A conveyor
crossbeam was bent indicating that the drift was highly
converging. At the time of closure, water started to seep
along the whole drift.
Squeezing of draw points on the production level. A day
before the closure of the crusher, draw points on the
extraction level 30 m above the crusher quickly deteriorated
and collapsed. Concrete supported ribs and floors of two
draw points moved inwards resulting in abandonment of the
area. Steel support at the brows of the draw points was
damaged and the rock mass heavily fractured. The
convergence and damage was followed by inflow of water
through cracks.
Seismic events and acceleration in damage to the conveyor
level. In the morning on the day of the crusher closure, a
seismic event in a form of a large acoustic emission was heard
in the vicinity of the crusher. An immediate geotechnical
inspection revealed quickly progressing damage to at least six
areas on the conveyer level. The most evident were: new
cracks in the walls of the crusher, further ground deterioration
along the conveyor drifts (fracturing, spalling, small falls of
ground and convergence), increased damage to shotcrete and
steel support and also to the structural elements of the
conveyer system. In a few hours additional damage to
excavations and a rock fall were recorded.
3. GEOTECHNICAL MONITORING
To conduct salvage in safe working conditions, the whole
level was inspected and geotechnical monitoring was
carried out twice a day with the result being analyzed
providing immediate feedback to decommissioning crews.
To monitor ground movement, a year before the closure two
convergence stations were installed across the crusher
chamber and six months before the closure, twelve stations
were installed on the conveyor level. The location of
convergence stations is shown in Fig 1. At the beginning
measurement were taken every second day, during the
event leading to closure (three months before closure) once
a day and during the period of salvage even twice a day.
After analyzing changes in convergence, working permits
were issued to salvaging crews. The permits were issued
based on empirical criteria established on the value of daily
change in convergence (Rachmad and Widijanto, 2003):
< 0.5 mm/day no hazard of uncontrolled ground
movement; work may continue.
between 0.5 to 1.4 mm/day a limited hazard of
uncontrolled ground movement, short time activities
permitted under supervision,
>1.4 mm/day hazard of uncontrolled ground movement;
work to be suspended till further notice.
With time, it was found that with convergence varying
from 0.8 to 1.4 mm/day there was no visible damage to
the rock mass. The criteria were founded to be too
stringent often resulting in withdrawal of working
personnel where there was no hazard of uncontrolled
ground movement. As a result the criteria were modified:
266 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
< 1 mm/day no hazard of uncontrolled ground
movement; work can continue.
between 1.0 to 2.0 mm/day a limited hazard of
uncontrolled ground movement, short time activities,
under supervision,
>2 mm/day hazard of uncontrolled ground movement;
work to be suspended till further notice
Convergence in the North Crusher. Two convergence
stations were installed across the crusher in the east-west
direction. A distinct change in daily convergence across the
crusher were observed in three periods:
For the period of three months before the closure the daily
changes in convergence varied moderately from 0.22 to
1.08 mm/day with an average daily increase in
convergence of 0.50 mm.
During the period for six weeks from the time of closure to
suspension of salvage, changes highly varied between 0
to 2.62 mm/day with an average being 0.9 mm/day. The
trend line showed gradual increase in average
convergence growing from 0.8 to 1 mm/day.
After suspension of salvage daily change in convergence
varied from -0.3 to 1.4 mm with a trend line decreasing
from 0.8 to 0.5 mm/day.
Changes in daily convergence in the crusher are shown in
Fig. 7.
Convergence in the drainage drift. Convergence stations
in the drainage drift were installed in the same direction
(parallel) to the convergence stations in the crusher and
monitoring results showed similar behaviour.
For the period of three months before the closure, the
daily convergence varied between 0.13 to 0.74 mm with
an average daily increase in convergence of 0.45 mm.
The trend of velocity averaged 0.4 - 0.5 mm/day.
During the period from the time of closure to suspension
of salvage, varied between 0.0 0.96 mm/day with an
average being 0.5 mm/day. The trend line showed a
gradual increase in convergence from 0.45 to 0.55
mm/day.
After suspension of salvage activities the daily
convergence varied from 0.21 to 1.68 mm with a trend
line decreasing from 0.6 to 0.15 mm/day.
Changes in daily convergence in the drainage drift are
shown in Figure. 8.
Convergence in the conveyer drift. In general the velocity
of convergence in this drift did not show significant changes
and that could be due to the orientation of the convergence
station with measuring pins parallel to the crusher (installed
in north-south direction).
4. ROCK MASS BEHAVIOUR LEADING TO
SUSPENSION OF SALVAGE OPERATIONS
The sequence of geotechnical events indicated that the
rock mass around the conveyer level was undergoing high
mining induced stress and was progressively failing,
(Szwedzicki 2004). Deterioration in ground conditions was
accelerating in time and severity, and could result in rock
mass instability around the crusher and other places on the
conveyor level. Analysis of the sequence of the geotechnical
events and subsequently conducted risk analysis resulted in
a decision to suspended of salvage operation and to
withdraw crews from the crusher. Six weeks after the
decision to close crushing operations, the rate of
convergence in the crusher increased to 4.91 mm/day and
seismic activities were recorded. At that time, a decision to
stop salvage operations was made.
Massmin 2004
Figure 7: Daily change in convergence in the North Crusher

Figure 8: Daily change in convergence in an access drainage drift

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 267

 During the salvage operations the following geotechnical
events were noticed:
Rock falls in an exhaust drift. The exhaust drift was
situated 56 m below the crusher and 200 m to the west of
the DOZ caving zone. The first signs of deterioration were
noticed about six months before closure. About a month
before closure, more than 30 m of the drift subsided for
about 0.2 0.3 m. Acceleration in deterioration was visible
after closure. Loose rocks detaching from the back were
found in many places with two major rock falls occurring.
A long fracture in the floor of an incline. A fracture was
found in the floor of the incline from the conveyor level to the
undercut level. The cracks become visible after the closure
and continued to extend and open for the next few weeks
(the total length of the fracture was about 80 m and the
width of the crack was up to 2.5 mm). A few more cracks
developed parallel to that main fracture.
Rock fall at the intersection of a feeder and a conveyor
drift. A fall of ground (10 m3) took place at a brow between
the conveyor drift and a feeder about 4 m from a chute. In a
few days water started to seep out through cracks at the
back. Bolts and mesh were highly corroded and provided
very little (if any) support. The water seepage increased in
time and spread to adjacent ribs and shoulder of the feeder.
Change in water inflow pattern. Rock mass fracturing
caused by mining extraction and caving resulted in change
in the water inflow pattern. In drifts on undercut and
extraction levels, where water used to accumulate due to
uneven floor, water disappeared during the period of about
six to three months before closure. Conversely in a number
of areas water started to appear. The west wall of the North
Crusher started to be moist about three months before
closure. After the closure, water was seeping and at the time
of suspension of salvage the whole west wall was wet and
some seepage started to appear at the back of the crusher
and along conveyor drift and feeders. At the same time it
was noticed that water inflow to draw points increased.
Seismic activities. A decision to suspend salvage
operations was made after recording three large, and a
number of small, seismic events in six hours. All events that
took place, except for the last one, were felt for a short
period of time about 10 15 seconds. The last event lasted
for about 15 minutes with "progressive banging" heard in the
roof of the crusher. The last event was accompanied by
liberation of large quantities of rock dust in the crusher. An
immediate geotechnical inspection and results of
geotechnical instrumentation did not show any substantial
changes in damage in the vicinity of the crusher. The events
appeared to be caused by merging of the IOZ and DOZ
zones of caving influence. There were also a number of
reports that earth tremors were felt at distance varying from
5 to 10 km. Within the next few days it was noticed that in
the vicinity of the crusher there was acceleration in damage
such as small detachment of rocks, spalling, slabbing, crack
propagation and also floor heave.
5. CONTINUATION OF SALVAGE OPERATIONS
After seismic activities subsided, daily changes in
convergence were reduced to 0.8 mm or less. It was also
noticed that ground deterioration ceased. After eight days of
monitoring, it was concluded that mining induced stress had
re-distributed and that it was safe to continue salvage
operations. Salvage was carried out under close
geotechnical supervision. With time the number of
geotechnical events subsided, convergence reduced and
there was very little progressive damage.
In retrospection, looking at the cumulative convergence
curve, Fig. 2, it can be seen that the decision to close the
268 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
crusher operations was made when the curve displayed a
transgressive trend (Szwedzicki, 2003) i.e. daily changes in
convergence were increasing. The decision to re-
commence salvage operations was made when the curve
started to display a regressive trend i.e. daily changes in
convergence were decreasing. Operational decisions based
on geotechnical monitoring and risk management allowed
for timely closure of the crusher chamber and for safe and
successful salvage of equipment.
6. CONCLUSIONS
Propagation of the zone of caving influence of the Deep
Ore body Zone Mine (DOZ) resulted in changes in ground
conditions at the conveyor level at the Intermediate Ore
body Zone (IOZ) Mine. Early warning signs and the rock
mass precursory behavior indicated that rock mass was
under high mining induced stress.
Analysis of geotechnical events proved that:
The first geotechnical warning signs leading to major
ground deterioration in the crusher and the whole
conveyor level were detected three years prior to the
decision of closure.
Geotechnical events such as ground deterioration, rock
falls, support damage, convergence and seismic events
increased in time and severity. Large scale ground
instability was preceded by small scale events.
The recorded geotechnical events were noticed where the
rock mass had the lowest mechanical properties, there
were geological structures, mining excavations had large
open span, and ground support was corroded.
Damage to the structure of the rock mass was followed by
a change in water inflow pattern.
Warning signs and the sequence of geotechnical events
with their acceleration in time and severity formed base for
risk management analysis. As a result the following
subsequent decisions were made to:
Stop the crushing operations, close crusher chamber and
start salvage of the crushing equipment
Suspend salvage of the equipment
Re-commence salvage.
Geotechnical inspections, monitoring, analysis and
supervision allowed for timely decisions to close the
crusher operations and to salvage crusher equipment
safely and successfully.
REFERENCES
Barber J, Thomas L, Casten T, 2000, Freeport Indonesias
Deep Ore Zone Mine. Proceedings Mass Min 2000, pp
289-300, Brisbane.
Hubert G, Dirdjosuwondo S, Plaisance R, Thomas L,
2000, Tele-Operations at Freeport to Reduce Wet Muck
Hazard. Proceedings Mass Min 2000, pp 173 - 180,
Brisbane.
Rachmad L, Sahupala A H, 2003, Update on North
Crusher Condition. Internal Report, PT. Freeport
Indonesia.
Rachmad L, Widijanto E, 2003, Application of
Convergence Monitoring at PT Freeport Indonesia Deep
Ore Zone Mine. Proc NARMS-TAC, (editors Hammah at
al.) pp. 181 189.
Szwedzicki T, 2004, Warning Signs to Geotechnical
Failure of Mining Structures. Int J. Surface Mining, June,
Vol 18.2.
Szwedzicki T, 2003, Behaviour of Rock Mass Prior to
Failure, Int. J. Rock Mechanics, Vol 40. pp 565 572.
Massmin 2004
 Application of convergence monitoring
to manage induced stress by mining
activities at PT Freeport Indonesia
deep ore zone mine
Indra Febrian, Chief Engineer of Geotechnical Engineering,
Widyo Yudanto, Engineer of Geotechnical Engineering, PT Freeport Indonesia, Tembagapura, Indonesia
Enrique Rubio, Consultant Mining Engineer, Gemcom Software International, Vancouver, Canada

Abstract
Freeport Indonesias Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) mine is located in the East Ertsberg Skarn System deposit. DOZ uses
mechanized advanced panel caving method to produce 38,000 tpd with a grade of 0.60% copper equivalent. Currently
the mine operates 15 production drifts which run across the economic layout. It is planned that the number of production
panels will increase up to 27 by the end of the West extension, reaching productions of 50,000 tpd. One of the main
concepts learned from the passed experiences at IOZ and GBT mines was that block cave needs to be fairly
instrumented in order to assess rock mass behavior due to mining activities. One of the instrumentation used at DOZ
is the convergence monitoring system which consists of measuring the deformation of the production tunnels and
undercut tunnels. The convergence system is considered fundamental to understand the rock mass behavior as a
response of mining activities such as undercutting and production stage, providing information to mine planning and
mine operation sections to maintain ground stability. The average spacing between convergence stations on the
undercut level is between 5.0 10m apart and on the extraction level is between 15 to 18 m depending on draw point
spacing. The results of convergence monitoring have been used as guideline for the undercutting and mucking
strategies to manage induced stress. This paper describes the usage of convergence monitoring in understanding rock
mass behavior induced by mining activities and its application in DOZ mine.

1 INTRODUCTION 2. CONVERGENCE MONITORING

The Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) is the underground block cave
mine at Freeport Indonesia. It is located about 300 meters
below the last active mine IOZ (Intermediate Ore Zone) and
about 1,200 meters below surface. The IOZ mine, started
production in 1983 and finished production by 2001. IOZ
operation experienced complex problems such as
considerable displacements leading to the collapse of the
production drifts. Several lessons were learned in the
operation of IOZ , probably one of the most important ones
is related to geomechanic instrumentation and its usage to
manage caving activity. The intensive instrumentation
program consisted of convergence monitoring system,
multipoint borehole extensometer, and three different types
of relative stress monitoring devices. This paper
concentrates the discussion about the convergence
monitoring system.
In general, monitoring is carried out for two main reasons
[1]:
Ensure safety during construction and operation by
assessing on ground deformation, ground water pressure,
load in support elements.
Assess abutment stress zones at the undercut level and
production level ensuring construction is carried on
outside the abutment stress zones Calibrate initial
assumptions regarding rock mass properties used in
planning and design of the DOZ mine
Freeport started implementing intensive ground
monitoring by the middle of 90s following large
displacements occurred at IOZ production drifts.
Convergence Monitoring was chosen because of its
simplicity, repeatability, and easy operation.
The main purpose of convergence monitoring at the DOZ
Mine was to ensure safety during production, and provide
an early warning on the event of excessive movement at the
undercut and production level. Another benefit related to
the convergence monitoring system is to provide
information to assess the status of the induced stresses
and rock behavior during undercutting and production
stage, providing proper information to mine planning and the
mine operation section to maintain ground stability. Tape
Extensometer is used for a convergence measuring system
developed by Kovari et al (1974). The displacement gauge
has a least count of 0.01 mm and a range of 100 mm. The
overall accuracy of the convergence measurement is 0.02
mm. Three pins are installed in the wall at each station
using 1.0m threadbar and grouting cement, as shown in
Figure 1.
Measurements are taken every week for each station
and almost everyday in areas that may have reported
high displacements until the station stopped showing
continuous movement then the rate is gradually
decreased.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 269

o The main areas in which monitoring is performed regularly
are as follows:
1. Undercut level: Convergence Monitoring stations are 5.0
- 10m apart.
2. Extraction level: Convergence Monitoring station are
located every two draw points.

The main purpose of the stations located on the

undercut level stations is to register the deformation of
the undercut drifts occurred due to the abutment stress
zones produced by the mining method. The deformation
data is analyzed providing the extension and magnitude
of the induced stress zones. Ones the abutment stress
zone is identified guidelines can be design for safety and
blasting design.
The stations located on the production level register the
deformation of the drifts due to static and dynamic loads
transferred throughout the broken muck pile to the Fig.2. Historical Case Convergence Monitoring
production level. The origin of these loads has been fully
studied however it is widely agreed that these loads are the Stress distribution due to draw pattern. In Figure 3 peak
result of different draw patterns, no. 4 shows an abnormal displacement in the active
production area. Normally, there should not be much
movement on the production area since the area is within
the stress shadow. However high displacements have
been observed due to differential draw and its effect on
the overlying broken muck pile. It is believe that when a
draw point is not continuously drawn the broken muck pile
begins to compact and transfers stresses to the major and
minor apex pillars. Using the contour map, the engineer
recognizes the anomaly and makes a plan to approach
the problem modifying the draw pattern on the daily draw
order.

Figure 1 Convergence Installation at DOZ

3. DATA VISUALIZATION

For analysis and visualization, the deformation from

convergence monitoring is converted into velocity (mm/day).
The velocity of each station is then plotted on a
displacement velocity contour map using Surfer program.
The contour map gives easy-to-read data presentation and
valuable information to the mine operation. Below are
historical examples of the usage of convergence monitoring
data in DOZ mine.
High stress location at the perimeter of undercut
boundary. As shown in Figure 2, there are four Fig.3. Historical Case Convergence Monitoring
contour peaks (no.1 to no.4) of high displacement
velocity located at the undercut boundary (grey line).
This fact proves the theoretical assumption that the 4. BLASTING ACTIVITIES
concentration of stress will be the most at the
undercut boundary due to the abutment stress. As undercutting advances, the stress will be transferred and
Moreover, from the convergence readings and the distributed around the perimeter of the undercutting area. The
damage observation in the field, it has been found time of area influenced by the abutment stress is important for
that the velocity of 0.5 mm/day being a cutoff value of planning and scheduling purpose. The area of the abutment
need attention displacement. In this case, when the zone has been estimated to be 20 to 30 meters from cave front,
peak shows a 0.5 mm/day or above, the caving based on the convergence measurements.
operation will be warned to move the cave face In Figure 4, the convergence stations show decreasing of
immediately with the blasting progress by geotech horizontal velocity due to continuous undercut blasting and
recommendations.

270 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

increasing of horizontal velocity due to suspension of
blasting. It has been found that horizontal displacement
increases if the cave front is not blasted for more than one
week.
Fig 4. Decreasing of horizontal velocity due to progressive
blasting
Based on this fact, it is concluded that the magnitude and
shape of the abutment stress zone is influenced by blasting
activities. Therefore a few guidelines have been designed
in order to avoid high stresses on the undercut level that
could eventually induce damage and collapse of the
undercut level. Examples of these guidelines are shown as
follows:
Convergence (mm/day) Blasting
0.5-1.0 1 ring blasted
> 1.0 More than 1 ring blasted
5. DISPLACEMENT VERSUS DRAW
RATE DUE TO MUCKING PLAN
From previous mine experience, it has been observed
that there is a relationship between displacement rate of
production drifts and draw rate.
The previous observations have been confirmed at DOZ and
it is shown in the data collected in the past 1 year, Figure 5, that
there is an inverse relationship between draw rate and
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
convergence or displacement. A few conclusions can be drawn
studding the behavior of the displacement versus different draw
patterns, the following points summarize the observations
As the mucking rate increases, the displacement
decreases
At a consistent mucking rate a consistent convergence is
observed
Differential draw induces, high convergence
Fig.5. Mucking effect on Convergence Rate
Based on the above points can be concluded that there
are stresses acting on the production drifts induced by the
draw patterns. Therefore it would be worthwhile to find
relationships that better explain this phenomenon and
eventually could be embedded in a production planning
system to measure the impact of stresses given different
production strategies.
6. CONCLUSIONS
The results of Convergence monitoring are used as
guidelines to manage the mining induced stress.
Geotechnical Recommendation are given as soon as any
one of condition are met:
The convergence rate is in the range of 0.5 mm/day
1.00mm/day
Cumulative displacement of convergence is more than
30mm.
271
 Even though the system is simple, the data produced is
very useful. The application of convergence is not limited to
what is presented in this paper and ongoing investigation is
required, providing further challenges to the underground
geotechnical engineer. This simple device has proven to be
useful to ensure safety during development and operation,
and to check the validity of the assumptions relating to rock
behavior in the block caving mining method.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thank the management of PT.
Freeport Indonesia for permission to publish this paper. The
contribution made by underground personnel involved in
block caving mining at DOZ mine, especially Szwedzicki,
Tadeusz and M. Stawski, to this paper are gratefully
acknowledged.
272 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
REFERENCES
Brady, B.H.G. and Brown, E.T. 1993. Monitoring rock
mass performance. In Rock Mechanics for Underground
Mining. 2nd ed, 491-496.
Butcher, R.J. 2000. Block Cave Undercutting Aims,
Strategies, Methods, and Management. In Proceedings of
Mass Min 2000 Conference, Brisbane, 29 Oct-2 Nov
2000, 406-410.
Butcher, R.J. 2000. The Role of Mass Concrete in Soft
Rock Block Cave Mines. In Proceedings of Mass Min
2000 Conference, Brisbane, 29 Oct-2 Nov 2000, 423.
Laubscher, D. H. 1994. Cave mining: state of the art, J.
Sth Afr Inst Min Met. 94:279-293.
Massmin 2004
 Optimization of the mining
business through geomechanics:
Two Case Histories
Carlos Soto, Head, Rock Mechanics Division, Juan C. Cereceda, Specialist Enginee;
Francisco Orcaistegui, Geomechanics Engineer, Arcadis Geotcnica, Santiago, Chile

Abstract
The economic optimisation of the mining business is illustrated through two case histories, for surface and underground
mining: the Mantoverde copper mine (Anglo American Chile); and Navo limestone mine (Lafarge Cement Chile),
respectively.
In the Mantoverde case, extensive characterisation and analytical studies were conducted to formulate rock slope
design guidelines for a main pit wall. Final recommendations reflected an increased final pit slope angle, with the
favourable consequences of greater ore recovery, reduced stripping ratio, and obvious production cost reduction. These
were not obtained at the expense of overall pit safety, but through a more realistic, reliable assessment of events which
actually control pit slope behaviour, as opposed to the adoption of excessively theoretical formulations.
For the Navo mine case, two crucial objectives were achieved: technical optimisation of its underground mining method,
and maximisation of economic ore recovery for the remainder of its operating life, in an adverse geomechanical
environment. A cost-efficient numerical modelling methodology was adopted for all further mining method design,
combining two-dimensional and three-dimensional formulations. Modelling results were validated by a displacement
monitoring program. In addition to a safe refinement of stope and pillar dimensions, this allowed the formulation of a
mining sequence capable of yielding the complex, precise ore-blending requirements of the nearby cement-
manufacturing plant. Central conclusions are that mine design optimisation, with moderately increased ore recovery, is
feasible and already underway, and that the extraction ratio is now said to be close to a geomechanical optimum.
The central aim in these two applications has been one of demonstrating the potential of geomechanics not just as a
mere instrument in sophisticated mine design, but as an effective aid in the pursuit of long term mine planning objectives;
and ultimately, in the economic optimisation of the mining business.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 DESIGN REFINEMENT OF EAST

Some fundamentals of economic optimization of the mining
business through geomechanics are presented in this paper
through two case histories: the Mantoverde open pit copper mine,
and the Navo underground caliza mine. In the first case, Empresa
Minera de Mantos Blancos (Anglo American Chile) operates its
Mantoverde open pit copper mine in Northern Chile, some 40 km
South of Chaaral city, or 1,020 km North of the capital city of
Santiago (see Figure 1), whereas Cemento Meln (Lafarge
Cement Chile) operates its Navo underground limestone mine at
approximately 140 km north of Santiago (Figure 2).
WALL OF MANTOVERDE OPEN PIT
Economic optimization of this operation called for slope
design refinement for the east wall. This has been the
subject of detailed geotechnical studies carried out in recent
years, conclusions from which are summarized below.
Geological Setting
Regional conditions include intense tectonic activity
associated to the Atacama fault, the principal structural
feature. Extensive outcrops of andesitic rocks, intruded by

Figure 1: Mantoverde Open Pit. Figure 2: Navo underground, Sub-Level Stoping mine.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 273

dykes, are present in the area, as well as smaller tabular
bodies of granitic composition. Locally, the Mantoverde fault
is the predominant feature, also related to mineralization,
and along which various hydrothermal and tectonic breccia
formations are found. As shown in Figure 3, the
geologic/structural sequence in the East wall comprises,
East to West: chloritic andesites, transition zone (parallel to
the Mantoverde fault), hydrothermal breccias, gouge zone,
"green" breccias, and intrusive rocks.

Figura 4: Dips output for joints in Andesites and "green"

Breccia combined.

Figure 3: Geological cross-section.

Design Methodologies
Extensive characterisation and analytical studies were
conducted to arrive at the recommended slope design. This
included the adoption of broadly accepted methodologies of
geotechnical characterization for various rock types (including
laboratory testing of representative specimens); statistical
analyses of geological structure, by means of Dips software
(see Figure 4); kinematic feasibility analyses for discernible
failure modes of pit slopes (mainly wedge and circular failures);
and stability assessments by limit equilibrium analytical
techniques (Bishops simplified method; Figure 5). Figura 5: Bishops simplified analysis for full slope height.

Slope Design Recommendations

As a result of the above analytical work, two versions of a
complete "Slope Design Curve" were formulated, for two
different values of the main design criterion: the Safety
Factor (SF). Each of these displays, graphically, the
complete slope angle / slope height relationship for the full
range of slope heights to be encountered in the pits
operational life.
Figure 6 shows these two slope design curves,
designated as recommended design (SF= 1.30), and
optimistic design (SF= 1.15). Obviously, the main difference
between both curves is that, in the optimistic design, a
discernible slope steepening is achieved for similar slope
heights, thus generating the significant economic benefits
which normally arise from a lower stripping ratio.

274 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 6: Recommended and Optimistic slope design
curves for East wall.

Adoption of (at least) the recommended design guidelines

is adequately supported by the available information, and
reflects a so-called "standard" degree of certainty or
reliability of pit slope design. Furthermore, adoption of the Figure 7: Iso-contours for horizontal and vertical
optimistic design guidelines is greatly encouraged provided displacements in 350m-high East slope.
that an efficient, reliable slope monitoring system is
rigorously implemented throughout the entire operational life
of the pit.

In this particular project, the latter recommendation is

based on the positive outcome of broad sensitivity analyses
performed between the "extremes" represented by both
design curves. Such outcome indicated that:
significant operational savings are realized as we move
from recommended to optimistic design (impact on
stripping ratio); and
such economic benefit far outweighs the combined cost
of: cleaning up occasional rock failures which may thus
take place in individual benches or steeper working
slopes, and implementing the required slope monitoring
system which would feed back hypothetical warnings into
the slope design process.

Finally, for added assurance, the design of the highest

(350 m), final pit slope obtained above was verified through
numerical modelling, by means of the Flac2d software.
Typical results are shown in Figure 7, in terms of iso-
contours of horizontal and vertical displacements (as FS
evolves from 1.1 to 1.2), in which an overall, approximately
circular failure surface clearly emerges. Furthermore, as
illustrated in Figure 8, the overall failure surface dictating
final pit design by numerical modelling very closely
approaches that previously identified by analytical, limit
equilibrium techniques.

Figure 8: Overall failure surface comparison, analytical and

numerical methods.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 275

3 OPTIMISATION OF UNDERGROUND
MINING METHOD AT NAVIO MINE

Navo mine is the prime limestone supplier for Lafarge

Cements manufacturing plant in Central Chile. Overall
economic optimization calls for more massive operations, in
order to remain competitive with surface operations in the
same region. Thus, the mining method at Navo has evolved
from earlier forms of Room & Pillar decades ago, to the
current version of a more massive Sublevel Open Stoping
operation. This mining method optimisation is more acutely
needed as mining progresses into deeper geological
horizons, with their ensuing problems of high in situ and
induced stresses, complex tectonics resulting in severe
dislocation of the two main sub-parallel seams which
comprise the orebody, and accompanying intense
fracturing.
A series of geomechanics studies have been carried out
in support of mine plannings two main objectives: technical
optimisation of its mining method, and maximisation of
economic ore recovery for the remainder of its operating life.
Both would be achieved by the latest modification to the
mining method, i.e. Sublevel Stoping with a vertical distance
between drill drifts increased from 20m to 40m. Figure 9: Mining sequences analysed.

Geological Setting. Subsequently, any particular sequence from the above

The Navio orebody occurs within a marine sedimentary
sequence, the La Calera formation, of Jurasic age. Over its
430m thickness, this sequence comprises alternating
sandstones, lutites, limestones, and fine conglomerates,
flanked at floor and roof by lavas, tuffs, and volcanic
breccias. The limestones of economic interest are disposed
in two sub-parallel limestone seams, designated as Upper
and Lower Seams or Mantos, both with an average
thickness of about 12 to 15m, and a dip increasing to about
45 at the greater depths to be mined in the future. A 65m
thick inter-seam stratum separates both seams, and plays a
key role in the geomechanics interaction between stopes
being mined simultaneously.
This general arrangement is illustrated in Figure 2
(already introduced), which also depicts a "typical" stope;
i.e., one which mines up to full manto thickness, and
extends about 45m down dip, and 60 to 80m along strike.
The required refinement of the mining method is to be
pursued through the optimisation of dimensions for the
various pillars involved.
figure would be further analysed for deeper sectors
designated for future mining, as early geomechanics
support to mine planning.
Typical results from theses preliminary analyses are
displayed in Figures 10a and 10b for the radial and longitudinal
"sampling" directions, respectively. A figure 10a show that, as a
convention, the radial sampling of results is only displayed for
the hanging wall of the latest stope, in a given excavation
sequence. Additionally, it obviously shows the expected
decrease in the safety factor as extraction ratio increases. The
minimum value of FS = 1.0 is reached in the last stage, and
remains below an acceptable design criterion of say, FS = 1.25,
for about 5m into the hanging wall. However, irregularities in the
actual excavation may modify this trend. It is important to point
out that modelling results were validated by a displacement
monitoring program.

Mining sequence optimisation by two-dimensional

numerical modelling
Design optimisation of the current Sublevel Open Stoping
mining method has proceeded in two stages, which are only
briefly outlined here. Firstly, a broad series of "generic"
designs has been developed, via two-dimensional
modelling (Phase2 finite element code), in an attempt to
explore the geomechanical impact of simultaneously mining
stopes from both seams, for a large number of scenarios or
configurations compatible with ore blending requirements.
The essential result from this stage, dealt with in the present
section, is a limited number of "promising" mining
sequences warranting further consideration.

Modelled mining sequences

Through close interaction with Mine Planning, an
extensive search of promising mining sequences was
conducted, so as to select a limited number of
configurations, satisfying economic and ore-blending
requirements, for initial geomechanics feasibility
assessment. Figure 9 summarises the best configurations
finally analysed by numerical modelling, where the
correlation numbers indicate the actual mining sequence
adopted in each case. Figure 10: Safety Factor sampled results.

276 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Mining Method Design Refinement by Three-
Dimensional Modelling
This second stage undertakes the optimisation or
refinement of the previously selected configurations.
Through a limited number of more detailed, three-
dimensional modelling applications, it seeks the
satisfactory balance of two central requirements:
assurance of local and global stability, and maximisation
of ore extraction ratio via minimisation of pillar
dimensions
Examine 3D, v.4.0 (Rocscience, Toronto) was adopted for
this design refinement stage. This is an engineering
analysis program to essentially perform stress and
displacement analysis for underground excavations in rock,
by means of the direct boundary element method. However,
its powerful data visualisation tools make it amenable for
application to a much wider range of mining and civil
engineering problems.
The first mining sequence configuration included in
Figure 9 has been selected to illustrate this design
refinement process, because of its broad
representativeness of the Sublevel Open Stoping mining Figure 12: Central Block visualisation.
method, and its more complex geomechanics
interaction. To generate this three-dimensional model,
the original (2-d) model has been expanded along the
seams strike to incorporate up to three stopes and two
"rib pillars" in that direction. As illustrated in the general
arrangement of Figure 11, this results in a total of 15
stopes and 10 pillars distributed in both seams.
Additional modelling dimensions are spans of 45m
down-dip and 60m along-strike, and a 10m pillar
thickness.

Figure 13: Safety factor distribution at central stope walls.

This last representation allows the analysis of the

Figure 11: Three-dimensional sub-level stoping model
geometry.
Various visualization modes are available with this
software, as follows. Making use of the "on plane" and
"within volumetric grid" visualisation tools, modelling results
are briefly outlined below according to three sampling
modes, which may termed: "Central Block", "Rib Pillar", and
"Pillar & Adjacent Stopes".
This geometry for the first mode is illustrated in Figure 12,
as a central sampling block or plate that intersects the global
15-stope, 10-pillar model. For this configuration, the actual
Factor of Safety ("strength factor") results as sampled within
that block volume are shown in Figure 13.
geomechanical behaviour of stope walls down-dip and
along-strike. Specific results captured within this volume are
displayed in terms of Safety Factor iso-surfaces inside this
volume, but having "put out" all stopes in front of the central
block (as well as the block itself), for ease of observation.
Total and "zoom" view are included in the above figure.
The depth of safety factors below limit equilibrium (FS <
1.0) extends to a maximum of 1.4m into the walls, and
laterally for some 4m down-dip and 6.5m along-strike. The
most unfavourable safety factor distribution regarding our
design criterion (minimum Safety Factor of 1.25)
corresponds to an iso-surface which extends some 2.7m
into the walls, and laterally for 4.5m down-dip and 13m
along-strike. If these design dimensions are to be adopted,
appropriate support would be designed and installed to
stabilise these volumes.
Rib pillar visualisation is also available. This makes use
of the "on plane" result display, which captures all results on
a cutting plane passing through the middle of a given rib
pillar, thus permitting an assessment of conditions in the
pillar core, to either confirm or modify its dimensions. The
total distribution of Safety Factor iso-contours for this case
is shown in Figure 14a, whereas Figure 14b affords better

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 277

visualisation of the same distribution, where the portion
(half) of the model in front of the cutting plane has been
removed.
Figure 14: Safety Factor iso-contours through rib pillars.
Detailed analysis of above results yields a more than
adequate range of Safety Factors from 1.8 to 2.0, with the
marginally lower values distributed in the central pillar.
Rib pillar and adjacent stopes. This visualisation mode
captures all results within a vertical plate volume
incorporating the sampled rib pillars and about one third of
the volume of stopes adjacent to either side, as depicted in
Figure 15.
Figure 15: Sampling volume for pillar/stope interaction.
The full potential of this visualisation capability is
displayed in Figure 16, with a three-dimensional view of all
Safety Factor iso-surfaces contained within this sampling
volume, but having removed that portion of the model
located immediately in front of such volume, in order to
"see through". Sensitivity analyses of pillar dimensioning,
278 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
based on pillar/stope interaction, are best conducted in
this mode.
Figure 16: Safety Factor iso-surfaces inside pillar/stope
sampling volume.
RESULTS
Typically, rib pillars exhibit acceptable iso-surfaces of
Safety Factor values in excess of 1.4 at very shallow
depths into them. In turn, main pillars (orthogonal to rib
pillars) show marginal instability in some sectors.
These findings raise the interesting potential for an
optimised dimensioning of pillars, whereby the thickness
of rib pillars may be moderately reduced, and that of main
pillars modestly increased.
The above implies a discernible increase in the extraction
ratio or overall recovery for this orebody, through a
generalised reduction of rib pillar thickness from 10m to
7m. (In some sectors, this may require the
"compensation" of increasing main pillar thickness from
15m to 17m to avoid the onset of limit equilibrium
conditions).
Alternatively, rib pillar thickness may be left unchanged,
with this "surplus" invested in a moderate increase of the
along-strike dimension of the stope.
Sensitivity analyses for a broad range of mining
sequences show a clear trend towards marginal stability
with a further increase in extraction ratio, which suggests
that the current mining method is economically efficient.
Thus, extraction ratio is said to be close to a
"geomechanical optimum".
Two optimised mining sequences emerge from this study.
In sectors where the presence and effects of geological
structures are more pronounced, the optimum sequence
calls for more advanced mining of the lower seam, where
the scatter of safety factor distribution is reduced (lower
dilution is an added bonus). In sectors without such
marked structural influence, the optimum sequence is one
of similar and simultaneous advance in both seams, in
which mining of the next stope alternates between them.
The results from these studies have important
implications for the global stability conditions at Navo
mine, as well as for its eventual closure plans.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The two case histories presented in this paper
demonstrate the significant potential of geomechanics as an
effective tool in the pursuit of long term mine planning
objectives, and ultimately, in the economic optimisation of
the mining business.
Massmin 2004
 In the open pit application, final recommendations
reflected increased slope angles for both, working slopes
and final pit, with the favourable consequences of: greater
ore recovery, reduced stripping ratio, and the obvious
reduction in production unit costs. These were not obtained
at the expense of overall pit safety, but through a more
realistic, reliable assessment of events which actually
control pit slope behaviour (as opposed to the adoption of
excessively theoretical formulations), and supported by
practically oriented sensitivity analyses and the
implementation of a monitoring system.
For the underground mining case, geomechanics allowed
the formulation of: an overall mine design optimisation,
through a safe refinement of stope and pillar dimensions; a
mining sequence capable of yielding the complex ore-
blending requirements of the plant; and a moderately
increased ore recovery, such that the extraction ratio is now
said to be close to a geomechanical optimum.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge ANGLO AMERICAN
(Chile), through Mr. Manuel Schellman, Sr. Geotechnical
Engineer of the Mining Vice-Presidency, as well as
LAFARGE CEMENT (Chile), through Mr. Sergio Navarrete,
Manager of Mineral Resources Planning, for their kind
permission to use information from their various
geotechnical studies as required to prepare this paper.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
REFERENCES
Brady, B.H.G. & E.T. Brown 1993. Rock Mechanics for
Underground Mining (Second Edition), 141-158,
Chapman & Hall:London.
Brown, E.T. and Hoek, E. 1978. Trends in Relationships
between Measured Rock In-Situ Stresses and Depth. Int.
J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. & Geomech. Abstr. 15, 211-215.
Hoek, E, 1994. Strength of rock and rock masses. ISRM
News J, 2(2): 4-16.
Hoek, E, 2002. Rock engineering. Course notes available
on line at http://www.rocscience.com.
Hoek, E., and Bray, J.W. 1981. Rock Slope Engineering
(Revised Third Edition), The Institution of Mining and
Metallurgy: London.
Navarrete, S.A. 1995. Evaluacin Tcnico- Econmica
del Mtodo de Explotacin Modificado "Sublevel Stoping"
para Mina Navo (Internal report).
Soto, C.A., J.C. Cereceda & F.J. Orcaistegui 1999.
Estudio Geotcnico de Refinamiento del Mtodo de
Explotacin de Mina Navo. Report to Empresas Melon
S.A.(Blue Circle Cement).
Soto, C.A., Cereceda, J.C., Orcaistegui, F.J., and Hartley,
S. 2000. Estudio de Estabilidad de Taludes Pared Este
Rajo Mantoverde. Report to Empresa Minera de Mantos
Blancos S.A. (Anglo American Chile).
Soto, C.A. & F.J. Orcaistegui 1993. Estudio Diseo
Geomecnico Mina Navo, Etapa I. Report to Cemento
Melon S.A.
279
 "Extension" in large open pit
slopes and possible consequences
T. R. Stacey, School of Mining Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Yu Xianbin, Kunming University of Science and Technology, China and School of Mining Engineering,
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Abstract
Research has recently been carried out into the occurrence of zones of extension strain in open pit slopes. This showed
that very large zones of extension can occur, and this finding represents a significant new aspect in slope stability that
has not been considered before. The greatest magnitudes of extension strain occur near the toe of the slope, either in
the slope itself, or in the floor of the pit. Results of the research will be presented for different slope heights, slope angles
and horizontal to vertical in situ stress ratios.
The magnitudes of the strains are considered to be large enough to result in fracturing of intact rock, and the fracture
orientations predicted are adverse for slope stability. Fracturing that is extension in nature is common in competent,
brittle rocks and often develops with some violence and little or no warning, producing easily measurable seismicity. In
the slope situation, the expected physical manifestation of this behaviour would be popping off of rock slabs and plates
of rock from slope surfaces and popping up of the pit floor, as well as the formation of new fractures within the rock
mass. Such behaviour may cause overall slope failure, or may initiate failure, which may then be driven to overall slope
failure by other influencing factors or combinations of factors. In addition to instability resulting from the fracture surfaces
themselves, all induced fracture surfaces could interact with natural geological structures to facilitate formation of a
significant failure surface.

1. INTRODUCTION approaches using these techniques. The lack of

Many open pit mines are now being mined at depths in
excess of 500m and many are being planned for much
greater depths than these. Many existing pits were not
originally planned to be mined to such depths, but this
mining has been facilitated by developments that have
taken place in the capabilities of mining equipment. In
addition to the depth factor, open pit mining is taking place
in areas in which the horizontal to vertical stress ratio is
significantly in excess of unity. An example of this is
Western Australia, where the horizontal to vertical stress
ratio is commonly quoted to be about 3. Consequently, a
300m deep pit in this environment might well be
considered equivalent to a 1000m deep pit in a "normal"
stress environment. The result is that many current pits,
and the future very deep pits, are being and will be mined
in a high stress environment, which means that they might
be in "new territory" as far as slope design is concerned.
In such situations, it is important to consider the influence
of the high stresses, and to assess whether new
mechanisms of slope behaviour need to be considered. In
the 1960s and 1970s considerable research was carried
out into the stability of rock slopes in open pit mines. It
was also during this period that early development of
numerical analysis methods took place, but there was
relatively little application of them to the evaluation of
slope stability. Most of the work carried out concentrated
on the use of limit equilibrium techniques, and there has
been surprisingly little development in the technology of
stability evaluation of open pit mine slopes in the 30 years
since this period. There has been substantial
development in the capabilities of numerical modelling
packages, making them suitable for analysis of the stability
of slopes, but there has been disappointingly little
development in the understanding of the behaviour of rock
slopes. The result is that, although numerical techniques
are now commonly used in the evaluation of the stability of
rock slopes, there are no recognized robust, standardized
development in slope stability evaluation is further
surprising since, as pointed out by Stacey (1993), many of
the pits designed in the 1960s and 1970s were reaching
their full depths after about 20 to 30 years. In such cases
the stress levels around the pit could induce failure of the
rock, and it is therefore appropriate that attention should
be paid to the effects of stresses on the stability of the
slopes of these mines.
In this paper, a brief review of the application of stress
and numerical analysis techniques to slope stability is
presented. This is followed by research results from a
programme of stress analyses of two-dimensional and
axisymmetric open pit slopes, that are relevant to a new
mechanism of behaviour of open pit slopes in hard and
brittle rock. Such behaviour is potentially associated with
the development of stress induced failure surfaces in
which significant seismic activity might be involved.
2. REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF NUMERICAL
STRESS ANALYSES IN EVALUATING SLOPE
STABILITY
After the development of the finite element method of
stress analysis in the 1960s, there were early applications
of the method to slopes, (for example Duncan and
Goodman, 1968; Gates, 1968; Mahtab and Goodman,
1970). Extensive investigations into the elastic stress
distributions in two and three dimensional slopes were
carried out by Stacey (1970, 1972, 1973). Factors taken
into account in these investigations were the angle of
inclination of the slopes, the floor width of the open pit, the
horizontal in situ stress field, and the value of Poissons
ratio. One of the important findings of this work was that a
large horizontal in situ stress field has a major influence on
the stress distributions in slopes.
A further important observation from early stress analyses
of slopes was the correspondence between failure zones
and the presence of tensile stresses (Kalkani, 1976; Kalkani

280 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

and Piteau, 1976; Lee, 1978; Valliappan and Evans, 1980;
and Brown et al, 1980).
Common application of numerical methods in the
evaluation of the stability of rock slopes in recent times is
apparent from numerous papers in a recent specialized
publication (Hustrulid et al, 2000). A paper by Board et al
(1996) represents a significant development in the
application of stress analysis techniques to the evaluation of
slope stability. In this paper, use is made of measured
deformations to calibrate models prior to their use for
prediction of slope behaviour into the future. Use was made
of both continuum and discontinuum numerical analyses. It
was found that the continuum approach could model the
discontinuous rock mass successfully, and it was the
preferred approach for computational reasons. The steps
involved in the approach were:
a) development of a conceptual model of the slope taking
into account the geological structure and structural
regions, the observed deformation behaviour, the
measured deformations, failures that have occurred, etc;
b) determination of the appropriate constitutive model of
rock mass behaviour;
c) determination of rock mass properties using rock mass
classification; calibration of models confirmation of the
boundary and initial conditions, sensitivity studies to
establish appropriate material properties, comparison of
model results with observations and measurements, and
modifications if necessary;
d) application of the "final" model to determine behaviour as
a result of future mining.
The use of a calibration approach as summarized in the
points above is considered to be a good engineering
approach provided that extrapolation is not significantly into
"new territory". However, satisfactory absolute prediction of
behaviour is unlikely to be successful if the following are not
used: the correct mechanisms, or combinations of different
mechanisms, of behaviour; the correct strength parameters;
the correct deformation parameters; and the correct failure
criteria. Steps b) and c) above are unlikely to lead to
successful prediction except in particular cases. As
indicated by Stacey (2000), the use of a rock mass
classification approach, which, as indicated above, is
commonly used to estimate such parameters, is unlikely to
be satisfactory for absolute prediction since all correlations
are based on empirical data. Such correlations are "smear"
correlations and cannot hope to provide data for successful
absolute prediction. If successful predictions are obtained,
they are likely to be by luck rather than by confident
engineering. Absolute prediction of behaviour, which is very
significantly involved in the analysis and design of new open
pit mine slopes, requires a very thorough understanding of
the mechanisms of deformation and behaviour of the
slopes.
In more recent application of numerical stress analysis
methods to slope stability, Lorig (1999) and Zettler et al
(1999) investigated numerically the effect of three
dimensions on slope stability. Eberhardt et al (2004)
modelled the progressive development of failure in a rock
slope using a hybrid finite/discrete element code.
From the above it may be concluded that development in
the understanding of the behaviour of rock slopes has been
very disappointing. Recognising the importance of
deformations in rock slopes, it is perhaps surprising that no
attention appears to have been given to strains in slopes, as
opposed to stresses.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
3. RECENT MODELLING OF OPEN PIT MINE SLOPES
A programme of two dimensional (plane strain) and
axisymmetric stress analyses of various slope geometries
has recently been carried out using finite element analysis.
The interpretation of the results concentrated on the strain
in the slopes, and this has identified a new and potentially
very significant factor in the consideration of rock slope
stability in open pit mines the occurrence of zones of
extension strain. In this context, the extension strain is
defined as the minimum principal strain _3 (in a
compression positive convention) and can be calculated
from the principal stresses using the three dimensional
elastic equation:
3 = [3 _(1 + 2)]/E
where 1, 2, 3 are the three principal
stresses
is Poissons ratio
E is the modulus of elasticity
3 depends on all three principal stresses and can be
extension in nature, even in a triaxially compressive stress
field. It is clear therefore that it will depend on the
magnitude of the out-of-plane stress used in the two
dimensional stress analysis. The results for the two
dimensional analyses presented in this paper have all
assumed that the out-of-plane stress corresponds with a
plane strain condition.
The occurrence of a zone of extension strain around an
open pit implies that the rock mass has "expanded" in at
least one direction in that zone. It is clear from the above
equation that, the smaller the value of E, and the larger the
value of Poissons ratio, the greater will be the magnitude of
extension strain.
In the programme of analyses, only elastic analyses were
carried out, and the following parameters were taken into
account:
Pit depths: pit depths of 400m, 800m and 1200m were
considered. Pit geometries, at an intermediate stage of
mining, were modelled to determine their influence on the
stress and strain distributions. The pit geometries and the
excavation steps are illustrated in Figure 1 for one of the
slope angles modelled.
Pit slope angles: slope angles of 30o, 40o, 45o, 50o, 55o,
60o, 70o and 75o were analysed in most cases.
Horizontal to vertical in situ stress ratios (k ratios): values
of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 were used in most cases.
A value of 0.17 for Poissons ratio, and a modulus of
elasticity of 80 GPa, were used for all analyses presented
in this paper. For elastic analyses, the stress results are
independent of the modulus of elasticity used, but the
strain results are directly proportional to the value of the
modulus.
The results of this programme of analyses have been
dealt with in detail by Stacey et al (2003) and therefore only
selected results will be presented here.
Although, as indicated in the Section above, stresses in
slopes have been considered over the years, it does not
appear that any consideration has previously been given to
the occurrence of strains in slopes.
281

Figure 1 Pit geometries and stages of excavation
The results reported below, dealing in particular with
extension strains, therefore represents a new development
in the consideration of open pit mine slope stability.
Extension strains around two dimensional slopes
The results of the analyses show that substantial zones of
extension strain occur around the open pit for all in situ
stress conditions and for all slope angles. Figure 2
illustrates the extent of the extension strain zones for a two
dimensional slope with an angle of 60o, a height of 800m,
under a k ratio of 2.0.
From this figure it can be seen that the maximum
magnitudes of extension strain occur at the toe of the slope,
either in the slope or in the floor of the pit. From the
programme of analyses, the following were found:
the magnitudes of extension strain are greater for higher
values of k;
the zones of extension strain are larger around the
bowl of the pit for flatter slope angles and higher k
ratios;
Figure 2 Extension strain distribution for a two dimensional slope, k = 2.0
282 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
significant zones of extension occur in the crest of the
slope only for higher k ratios there is no significant zone
of extension strain for k values of 0.5 and 1.0.
The sizes of the zones of extension can be very
substantial, of the order of many hundreds of metres behind
the slope face and beneath the pit floor, depending mainly
on the k ratio and the pit slope geometry, and have been
quantified by their horizontal and vertical extents (in m/100m
of slope height). The horizontal extent is represented by the
horizontal distance between the toe of the slope and the
boundary of the zone.
The vertical extent is represented by the vertical distance
between the floor of the pit and the boundary of the zone,
measured along the vertical axis of symmetry. The results are
shown in Figures 3 and 4, illustrating the effects of both the k
ratio and the slope angle. In fact the extents of the zones in
these figures are measured to where the extension strain
exceeds a value of 0.00001, since this is better defined than
the point of zero extension strain. The actual zones of
extension are therefore slightly greater than indicated. It can
be seen from these figures that the zones of extension can be
very large, of the order of many hundreds of metres behind the
slope face and beneath the pit floor, depending mainly on the
k ratio and the pit slope geometry.
Extension strains around axisymmetric slopes
For the axisymmetric analyses, the result corresponding
with Figure 2 for the plane slope is shown in Figure 5. It can
be seen that the strains are not as concentrated at the toe
as in the two dimensional plane case. The extents of the
zones are slightly smaller than those for the plane slopes,
but are still very substantial.
As for the plane slopes, the sizes of the zones of
extension strain can be very substantial. The quantified
extents of the extension zones for axisymmetric slopes,
corresponding with Figures 3 and 4 above for two
dimensional slopes, illustrating the effects of k ratio and
slope angle, are given in Figures 6 & 7.
Massmin 2004
Figure 3 Horizontal extents of extension strain zones for
two dimensional slopes
Implications of the occurrence of extension strains on
the behaviour of open pit rock slopes
These results of the analyses have shown that very large
extension strain zones will develop around the slopes and
floors of open pits. It is to be noted that the geometry of the
pit in plan (such as the occurrence of convex slopes,
resulting in "noses" in the pit) will have a significant
influence on the occurrence of extension strains.
Magnitudes of extension strains
The magnitude of the extension strain calculated is
directly proportional to the modulus of elasticity used in the
analysis. The results presented above are for a modulus of
elasticity of 80 GPa. If the modulus of elasticity was 40 GPa
instead of 80 GPa, for example, these strains would double.
Note, however, that the extents of the zones of extension
are not influenced by the modulus.
As the height of the slope increases, and as the k ratio
increases, the stress levels will increase and,
Figure 5 Extension strain distribution for an axisymmetric slope, k = 2.0
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 4 Vertical extents of extension strain zones for two
dimensional slopes
correspondingly, the magnitudes of the extension strains
will also increase. For a 400m deep pit, the maximum
extension strain magnitudes calculated vary from about
0.00001 for k of 0.5 to about 0.0001 for a k of 2.0. For a
1200m deep pit the corresponding strain values are about
0.0001 and about 0.0003. In terms of the extension strain
criterion for fracture of brittle rock (Stacey, 1981), critical
extension strain levels at which fracturing can occur are in
the 0.0001 to 0.0003 range, in particular for hard, brittle
rock. The stress conditions are therefore conducive for the
development of extension fracturing around and adjacent
to the toes of slopes (in the pit floor and in the slope face
area). From the analyses carried out, these conditions
could apply for 400m high slopes when the k ratio is about
2 or greater. They would apply for 1200m high slopes
under any k ratio. It can therefore be concluded that
failure of the rock material and rock mass will occur, and
that this might have a significant negative effect on stability
of the slope.
283

Figure 6 Horizontal extents of extension strain zones for
axisymmetric slopes
Figure 7 Vertical extents of extension strain zones for
axisymmetric slopes
Orientations of potential fracture surfaces
The orientations of extension fractures will be normal to the
minimum principal stress. In the proximity of excavation
surfaces, the direction of the minimum principal stress is normal
to the surface and hence extension fractures will be sub-
parallel to the excavation surface. In Figure 8, an interpretation
is given of the probable orientations of fractures in the toe and
slope face regions. Therefore inclined fractures are likely to
develop in any toe region and slope face parallel fractures are
likely to develop behind the face, away from the toe. These
orientations are likely to be adverse for stability of the slope
the inclined surfaces will facilitate sliding out from the face and
the face parallel surfaces will promote the formation of
"columns" or plates. These could be involved in slope failure
due to sliding out, or buckling out.
From the analyses carried out, the extent of the zone of
potential fracturing is very substantial. For example, for an
800m high, axisymmetric 60o slope (k ratio of 2.0), fracturing
could occur to a horizontal depth of about 50m into the rock
mass behind the toe region and over a height of between 50m
and 100m up the slope face. In comparison, for a 1200m pit,
fracturing could occur to a horizontal depth of more than 100m
behind the toe of the slope, and over a height of about 400m up
the slope face. Similar extents apply, for example, for a 45o
slope, 1200m high. This illustrates the influence of the depth of
the open pit. The implication from this is that adversely
orientated fracture planes can develop in the tightly confined
rock mass beyond the surficial zone of blast damage, and the
potential for fracturing damage is unlikely to be inhibited by the
284 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 8 Probable fracture orientations
loosening effects of blasting. The further implications are that
there may be limits to the depths to which open pit operations
can progress without the occurrence of stress induced
instability.
It is to be noted that the type of fracturing likely to develop
will be in a brittle rock environment in which "stiff" rock
conditions exist. The analyses described above have made
use of an elastic modulus of 80 GPa and a Poissons ratio
of 0.17. These might be considered as high and low
respectively for a rock mass. Lower modulus values and
higher Poissons ratio values will result in greater extension
strain magnitudes. Hence the interpretation of the results
above probably represents a conservative approach.
Mode of fracture and failure
It is likely that, at greater mining depths, rocks will be more
competent and less weathered. Fracturing that is extension in
nature is more common in more competent, brittle rocks and
often develops with some violence and little or no warning. The
mechanism involved would be a form of "strain bursting" which
produces easily measurable seismicity, events often being
audible as well. In the slope situation, the expected physical
manifestation of this behaviour would be popping off of rock
slabs and plates of rock from slope surfaces and popping up of
the pit floor, as well as the formation of new fractures within the
rock mass. There is likely to be some time dependency in the
development of fractures. Since the size of the open pit
increases slowly, there is an abundance of time for the stresses
around the pit to readjust and to interact with the rock material
and rock mass, promoting the development of fractures. Such
behaviour may cause overall slope failure, or may initiate
failure, which may then be driven to overall slope failure by
other influencing factors or combinations of factors.
In addition to instability resulting from the fracture surfaces
themselves, all induced fracture surfaces could interact with
natural geological structures (joints, bedding planes, faults, etc)
to facilitate formation of a significant failure surface and to
reduce the stability of the slope. Extension strains are likely to
manifest themselves in the opening up of adversely orientated
natural structures and hence in the loosening of the rock mass
in a preferential orientation.
Influence on groundwater conditions
The presence of zones of extension will lead to expansion of
the rock mass in a preferred direction. This, the formation of
new extension fracture surfaces, the opening up of adversely
orientated natural structures, and the interaction of these effects
with other natural geological structures, will express itself as a
zone of relaxation, in a preferential direction, around the pit.
This is likely to have a significant influence on the permeability
of the rock mass. This may facilitate the entry of groundwater
Massmin 2004
into the rock mass, may allow channelling of water flow in
particular directions, and may inhibit flow in other directions.
Since groundwater pressures are a very important contributor to
the instability of slopes, some of these effects may be
detrimental to stability of the slopes.
4. CONCLUSIONS
From the research programme of stress analyses and the
observations from the case studies, the following
conclusions can be drawn:
relatively limited zones of tensile stress occur behind the
crest of slopes for in situ stress conditions with k ratios
greater than 1.0, and in the pit floor for low k values;
in contrast with the limited occurrence of tensile stresses,
very large zones of extension strain can develop around
the slopes. The occurrence of extension strains in open
pit slopes represents a new, and potentially very
important, consideration with regard to slope stability;
the probable orientations of fracture surfaces, adversely
inclined out of the slope near the toe and parallel to the
slope face away from the toe, are such that they could
have a significantly negative influence on the stability of
slopes. The geometry of the fracturing could lead to the
formation of slabs parallel to the slope face;
the fracture surfaces will probably also provide surfaces that
can interact with, or combine with, natural geological
structures to form potential failure surfaces within the slope;
fracturing that is extension in nature usually occurs with
some violence and suddenness, with little or no warning.
There is usually easily measurable seismicity associated
with these "strain burst" type of events;
the zones of extension in the slopes represent possible
locations of changed rock mass permeability and
preferential groundwater flow.
REFERENCES
Board, M, Chacon, E, Varona, P and Lorig, L, 1996.
Comparative analysis of toppling behaviour at
Chuquicamata open-pit mine, Chile, Trans. Instn Min.
Metall. (Section A: Min. Industry), 105:A1-A21.
Brown, I, Hittinger, M and Goodman, R, 1980. Finite
element analysis of the Nevis Bluff (New Zealand) rock
slope failure, Rock Mech., 12:231-245.
Duncan, J M and Goodman, R E, 1968. Finite element
analysis of slopes in jointed rock, Contract Report, U S
Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Corps of
Engineers, No S-68-3:274p.
Eberhardt, E, Stead, D and Coggan, J S, 2004, Numerical
analysis of initiation and progressive failure in natural rock
slopes the 1991 Randa rockslide, Int. J. Rock Mech.
Min. Sci., 41, pp 69-87.
Gates, R H, 1968. Inelastic analysis of slopes by the finite
element method, PhD Thesis (unpublished), University of
Illinois, 123p.
Hustrulid, W A, McCarter, M K and Van Zyl, D J A (eds),
2000. Slope Stability in Surface Mining, SME, Colorado,
442p.
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Kalkani, E C, 1976. Stability analysis of rock slopes,
Water Power & Dam Construction, September:47-49.
Kalkani, E C and Piteau, D R, 1976. Finite element
analysis of toppling failure at Hells Gate Bluffs, British
Columbia, Bull. Ass. Engng Geol., 13(4):315-327.
Lee, C F, 1978. Stress relief and cliff stability at a power
station near Niagara Falls, Engng Geol., 12:193-204.
Lorig, L 1999. Lessons learned from slope stability
studies, in FLAC and Numerical Modeling in
Geomechanics, Detournay & Hart (eds), Balkema,
Rotterdam, pp 17-21.
Mahtab, M A and Goodman, R E, 1970. Three-
dimensional finite element analysis of jointed rock slopes,
Proc. 2nd Int. Cong. Int. Soc. Rock Mech., Belgrade,
3(Theme 7). Paper No 12.
Stacey, P F, 1993. Pit slope designs for the 21st century,
in Innovative Mine Design for the 21st Century, (Ed
Bawden and Archibald), Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 3-11.
Stacey, T R, 1970. The stresses surrounding open pit
mine slopes, in Planning Open Pit Mines, (Ed P W J van
Rensburg), A A Balkema, pp 199-207.
Stacey, T R, 1972. Three-dimensional finite element
stress analysis applied to two problems in rock
mechanics, Jl S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall., 72(10):251-256.
Stacey T R, 1973. A three-dimensional consideration of
the stresses surrounding open pit mine slopes, Int. J.
Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 10:523-533.
Stacey, T R, 1981. A simple extension strain criterion for
fracture of brittle rock, Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci.,
18:469-474.
Stacey, T R, 2000. Reservations regarding the use of
rock mass classifications in rock engineering, Proc.
Bergmekanikdag 2000, SveBeFo, Swedish Rock
Engineering Research and National Group ISRM, pp 1-
18.
Stacey, T R, Yu Xianbin, Armstrong, R and Keyter, G J,
2003. New slope stability considerations for deep open pit
mines, Jl S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall., 103(6):373-389.
Valliappan, S and Evans, R S, 1980. Finite element
analysis of a slope at Illawarra Escarpment, Proc. 3rd
Australia-New Zealand Conf. On Geomechanics,
Wellington, 2: 241-246.
Zettler, A H, Poisel, R, Roth, W and Preh, A 1999. Slope
stability analysis based on the shear reduction technique
in 3D, in FLAC and Numerical Modeling in
Geomechanics, Detournay & Hart (eds), Balkema,
Rotterdam, pp 11-16.
Amadei, B and Stephansson, O, 1997. Rock Stress and
its Measurement, 515 p. Kluwer: Dordrecht.
Bandis, S, 1990. Mechanical properties of rock joints.
Proceedings International Symposium on Rock Joints,
Len, Norway, (Ed: N Barton and O Stephansson), 125-
140. Balkema: Rotterdam.
Bandis, S, 1993. Engineering properties and characterization
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155-183. Pergamon Press: Oxford.
285
 Visual estimation of
fragment size distributions
in the DOZ block cave
A. Srikant, Rock Mechanics Engineer, David E. Nicholas, President, Call & Nicholas, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, USA
Lufi Rachmad, Staff Geotechnical Engineer, P.T. Freeport Indonesia, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Abstract
Predicting fragmentation distributions before the start of block caving is an important planning exercise that helps in the
production scheduling and in the selection of equipment for the ore handling system. Though several methods have
been developed for the assessment of fragment size distribution in block cave operations, limited efforts have been
made for developing correlations between the predicted and observed fragmentation.
At P.T. Freeport Indonesias DOZ block cave operation, a procedure was developed for assessing the fragmentation at
the drawpoints. The observed fragmentation was tabulated along with the estimated height of draw, and the fragment
size distributions were then compared with the predicted fragmentation at different draw heights. The results show that
while the median fragment size for the predicted and observed fragmentation were similar, the fragmentation measured
at the drawpoint included more fines and fewer large blocks.
This paper presents the methodology used for assessing the observed fragmentation and shows the results of the
correlation studies.

1 INTRODUCTION benefits from the previous experience gained while mining

the GBT and the IOZ in the same skarn system.
The mines of the Ertsberg District, in the province of West Four major rock types are mined in the DOZ:
Papua in Indonesia, are operated by P.T. Freeport Indonesia 1. Ertsberg Diorite
(PTFI) under contract to the Republic of Indonesia. The 2. Forsterite Skarn
Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) mine is a part of the Ertsberg District 3. Magnetite Skarn
of Papua, Indonesia. 4. DOZ Breccia

Fragmentation characteristics for these rock types vary

from fine (in the DOZ Breccia) to coarse (in the Diorite). In
order to help select the most appropriate production and
ore-flow equipment and to assess the productivity from the
mine, fragmentation estimates were developed using
different available methods. A drawpoint fragmentation
mapping scheme was developed to assess the current
fragmentation and to correlate between the observed and
predicted fragmentation.
This paper discusses the development of the
fragmentation estimates in the different rock types, the
process and results of drawpoint fragmentation mapping,
and the correlations between the observed and predicted
fragmentation distributions.

Figure 1. Location of PTFIs Mining Operations
The DOZ is a copper-gold deposit found on the northeast
flank of the Ertsberg diorite. It comprises the lower
elevations of the East Ertsberg Skarn System (EESS).
The DOZ mine is an LHD block cave mine using eight-
cubic-yard loaders at the extraction level from where the
broken rock is transferred through ore passes feeding 55-
ton trucks, which then dump directly into a 54-inch gyratory
crusher (Barber et al, 2000).
The DOZ is essentially the third lift of the block cave mine
that has exploited the East Ertsberg Skarn complex, and
2 CHALLENGES IN ESTIMATING
FRAGMENTATION IN THE DOZ
At the time of the feasibility study and preparation of the
report, very few excavations were available in the DOZ
undercut and extraction levels for the collection of the
geotechnical information required for development of
fragmentation estimates. Three panel drifts at the extraction
level and three drill drifts at the undercut level were mapped
for estimating the rock-mass and joint-set characteristics in
the four major rock types expected in the DOZ. The Block
Cave Fragmentation (BCF) program was used to develop
primary and secondary fragmentation estimates for the DOZ
mine.

286 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The different rock types in the DOZ exhibit vastly different
fragmentation characteristics, from the fine fragmentation in the
DOZ Breccia and Magnetite Skarn to the coarse fragmentation
in the Diorite. Based on an examination of the drill-core piece
lengths from different areas of the DOZ, the fragment size
distributions were expected to show a significant variation
along strike and by elevation, even within the same rock type.
In the absence of joint-set characteristics from all areas of the
DOZ, the variation of fragmentation could not be simulated
using the available estimation tools like BCF.
Since the drill-core data from the DOZ showed significant
variation in piece lengths in different parts of the deposit,
Call & Nicholas, Inc. (CNI) and PTFI concluded that the drill-
core data should be used to help differentiate between the
fragmentation characteristics in the different areas of the
DOZ. CNI developed a program (Core2Frag) for estimating
the primary fragment size distributions based on the core
piece length data collected by PTFI from the drill holes in the
DOZ. The BCF program was used for the development of
secondary fragmentation estimates.
3 FRAGMENTATION ESTIMATES IN THE DOZ
The Core2Frag program developed by CNI uses the core
piece length information and the joint-set characteristics for
estimating the primary fragmentation (Srikant et al, 2004).
The drill-hole data, sorted into domains of three panels each
along strike, and the joint-set characteristics of four rock
types (Forsterite Skarn, Forsterite-Magnetite Skarn,
Magnetite Skarn, Diorite) were used to estimate the primary
fragmentation. Table 1 shows the structural data used for
the Diorite and the Mixed Skarns. (There was little
difference in the joint-set information for the different skarns,
so the data for all the skarns was combined).
Secondary fragmentation estimates and hang-up
frequencies were determined using the BCF program
(Esterhuizen, 1999). The BCF program uses the primary
blocks generated by the Core2Frag program and the caving
geometry to estimate the breakage of the primary blocks as
they travel through the draw column.
The primary and secondary fragmentation estimates for the
Forsterite Skarn for Panels 12-15 in the DOZ are shown on
Figure 2 (Pratt et al, 2002). The estimates show that about 57
percent of the tons in the first 60 meters of the draw in Panels
12-15 would be larger than two cubic meters. As the draw
height increases, the percentage of tons that require secondary
breakage reduces, with 20 percent of the tons being larger than
two cubic meters at a draw height of 240 meters.
In the Diorite, the fragmentation estimates show that about
80 percent of the tons in the first 60 meters of the draw in
Panels 12-15 would be larger than two cubic meters, and about
68 percent of the tons would be larger than two cubic meters at
a draw height of 240 meters (Figure 3).
Figure 2. Primary and Secondary Fragmentation Estimates
for Forsterite Skarn in Panels 12-15
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 3. Primary and Secondary Fragmentation Estimates
for Diorite in Panels 12-15
The fragmentation estimates developed for the DOZ
showed that some areas of the DOZ would have
significantly coarse fragmentation. Since the fragment size
distribution would have an impact on the operations in the
DOZ mine, PTFI initiated a program for monitoring the
fragmentation at the drawpoint. This program helped to
calibrate the fragmentation estimates developed by CNI and
develop more accurate estimates for areas that will be
undercut at a later stage in the mining of the DOZ block
cave.
4 DRAWPOINT MAPPING
The development of digital imaging methods has
introduced the possibility of correlating some of the
fragmentation estimates with direct observations in the field
(Girdner et al, 1996). However, the measurement of
fragmentation at the drawpoint gives information regarding
the secondary fragmentation only. It is also very difficult to
take photographs in the wet and dusty areas in the
underground and the photographs thus taken are often not
suitable for fragmentation analyses using digital imaging
methods. Efforts are underway to develop systems for the
field assessment of fragmentation at the drawpoints using
photographs as well as visual size distribution assessments.
A procedure for the DOZ fragmentation visual data
collection, called drawpoint mapping, was developed to
assess the actual fragmentation size distribution and to
provide feedback for the fragmentation prediction tools.
This procedure satisfied the following requirements: it is
simple, repeatable, and creates no significant interruption to
the production. The qualitative information was collected by
developing a rating system while the quantitative
information was collected by estimating the percentages of
particular material sizes in the drawpoint.
Mapping of fragmentation at the drawpoints in the DOZ
was undertaken from mid-2002. The available data were
provided to CNI for analysis up to November 2002. CNI
developed correlations to help assess the fragmentation in
the unmined areas of the DOZ and the ESZ block caves.
The rating system (Figure 4) was based on three
categories: (1) drawpoint productivity, (2) hang-up condition,
and (3) general block sizes. This qualitative information
would provide a general overview of fragmentation
condition. In addition, this information could be used for
supporting the quantitative information.
The quantitative information regarding the material size
distribution was collected using the categories shown on
Figure 5. The material size distribution was divided into five
categories: fines, small block, intermediate block, large
block, and oversize.
287
 appropriate. The oversize and fines were estimated, and the
small blocks category was calculated to make up the rest.
The draw height information for each drawpoint, which was
important for the analysis, was collected through the Cave
Management System (CMS). Rock type information was
collected through geological mapping at the drawpoints.
Currently, there are ten production panels and about 120
active drawpoints in the DOZ. Drawpoint mapping is
conducted at least once every two weeks.
Table 1 shows the number of observations for each
fragmentation domain by rock type and height of draw. The
table shows that there is limited data for the Diorite and the
Forsterite. Since the fragmentation characteristics of the
Forsterite and the Forsterite-Magnetite are similar, these
data were combined to provide a greater database for
comparison and correlation. Also, though PTFI geologists
had classified the DOZ breccia as HALO-1, HALO-2, or
HALO-4, during the mapping of the drawpoint muck piles,
CNI estimated the fragmentation characteristics for all types
of DOZ Breccia as one unit.

Table 1. Number of Drawpoint Mapping

Observations in the DOZ

Rock type Forsterite Forsterite-Magnetite Magnetite Diorite DOZ Breccia

Height of Draw 0-60 60-120 120-180 0-60 60-120 120-180 0-60 60-120 120-180 0-60 60-120 120-180 0-60 60-120 120-180

Panels 12-15 16 21 7 125 87 5 38 29 0 7 0 0 9 101 22

Panels 15-18 12 4 0 64 27 0 18 12 0 0 0 0 4 19 2
Panels 18-21 1 0 0 26 2 0 8 1 0 0 0 0 5 3 0
All Panels 29 25 7 215 116 5 64 42 0 7 0 0 18 123 24

Figure 4. Freeports DOZ Drawpoint Rating System The observations showed variations due to rock type, and
are discussed herein.

The first three size categories represent the material that
could pass through the ore pass grizzly. The "large blocks"
category represents the material that could be handled by
LHDs without any material size reduction required. The
"oversize" category represents the material that requires
either secondary blasting at the draw point or hang-up
blasting. In addition, the length and width of the largest
block was recorded.
Forsterite:
The fragmentation distributions observed in the Forsterite do
not show any definite pattern. In panels 12-15, the
fragmentation was similar for heights of draw of 0-60 meters and
60-120 meters, with 50 percent of the total volume having a
fragment size greater than eight cubic meters. However, the
fragmentation for heights of draw of 120-180 meters showed
some larger blocks, which made the fragmentation coarser, with
50 percent of the volume having fragment size greater than 100
cubic meters. In panels 15-18, the fragmentation for 0-60
meters of draw is slightly coarser than that for 60-120 meter
draw. In panels 18-21, there were no data for draw heights
greater than 60 meters. The distribution showed a maximum
fragment size of 0.1 cubic meters. The percentage of volume
that has blocks greater than two cubic meters for different
heights of draw is shown in Table 2.
Forsterite-Magnetite:
The fragmentation distributions for the Forsterite-
Magnetite show that the blocks undergo size reduction as
the height of draw increases. The maximum size reduction
takes place after 120 meters of draw. Again, the percentage
of volume that has blocks greater than two cubic meters for
different heights of draw is shown in Table 2.

Figure 5. DOZ Drawpoint Fragmentation Log Magnetite:

The main concern for the mine was the large or coarse
blocks; however, fines information was also important for
understanding the compaction issue inside the transfer
raise and for analyzing the effectiveness of the secondary
ore handling system.
In the original version of the drawpoint log, the observer
was required to estimate the percentage of each category.
In the later version, counting the numbers of intermediate
and large blocks and multiplying those by proportional area-
based percentages was found to be easier and more
The observed fragmentation in the Magnetite shows
some size reduction for the 0-60 and 60-120 meters of
height-of-draw (HOD). However, the extent of size
reduction is significantly greater in panels 18-21. In panels
12-15, the magnetite was observed to be coarser than in the
other panels. Table 2 shows the percentage of volume that
has blocks greater than two cubic meters.
DOZ Breccia:
Observations in the DOZ Breccia show that the material
undergoes major size reduction after 60 meters of draw and

288 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

does not break down significantly beyond 120 meters of
draw. The percentage of volume that has blocks greater
than two cubic meters is shown in Table 2.

Diorite:
There was very little fragmentation mapping data
available from the drawpoints in the Diorite because few
drawpoints were opened in the Diorite at the time of this
analysis. However, the data collected by PTFI since
November 2002 will help better calibrate the fragmentation
estimates in this rock type.

Table 2. Percentage Volume Greater Than 2 Cubic

Meters by Rock Type and Draw Height

Rock type Forsterite Forsterite-Magnetite Magnetite DOZ Breccia

Height of Draw 0-60 60-120 120-180 0-60 60-120 120-180 0-60 60-120 120-180 0-60 60-120 120-180

Panels 12-15 28 27 26 78 84 99 41 46 - 72 94 95
Panels 15-18 72 76 - 74 77 99 87 85 - 87 93 95
Figure 6. Predicted and Observed Fragment Size
Panels 18-21 100 - - 65 71 - 80 100 - 90 88 -
Distributions for Forsterite/Forsterite-Magnetite Skarn in
Panels 12-15.

5 CALIBRATING THE RESULTS OF CORE2FRAG Calibration of the fragmentation estimates in the Diorite
USING DRAWPOINT MAPPING could not be performed in a similar way because of the
limited number of observations. Furthermore, the predicted
The observations at the drawpoints at the DOZ provided fragmentation within the Diorite was observed to be about
a unique opportunity to compare the predicted and an order of magnitude greater than that in the Forsterite and
observed fragmentation for the different rock types for Forsterite-Magnetite Skarns. A methodology was therefore
several heights of draw. Drawpoint fragmentation developed for calibrating the estimates in the Diorite based
information for a particular "fragmentation domain" was on the observations in the Forsterite and Forsterite-
compared to the predicted fragmentation for the same Magnetite Skarns by correlating the observed percentages
fragmentation domain, for the same rock type and height of and the percentages predicted by Core2Frag for the
draw. Observed and predicted fragmentation distributions different draw heights. This methodology will be refined as
were compared only for those drawpoints that had at least more observations are collected in the drawpoints in the
80 percent of one rock type. Diorite.
The observed and predicted fragmentation distributions in
Panels 12-15, 15-18, and 18-21 were compared for the 6 CONCLUSIONS
Forsterite/Forsterite-Magnetite, Magnetite, and DOZ
Breccia for HOD of 0-60 meters, 60-120 meters, and 120- Based on this study, the following conclusions are made
180 meters. The data were plotted in several ways to regarding the correlations between
understand the relationships between the two distributions. the predicted and observed fragment size distributions:
The details of the comparison and the inferences therefrom 1. In general, the percent of the total volume greater than 1-
are discussed in this section. 2 cubic meters is similar in both the observed and
The data collection procedure for drawpoint mapping was predicted fragmentation. The 80th percentile block
designed so that the PTFI geotech engineers could make a volumes in the predicted and observed fragment size
quick assessment of the block sizes and estimate the distributions are similar.
percentage in each of the categories. The procedure was 2. The procedures for estimating fragmentation
based on block side lengths, because it is easier for the underestimate the size fragments below 0.1 cubic meters
engineers to estimate lengths rather than areas or volumes. in volume.
However, the fragmentation distributions from Core2Frag 3. The observed and predicted fragment size distributions
are based on block volumes. In order to compare the two show similar relationships to the height of draw. As the
sets of information, CNI converted the linear fragment size draw height increases, more of the smaller blocks are
distributions to volumetric distributions assuming that the created.
blocks had broken down to a stable aspect ratio of 1:1.2:1.2. 4. The correlation between the two distributions appears to
The dimensions of the largest block observed in the draw be related to rock type and may be dependent on rock
point were used to estimate its volume. The fragment size properties.
distribution was then adjusted accordingly. 5. Additional data is required for generating the correlation
The height of draw for each draw point was recorded for the Diorite.
based on the month-end HOD computed from the tons
drawn from the drawpoint as reported by the PTFI Cave The process of calibration carried out in the DOZ is limited
Management System. These data were then sorted into the in its extent and applicability because of the small number
HOD Sectors used by CNI for comparison to the predicted of observations in the database. Ideally, it would have been
fragmentation. more effective to have several observations in different rock
The fragmentation distributions observed at the various types, in different draw height categories, so that a rationale
drawpoints were sorted by rock type and domain. The for calibration could be developed. It is therefore important
predicted and observed fragmentation distributions in the that the process of data collection be continued so that more
Forsterite/Forsterite-Magnetite Skarn are plotted on Figure reliable correlations can be developed between the
6. The observed fragmentation distribution represents the predicted and observed fragment size distributions. The
fragmentation at the surface of the muck pile in the draw following problems were noted in the data collection and
points (Srikant and Nicholas, 2003). correlation process:

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 289

1. The observations are biased towards the fines as the
boulders may be covered with fine gained material and
may not be visible during mapping of the muck pile
surface.
2. The mapping of the drawpoints does not include volumes
of the broken material, thus necessitating the
assumptions regarding the aspect ratio and shape of the
blocks.
3. Adequate data were not available in all rock types for all
draw heights. The applicability of the correlation is thus
limited to the draw heights and rock types in which
sufficient data are available. However, the method-ology
for the breaking of the blocks in the draw column can be
developed based on the observations.
4. The drawpoint fragmentation mapping was done on a
daily basis. However, it is a well documented fact that
unless the material is known to be well graded, the
distribution of fragment sizes within the muck pile at the
drawpoint is best assessed by taking several
measurements while the muck is being drawn out of the
drawpoint. As a result, the observed fragmentation is an
instantaneous measurement and may not be
representative of the fragmentation at that height of draw.
In order to improve the results of the Core2Frag program
and provide better estimates of the expected fragmentation,
the authors suggest that the following future work be
undertaken:
1. Continue data collection in the different rock types so that
an adequate database of observations is created for
correlation to the predicted fragment size distributions.
2. Improve the data collection process through digital
photography of the muck pile at the drawpoints.
3. Compare observed fragmentation at the drawpoint with
fragmentation measured by sieving to establish
correlations between observed 2D and measured 3D
volumetric fragment size distributions.
290 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
4. Assess other operational parameters that are affected by
the changing fragmentation so that correlations between
Core2Frag results and parameters such as secondary
blasting requirements, loader productivity, etc. can be
developed.
5. Perform similar analyses in other block caves and other
mining operations to evaluate the Core2Frag program
and the process of calibration.
7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank PTFI for permission to publish this
paper. The assistance of geotech engineers at PTFI in the
collection of the fragmentation data from the DOZ mine is
also gratefully acknowledged.
8 REFERENCES
Barber, J., Thomas, L., and Casten, T., "Freeport
Indonesias Deep Ore Zone Mine", Proc. MassMin 2000,
AusIMM, Brisbane, November 2000.
Esterhuizen, G.S., BCF Version 3.0 A Program to
Predict Block Cave Fragmentation - Technical Reference
and Users Guide, Littleton, Colorado, 1999.
Girdner, K.K., Kemeny, J.M., Srikant, A., and McGill, R.,
"The Split system for analyzing the size distribution of
fragmented rock", Measurement of Blast Fragmentation
(eds. John Franklin et al), A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam,
1996.
Pratt, R.W., Srikant, A., Nicholas, D.E. and Flint, D.C.,
Analysis of DOZ Fragmentation, CNI Report, May 2002.
Srikant, A. and Nicholas, D.E., Calibration of
Fragmentation in the DOZ Block Cave, CNI Report,
September 2003.
Srikant, A. and Nicholas, D.E., "Assessment of Primary
Fragmentation from Drill Core Data", Proc. MassMin
2004, Santiago, August 2004.
Massmin 2004
 Chapter 7
Ore Pass Design
292 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Experiments regarding
grain pressure in silos
H.A. Janssen, Engineer in Bremen (Translated from German by William Hustrulid, University of Utah,
Salt Lake City, Utah and Norbert Krauland, Consultant, Boliden, Sweden)

Abstract
Translators Note:
One of the "classic" papers referred to in many subsequent papers dealing with the flow of granular materials is the paper
by H.A. Janssen published in 1895 (Janssen, 1895). The paper was one of the first, if not the first, to recognize that the
full weight of the contents of a bin/ore pass are not carried on the bottom of the bin but much of the weight is actually
transferred to the walls. The paper included the development of the governing equations as well as the experiments
performed. Use of the hydraulic radius concept in bin/ore pass design most certainly originated based on some of the
contained ideas. In spite of the importance of the paper, the translators were unable to find a published or even an
unpublished version in English. This would suggest that those citing the reference were either fluent in German or, more
likely, simply included it for completeness sake. It is felt that this paper might be of interest to others trying to understand
and explain granular flow associated with mass mining systems.The division of the paper into sections was done by the
authors to conform to the present publication style

1 INTRODUCTION friction of the individual grains against each other. In

In the past decades, the grain production (export) from the
grain-producing countries of the earth to Europes civilized
countries has made sensational advances. Considering the
lengths of the required transport paths, this development
could only be achieved by keeping production costs low.
These are due to low wages, the extensive use of machines
both for the preparation of the soil and for gathering the
harvest as well as the means for grain storage and
transportation. With respect to low costs, in the United
States of America the development of large-scale grain
elevators (storage bins) has been essential (Arndt, 1892).
The purpose of these grain storage facilities is to store the
grain arriving in rail cars until it is reloaded onto ships for
river or sea transport. The extensive handling facilities for
weighing, storing and reloading the grain onto ships have
very high capacities. In some instances, the handling
capacity exceeds several hundreds of tons per hour. The
interior of such silos (in North America called "elevators")
consists of a number of vertical tube-like compartments that
extend from ground level to the roof. Earlier, the basic shape
of these compartments (in plan) was exclusively
rectangular. The common walls were constructed in a
wooden framework covered by thick boards. Recently, the
walls of the bins have been constructed of masonry with
steel reinforcing as well. In plan section the compartments
have hexagonal shapes like honeycombs (Arndt, 1892). The
grain is dumped into the upper end of the bin through a
small opening. The grain is removed from the bin through
closable openings in the floor. The sizes of the bins are very
diverse. The largest have a capacity of up to about 250t. In
this case, the height of the grain in the elevator is about
25m. It is clear that the large bin content must exert
considerable pressure against the side walls and the floor.
In the different construction textbooks, mention is actually
made about the necessity of providing enough support to
the bin walls. However, no guidance is provided regarding
the determination of the grain pressure against the
enclosing bin walls. The formulas for the pressure exerted
by liquids are not applicable for grain because, in the latter
case, the pressure transfer is greatly influenced by the
addition, the formulas for the calculation of earth pressure
against retaining walls are also not applicable because
these formulas, in general, have been developed for straight
walls. For a bin, the content is completely surrounded by
vertical walls.
2 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
To my knowledge, the only publication about tests
regarding the measurement of grain pressure in bins/silos
(and then only about the floor pressure) is found in
Engineering (Roberts, 1882). These tests demonstrate that
the pressure of the grain in a silo against the foundation
increase with increasing height until a certain height is
reached. Beyond that critical height there is no further
increase of the bottom pressure. The largest pressure
developed on the bottom is dependent upon the cross-
section of the bin. It should be approximately proportional to
the diameter of the largest circle inscribed in the cross-
section.
As it appeared valuable to obtain information on the
increase of pressure in the silo from the surface down to any
given depth, I performed a series of thorough (systematic)
tests, the results of which are presented here. Four wooden
test cells of square cross section with side lengths of 20, 30,
40 and 60 cm were constructed. For all of the tests, these
cells were mounted on four adjustable screw supports
denoted by S in Figures 1 and 2. The lower end of each cell
consists of a well-fitting sliding floor.
This cell floor rests on a decimal balance. At the start of
the tests, the system is brought into balance by adjusting the
counter balance weight G so that the weight of the bin
bottom is cancelled out. In this balance position, a support
is placed below the counter weight scale G and an
additional weight is added. Before the start of the test, the
grain to be poured into the apparatus and its containers are
weighed. Grain is now poured into the cell until the counter
weight scale G starts moving upward. By weighing the
pouring container once again, the amount of grain
remaining in the container can be obtained. Hence, the
amount of grain in the bin generating

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 293

 Figure 3. System of adding weights to the board placed on
top of the grain to simulate greater column heights.

3 RESULTS

Figure 1. Front view of the model bin. The test results summarized in Table 1 are graphically
presented in Figures 4 through 7. The smooth pressure
curves obtained in tests 2 through 6 suggest that significant
observational errors were not present. Observational errors
for Test No. 1 are proportionally higher since it was the first
one performed. With continued use of the apparatus, the
procedures were improved and hence observational errors
reduced. If the content of the bin consists of a fluid, the
bottom pressure (Translator: more correctly the measured
force on the bottom) is exactly equal to the weight of the bin
contents. The tests with grain, however, reveal a substantial
reduction in the bottom pressure due to the frictional
resistance between the bin walls and the grain. This
frictional resistance becomes so large with increasing depth
that the pressure increase is no longer noticeable.
Therefore the friction between the grain and the bin wall
must be equal to the weight of the enclosed grain layers.

4 BIN WALL PRESSURE

The magnitude of the largest grain pressure against the

surrounding walls in this case, and obviously the highest
value achieved, is calculated in the following manner:

Psmax = maximum pressure of the grain against the

bin wall
f = friction coefficient between the grain and the bin wall
s = side length of the square bin cross-section
Figure 2. Side view of the model bin. dh = height of the grain layer
= density of the grain
the floor pressure can be known exactly. After placing
addition weights on the counter weight scale G, the bin is
lifted by means of the support screws S until the scale is From Figure 8 one finds that:
brought back into balance. Now the apparatus is once again
ready for use and the test is continued. In this way, it was Psmax f 4s dh = s2 dh
possible with a single filling of the bin to determine the floor
pressures corresponding to various filling heights. or

Psmax = s/4f (1)

Under the assumption that the friction coefficient f

remains constant even for varying grain pressures against

294 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Figure 4. The measured bin floor force as a function of the amount of grain for Test 1.

the bin walls, the maximum pressure for different bins of

square cross-section is proportional to the side length.

5 DETERMINATION OF WALL FRICTION

The value of f can be determined by the following

experiment.
The flat vessel shown in Figure 9 was filled with wheat and
then a wooden board was placed on top of the wheat. By a string
attached to the middle of the board and connected to a spring
balance F, the board could be pulled over the grain. By placing
weights on the upper surface, the pressure (Translators Note: A
dimension problem enters again here since "pressure" between
the board and the grain is in reality a force.) between the wooden
board and the grain could be precisely controlled. The results of
these tests are presented in Tables 2a-2f. Tests 10 and 11 were Figure 7. The measured bin floor force as a function of the
performed in exactly the same way on different days. The amount of grain for Tests 5 and 6.
difference in the ascertained friction coefficients is about 8%
which may be due to differences in the humidity of the air. The From Figure 8 one finds that:
maximum value of f, f = 0.346, was obtained in Test 8. The
minimum value, f = 0.302, was obtained in Tests 10 and 12

Figure 5. The measured bin floor force as a function of the

amount of grain for Tests 2 and 3.

Figure 8. Diagrammatic cut through the bin

Figure 6. The measured bin floor force as a function of the

amount of grain for Test 4. Figure 9. Diagrammatic view of the shear test.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 295

 These investigations in which the surface pressure has But it is known that when
been gradually increased by a factor of seven from the initial
ones show that the maximum friction coefficient has not x=0
been significantly affected. Thus the friction coefficient can
be assumed, with sufficient precision, to remain constant for then
different grain heights.
p=0
6 MATHEMATICAL DERIVATIONS
Hence
The following mathematical derivations are presented
under the assumption that the side pressures in the grain x0 = 0
are proportional to the respective vertical pressures.
Thus
Given:
P = the total force of the grain on the bin floor loge (1-Kup) = -Kux
p = vertical pressure of the grain on a surface F F
ps = lateral pressure of the grain
f = friction coefficient between the grain and the bin wall This equation may then be rewritten as
K = psF and p K = psf
p 1 Kup = e-Kux/f
s = side length of the square cross-section F
u = perimeter of the square cross-section = 4 s
F = bin cross-sectional plan area = s2 Knowing that F = s2 and u = 4s, then
x = height of the superincumbent pile of grain in the bin
= density of the bin contents 1 e-4Kx/s = 4Kp
e = base of the natural logarithms s

From Figure 10, the force equilibrium on the elemental Solving for the bottom vertical pressure p gives
slice may be expressed by
p = s (1- e-4Kx/s) (2)
F(p+dp-p)= ( F dx)-(f ps u dx) 4K

Simplifying and rearranging terms yields Finally, solving for the bottom force P one finds that

dp = dx K p (/F) dx P = s3 (1-e-4Kx/s) (3)

4K
By additional rearranging one can write
7 COMPARISON OF THEORY AND EXPERIMENT
dp = dx
(1-Kup) In equations (2) and (3), only the value for K is unknown.
F This can be easily determined from experiments (tests) 1
through 6. In Test 4 (wheat with _ = 0.8 g/cm3, s = 40 cm =
4 dm), a maximum floor force of 63 kg corresponding to a
pressure of 3.94 kg/dm2 was obtained. In this case, the
circumferential friction force for a pile of height of 1 dm is
obtained using

16 = 16 (0.8) = 12.8 kg = ps f u

Thus

psf = 12.8 = 12.8 = 0.8

u 16

Since

K = ps f
p

Then

K = 0.8 = 0.203
3.94
Figure 10. The forces acting on the slice.
As a simplification, I set

K = 0.2
This can be integrated to yield = 0.80

-F loge (1-Kup) = Ku(x-x0) Equations (2) and (3) then take, respectively, the following
F simplified forms

296 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 p = s ( 1 e-0.8x/s) (2a) 1.15(0.7p) = about 0.8p

P = s3 ( 1 e-0.8x/s) (2b) As a starting point for the calculation of bin wall strength,
a uniform loading of magnitude
A comparison of the experimental results from test No. 4
and the predicted grain pressures using equation (2b) is ps = 0.75 p = s ( 0.75)( 1 e-0.8x/s) (4a)
presented in Figure 11. Better agreement is obtained if one
selects a larger value of K. This larger K value would occur will provide enough precision. Even if the above tests and
if it is determined from pressure measurements at a smaller mathematical results are considered enough for the
height. It cannot be excluded that an observational error evaluation of the required strengths of the silo floor and of
enters when determining the maximum pressure. In the the silo walls, a simpler calculation method may be desired.
same way as described above, the K values for the other We are on the safe side for the common grain types if we
tests can be determined. Thus: assume wheat with a density of 0.8 kg/dm3 as the bin
content and we use a value of K = 0.2. The grain pressure
Test K against the bin floor is calculated with formulas (2a) and
No. 1 0.211 (3a). From the graphical presentation in Figure 13 one can
No. 2 and 3 0.235 read the value of
No. 4 0.203
No. 6 0.227 Z = ( 1 e-0.8x/s)

The observed deviation can be explained by the small included in formulas (2a) and (3a) for any value of x/s.
variation of f. From Tests No. 2 and 3 the value is about
15.5% greater then that of Test No. 4. In the experiments
conducted to determine the magnitude of the friction
coefficients (experiments 7 through 12), the values of f were
found to vary from f = 0.302 to 0.348 which is a range of
14.5 %. For the mathematical determination of the lateral
pressure against the bin walls, one could choose as the
largest value that obtained in Test No. 2 and No. 3, f =
0.346, and as the smallest value that obtained in Test No. 4,
f = 0.302.
The value of

ps = Kp
f
Figure 11. Comparison of the theoretical curve and the
calculated from Tests No. 2 and 3 is experimental results for Test 4.

ps = 0.235p = 0.68 p
0.346

From Test No. 4 it becomes

ps = 0.203p = 0.675p
0.302

The average is taken as

ps = 0.7p

This is the average lateral pressure acting against the

side walls of a bin with a square cross-sectional area.
However, it is to be assumed that in the proximity of the
corner of the bin cross-section, the surface pressure is less
then this average value. On the other hand, in the center
part of the wall a larger value would be obtained. Figure 12
shows the approximate values of pressure transfer to the
sidewalls.
It is taken, as a starting point, that the grain pressure
radiates outward from the center of the bin. At the bin wall a
pressure of p sin _ is exerted. Here _ is the angle at which
the radial pressure meets the wall. The highest value of the
pressure against the wall occurs in the middle of the bin wall
and is about 1.15 times the average pressure or about
Figure 12. Variation of the side force as a function of the
position along the perimeter of a square bin.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 297

8 EXAMPLES obtained. The same thing occurred when it was attempted
to determine the floor pressure at various positions on the
Example 1 floor by special small "openings". In my opinion this result is
due to an arch forming in the grain column because of the
Calculation of the floor pressure for a bin with a plan decrease in cross-section. This strongly influences the
section area 4m x 4m (s=4m). pressure transfer to the smaller cross section. It was
decided not to carry out a test with a movable bin wall
Pile x/s Z (from p=sZ P = s3z extending over the whole height of the bin (from top to
Height(x) (m) Fig 13) (t/m2) (t) bottom) because this would have required considerable
effort and because the above described calculation
1 0.25 0.18 0.72 11.5 achieved the same goal.
2 0.50 0.33 1.32 21.1
3 0.75 0.45 1.80 28.8 10 TESTS WITH OTHER GRAINS
4 1.00 0.55 2.20 35.2
5 1.25 0.63 2.52 40.3 In addition to the wheat experiments, experiments were
6 1.50 0.70 2.80 44.7 also carried out with rye and corn (maize). The results of
8 2.00 0.80 3.20 51.2 these tests agree, in general, very well with the results of the
10 2.50 0.86 3.44 55.0 tests described above. For rye with a density of 0.75
12 3.00 0.91 3.64 58.2 kg/dm3, the pressures were about 20% lower then those of
14 3.50 0.94 3.76 60.1 wheat. Corn which has the same density as wheat (_ = 0.80
kg/dm3) produced, because of its smooth surface, a floor
The corresponding lateral pressure applied to the bin pressure that was 22% higher. For bins intended for corn
walls can now be determined by multiplying the appropriate storage, the strength of the bin walls and the bin floor has to
vertical pressure by the factor 0.75. It is easiest to read the be increased by 22%.
magnitude of
11 CONCLUSIONS
w = 0.75( 1 e-0.8x/s)
The previously described experiments from which the
from Fig. 14 for the desired x/s values. above described calculations where derived were carried
out with small scale models as the production (manufacture)
Example 2 of larger scale test bins would have been associated with
considerable cost. However, they should be clarifying in a
Calculation of the lateral pressure for a silo with a plan number of respects and it is hoped that these results can be
cross-sectional area of 3m x 3m (s = 3m) confirmed by tests in larger scale; such tests are anticipated
to be conducted by a company well known in mill
Pile x/s w (from p=sw construction. I retain the right to provide additional
Height(x) Fig 14) (t/m2) information on this subject (topic) in the future.
(m)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
1.5 0.50 0.245 0.735
3.0 1.00 0.410 1.230 The authors would like to express their thanks to Mr.
4.5 1.50 0.530 1.590 Stephan Mahnke for help in procuring the articles by
6.0 2.00 0.595 1.790 Janssen and Arndt. Ms. Alyson Boye assisted in the
8.0 2.67 0.655 1.970 preparation of the manuscript.
10.0 3.33 0.690 2.070
12.0 4.00 0.720 2.160 REFERENCES

Arndt, C. 1892. Die Silospeicher von Galatz und Braila

9 DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF PRESSURE
Originally it was the intention of the author to determine
the lateral pressure of grain directly by experiments. For this
purpose one of the experimental cells was provided with a
moveable sidewall door. The load on the door could be
applied by means of an angular lever and a suitable gravity
load. The pressure required for opening the sidewall door
could now be determined by calculation. However, during
the testing, the opening of the door by the pressure of the
cell contents was so slow that accurate results could not be
(The Storage Silos at Galatz and Braila). Zeitschrift Des
Vereines Deutscher Ingenieure. Volume 36, No. 34,
August 20, pp 973-978.
Janssen, H.A. 1895, Versuche ber Getreidedruck in
Silozellen (Experiments Regarding Grain Pressure in
Silos). Zeitschrift Des Vereines Deutscher Ingenieure.
Volume 39, No. 35 August 31, pp 1045-1049.
Roberts, I. 1892. On The Pressure of Wheat Stored in
Elongated Cells or Bins. Engineering. Volume 34. Oct 27.
p 399.

298 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 13. Calculation of the bottom force for a 4m x 4m bin.

Table 1a. Floor pressure measurement results from Test establishing the floor pressure for the 90 kg pile, the top
No. 1 in Cell 1. Plan cross-sectional area = 20 cm x 20 cm, surface of the grain was smoothed out and a suitable board
wheat with density of 0.8 kg/dm3. placed upon it. Weights of 22.5 kg are then placed on the
board as shown in Figure 3. This is equivalent to the force
Measured Floor Pressure Amount of Wheat in Cell exerted on the bin floor by a 90 kg grain pile. The measured
(kg) (kg) 23 kg force on the bin floor corresponds to a pile of 2 x 90
kg = 180 kg wheat.
2 2.53
2.5 3.5 Table 1c. Floor pressure measurement results from Test
2.7 3.9 No. 3 in Cell 2. Plan cross-sectional area = 30 cm x 30 cm,
4 6 wheat with density of 0.8 kg/dm3.
1.2 7.1
4.4 8 Measured Floor Pressure Amount of Wheat in Cell
4.6 9.2 (kg) (kg)
5 10
5.5 12 12.5 19.5
6 16 15 27
6.2 17.9 17.5 36.5
6.4 20 19.5 49
6.6 21.8 21 69.7
6.8 24 22 90
7 26 23 1803
7.2 28
7.4 36 3This value is obtained from Test No. 2 by adding another
7.5 50 22 kg weight on the column of grain.
7.6 62

Table 1d. Floor pressure measurement results from Test

Table 1b. Floor pressure measurement results from Test No. 4 in Cell 3. Plan cross-sectional area = 40 cm x 40 cm,
No. 2 in Cell 2. Plan cross-sectional area = 30 cm x 30 cm, wheat with density of 0.8 kg/dm3.
wheat with density of 0.8 kg/dm3.
Measured Floor Pressure Amount of Wheat in Cell
Measured Floor Pressure Amount of Wheat in Cell (kg) (kg)
(kg) (kg)
30 40
12.5 18.5 35 52.5
14 22.25 40 66
16.5 31.8 45 85
18 238.1 50 106.8
19 44.4 55 138.2
21 65 58 165
22 78.5 60 192
22.5 90 63 3844
23 1802
4This value is obtained similar to Test No. 2 by laying a
2The test apparatus has a capacity of only 90 kg wheat weight of 60 kg on the column of wheat.
which can be handled without too much difficulty. After

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 299

 Table 1e. Floor pressure measurement results from Test Coefficient of friction = f = 3.77/10.9 = 0.346
No. 5 in Cell 4. Plan cross-sectional area = 60 cm x 60 cm, Table 2c. Results of the sliding friction tests conducted
wheat with density of 0.8 kg/dm3. with the wooden board and grain. Test No. 9.

Measured Floor Pressure Amount of Wheat in Cell Normal Force Pulling Force
(kg) (kg) (kg) (kg)

80 105 20.9 6.98

120 185 6.73
140 245 6.78
155 300 7.23
165 350 7.28
170 380 7.23
175 440 7.18
180 510 6.98
185 540 6.98
6.73
Table 1f. Floor pressure measurement results from Test Average pulling force = 7.01 kg
No. 6 in Cell 4. Plan cross-sectional area = 60 cm x 60 cm, Coefficient of friction = f = 7.01/20.9 = 0.335
wheat with density of 0.8 kg/dm3.
Table 2d. Results of the sliding friction tests conducted
Measured Floor Pressure Amount of Wheat in Cell with the wooden board and grain. Test No. 10.
(kg) (kg)
Normal Force Pulling Force
100 140 (kg) (kg)
150 290
170 430 30.9 9.23
180 500 9.03
185 540 9.58
190 8905 9.23
9.63
5This value is obtained by laying a weight of 165 kg on the 9.28
grain column of 540 kg. 9.43
9.18
Table 2a. Results of the sliding friction tests conducted Average pulling force = 9.32 kg
with the wooden board and grain. Test No. 7. Coefficient of friction = f = 9.32/30.9 = 0.302

Normal Force Pulling Force Table 2e. Results of the sliding friction tests conducted
(kg) (kg) with the wooden board and grain. Test No. 11.

5.9 1.93 Normal Force Pulling Force

1.93 (kg) (kg)
1.93
1.93 30.9 10.23
1.98 10.18
1.88 10.08
2.03 9.93
2.08 9.93
1.93 10.03
1.98 10.38
10.03
Average pulling force = 1.96 kg Average pulling force = 10.10 kg
Coefficient of friction = f = 1.96/5.9 = 0.332 Coefficient of friction = f = 10.10/30.9 = 0.327

Table 2b. Results of the sliding friction tests conducted Table 2f. Results of the sliding friction tests conducted
with the wooden board and grain. Test No. 8. with the wooden board and grain. Test No. 12.

Normal Force Pulling Force Normal Force Pulling Force

(kg) (kg) (kg) (kg)

10.9 3.73 40.9 12.53

3.73 12.48
3.78 12.38
3.78 11.93
3.83 12.98
3.83 12.48
3.78 12.28
3.78 12.53
3.73
3.73 Average pulling force = 12.36 kg
Average pulling force = 3.77 kg Coefficient of friction = f = 12.36/40.9 = 0.302

300 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Some remarks on ore
pass design guidelines
William Hustrulid and Changshou Sun, Department of Mining Engineering, University of Utah, SLC, UT, USA
Graham Mustoe, Division of Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA

Abstract
Mass mining systems rely heavily on the use of ore passes to transfer material from the production to the haulage levels.
Hang-ups can severely impair production capacity, present safety problems in their removal, and can significantly reduce
ore pass life. Although there are some rules of thumb relating ore pass geometry and fragment size, the database is
weak. The paper begins by presenting a critical review of the literature concerning ore pass design rules. The results of
an extensive set of laboratory experiments involving different ore pass geometries and material characteristics are then
presented. Some numerical simulations using OREPASS 3D, the 3D discrete element program developed at the Colorado
School of Mines are then presented. The paper concludes with some recommendations.

1 INTRODUCTION

The trend in underground mining systems has been

to increased scale. This is reflected in the size of the
openings, the block/sublevel heights, and the
extraction pattern geometries. As the size of the
extraction equipment and drawpoints is increased, so
too is the maximum size of the pieces to be handled.
Some of the boulders are too large to be moved from
the drawpoint and must be treated in place. Others
can be moved to special drifts where they are drilled
and blasted or otherwise broken. Finally there are the
majority of the boulders which are transported along
with the smaller muck to an ore pass. The special
case of muck being transported directly to crushers is
an interesting one but will not be dealt with here.
There are a number of philosophies concerning
orepass management. In some cases, the loaders will
dump to an open hole such as shown in Figure 1A.
Guidelines are given to the loader operator regarding
the limiting boulder size so that hangups should not
occur. The proper judging of boulder size and
following the instructions is left up to the loader
operator. In other cases, positive control is exerted
over the maximum size of the boulders being
transferred to the pass in the form of either a scalper
grizzly as shown in Figure 1B or the full grid grizzly
shown in Figure 1C. The disadvantage of these two
systems as compared to the open hole is that some
means must be provided to break the boulders caught
by the grizzly. In older times, this function was
performed by men with double jacks. Today, this
function is done by heavy hydraulic hammers often
operated remotely. The placement of a grizzly
between the loader and the open hole introduces a
dumping delay in the loading operation and, as such,
acts as a production rate limiter. As a compromise,
some operations dump down a short open hole to a
grizzly level where boulder breaking can occur in
parallel rather than in series with the loader. There are
limits applied to the orepass size based on
economics, excavation techniques, and layout
considerations. With regard to the latter, as the
diameter of the orepasses is increased in a panel
caving sector, the pillars become smaller and the
Figure 1. Different Boulder Control Alternatives
spans larger presenting the possibility for areal
stability problems. A limiting orepass diameter given
such practical considerations is of the order of 3 to
3.5m. With the increase in mining scale and the
emphasis on minimizing specific development, the
number of orepasses serving a panel is minimized.
However with the increased mining scale, the tonnage
which must be passed through each ore pass is
greatly increased from earlier times. To pass the extra
tonnage, linings of various types are sometimes
installed. Their presence can reduce the useable
diameter from the 3.5m diameter, as excavated, to a
3m finished diameter, for example. Although this might
not seem to be a major change, this must be
evaluated with regard to changing the hangup
potential. Over the years, some guidelines have been
developed regarding the relationship between the size
of pieces to be passed, the size of the orepass and
the hangup potential. This paper will review those
guidelines and the data supporting them, describe
some of the results of a recent laboratory ore pass
study, present some ore pass simulations using
OREPASS3D, and conclude with some suggested
guideline revisions.
2 REVIEW OF CURRENT DESIGN GUIDELINES
The most complete set of laboratory studies relating
particle size, ore pass size and the formation of hang-ups
was published by Aytaman (1960). In these studies, the
source material was screened into the ten size fractions
given in Table 1.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 301

 Table 1. Screen Fractions Used in the Hang-up Study by bored to a diameter of 4 m, particles with a diameter of less
Aytaman. Aytaman (1960). than 1.0 m will flow freely through the channel, particles
greater than 2.0 m will not flow and sizes in between will
- 0.742 + 0.525 ins produce intermittent hang-ups."
- 0.525 + 0.371 ins In this case, Just (1980) has modified the mesh-size
- 0.371 + 0.263 ins definition of the "largest particle size" used by Aytaman
- 0.263 + 0.185 ins (1960) to a "largest particle size" defined by the diameter.
- 0.185 + 0.131 ins With regard to designing within the intermittent flow regime,
- 0.131 + 0.093 ins Just (1980) suggests that one might make an analysis of the
- 0.093 + 0.065 ins type made by Driver (1972) in which the number of interrup-
- 0.065 + 0.046 ins tions to the free flow of material is expressed in terms of the
- 0.046 + 0.033 ins extracted material. Although his predicted blockages per ton
- 0.033 + 0.023 ins of material passed seem to be, in general, very high, it may
be worthwhile reviewing the approach. On the basis of such
Flow tests were then performed using each of the curves, one might make an ore pass size material size
fractions in cylindrical steel tubes having nominal opening decision based upon an acceptability of blockages criterion.
diameters of 3", 2", 1-1/2", 1-1/4", 1", _" and _". The tubes
were filled and then the bottom closure was opened. It was In 1983, Engineers International, Inc. submitted their final
noted whether the material (1) flowed out, (2) flowed report "Guidelines for Open-Pit Ore Pass Design" to the
intermittently, or (3) did not flow at all. The (x,y) points U.S. Bureau of Mines (Engineers International, Inc., 1983).
corresponding to the maximum screen opening (d) for each In the report, they include Table 2.
pair of screens and the actual tube diameter (D) were then By way of explanation, they indicate that
plotted with an indication as to which of the above flow
classes they belonged. Limiting lines representing the no- "Table 2 summarizes the empirical evidence for design
flow and free-flow conditions were then superimposed. As against interlocking arch formation in terms of the ratio of
seen in Figure 2, Aytaman (1960) found that the regions ore pass dimension (D) or outlet dimension (Do) and the
were defined by: frequency of arch formation. Table 2 provides design
guidance with respect to the prevention of interlocking
D/d 4.21 flow always occurs, free flow arches. In order to use the information in this table, one
2.24 < D/d < 4.21 flow may or may not occur, probable must decide which ore pass or outlet dimension and which
flow particle dimension should be used to form the ratio D/d or
D/d 2.24 flow never occurs, no-flow Do/d. In the case of circular ore passes and outlets handling
Aytaman (1960) indicates that d is the "largest" particle roughly equi-dimensional rock fragments, the situation is
size. Although performed in the unambiguous. In the case of rectangular or square ore
passes and outlets, arching is apt to occur across the
smallest dimension. However, such an arch may not stop
flow over the entire area of the ore pass or slot. In fact, slot
outlets are considered to be more active than circular
outlets because arching can only occur in one direction with
slot outlets while two mutually perpendicular directions are
possible over the circular outlets. As a practical matter, the
dimensions of rectangular ore passes are unlikely to differ
so much as to be considered slots, so that the least
dimension of a rectangular ore pass or outlet should be
used as D or Do in the table."

Table 2. Ratio of Ore Pass or Outlet Dimension to

Particle Dimension versus Relative Interlocking
Frequency. After Engineers International, Inc. (1983).

Dimension Ratio Relative Interlocking Frequency

D/d or Do/d > 5 very low, almost certain flow

3< D/d or Do/d < 5 often, flow uncertain
D/d or Do/d < 3 very high, almost certain no-flow

Where:
D = ore pass diameter
Do = draw point (outlet) diameter
Figure 2. Ore Pass Design Data and Guidelines By Aytaman d = maximum size of muck
(1960).

laboratory with certain fractions rather than a full spectrum
of size distributions, this is considered by the present
authors to be the most comprehensive data set available.
In 1980 Just (1980) presented his version of the Aytaman
(1960) results in which he simplified the limits to be D/d = 4
and D/d = 2. He indicates
"If material containing a com-plete size range of particles
is involved, the flow regime is determined on the basis of the
largest particle size. For exam-ple, if the ore pass is raise-
They continue to say
"In the case of rock fragments that are slab-shaped rather
than equi-dimensional, a very conservative approach would
be to use the largest dimension of the fragments as d."
This, apparently, is the dimension they have suggested
for use with their table. As was discussed in the introduction,
in a panel caving layout the space available for locating an
ore pass is very limited. It is important that the opening
dimension be "big enough" but not "too big" since this

302 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

translates into major expense. Given the high multiplication
factor, there cannot be any confusion in the appropriate
fragment dimension to be used.
Engineers International used a number of sources to
arrive at their table including the earlier cited work of
Aytaman (1960). New information of their own was collected
during eight mine visits. The data set included (1) both
circular and rectangular openings, (2) open holes and
grizzlies, and (3) various levels of hang-up formation. In a
few cases two different ore pass sizes were used at the
same mine. Using their data, the present authors have
constructed Figure 3 with the axes being minimum ore pass
dimension and grizzly opening. Superimposed on the figure
are their recommended limits of D/d = 5 and D/d = 3. In this
case, the grizzly opening was used to define d. Although
some points lie on the wrong side of the appropriate
bounding line, the general fit is not too bad. The Aytaman
(1960) limits have also been superimposed on Figure 4 and
these seem to describe the data even better in the view of
the present authors.
Figure 3. Ore Pass Design Data and Guidelines From
Engineers International, Inc. (1983).
Lessard and Hadjigeorgiou (2003 a,b) have reported the
results of an extensive research program aimed at the
development of design tools to minimize the occurrence of
ore pass interlocking hang-ups in metal mines. The program
involved the collection of field data from mines in Quebec
coupled with numerical simulations involving the use of
PFC2D and PFC3D. Figure 4 is a summary of their field
results. In their plot, the ore pass dimension D was based
upon mine plans while the fragment size d was dictated by
grizzly dimensions or, in the absence of a grizzly, by image
a anylysis of the blasted ore. The x axis was labelled
"Largest Rock Size" which has been re-labelled "Grizzly
Opening" by the present authors. They superimposed the
lines corresponding to D/d = 2, that indicated as the flow
limit by Jenike(1961), and D/d = 5 suggested by
International Engineers, Inc (1983) as the free flow limit.
They found D/d = 4 to be the empirical limit for ensuring
free-flow and suggest this to be a more suitable design
guideline for use in Quebec mines than earlier ones from the
literature. As reference, the present authors have
superimposed the Aytaman (1960) limits of D/d = 2.24 and
D/d = 4.21.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 4. Ore Pass Design Data and Guidelines From
Lessard and Hadjigeorgiou (2003).
It is evident from this short review that guidelines do exist
for either (1) selecting ore pass dimensions based on a
given fragment size or (2) indicating the sizes of fragments
that can be passed through an ore pass of a given
dimension. The broad width of the "intermittent flow zone" is
a problem for those trying to "optimize" mine layouts. This
topic will be addressed again in a later section. There is,
however, a consistency problem with regard to the
appropriate fragment dimension to be used. Different
authors mean different things when they refer to fragment
dimension d. No standard definition of d currently exists.
This seems to be a critical point which needs addressing. It
appears logical to the present authors to select the
intermediate particle dimension as that which should be
selected as d when applying the design rules. Figure 1,
introduced earlier, shows an open raise, a raise equipped
with a scalper grizzly and one equipped with a square grid
grizzly. It will be assumed that a typical particle is ellipsoidal
in shape with dimensions L x B x T (length x breadth x
thickness). For the open raise, the intermediate dimension
is limiting presuming the long axis rotates to point downward
during flow (as suggested by Jenike (1961)). For the square
grid grizzly, it is also the intermediate dimension that
controls. For the scalper grizzly, it is the minimum dimension
that controls. In this case, the use of the intermediate
dimension for design would be conservative.
3 LABORATORY ORE PASS FLOW STUDIES
The laboratory ore pass flow studies of Aytaman (1960)
involved testing certain size fractions while holding all other
factors constant. Engineers International, Inc (1983) and
Lessard et al (2003b) reported actual ore pass data for a
variety of mine conditions. Because actual flow in ore
passes involves a rather wide range of conditions, it was
decided to try and evaluate the applicability of the ore pass
design guidelines under a few of them in the laboratory.
Based on the literature review and mine experience a
number of different factors which influence the operation of
an ore pass system might be taken into account:
Ore pass size
Ore pass shape
303
 Wall condition: smooth or rough. the bottom to simulate full ore pass draw. For Case 1, no
Orientation: vertical or inclined hang-ups were observed in any of the tests. Since the
Operational mode: dump while empty or partially full intermediate dimension of the largest particle in the different
Boulder size and shape mixtures was less than the tube size, this was to be
Particle distribution expected. For Case 2, the tubes were completely filled in a
Moisture condition number of steps giving time for compaction and inter-locks
to form. This was exactly the way that Aytaman (1960)
All of these were studied to some degree in the current conducted his tests. Upon opening the bottom of the tube,
laboratory study. Due to space limitations, only a few of the the flow conditions are noted. For certain geometries and
results can be reported here. The interested reader is material conditions, the material flows directly out. For
referred to the report by Sun and Hustrulid (2004). others, however, only a portion flows out before there is a
A local quarry supplied quantities of their "road base" mix blockage. Upon removing the blockage, the
and "concrete" mix for use in the tests. These mixes could
then be combined in different ratios to achieve other
mixtures. The one reported in some detail here is the so-
called "mine" mix which is patterned after the fragmentation Table 4. Dimensions of the 23mm+19.5mm
distribution of the primary ore from the Esmeralda section, Fraction Particles
El Teniente mine. The laboratory size distribution is shown
in Table 3. Average Aspect Aspect
Max Inter Min Dimension Ratio 1 Ratio 2
The fraction 23mm + 19.5mm was examined in some Sample (L) mm (B) mm (T) mm mm L/B B/T
detail with measurements made of a number of the
individual pieces. The results are given in Table 4. As might 1 27 21 16 21.33 1.29 1.31
be expected, 2 31 20 13 21.33 1.55 1.54
- the minimum dimension > 19.5 mm 3 38 20 12 23.33 1.9 1.67
- the intermediate dimension <= 23 mm 4 33 23 18 24.67 1.43 1.28
- the maximum dimension >= 23mm 5 35 22 21 26 1.59 1.05
6 30 20 12 20.67 1.5 1.67
As shown, the average aspect ratios are: 7 32 21 15 22.67 1.52 1.4
L/B = 1.49 8 29 17 15 20.33 1.71 1.13
B/T = 1.47 9 31 20 16 22.33 1.55 1.25
10 42 17 11 23.33 2.47 1.55
At the Esmeralda sector, when using 6 yd3 LHDs it is 11 29 21 9 19.67 1.38 2.33
considered that the largest boulders have dimensions of the 12 28 22 13 21 1.27 1.69
order of 1.5m:1.2m:0.85m (Diaz, 2003). The corresponding 13 25 23 13 20.33 1.09 1.77
aspect ratios would be, respectively, 1.25 and 1.41. The 14 26 22 18 22 1.18 1.22
Esmeralda ore passes are 3.5m in diameter and are 15 32 21 13 22 1.52 1.62
equipped with a 40" x 40"grizzly (Barraza et al, 2000). The 16 30 22 15 22.33 1.36 1.47
D/d ratio is 3.45 and hangups are not indicated to be a 17 27 23 17 22.33 1.17 1.35
problem. 18 28 22 16 22 1.27 1.38
Figure 5 shows a picture of the mine mix. A cube with a 19 35 15 12 20.67 2.33 1.25
side length of 14mm has been used for scale. The 20 32 23 14 23 1.39 1.64
properties of the mix were determined using a variety of 21 27 21 15 21 1.29 1.4
tests. The results are summarized in Table 5. 22 27 23 17 22.33 1.17 1.35
A series of ore pass tests were conducted in much the 23 26 21 14 20.33 1.24 1.5
same way as done by Aytaman (1960) but not as extensive.
ABS tubes of 1-1/2", 2", 2-1/2", 3", and 4" internal diameter Average 30.43 20.87 14.57 21.96 1.49 1.47
were selected for the primary tests. Each tube was 60" in
length. Although for most of the tests smooth-walled tubes
were used, some tests were performed using ABS tubes Table 5. Properties of the Mine Mix
with a ring structure to simulate the rough wall conditions in
ore passes after some time of use. The primary testing Property Value
orientation was with the tubes mounted vertical. Some tests
were also performed with the tubes mounted at 50o and 60o Solid density 2.5 g/cm3
from the horizontal. One test series was performed Bulk density 1.62 g/cm3
comparing tubes of circular and square cross-section. Void ratio 0.54
Friction angle
Table 3. Size Distribution of the Mine Mix. (wall and material) 24 (smooth surface
sliding test)
Fraction Weight Percent 29 (rough surface
- 23.0 mm + 19.5 mm 9 sliding test)
- 19.5 mm + 16.0 mm 10 Internal friction 37 (angle of repose)
- 16.0 mm + 12.5 mm 11 35.9 (direct shear)
-12.5 mm + 9.5 mm 15
- 9.5 mm + 6.5 mm 20
- 6.5 mm + 2.38 mm 30 flow may start again but then stop. On the other hand, it
- 2.38 mm 5 may continue to flow. Each test is repeated four times with
the average number of hang-ups reported. The results
The tests were conducted using two extreme case LHD using the mine mix in vertical smooth tubes are shown in
dumping modes: (1) dumping of the mixture into an empty Table 6. The results are quite surprising based upon
tube; and (2) completely filling the tube and then releasing conventional ore pass design guidance. Free-flow

304 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

conditions were obtained for D/d ratios only somewhat consider the results obtained with the "concrete mix" and
greater than 2.2 rather than the 4.21 value suggested by the "road base mix" under the same test conditions. Pictures
Aytaman (1960), for of the two mixes are shown in figures 7 and 8, respectively.
The particle size distributions are given in Table 7.

Figure 5. Picture of the Mine Mix Figure 7. The Concrete Mix

Figure 8. The Road Base Mix

As can be seen, there is a major difference in the

distributions. About 87% of the concrete mix lies in the range
23mm+12.5mm. Only about 20% of the road-base mix falls
in this range. For the road-base mix, about 80% falls below
12.5mm whereas for the concrete mix the corresponding
Figure 6. Test Setup Using Vertical Tubes value is about 13%. The results of the filled ore pass flow
studies for these mixtures are presented in Table 8.
Table 6. Results of Vertical, Filled, A number of interesting observations can be made. First,
Smooth Wall Ore Pass Tests Using the Mine Mix the concrete mix with a high percentage of relatively large
particles behaves similarly to the Aytaman (1960) results.
Tube Number of For a D/d ratio of 1.7, there is essentially no flow. For a ratio
Diameter (mm) Hang-ups D/d of 3.3, on the other hand, there is free-flow. The fact that a
large number of inter-locking hang-ups are observed is
102 0 4.4 because about 23% of the mix is made up of particles
76.5 0 3.3 represented by d. For
63.8 0 2.8 the road base mix with a very high proportion of fines,
51 1 2.2 there was still free-flow at a ratio of 2.2 and there were
38.3 3.5 1.7 relatively few stoppages even for a ratio of 1.7. This is to be
expected since the percentage of the mix upon which the d
in the D/d ratio is based represents only about 3% of the
example. The one clear difference between the tests is total. The important conclusion is that the particle
that here a wide distribution of particle sizes was used distribution plays a major role in determining the frequency
whereas his tests involved a very narrow range. To examine of occurrence of inter-locking hang-ups and must be
the importance of particle size distribution it is of interest to considered when formulating ore pass design guidelines.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 305

4 NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS Two modified cases were then generated. In the first
modified case (Case 1M), the dimensions of the particles
OREPASS3D, developed at the Colorado School of Mines were proportionally increased from the standard size by
under the auspices of the Western Mining Resource Center, 25%. The D/d ratio drops to 2.0. In the second modified
. is a user-friendly program for evaluating different ore case, the dimensions of the particles were proportionally
pass/chute designs. Here, it has been used to examine the decreased from the standard size by 25% and D/d = 3.33.
The result of the Case 1M (Figure 10) simulation shows that
Table 7. Size Distribution for the the majority of particles fall as a large chunk of material
Concrete and Road Base Mixes shortly after the gate is opened. However, a small chunk of
particles hang-up at the top of the ore pass for at least 5
Weight Percent seconds. This is a surprising result especially since the
Fraction Concrete Mix Road Base Mix standard case hung up.

- 23.0 mm + 19.5 mm 22.8 3.3

- 19.5 mm + 16.0 mm 26.1 10.0
- 16.0 mm + 12.5 mm 38.3 6.4
-12.5 mm + 9.5 mm 11.0 24.5
- 9.5 mm + 4.75 mm 0.9 10.0
- 4.75 mm + 2.38 mm 0.5 22.0
- 2.38 mm 0.4 23.8

Table 8. Results of Vertical, Filled, Smooth Wall Ore

Pass Tests Using the Concrete and Road Base Mixes

Number of Hang-ups
Tube Concrete Road Base
Diameter Mix Mix D/d

102 0 0 4.4
76.5 0 0 3.3
63.8 2.5 0 2.8
51 3.5 0 2.2
38.3 10 1.5 1.7
Figure 10. The Results for Case 1M with 25% Bigger
Particles. The Initial and Final Configurations of the Particles
flow characteristics of three different size particles in a 3m Show Particle Chunks
diameter, 32 m high, vertical ore pass. For the standard
case, the ore pass was filled with ellipsoidal particles of The results of Case 2M (Figure 11) involving the 25
dimension 1.8m x 1.2m x 0.85m. Using the intermediate percent smaller particles show a majority of the particles
dimension of 1.2m and the ore pass diameter of 3m gives falling freely immediately after the gate is opened. In this
D/d = 2.5. The coefficient of friction for ore/ore and ore/wall case the ore particles loosen up as they flow and do not
interactions was specified as 0.577 which corresponds to an show the chunky motion seen in Case 1M. Overall these
angle of friction of 300. After the particles settled the lower results are as expected the smaller particles flow more
gate was opened for 10 seconds. By modeling the 32 m. freely. One further analysis (called ripple) was performed
section as a 2m and a 30m , the option of opening the gates using the standard size particles. Here, the diameter of the
at different times was offered. The result of the standard lower part (3m height) of the vertical section of the ore pass
case shows that after the gate is opened, a few particles fall. was varied from 3m to 3.1m and then back to 3m. This was
However, the remainder of the particles hang-up (see Figure done to assess the likelihood of particle arching being
9). This hang-up is maintained for at least 10 seconds. generated by a small variation in the diameter of the ore
pass. The results of this case (Figure 12) showed that ore
particles flowed relatively freely and did not show any
noticeable arching.
As illustrated by these few examples, a great many ore
pass design possibilities can be easily studied, with this
powerful DEM software. Unfortunately, it is very limited with
respect to the range of particle sizes that can be included in
any one problem. This is a major limitation given the size
distribution flow dependence observed in the laboratory
studies.

Figure 9. Hang-up in the Standard Case

306 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 11. The Results of Case 2M with 25% Smaller
Particles. The Initial and Final Configuration of Particles
Showing Free Flow of Particles
Figure 12. Standard Case Particles with a Lower Ore Pass
Geometry "Ripple.": Initial and Final Configuration of
Particles Showing the Free Flow of Particles
5 CONCLUDING REMARKS
The proper design of ore pass systems to avoid hang-ups
is important for successful mass mining. A number of
different control techniques are available. For a given ore
pass dimension, the size of the boulders must be controlled.
One way of accomplishing this is through instructions to the
loader operator, another more certain technique is through
the placement of a grizzly. The traditional approach to
design is through design ratios involving the ore pass
dimension and the maximum size fragment. Different
authors have selected different particle dimensions to be
used with the ratios. It is strongly recommended that the
intermediate fragment dimension be selected as the
standard. This corresponds to the opening dimension of a
square grid grizzly. The current laboratory test series has
shown that the occurrence of inter-locking hang-ups is
dependent on the size distribution as well as on the absolute
size of the pieces present. Three different size distributions
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
were studied while maintaining the same maximum particle
size. Free-flow conditions were achieved under three
different D/d ratios, namely 3.3, 2.8 and 2.2 when the
percentage of the largest size particles present assumed
values of 23%, 9%, and 3.3%, respectively. For the mine
mix, an ore pass diameter to d (intermediate boulder
dimension) ratio of 2.8 should be enough to assure free-
flow. Applying this rule at the Esmeralda mine, assuming
boulders having an intermediate dimension of 1m (the size
of the grizzly opening), one would expect that an ore pass
2.8m in diameter should be sufficient. As indicated earlier,
the actual ore pass diameter is 3.5m and hang-up problems
have not resulted.
In reviewing the field data collected by Lessard and
Hadjigeorgiou (2003b) it is seen that there are many
instances where free-flow conditions are observed for D/d
ratios in the range of 2 - 4. From the lab results these can
be explained by the broken muck having a special
distribution. The present authors suggest trying to correlate
the measured size distributions with their hang-up
observations. Perhaps this will be done in the future. It was
initially thought that numerical techniques such as
OREPASS3D, PCF2D, or PFC3D might be of use for
developing design guidelines. Unfortunately, at the present
time the range of particle sizes that can be studied is
extremely limited. The models can easily show hang-ups
when the particle size distribution is narrow and the particles
are relatively large compared to the ore pass dimension.
However, it is clear that single particles only slightly smaller
than the ore pass will fall through without arching.
Although it appears to be going back in time, the authors
suggest conducting some simple laboratory tests when
trying to decide on ore pass designs. For new sections in
existing mines, fragmentation distributions should be
available. For new mines, it may be possible to predict
fragmentation curves with sufficient accuracy based upon
core measurements.
Almost 40 years ago, Kvapil (1965b) published a
nomogram to be used in conjunction with some basic
relationships for ore pass dimensioning. Through the
nomogram, the effect of the component distribution (coarse,
medium, fines) and the characteristics of the individual
components could be included in the ore pass size decision.
It may be time to revisit this approach making modifications,
as necessary, to fit modern practice.
In summary, it would appear that, except in very special
fragmentation cases, the required D/d ratios for free-flow
are certainly much less than 5. As shown by the
experiments and indirectly by the field data from the Quebec
mines, the ratio can even sometimes be less than 3. Further
work on the influence of size distribution on ore pass hang-
up formation is certainly required. The work reported in this
paper will hopefully lead to a new way of approaching the
problem and new, practical design rules.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This publication was supported by Cooperative
Agreement number U60/CCU816929-02 from the
Department of Health and Human Services, Center for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are
solely the responsibility of the authors and do not
necessarily represent the views of the Department of Health
and Human Services, CDC. Support provided by the
Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, is greatly
acknowledged. The work presented is part of the Health and
Safety research activities currently being carried out at
Western Mining Resource Center (WMRC) at the Colorado
School of Mines. Ms. Alyson Boye of the Department of
307
Mining Engineering, University of Utah assisted in the
preparation of the manuscript. Mr. Rob Byrnes assisted in
performing the model tests.
REFERENCES
Aytaman, V. 1960. Causes of "Hanging" in Ore Chutes.
Canadian Mining Journal. November (pp 77-81),
December (pp 71-75) and January 1961 (pp 41-45).
Barraza, M., and P. Crorkan. 2000. Esmeralda Mine
Exploitation Project. MassMin 2000 (G. Chitombo, editor).
Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Pp 267-278.
Diaz, G. 2003. Personal Communication
Driver, D.J. 1972. Sublevel Stope Extraction Control
Design. Unpublished Thesis, University of Queensland.
Engineers International, Inc. 1983. Guidelines for Open-
Pit Ore Pass Design (Volumes I and II). Final Report on
Contract J0205041 Submitted to the U.S. Bureau of
Mines. September.
Hadjigeorgiou, J., and J.-F. Lessard. 2003. The Case for
Liners in Ore Pass Systems. 3rd International Seminar on
Surface Support Liners. Montreal. August. 14pp.
308 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Jenike, A.W. 1961. Gravity Flow of Bulk Solids. Bulletin
No. 108. The University of Utah.
Just, G.D. 1980. Rock Fragmentation and the design of
Underground Materials Handling Systems. CIM Bulletin.
February. Pp 45 51.
Kvapil, R. 1965a. Gravity Flow of Granular Materials in
Hoppers and Bins Part 1. Int. J. Rock Mech. Mining Sci.
Vol 2. pp 35-41.
Kvapil, R. 1965b. Gravity Flow of Granular Materials in
Hoppers and Bins Part 2. Int. J. Rock Mech. Mining Sci.
Vol 2. pp 277-304.
Lessard, J.F., and J. Hadjigeorgiou. 2003a. Ore Pass
Systems in Quebec Underground Mines. Mine Planning
and Equipment Selection. Kalgoorlie, WA. April 23-25. pp
509-521.
Lessard, J.F., and J. Hadjigeorgiou. 2003b. Design Tools
to Minimize the Occurrence of Ore Pass Interlocking
Hang-ups in Metal Mines. Technology Roadmap for Rock
Mechanics. South African Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy. Pp 757-762.
Sun, C., and W. Hustrulid. 2004. Ore Pass Study Final
Report. Submitted to the Western Mining Resource
Center (WMRC), Colorado School of Mines.
Massmin 2004
 Geomechanical criteria
for orepass design
El Teniente Mine, Codelco Chile
Eduardo Rojas, Antonio Bonani, Eugenio Santander, El Teniente Division, Codelco Chile

Abstract
El Teniente mine is a large coper deposit. The current daily production rate is over 100,000 tons per day of ore. Using
orepasses this ore is loaded into trains or trucks.
Orepass overbreak is an important problem that affects the mining proces. In some cases, an ore pass can reach 2 or 3
times its original diameter. This effect shortens the orepass life and may produce instabilities affecting the galleries an
upper levels.
The damage is principally associated to the: Where (and When) an ore pass is excavated and when orepass production
begins in relation to the caving front position (initial stress environment and stress changes).
Favorable rockmass conditions for orepass construction and operation are associated with the specific ratio between the
major principal stress and UCS.
According to previous concepts, design criteria were defined for the construction and operation of orepasses in Tte. 4
South sector.

INTRODUCTION geomechanical behavior, the primary rockmass can exhibit

At El Teniente Mine, caving considers a process that
begins from extracting ore, and finishes in the concentration
plant. Ore extraction includes some sequential activities
which are: ore extraction, vertical flow (through ore passes)
and haulage. In this system, orepasses are the most
vulnerable structures because design does not take into
account the latest expertise of rockmass behaviour affected
by induced stresses.
To date, 30 Mt of primary rock have been handled through
169 orepasses. In many cases, orepass overbreak
determines its working life, so affecting mining structure.
In relation to the last point, a methodology to evaluate
orepass stability in primary rock based upon field stresses
and rock mass conditions is introduced in this paper. Typical
orepass problems at Tte. 4 Sur Sector are presented to
validate this method.
GENERAL OVERVIEW
El Teniente Mine is a Codelco-Chile underground copper
mine. It is located in the foothills of the Andes in the central
zone of Chile (South America), about 70 km SSE from the
capital city, Santiago.
The El Teniente porphyry copper orebody is one of the
largest known copper deposits in the world. It includes
andesite, diorite and hydrothermal breccias of the Miocene
era as the main lithologies.
A chimney of subvolcanic breccias known as the
"Braden Pipe" post dates the copper-molybdenum
mineralisation. It has an inverted cone shape and the
hydrothermal mineralisation is distributed round this pipe
over a variable radial extension of 400 m to 800 m, with
mineralogical associations of variable strength. The
mineralisation has two very different forms, secondary
ore is located near the surface and primary
mineralisation occurs at greater depth.
The primary ore can be described as a high cohesion and
impermeable rock mass. The stockwork veins, containing
the original mineralogy, are sealed. According to
brittle, often violent failure under a high stress condition.
El Teniente Mine began operations in 1906. Since then,
various exploitation methods have been used in productive
sectors located in secondary mineral. The methods
ranged from "raised work over mineral" combined with
shrinkage stoping and pillar recovery to block caving and
panel caving.
Knowledge gained over the years concerning primary ore
exploitation with conventional panel caving (320 million tons
extracted to date) has indicated that the advance of the
caving face is the main cause of gallery damage in levels
below the UCL. Experience has also shown that a variation
of conventional panel caving sequence, knows as the "pre-
undercut," method reduces the degree of gallery damage in
the levels below the UCL, as well as the possibility of
rockbursts associated with the advance of the undercut
face. Pre-undercutting basically consists of advancing the
undercut ahead of all development in the lower levels. All
production level development is made behind the cave front
and under the caved area.
CAVING METHOD DESCRIPTIONS
Caving requires the control of the breakage of a great
volume of rock, induced by undercutting and draw point
extraction, and hauling this broken ore from production level
to benefit plant.
At El Teniente Mine, gravity ore flow is possible due the
favourable location of the concentration plant. In this way,
ore passes are a key factor in ore flow process.
Physical and mechanical rock mass properties have
changed as the mine has deepned. Primary rock has minor
grade, greater hardness and coarse fragmentation than
secondary ore.
INDUCED STRESS IN ROCK MASS
A great quantity of information related to panel caving
variants and their use in El Teniente Mine can be found in
technical books and papers.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 309

 NIVEL HUNDIMIENTO
ZANJA

NIVEL DE PRODUCCION

PIQUES DE
TRASPASO
NIVEL MARTILLOS PICADORES
Figura 3. Induced stress state in rock mass by the
Conventional Panel Caving
NIVEL TRANSPORTE

Some induced stress states in the rockmass are

generated by conventional panel caving, but in this case all
excavations are constructed during the premining state of
stress so they are affected by stress changed (direction and
Figura 1. Panel Caving schematic view condition magnitude) due to the caving front advance.

Geomechanical Evaluation of orepasses at the Tte.4 Sur

sector
Stress conditions induced by the caving front are Rock mass properties: Rock mass deformability and
analyzed to identify the parameters that control orepass strength were calculated for each lithology by scaling intact
stability. Three zones of rock mass conditions induced by rock properties to the mining level (1e4 m3 of rock (table
caving front stress are recognized (Pre-mining, Transition 1)).
and 0Relaxation (Rojas E., Molina R., Cavieres P. 2001).
Therefore, several distances are incorporated into mining
design to implement safe working conditions in the mine.
The Induced stress state generated by pre-undercutting
caving is showed in figure 2. In this case all production drifts
are developing in the de-stressed zones, which is more
favourable than the transition zone, excepting the galleries Table 1. Geotechnical properties of rock mass at the
in the ventilation and haulage levels which are constructed 1e4 m3 scaled according to Hoek and Brown Criteria
in the pre-mining zone.
Rock Mass (Hoek & Brown)

Parameter Andesita Diorita Bx hidro Anh

Turmalina
Em [GPa] 43 36 14
m 0.19 0.26 0.16
m [] 35 37 41
m [MPa] 56 42 37
tm [MPa] 6 2 1.5
Cm [MPa] 11 8 6
GSI 75-85 70-90 85-90

Em: Young Modulus, m: Poisson ratio, cm: uniaxial

Figura 2. Induced stress state in rock mass by
Preundercutting Panel Caving
compresion strength, tm: tensile strength. Cm: Cohesin.
m: internal friction angle, , GSI: Geological Strength Index
Geology
Primary Andesite is the principal rock within the Tte. 4 Sur
sector (46%), coarse phorphyry (42%), hydrothermal
breccias (10%), and also some bodies of lamprophyre and
latite. Geology is presented in figure 4.

310 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Table 2. Minor joints at 27L Op 44
and 25L Op 44 Orepasses

27L Op 44 Orepass 25L Op 44 Orepass

Joint DIP DIP/Direction DIP DIP/Direction

1 40 113/293 70 305/125
2 70 135/315 72 330/150
3 41 36/221 60 65/245

Tabla 3. In situ field of stress at Tte. 4 Sur Sector

Stress Magnitude Bearing Inclination

[MPa] [] []

1 -33 130 35
Figure 4. Tte. 4 Sur Geology and Structural general plan
view 2 -25 10 10
3 -12 330 53

The Primary rock mass at El Teniente Mine is characterized
by stockwork including faults and veins with different length
and trace, width, filling and frequency (figure 5).
Ore pass geotechnical problems at The Tte. 4 Sur
Materials handling encompasses ore extraction from draw
points using LHDs which dump into ore passes that conduct
the mineral to the haulage level (Teniente 5 level) where it is
loaded into trains and then transported to the principal ore
passes of the mine.

Figura 5. Andesite Primary lithology (stockworks)

According by principal, medium and minor size joints can

be defined. Figura 6. Isometric view of a typical orepass at Tte. 4 Sur

JOINTS IN THE ROCK MASS
Principal joints
Figure 4 shows major joints at Tte. 4 Sur Sector, which are
principally faults (>95%), the most relevant include: P, S, Sur
Sur 1 faults systems and also the Lamprophyre Dyke.
Minor joints
These correspond to geological structures with trace
lengths less than excavation size (generally 4 meters). The
structural geology of two orepasses is presented in Table 2.
Rock mass field Stress
The state of insitu stress within The Tte. 4 Sur sector has
been obtained from measurements and monitoring using
the CSIRO Hollow Inclusion cells of stresses. The results
are presented at Table 3.
Size reduction of ore is performed by pick hammers
located on the Ten Sub-4 level, roughly 33 meters below the
production level. Figure 6 shows a scheme of Tte. 4 Sur
sector.
The ore pass system of Tte. 4 Sur consists of a pair of
branches from two drifts located in the vicinity of the
orepass. These branches coverage into one orepass at the
reduction level.
Construction and reinforcement
Different practices have been used for orepass
construction at El Teniente Mine: Drop Raising (long blast
hole) and Raiseborer technique where a pilot guide of
1.83m is realized previous to manual slyping manual.
Orepass construction includes the reinforcement of the
orepass collar, ("brocal") (3m in length), with steel rings and
concrete.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 311

 Ore pass construction requires manual slyping to obtain
the final cross section of the orepass, installing minicage
cables, full length grouted, from the beginning of the ore
pass at the production level, to the end of the excavation at
the rock hammer chambers, and also the segment of the
orepass between rock hammer level and Haulage level.
Ore pass behaviour
Overbreak has been a major orepass problem, shortening
in some cases the life time of these systems and
affecting their availability which does not 50%.
Figures 9 and 10 indicates ore pass damage (overbreak)
conditions, with only low quantities of rock handled, such
that they must be closed.

Figura 9. Damage at 9 Op 54 Orepass (Production 350.000

ton)

Figure 7. General View of the support of the orepass

Figure 10. Damage (Overbreak) at 21-23 Op 49 orepass

(Production: 21 Op=250.000 ton, 23 Op=900.000 ton)

Geotechnical analysis of orepass design

Many studies has been carried out to understand the
Figura 8. Cable bolting system installed through ore pass damage mechanisms that affects orepasses, which in
section. Cable used (minicage), Cable length varies general terms have been associated to stress and
between 3 and 3.5 meters. geological conditions, overbreak has inititated due to the
impact of rock boulders into the ore pass walls.
Ore Production
Until the present about 220 Mton have been from Methodology of analysis (Hypothesis)
produced at Tte. 4 Sur sector, using 120 ore passes. Two factors are relevant if we consider the rock mass
Information about haulage drifts and their distance to the state (premining, transition and relaxation) due to the panel
caving front at the moment of starting production is caving method:
encountered at Table 3. 1.Where (and When) the ore pass is excavated in relation
to caving front position? (initial stress environment)
Tabla 4 Orepasses production at Tte 4 Sur sector 2. When ore pass production begins, related to caving front
position? (stress changes)
Haulage galleries Production Caving front to the
(XC) (TON) start production
Support of this hypothesis is based upon the level of field
orepasses distance (mts)
stresses (80 to 100 MPa) induced by the extensive caving
8AN 1.000.000-1.600.000 (-13) - (25) front (>350m). See figure 11. Taking into account the
uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of intact primary rock
2 AN 1.200.000-2.400.,,, (6) - (31)
between 100 to 130 MPa and considering the proximity of
6 AS 1.400.000-2.600.000 (-20) - (0) the caving front, fracturing of excavation walls and roof is
14 AS 500.000-1.700.000 (42) - (73) generated.
21 AS 600.000-1.600.000 (20) - (50)
29 AS 250.000-1.600.000 (10) - (32)
39 AS 300.000-1.400.000 (21) - (82)
44 AS 50.000-900.000 (30) - (90)
49 AS 20.000-2.000.000 (22) - (92)

312 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figura 11. Principal Stress at the excavation related to the
distance from the caving front
Figure 13. Graph represents the relationships between
s1/sci>0.4 and the location of caving front.
Proposal for Designs Methodology
The methodology is based upon stress estimation
considering the max/ci ratio, where smax is the maximum
shear stress round the excavation and ci is the uniaxial
compressive strength (UCS).
The maximum stress (max) was determined based upon
a back-analysis of excavations located in different sectors,
such as: Ten 4 Sur, Esmeralda and Sub-6.
Accordingly, it is possible to establish that max is
coincident with the maximum principal stress 1, in the
abutment stress (transition) zone.
Furthermore, when max(=1)/ci, >0.4 a progressive
damage of rockmass round the excavation begins, which is
reflected by increased fracturing (previous and new
fractures), key-block formation and overbreaking. Figure 12
shows the plotted values that represent 1/ci > 0.4 ratio.

Back-analysis at The Tte. 4 Sur

Information about orepass location respect to the caving
front and overbreak initiation at Tte. 4 Sur was compiled,
establishing that the greatest damage of productive ore-
passes is generated at the stress induced zone (abutment Figure 14. Orepass location from caving front and overbreal
zone). See Figure 14. initiation at Tte. 4 Sur

Greatest ore pass damage (overbreak) is generated when

production starts before or during abutment stress
induction. On the other hand, stress fracturing at the
abutment zone begins when s1/sci is greatest than 0.4.

Results and applicability of proposed methodology

Figura 12. Plotted values of s1/sci
design and operation
During the year 2000 the proposed methodology was
established (in the Teniente 4 Sur sector mine). Over the
last four years, 20 orepasses have been incorporated into
production and these have not experienced orepass
overbreak.
The good orepass geomechanical conditions have
increased their availability to about 80%.
The results of this study indicate that ore pass behaviour
(excavated in primary rock at El Teniente Mine), could be
predicted based upon the induced stresses during their
operation. Therefore, the key factor define the moment of
orepass excavation and production.
Several examples of orepasses which have been
excavated in the vicinity of a collapsed orepasss in the
relaxation zone, reflect a normal operation of them, without
establish orepass an adverse overbreak, which indicates the small effect of
induced stresses at the relaxation zone.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 313

 Finally, it is important to establish other factors which
affect orepass overbreak, when production starts.
a) Rock mass strength (lithology and structures)
b) Design of orepass geometry
c) Support/reinforcement system
d) Orepass operation (e.g., operation without orepass
overflow)
When orepasses are excavated in zones where
1/ci>0.4 it is best to install an appropriate support system,
capable of absorbing rock mass deformation and overbreak.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMENDATIONS
1. Orepass damage generated during the panel caving
method is controlled by Where (and When) the ore pass
is excavated in relation to the caving front position (initial
stress environment) and when ore pass production
begins, related to caving front position (stress changes).
2. A progressive orepass damage (overbreak) round the
excavation periphery during orepass life is a result of rock
mass stress and geological condition, after overbreak has
been initiated due to the impact of rock boulders on the
orepass walls.
3. A support system capable of to absorbing rock mass
deformation and keeping the rock fractures in place must
be designed for overbreak control, Steel rings (1 inch
thick) and concrete have been demonstrated to be a good
reinforcement system.
4. Analyzing the formation of keyblocks surrounding an
orepass is an important analysis for overbreak evaluation.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Position orepass construction and operation within a
relaxation state of stress (behind the caving front), where
1/ci ratio is lower than 0.4 (1/ci <0.4).
2. Consider the use of steel ring (1 inch thick) and concrete
at the orepass collar and below production levels, when
orepass construction and operation is done with a s1/sci
ratio greater than 0.4.
314 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank the Geomechanic Superintendent of El
Teniente Division, CODELCO Chile, for permiss to publish
this paper.
REFERENCES
[1] Brummer R. (1998). Design of Orepasses, CAMIRO
Mining Division Limited.
[2] Brzovic A. (2001). Sistema de Clasificacin geotcnico
Roca Primaria Mina El Teniente. API T01M101. Informe:
SGL-I-050/2003.
[3] Cavieres P., Rojas E., (1993).Hundimiento Avanzado:
una variante, al mtodo de Explotacin de Hundimiento
por Paneles en Mina El Teniente. CODELCO CHILE.
Publicacin 44 convencin IIMCH.
[4] Constanzo H., Rojas E. (2000). Problemtica
Geomecnica de los Piques en la Mina T-4 Sur, Informe
Interno Planificacin. Divisin El Teniente Codelco
Chile.
[5] IM2 (2001). Estudios de Traspaso de Mineral,
Proyecto IM2 43/99.
[6] Rojas E. (2000); Evaluacin Geomecnica de la
estabilidad de los Piques de Traspaso en Roca Primaria
- Mina El Teniente. Trabajo presentado en Programa de
Especializacin en Innovacin Tecnolgica de
Geomecnica y Geotcnica aplicada a la Minera
(Diplomado, Universidad de Chile).
[7] Rojas E., Molina R., Cavieres P (2001); Preundercut
caving in El Teniente Mine, Chile; SME 2001;
Undergournd Mining Method.
[8] Santander E., Bonani A., Rojas E. (2004). Evaluacin
Geomecnica del estado de Sistemas de Traspaso.
Sector Reservas Norte Area Invariante. SPL-I-010-
2004.
Massmin 2004
 Chapter 8
Ground Support
316 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Performance of cable
bolt anchors An update
Alan Thompson, Curtin University of Technology, WA School of Mines, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Abstract
The installation of cable bolt anchors for mining applications has been reported previously by Thompson (1992) and
Thompson and Windsor (1995). Recent theoretical investigations and laboratory testing have been used to improve the
understanding of the behaviour of these barrel and wedge anchors both during installation and in service. Computer
generated graphical simulations have been used to relate the interference between the wedge inner teeth and the outer
wires of the strand to the wedge position within the barrel.. Laboratory tests have demonstrated that corrosion may
prevent the wedge sliding sufficiently within the barrel to grip the strand and results in strand slip relative to the anchor
at low loads compared with the design capacity. This has significant implications for mass mining operations in which
there are significant times between installation and when the cable bolt anchors may be loaded due to rock mass
movements. Lubrication of the barrel/wedge interface is recommended for long term effectiveness of cable bolt anchors.

1 INTRODUCTION to rock mass displacements. In the past, the strand was

The use of barrel and wedge anchors to restrain plates,
straps and mesh in cable bolt reinforcing applications
commenced in the early 1980s in Australian mines. At this
time, the major function of the anchors was to restrain this
surface hardware tightly against the rock surface and was
not to tension the strand. Also, many of these early
applications were associated with cut and fill where cable
bolts were installed in long lengths as pre-reinforcement
(Thompson et al. 1987).
The installation of barrel and wedge anchors for the early
applications was often performed using a tool on the end of
an air leg or by pushing on the exposed end of the wedge
using a hollow hydraulic cylinder restrained at the other end
by a removable and reusable barrel and wedge anchor.
While these methods of installation were crude, they were
reasonably effective and reliable in the short term
applications associated with cut and fill mining.
As use of cut and fill mining was reduced and long hole open
stoping became the preferred mining method, more
sophisticated methods of installation were sought. In particular,
it was found that, in a monitoring exercise at Mount Isa Mines,
the force on the strand immediately behind the anchor was only
a fraction of the force being applied by the hydraulic cylinder
(C.R. Windsor, personal communication 1982).
At that time, research investigations were undertaken to
develop tools for installation of barrel and wedge anchors on
strand. These developments were reported by Thompson et
al. (1987) and were the forerunners of the installation tools
that are available today.
In order to more clearly understand the mechanisms of
barrel and wedge anchor behaviour during and after
installation, a number of theoretical and both laboratory and
field testing investigations were made. The results of these
investigations were published by Thompson (1992) and
Thompson and Windsor (1995).
Since these investigations, barrel and wedge anchors are
now being used in different applications associated with
mass mining methods. These new applications may require
the anchors to be functional for longer periods than in the
past. The anchors may also be the only load transfer
mechanism between the strand and the plate at the collar in
applications in which the strand is de-bonded. De-bonding
of the strand is used to enable tension to be established in
the strand and to reduce the cable bolt stiffness in response
usually continuously coupled to the rock by the cement
grout annulus. In these cases, the force at the collar was
observed to remain at low levels despite large rock mass
movements (Thompson et al. 1995).
In conjunction with these new applications, further recent
theoretical and laboratory testing investigations have been
undertaken by the writer and his colleagues. These new
investigations attempt to more clearly quantify the behaviour
of barrel and wedge anchors during installation with the
different equipment that is available and to simulate the
anchor performance during service, particularly after being
subjected to corrosion in the underground mining
environment. The following sections review the mechanisms
of behaviour of barrel and wedge anchors and present the
results of the recent investigations.
2 OBSERVED ANCHOR PERFORMANCE
There is visual (e.g. Figure 1) and anecdotal evidence of
anchor failures in Western Australian mines. The anecdotal
evidence relates to occasional observations of wedges
remaining intact within anchors found on the floors of drives
with no evidence of strand rupture. Anchors of similar
condition were also observed by the writer after a large
block failure at a Western Australian underground mine.
3 BARREL AND WEDGE ANCHORS
Barrel and wedge anchors are an important component of
a cable bolt, particularly if the strand is de-bonded as shown
in Figure 2.
3.1 Anchor components
Typical barrel and wedge anchors are shown
schematically in Figure 3. The wedge may be formed into
two or three parts as shown. The inner taper angle of the
barrel and the outer taper angle of the wedge are
approximately equal and usually can be assumed to be ~7.
The wedge is made from hardened steel and has sharp
teeth formed at the inner surface that makes contact with
the strand.
3.2 Anchor installation methods
Thompson (1992, 1995) described several methods used
for anchor installation. All these involve gripping and pulling

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 317

 Use of a chair to enable the full tensioning force to be
applied to the strand.
Application of the tensioning force to the wedge.
Application of the tensioning force to both the barrel and
the wedge (either with a spring to push on the wedge or a
recessed nose assembly to suit the geometric properties
of the anchor).
Application of the tensioning force to the barrel with a
secondary hydraulic cylinder to push the wedge home.

Since that time, a further novel technique has been

developed (Amalgamated Reinforcing 1996). This
technique involves:
Application of the tensioning force to a "shear ring" on the
barrel. At a predetermined load, the ring shears,
simultaneously causing the jack nose to firmly drive the
wedge home.

The installation of anchors with different nose assemblies can be

generalised by analysing the forces shown in Figure 4 (Thompson
and Windsor 1995). The strand tension (T) is given by:
T = KP (1)
where:
P = force supplied by the hydraulic cylinder
K = tension reduction factor given by

Pw/P (1 - tan tan B ) tanC

Figure 1:Anchors with strand receded compared with K =1 (2)
original position observed in a WA mine. tanB (1tan tanC ) + tan + tan C

= wedge taper angle

B = friction angle between barrel and wedge
C = friction between cable and wedge
Pw = force applied to the wedge
PB = force applied to barrel = P - PW

The residual tension developed in the strand after

removal of the tensioning equipment depends on:
Total force applied by the tensioning equipment.
Force applied to the wedge during tensioning.
Wedge/strand interface condition.
Barrel/wedge interface condition.
The relationship between wedge outstand and wedge
force (e.g. see Figure 5).
Figure 2:Schematic representation of a cable bolt. The strand free length.

The strand tension behind the plate and anchor is found

to always be less than the tensioning force applied by the
anchor installation equipment.. Figure 6 shows how the
strand tension may also reduce due to wedge draw in after
removal of the tensioning equipment. The tension loss
increases as the free length becomes shorter. The analysis
to predict this behaviour is based on well-established
principles used in both the prestressed concrete and ground
anchor industry codes of practice.

Figure 3:Schematic representation of barrel and wedge

anchors with two- and three-part wedges.

on the strand and pushing on some part of the surface

hardware (i.e. anchor or steel plate). These methods can be
briefly summarised as follows: Figure 4:Forces acting on an anchor during installation.

318 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 It was generally accepted that a residual tension of ~50kN Equilibrium of forces for the barrel requires:
would be sufficient to ensure that the anchor was "set" on
the strand and the anchor would subsequently be able to R = Sw cos + W son (3)
sustain forces up to the rupture force of the strand.
Subsequently, as graphically demonstrated in Figure 1, this and for the wedge (radially) requires:
has not always be found to be the case.
C = W cos Sw sin (4)
3.3 Anchor mechanism and behaviour
Barrel and wedge anchors are designed to clamp the For strand sliding to occur:
strand and embed the teeth within the outer strand wires. In
order to assess under what conditions the strand will slide T ? C tan C (5)
relative to the barrel and wedge anchor, it is necessary to
analyse the interactions between the various components of Combining equations (3), (4) and (5) results in:
the system (e.g. Thompson 1992, Chacos 1993).
Sw cos + W sin ? (W cos Sw sin ) tan C (6)

In order to proceed from here, it is necessary to assume

that sliding occurs at the barrel/wedge interface and the
sliding force SW is given by

Sw ? W tan B (7)

Substituting for SW, eliminating W and simplifying gives:

tan C ? tan (B + ) (to prevent sliding) (8)

or alternatively

tan (B + ) ? tan C (for sliding to occur) (9)

This equation means that the barrel/wedge interface

Figure 5:Typical wedge outstand from barrel versus strand
force response curve.
Figure 6:Theoretical prediction of strand tension loss due to
wedge draw-in for a 5m free strand length. Anchor installed
with 100kN pre-tensioning equipment (estimated 10kN
applied to the wedge 90kN to barrel and ~95kN in strand
free length).
friction angle must be less the wedge/strand interface
friction angle by an amount more than the wedge taper
angle.
Chacos (1993) suggested various values for coefficients
of static friction corresponding to different barrel/wedge
interface conditions. These conditions and the
corresponding friction angles are give in Table 1. Values
were also suggested by Thompson (1992) and the
approximate values corresponding to the interface
conditions used by Chacos are given in Table 1.
Thompson (1995) reported that the wedge/strand friction
angle was measured experimentally to be ~45. Given that
the wedge taper angle can be
assumed to be equal to 7, this means that the
barrel/wedge friction angle must be less than ~38 for the
anchor to function properly. It can be seen that this condition
is only satisfied if the interface remains new and/or
lubricated.
It has also been suggested (DSI web site) that if sliding at
the barrel/wedge interface is inhibited, then the wedge inner
teeth will not be embedded into the strand outer wires to
their full depth and may be sheared off if the strand tension
increases in response to rock mass movements.
3.4 Graphical simulation of performance
In order to more fully understand the interaction between
the strand and the wedge during installation and in service,
a three-dimensional graphical simulation method was

Figure 7 shows the forces acting on the strand and the Table 1: Suggested values of friction angles
barrel and wedge anchor after installation and during for different barrel/wedge interface conditions.
service. In this figure:
R = force between the barrel and the plate acting against Interface Condition Chacos Thompson
the rock/shotcrete surface (1993) (1992)
T = tension in the strand = R
W = normal force acting across the barrel/ Dry, pitted, rusted, old 45 30 to 40
wedge interface Dry, lightly rusted, new ~22 25
SW = shear force at the barrel/wedge interface
C = normal force acting at the wedge/strand interface Lightly oiled, clean, new ~17 15
SC = shear force at the wedge/strand interface Heavily greased, clean new ~6 ~10

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 319


Figure 7: Component forces acting within the strand and
barrel and wedge anchor system.
Table 2: Schematic of barrel and wedge (two-part and three-part) anchor and strand mechanism.
320 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
developed. This graphical simulation method required the
accurate drawing of the actual geometries of the strand, the
wedge (both two- and three-part) and the barrel. With these
objects drawn, the interactions were modelled by displacing
the wedge relative to the barrel to simulate loading and to
then visually inspect the interaction between the wedge
internal teeth and the external wires of the strand. The
amount of relative displacement between the wedge and the
barrel for typical strand forces was estimated from
laboratory tests in which all these variables were measured
(e.g. see Figure 5).
Table 2 shows the results of these simulations for both
two- and three-part wedges. The interactions between the
wedge and strand are shown and graphically indicate
qualitatively the limited amount of teeth material that may be
available to transfer load without being supplemented by the
significant clamping effect resulting from sliding at the
barrel/wedge interface. The figure also shows that a three-
part wedge grips the wires more uniformly and more
effectively at low forces.
Massmin 2004
4 LABORATORY TESTING Table 4: Summary of anchor strengths.

To complement the theoretical considerations and No. Peak Residual Failure Mode
computer simulations, a laboratory test program was Force Force
designed to quantify the expected in situ performance of (kN) (kN)
anchors. The test specimens were set up to simulate
different methods of installation and to quantify their 1/2 >250 0 Rupture of one or two wires
behaviour when subjected to loading after being allowed to 3 ~22 ~10 Wedge/strand interface slip
corrode. 4 ~50 ~13 Wedge/strand interface slip
The simulated installation configuration of the test
specimens and the anchor condition at the time of testing 5 ~45 ~20 Wedge/strand interface slip
are summarised in Table 3. The surface condition of new 6 ~50 ~25 Wedge/strand interface slip
and corroded anchors is shown in Figure 8. Corrosion was 7 ~45 ~20 Wedge/strand interface slip
permitted to develop by keeping the anchors in humid 8 ~55 ~30 Wedge/strand interface slip
conditions, with access to oxygen, inside a semi-sealed
tube. Note: Residual force was that recorded during sliding.
All the anchors were tested by pulling on the strand with a Actual residual force will be 0kN when strand completely
hydraulic jack. In tests 3 to 8, the wedge and strand pulled through wedge.
displacements were monitored by DCDTs and were logged
together with the force measured by an electronic load cell
up to the point when the hydraulic piston travel limit was Table 4 provides a summary of the peak and residual
reached and the test needed to be reset. A second loading forces measured for all the specimens tested and the failure
cycle was conducted in which only the strand displacement modes. Apart from the control test specimens 1 and 2 used
was measured. to confirm that anchors can mobilise the strength of the
strand (but not necessarily its full elongation potential of at
Table 3: Summary of anchor specimens. least ~3.5%), all the anchors failed by slipping of the strand
within the anchors. This is attributed to the inability of the
No. Installation Condition wedge to slide sufficiently relative to the barrel.
Figure 9 shows the extent of wedge movement relative to
1&2 Strand pull hand tight New the barrel that can be expected when anchors are loaded to
3# Strand pulled to 20kN New cause rupture of the strand at ~250kN. Also note that the
4# Strand pulled to 40kN New wedges protrude from the base of the barrel for this anchor.
5 Strand pulled to 10kN Corroded
6 Strand pulled to 20kN Corroded
7 Strand pulled to 40kN Corroded
8 100kN applied to wedge* Corroded

# Barrel/wedge interface glued before load applied.

* Strand force ~36kN

Figure 9: Appearance of new anchors (Specimens 1 & 2)

after failure of one and two strand wires.

The total wedge movement relative to the barrel was

Figure 8:Comparison of new anchor with anchor subjected
to 6 months exposure in a mildly corrosive artificial
environment.
measured to be ~10mm. The movement is associated
initially with the teeth embedding in the outer wires of the
strand and then secondly the barrel expanding radially
outwards. The radial stresses in barrels and the associated
radial expansion have been studied both experimentally and

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 321

theoretically by Marceau et al. (2001, 2003). It is possible for
barrels to expand unacceptably if the barrels are too thin or
made from steel with too low yield strength. The radial
forces are higher when the barrel/wedge interface is
lubricated.
Figure 10 shows the appearance of anchor specimens 3
and 4 after failure by strand slip. The test for specimen 3
was stopped to show the extent of material shaved from the
outer strand wires by the wedge.
All tests in which wedge/strand interface slip occurred
were similar. The results for test specimens 6 and 8, shown
in Figure 11 and Figure 12, are typical of the results
obtained for the other specimens. Figure 13 shows the
effects of sliding on the strand wires.
A summary of wedge positions before and after testing
and the total wedge movement are summarised in Table 5.
It is of significance that, other than for test specimens 3 and
4 (shown in Figure 10) in which the barrel/wedge interface
was deliberately prevented from sliding, a small amount of Figure 11: Typical force-wedge displacement (Test 6 and
wedge movement did initially occur. This suggests that the Test 8).
wedge is prevented from further sliding by the corrosion
products built up on the exposed wedge surface near the
wedge taper.

Figure 12: Typical force-strand displacement (Test 6 and

Test 8).

Figure 10: Appearance of anchor specimens 3 and 4 after

failure by wedge/strand slip.

Table 5: Summary of average wedge positions before

and after testing.

No. Initial Wedge Final Wedge Wedge

Outstand Outstand Movement
(mm) (mm) (mm)

1/2 6.5 -4.0 10

3 1.3 1.3 <0.1
4 0.4 0.4 <0.1
5 2.7 1.5 1.2
6 2.1 1.7 0.4
7 1.6 1.5 0.1
8 0.4 -0.1 0.5
Figure 13: Anchor specimens 6 and 8 after testing (strand
slip ~80mm from original position).

322 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

5 IMPLICATIONS FOR MASS MINING METHODS
The results of the theoretical and experimental
investigations have significant implications for mass mining
operations. Some of the factors associated with mass
mining methods that impact on the performance of cable
bolt anchors are:
Potentially long lead times between anchor installation
and nearby extraction.
Changes in stress conditions cause large rock mass
movements and increases in loading on reinforcement.
The use of de-bonded strand to be compatible with
expected large rock mass movements.
The possible use of shotcrete which helps to create a
humid, corrosive environment.
All these mass mining related factors lead to the
requirement for longevity of the barrel/wedge sliding
mechanism to ensure acceptable performance of the
anchor. Current practice does not require any special
preparation of sliding surfaces to inhibit corrosion and
promote sliding. However, this will need to change if
anchors are to perform to their design specification.
The following statement is paraphrased from DSI (2004),
with changes made to be consistent with the symbols given
in Figure 7.
If friction at the barrel/wedge interface increases (due to
corrosion), a larger Sw will reduce the clamping force. As T
increases, all other forces can only increase if the wedge
can seat deeper into the barrel. If the wedge is prevented
from doing so (i.e. by corrosion or dirt-accumulation, the
clamping force cannot increase with the pulling force
causing slippage when the load on the cable bolt gradually
increases during service life.
DSI further suggests that:
To avoid slippages during use, it is important that the
cable bolt is fully stressed at the time of installation to a
force equal to 0.5 TUlt ( ~125kN for a 15.2mm diameter pre-
stressing strand).
However, in mining installations, it is rarely if ever the
intention to pre-stress the strand to forces of this magnitude.
As a consequence, during anchor installation it must be an
imperative to establish interference between the wedge
inner teeth and the outer wires of the strand and to establish
the barrel/wedge interface in a condition that enables it to
slide and maintain this condition for the service life of the
cable bolt. This requirement can only be achieved by
isolating the anchor from its environment or by providing
high quality and long-lived lubrication at the barrel/wedge
interface.
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
The WA School of Mines has recently set up anchor
specimens with a variety of methods used to inhibit
corrosion at the barrel/wedge interface. The specimens
have been placed in separate corrosion chambers with
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
controlled ambient conditions and with ground water
obtained from six mine sites. It will be some time before the
tests will be performed and the important results become
available. In the meantime, it is recommended that some
attempts are made to ensure that the barrel/wedge interface
remains capable of sliding by providing lubrication or
isolation from its environment.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The invaluable assistance of Mr Glynn Cadby of Fenixx
Australia in modelling the three-dimensional objects
representing the strand and the barrel and wedge anchors
and then simulating their behaviour during loading is
gratefully acknowledged. His assistance with documenting
the tests and data processing is also greatly appreciated.
REFERENCES
Amalgamated Reinforcing 1996. SurelockTM Anchor
Locking Device. Company brochure, 8p.
Chacos, G P, 1993. Wedge forces on post-tensioning
strand anchors. PTI Technical Note 2, Post-Tensioning
Institute:Phoenix, 4p.
DSI 2004. DSI Ground Support Catalogue, Dywidag
Systems International:Salt Lake City, 37p
Marceau, D, Bastien, J and Fatard, M, 2001.
Experimental and numerical studies of mono-strand
anchorage. Structural Engineering and Mechanics, 12(2),
119134.
Marceau, D, Fatard, M and Bastien, J, 2003. Constitutive
law for wedge-tendon gripping interface in anchorage
device numerical modelling and parameters
identification. Structural Engineering and Mechanics,
15(6), 609-628.
Thompson, A G, 1992. Tensioning reinforcing cables.
Proc. Int. Symp. on Rock Support, Sudbury, 285-291,
Balkema:Rotterdam.
Thompson, A G, Matthews, S M, Windsor, C.R., Bywater,
S and Tillmann V H, 1987. Innovations in rock
reinforcement technology in the Australian mining
industry. Proc. 6th Int. Cong. on Rock Mechanics,
Sudbury, V2, 1275-1278, Balkema:Rotterdam.
Thompson, A G and Windsor, C R, 1995. Tensioned cable
bolt reinforcement an integrated case study. Proc. 8th
Int. Cong. on Rock Mechanics, Tokyo, V2, 679-683,
Balkema:Rotterdam.
Thompson, A G, Windsor, C R, Robertson, W V and
Robertson, I G, 1995. Case study of an instrumented
reinforced pit slope. Proc. 35th US Rock Mechanics
Symposium, Lake Tahoe, 381-386, Balkema:Rotterdam.
323
 Static behaviour of
different retaining systems
M.L. Van Sint Jan, Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile
Patricio Cavieres, El Teniente Division, Codelco Chile

Abstract
This paper presents the results of tests on 1.5x1.5 m panels tested under conditions simulating field loading and
supported with rock bolts on a 1x1 m pattern. The panels were made up of diamond wire mesh (chain link) or using
reinforced shotcrete. Shotcrete reinforcement was either a single layer of diamond mesh or synthetic fiber. The load
displacement behavior of mesh reinforced and fiber-reinforced shotcrete were similar. However, behavior of a fiber-
reinforced shotcrete may be varied almost continuously to satisfy the design requirements. Installing a mesh outside of
the fiber-reinforced shotcrete might provide an increased energy absorption capacity, help holding broken pieces of
shotcrete and decrease the danger of breaking the mesh. Punching of the shotcrete did not occur in the tests but it is a
potential failure mode that can take place in the field.

1 INTRODUCTION
2 TESTING PROCEDURES
Large-scale laboratory tests of underground support
systems provide a means to validate the design procedures. 2.1 Equipment
The tests also help to understand the behavior of the The panels reported in this paper were subjected to a
support, as it is tested under controlled conditions. flexural load trying to reproduce the boundary and loading
Several authors have tested shotcrete under static conditions that may be encountered in a tunnel.
conditions. Little (1985) and Kirsten (1993) tested shotcrete The test set up, shown in Figure 1, follows the
panels anchored with four rock bolts, the load was applied recommendations given by Prof. D. Stacey. The panel is
either with an hydraulic jack acting on a steel plate at the supported at four points with 100x100x10 mm steel plates
center of the panel or either applying a uniform load with and rock bolts spaced at 1x1 m. To simulate the load of
water bags. Fernndez et. al (1977) tested thin shotcrete broken rock, the load of a hydraulic jack is applied vertically
arches with different configurations and boundary downwards and distributed on the panel via a pyramid of
conditions. The load was applied over a 60x60cm square steel cylinders and concrete blocks. In order to reproduce
area via a movable concrete block connected to an the displacement restriction imposed by the ground, a
hydraulic jack. Holmgren (1977) tested planar shotcrete concrete ring tightly adjusted with a cement grout restrains
layers with different boundary conditions. Thompson et al. the upward displacement of the panel as well as its rotation
(1999) tested welded wire mesh and found that the at the anchoring points. The sides of the panel are free to
behavior is strongly dependant, among other factors, on the move downwards for approximately 15 cm. The test
orientation of the mesh relative to the bolt pattern. Static arrangement for wire mesh panels is similar, but in addition
and impact tests on steel mesh and mesh reinforced to the confinement ring, pinned rods connected to a stiff
shotcrete panels under reported by Tannant et al. (1995) beam provide lateral restriction.
suggest that, at the same panel deformation of 25 cm, the
reinforced shotcrete was able to absorb significantly more
energy during the impact tests (16 kJ) compared to the
static tests (9 kJ). The static and dynamic energy versus
displacement behavior of the mesh were similar, but the
total displacement under impact load was much larger (up to
60 cm) than in the static loading tests (up to 30 cm).
Ortlepp & Stacey (1997) report impact tests on panels
with lateral restriction and supporting a simulated rock mass
made with concrete blocks and steel cylinders. The tests
results show little difference in the energy absorption
capacity of weld mesh reinforced shotcrete and diamond
wire mesh.
Recently, a new dynamic testing procedure has been
developed by Villaescusa (pers. comm.). The results of the
tests should provide more insight into the dynamic behavior
of ground support systems.
The tests reported herein allow comparing the behavior of
different steel meshes and of different shotcrete Figure 1. Test set up.
reinforcement. Load measurements illustrate the
redistribution of load over the panel as an arch effect 2.2 Tests of diamond (chain link) mesh
develops in the rock mass when the panel is deformed. The tests were run on samples of mesh provided by two
different manufacturers. The geometrical and mechanical

324 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

properties of both meshes (A and B) are given in Table 1. Mesh
B was slightly thicker than mesh A because the radius of
curvature of its lacing was slightly larger than that of mesh A.

Table 1. Physical characteristics of the meshes.

Mesh Properties of the wire LxH

type mm Pu kN u % cm N

A 5.11 9.68 12.0 14x16 6

B 5.07 10.32 10.5 14.9x14.3 4
Notes: = diameter
Pu = Rupture load
u = rupture strain
L = length of one diagonal of the "diamond"
H = length of the other diagonal
N = number of panels tested Figure 3. Load displacement behavior of type B meshes.

Figure 2. Load-displacement behaviour of type A meshes.

Figures 2 and 3 show the load-displacement behaviour of

type A and B mesh. Failure of a wire was observed in only
one panel, of mesh A, at a load of approximately 90 kN.
Failure took place at the edge of the steel plate. Figures 3
and 4 show that the stiffness of the meshes increases with
the displacement, such increase may be due to the change
in shape of the mesh but also to the arch effect produced by
the concrete blocks. At small to medium loads, the panel
deflects but the central concrete blocks are not free to
descend because of the friction developed on their vertical
surfaces because of the lateral boundary conditions. Thus,
the concrete blocks form an arch and the load is
redistributed, decreasing in the central area of the panel.
After a certain amount of panel displacement, the arch effect
is destroyed, the blocks fall down, and the load is distributed
more uniformly on the panel.
Whether or not the arch effect will develop in the field,
depends on several factors including, the flexural flexibility
of the lining, the geometry of the broken rock and the stress Figure 4. Summary of test results on diamond mesh panels.
conditions.
A certain evidence of the arch effect was obtained by
measuring the strain on some blocks instrumented with 2.3 Tests of diamond mesh reinforced shotcrete
strain gauges. Because of the arch effect, the additional Figure 5 summarizes the results of tests on 5 panels of
load is transmitted almost entirely to the bolts, which should shotcrete reinforced with one layer of type A mesh. The
then be able to start yielding in order to increase the energy thickness of the panels ranged from 6.8 to 9.4 cm, with an
absorption capacity of the complete system. average of 7.9cm. The shotcrete strength, measured on
In order to facilitate the comparison of both types of mesh, four 51mm diameter samples drilled from the panels and
Figure 4 shows average values of load and energy corrected for slenderness, ranged from 7.2 to Figure 5.
absorption versus displacement. Also shown in Figure 4 is Load displacement behavior of mesh reinforced shotcrete
the standard deviation of the load capacity. panels.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 325

figure 5: Load displacement behavior of mesh reinforced
shotcrete panels.

40.7Mpa. Strong lamination existed in two out of six

drilled samples. In most of the panels, some wires broke
during the loading. Wire breakage was evident by the noise
and the sudden change in the load-displacement curve (not
shown in Figure 5).
Average values of some physical properties of the
shotcrete panels are as follows:
_ Initial stiffness = 69kN/cm.
_ Yield load = 113kN
_ Yield displacement = 6cm

In some panels, an arch effect was noticeable at a

displacement of approximately 10cm. The arch effect was
also reflected in an increase of stiffness of the load Figure 6. Energy absorption of mesh reinforced 10cm-thick
displacement curve. shotcrete panels
Figure 6 shows the average energy absorption capacity
measured in the laboratory tests
Table 2. Physical properties of the
2.4 Tests on synthetic fiber reinforced shotcrete fiber reinforced panels.
The tests on synthetic fiber reinforced shotcrete have
been informed by Van Sint Jan et al. (2003). A short Panel Fiber Average Strength of
summary will be presented. (N/m3) thickness (cm) shotcrete*
Six shotcrete panels, reinforced with Strux 85/50 fiber Mpa
provided by the manufacturer, were prepared in the field and 1A Mesh 11,4 30,8
tested in the laboratory. Two additional shotcrete panels
1B Mesh 10,4 28,08
reinforced with one layer of diamond mesh were tested for
2A 58,84 11,9 26,00
comparison. The physical properties of the panels are
2B 58,84 10,6 27,56
summarized in Table 2.
3A 66,19 11,9 18,72
Figure 7 shows the total load as a function of the mid span
3B 66,19 9,5 26,77
deflection for all the panels. Studying Figure 7 and Table 2
4A 88,26 13,5 17,68
it can be seen that the load displacement behavior was
4B 88,26 12,9 22,36
dependant on the panel thickness as well as on the type and
amount of reinforcement. * Diameter of the samples = 49mm
The average thickness of the panels with 88.3 N/m3 fiber
content was 12.9 and 13.5cm and their yield load reached
251 and 294 kN respectively. Such strengths are 72% an 3 PUNCHING FAILURE
100% larger than the strength of the 10.4cm-thick panel
reinforced with chain link mesh and they suggest that the Failure of the tests panels occurred by flexure (bending
strength of a panel with 88.3 N/m3 fiber reinforcement would moment), but punching failure can also take place and
exceed that of a similar panel (of same thickness) with one this may be the failure mode controlling the strength of
layer of chain link mesh reinforcement. the shotcrete in the field. Punching failure did not occur
Figure 8 shows the computation of the total energy input in the lab tests because the load on one panel was
into the support system. The horizontal axis shows the distributed to the four supporting plates. In a field
displacement of the hydraulic jack loading point and the situation, the contributing area to a single bolt is equal to
vertical axis the total applied load. the total area of a laboratory panel. Thus, the load on the
The results show that for a central panel displacement of plate is increased four fold. As illustrated by the diagram
up to approximately 10cm the total energy absorption of Figure 9, the punching load is a function of the tensile
capacity of the fiber-reinforced shotcrete can be similar or strength and the thickness of the shotcrete under the
even exceed the capacity of the mesh-reinforced shotcrete. steel plate. Because the steel mesh must stretch in order
Certainly, after a central panel deflection of 10cm the to contribute with some tensile strength, it will not
shotcrete is fractured and needs to be repaired. develop a significant contribution before the required

326 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 7. Load-displacement behaviour of shotcrete panels
reinforced with different amounts of synthetic fiber.
Figure 8. Comparison of energy absorption of the shotcrete
panels reinforced with synthetic fiber and the mesh
reinforced panels.
displacement results in the tensile failure of the
shotcrete. Hence, large stress concentrations will result
in the steel wires at the contact with the bearing plate, a
situation that may result in the failure of one or more
wires. The failure of one wire of a chain link (diamond)
wire mesh used as reinforcement will result on unraveling
of such wire, leading to the complete failure of the
shotcrete lining. Field observations reported by Van Sint
Jan & Cavieres 2004, confirm such failure mechanism.
For the reasons previously stated, it is preferable to
locate the bearing plate over the shotcrete surface, as
illustrated in the right diagram of Figure 10, and not in
contact with the rock surface.
Laboratory test results and field evidence have shown
that diamond mesh has high deformation capacity,
particularly associated to dynamic loading. The mesh is
also capable to retain the broken rock. Since the energy
absorption capacity of the synthetic fiber reinforced
shotcrete is similar to that of the diamond mesh reinforced
shotcrete, a better use of the mesh might be obtained if it is
placed outside of the fiber-reinforced shotcrete. According
to our static tests, the mesh would start to contribute after
the shotcrete begins to crack and the energy capacities
could possibly be added. More analysis and tests are
needed to support this hypothesis.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 9. Diagram illustrating the punching failure
mechanism.
a) Nil punching capacity b) Maximum punching capacity
Figure 10. Diagram illustrating two possible locations of the
bearing plate.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Laboratory tests and in situ observations suggest that the
wire strands of the diamond mesh break more easily when
it is used as reinforcement in the shotcrete than when it is
placed alone.
Failure of the diamond mesh is critical because it tends to
unravel.
The load displacement behavior of mesh reinforced and
fiber-reinforced shotcrete are similar. However, the load
displacement behavior and energy absorption capacity of a
fiber reinforced shotcrete may be varied almost
continuously and can be much larger than that of a
shotcrete reinforced with a single layer of mesh.
The laboratory tests suggest that if the arch effect is
developed in the lining, then most of the ensuing load
increase will go directly to the bolts that should be able to
dissipate the energy input.
Failure of the mesh occurred in one test, at the edge of
the bearing plate, suggesting that plate design is a critical
issue.
Punching of the shotcrete by the bearing plate is a
potential mode of failure that must be considered in the
analysis.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors sincerely appreciate the permission given by
the El Teniente Division of CODELCO to publish this paper.
The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the
authors and do no necessarily represent the views of any
other individual or organization.
Professor Carl Lders, from the Pontificia Universidad
Catlica de Chile, contributed significantly in the laboratory
testing.
REFERENCES
Fernndez-Delgado, G., Mahar, J.W. and Parker, H.W.
1977. Structural Behavior of Thin Shotcrete Liners
Obtained from Large Scale Tests, Shotcrete for
Underground Support, ASCE and ACI, 399-442
327
 Holmgren, J., 1977. Thin Shotcrete Layers Subjected to
Punch Loads, Shotcrete for Underground Support, ASCE
and ACI, 443-459
Kirsten H.A.D. 1993. Equivalence of mesh and fiber-
reinforced shotcrete at large deflections. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, (30) 3: 418-440.
Little, T.E. 1985. An evaluation of steel fiber reinforced
shotcrete for underground support. Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, (22) 4: 501-507.
Ortlepp, W.D. & Stacey, T.R. 1996. The performance of
containment rock support such as wire mesh under
simulated rockburst loading. In Zikmund Rakowski (ed.),
Geomechanics 96, Proc. intern. symp., Roznov, 3-6
September 1996. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Tannant, D.D, Kaiser, P.K, & McCreath, D.R. 1995.
Large-scale impact tests on shotcrete. GRC Report,
45pp.
328 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Thompson, A.G., Windsor, C.R. & Cadby, G.W.
Performance assessment of mesh for ground control
applications. In Villaescusa, Windsor and Thompson
(ed.) Rock Support and Reinforcement Practice in Mining,
Proc. intern. symp., Kalgoorlie, Australia, March 1999,
Rotterdam: Balkema.
Van Sint Jan, M.L., Bonani, A. & Vicencio, B. 2003. Large
scale tests on synthetic fiber reinforced shotcrete. Proc.
3rd Int. Seminar on Surface Support Liners. August 25-26
2003. Universit Laval, Quebec, Canada.
Van Sint Jan, M.L. & Cavieres P, C. Large scale static
laboratory tests of different support systems Proc.
Ground Support 2004, Perth, Australia, 28-30 September
2004, (in press).
Massmin 2004
 The status of thin spray-on
liners and some applications
relevant to massive mining
T. R. Stacey, School of Mining Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand
J. Hadjigeorgiou, Laval University, Qubec, Y. Potvin, Australian Centre for Geomechanics

Abstract
Development of thin spray-on liners (formerly referred to as membranes or superskins) has been taking place for about
10 years. Although thin spray-on liners cannot be said to have "arrived", they are probably on the verge of much larger
scale use. The development and use of such liners has been tracked over the past three years at specialist workshops
and seminars held in Australia, South Africa and Canada. This paper summarizes the current status of thin spray-on liners
and selected recent applications relevant to massive mining.

1 INTRODUCTION as shotcrete. Shotcrete, which is applied in layers much

The mining industry worldwide is under constant pressure
to improve its productivity and profits, whilst at the same
time providing a safe working environment for all its
employees. As a consequence there has been an increase
in the amount of mechanization and automation in mining
and a corresponding search for new methods of excavation
and ground support. Furthermore, there are niche mining
areas, unrelated to the implementation of mechanization
where excavation support technology can potentially
provide improved efficiency and safety.
The last few years have been witness to considerable
development of thin spray-on liners (TSLs) as a means of
ground support. These are spray-on liners with a typical
thickness of 3mm to 4mm applied to a rock surface to seal
the rock to prevent slaking, but more importantly to provide
structural support. Although TSLs have been in use for more
than 10 years they have been mostly used in specific
applications. Neverthelss it would appear that they are on
the verge of general acceptance and widespread
application in the mining industry. A consensus was reached
to use the generic term of "thin spray-on liners" rather than
the previous colloquial terms of "mebranes" and
"superskins" in order to differentiate from membranes in
other industries.
As a result of industry interest in TSLs, three seminars
and workshops on "Surface Support Liners Thin Spray-on
Liners, Shotcrete and Mesh" were held in Australia (2001),
South Africa (2002) and Canada (2003). The seminars were
organized by the Australian Centre for Geomechanics,
Laval University and the University of the Witwatersrand.
The purpose of these events was to provide an opportunity
for mining personnel, TSL manufacturers, researchers and
other interested parties to interact and exchange
information on TSL materials, test methods, design methods
and case studies. Selected papers from the proceedings of
the three seminars have been edited into a single volume,
to provide the industry with a "state of the art" handbook
(Potvin et al, 2004).
thicker (typically 25mm minimum) than is applicable for
TSLs, has structural strength in compression. The
implication of this is that it can provide support due to its
structural arching action, which cannot be expected of
TSLs.
2.1 Support action of TSLs
Stacey (2001) has suggested a range of possible support
mechanisms for TSLs. These mechanisms may act
individually or in combination.
Promotion of block interlock: This mechanism keeps the
rock mass in a substantially unloosened condition. In fact
there are several sub-mechanisms: interlock promoted by
the bonding of the TSL to the rock, and the tensile strength
of the TSL, preventing shear on the interface and restricting
block rotation; development of shear strength on the
TSL/rock interface due to the irregularity of the interface
surface; TSL penetration into joints and cracks inhibiting
block movement (particularly relevant in high stress
situations where some loosening and stress fracturing
would have already occured); prevention of block
displacement by two mechanisms the shear strength of a
stiff TSL, and the tensile strength of a thin bonded TSL.
Air tightness: Dilation (opening up of fractures) is a
necessary condition for a rock mass to fail. If such dilation
can be prevented, failure will be inhibited (Coates, 1970;
Finn et al, 1999). This is unlikely in a static loading
environment. In dynamic loading situations, in which rapid
entry of air into the rock mass will be restricted, an air tight
TSL can arguably improve stability.
Structural arch: As a rock mass deforms it induces
stresses in the support that withstand further deformation of
the rock mass. This is unlikely in flexible TSLs, but might be
a support mechanism for a stiff TSL. This structural
mechanism is controlled by the strength of the surface
support and its flexural rigidity.

2 SUPPORT AND LOADING ACTION OF TSLs
The comparative thinness of a TSL applied to the rock
surface means that the support action provided by the TSL
is very different from that provided by a liner material such
Basket mechanism: This is the case when the surface
support develops the form of a basket. The support can then
contain the failed rock while acting mainly in tension. Under
these conditions three considerations come into play: the
flexural rigidity or ductility, which will serve to resist the

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 329

deflection of the liner to form a basket; secondly, the tensile
strength of the liner material itself; and finally when there are
two constituents, such as fibre reinforcement in the TSL,
both the tensile strength of the matrix material and the
tensile strength of the matrix. In this case the reinforcement
may undergo material yield or, more importantly, the liner
may yield by progressive pull out of the reinforcement
elements from the matrix material.
Slab enhancement: Slabs or incipient rock slabs that form
under high stress conditions, may fail due to buckling. A
surface support effectively decreases the slenderness of the
slab and increases its resistance to buckling.
Beam enhancement: A surface support on the underside
of a roof beam, can enhance its bending performance, and
improve the stability of a roof beam.
Extended "faceplate": All surface support extends the
area of influence of rockbolt and cable faceplates or bearing
plates. This is more pronounced when using stiffer support
liners.
Durability enhancement: Some rock types deteriorate on
exposure and when subjected to wetting and drying cycles.
TSLs can seal the rock to prevent exposure and hence
preserve its inherent strength (Bartlett and Nesbitt, 2000).
Mechanical protection: Mechanical damage will quickly
destroy the effectiveness of surface support. A shotcrete
liner provides considerable resistance to mechanical
damage.
2.2 Loading Action
Support actions provided by TSLs, and loading
mechanisms, are also described by Tannant (2001). The
most common mechanisms of surface support loading are:
Wedge and block loading: A block or wedge defined by
fracture or joint planes may displace and load the liner
locally. In "rigid" and bonded liners, shear stresses will be
induced in the liner along the perimeter of the block. If
breakdown of the bond occurs this will result in a localized
or point load acting on a "basket". These loading
mechanisms can be both static and dynamic.
Distributed surface loading: A surface support is subjected
to a distributed load imposed by the rock. The retention of
the surface support will generally be by point supports
provided by rockbolts and face plates. The distributed load
may be due to several circumstances: failed rock, under the
action of gravity (static); squeezing rock conditions, due to
high stresses or swelling (static); rockburst loading - about a
1m thickness of fragmented rock is often ejected at high
velocity during rockburst events (Ortlepp and Stacey, 1994).
Distributed loading causes the liner to provide support of the
basket type. Localised deformation may occur along
fractures. This is the case when the liner is well bonded to
the rock surface, and when the roughness of the rock
surface prevents shear along the interface. Under these
conditions the value of high quality bonding between liner
and rock is questionable. In fact a lower quality bond, that
allows yield and shear displacement along the interface may
be more appropriate.
Stress induced loading: A surface support, well bonded to
the rock, will be subjected to the same deformations as the
rock. If stiffer, or more brittle, than the jointed, fractured rock
mass, it may fail prematurely under the imposed
deformations. Several failure mechanisms such as shear,
bending, buckling or tension, individually or in combination
330 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
may occur. This can result in stress induced spalling of the
liner material.
Water pressure loading: Water pressures may be
sufficient to fail undrained surface support.
Bending loading: In mining excavations it is very rare that
support is installed in the floor. Consequently although
deformation may be contained in the roof and sidewalls, the
floor may deform freely. This can result in greater
convergence at floor level than roof level, and hence
bending loading on the liner support particularly in the
haunch areas.
It is important to highlight several effects of these loading
mechanisms. Localized deformation of surface support may
lead to localized failure. Therefore, even if the liner material
has an elongation of 100% or 200%, the localization of
deformation of well bonded surface support may result in
failure after a total opening of only a few millimetres. In such
cases, it may be preferable for the bond between surface
support and rock to be less effective, to allow some shear to
take place on the interface, and hence for the deformation
to be less localizad.
Furthernore, the surface support is one component of the
support system, which usually also includes rockbolts. The
interaction between the surface support and the rockbolts is
extremely important. The behaviour of the rockbolts
influences the behaviour of the surface support and may
dictate the characteristics desired of this support.
It is probable that all of the above mechanisms of
behaviour and of loading are applicable in many mining
environments. With this complexity of behaviour and
loading, it is perhaps not surprising that there are no
established procedures or methods for the design of rock
support using thin spray-on liners. Satisfactory engineering
design methods and procedures are therefore yet to be
developed. In the same vein, it is therefore also not
surprising that, although many different types of tests have
been carried out on TSLs, to date no single test, or group of
tests, has been defined that can satisfactorily indicate
whether a TSL will be able to provide adequate support, or
whether one TSL will provide better support than another.
The most obvious current solution to this conundrum is to
evaluate TSLs by means of field trials, which will indicate
clearly whether a particular TSL is likely to be satisfactory or
not.
3 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMONL
Y AVAILABLE TSLs
An aim of workshops in Australia, South Africa and
Canada was to characterize and document the available
TSL products. This was somewhat complicated by the
relatively young age of these products that is reflected in
their continued development. Furthermore, a distinction had
to be drawn between sealants and TSL that provide some
kind of support. Table 1 provides a list of different TSL
products that were identified during the International
Seminars. Not all products are currently available.
4 CASES OF TSL IMPLEMENTATION
At this stage there does not appear to be any location in
which TSLs are applied as ongoing support on a routine
basis. All examples of applications relate to the solution of
particular problems on a one-off basis. Some of the
examples that have been published in the series of
seminars will be summarized below. It is to be noted that,
owing to the rapid developments that are taking place in the
TSL field, the case studies, though recent, may describe
TSL material and application equipment and procedures
that are already out of date. The implication of this is that
Massmin 2004
 Table 1: List of TSL Products a ratio of approximately one part urethane pre-polymer to
six part, water based resin dispersion.
Product Manufacturer Chemistry
4.2 Trials with Tekflex at Neves Corvo Portugal
Mineguard Mineguard Canada Polyurethane Hepworth and Lobato (2002) described field trials with
Rocguard MCC Cementitious Polymer Tekflex at Neves Corvo mine in Portugal. The objective at
Neves Corvo Mine was to explore the possibility for partial
Rock Hold Mondi / ICTUS Methacrylate
replacement of wire mesh screen and shotcrete by TSL. The
Rockweb Spray On Plastic Polyurea mine uses shotcrete rather than screen as support to
Rock Guard Engineered Coatings Polyurea/Polyurethane advancing faces. Screen has elevated labour requirements,
SPI Polyurea Speciality Products Int. Polyurea is more prone to corrosion and cannot hinder weathering of
the rock mass. Further limitations of screen include its
Tekflex White Minova USA Inc Polymer/
Cementitious blend inability to stop progressive upward spalling, response to
blast damage and the need to bleed when broken rock
Tekflex Black Minova USA Inc Polymer/
accumulates in screen. Screen is used for rehabilitation of
Cementitious blend
damaged shotcrete. The use of screen during habilitation
Tekflex T Minova USA Inc Polymer/ close to the face can expose mine personnel to rockfalls.
Cementitious blend The use of shotcrete is subject to materials handling
Tekflex Minova USA Inc Polymer/ constraints (supply and movement of air compressors and
Cementitious blend spray equipment).
Tunnel Guard SA Mining & Eng. Cementitious Polymer Potential applications of TSLs include: as a substitute of
Tunnel Flex SA Mining & Eng. Cement Latex shotcrete where faults are exposed; zones susceptible to
weathering but which do not call for high capacity liner
3M Mining Liner 3M Polyurethane support and as screen replacement for rehabilitation. TSL
Ardumin TM020 Ardex Hydraulic Cement provides an alternative for areas where applying screen is
Castonite Strata Products Gypsum polymer problematic due to manpower problems and where screen
Everbond II Mead Mining Polymer/ is susceptible to blast damage.
cementitious blend Neves Corvo uses approximately 7000 m3 of shotcrete
each year to cover 110000 m2 of rock. Even if a TSL would
Evermine Mead Mining Cement/Acrylic
replace a small percentage it could still be important.
GSM CS1251 MBT Polyurethane- Starting in October 2000 and continued into late 2001 the
Polyurea/ Acrylic mine undertook a series of field trials using the Tekflex
Lanko 228 CHRYSO Cement/Acrylic "liquid powder" formulation. The aims of the field trials were
to:
Masterseal 840 R MBT Methacrylate
a) Evaluate the ease of mixing and spraying to determine
Masterseal 845 A MBT Cement latex the appropriate installation technology.
b) Determine optimum distance of nozzle from the surface
currently available technology is likely to be superior to that and operator comfort.
described below. The presented examples are drawn from c) Monitor dust levels and aggressiveness in terms of
selected papers that appeared in the Seminar proceedings. operator discomfort.
d) Determine short and longer term (one or two months)
4.1 TSL applications at Fraser Mine adhesion performance, principally for the Black Shale.
Swan and Henderson (2001) trace the introduction of e) Examine the resistance of Tekflex to blast damage.
TSLs to Falconbridges Fraser Mine in 1997. The main f) Estimate the surface roughness factor for the typical
objective was to replace the loose supporting or retaining highly schistose shale, for coverage and costing
function of screen (mesh), between the primary ground purposes.
support system of bolts, with a thin deformable liner. The g) Determine realistic rates of application of the Tekflex for
mine further dictated that any TSL would not expose estimating productivity and cost.
workers to any toxic elements during and after application. h) Evaluate the adherence to shotcrete on surfaces coated
The mine selected a water-based, latex-type liner. The with Tekflex.
business case was based on improved ground support
cycle times obtained using TSL over the use of screen. The trial area was in very poor ground conditions and
Furthermore, the mine estimated that a minimum of 70% of extended from 0.5m back from the face at the roof position
all loose ground could be supported by a TSL with shotcrete to approximately 5.5m back from the face. The test area
used in certain rockbursting and rehabilitation applications was sprayed from the base of one wall, across the roof, to
where superior coverage and stiffness/confinement capacity the base of the other wall. As the face was uneven the
were required. closest to the face that the Tekflex could be sprayed was
Following comprehensive testing of the Tekflex liner the 1.5m to 2m at floor level. The nozzle to roof distance was
mine embarked on a six month trial. This involved 2m to 3m and the equipoment was mounted at the back of
demonstration of loose support, confirmation of the a pickup and. The front of the test area was sprayed at
business case, crew acceptance and address of any distance close to 3m. Air temperature was 24oC and the
environmental concerns. Following the trial Fraser Mine operation took place at 75% humidity with no through flow of
proceeded with a full production-scale implementation to ventilation. The test area, however, was close to the main
replace screen. access. Although the mine experienced equipment
More recently Swan et al (2003) have outlined problems during the initial trials it was felt that these would
Falconbridges strategy to continue work towards not be an issue in a full implementation.
developing a new TSL in collaboration with 3M. This 3M During the initial field trial it was observed that mixing and
Mining Liner is a two-part system, a urethane pre-polymer pumping of the TSL was easy. Regular cleaning is however
and a water based resin dispersion. The two components necessary after every four batches. This process takes
are individually pumped to a spray head where they are between 20 and 30 minutes at the end of the shift. As the
mixed as they are dispensed. The components are mixed in material is water-soluble this is not a problem if tackled

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 331

early. The overall application was deemed reasonably "user (2003) investigated three types of TSLs referred by their
friendly" provided proper procedures and a skilled nozzle generic names:
man are employed. As there was virtually no dust and little Latex/cement thin spray-on liner. This contains two
rebound the nozzle man was comfortable using normal separate components, a liquid polymer latex and hydraulic
safety glasses and a standard dust mask. The mine cement powder. Components are mixed in a single bin and
suggests that a plastic rain suit or disposable paper overalls an air compressor provides a nozzle pressure of 690 kPa to
may be appropriate. Lighting was not a major issue with the apply the liner.
nozzle mans cap lamp being adequate. Methacrylate-based thin spray-on liner. This uses two
A difficulty in the use of TSL is to quantify the thickness of liquid, high viscosity, multi-component parts (methacrylate
the resin. This is important given the relatively high cost of monomer and a peroxide initiator). Components are placed
TSL. A coating too thin, however, does not provide adeqaute into separate bins and pumped to the nozzle in separate
support. The mine found that very good coverage, with filling hoses where they are combined using air pressure of 413-
of the open joints, was achieved when spraying from a 690 kPa. The air acts as both the mixing and propelling
distance of less than 2m. medium for the application of the liner.
Short term adhesion to wet rock was satisfactory. Long Polyurea thin spray-on liner. It uses two separate liquid
term adhesion was acceptable provided the liner was components, an isocyanate material and resin mixture. The
sprayed from distances less than 2m with good access to two materials are mixed in separate barrels, heated, and
cracks, foliation etc. At areas where this was not possible pumped to the nozzle in separate hoses where they are
rocks came loose due to adjacent blasting. This was a combined under 17 MPa pressure. Application is in three
concern as TSL coverage does not provide warning of layers. The first layer provides a tacky surface for a strong
failure as given by cracking shotcrete. In a test two days initial bond to the rock. The second layer forms a low
after installation the Tekflex liner was not significantly strength stringy material that can cover large cracks
affected by a blast. (polyurea is heated to 35 C). A durable and glossy final
Further trials demonstated that good coverage was coating provides high strength (polyurea is heated to 63 C)
possible when using a a NORMET basket to apply Tekflex. and includes graphite chips to extinguish flames.
Applications in poor ground confirmed that Tekflex provided Pappas et al (2003) provide a summary of material
little support capability for large loose slabs. This suggested properties used in the study, Table 2, derived by previous
that Tekflex was an appropriate substitute for mesh and not work by Archibald and DeGagne (2001). Flammability was
for shotcrete. not an issue as all materials were self extinguishing. The
November 2001 saw the final set of trials in very poor Health issues were all related to respiration. Further
ground in stopes and development characterized by friable information on the sprayed TSLs is given in Table 3.
and weathered material. Tekflex was easily integrated into
the production cycle with 6 linear metres installed per shift. Table 2: Summary of liner material properties
The rate of advance was three times faster than when using
shotcrte. A safe advance in a high-grade drift was possible Support Tensile Elongation Set time
in very difficult ground conditions. Swellex or resin bolts liner type strength1 (%) (Minutes)
were installed to the face before the Tekflex was installed. (MPa)
Shotcrete was applied later in the development over the
installed Tekflex without any problems of adhesion. Latex/Cement >1 (1 hr) 12-30 <3
Detailed costing was carried out based on approximately Methacrylate >2 (1 hr) >100 <3
8 litres of Tekflex product per m2 of installed Tekflex. At 3.24
Polyurea 18.5 125 10 sec
Euro per litre this is approximately 24 Euro per m2 for the
product only. A rate of spraying of 10.4 m2 per hour includes 1 Estimated strength in 28 days.
the time for transport and loading cost with a 2-man crew. 2 Initial set time.
The total material and labour cost of installed Tekflex is
approximately 31 Euro per m2. This is approximately the
same as the material and labour costs for 50mm of installed Table 3: Details of sprayed TSLs
shotcrete. The majority of the costs of the shotcrete are in
the labour cost at the surface batching plant, transport and Support Thickness Date Estimated
a two-man crew. Maintenance costs for shotcrete liner type (mm) installed cost
equipment are higher than for Tekflex. At Neves Corvo (US$/m2)
Tekflex appeared to be very effective in containing friable
ground between roof bolts in a low or destressed Latex/Cement 7.6 10/99 17.54
environment. The performance of Tekflex under high stress 3.8-7.6 10/99 10.55
conditions was not investigated. Methacrylate 2 1/01-3/01 24.5
3-5 9/01 n/a
4.3 Long term performance of TSLs in an underground 3.6-5 11/02 34.75
limestone mine Polyurea 5 4/02 43.00
Pappas et al (2003) evaluated the long-term performance
of TSLs at critical mine locations (predominately on mine
ribs) at the NIOSH, Pittsburgh Research Laboratorys Lake A double thickness of 8 mm of spray-on liner material
Lynn Laboratory. Located in the Greenbrier limestone was applied on a pillar in the hydrostatic test chamber
formation it is characterised by three to five horizontally area of the mine in October 1999. This is an area where
bedded shale bands. As a result of large seasonal explosion tests generate considerable blast vibrations in
temperature and humidity fluctuations the shale bands the area. Furthermore, pillars in this area have spalled
weather and degrade. This is further compounded by considerably due to weathering, greater overburden and
frequent explosion tests that often dislodge loose rib and damage caused by the explosion tests. Pappas et al
roof rock thus exposing fresh rock to weathering. The mine (2003) report that the latex/cement liner protected the
has adopted a long-term maintenance solution of sealing pillar from further weathering. It is also argued that the
the mine ribs and roof to cope with long-term structural TSL provides some additional confinement that prevents
degradation and potential safety concerns. Pappas et al further spalling.

332 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 An 8 mm thick double coating of the latex/cement TSL
was applied at a 76 m section of a large barrier pillar near
the entrance portal. The area is subject to frequent freeze
thaw cycles and fluctuations in temperature and humidity.
The liner performed well with only 1% of the total area
covered being problematic. Even then these were attributed
to rock rather than TSL failure. The site had not been
properly scaled and consequently the fractured shale was
partially degraded when initially sealed.
In 2001 and 2002 several versions of a methacrylate-
based thin spray-on liner were used at small trial areas.
Once an acceptable methacrylate thin spray-on liner
formulation was developed it was applied to three different
types of surface conditions.
In the first test the reformulated methacrylate material
was applied over an area that was part of previously
unsuccessful TSL application. This did not provide a good
base for adherence and after a few days, most of latest
application debonded from the mine wall. At the second
site the reformulated methacrylate material debonded
from at the saturated mine wall, due to the excess water
on the rock surface. At the third site, the surface was
scaled and then blown dry. The rock surface was still
moist, but in the absence of excess water the
reformulated methacrylate material was successful in
sealing the mine rib.
A polyurea TSL was installed in April 2002. In the first site
the rib face was scaled and washed prior to application of
the three layers of polyurea. In both sites there were small
trial areas where the face was not washed and zones
saturated with water. After nearly a year since the
application there were no signs that these trial areas were
adversely affected by dirt or moisture.
At the second site the significance of not using three
layers was explored. In the first test area, only the second
and third layers of polyurea were applied. In the second
area, only the second layer of polyurea was used and in the
third area only the third layer of polyurea was sprayed on
the rib rock. A year after the tests, debonding was only
observed in some parts of the area where only the second
layer was applied. All other trial areas were not adversely
affected by the absence of the primer layer.
4.4 Ore bin repair at BHP Cannington
This unusual application of a TSL at BHP Cannington was
described by Nucifora and Irwin (2001) and illustrates the
versatility of TSLs. The mine used a surge bin 12 metres
deep and a fine ore bin 30 metres deep. Both bins are five
metres in diameter. The walls of both ore bins are lined with
sacrificial steel rail mats down their entire length to prevent
the bin from wearing. After having handled over five million
tonnes of ore, the maintenance team was faced with the
challenge of replacing the worn sacrificial chute liners. As
the rail mats employ a rock box effect to minimise wear to
the sides of the bins there is a significant risk of falling rocks
when the bins are empty. Any remedial action would have to
ensure that no personnel were exposed to the open
unsupported bin walls above.
The mine explored several options aiming for a safe and
efficient way to replace the chute liners while keeping the
down time to a minimum:
a) Weld wire mesh to the rail mats. This was problematic as
it would be very difficult to secure the mesh. Should the
wire mesh fail it would pose more danger than falling
rocks. Once the liners were replaced the mesh would
have to be removed to prevent future chute blockages.
b) Shotcrete the walls. This was of interest given the
structural support provided by shotcrete. Concerns
included the long curing time of shotcrete that would
render the bin inaccessible for close to twelve hours after
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
spraying. It was further estimated that it would take five
full days to spray the fine ore bin and another three days
to repair and replace the chute liners. This eight-day
shutdown was not acceptable. Practical considerations
did not allow for spraying the shotcrete from a man
basket suspended by crane. The other alternative was to
fill the bin, with the operators working off the top of the
ore. The ore level would have to be lowered at several
increments and each time the personnel would have to
exit the bin. This process would potentially expose
workers to further safety hazards including unsatisfactory
ventilation.
c) Scale down the entire bin. A trial indicated that this was
not an efficient option. A five person team using scaling
bars and pneumatic jack hammers could only scale 8m2
of a total area of approximately 471 m2 in two hours
d) Another option involved the use of a pentice. As both bins
have limited access at the top there were concerns about
manoeuvrability and ventilation. In fact the mine
constructed a six segment pentice with the intention of it
being assembled on top of the ore. The pendice would
then be suspended using a crane while the bin was
emptied allowing the placing of the pendice at the bottom
of the bin. This would permit maintenance workers to
enter from the bottom and work safely below the
protection provided. The actual pentice was extremely
difficult to handle as it was big and bulky given that it was
constructed to resist falling rock from 30m. There were
further concerns that the pentice was susceptible to
getting jammed on the rail mat. Consequently it was
never employed.
e) The retained option was to spray the Fosroc Tekflex TSL.
The mine was satisfied that this alternative was feasible
in that required equipment to spray was simple and could
be easily handled with the crew capable to start work
safely under the Tekflex within one hour. All the spraying
could be done directly from a man basket suspended by
a crane. The main challenge was to convince the crew
who would be replacing the liners. A proof of concept trial
was undertaken. Some rocks were placed into a
fabricated dummy rail mat to emulate the underground
situation. The mat was subsequently sprayed using
Tekflex. The TSL cured in approximately 20 minutes.
After an hour from spraying the test mat was struck with
sledgehammers to test its performance. Rocks inside the
film of Tekflex were smashed, but none were dislodged.
As a final test the dummy rail mat was hung upside down
by the crane, but still nothing moved. This convinced the
maintenance crew of the feasibility of this option.
Following some further time studies the mine went ahead
with this option. After four and a half days, the
underground ore handling system was back on line and
the shutdown was considered a major success. The
Tekflex cured on time, the simple spraying equipment
operated smoothly. Another inadvertent benefit was that
the white colour of Tekflex facilitated lighting inside the
bins.
5 OTHER APPLICATIONS
During the seminars and workshops several other case
studies were referred to. These however did not have the
same level of documentation as those presented in Section
4. A brief description of other cases is included below.
5.1 Tunnelguard application
Spearing (2003) describes an applications using
Tunnelguard in a South African gold mine. Tunnelguard is a
two component cementitious powder and liquid polymer
TSL. Its basic properties, measured at ambient temperature
are summarised in Table 4.
333
 Table 4: Tunnelguard Properties
Property
Tensile strength 2.5 MPa at 28 days
Flexural strength 4.3 MPa at 28 days
Compressive strength 10.5 MPa at 1 day
29.5 MPa at 28 days
Shelf life 1 year
Gel time 20 minutes
Tunnelguard has been used extensively at this operation
since 2002 as part of the support for twin footwall drives in
near virgin ground at a depth of over 3000m. At this site tight
spaced bedding planes were characterised by argillaceous
infilling. The main objective was to use the TSL to prevent
further weathering of the infilling and at the same time to
contribute to the support of the excavation as it is installed
about 2m from the advancing faces. Following early success
the TSL is currently routinely applied by contractors in both
drives. The mine is exploring its potential as an in-stope liner.
Furthermore, the TSL was resistant to damage by several
recorded seismic events above 0.5 magnitude in the vicinity of
the drives. Spearing (2003) suggested that it was premature to
draw conclusions on the ability of the TSL to limit rockburst
damage but felt that early indications were encouraging.
5.2 Tunnelguard application as a sealant
The origins of Tunnelguard are described by Borejszo and
Bartlett (2002). The major ore type in most South African
diamond mines is ultra basic tuffisitic kimberlite breccia. The
ore contains magnesium rich, expansive montmorrilonite
clay. This clay is characterised by its capacity to absorb
water resulting in massive expansion. Borejszo and Bartlett
(2002) report volume changes as high as 18 % as the ore is
progressively saturated with water under controlled
laboratory conditions. These volumetric changes generate
pressures as high as 30 MPa which is in excess of the
capacity of most support systems.
Consequently most diamond mines have a considerable
interest to prevent water coming into contact with the
kimberlite. Tunnelguard was developed in 1994 with the
prime objective to provide an effective sealant of the rock.
For best results this TSL is sprayed onto all exposed
kimberlite as soon as practically possible.
Other Tunnelguard applications described by Borejszo
and Bartlett (2002) include its use to consolidate various
problematic rock types and prevent rock oxidation in high-
risk areas. Its main advantage is its ease and speed of
application that provides for additional time to install final
support, including shotcrete.
5.3 Castonite (RR) application
Castonite is a two component liquid gypsum and polymer
TSL. Its basic properties, measured at ambient temperature,
are summarised in Table 5.
Table 5: Basic properties of Castonite (RR)
Property
Tensile strength 0.4 MPa at 1 hour
1.4 MPa at 1 day
3.8 MPa at 28 days
Bond (to concrete) 0.5 MPa at 1 day
1.6 MPa at 7 days
Shelf life 1 year
Gel time 4 minutes
334 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Spearing (2003) reports on Castonite applications in a
new coal mine in the USA. A total of over 7 tons was used
to mitigate rock weathering and provide some support in the
area around the bottom of the new up-cast shaft. At this
location the ventilation velocity was high and the air humid,
which could cause the coal to weather and collapse over
time. This would necessitate disruptive and costly
rehabilitation. The Castonite effectively sealed the coal and
offered some confinement to the rib pillars and roof in
nearby excavations. Almost one year after application the
mine was satisfied with the performance of this TSL.
5.4 Strataskin Basic (RR) application
The mechanical properties of Strataskin Basic are similar
to shotcrete. The main difference is its capacity to reach its
full properties in a matter of seconds making it unique in that
it can be sprayed over mobile water effectively, Spearing
(2003). Typical properties are given in Table 6.
Table 6: Typical properties of Strataskin Basic
Property
Tensile strength about 2.0 MPa
(almost immediately)
Bond strength + 1.0 MPa
Shelf life 1 year (must be kept dry)
Gel time < 10 seconds
Spearing (2003) reports on a 350 m shaft in a large base
metal mine sunk through three major water intersections.
The surrounding rock consisted mostly of shales and
banded ironstones with clay infilling. At the end of the
sinking, prior to any sealing action, water at 12000
litres/hour was flowing into the shaft. This had resulted in
localized areas of severe honeycombing in the cast
concrete lining. Water was also flowing out from the rings
(between each concrete pour). The mine installed injection
pipes in the rings and removed the honeycombed concrete
by moiling.
The TSL was sprayed between injection pipes on the
rings and over the moiled out areas. Even though there was
still some running water this TSL application was considered
a success. The mine noted that it was important to control
the water added to the TSL and that the TSL was applied
very close to the substrate due to the very rapid set time of
this product.
5.5 Mondi Rock-Hold
Mondi Rock-Hold is a one component methacrylate
based powder, which, when mixed with water, provides a
thin and flexible spray-on liner. Henderson and Louw (2001)
report three applications in South African gold mines. The
first application involved the support of a near vertical
ventilation raise borehole and cubby at 2850 m below the
surface in quartzite. Due to space limitations the use of
shotcrete or mesh and lacing were not possible. A nominal
3mm was applied in raise borehole with thicker (not
specified) in fractured ground in cubby. Six months following
the application there were no visible signs of further
deterioration. The second application was to support a
moderate depth shaft, 200 m long and inclined at 45o.
Situated in quartzite the sidewalls were showing slabbing
and there were areas of heavy fracturing. The objective was
to consolidate the sidewalls using 3mm of TSL. The hanging
wall was already reinforced using mesh and anchors. The
final application aimed to improve the stability of in stope
pillars in an intermediate depth gold mine. The operation
was considered successful as the TSL provided the
Massmin 2004
necessary confinement resulting in reduction of pillar
slabbing when compared to a control pillar that was not
sprayed.
6 CONCLUSIONS
This paper summarises recent developments in thin
spray-on liners. It draws from published work in a series of
international seminars in Australia, South Africa and Canada
to identify a series of applications. TSLs are not the solution
to every ground support problem. Nevertheless the case
has been made that they have an important role to play as
part of the ground support arsenal. Knowledge of their
applicability can only be achieved by documenting and
disseminating the results of trials and applications.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge a number of
people who contributed to the seminars and workshops in
Australia, South Africa and Canada. The views expressed in
this paper, unless otherwise indicated, are those of the
authors.
REFERENCES
Archibald, J and DeGagne, D (2001) Spray-on lining
support in Canadian underground mining a research
summary, CIM Bull., Vol 94, No 1050, pp 49-56.
Bartlett, PJ and Borejszo, R (2002) Tunnelguard in the
mining industry, Proc 2nd Int. Seminar on Surface Support
Liners: Thin Sprayed Liners, Shotcrete and Mesh,
Sandton, South Africa, S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall., Section
18, 4p.
Bartlett, PJ and Nesbitt, K (2000) Durability of kimberlite
and its effect on drilling and support in tunnels, Proc.
AITES-ITA World Tunnel Congress, Tunnels under
Pressure, Durban, South Africa, S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall.,
pp 37-45.
Coates, DF (1970) Rock Mechanics Principles, Mines
Branch Monograph 874 (Revised 1970), Department of
Energy, Mines and Resources, Canada.
Finn, DJ, Teasdale, P and Windsor, CR (1999) In-situ
trials and field testing of two polymer restraint
membranes, Rock Support and Reinforcement Practice in
Mining, ed E Villaescusa, C R Windsor and A G
Thompson, AA Balkema, pp 139-153.
Henderson, N and Louw, D (2002) Underground
performance of Mondi Rock-Hold, a structural
membrane, Proc 2nd Int. Seminar on Surface Support
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Liners: Thin Sprayed Liners, Shotcrete and Mesh,
Sandton, South Africa, S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall., Section
28, 17p.
Hepworth, N and Lobato, J (2002) Tekflex resin spray field
trials Neves Corvo Mine, Portugal, Proc 2nd Int.
Seminar on Surface Support Liners: Thin Sprayed Liners,
Shotcrete and Mesh, Sandton, South Africa, S. Afr. Inst.
Min. Metall., Section 19, 8p.
Nucifora, M and Irwin, C (2001) Sprayed synthetic liner in
ore bin repair at BHP Cannington, Proc 1st Int. Seminar
on Surface Support Liners: Membrane, Shotcrete and
Mesh, Perth, Australia, Australian Centre for
Geomechanics, Section 15, 5p.
Ortlepp, W D and Stacey, T R (1994) Rockburst
mechanisms in tunnels and shafts, Tunnelling and
Underground Space Technology, v 9, no 1, pp 59-65.
Pappas, D M, Barton, T M and Weiss, E S (2003) The
long-term performance of surface support liners for
ground control in an underground limestone mine, Proc.
3rd Int. Seminar on Surface Support Liners: Thin Spray-
on Liners, Shotcrete and Mesh, Quebec City, Canada,
Section 22, 22p.
Potvin, Y, Stacey, T R and Hadjigeorgiou, J (2004) Thin
Spray-on Liners in the Mining Industry, Australian Centre
for Geomechanics, in press.
Stacey, T R (2001) Review of membrane support
mechanisms, loading mechanisms, desired membrane
performance, and appropriate test methods, Jl S. Afr.
Inst. Min. Metall., Vol. 101, No. 7, pp 343-351.
Swan G., P. Fantin, G. Doyle, S.A. Mikalachki, B. Martin
R.K. Brummer (2003). Technical and Business Case
Arguments Supporting the Development of a TSL Mining
System. Proc 3rd Int. Seminar on Surface Support Liners:
TSL, Shotcrete and Mesh, Quebec City, Universit Laval,
Section 23.
Swan G. and A. Henderson (2001). Water-Based Spray-
On Liner Implementation At Falconbridge Limited. Proc
1st Int. Seminar on Surface Support Liners: Membrane,
Shotcrete and Mesh, Perth, Australia, Australian Centre
for Geomechanics, Section 24, 12p.
Tannant, D (2001) Thin spray-on liners for underground
rock support: testing and design issues, Proc 1st Int.
Seminar on Surface Support Liners: Membrane,
Shotcrete and Mesh, Perth, Australia, Australian Centre
for Geomechanics, Section 27, 22p.
Triebsch, G and Sapko, M J (1990) Lake Lynn
Laboratory: A state-of-the-art mining research facility,
Proc. Int. Symp. on Unique Underground Structures,
Denver, USA, CSM Press, Vol. 2, pp 75-1 to 75-21.
335
 Shotcrete application and performance
at the underground deep ore zone
mine, PT. Freeport Indonesia.
Rudi Toba, Ground Support (Pre-Production) Engineer, Ernanto, DOZ Mine Operation General Foreman
Indra Febrian, Geotechnical Chief Engineer

Abstract
Freeport Indonesias Deep Ore Zone(DOZ) Mine is an underground block caving mine which started production in the
mid of year 2000. DOZ reserves are 185 million tones averaging 1.16% cu, 0.83 g/t Au, and 5.21 g/t Ag and will mine
with mechanized block cave mining method. And to support long-term tunnel opening in the extraction level, we
application shotcrete for the ground support beside construction concrete and steel set. Since we applied shotcrete in
the South side East DOZ extraction and it was successful to reduce the time and cost, we try to implement shotcrete for
all the panels and drawpoints in the west DOZ extraction. With the little field experience it hard to us to do some analyst
in the shotcrete parameter. Without doubt and based on our experience at the East DOZ in the different shotcrete and
rock type it can assist us to designing shotcrete for the primary ground support in the DOZ.

1 INTRODUCTION
Freeport Indonesias Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) mine is a
block caving mine within the Ertsberg East Skarn System
deposit. And DOZ is one from three of The Eastberg East
Skarn vertically stacked orebodies. Two others are GBT and
Intermediate Ore Zone (IOZ).
In the DOZ mine area proper skarn is dominated by
primarily forsterite and diopsidic clinopyroxene. The DOZ
Mine reversed around 185 Million tons ore at 1.16 % cu
equivalent and began production in the mid of year 2000.
Currently the DOZ mine is producing 40.000 tpd, and in
the future production may reach 100.000 tpd.
Around 85 cubic meters shotcrete per day to cover the
production target and project expansion in the DOZ.
The characteristic of the main rock types in the EESS may
be summarized as follows:
1. Diorite: A high strength well jointed rock mass that
comprises most of the footwall.
2. Forsterite Skarn: A massive unit adjacent to the Eastberg
Diorite Contact. Generally a hard competent rock unit
with good ground conditions.
3. Magnetite-Forsterite Skarn: Generally a hard competent
rock unit, with good ground conditions, but may contain
localized zones exhibiting poor ground conditions.
4. HALO: Highly Altered Local Ore, form pods of low
strength highly fractured and brecciated rock within the
ore zone. It cuts all other units and almost without
exception result in poor ground conditions.
5. Mineralized Marble: Highly fractured with fracture
spacings between 5 and 10 cm.
6. Marble: A very low-grade marble that is soft and
moderately fractured. It can be hard and massive near
the contact with skarn.

3 SHOTCRETE APPLICATION AT DOZ

In the DOZ, application of shotcrete involves large

2 DOZ ROCK CHARACTERIZATIONS
The rock mass is regularly classified using the Q-system
and the RMR system. Rock mass quality is variable across
the underground orebodies, with the diorite being the
highest quality and the HALO typically being the lowest
quality rock mass.
openings, fractures surface, soft ground / weak joint, long-
term tunnel opening and in heavily blasted ground
(Extraction Level).
Ranges of twelve permanent support designs have been
utilized through the DOZ based on the rock type and mining
conditions, beside 50 mm development shotcrete support.
These range and type of shotcrete are examined by the
Geotechnical department who work closely with the Pre-
Production (Ground Support) Engineer to decide which type
of the shotcrete support is appropriate.
In the northern extraction has been applied Steel Fiber
shotcrete with two layers of 6mm rebar mesh, which have
soft and moderately fractured of the ground. And just one
layer of rebar mesh or development shotcrete in the
southern of extraction.
At the HALO area we do shotcrete for development
support only soon after the drift and drawpoints excavation,
because it is will combines steel frame and conventional
placed concrete.

336 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


At present, shotcrete sprayed around 85 cubic meters per
day in the DOZ to cover the development support, shotcrete
permanent support and rehabilitations shotcrete in the
production area. The shotcrete used in the DOZ is typically
designed to achieve a compressive strength of 40 Mpa.
4 SHOTCRETE PERFORMANCE AT DOZ
In the DOZ East various shotcrete designs were applied
and closely monitored to determine their quality,
performance and effectiveness. In DOZ East permanent
shotcrete was used as the primary support mechanism in
40% of the panel areas, in the DOZ West this will increase
to more than 60% panel areas. Including some ground
types that were previously supported by concrete
construction methods. The experiences in DOZ East have
been use to improve understanding of the performance of
the shotcrete applications. This application and observation
learning process has been combined with a program of
design and methodology improvement to allow a continual
optimization of shotcrete application.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Parameters designs for shotcrete design in a mining
environment are limited, especially with the little personal
experience. The best design is a combination of personal
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
experience, empirical methods and analytical checks that
we do in the East DOZ. The Principle involved is that "I did
this before and it was successful, therefore if I have the
same conditions and I do the same again, I would imagine
that I will again achieve success".
This paper deals specifically with the past and future
applications of shotcrete for maintaining the ground stability
DOZ mine.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thank the management of PT.
Freeport Indonesia for permission to publish this paper. The
contribution made by underground personnel involved in
block caving mining at DOZ mine, especially Ajanth
Saverimutto and Chris Chmura to this paper are gratefully
acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Hinsley Sandre, Ground Control in Underground Mines
Freeport Indonesia
Brady, B.H.G. and Brown, E.T. 1993. Monitoring rock
mass performance. In Rock Mechanics for Underground
Mining. 2nd ed, 491-496.
Zostrich Geotechnical, Underground Excavation Rock
Mechanics.
Butcher, R.J. 2000. The Role of Mass Concrete in Soft
Rock Block Cave Mines. In Proceedings of Mass Min
2000 Conference, Brisbane, 29 Oct-2 Nov 2000, 423.
M. Struthers 1996, Performance of Mesh and Fibre
Reinforced Shotcrete under High Ground Pressures.
337
 Ground support design
using three-dimensional numerical
modeling at Molycorp, Inc.s,
block caving Questa Mine
Leo J. Gilbride, J.F.T. Agapito, Agapito Associates, Inc., Grand Junction, Colorado, USA
Robert Kehrman, Molycorp, Inc., Questa, New Mexico, USA

Abstract
The Molycorp, Inc., Questa Mine, located in New Mexico, currently mines using a gravity-draw panel cave to extract
molybdenum sulfide ore from the 600-m-deep D Orebody. Prior to initial development, geotechnical studies were
undertaken to predict ground response for the design of entry support on the Grizzly and Haulage levels and in transfer
raise connections. Heavy abutment pressures were anticipated ahead of the undercut, followed by significant stress relief
as a consequence of a post-undercutting mining sequence. Detailed three-dimensional continuum modeling was
conducted to predict changing stress states during the undercutting sequence and to evaluate the performance of various
concrete and steel liner designs. Lithologic variation across the orebody was simulated and proved meaningful for
identifying different stress transfer mechanisms and liner pressures in different types of squeezing ground.
Recommendations for concrete liner thickness, concrete strength, reinforcement, and steel liner thickness were
developed from modeling and, ultimately, were implemented during construction. Since the cave was initiated in October
2000, ground support has performed reliably, with only occasional compression cracking and minor tensile separation of
the Grizzly Level liner in response to passing abutment loads. Observations to date corroborate model predictions and
validate initial support design for the new deep orebody.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Molycorp, Inc., Questa block caving mine is located near

the northern New Mexico town of Questa, as shown in Figure
1. Molybdenum has been mined at Questa for over 80 years.
Molycorp began large-scale open pit mining in 1965, but by the
mid-1970s plans for underground mining were developed to
combat high stripping ratios. By the end of 1976, a substantial
high-grade deposit was delineated by exploratory drilling
southwest of the open pit. A gravity block-caving method was
selected because of the well-fractured nature of the rock mass
and the size and shape of the deposit (Shoemaker 1981).
Figure 2 shows the general layout of the Goathill and D
orebodies and the current underground mine.
Underground mine development began in 1979, followed
by initial production in 1983 from the Goathill Orebody.
Production peaked in the mid-1980s, reaching 16,000
tonnes per day. By 1992, the mine was placed in stand-by
mode in response to declining molybdenum prices. The
mine was reactivated in 1995 and caving operations in the
Goathill Orebody were converted from manual gravity draw
to highly-mechanized load-haul-dump (LHD) draw.
Plans were developed to replace production from the
Goathill Orebody with the new, deeper D Orebody to the
east by the year 2000. However, at more than twice the
depth of the Goathill Orebody (300 m deep), the D Orebody
(600800 m deep) posed unprecedented geo-technical
challenges for mining at Questa. Experience with mining in
weak ground at Goathill suggested that very heavy support
would be required in the deeper orebody. With expectations
of high ground pressures, Molycorp reverted to the original
Figure 1: Location of Molycorp, Inc., Questa Mine
and proven gravity draw system in the D Orebody, which
was considered the lower risk alternative to LHD draw.
Gravity draw was also favored for better cave fragmentation Designs for ground support, comprising concrete and
and lower ventilation requirements. Molycorps gravity draw steel liners of various dimensions and strength, were
mine system is illustrated in Figure 3. developed in accordance with predicted high-abutment

338 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 2. Plan View Mine Layout
stress magnitudes. Changing abutment stress conditions
and rock mass-support interaction were simulated per the
planned caving sequence using detailed three-dimensional
computer models. Ultimately, designs were adopted based
on modeled perfor-mance and experience. Production from
the D Orebody began in October 2000.
Figure 3: Gravity Draw System
2 GEOLOGY
The deposit occurs in a hydrothermally altered region
associated with extensive faulting and fracturing in aplite-
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
porphyry rocks which intruded a complex sequence of
volcanic andesites and rhyolites. These rocks occur in a
down-dropped trench developed in Precambrian
metamorphic rocks consisting of gneisses, schists, and
amphibolites. Structurally, the deposit is controlled by major
shear systems that trend northeast, east-west, and north-
south to northwest.
Hydrothermal solutions, rich in molybdenum, migrated
upward from a deeply buried batholith through fractures,
and formed the molybdenite (MoS2) mineralizationthe
only ore mineral occurring in the deposit (Agapito and
Shoemaker 1987). The individual orebodies comprising the
deposit vary in width and height from 125 m to 250 m and
are collectively about 1,500 m long.
3 ROCK MASS QUALITY
For engineering purposes, the complex geology of the D
Orebody is simplified to four predominant rock types: strong
and weak andesite, breccia, and aplite-porphyry rocks.
Figure 4 shows the general geology on the 7200 Grizzly
Level, located 6.7 m below the 7222 Undercut Level. The
molybdenum ore occurs mostly in the breccia above the
Grizzly Level and, to a lesser extent, in veins. Beneath the
breccia, to the south, is a generally weak andesite and, to
the north, a moderately competent intrusive aplite-porphyry,
which also underlies the andesite.
The andesites in the 7120 Haulage Level are generally of
better quality and exhibit less jointing and faulting than the
andesites on the Grizzly Level. They are also of better-
than-average quality than the andesites in the Goathill
Orebody.
Rock quality is substantially affected by intense fracturing
spaced as closely as 30 mm. The southern half of the
orebody is generally weaker than the northern half due to
large amounts of clay present in the highly fractured
339
andesites and aplites. Fractures in the northern half of the Table 1. Rock Mass Properties
orebody contain more quartz than clay, resulting in a
significantly stronger rock mass. Extensive mapping and Andesite
observations have shown a range in Q value (Barton et al. Weak Strong Breccia Aplite
1977) of 0.002 to 8, which rates the rock mass from
exceptionally poor to fair. GSI 10 30 48 65
Rock mass properties were estimated according to the
Geological Strength Index (GSI) introduced by Hoek et al. Q 0.0023 0.021 0.16 1.03
(1995) and are summarized for the D Orebody in Table 1.
Caving operations were designed to proceed from south Q Rating Exceptionally Extremely Very Poor
poor poor poor
to north, so that the abutments from caving can be
transferred away from the weaker andesites in the south to Elastic
the stronger aplites in the north. Experience in the Goathill Modulus, E 1,000 3,200 8,900 23,700
Orebody showed consistently better ground conditions (MPa)
when caving proceeded in a northward direction.
Poisson's
Ratio, 0.30 0.30 0.25 0.25

Unconfined
Compressive 3.8 12.5 18.6 52.7
Strength, c
(MPa)

Cohesion, c
(MPa) 1.1 3.1 4.1 9.2

Friction Angle, 29 38 42 52

Q = 0.10*Q' for D orebody conditions, where

Q' = Modified Tunnelling Quality Index.

Figure 4: Predominant Rock Types on the Grizzly Level

4 ABUTMENT STRESSES

From inception, heavy abutment stresses were

anticipated on the production levels in the D Orebody.
Because a post-undercutting sequence was required, newly
developed lines were expected to be subjected to the
greatest range of support pressures possible. Newly
developed draw lines would be rapidly exposed to peak
abutment loading followed by maximal relief to less-than-in
situ stress conditions after passage of the overlying cave.
Such extremes are normally avoided with a pre-
undercutting sequence.
Detailed, three-dimensional continuum mod-eling was
conducted with the finite-difference code FLAC3D (Itasca
1997) to predict changing stress conditions on the Grizzly
and Haulage levels during the undercutting sequence in
Block 1. Figure 5 shows the general model geometry and
spatial relationship of the four predominant rock types.
Figure 5: Block 1D Orebody Abutment Stress Model
Geometry and Rock Types
Peak abutment loads, calculated by elastic-only modeling,
are summarized in Table 2 by rock type. Best estimates
from modeling are that active ground pressures in the
deeper D Orebody will range from 130% to 290% of those
at Goathill, depending upon rock type.
Abutment stresses in the more competent aplite and, to a
lesser extent, breccia rock masses were determined to
reach their highest levels near the end of Block 1 mining.
Figure 6 is a map of the major principal stress magnitude

340 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Table 2. Modeled Peak Abutment Stresses Orebody, the method was used for preliminary support
design. Initial results indicated that a minimum of 46 cm of
Nominal Peak Abutment concrete would be required for lining the draw lines on the
Pre-mining Stress (MPa) Grizzly Level and that approximately 15 cm of shotcrete
Stress Grizzly Haulage would be required to stabilize the heaviest sections on the
(MPa) Level Level Haulage Level.
A 61- to 69-cm-thick cast concrete liner (46-cm-thick
Goathill Orebody 8.0 17.2 12.9 floor), using 21 MPa strength concrete, was initially
proposed for secondary support in the draw lines, as shown
D Orebody
in Figure 7. A 15-cm-thick shotcrete liner (46-cm-thick
Weak Andesite 23.0 17.1 poured floor) was proposed for the Haulage drifts, as
Strong Andesite 24.7 18.0 illustrated in Figure 8. Lastly, a 6.4-mm-thick Grade 60 steel
15.1
Breccia 40.1 NA liner was proposed for the transfer raises between the
Aplite 49.6 24.0 Grizzly and Haulage levels.
Detailed FLAC3D modeling was conducted to assess the
Breccia absent on Haulage Level. performance of the preliminary designs. The primary design
criterion was the prevention of crushing or squeezing of the
liners during abutment loading. A local-scale model was
constructed of the complete transfer raise system,
illustrated in Figure 9. Support elements were attached to
the excavations to represent the concrete and steel liners.
Minor support components, including bolts and mesh used
for support during development, were not included in the
model.
Non-linear Mohr-Coulomb rock mass behavior was
prescribed in the model per the properties presented in
Table 1. Peak abutment stresses were specified for different
rock types according to the stress tensors derived from the
large-scale abutment stress model. In the transfer raise
model, entries were excavated and allowed to reach initial
equilibrium before liners were installed. After installing the
liners, abutment stresses were applied. Liner pressures
developed in response to both elastic and plastic
deformation in the surrounding rock mass.
Support performance was gauged by the amount of entry
convergence and yielding in the liner elements. For
example, local crushing of the concrete liner is indicated in
Figure 9 by the yield zone around the left draw window.

Figure 6: Peak Abutment Stress Map at the Final Stage of

UndercuttingGrizzly Level, Block 1

acting on the Grizzly Level near the end of Block 1 mining.

Stresses were determined to peak at an earlier stage in the
andesite.
Model results also suggest that abutment stresses will
attenuate a short distance away from the cave. Abutment
effects are expected to become largely unnoticeable by
about 12 m laterally into Block 2 on the Grizzly Level. In the
vertical direction, abutment stresses are expected to
decrease from the Grizzly Level to the Haulage Level by as
much as 25% in the weakest andesite and 50% in aplite.

5 GROUND SUPPORT

Original estimates for ground support at Goathill were

based on ground-support interaction analyses, which relied
upon the load-deformation characteristics of the rock mass Figure 7: Proposed Support Design for the Grizzly Level
and support (Agapito and Shoemaker 1987). For the D Draw Lines

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 341

Figure 8: Proposed Support Design for the Haulage Level
Drifts

Figure 9 indicates limited liner yielding when the proposed

draw line design was tested in the strongest aplite rock
mass. Damage sig-nificantly increased when the same liner Figure 9: Transfer Raise System Model and Liner Yielding
was tested in weakest andesite. Figure 10 shows extensive during Abutment Loading in Aplite
concrete yielding, indicative of major crushing in the liner, in
the weak ground.

Less damage occurred in the stronger andesite and

breccia rock masses.
Even in the strongest rock, the preliminary designs were
determined to be vulnerable to excessive crushing under
transient abutment loads. The benefits of a thicker liner and
higher strength concrete were tested by modeling. Results
showed that concrete as thick as 91 cm on the Grizzly Level
and 30 cm on the Haulage Level increased liner stiffness,
but attracted more load and gained little in terms of net
stability.
Greater benefit was achieved by increasing the strength
of the concrete. Crushing was shown to decrease
moderately by increasing concrete strength from 21 to 41
MPa, and almost no risk of damage was determined for very
high-strength concrete (83 MPa), as indicated by Figure 10.
Although steel reinforcement was not considered effective
for preventing crushing, light reinforcement was
recommended for augmenting tensile strength and retaining
unstable blocks in the event of cracking.
Results indicated that a steel liner was necessary to
prevent adverse closure of the transfer raises in the weak
andesite and breccia. The 6.4-mm-thick steel liner
proposed in the preliminary design was determined to be
adequate to control squeezing under most conditions.
From the analysis, and based on experience at Questa,
the proposed designs were concluded to be reliable in the
stronger aplite and breccia rock masses, except for
localized areas of geological weakness (e.g., shear zones
and faults) which would require additional support. In the
weakest andesite, the same design posed significant risk of Figure 10: Comparison of Liner Damage in the Draw Lines
concrete crushing over large areas on the Grizzly Level, using Normal (21 MPa) and very High (83 MPa) Strength
unless higher strength concrete was used or supplemental Concrete in Weak Andesite
steel arches were added. Upon consideration of the

342 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 11: Draw Line Development Showing Original
Excavation and Concrete Forms
findings, Molycorp adopted the preliminary designs, but
elected to use high-strength concrete (41 MPa) on the
Grizzly Level to limit risk.
6 PERFORMANCE
A total of ten draw lines (Lines 615) have been
developed in Block 1 of the D Orebody since the cave was
initiated in October 2000. The southernmost line (Line 15)
was abandoned for geologic reasons in 2003. Lines 4 and
5 were mined, but never completed because of declining
grades to the north. Approximately 3.3 million tonnes have
been produced from Block 1 through May 2004.
By June 2002, Block 1 was entirely undercut. During this
phase, transient abutment stresses passed over the draw
lines, reaching maturity some time in 2003, coincident with
the onset of subsidence at the surface. Measurements
since July 2003 have shown steady subsidence at a rate of
0.4 m per month and maximum subsidence at the surface of
3.0 m in April 2004. Approximately 70 m of the 200-m Block
1 ore column has been drawn as of March 2004.
Generally, very good ground control has been achieved in
Block 1 with the recommended support. The photographs in
Figures 11 and 12, respectively, show a typical Grizzly Level
draw line just prior to and soon after pouring the nominally
61-cm-thick concrete liner. Figure 13 shows the typical
Figure 12: Typical Draw Line after Liner Construction
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 13: Horizontal Tensile Fracture at a Concrete Cold
Joint and Precautionary Steel Sets in a Draw Line
condition of the liner after passage of the stress abutment.
No liner damage is evident except for a horizontal 12-mm
open separation along a concrete cold joint near the spring
line. This pattern of separation occurred consistently in
almost every draw line as a result of stress relief after
passage of the undercut. Operations personnel, concerned
with the fractures, initially installed steel sets (Figure 13) and
straps at some locations as a precautionary measure. This
practice was later relaxed after it became apparent that the
liners were stable.
Early pours attempted to use nylon fibers for tensile
reinforcement. However, their use was soon abandoned
because the fibers proved difficult to pump and clogged
concrete lines. The fibers showed no significant
improvement in controlling tensile fracturing.
Compressive abutment stresses caused only occasional
cracking in the draw lines. Any damage was generally
superficial and transient with passage of the undercut, and
did not impede production. Figure 14 shows a compressive
fracture along the crown of a draw line. No significant
damage occurred on the Haulage Level.
Compressive fractures, where they did occur, often
initiated at construction defects in the liner, including thin
spots and voids in the concrete, pipe embedded in the liner,
and burlap and other debris included in the pour. Figure 15
shows a small hole near the crown of the liner caused by an
Figure 14: Compression Cracking and Straps along the
Crown of a Draw Line
343
incomplete pour. Steel sets were sometimes required at
these locations. Defect-related damage was largely
eliminated in later lines with improved construction
methods. Measures included excavating a higher back,
using two concrete pour lines, and shortening pour lengths.
Figure 15: Void in the Concrete Liner near the Crown
Caused by an Incomplete Pour
7 CONCLUSIONS
Experience mining in the Goathill Orebody provided a
reliable starting point for the design of ground support in the
D Orebody. However, considerable risk lay in the
344 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
geotechnical uncertainty posed by mining at almost twice
the depth of the Goathill Orebody. From inception, reliable
ground support was recognized to be key to successful
mining. In spite of recent experience with LHD draw at
Goathill, a more labor-intensive gravity-draw system was
selected, in part, to limit geotechnical risk.
Detailed numerical modeling proved valuable for reducing
geotechnical uncertainty by accurately predicting abutment
stress effects and allowing different ground support options
to be tested before mining. Designs implemented on the
basis of modeling have performed reliably during 43 months
of mining in Block 1.
REFERENCES
Agapito, J.F.T. and Shoemaker, D.R. (1987) "Ground
Stability and Support in Block Caving Operations at
Molycorps Questa Mine," Proceedings of the 28th U.S.
Symposium of Rock Mechanics.
Barton, N., Lien, R. & Lunde, J. (1977), "Evaluation of
Support Requirements for Underground Excavations,"
Proceedings of the 16th U.S. Symposium of Rock
Mechanics.
Hoek, E., Kaiser, P.K. & Bawden, W.F. (1995), "Support of
Underground Excavations in Hard Rock," A.A. Balkema.
Netherlands.
Itasca Consulting Group, Inc. (1997), "FLAC3DFast
Language Analysis of Continua in 3 Dimensions Volume
1: Users Manual," Minnesota.
Shoemaker, D.R. (1981), "Method Selection at Questa,"
Design and Operation of Caving and Sublevel Stoping
Mines, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and
Petroleum Engineers, Inc., New York.
Massmin 2004
 Ground support management
for existing mining excavations
T. Szwedzicki, M. Stawski, FT Freeport Indonesia

Abstract
It is likely that existing underground mining developments that were excavated prior to the introduction of current safety
and geotechnical requirements do not satisfy those requirements. The quality of ground support in mining excavations
is affected by changes to geotechnical and mining conditions. Over time, these changes can lead to ground instability
and may result in considerable safety-related problems as well as economic loss.
The review of support requirements provides information on the status of ground support in existing underground
excavations and on the need for repair or rehabilitation. The geotechnical risk assessment sets out strategies to ensure
minimum ground support requirements are met. Where ground stability is affected by deterioration of support or
deterioration in ground conditions or support does not comply with current standards, existing excavations should be
additionally supported, re-supported or rehabilitated. Some excavations may need periodical scaling or should be
barricaded off.
To ensure safety of all underground personnel a minimum support standard must be approved. The approved minimum
support requirements may vary depending on size and shape of an excavation, expected service life (stand up time),
usage (often visited or traveled through, storage of material, etc). Examples of classes of support of various underground
excavations are provided. Quality assurance requires that a regular inspection and monitoring program should be
established, carried out by competent persons and conducted for all areas identified during risk assessment.

1 INTRODUCTION For all existing excavations that may extend hundreds of

Support requirements and installation procedures are
developed throughout the life of underground mines. New
developments are generally supported according to
geotechnical requirements, meet current safety standards
and comply with mining safety legislation. However existing
mine excavations, some of them developed many years
ago, might not have been supported at all or were supported
to now superseded requirements that were in force at the
time. It is possible that what was acceptable in the past,
during a development phase, does not meet current safety
standards nor geotechnical requirements. Ground instability
in existing mining excavations often results from deficiency
in quality in ground support management i.e. geotechnical
data collection, design of support, installation and
monitoring. For example, ground support procedures might
become inadequate to manage risk over time, improper
practices were accepted or faulty materials and equipment
was used. Additionally both geotechnical and mining factors
could have changed during the life of underground
excavations. Extended stand up time of excavations often
results in changes to geotechnical and mining conditions
such as:
reduction in mechanical properties of the rock mass due
to weathering, changes in mining induced stress and /or
water inflow,
deterioration of supporting ability of reinforcing elements
due to corrosion, blast and mechanical damage,
changes to the geometry of existing openings due to
alterations in mine design or deterioration of ground.
kilometres in large mines, support requirements should be
systematically assessed for risk of potential fall of ground.
Each area should be periodically inspected for stability and
support requirements (Villascusa, 1999) with special
attention being paid to areas where:
ground conditions are likely to deteriorate over time,
loose material is being generated and constantly requires
scaling,
mining induced stress may increase or decrease, or there
are significant blast vibrations,
corrosion of support elements can take place.
Inspection and review must be conducted in a systematic
way to ensure that support requirements are regularly
assessed in consideration of ground conditions and use of
the excavations and mining conditions.
2 QUALITY ASSURANCE
IN GROUND SUPPORT MANAGEMENT
Quality represents features and characteristics of the
activities that bear upon its ability to satisfy stated or implied
needs. In simple terms, in relation to ground support
management, quality is conformance to requirements or
specifications provided in:
legislation
company documents including procedures, rules,
standards, or codes of practice
manufacturers and suppliers instructions
approved best work practices

As a result of changes in geotechnical conditions, the
level of risk in existing mining excavations is changing
and may result in uncontrolled ground movement in a
form of rock falls (McCaffrey et al, 2002). Consequent
instability of the rock mass represents a considerable
safety-related problem and may result in economic
loss.
Quality controls are the operational techniques and
activities to fulfil requirements for quality while quality
assurance is defined as planned and systematic actions to
provide adequate confidence those activities will satisfy
requirements for quality (Szwedzicki, 2003)
Stages of implementation of a quality program in ground
support management include (after ISO 9002):

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 345

 Preparation of a Policy on Quality Assurance in Ground
Support Management
Appointment of a management representative respon-
sible for ground support
Development of a Ground Support Management Plan
Determination of objectives and targets
Implementation and control of all activities
Review
The ground support quality system at a mine should
comprise geotechnical management (organisational
structure, authorities and responsibilities), documentation
(procedures, practices, instructions, and specifications),
operational activities (support installation) and monitoring
and inspection.
Ground support quality assurance can be assessed
through audits and management reviews. An audit is a
systematic and independent examination to determine
whether activities and related results comply with planned
arrangements and whether these arrangements are suitable
to achieve objectives. The objective of an audit of quality
assurance in ground support is to provide mine
management with the information on status and potential
improvement in geotechnical activities. The audit also
covers safety and risk management aspects of mining
operations related to the ground support management.
There are two types of audits - a system audit and a
compliance audit. The system audit is used to determine the
existence and validity of the ground support management
system. The compliance audit is used to confirm whether
specified procedural practices in geotechnical planning and
design, ground support activities and inspection and
monitoring are being implemented and are effective.
A system audit on quality assurance in ground control
management system should seek evidence of:
clearly defined responsibilities and authorities
documented procedures, practices and instructions
knowledge and understanding of responsibilities,
authorities, procedures, instructions, etc
A compliance audit on quality assurance in ground
support management system should seek evidence of:
correct operational procedures approved by the
authorised person
adequacy of personnel, equipment facilities and general
resources
effectiveness of the system when correctly operated
The audits can highlight the present achievements that
meet international mining standards but also may disclose
deficiencies and may reveal directions for further
improvement.
Ground support management activities include barring
down, installation of ground support and monitoring of
excavation maintenance.
2.1. Barring Down
A written procedure on barring down (scaling) should
specify the method of scaling rocks down and the proper
use of equipment. Rock mass can suffer from blasting and
ground conditions may deteriorate with changes in mining
induced stress or with the passing of time. Therefore, the
written procedure should specify the minimum intervals
between barring down.
346 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
2.2. Ground Support
Quality assurance in ground support (including rock
support and reinforcement) should be executed in design,
installation and performance monitoring.
2.3. Ground Support Design
The design document should specify: type of support and
reinforcement (eg length, diameter, steel type, grout
consistency), support density and support layout (eg.
number of bolts in a row, spacing between the rows), and
support specification (eg bolt hole position, inclination and
depth, thickness of shotcrete, mechanical properties of
support material, consistency of grout). Support design
should take into account mechanical properties of the rock
mass, structural features of the rock mass, in situ and
mining induced stress, and the effect of water on stability of
the rock mass and on corrosion of support elements. Fig. 1
shows an example of an excavation with damaged and
corroded mesh that was recommended for re-support.
2.4. Ground Support Installation
All support must be installed according to the designed
pattern and installation procedures. Procedures shall
include details on: storage and handling of ground support
material, assessment of ground support stability, ground
support installation, and recording of installation data.
2.5. Performance of Ground Support
A procedure on quality control program to assess the
performance of installed support should specify the
parameters and the conditions of testing. Performance of
ground support should be tested after installation and then
monitored over the life of mining excavations.
Geotechnical inspection and monitoring serve to locate
any potential uncontrolled instability of ground before the
ground becomes unstable and hazardous. Early detection
of impending failure allows mine operators to plan and
implement actions limiting the effects of failure.
Geotechnical monitoring is carried out to assess changes in
rock mass behaviour over time, Fig. 2. This may include
taking readings of geotechnical instrumentation and making
periodical observations.
Fig. 1. An example of damaged and corroded mesh
Massmin 2004
Fig. 2. An area identified for support rehabilitation
Fig. 3. An exposed corroded bolt recommended for
replacement
3 REVIEW OF SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS

The review of geotechnical support requirements aims at

gathering geotechnical information and using that
information to improve mine safety through increasing
stability of the rock mass. Areas for support review can be
identified in two ways by systematic inspections by
geotechnical personnel or by reports from other operators at
the mine. Assessment of support requirements can be also
done by geotechnical audits. The objective of support
review is to provide mine management with information on
the status and potential need for repair or rehabilitation of
ground support.
Where ground stability was affected by deterioration of
support, or by deterioration in ground conditions or where
support does not comply with the current standards,
excavations should be additionally supported (e.g. mesh
pinned to the existing bolts), re-supported (e.g. replacing
corroded bolts) or rehabilitated (old support removed and
new support installed), Fig. 3. Some excavations may need
periodical scaling and parts that might be unsafe for entry Fig. 4. A barricaded off area under high mining induced
should be barricaded off, Fig. 4. The risk assessment should stress
be documented in a format that will enable an action plan to
be developed (Szwedzicki 2002). As a result of risk
assessment, rock mass stability should be re-assessed and 4 CLASSES OF SUPPORT OF
recommendations made. The geotechnical risk assessment UNDERGROUND EXCAVATIONS
should set out strategies to ensure that minimum ground
support requirements are met. These strategies include: Classes of support of underground excavations needed
reviewing established rules on ground support, are determined by the Mine Manager. Geotechnical
defining minimum ground support requirements and requirements for minimum ground support in terms of
standards for all existing excavations, support pattern, mesh overlap, properties of grout and
specifying which openings are to be maintained for thickness of shotcrete are specified by the Geotechnical
present and future mining activities, Section in installation standards. The installation standards
carrying out underground inspections and review of the can be modified according to geotechnical conditions.
present state of support. Examples of classes of support are given below:

The following steps should be followed to ensure the
success of the support requirement review:
nomination of reviewing teams and establishing review
criteria,
assigning areas of responsibility for carrying out
inspections,
inspection and monitoring,
carrying out risk analysis and recommending support
work,
installation of additional support to rehabilitate existing
excavations.
Class 1. - Regular bolting pattern and periodical scaling
A regular bolting pattern and periodical scaling are
considered as minimum support where underground
excavations are in competent ground (i.e. not affected by
mining induced stress or by ground deterioration) and are
accessed occasionally.
Class 2. Bolts and mesh
A regular bolting pattern and mesh are considered as
minimum support where underground excavations are in
competent ground (i.e. not affected by mining induced

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 347

stress or by ground deterioration) and are frequently
accessed / used by personnel.
Class 3. Bolt, mesh, and shotcrete
Bolts, mesh and shotcrete is considered as minimum
support where underground excavations are, or are going to
be, under high mining induced stress with deteriorating
ground conditions, and where frequent access is needed.
Class 4. - Cable bolting
In situations where adverse geological structures are
present or excavation has a large open span, cable bolting
may be required.
Class 5. - Other support
In specific geotechnical and mining conditions e.g.
extraction panels, development using cave-in material or
backfill, fault zones or water bearing strata, other ground
support material, elements or techniques might be
recommended.
Class 6. Partially supported or not supported
"Restricted entry"
Underground excavations that are needed but are seldom
entered (e.g. less than once a month) can be classified as
restricted entry. The excavation should be barricaded and a
sign "Restricted area, authorized personnel only" should be
displayed. For such excavations only authorized entry
should be permitted.
Class 7. Not supported "No entry"
Underground excavations that are not used or needed at
present can be declared as "No Entry areas". The entrance
should be barricaded, preferably by a fixed barricade, and a
sign "Danger, do not enter" to be displayed. Such areas are
unlikely to require rock support. However, the requirement
for remedial work should be assessed if and when such
areas are reopened. Should the excavation be needed in
the future, a geotechnical inspection should be carried out
and minimum support requirements be provided.
5 CRITERIA FOR MINIMUM GROUND SUPPORT
The approved minimum support requirements may vary
depending on size and shape of an excavation, expected
service life (stand up time), usage (often visited or travelled
through, storage of material, etc). For all classes of
minimum ground support, details of pattern and installation
procedures should be specified in Support Installation
Standards.
In adverse geotechnical conditions e.g. weak ground,
presence of structural features, expected corrosion, or
mining induced stress, the minimum support standard
should be reviewed and, if needed, additional support
should be recommended and installed. Support
recommendations have been developed by experience
gained in excavations of underground mines and they take
into account:
geotechnical conditions,
exposure level (frequency of use and purpose),
size of the excavation,
service life of the opening
mining induced stress
potential for corrosion
Minimum support requirements must be provided for all
excavations such as: accesses, drives, galleries, crosscuts,
chambers, workshops, magazines, etc. The minimum
support requirements must form part of the Mine Ground
Support Management Plan.
348 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
6 INSPECTION AND MONITORING OF
SUPPORT PERFORMANCE AND CONDITIONS
A regular inspection and monitoring program should be
established, carried out by competent persons and
conducted for all areas identified in the risk assessment.
The frequency of inspections should be relative to the risk
and must take into account changes in ground and
operating conditions. Geotechnical personnel, after the
inspection and consultation with the other team members,
may prepare rehabilitation recommendations on immediate
support - what is required to make the area safe
immediately - or on permanent support - what is required to
make the area stable for its expected life.
The information and data should be collected according to
a defined standard. Geotechnical information and data
should be collected on rock mass, status of excavation and
support conditions. The following data should be collected:
Rock mass conditions,
Rock mass classification
Rock mass / pillar status
Mode of rock mass failure around excavations
Location of failure on the contour of excavations
Size of potentially unstable blocks
Support status
Support conditions
Type of damage to support
Additional information should include comments on
geology, future use, and evaluation of the risk of ground
deterioration. The review should identify excavations where
inadequate support was installed, ground deterioration took
place (e.g. due to stress or weathering) or ground support is
not effective (e.g. due to corrosion).
It is expected that inspections should be carried out and
results recorded for each Ground Control districts. The
Ground Control District means a portion of a mine where
similar geological and geotechnical conditions exit which
give rise to a unique set of identifiable rock mass behaviors
for which a common set of strategies can be employed. All
support activities should be well documented and records
kept of location of the area, date reported, reported by
whom, date inspected and by whom, immediate and
permanent support recommendations, priority assigned,
when the work was performed and by whom, when
completed and results of the final inspection.
Field observation can be used to identify areas of a mine
that are being consistently over or under-supported, or
where no technical reasons are being used to install a
particular type of support.
It is expected that for each existing excavation the
following recommendations should be provided by
specifying length of excavations which:
do not require any additional support work
require periodical scaling of backs and sidewalls
require support with bolts
require support with bolts and weld mesh
require support with cable bolts
require permanent support with weld mesh and
shotcreting
require rehabilitation and permanent support.
It is expected that substantial length of unused excavation
can be barricaded, with access either prohibited or
restricted. This should allow for reduction of exposure of
underground personnel to the risk of uncontrolled ground
movement.
Massmin 2004
7 CONCLUSIONS
Ground instability in existing mining excavations often
results from deficiency in the quality in ground support
installed in the past. Additionally both geotechnical and
mining factors could have changed during the life of
underground excavations. Extended stand up time of
excavations often results in changes to geotechnical and
mining conditions such as reduction in mechanical
properties of the rock mass, deterioration of support due to
corrosion, and changes to the geometry of existing
openings.
Quality assurance in ground support management is
achieved through conforming to requirements provided in
legislation, company documents (such as procedures, rules,
standards, or codes of practice), manufacturers and
suppliers instructions and approved best work practices.
The ground support control quality system should
comprise geotechnical management (organisational
structure, authorities and responsibilities), documentation
(procedures, practices, instructions, and specifications),
operational activities (support installation) and monitoring
and inspection.
The review of geotechnical support requirements aims at
improvement in mine safety through increase in stability of
the rock mass. Areas for support review should be identified
and an assessment of support requirements should be done
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
by geotechnical audits. The objective of support review is to
provide mine management with information on the status of
ground support and potential remedial work. Where ground
stability was affected by deterioration of support or
deterioration in ground conditions, or where support does
not comply with current standards, existing excavations
should be additionally supported, re-supported or
rehabilitated. Some excavations may need periodical
scaling or barricading off.
Quality assurance ensures that ground support
management conforms to current safety standards and
geotechnical requirements.
8 REFERENCES
[1] McCaffrey MA, Paster M, Glasman J. 2002,
Rehabilitation of an abandoned tunnel. Proc NARSM
Tac 2002, Hammah at al. (eds)
[2] Szwedzicki T, 2002, Quality in Ground Control in New
Developments, DOZ Mine. PTFI report
[3] Szwedzicki T, 2003, Quality assurance in mine ground
control management. Int. J. of Rock Mech. A. Min. Sci.
Vol 40, pp 564-572
[4] Villaescusa E 1999, The reinforcement process in
underground mining. Proc. Conf. Rock Support and
Reinforcement Practice in Mining. Villaescusa, Windsor
and Thompson (eds) Balkema.
349
 A review of the support systems being
applied to the block 4 cave project of
De Beers Finsch Mine, South Africa
A.D. Wilson, Senior Divisional Geotechnical Engineer, M.S. Talu, Geotechnical Engineer,
De Beers, Finsch Mine

Abstract
The Kimberlite pipe is a near vertical sided elliptical intrusion into highly jointed dolomitic country rocks. The
heterogeneous nature of the various kimberlites, with differing degrees of susceptibility to weathering and the varying
proportions and sizes of country rock xenoliths result in a considerable range of rock strength properties which pose
significant challenges to support design. True joints are difficult to identify within the kimberlites. The main contact and
major internal contacts are sheared with contact parallel jointing and offer minimal cohesion.
Development subsequently showed significant zones of poor competency that were not necessarily well defined by the
drilling information. An entire review of the support strategy for the functional areas in all levels within the kimberlite layout
was undertaken to bring them into line with anticipated risk areas as defined by the reinterpretations and selected
numerical modeling using in situ stress measurements. Empirical and experimental judgment has been cross checked
with quantified laboratory based testing of new support constituents and combinations. The quality assurance system
discussed is a critical aspect to the entire application and covers a wide range of issues from raw material conformance
to installation integrity as well as training and certification of operators.

1 INTRODUCTION TO THE MINING ENVIRONMENT Table 1: Main Finsch Kimberlite Properties.

The Finsch Kimberlite pipe is situated in Lime Acres, Rock Type UCS (MPa) RMR MRMR
approximately 170km west of Kimberley. It is a near vertical
sided elliptical intrusion into the mainly dolomitic sequence F1 46 48 19
of highly jointed country rocks, which dip approximately
F8 49 52 20
three degrees west. It is estimated that at Finsch some
2000m of sediments and basalts have been eroded. F2/F4 106 57 25
The heterogeneous nature of the various kimberlites, the
differing degrees of susceptibility to weathering and the * After Laubscher
varying proportions and sizes of country rock xenoliths
result in a considerable range of rock strength properties as
illustrated in Table 1.
Sub horizontal, weak calcite veining is common in the
tuffaceous kimberlitic breccia (TKB). Two precursor
kimberlites create irregular pipe profiles. The final
emplacement of more competent but narrow hypabyssal
dykes radiate out as a spider from an irregular hypabyssal
core; Figure 2. A common feature of both the main contact
and major internal contacts is the development of a
sheared zone with contact parallel jointing.

Figure 2: Plan showing 610 Level undercut geology and

superimposed geotechnical zoning.

These joints are often infilled with chlorite group minerals,

gypsum or calcite that offers minimal cohesion. Slickensided
surfaces are common and the whole zone is generally
unstable and requires extensive support. If this is not installed
very soon after development, the ensuing weathering and
failure amplifies the problem, further aggravated by the
presence of ground water, which accelerates the degradation.
A comprehensive program to effect dewatering of the
Figure 1: Section of Finsch pipe; mine was initiated fairly late in the pre mining planning

350 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

phases of the block cave and hence significant water
problems are being experienced as development is
progressing.
2 HISTORICAL INFORMATION AND
BACKGROUND TO THE REVIEW
Information for design purposes was historically collected
from a relatively wide spaced diamond drilling programme
as well as mapping of the upper production areas (above
530m level) and the lower exploration drilling (680m level).
The density of information is relatively poor and reliance
had been placed on interpretive extrapolation to define an
inferred resource. During the development of the block
cave undercut (610m level) and start of extraction (630m
level) tunnels, it became evident that there are significant
zones of poor competency that were not necessarily well
defined by the drilling information. Unfortunately, the
absence of a photographic record and the weathering of
stored core prevented a retrospective review of the original
core in order to enhance the current interpretations. Hence,
a review was initiated of the support systems that were
designed on the original information, taking into account
the reality seen from mapping as well as introducing
elements of a more effective tendon and surface fabric
system where appropriate.
The key functional areas of bullnoses, camelbacks, slot
turnouts and wide spans as well as internal and countryrock
contacts are the focus points together with reviewing the
generic tunnel support for undercut and extraction drifts.
3 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS ESSENTIAL FOR
KIMBERLITE MINING; GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT:
3.1 Tunnel Wall Weathering
Accounting for the problem of weathering, tunnel wall
integrity is a key success factor in underground kimberlite
mining where slow degradation of the entire tunnel surface
is exacerbated in the presence of water and even under
"dry" conditions, degradation continues to occur. The
presence of swelling clays which absorb moisture (smectitic
or montonrillonite clays within the kimberlite) are
responsible for two intensities of degradation, dependant on
the moisture available (Vietti 2004).
A range of sprayed sealants have been used with varying
success. Unless the seal is complete and there is a good
physical bond, the overall effectiveness of the final support
system will be left in doubt due to continued progression of
the weathering front.
The area which poses the biggest challenge regarding
sealing is the footwall and lower corners. This area is the
most difficult to protect because it potentially has the highest
moisture, is the most difficult to effectively clean and
weathering here erodes the sidewall integrity.
3.2 Minimise Blast Induced Fracturing
This contributes to the spread of early weathering in the
tunnel walls. Fracturing not only facilitates limited moisture
ingress but becomes the focus for failures when the effects
of stress changes take place. The careful control of blasting,
correct choice of explosive and effective timing are therefore
essential prerequisites to limit the annulus of damage
around the tunnel.
3.3 Laser Profiler
This system was designed, developed and implemented
for the block cave in a joint effort between the geotechnical
and mining departments in order to quantify the deviations
of actual tunnel profile from planned. This customised
instrument is shown in Figure 3. Motivation for this came
from several key aspects;
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
To assess the shape conformance of mined tunnels;
cases of poor or irregular profiles and subsequent tunnel
damage/degeneration appeared significant in existing
development;
The need to regularly monitor and keep under break and
over break to within tight limits so that costs are minimised
and the equipment will fit as required;
To ensure the tunnel alignments did not vary significantly
which in turn cause problems with (undercut) mining ring
pattern interaction.
If tunnel profiles are allowed too big, the increase in tunnel
size results in an increase in the depth of fracture zone
around the tunnel with amplified potential for damage.
Methodology for doing the profiling is simple where a
manual distance-measuring laser is mounted on a vertical
turntable such that the latter is centred on line and grade
with a directional laser. Fixed angle points on the turntable
allow the operator to produce a distance profile 360 degrees
around the pivot. Data points are collated and stored.
Figure 3: Finsch Tunnel Profiler; Original unit on left,
current on right.
A modified unit with an extension arm and prism has been
designed which allows the taking of profiles in an unsafe
area. The outputs from this routine system are both
graphical and quantified, giving management a quick
assessment of conformance as well as a basis for control.
Deviations are calculated in absolute terms such that
under break sectors do not cancel over break. The reporting
quotes two key results, over break for the tunnel excluding
and including the footwall. Control of footwall over break
requires significant focus because this is not only expensive
in terms of additional concrete but can be an additional risk
where the exposed deeper sidewalls are not supported and
the vertical sidewall is extended by up to 1.5m. With much
more emphasis on monitoring tunnel profiles, it was
apparent that more control of face holes was needed.
3.4 Kwik-mark
The pattern of face development holes as well as
directions and depths are critical. The project implemented
a light-projection tripod mounted system set up on line and
a fixed distance from the face which shows the relative
collar locations of holes to be drilled. Different slides are
used for different tunnel sizes. Paint-marks are
superimposed on the focused light spots on the face and
this ensures correct hole spacing for each development
round in kimberlite; individual holes adjusted manually if
less than 150mm from a socket. The impact of introducing
this system has been significant in that there has been a
351
marked improvement in conformance to planned tunnel
shape.
The revised integrated secondary support system
consists of components that are interactive and the success
of the system depends therefore on correct installation and
the quality assurance of the development profile.
Furthermore the effectiveness of the support systems can
be directly related to installation timing of the components.
4 ORIGINAL DEVELOPMENT WITH SUPPORT;
METHODS AND OUTCOMES.
Both undercut (610m) and extraction (630m) levels were
originally scheduled to have the same basic support system.
It was recognised that, in view of the issues of time-
dependant weathering as well as poor rock conditions, the
support cycles needed to be split into two distinct phases:
Primary Support;
2.6m long (2.4 metre hole), 20mm diameter threaded bars
drilled by mechanised bolter on a 1m by 1m square pattern
and installed by pneumatic placing of resin cartridges shot
into the hole. Fast setting used first (at the end of the hole)
followed by slow set. The bolt then spun and torqued up
against the fast set resin to bring a domed washer tight
against the rock surface.
There were significant problems with the matching of
resin set times against spinning times as well as maintaining
a machine lag to allow sufficient grout strength build-up for
torquing up the nut. Numerous cases were seen where bolts
had ineffective grout and were essentially loose in the hole
because there had been over-spinning as well as all
cartridges being fast-set. Bolt holes were drilled with 38 to
42mm bits whereas only 32mm should have been used with
20mm threadbar to ensure optimum grout shear strength is
achieved. An unacceptably high failure rate of up to 18% of
bolt pull-tests (only taken to 70kN not +200kN being UTS of
bolt), confirmed that this system could not be tolerated.
The liquid sealant (theoretically no free water), was
sprayed to the tunnel walls in preparation of shotcrete. Due
to excessive dust build-up from the time lag between blast
and spray, the sealant often was ineffective and peeled
away from the substrate. Where the sealant contact was
good, there were numerous reported cases of spitting off of
small pieces of the kimberlite tunnel within the 1-2 hours
needed for drying. This was evidence that there was
sufficient free water to be drawn into and along the blast
fractures/xenolith contacts where weathering was initiated.
The popping off of small fragments being the result of
swelling pressures developed which have been recorded up
to 30MPa (Vietti 2004).
Secondary Support;
25mm layer of dry shotcrete stiff surface lining applied
from footwall to footwall.
It was evident that the tunnel profiles were poor in many
cases from material needing barring/failing off the
hangingwalls; the shotcrete layer breaking up into a mosaic
of fractures which resulted in the fragments being retained
by the mesh. A significant logistics problem was developing
in that the required rates of application were not being met
nor was there good control of product quality.
2.6m long (2.4 metre hole), 20mm diameter threaded bars
drilled by hand on a 1m by 1m pattern and grouted by
injection of water based Capram grout through a plunger
activated pressure vessel. The distance lag from the face to
secondary bolts plus surface fabric could be anything up to
30m+.
100mm x100mm x 3.15mm diamond mesh was then held
in place and augmented by vertical tendon straps on 1m
spacing; the mesh and straps footwall to footwall.
352 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The lower 2m of the sidewalls were then sprayed with a
cover of shotcrete to prevent damage to the support by the
trackless equipment as well as preventing tyre damage.
5 PROBLEMS SEEN AND FORECAST
WITH THE ORIGINAL SYSTEM
There were numerous cases where hangingwall and
some sidewall failures would cause poor tunnel profiles; the
rock would collapse between the bolts before secondary
support was installed. This, together with information from
the radial drilling undertaken after the support was
completed, suggested that there was an unacceptably wide
annulus of potentially unstable rock developing around the
tunnels which in turn would severely compromise the
support and lead to premature failure. The zone of open
joints/cracks extends some 800mm or more as an annulus
around the tunnel as observed by borehole camera.
5.1 The key elements of concern were:
the propagation of weathering and degradation would
lead to rapid debonding of the rockbolts when abutment
loads begin; highlighted by experiences from other
operations;
worse than expected ground conditions giving lower RMR
and MRMR (Laubscher) detail not catered for in the
support design;
the effective length of rockbolts themselves were in
question because they were constrained to fit machine
capability and not necessarily based on geotechnical
design;
the thin dry shotcrete layer applied as a liner before the
mesh and straps had very limited support strength
because of its limited thickness, inherently dubious
quality and insecure adhesion to the questionable
sealant;
the support resistance of the surface steel fabric support
was considered minimal; the limited mesh capacity, high
elongation potential as well as the poor orientation of
surface interbolt tendon would have little restraining effect
under loading conditions.
Cycle lags in the development and support construction
promoted instability; there was too big an interval between
face blast and critical reinforcing support components; the
result of which was questionable tunnel stability for its
designed life.
Ensuring tunnel and infrastructure fitness-for-use; interpretive
review of the tunnel life-cycle needs indicated areas where
special support would be required to ensure stability;
Current observations of the original support system
installed more than three years ago on both 610 and 630m
levels confirms its limitations even prior to undercutting;
there are areas requiring repairs or upgrade because the
drycrete and mesh have effectively failed.
6 COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
OF THE SUPPORT SYSTEMS
The tunnel support methodologies used in Block 4 review
were based on:
RMR/MRMR distribution from mapping;
Analytical and numerical calculations /modeling
assessments and interpretations;
Previous experience; visiting other operations
Beside the above methodologies the following parameters
were also considered;
Strategic importance of the excavation; the pipe footprint
was broken into three main support-variant areas;
generic, high risk and contact (kimberlite/dolomite contact
area) support;
Massmin 2004
 The virgin/anticipated stress regime;
The practicability of support system installation;
Infrastructure impact;
Actual performance and specifications of support
elements to meet requirements;
Understanding/predicting the mode of failure;
Following a zero tolerance to free water addition to the
kimberlite in all areas.
6.1 Key criteria now being followed:
Primary Support:
Better sealant ensuring 2-pass, 100% coverage; applied
before 12 hours after the blast and ready for the next layer
( Fibrecrete) after 1 hour.
Primary fibrecrete 50mm thick of 40Mpa UCS, +700joules
applied in order to ensure a better initial lining to support the
+800mm annulus of broken ground; applied after every
round. The objective is to provide immediate skin support
and to ensure safe working conditions in the face area. The
required properties for the face fibrecrete application are
high final strength and ductility with low permeability. High
ductility and low stiffness is achieved with a mix design of
low to moderate cement content and high polypropylene
fibre content.
Drilling of support holes can begin two hours after
application and face blasting after eight hours. Only the
bolts on the hangingwall and upper sidewalls are installed
as primary rockbolt support. This prevents blasting and LHD
loading damage to bolts within 2m from the floor. The last
row of holes must be within minimum 1.0m of the rock face
before blasting and not exceeding 3.8 m thereafter.
Primary rockbolts (3.6m hole instead of 2.4m) installed
with latex-based cementitious grout and flat washer with flat
nut. The primary washer and nut assist in enabling a longer
distance lag to application of secondary (surface
reinforcing) support. This, in turn, enables a more efficient
cycle. Rockbolt effective length has been determined by
interpreting Laubschers (2000) guidelines as well as
assessing that there will be a significant proportion of high
stress affecting the tunnels during the abutment front
moving over the development; Figure 4. The range of
MRMR within Finsch kimberlite is considered to be from 19
to 25.
Figure 4: Effective rockbolt length chosen
Secondary Support:
This is not brought closer than 3.0m to the face (fly-rock
damage) and not further than 15m for 610 and 650m levels
and 20 meters from the existing face position on 630m
levels.
The full drilling pattern is now completed floor to floor and
requisite bolts installed. Where applicable, the drilling and
installation of hangingwall cable anchors should be part of
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
the secondary support cycle, together with the remaining
sidewall tendons.
Steel fabric layer of mesh; either 4 mm or 5 mm diamond
or 9 mm woven according to the
support system. Either a full ring of horizontal tendon
straps or twin cable straps will be installed with 8mm or 12-
16mm thick custom washers respectively on the primary
bolts and on top of the primary flat washer and nut. The
spherical seat nuts will be torqued up such that the mesh
and straps are pulled to the shotcrete surface.
A thick layer of shotcrete (+/-150mm) on each side wall
from 0.6 m above the grade elevation to the footwall to
ensure the steel is covered and protected.
6.2 Support resistance enhanced
The integrated support elements have been chosen to
limit deformation and economically maintain tunnel stability.
Using the contributory area principle, the support capacities
of the various systems for the undercut 610m level are
represented in Figure 5 and the extraction 630m level in
Figure 6. The capacities have been split into those acting in
the plane of the surface fabric and that applied by the
rockbolts and/or cable anchors holding the fabric in place.
There are effectively three surface layers contributing to
the aerial fabric:
Fibrecrete/shotcrete
Steel mesh
Steel surface tendons
The aerial elements are shown on the left whilst the depth
of effective tendon anchorage is represented towards the
right of the x axis in Figures 5 and 6. It was clear that the
original surface fabric capacities of 3.15mm mesh and
vertical tendon straps were very low. The revised designs
have significantly enhanced capacities, especially of the
steel mesh fabric and surface tendons.
Figure 5: Undercut level; comparative support resistance;
original versus current systems.
The increased capacity elements have been applied to
higher risk environments such as the bullnoses and contact
areas to match requirements.
6.3 New elements added; figures 7 and 8
Larger diameter wire mesh; 4mm as generic and 5mm in
the high risk areas of the undercut and hangingwall of
extraction level;
Woven wire panels; 3.5m x 2.2m of 9mm, 150 x 200mm
aperture used in the highest risk areas on extraction level
as well as all the contact zones (Kimberlite/Dolomite) with
the country rock. These panels enable a significant
support resistance shared by numerous tendons;
353
Figure 6: Extraction level; comparative support resistance;
original versus current systems.
Figure 7: Woven mesh, cable straps
Cable straps; twin high yield dyeform 18mm cables in 7m
joined lengths; used to secure the woven or 5mm mesh in
place. These focus the high support resistance and
distributes it between adjacent tendons along the strap;
Custom guide washers; 200mm x 200mm used to secure
the cable straps in place; 16mm thick if used with cable
bolts or 12mm thick if using 25mm threadbolts; designed
such that they will deform and let the cablestraps through
before the bolt fails.
4-way cable connectors; used to join two consecutive
cable straps;
3-way cable connectors; used as terminators for cable
straps; the single cable is grouted into the rock as an end
anchor at either end of a cable strap;
Through the pillar cables; these are drilled and latex
grouted in prior to the drawpoint takeoff; the last (extra)
1m of cable being protected by PVC. When the takeoff is
mined, the protruding cable end is stripped of cover and
used to secure the steel panel and retaining cable straps;
Figure 9.
Latex pumpable grout; this has a lower strength than plain
cementitious or resin but has the benefit of being
pumpable to ensure filling the longer holes without
initiating deterioration of the rock grout interface.
354 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 8: Schematic of Cable connectors
Figure 9: Bullnose reinforcement (Plan view)
Cable U-staples; essentially a 9m cable; two by 4m fully
latex grouted legs of 18mm anchor with 1m between them
running horizontally on surface (Wilson 2000). These are
low-profile rock reinforcing / confining units used in
upgrading of areas as well as in floor reinforcing where
specified.
7 ONGOING R&D TESTWORK
Customised testwork continues on the various steel fabric
and strap configurations in order to further optimise the
systems, obtain verification of design data and reduce costs
where possible.
8 QUALITY ASSURANCE
8.1 Raw material conformance
A comprehensive system has been embedded which
ensures consumable items meet required design criteria
and are supplied to a quality assurance procedure which
incorporates the following;
Specification defined and prior approval by the
geotechnical department on all support consumable
items; risk assessments produced;
nspections of supplier premises to assess capabilities
and expertise;
Review of manufacturers own QA systems and pre
delivery checks;
Massmin 2004
 Delivery of certified batch quality results together with
products to the Mine confirming tested chemical content
and /or physical properties;
Cross-check sampling and relevant testing of end-product
by appropriately accredited facilities using industry
standard or custom designed equipment; adjudication of
results;
Accumulation of statistical database.
8.2 Installation integrity
Significant input from the Geotechnical Engineering
Department staff as well as reinforcement from the mining
clerks of works ensure that the contractor crews install the
various phases of support in the correct timing, sequence
and configurations such that the overall output product
meets the design objectives set. All support systems have
been incorporated into a comprehensive procedures
document wherein all prescribed quality checks and
frequencies are covered. A systematic routine checklist of
visual inspections and random physical testing is
undertaken throughout all development and support areas
where critical issues are checked against the procedures
and addressed. This, together with results from tunnel
profiling incorporated into daily short-interval control.
Installations must meet the prescribed standards for
Contractor payments to be effected:
Effective sealant cover on the kimberlite to limit
weathering; check for shadow/peeling;
Shotcrete thickness and quality (raw materials, mix flow,
applied compaction, compressive strength, energy
absorption).
Correct bolt diameters and fittings;
Quality of grout installation;
Bolt spacing, hole depth and attitude;
Bolt pull-tests to check grouting;
Quality of support holes marking;
Effective installation of secondary steel fabric units such
as mesh, straps, staples and special units such as stiff-
brow arch supports and railmats.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
8.3 Calibration and fitness- for- use
All ancillary equipment used for direct installation or
testing of support elements are required to be calibrated
and declared acceptable for the needed process.
8.4 Training and certification of operators
Emphasis has been placed on ensuring suppliers and
vendors assist with risk assessments and give relevant
operational training to the mine resourced and/or contractor
crews that will perform the installations. Operators of key
equipment are required to be certified to ensure consistency
of quality. Due to the relative mobility of contractor crews, it
is essential to have hand-over and training of new staff.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank Management of Finsch Mine for
permission to publish this paper and Alan Guest, the
General Manager-Geotechnical for advice and
encouragement.
REFERENCES
Laubscher, D.H. 2000. Block caving Manual. Prepared for
International Caving Study, JKMRC and Itasca Consulting
Group, Inc: Brisbane.
Vietti, A. 2004. Tunnel wall weathering in kimberlite.
Internal Technical Memorandum, DeBeers, South Africa.
Wilson, A.D. 2000. The past focuses support for the
future. Proceedings MasMin2000, Brisbane, (Ed G
Chitombo), 385-394. Australasian Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy: Melbourne.
355
 Innovative mining method, related
support systems and quality assurance
for large underground crusher
excavation De Beers
Finsch Mine, South Africa
M. S. Talu, Geotechnical Engineer Block 4 Project, A. D. Wilson, Senior Divisional Geotechnical Engineer
Finsch Mine - De Beers

Abstract
The crusher chamber excavation is situated in a relatively competent but jointed dolomitic rock mass between 615 - 650m
levels. The overall excavation is approximately 16000 cubic metres, being 78m long, 10m wide and 38m high.
For this moderately stressed excavation, the support design strategy is based on numerical modelling and the concept
of anchoring the potential unstable rock layers around the excavation to the deeper, more competent, stable rock mass.
Mining was undertaken in two main phases; hand held drilling for the multiple top cuts and bottom access and a final
central long hole drill and smooth-walled blasted area.
The innovative vertical long hole drilling method in top-down slices was chosen for the central area and encompassed
an offset raise and central slot. All work was carried out in safety standing on the cleaned floor or full slot; equipment
and consumables being distributed into the excavation via mobile crane. A close cycle is described of progressively
mining the chamber to full width with primary tendon support, mesh and lacing and required tensioned secondary long
cable anchors followed by protective shotcrete cover.

1 INTRODUCTION
Table 1 Main Joint Sets
Finsch Mine is located in the Northern Cape Province of
JOINT DIP DIP GENERAL
South Africa about 660 km South East of Johannesburg.
SET DIRECTION SPACING (m)
The crusher chamber development commenced in early
2001. The chamber development took over 15000 man J 87 168 0.38
hours in a three year period to complete .The crusher is
located between 630 and 650 level close to the shaft J 84 82 0.25
system. J 23 269 0.33
A conveyor belt tunnel below 650 level connects the
crusher bottom to the main conveyor system at 650 level.
The overall excavation is approximately 78m long, 10m
wide and 38m high. The crusher system has a capacity of
1200 tons per hour and involves underground excavation of
16 000 cubic meters. The ore will be conveyed from the pipe
to the crusher system by means of trucks. Once the ore is
crushed, it will report to the conveyor system at 65 level.

2 GEOLOGY OF CRUSHER CHAMBER

Brecciated dolomite, and to a lesser extent, secondary

banded dolomite, dominate the geology of the Crusher
Chamber excavation.
From the scan lines that were completed in the
surrounding vicinity, it was evident that the secondary
banded dolomite only dominates the upper reaches of the
area. The poorly developed horizontal bedding planes in the
banded dolomite together with three major near-vertical joint
sets create discrete blocks; Table 1.
The central portion of the chamber consists of the usual
brecciated dolomite, while the lower reaches of the chamber Figure 1 Schematic 3D Crusher Chamber Layout
is once again composed of a well defined, thinner banded
dolomite. This rock type extends right down to the footwall
of the crusher chamber. Thin shale/graphite partings are strength (UCS) of 245 MPa, however, the rock mass
common and locally significantly affect excavation wall strength is significantly lower due to the presence of the
stability. This rock has a typical unconfined compressive weak partings.

356 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Table 2: Insitu Principal Stresses
Principal Stresses Bearing Dip MPa
s1 164 24 30
s2 307 60 20
s3 67 16 16
Figure 2: The photograph illustrates the presence of
brecciated-banded dolomite overlain by a 1.5m thick section
of the banded dolomite leading into the hanging wall
The stress orientations and magnitudes computed from
the successful CSIR triaxial test data yields the results given
in Table 2.
3 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS AND METHODS
In addition to general engineering geological evaluations,
the rock excavation and reinforcement design had to be
supported by a rock mass classification and numerical
analysis.
Joint survey investigations were executed on several
occasions after the hangingwall cuts were excavated. Joint
length, dip and strike were measured; data for geological
conditions such as rock mass classification, joint filling and
seepage were investigated and described on the
observation sheet. Simultaneously, photographs of the
sidewall were taken and used as an input data for rock mass
classification.
Both the Dolomites were assigned a weathering
adjustment of 92%. Due to the geometry, orientation and
stresses experienced in the Crusher Chamber an
adjustment of 95% was assigned. During the excavating of
benches and cuts, detailed records were kept of the rock
conditions encountered. Rock mass quality based on both
Q-Method, Barton (1974) and Laubschers Rock mass
Classification systems (1990) was calculated separately as
fair to good rock. The RMR value varied between 53 to 78.
The shift towards poorer Q value may be partly explained
due to effect of fault plane and presence of Brecciated
dolomite.
4 LABORATORY TEST RESULTS
The intersection of the three joint planes shown in Table 1
has been expected to cause possible wedge failure to occur
at the hanging wall. The other significant feature was the
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Table 3 Properties of Intact Rock
Rock Brecciated Banded
Parameters Dolomite Dolomite
RQD (%) 43 62
UCS (MPa) 162 189 to 257
Fracture Frequency 11 9
E (GPa)101 106
Poisons Ratio 0.26 0.3
Q (Barton) 13 31
RMR (Laubschers) 53 (Fair) 78 (Good Rock)
occasionally persistent calcite filled veins, which were
observed in the crusher vicinity.
Using the Unwedge analysis, a potential unstable block
was predicted, having a volume of 6.5m and a weight of
17.8 tons in the sidewall.
The observations in the ventilation and service tunnels
showed that up to 2m of highly fractured zone was observed
along the tunnel walls.
5 PROPOSED METHOD OF
MINING THE CRUSHER CHAMBER
After various methods were examined with safety and
speed being the major consideration, two feasible long-hole
methods of extraction of the crusher chamber were
identified. The most important factor considered was the
sequencing of mining with the installation of secondary
support depending on the height being dealt with.
The delay in support installation that would have been
caused by the proposed "Bottom to Top-Long hole" mining
method was a concern. The timing of support installation in
the crusher chamber was important and should be
compatible with the response of the rock mass on
unloading, the so-called "ground reaction curve". Therefore
more conservative Top to bottom method mining sequence
was adopted to reduce the support installation risk.
The difference between the two methods was the mining
of Section A, Figure 3 which is that portion of the chamber
in which the Gyratory crusher will be installed. Dimensions
of this section; 35m long, 10m wide and 18m high.
The top cut of the chamber was planed to be mined in
three separate cuts: an initial hangingwall cut, and two top
cuts 5m high each. Once the chamber hangingwall cut was
completed to its final dimensions and was passed by the
Survey department, it was wire meshed and shotcreted as
per design. The long anchors were installed during the
enlargement of the development end. Secondary support
work started as a follow-on operation after mining of cut is
completed to the final dimensions within the chamber
walls.
A concern was that the mesh and lace would sustain blast
damage from blasting of other cuts. Therefore, spraying of
wetcrete was used to protect the mesh and lacing on the
excavation walls. The first three top cuts were driven by
means of conventional drilling techniques using air legs
from a platform constructed after each blast. Delays were
experienced with the support installation due to hand held
drilling in the early stage of the contract and hence the
contractor developed cuts two and three simultaneously as
one cut. This however required a large platform.
The vertical blasting holes for Section A were to be
predrilled and then blasted in 3m lifts. Each bench blasting
cleaning and supporting took approximately three weeks
before the next lift was blasted. The apparent advantage of
the Long Hole Drilling and blasting method when compared
with Conventional Benching layout included:
357
 Optimal Mining method with efficient drilling
Well defined chamber sidewall limits
Reduced Chamber completion date
Reduction in support damage due to blasting.
Optimum sequencing of mining and secondary support
installation.
The delay in support installation caused by the proposed
long hole mining was reduced significantly by changing the
mining sequence. As suggested by the mine, the "shaft" part
of the crusher chamber (section A), was excavated in
benches and supported first, prior to mining the rest of the
chamber. This did not only reduce the time delay between
mining and support installation, but also reduced the
relaxation of the rock mass before support installation.
Figure 3 shows a section of different stages from top
elevation down to the final conveyor elevation.
This excavation was subject to strict dimension tolerance
of +300 mm within the 10 m width.
5.1 Long Hole Drilling and Blasting
Method (From Top to Bottom):
Drilling was done by means of Boart Longyear BCI 2
Pneumatic Drill Rig using steel and extension rods with
64mm crossbit. The drilling, charging and blasting were
done by a team of two Drill Rig Operators, three Blasters. It
took 40 days to complete approximately 450 holes at
varying spacing burden. The depth of the holes varied from
15.1m to 18.6m. All drilling was done from the top at 630m
level. The entire footwall was blown over, swept and
inspected for any misfires after each bench blast. Surveyed
grade lines were installed to maintain an even floor level.
Surveyed Corner markers were also installed to maintain
correct dimensions.
Table 4 Total amount of vertical long holes drilled
NUMBER OF HOLES DRILLED
SLOT 104
PERIMETER 174
INSIDE 152
RAISE 20
To ensure a smooth sidewall of the complete
excavation, it was required to drill around the wall
perimeter at 0.5 m spacing to the indicated depths. A
second row of 1m spacing and 1m burden from the wall
perimeter holes was required around the complete
excavation. The work in the chamber was divided in to
three separate parts:
Drop raise excavation
Slot excavation
Benching.
358 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
5.2 DROP RAISE DRILLING
The total depth of the raise was 15.6m. The planned
length was 2.4m and the width 2.4m. A total of 20 blast holes
of 64mm diameter were drilled to a standard raise pattern
developed by Boart Longyear. Six stabs were reamed to
159mm. The raise was positioned 3.0m away from the edge
of the western perimeter of the chamber.
Figure 4 Raise excavation
The blasting of the raise was done in lifts from bottom to
top in four blasts as per drop raise fashion. The height of the
each lift was varying from 3.6m to 4m. Due to the nature of
this excavation, 9.85kg of Magnum /m_ of explosive were
consumed. AEL cortex and smartdets were used in blasting.
Once the raise has holed at 630 Level, a chain-mesh
barricade were erected around the open hole, and people
working in the vicinity of the open hole were wearing a full
body harness at all times.
5.3 SLOT DRILLING
The slot was to serve as an ore-pass to channel blasted
rock to 650 Level, where it can be lashed for the slot to be
open again for the next blast.
Figure 5: Slot blasting sections
The planned length of the slot was 25.38m long and
2.8m wide and 15.64m long at the deepest section. For
blasting purposes the slot was divided into eight sections,
namely S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8. The sequence of
blasting was S2 S4 S6 S1 S3 S5 S7 S8 as
per Figure 5. The increase in slot section was done to
ensure the creation of a sufficient void for the next section
to break into. A powder factor of 4.67 kg/m was used for
slot development. The slot was completely filled with
broken rock when people were working in the chamber.
Only when the next cut was charged up and ready to be
Massmin 2004
blasted, the broken rock in the slot area was mucked out
to create a void for the blast. During the slot blasting the
width of slot was increased to almost 4m. Consequently
severe blasting fracturing to the surface of the bench was
observed.
5.4 BENCH DRILLING
The burden of the grid holes was 1.3m with spacing of
1.0m. The burden was reduced to 1.0 m at the eastern and
western sections of the bench. The spacing of the perimeter
holes was 0.5m and the burden and spacing of the
perimeter easers was 1.0m by 1.0m. The powder factor was
1.56 kg/m for the bench blasting. Hole accuracy was
perfected by utilising a straight trac bit, guide tubes and
fluted guide rods. It was expected that actual deformation in
the sidewalls of the crusher chamber would not be
excessive due to the broken rock left inside the excavation
providing some temporary support. This was followed by
permanent support including pre-tensioned cable bolts
installation.
6 EXPLOSIVES AND INITIATING SYSTEMS
All Drop Raise, Slot and Bench blasting required AEL
Pumpable emulsion or Magnum water cartridges, initiated by
means of Smartdet electronic detonators to obtain milli-
second timing and an EDD pentolite booster 175g. Smooth
wall blasting was achieved by means of de-coupled cartridge
explosives (32mm x 560mm) spaced at 1.2m intervals to give
a powder factor of 0.5 kg/m , and was doubled with Cordtex
40. Most of the perimeter holes were surveyed individually to
ensure hole set-up accuracy using a smart laser with 0.05
degree precision. Survey department checked all drilled
perimeter holes, using an optical plumb and sighting down the
hole to a small "mag light". Their results were tabulated and
circulated to all concerned.
7 CLEANING
Cleaning was achieved by a 75 Hp winch bolted on the
embankment on the western side of the chamber with
200mm snatchblocks used to rig the ropes down the
excavation and direct the scrapers to the required area of
cleaning.
8 MATERIAL HANDLING
A mobile crane was utilised on the west embankment
next to the winch. Approved cassettes with welded latches
and the required rigging arrangements were used to lower
and raise material and equipment into the shaft area. A
custom designed ladder way was installed in the south
side of the chamber and served as the travelling way up
and down the shaft area. It was suspended from the
sidewall and extended on a regular basis. The Service
tunnel on the south side of the chamber as well as the
ventilation tunnel on the north side was designated as a
second escape way.
A force exhaust system was suspended down the side
walls ensure proper ventilation in the lower parts of the
excavation.
9 METHODOLOGY OF ROCK SUPPORT
Wedge type of failure, peeling of excavation skin or
unravelling due to the removal of keyblocks are the most
dominant failure modes expected in this stress environment.
The control of these keyblock-related failures is normally
achieved by stabilizing the excavation walls at small
displacement. Experience in South African mining Industry
show that cable tendons perform better than solid bars
under shearing conditions.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
9.1 Cable Tendons
In medium to good quality hard rock, full column grouted
mechanical cable tendons are very efficient and are both
fast and convenient to install. A 38 ton capacity cable tendon
is a high tensile steel rope 18mm in diameter that consist of
seven strands and has a uniaxial tensile strength of 394Kn.
It was installed in a 38-45mm drilled hole. The mechanical
cable tendons were anchored by means of an expansion
shell assembly situated at the end of the cable and is
tensioned to 18 tons with a Stressojack. A pumpable
cementious grout was pumped in to the support hole after
the cable was pre tensioned to minimum 18 tons. Collar to
toe grouting method with a breather system was used.
Three different support tendon types were installed in the
chamber hangingwall and sidewall:
A 13mm diameter 3m long cable sling fully grouted on a
1m by 2m grid containing 13mm lacing rope holding back
4mm mesh;
6.5m long 18mm diameter cable bolts installed 2m by 2m
grid;
Lastly a pattern of 10m long 22mm in diameter full column
grouted 50 ton cable bolts at 5m diamond pattern was
installed on the chamber; all cablebolts pretensioned to
18 tons. The different length of the cable was chosen to
ensure that they are anchored well beyond the
boundaries of the predicted wedge boundaries.
The reason for the full column grout was:
It will bond the cable to the rock making the cable an
integral part of rock mass.
It protects the cable against corrosion.
A total of 3580 each 3m long, 1300 each 6.5 m long and
162 each 10m long cable tendons were installed in the
crusher chamber. This equates a total of 19.8km of drilling
achieved in the chamber itself. Approximately 6200m
mesh-lace was installed during the supporting of the
excavation walls. 620m of wetcrete material was also
sprayed in the chamber hangingwall and the sidewalls. A
total of 144 long anchors failed during the tensioning stage
and replaced during the excavating period. From
observations it was evident that the failures of the wedge
system were due to varying hole diameter; bit sizes critical.
9.2 Shotcreting
Reinforced shotcrete has very good load bearing capacity
even at small deformation. It also spreads the load imposed
by individual blocks and improves the connection to the
holding elements. Corrosion can adversely affect the
integrity of support in long life service excavations especially
in corrosive environments such as near ground water
intersection. Therefore 100mm wet shotcrete was sprayed
to cover wire mesh and lacing on the chamber walls due to
presence of corrosive ground water environment.
The design criteria for the shotcrete:
Cube strength of 30 MPa+
Capable of being sprayed in wet conditions
Cover the steel reinforcement completely and penetrate in
to the diamond mesh.
Specific attention was given to training, and to quality
control assurance and quality control. Only fully trained
personnel were allowed to spray shotcrete in the
chamber. Cube samples for quality control were taken to
ensure the shotcrete strength would be prepared with
every shift.
9.3 MESH AND LACING
4mm diameter wire mesh and 13mm diameter lacing were
installed in the Chamber walls to hold unstable small
keyblocks in place, retain any loose or fractured rock and
359
hold both the retaining support elements and the fractured to be unaffected by mining activity. Mohr Coulomb failure
rock back to more stable ground. criterion was used for the stability analysis on the
chamber.
A typical RMR of 58 was estimated using the 1976 version
Table 5: Mesh and Lace strength
of Bieniawskis RMR. Recent laboratory uniaxial
compressive strengths on dolomite from cores show values
Support Unit Yield (Tons/m ) Yield (kN)
ranging from 160 to 250 MPa. To be conservative, the lower
4mm Diameter Woven mesh strength was used in conjunction with RMR to estimate in-
( 400-550 MPa) 12.8 125 situ rock mass properties for modelling purposes. Model
properties are listed below.
13 mmDiameter 9 strand lace 11.3 111
Density = 2850 kg/m3
Poissons ratio = 0.26
10 VENTILATION / SERVICE TUNNELS Bulk Modulus = 52 GPa
Shear Modulus = 28 GPa
Ventilation and service tunnels were supported with Cohesion = 0.47 MPa
20mm diameter, 2.6m long fully grouted threaded bars at Tensile strength = 3 MPa
one metre spacing. Straps were also installed and 100mm Friction angle = 51
Wetcrete was sprayed at the holing positions to the crusher Dilation angle = 25
chamber.

11 SUPPORT ELEMENT DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS

The following table lists and describes the performance of

the cable bolts to be used in crusher chamber.

Table 6: Cable Tendon Characteristics

Element Initial Breaking

Stiffness (kN) Force (kN)

3m long 13mm
diameter cable with Loop 150 160
6.5m Mechanical
Anchor Long Bail 38 tons
18mm Diameter 360 394
Figure 4 Vertical section through the crusher excavation
10.5m long 22mm along the chamber, showing stress concentrations
diameter 50 ton
Mechanical Anchor
(Surelock system) 450 510 The models indicate a number of key points.
Peak stress concentrations exceeding 65 MPa occur
in the sidewall of the main crusher chamber. The
12 DEPTH OF FRACTURING support of brows in tensile stress regime was treated
with special attention. The brows were supported
In an excavation of rectangular shape, the highest stress with 7m long, 18mm diameter twin cable straps and
concentration occurs in the corners where the stresses are 10mm diameter tendon straps at maximum 2m
tangentially oriented. The banded dolomite in which the crusher spacing.
was excavated has bedding planes. The vertical fractures A deformation of the crusher chamber walls was expected
extended to the bedding planes where they initially terminated. to be minor. Maximum estimated values were in the order
If the field stress increases further, the vertical slabs buckle into of 12mm.
the excavation, and the fracture zone migrates further into the Plastic zone extends more than 4m in the sidewalls and to
rock mass. The thickness of the highly fractured zone in the a maximum depth of 2m in the hangingwall.
ventilation and service has been observed to extend up to two Tensile stress concentrations appeared at the brows in
meters during the excavation stage. the order of 2 MPa. Stress concentration along the top
and base of the excavation is in the region of 35 to 45
13 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS MPa. Stress distribution around the sides of the
excavation appeared to be uniformly distributed between
13.1 Model Parameters 5 MPa (Tensile) and 10 MPa.
Using the in-situ stress gradients applied in Flac With the strength properties used, rock failure around the
modelling analyses, the vertical and horizontal field stress excavation is almost entirely in shear.
components at the 63 level elevation in the vicinity of the
shafts are expected to be as follows: 14 SELECTION OF SITE FOR CRUSHER

Vertical stress, v = 21.4 MPa The Crusher was aligned to ensure that the strike of
Horizontal stress on x direction, h = 27.3 MPa major geological features is normal to the longitudinal
Horizontal stress on y direction, h = 17.7 MPa axis of the excavation so that formation of unstable
wedges is minimal. However the long axis of the crusher
These values were applied in the model. The crusher was not kept parallel to the maximum horizontal principle
positions are sufficiently distant from the kimberlite pipe stress.

360 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

15 MONITORING
To ensure that any support system is effective, the
timeous installation and quality of support must be
guaranteed. The Geotechnical department made regular
visual checks of the installation and pull testing.
To ensure the quality installation of the long anchors, the
following was put in place:
Plan of Crusher Chamber showing all anchor positions
with numbers identifying each anchor.
Activities on anchors was recorded daily and kept in the
"Crusher Chamber Anchor Installation Register".
No anchors were allowed to be cut under any
circumstances without Geotechnical Sections approval.
Daily control sheet with specific actions and dates were
completed by Contractor official.
During and after the Chamber excavation period, a
number of functions were to be monitored to verify the
design. Several rod extensometers were installed on the
crusher chamber hangingwall and sidewalls to monitor the
overall behaviour of the excavation during the operation.
The extensometers are rod type with length varying
between 60cm to 6m.
Measurements at each step made over a period of more
than a year. Maximum sidewall deformation was recorded at
1.9mm. Monitoring of sidewall deformation showed small
values and confirmed the initial design.
The underground monitoring program took the form of a
weekly audit on the crusher chamber. Geotechnical
department investigated problems arising from audits
immediately.
Table 7: Summary of the modelling
displacement versus the measured displacement
Steps Differential Calculated Measured
Displacement Displacement
between the steps (mm)
(mm)
Hangingwall cut 0 N/M
Slot 0.5 N/M
Bench cut 1-4 1.2 1.8
Completed excavation 3 1.9
* N/M not measured
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
16 SUPPORT REQUIREMENT CALCULATION
The support resistance is calculated by the tributary area
diagram and the load deformation curve of the support unit.
When 18mm diameter cable tendons are spaced 2m apart,
the excavation wall support would provide a static
resistance of 68.8 kN/ m . This would be sufficient to carry
the dead weight of about 1.3m thickness of excavation wall
with a safety factor of two. It was assumed that there would
be a constant support resistance contribution of installed
tendons, irrespective of tunnel wall deformation.
17 VIBRATION MONITORING AT FINSCH MINE
The concern was the negative impact of the ground
vibration induced by the chamber blasting approximately
85m from the existing shaft system. A comprehensive trial
clearly indicated that the blast was at least two magnitudes
below the maximum recommended parameters.
18 CONCLUSION
A comprehensive support design was installed at the
correct timing and with requisite quality assurance in a safe
mining method which limited the rock deformation. The
chamber was successfully excavated without any major
incidents.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors thank Management of Finsch Mine for
permission to publish this paper and Mr. Alan Guest, the
General Manager-Geotechnical for advice and
encouragement. The authors would also like to express
their gratitude to Messers TNC and Dave Marsh of Boart
Longyear for their valuable discussions, advice and
assistance. The contribution by Mr. David Bailey and Mr.
Hendrick Grobler, Geotechnical Engineers are greatly
acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Anon. 2002.Discussions on Crusher Chamber Excavation
Method
Barton, N; Lien, R and Lunde, J, 1974. Engineering
classification of rock masses for design of tunnel support.
Rock Mech, 6(4): 189-236.
Laubscher, D H ,1990. A geomechanics classification
system for the rating of rock mass in mine design. J S Afr
Inst Min Metall, 90(10): 257-273.
361
362 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
Chapter 9
Blasting
364 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Modelling fragmentation in
underground production blasting
Italo Onederra, Senior Project Engineer, Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC),
University of Queensland, Australia

Abstract
This paper presents a fragmentation modelling framework for underground production blasting applications. The
approach allows for the prediction of the full size distribution of fragments expected to report to drawpoints (i.e. fines
through to oversize) from knowledge of drilling and charging configurations and rock mass characteristics. The framework
applies existing as well as newly developed mechanistic and empirical breakage models. An important feature of the
proposed approach is the ability to model single ring and multiple ring blasting conditions, incorporating stochastic
techniques to simulate the impact of operational factors such as drilling and charging quality on fragmentation. The
proposed model is described in this paper and its application demonstrated with two case studies, one on block cave
undercutting and the other on sub level caving blasting.

1 INTRODUCTION number of arguments that justify the development of a new

In metalliferous mining, the breakage and fragmentation
of the orebody rock mass by drilling and blasting techniques
is the activity that can have the most leverage in determining
the efficiency of a mining operation, as the output from a
blast affects every downstream operation (Grant et al 1995).
In contrast to surface blasting, fragmentation from
underground production blasting can affect loading and
handling productivity to a greater extent, due mainly to the
reduced scale of digging forces, bucket capacities, and
confined excavation geometries (Scoble et al 1991). Direct
impacts of fragmentation on orepass performance and
drawpoint availability have also been reported by others (eg.
Nilsson 1985, Morrison 1995 and Guest et al. 1995).
Within the underground mining cycle, the leverage of
drilling and blasting can also be significant in key aspects of
material flow, handling and processing. For example, the
impact of fragmentation on flow dynamics is critical in sub
level caving (SLC) operations, as flow can be directly linked
to recovery (Power 2004). In addition, fragmentation can
have a marked impact on the economics of leaching rate
and final recovery as demonstrated by Sheikh and Chung
(1987).
The design of underground production blasts are largely
based on the application of loosely documented "rules of
thumb". With the application of these approaches, it
continues to be difficult if not impossible to make predictions
to the levels of accuracy now demanded by mining
companies, particularly at both the pre-feasibility and
feasibility stages of a project.
While the JKMRC is involved in an international
collaborative project developing a more complete model of
rock breakage which combines a state of the art detonation
code and a geomechanical code (Cundall et al 2001), work
is continuing to develop and improve empirical and
mechanistic methods based on observed responses of rock
masses to practical blasting. The model presented in this
paper is one such approach.
2 FRAGMENTATION MODELLING
Current literature indicates that very little emphasis has
been placed in the development of accessible fragmentation
modelling frameworks that can be directly applied to
underground production blasting environments. There are a
methodology, including for example that,
The vast majority of accessible empirical and mechanistic
models do not properly consider fan drillhole pattern
layouts associated with underground blasting conditions.
There are some clear limitations of existing underground
specific mechanistic and empirical models. These relate
to calibration requirements, input parameter definition and
possible deficiencies in breakage modelling assumptions.
Most approaches appear to be limited to predicting as
designed conditions with no flexibility in the modelling
and/or simulation frameworks to consider likely external
factors such as unexpected geotechnical conditions and
drilling and charging quality.
This paper introduces the development and application of
a fragmentation modelling framework for underground ring
blasting. The same model can be applied at the conceptual,
pre-feasibility and feasibility stages of a project. It provides
a method to model both single and multiple ring blast
fragmentation and introduces a method to model the impact
of key design and operational factors on fragmentation. The
proposed structure is believed to provide an improved tool
for estimating the full range of fragments likely to report to
drawpoints whilst recognising limitations associated with
mechanistic/empirical methods.
3 MODELLING FRAMEWORK
The proposed framework can be categorised as a
mechanistic/empirical model which enables the prediction of
the expected distribution of fragments both in the fines,
intermediate and the coarse regions by modelling the extent
of two distinct breakage zones (i.e. the near field crushed
zones and the mid to far field fractured zones). Figure 1
describes the basic structure which is divided into two parts,
single ring blasting and multiple ring blasting. The core of
the modelling structure is the single ring blasting
component.
The size distribution of fragments likely to report to a
drawpoint from a single ring blast is represented by two
separate functions both of which require the determination
of three key modelling parameters.
The first parameter is what has been defined as the fines
inflection point or the expected proportion of material less
than 1mm in size. This point is assumed to identify the

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 365

 4 MODEL APPLICATIONS
PART I - SINGLE RING BLASTING
The application of the proposed framework is
demonstrated in this section with two case studies, one on
Rock volumen characteristics block cave undercutting and the other on SLC blasting.
(intact & structure) Case study 1 Design and analysis of a narrow inclined
undercut.
As part of the pre-feasibility and feasibility stages of a large
Nominal D&B design parameters block caving operation (Duffield 2000), the author was part of a
team commissioned to provide design parameters for the
successful extraction of a narrow inclined undercut. The geometry
of this undercut is illustrated in Figure 2. In this case, the
Neir field Far field engineering design and evaluation process was directly
Modeling crushed Modeling supported by the application of the single ring blasting model. The
zones breakage zones analysis included an evaluation of several drilling and blasting
configurations for undercut heights ranging from 4 to 5 m. Table 1
gives a summary of the range of design options evaluated.
Model distribution Model distribution In this paper, results of the analysis conducted on two
of fines of coarse fragmnets inclined ring layouts are presented. Figures 3 and 4
describe the design details of these layouts.

Fragmentation distribution

PART II - Multiple Ring Blasting Simulations

Figure 1: Modelling framework.

coarsest particle size that would be generated during the

crushing and shearing stages of the rock material during the
blasting process. The second parameter is the expected
post blast mean fragment size (P50) which is influenced by
the structural conditions of the rock mass, the blast
geometry, charging conditions and explosive performance Figure 2: Narrow inclined undercut
characteristics. The third parameter is the uniformity index
(nc) given by the Rosin-Rammler distribution (Rosin and Table 1: Design parameters evaluated
Rammler 1933 and Cunningham 1983). This parameter is
also influenced by the adopted pattern geometry, charging Diameters (mm) : 89 and 102
conditions and explosive performance characteristics. The Inclined Burden range (m): 1.5 2.5
main assumptions, procedures and empirical relationships leading and No Blastholes :5 6
proposed to determine the above parameters have been lagging rings No drill positions: 1, 2 and 4
discussed in detail by Onederra (2004). Explosive: Emulsion, 1g/cc 1.2 g/cc
Diameters (mm) : 89 and 102
The second part of the framework provides a Burden range (m): 1.5 2.5
methodology to simulate multiple ring blasting conditions Flat rings No Blastholes :3 4
and can be summarised as follows: No drill positions: 3 and 4
Definition of design parameters for the panel or stope Explosive: Emulsion, 1g/cc 1.2 g/cc
being analysed, including geometry, nominal blast design
and rock parameters.
Identification of the main external factors expected to
influence fragmentation.
Definition of simulation cases which reflect all identified
blasting conditions. Analysis and modelling with the use of
the single ring blasting model and development of site
specific functions to model changes in the fragmentation.
Conduct simulations by applying the established
modelling functions and rock mass descriptive statistics.
The Monte Carlo sampling technique is used to generate
fragmentation statistics defined by the expected range of
the 50%, 80% and 90% passing fractions (i.e. P50, P80
and P90).

Preliminary validations have shown the approach to

respond adequately to changes in design which are
expected to impact both on breakage uniformity and
fragmentation. Figure 3: Parameters of leading 6-hole ring layout

366 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 4: Parameters of leading 5-hole ring layout
Figure 5 shows the results of the fragmentation model,
represented by changes in the values of P80 and P90; and
for a range of burden configurations (i.e. 1.5 to 2.5 m). As
shown, when compared to the six-hole layout, the five-hole
layout appears to provide an improved fragmentation
outcome across the whole range of burdens. This can be
mainly attributed to a better distribution of the explosive
energy within the reduced volume of rock given by the 4m
undercut height and the use of four drilling positions.
Figure 5: Modelling results Burden vs Size
Figure 6 shows the full fragmentation size distributions of
these two layouts at the 2 m burden configuration. This
output can be used to provide a direct view of the overall
size of fragments expected to report to drawpoints.
Modelling results from this example helped support the
possibility of reducing the total amount of drilled metres per
ring, without heavily impacting on adequate breakage and
fragmentation outcomes. In the development of a large
undercut, a reduction in the total metres drilled per volume
of rock can translate into significants cost savings.
Case study 2 Blast fragmentation simulations of an SLC
undercut panel
This case study simulates the fragmentation expected
from ring blasting when extracting a section of an undercut
in a large SLC operation (Trout 2002). Simulation results are
compared with direct and regular fragmentation
measurements obtained from rings blasted along a number
of cross-cuts, up to extraction levels considered to represent
blasted material. The assessment was only carried out in
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 6: Modelling results size distributions
the region where there was evidence of no ingress of
naturally caved material.
Nominal design parameters
The panel corresponds to a sub level undercut with a
height of 25m and production drives at 14m intervals. Two
nominal drilling and blasting patterns were adopted in this
panel, a 9-hole and a 10-hole ring pattern (Figure 7). The
strength, breakage and structural characteristics of the
panel rock mass used in these simulations are summarised
in Table 2.
Figure 7: Example of nominal 9-hole ring pattern
Influence of external factors
As pre-drilling is common practice in SLC operations,
when simulating the possible range of fragmentation
reporting to drawpoints, the fragmentation output cannot
be directly linked to a singular ring blasting event, but
instead to the cumulative effects of all drilling and
blasting performance. Figure 8 illustrates this point with
three examples. The first refers to the undercharging of
rings due to the presence of an active discontinuity. The
second is the case where the toes of rings are over-
burdened, contributing to poor breakage and back-
break, and the third case refers to the case where rings
are unable to be properly charged due to excessive brow
damage.
367
 Table 2: Rock mass condition cases can conditions become sub optimal (i.e. drilling and
charging factors of less than 50%).
Rock breakage parameters Fracture spacing statistics

UCS,MPa 130 K 470 Location Best fit parameters

Ts, MPa 15.8 0.94 Along Log Max= 4.64
drives Norm. Min= 0.03
(m) Mean=0.96
Std= 0.92
P-Wave, 5180 PPVB, > Across Exp. Max= 3.2
m/s mm/s 4800 drives (m) Min= 0.01
Es, GPa 67 Mean=1.01
Vertical Weibull =1.46
(m) =0.54
Density, 2700
kg/m3

Figure 9: Drilling and charging factor statistics

In addition to the above, explosive performance or charge

malfunctioning can also have an influence on fragmentation.
As investigated by Rustan (1993), in SLC blasting the extent
to which charged blastholes can be damaged by previously
fired holes in a ring depends upon a critical distance
between adjacent explosive charges. At the LKAB
Malmberget mine, malfunctioning of charges inferred from
vibration monitoring was of the order of 14%. Similar results
(i.e. 15%) were also found by Fjellborg (2002) from
extensive monitoring conducted at the LKAB Kiruna mine.
Monitoring conducted by the author also concurs with the
above findings. It was observed that in the worst case
condition, detonation efficiency of SLC rings was of the
order of 80%; that is two out of ten holes would not
effectively contribute to breakage and therefore influence
fragmentation outcomes.
Following the procedures outline earlier, the effect of
changes in drilling and charging factors and detonation
efficiency factors on fragmentation are simulated with the
use of the single ring blasting model. In this case, site
specific modelling functions were established for burdens
ranging from 2.5 to 2.8m in both the 10 and 9-hole patterns.
Variable blasting conditions were reflected by changes in
drilling and charging factors of 100% (nominal) through to
30% (worst case) and detonation efficiency factors raging
from 100% to 80% in the 10-hole pattern and 100% to 89%
in the 9-hole pattern. Rock mass descriptive statistics and
operational statistics modelled with generalised Beta
functions were then used to simulate possible fragmentation
outcomes.

Figure 8: Examples of non uniform fragmentation reporting
to drawpoints
It is common operational practice to maintain statistics
regarding the condition of the ring prior to charging. This is
referred to as the drilling and charging factor. This factor
gives and indication of how close conditions meet the
nominal as designed case and it is simply defined as the
ratio between the actual total metres drilled (measured prior
to charging) and the as designed metres per ring. Typical
drilling and charging factor statistics of a large SLC
operation are shown in Figure 9. This data shows that under
normal operational conditions, the majority of rings are
generally fully drilled and charged and that only in a few
Simulation results
Figure 10 shows the cumulative distributions for the
predicted versus measured P50 values and Figure 11
shows the cumulative distributions of the predicted P80
and P90 values together with the measured P80 and top
size statistics. It should be noted that coarse fragmentation
measurements were obtained with the use of the Split
desktop image analysis system (Kemeny et al. 1999).
In Figure 10, the output can be interpreted as showing
that given the simulated design and assumed variable
blasting conditions, there is a 50% probability for the mean
fragment size (P50) to be less than 155mm. This compares
well with the measured value of 159mm. After this point,
there is a more pronounced discrepancy, with simulations
being slightly more conservative than actual measured
values. Considering the 95% probability, predictions would
suggest the P50 to be less than 308mm as opposed to the
measured 250mm value. However, both simulations and

368 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

measurements indicate in all cases the P50 value to be less
than 410mm. Figure 11 shows the results of simulations
predicting the possible range of P80 and P90 values. In this
case the output indicates that there is a 50% probability for
the P80 to be less than 385mm. This compares well with the
measured value of 410mm. As before, at the 95%
probability, this error tends to increase, with P80 predictions
indicating a value of less than 1100mm compared to a
measured value of less than 1400mm. However, it is
important to note that trends are consistent. This is
confirmed and supported by both the distribution of the
simulated P90 values and the distribution of the measured
top sizes reporting to drawpoints.
Figure 10: Simulations vs measured P50
Figure 11: Simulations vs measured P80 and top size
From an engineering point of view, results of the proposed
modelling framework are encouraging and provide a useful
platform for engineering applications.
5 CONCLUSIONS
A fragmentation modelling framework for underground
production blasting applications has been introduced. The
modelling structure provides an approach to model both
single and multiple ring blast fragmentation.
The application of the single ring blasting component was
demonstrated with the evaluation of design parameters for
the extraction of a narrow inclined undercut. In this case, the
capability of the proposed modelling framework to conduct
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
"what if" scenarios at the early stages of a project was
highlighted.
The application and verification of the multiple ring
blasting model was demonstrated by simulating the
extraction of an undercut panel in a large SLC operation.
Results from these simulations were encouraging. Overall
differences between predicted and measured statistics
appear to be acceptable for applications aimed at the
conceptual, pre-feasibility and feasibility stages of a project.
Further work is being conducted to assess current
limitations and improve the models predictive capability.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to acknowledge Newcrest Mining as
sponsors of the AMIRA-BART II project through which this
framework was developed, in particular personnel from the
Ridgeway operation which provided calibration and
validation data. Contributions and technical input given by
Dr. Gideon Chitombo, Kai Riihioja and David La Rosa are
also acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Cundall, P, Ruest, M, Chitombo, G, Esen, S and
Cunningham, C, 2001. The Hybrid stress blasting model:
A feasibility study prepared for De Beers. HSBM Project
report.
Cunningham, C V B, 1983. The Kuz-Ram model for
prediction of fragmentation from blasting. Proceedings of
the first international symposium on rock fragmentation by
blasting, Lulea, Sweden, 439-453.
Duffield, S, 2000. Design of the second block cave at
Northparkes E26 Mine. Proceedings of MassMin 2000.
AusIMM, 335-346.
Fjellborg, S, 2002. The value of measuring VOD in large
scale sub level caving. Proceedings of the 7th
International symposium on rock fragmentation by
blasting- Fragblast 7, Beijing, China, (Ed(s): Prof. Wang
Xuguang), 717-723. Metallurgical Industry Press.
Grant, J R, Little, T N and Bettess, D, 1995. Blast driven
mine optimisation. Proceedings of EXPLO 1995,
Brisbane, Australia, AusIMM, 3-10.
Guest, A, Chitombo, G and Grobler, H, 1995. Blast
optimisation for efficient extraction of a block cave
undercut - Case studies at De Beers Consolidated Mines
Ltd. Proceedings of EXPLO 1995. AusIMM, 75-80.
Kemeny, J., Girdner, K., BoBo T. and Norton, B., 1999,
"Improvements for Fragmentation measurement by Digital
Imaging: Accurate Estimation of Fines", Sixth
International Symposium for Rock Fragmentation by
Blasting, SAIMM, 103-110.
Morrison, D M, 1995. Fragmentation - The Future.
Proceedings of EXPLO 95, Brisbane, Australia, AusSIMM,
11-18.
Nilsson, D, 1985. Optimization of fragmentation in an
underground mine. SME-AIME, Annual Meeting, Reprint:
85-78.
Onederra, I, 2004. A fragmentation modeling framework
for underground production blasting applications. PhD (in
preparation), The University of Queensland.
Power, G, 2004. Modelling granular flow in caving mines -
Numerical modelling validated through large scale
physical modelling and full scale experiments. PhD, The
University of Queensland.
369
 Rosin, R and Rammler, E, 1933. Laws governing fineness
of powdered coal. J. Inst. Fuels, 7: 29-36.
Rustan, P A, 1993. Minimum distance between charged
boreholes for safe detonation. Proceedings of the fourth
international symposium on rock fragmentation by
blasting - Fragblast 4, Vienna, Austria, (Ed(s): H P
Rossmanith ), A A Balkema, 127-135.
Scoble, M J, Lizotte, Y C, Singh, A, Hendricks, C and
Mohanty, B, 1991. Fragmentation interaction with
underground mining systems and productivity.
Proceedings of the seventh annual symposium on
370 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
explosives and blasting research, SEE, Las Vegas,
Nevada, 79-89.
Sheikh, A M and Chung, S H, 1987. Predicting
fragmentation sizing profiles for different blasting
patterns. Second international symposium on rock
fragmentation by blasting, Keystone, Colorado, (Ed(s):
Fourney W L and Dick R D). Society for experimental
mechanics, 521-530
Trout, P, 2002. Production drill and blast practices at
Ridgeway gold mine. Proceedings of the 8th Underground
operators conference. AusIMM, 107-117.
Massmin 2004
 Accurate modeling of the geometry
of the overburden containing irregular
free faces using DMCBLAST3D
Ruilin Yang, Stephen Chung, Orica USA Inc, 33101 East Quincy Avenue, CO, 80137, USA
Dale Preece, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA

Abstract
The geometry of the blast overburden includes the free face configuration, the drilling pattern, hole inclination, bench
height and boundary confinement. The geometry of a blast overburden has a major influence on the blast results, such
as fragmentation, heave and final muckpile profile.
Sandia National Laboratories and Orica USA Inc. have developed DMCBLAST3D jointly. The program can model a full
production blast with multiple blast holes and the 3D effects of blasthole delay timing. The present paper describes the
accurate modeling of the geometry of the overburden with irregular free faces using DMCBLAST3D. These irregular free
faces are modeled with a series of intersecting planes, which are polygons based on pre-blast survey points at the toe
and crest lines. The top surface and the floor with any dip and strike angles can be modeled accurately.

1. INTRODUCTION and zmax), a rectangular prism box is assumed to contain

the irregular overburden. The rock spheres are generated
Sandia National Laboratories and Orica USA Inc have to fill the entire rectangular prism box first and then some
developed DMCBLAST3D jointly (Preece et al, 2001). The of the spheres located outside the irregular geometry of
program can model a full production blast with multiple blast the overburden are detected and trimmed. The detection
holes and 3D effects of blast hole delay timing. and trimming algorithms are presented in the following
DMCBLAST3D includes several modules to model sections.
production blasts (Preece and Chung, 2002). Including an
explosive gas pressure calculation, accurate delay timing
modeling, borehole location and orientation modeling, and
accurate overburden geometry modeling.
A good blasting model requires an accurate description of
the boundaries of the blast overburden. A few meters of
overburden difference can result in significant differences in
fragmentation or throw. No matter how accurate the physics
might be, inaccurate geometry modeling can cause
modeling results to be far off from the reality.
This paper describes the geometry modeling for an
irregularly shaped overburden including the mathematical
formulations and results. Then, various irregular overburden
geometries are modeled and displayed.

2. IRREGULAR GEOMETRY MODEL

Figure 1 shows an irregular geometry model of blast

overburden. The top polygon and the bottom polygon are
used to approximate the irregular toe and crest, based on
the pre-blast survey. The plane of polygons can be inclined
with any dip and strike angles for modeling a general
inclination of the top and the floor surfaces of the
overburden. The polygons can have as many sides as
needed to approximate the real overburden geometry. The
front free-face of the overburden is modeled with inclined
planes, joining the top and the bottom polygons. Vertical
planes are used at the two sides and the back of the
overburden to join the top and the bottom polygons. These
vertical planes represent the calculation boundary of the
overburden.
Based on the maximum dimension of the overburden in
the x, y, and z directions (refer to Figure 1, xmax, ymax,
Figure 1 Irregular overburden geometry model
3. BASIC MATHEMATICAL REPRESENTATION OF
IRREGULAR GEOMETRY MODEL
3.1 Lines and Planes
After we represent the overburden with polygons and
joining planes, the geometry model calculations are based
on 3D line equations, plane equations, and intersections
among lines and planes. Figure 2 shows that two points with
known coordinates define a 3D line.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 371

 (X1, Y1, Z1)

(X2, Y2, Z2)

Figure 2 Representation of 3D Line

We represent an 3D line as parameter equation:

x x1 = a l Figure 3 Representation of a plane

y y1 = b l 3.2 Moving a Cutting Plane to

Detect the Overburden Boundary
z z1 = g l (1) After representing the faces of the irregular overburden as
lines and planes, a moving cutting plane perpendicular to
Where, is the length of the line segment between the two the z-axis is used to calculate the varying boundary along
points. a, b, and g are directional cosines of the line the z-axis. The intersecting lines form polygons with 4, 5, 6,
segment from point (x1,y1,z1) to (x2,y2,z2). or more sides, depending on the complexity of the faces of
the overburden. Figure 4a shows a moving cutting plane
intersecting surfaces of the overburden geometry. As can be
2 2 2
l= ( x2 x1 ) + ( y2 y1 ) + ( z2 z1 ) seen, the cut section is a polygon with 5 sides for the
particular location of the cutting plane in the figure.
2 2 2
(x x ) (y y )
a = 2 1 ; b = 2 1 ;g = 2 1
(z z )
l l l (2)

Figure 3 shows that two intersecting vectors on a plane

define the plane. The normal vector of the plane is
calculated from the two intersecting vectors.

r r r
n = axb (3)

Where and can be defined from any two points on the

vector using Equation (2) above.

r r r r
a = a1i + b1 + j + g1k
r r r
b = a2 i + b2 j + g2 k (4)

Where are unit vector on X, Y, and Z direction. The

normal vector can be determined as
r r r r
n = Ai + Bj + Ck
Figure 4a Moving cutting plane perpendicular to the z-axis
Where to determine the varying boundary

b1g1 ag ab After an intersecting polygon is determined at a particular

A= , B = 1 1 , C = 1 1 The location of the moving cutting plane, a box is constructed
b2g2 a2g2 a2 b2 around the intersecting polygon formed from the moving
cutting plane as shown in Figure 4b. The thickness of the
The equation of the plane can be expressed as box is taken as the sphere size. The spheres in the box are
labeled as spheres to be kept. After the moving cutting
plane goes through the whole overburden along the z-axis,
the spheres within the irregular overburden geometry are all
Ax + By + Cz + D = o (5) marked as spheres to be kept and the rest of the spheres in
the rectangular prism box are trimmed and discarded from
the list of calculating spheres.
D can be determined with any known point in the plane.

372 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 4b Using an imaginary box to decide which sphere is
inside
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Figure 5 shows an irregular overburden stacked with
spheres. As it is seen, the top polygon and the bottom
polygon are very different to represent different shapes of
the toe line and the crest. The toe and the crest lines are
convex shapes. The widths of the overburden at two sides
are different. As we can see, the model represents the
irregular free faces.
Figure 5 A modeled overburden with convex curves at toe
and crest
Figure 6 shows the top polygon is concave and the bottom
is convex at one location and concave at other location. The
figure shows that the model models the geometry
accurately. In such a case, the toe burden can be excessive
since the holes could not be drilled easily at the top surface
where the crest line is concave.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 6 A modeled overburden with convex curves at the
toe and a convex and concave curve at the crest
Figure 7 shows a concave free face is modeled
accurately. The two sides of the overburden have a
relatively large overburden. While the overburden at the
center is small. More rows of blast holes can be used at the
two sides, whereas, fewer rows could be used at the center.
The effects from the irregular free faces on blast results can
be studied with DMC.
Figure 7 A modeled overburden with convex curves at toe
and crest
Figures 8 and 9 show a DMC modeling example for an
overburden with an irregular free face. Figure 8 shows
the overburden before the blast. The right hand side of
the burden is slightly bigger than the left side. DMC
simulated that the blast was fired with three rows and a
total of 20 holes. Figure 9 shows a calculated muckpile
shape after the blast of the overburden. The height at the
right side of the muckpile appears to be slightly higher
that that in the left side, due to the slightly large burden
shown in Figure 8.
373
Figure 8 an overburden before the bast
5. CONCLUSIONS
Using 3D lines, planes, top and bottom polygons allows
DMC model to construct an assembler of 3D elements
(spheres) to model the irregular geometry of blast
overburden.
Irregular overburden geometry modeling enables DMC to
model various shapes of crest and toe lines and its effect on
blast results. With such a capability, DMC can assist on
blast design optimizations to explore various geometry
effects on blast results. The present geometry modeling
technique can also lead to accurately model surveyed free
faces and its effects on blast results.
At present, free-hole definition is under the development.
When it is finished, the holes can be drilled with free location
and free orientation. The irregular geometry and free hole
definition technique will increase the capability of
DMCBLAST3D significantly.
374 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 9 calculated muckpile shape after the blast.
REFERENCES
Preece D. S., Jensen R. P. and Chung S. H., 2001,
Development and Application of a 3-D Rock Blast
Computer Modeling Capability Using Discrete Elements
DMCBLAST_3D, The Proceedings of the 27th Annual
Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique,
International Society of Explosives Engineers, Orlando,
Florida
Preece D. S. and Chung S. H., 2002, Multi Blasthole,
Multi-Row, Detonation Delay Timing Simulation of Rock
Blasting Using DMCBLAST_3D, The Proceedings of the
28th Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting
Technique, International Society of Explosives Engineers,
Las Vegas, NV, February
Massmin 2004
 Productivity gains beyond the
boundaries of a cast blast
Stephen H. Chung, Joe A. Haid, Advanced Mining Solutions
Group Orica USA Inc., Watkins, CO

Abstract
A productive cast blast is often measured by the amount of overburden displaced to a final spoil, referred to as "Percent
Cast". The profile of a cast muckpile can indicate how much track dozer work is required to construct a dragline pad for
the removal of the muck above coal seams. This paper demonstrates how modeling can be used to investigate cast
blasting and subsequent dozing operations in large cast blast operations such as those located in the Western United
States. The results suggest that computer blast simulations with user-defined delay firing features can be used
effectively to shape the profile of a cast blast, equating to benefit for a mine. This benefit can be generated from an
increase in cast material, and/or a reduction in the volume of material to be pushed by track dozers resulting in an
increase in the coal exposure rate.

1 INTRODUCTION

Cast blasts are used to remove overburden off coal

seams. The performance of a cast blast is measured by the
percentage of material the blast is able to displace from the
original position to a final spoil location. The amount of
material that is cast to a final spoil location is referred to as
"Percent Cast" which requires no handling by mechanical
equipment. The profile or shape of the material displaced
from the high-wall would have a significant impact on the
cost and time for dozer work in the preparation of a dragline
pad.
Large-scale cast blasts for dragline operations in the
Western United States often involve inter-bedded
sandstone and coal seams of different thickness and
strengths. Adding into consideration the complexity of
irregular bench geometry, the initiation, and blasting with
angled holes to control damage as well as to achieve
displacement of fragmented muck, computer modeling
appears to be the only effective and economical tool that Figure 1. Sketch of the DMC_Blast 2-D Model
can deliver the desirable solution to meet the requirement of
a blast design. In the shaping of a muck profile down to a
dragline pad, the application of numerical modeling can help
develop a fast dozing routine for cutting down the total
dozing time.

2 TYPICAL DESIGN OF A CAST BLAST

2.1 Basic construction of a 2-D model

The parameters necessary for modeling are bench
height (total overburden), borehole diameter and depth,
burden and spacing, the underlying coal seam thickness
and the surveyed bench face and pit floor geometries
(Figure 1). Explosives loading in each borehole can
consist of multiple decks, various charge lengths and
different types of explosives. The rock properties are the
dynamic Youngs Modulus and Poissons ratio
determined from representative samples using an
ultrasonic method. Other rock properties such as
cohesion, angle of friction and compressive and tensile
strengths are also required for calculating the damage
prediction.
Figure 2. Coloring for different rock types.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 375

 Figure 2 shows the discrete elements generated in the
model. Each element has a number and coordinates
assigned to it and its movement during blasting can be
tracked and analyzed for the time history of particle
displacement and the associated kinetic energy and forces
due to the loading of explosives gases. The colors are used
to indicate rock types being considered. The strength of the
material is defined by the strength links (both tensile and
shear) as shown in Figure 3. For example, if an element
is broken off from the rest of the surrounding ones, all six
strength links will have zero value (Preece and Chung, 1999
and Chung, Scovira and Preece, 2000).

Figure 4. Visualization of toe movement.

Figure 3. DMC_Blast rock strength model.

2.2 The DMC_Blast Model (Distinct Motion Code)

DMC_Blast is a computer program that combines discrete
particle motion with gas flow to simulate blast-induced rock
motion. During the explosion gas expansion state, the code
tracks in detail the gas flow in two directions from the blast Figure 5. Borehole and burden displacement.
hole and the motion of all interacting particles due to gas
loading. DMC_Blast also tracks all collisions between
particles as they flow into the muckpile and calculates the
peak kinetic energy as well as displacement of all rock
particles.
DMC_Blast allows the simulation of bench blasting through a
user-defined delay firing time sequence. The user can stipulate
the definition of the bench cross-section geometry, designate
multiple layers of dipping rock defined by their dynamic elastic
and damping characteristics, specify the drill hole diameter and
inclination, and load different types of explosives in each hole
including inert decking.

2.3 A Few Key Features Offered by DMC

(1) Diggability: Diggability is believed to be strongly
related to the displacement of particles.
As maximum displacement increases, the opportunity for
producing large interstices between particles increases. By
looking at the displacement of particles near grade level as
shown in Figure 4, the effect of blast design changes on
diggability can be modeled. Kinetic energy of the rock
particles can also be used to examine muckpile diggability,
as increased kinetic energy would produce a looser muck.
(Chung and Preece, 2002) Figure 6. Dilution in through-seam blasting.

(2) Creating a Desirable Cast Blast Profile:

Where controlled material mixing is required, DMC _Blast
allows us to examine the effect of blast design changes on
ore/waste segregation. A typical example on different burden
materials separated with colored boreholes is given in Figure 5.
Figure 6 shows the effects of delay firing direction on the coal
seam damage in through seam blasting.
(3) Rehabilitation Cast Blasting
Design of this type of blasting can be made effectively
using DMC_Blast by testing firing time with the loading of
various explosives. Figure 7 shows a rehabilitation blast
intended to reshape and match the original pre-mining
contours.

376 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 7. Rehabilitation cast blasting.
(4) Cast Blasting for Dragline Operation.
A cast blast designed for a dragline operation in the
Western United States seeks a high percentage of
overburden to be cast beyond an imaginary line drawn from
the pit floor. The imaginary line has the same angle of
repose as the spoil pile, and denotes a zone where
overburden material is not moved again. Material cast pass
this imaginary line is referred to as material cast to final. If
the cast profile does not have a ready-made pad-line as
show in Figure 8, dozer work will be required to prepare the
dragline-pad which could be very time consuming and
expensive. As a result, the coal exposure rate is reduced,
and the mine productivity suffers.
Figure 8. Ideal Cast Muckpile Profile.
3 MUCK PROFILE FOR DOZER WORK
3.1 Terms defined for a dozing analysis
An "Ideal Cast" profile as shown in Figure 8 is certainly
desirable, but not always attainable. From observations,
a more realistic cast profile as shown in Figure 9 is likely
to be produced in a four or five-row cast blast. It is the
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
opinion of the authors that cast blast performance
should not be based entirely on its "Percent Cast" to final
value, as to whether it was deemed a good cast or a
poor cast. Burden and spacing, timing, powder factor
and type of explosives are a few components of a cast
blast that can shape the profile of a cast. Shaping the
profile of a cast can allow for the center of mass to be
moved away from the highwall region. Material located
in the highwall region is very expensive to move by
dozer, due to the distance the material must be pushed
in the dragline pad construction process. Figure 9
highlights other key sub-components of a cast blast
profile. For convenience, a reference line is drawn from
mid-point of the bench top to the coal seam parallel to
the bench face, in order to create two zones, the %
Highwall Displaced and the % Face Displaced. The %
Highwall Displaced Material and the % Face Displaced
Material equals the amount of material removed off the
coal seam by the cast. The % Highwall Displaced value
indicates how much material has been moved from the
highwall region of the cast. A large % Highwall
Displaced value would suggest that a large volume of
material was moved, therefore resulting in less dozer
work in the highwall region, versus a small % Highwall
Displaced value, which would suggest more dozer work.
Figure 9. A more general cast profile with defined terms.
3.2 i_PushLXTM, a new Discrete Element Model
(DEM) code, developed for the delivery of an optimum
dozer push sequence
The Advanced Mining Solutions (AMS) group of Orica
has further investigated the relative performance of a
series of cast blasts by applying different delay firing
times and the results are plotted in Figure 10. It can be
seen that while the percentage cast to the spoil location
and the percentage face displaced material do not vary
a great deal from one case to another, the percentage
highwall displaced material shows that Case #4 (purple
color) likely offers less dozing time in the preparation of
a dragline-pad.
To help further understand the dozing operation, Orica
USA has started an i_PushLXTM Program using Cluster2D,
a DEM code developed at the Colorado School of Mines.
The code is developed to operate on any given muck profile
and perform either manual or automated horizontal and
angled pushes (or a combination of both) to derive the
optimum push sequence that requires the lowest dozing
distance and energy in developing the dragline pad.
i_PushLXTM is a mechanistic model. It considers the shape
and geometry of a dozer blade, the particle shapes and size
distribution as well as cohesion/adhesion of the material in
the muckpile (Mustoe and Miyata, 2001 and Chung and
377

Figure 10. An efficient profile for dozer work.
Mustoe, 2002). The code can also track the re-handled
materials. That is the number of times the same muck has
been pushed.
3.3 i_PushLXTM Demonstration
The muckpile to be dozed is bounded by the highwall,
cast profile and the dragline pad as indicated in Figure 9.
Particles are first generated within the dozer working area.
The pile is then stored for subsequent dozing tasks. At the
end of each doze task (one entire track removed), the muck
profile is up-dated, the total dozed distance, the push
energy and power consumed by the dozer are recorded on
an output data file in ASCII format, which can be imported to
Excel for further analysis. Figure 11 shows the setup of a
muckpile for i_PushLXTM while Figure 12 shows some
selected pushing routines.
Figure 11. Muck pile Set-up for i_PushLXTM
378 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 12. Sample i_PushLXTM Push sequence
4 CONCLUSIONS
DMC_Blast is designed to take practical input parameters
to allow the simulation of a realistic cast blast. By means of
DMC_Blast, the effect of delay timing, explosives loading,
rock structure and bench geometry can be studied, and a
cast profile can be shaped to meet a specific requirement
for the dozer-dragline operation. For the development of
the most efficient dozer push routine in preparing the
dragline pad, i_PushLXTM is showing itself to be a capable
and useful tool.
REFERENCES
Preece, D. S., and Chung, S. H., Modeling Coal
Seam Damage in Cast Blasting; Proceedings of the 25th
Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting
Technique, Nashville, TN, USA February 7-10, 1999.
Chung, S. H., Scovira, D. S. and Preece, D.S., Current
Advances in DMC_BLAST Modeling, Proceedings of the
26th Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting
Technique, pp131- 140, Anaheim, Calif., USA, February
13-16,
2000.
Chung, S.H. and Preece, D.S., Benefits of Using
DMC_Blast in Open Pit and Underground Mining,
Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference on
Explosives and Blasting Technique, Vol. II, pp50-57, Las
Vegas, NV, Feb. 10-13, 2002.
Mustoe, G.G.W. and Miyata, M., Material Flow Analysis of
Noncircular-sharped Granular Media Using Discrete
Element Methods, Journal of Engineering Mechanics,
ASCE, Oct. 2001, vol. 127 No. 10, pp1017-1026.
Chung, S.H. and Mustoe, G.G.W. Effects of Particle
Shape and Size Distribution on Stemming Performance in
Blasting, 3rd International Conference on Discrete
Element Method, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA,
September 23-25, 2002.
Massmin 2004
 Bulk emulsions in underground mining
Andrs Lpez Ugalde, UBST Manager, ORICA Chile S.A.

1 INTRODUCTION

The type-ANFO explosives are used since the 50s, their

easy preparation is an important qualitative change respect
their commercialisation, management and applications, for
manufacturers as well as suppliers and explosive users.
At the 80s the emulsions entered into the market. These
explosives have certain advantages respect ANFO type
explosives, however their use at underground mining is
currently minimal.

Comparison between ANFO / Emulsion.

ANFO Composition

Ammonium Nitrate 94 %
Fuel Oil 6% Volume Variation during gasification.

EMULSION

Aqueous Phase (NA, NS) 93 %

Oil Phase (FO) 6%
Emulsifier 1%
Sensitiser

Features ANFO Emulsion

Dens. (Loading), (gr/cc.) 0.8 (0.9-1.0) 1.35 (0.9 1.2)

Veloc, of Det. (m/s) 4.796 5.910
Pressure of Det. (Kbar) 49 100
Heat (Kcal/kg) 912 721

Gas volume (L/kg) 965 944

Comparison between emulsion and ANFO.
V. of poisonous gases (L/kg) 12.1 5.7
In order to better understand the advantages of bulk emulsions
Oxygen Balance -1.32 -3.47
some field measurements were carried out to compare under
Water resistance ( Hr) nil 72
similar conditions the behaviour of both products.

Velocity of Detonation, (VOD).

What is the gasification?
In general, gasification is sensitising an emulsion with air
bubbles which, due to the compressive waves produced by
the detonation, will generate new points of detonation (hot
spots).
This process is done by adding microspheres to the
emulsion during the manufacturing process or by adding
bubbles of gas which are generated when a solution is
mixed with the emulsion that produces the chemical
reaction.
For the first case, the final density of the product will
depend of the quantity of microspheres added to the
emulsion, for the second case the final density will depend
of the quantity of the solution mixed with the emulsion and
the quantity of time necessary for generating this reaction,
varying according to the temperature, the acidity of the
emulsion and the concentration of the sensitising solution.
The VOD of an explosive is one of the most important
characteristics, from this variable depends the power of
detonation. By knowing this one can determine how the on-
site explosive is working.
In the following graphs you can see the advantages of the
emulsion respect ANFO, with values of 4,600 m/s for the
emulsion versus 3,900 m/s for the ANFO, both under similar
conditions.
VOD Column of Emulsion RS-95
The graphs show VOD measurements taken in ascending
production holes of 2 1/2" of diameter. (July 2002, Minera
Las Cenizas)
Gases.
One of the other important factors in an explosive is the
generation of post blasting poisonous gases. Because all

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 379

explosives generate gases of this type it is a priority to
determine their volume, in order to determine ventilation
requirements, the duration of any entrance to blasted areas
and the environmental conditions.

To determine the variable of the explosives for the

calculations of ventilation, the explosives are classified in
the following table as 1, 2 or 3, according to the type of
fumes.

For not permissible dynamites

(not allowed in coal mining)

Fumes Class Poisonous Gases

Released Lt/Kg Expl.

1 Lower than 20
2 20 to 40
3 40 to 80

By comparing the level of poisonous gases generated

during a detonation, one can observe that the emulsions
produce a lower level of gases than ANFO. However,
this comparison is done under ideal detonation
conditions.
Results obtained at some sites show the same tendency,
but for the case of ANFO the results are multiplied due to
external factors such as the presence of moisture, particle
compaction, F.O. evaporation by temperature, etc, all of
them affecting the final blast.

Fragmentation.
This parameter allow us to see the real work of the In general, the energy of a fragmentation is equal to
explosive and how efficiently it is being used. shock energy + gas energy.

380 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Emulsions allow us to change this parameter depending
of the type of rock, changing the density of the explosive, so
that, the lower the density of the emulsion the bigger the
energy of gases, and the higher the density of the emulsion
the higher the shock energy.
an improvement in the results justify their utilisation.
Experiences controlled by ORICA show important savings
by using bulk emulsions.
When one consider in cost analysis, manpower, drilling,
maintenance, ventilation times and the blast itself, it is
possible to get 25% savings in the overall cost.
The experiences obtained in Chile in the development of
drifts show savings of up to 14%, only considering drilling
and blasting costs.

Trials carried out in El Salvador Division of CODELCO, at

Inca Central Oeste sector, February 2004

Utilisation of bulk emulsions in Chile

Until now ORICA has performed bulk emulsion loadings
at various sites especially because of special works
demanding new technologies, special needs for some
loading and trials, demonstrating the qualities of the
system.

Pre Conditioning at Andina: At this site were loaded

Results of Production Blast at Minera Las Cenizas. 110-metre length ascending boreholes in 5 _" of diameter. It
2,5" diameter Holes. (tiros en abanico) was employed sensitised emulsion with microspheres, with
1.15 gr/cc of density.

Better results, lower costs.

To have an explosive with advantages respect similar
ones implies to have a more expensive product, however,

Section of 12.3 m2 (4.0 x 3.5 m.)

Emulsion Anfo Savings %

US$ Saving

Length of Development 3.5 3.5

Nr of Holes 37 43 6
Drilling costs 196.20 262.50 66.30 25.3
Blasting cost 179.90 176.70 -3.20 -1.8
Total 376.10 439.20 63.10 14.4

Section of 15.2 m2 (4.3 x 3.8 m.)

Emulsion Anfo Savings %

US$ Saving

Length of Development 3.5 3.5

Nr of Holes 41 49 8 Pre Conditioning at El Salvador: For the El Salvador
Drilling cost 217.40 299.10 81.70 27.3 case, 90-metre descending boreholes full of water were
Blasting cost 202.70 189.90 -12.80 -6.7 loaded with sensitised emulsion with micro spheres with a
density of 1.2gr/cc.
Total 420.10 489.00 68.90 14.1

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 381


Production Holes at Las
Cenizas (en abanicos ): At Cenizas, in the Sub Level
caving method were used ascending holes of up to 25-
metre length with 2 _" of diameter (tiros en abanico
ascendentes). The emulsion employed was RS-95,
sensitised with gas. The explosive had a density of 1.0
gr/cc. Some improvement was obtained in the
fragmentation and there was less damage.
Development of drifts at Las Cenizas:
Besides the production trials carried out at Las Cenizas,
some trials were carried out for the development of drifts,
obtaining better results in the advances by round, less
damage due to overbreak, lower vent times, etc. The
utilisation of emulsion proved to be 10% more economical
than ANFO.
Development of drifts at El Salvador:
At this site more than 40 rounds in different sections were
carried out for the development of drifts, reducing the
number of holes and obtaining better results in the advance
382 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
and in loading times and finally generating a 14% of savings
in drilling and blasting.
Anfo and Emulsion
Longholes at El Soldado: We loaded ascending holes
of 50 metres and with 4 _" of diameter with a sensitised
emulsion with micro spheres, with a density of 1.15
gr/cc.
Development of Tunnel La Plvora in Valparaso:
Currently, ORICA maintains an explosive supply
contract with Ferrovial Agroman for the development of
tunnel 1 at La Plvora. The explosive used is bulk
emulsion gassed with gas, with a density of 0.95 gr/cc,
obtaining significant savings by round, mainly due to the
price of the explosive. The alternative explosive were
packaged explosives.
Massmin 2004

Loading Equipment of bulk emulsions.
The units used for pumping bulk emulsions are totally built
in Chile and, therefore, they can be customised according to
each need and according to the vehicle required.
They are composed by three main parts, the pumping
unit, the emulsion tank and the mobile unit.
Author: Andrs Lpez Ugalde
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Safe and efficient blasting in underground metal mines;
Technical Services; ORICA Explosives.
Construccin de tneles, piques y chimeneas
(Construction of tunnels, shafts and chimneys); Camilo
Salinas T.; Department of Mining Engineer, Universidad
de Chile.
Tecnologa de los explosivos (Technology of explosives);
Jaime Chacn F.; Department of Mining Engineer,
Universidad de Chile.
Ventilacin de Minas (Ventilation of Mines); Exequiel
Yanes G.; Servicio nacional de geologa y minera
(Geology and Mining National Service).
Mining Engineer with 9 years of experience in
manufacturing and handling of mining explosives. He
has participated in the supervision of loading of
explosives and blasts at various sites such as Refugio,
Collahuasi, Quebrada Blanca, El Salvador, Romeral,
Carmen of Andacollo, Andina, Salina Punta de Lobos,
Manto Verde.
Experience in underground sites such as: El Teniente,
Andina, El Salvador, Minera Las Cenizas, Minera Florida,
Minera Cerro Bayo, Tnel Candelaria, Tnel La Plvora.
Participation in technological innovation processes of IM2
at Andina and at El Salvador in loading of explosives in
longholes.
He has exposed in various technical seminars in topics
related to the utilisation of bulk emulsions.
Currently, he is in the Management of loading systems of
bulk emulsions for the underground mining.
383
384 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Chapter 10
Mass Mining Methods II:
Case Histories
386 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Thirty years evolution
of block caving in Chile
Jaime Chacn, Departmento Ingeniera de Minas, Universidad de Chile
Hans Gpfert, Departmento Ingeniera de Minas, Universidad de Chile
Cade-Idepe Consultores en Ingeniera
Alfonso Ovalle, Departmento Ingeniera de Minas, Universidad de Chile, Metlica Consultores S.A.

Abstract
An analytical account is made of the evolution of Mass Caving of the Chilean mines in the last thirty years. For this, the
cases of El Teniente, Salvador and Andina (Ro Blanco) mines are reviewed. Because the driving force of the mentioned
evolution was the change of the geo-mechanical properties of the ore bodies while their exploitation advanced and
became deeper, reference is made to the characterization of the rock masses on which the mining designs were based
on. The evolution is analyzed describing the effects on designs and equipment of the different mining levels and unit
operations characteristic of mining by Mass Caving: undercut, extraction, secondary breakage, ore transfer and
intermediate haulage. Based on the analysis of the evolution of these three decades, a projection of the possible
developments of Mass Caving is made for the future and a balance of some pending problems with this type of mining
is presented.

1 INTRODUCTION The case of El Teniente mine illustrates what was going

At present, three of the five Codelco-Chile producing
mines are underground and use the mining method known
as Block Caving: El Teniente, Ro Blanco (Andina) and El
Salvador. Fine copper recovered from these operations is
today in the order of 570.000 tpy, out of a total of around
1.600.000 tpy produced by Codelco. There are no other
mines at present in the country that use this mining method,
even though some isolated efforts have been tried in the
past.
This method was first used in Chile in 1924 at the
Potrerillos mine of Andes Copper Mining Co., branch of
Anaconda Co. Then El Teniente Mine of Braden Copper
Co., branch of Kennecot Copper Corporation, after a long
evolution process, applied the block caving method as such
in the late 30's. Years later two other caving mines join the
brotherhood, El Salvador mine of Anaconda Co. (1959) as
replacement of Potrerillos and, finally the Ro Blanco mine
(1970) of Cerro Corporation.
The method, in its traditional form -chute tappers,
grizzlies, and gravity transfer to a transport level- had
reached through the years, in
Potrerillos and in El Teniente, a high degree of
standardization and efficiency (Figure 1).
A similar design was adopted at the Ro Blanco mine of
Andina, but with an intermediate ore transport level with belt
conveyors; while at El Salvador, because of the ore body
geometry, the utilization of scrapers was preferred for ore
extraction.
This was the technical setting when in the year 1971
nationalization of the big copper mines took place. Besides
the political impact and the transfer of technical and
managerial responsibilities from US companies to Chilean
professionals, this also meant the concentration of the
property of all the mines in the hands of only one owner.
Coinciding with this situation, almost simultaneously and
because of different reasons in the three mines the
appearance of sectors with harder rock and bigger
fragmentation in the production programs started taking
place, with much lower productivities using the traditional
block caving design.
to happen in the short to medium range term in the three
mines: as reserves in the upper or secondary enrichment
zones deplete (which fragments very well producing fine
grained material), the continuity of mining necessarily
required initiating the extraction of the primary ore zones,
with much harder and resistant rocks. These types of rock
cave with more difficulty and generate a coarser product,
which is impossible to handle with the standard designs and
mining practices.
From this start point, and for the next two decades, the
concepts and designs which are involved in mining of hard
rock evolved to what is now known as panel caving with
LHD, with subsequent variations and refinements. The main
aspects of this evolution are summarized in this paper.
It is important to recognize the contribution of the
numerous professionals who with their creativity and effort
achieved conceptual solutions and intelligent designs that
allowed the referred evolution to be successful, and
acknowledgement is made to all those who dedicated long
extra hours to synthesize their findings in papers, without
which this chronicle would have not been possible. Each
one deserves to be mentioned, but faced with the possibility
to forget a few, we feel it is more just not to name anybody
and we trust that each will recognize his mark in this re-
count.
As usual, a tally of this sort has deficiencies that arise
from the reduced space available, from the fragility of
memory despite abundant references, from the difficulty to
sort out the essentials from the accessory, and also from the
bias introduced by the personal interpretation and
experience of the chroniclers. The authors declare that they
have aimed to be faithful to the available sources and hope
to count with the indulgence and compre-hension of those
that may have a different view of the relevant facts of these
thirty years of mass caving with LHD in Chile.
2 THE ROCK MASS
Given an ore body with its own metal values and defined
geometry, the main conditioning variable to determine the

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 387


Figure 1: Block Caving with chute tappers, El Teniente
mine.
design parameters of a block caving is the set of
geomechanical pro-perties of the rock mass.
As stated in the introduction, the trend in the thirty years
covered by this paper, has been the exploitation of deeper
sectors of the mines, with bigger stress fields and harder
rock.
If we take the First Latin American Mining and Extractive
Metallurgy Congress of 1973 as a milestone, we can
appreciate how the compre-hension and treatment of the
subject has evolved in all relevant aspects of the mining
method, among which it is worthwhile noting:
Cavability (base area and weakening developments);
Gravity flow (dilution and recovery);
Stress fields (extraction sequence, orientation of mine
workings and reinforcement);
Fragmentation (extraction grid and equipment).
Regarding the natural characteristics of the rock mass, in
1970 the RQD and fracture frequency were started to be
logged at El Teniente in primary rock. It is worth mentioning
that at that time in the secondary rock at El Teniente, four
geotechnical parameters were mapped (type of rock,
fracturing, hardness and water filtrations), with the purpose
of defining reinforcement and to design induction of caving
and explosive usage. But the first registered attempt to
388 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
quantitatively predict geotechnical rock quality in hard rock
is in Andina and dates back to 1974. On the basis of RQD
and FF, a prognosis of cavability, reinforcement,
fragmentation and productivity is made for a sector of Ro
Blanco mine with turmaline breccia. This was the first of a
long sequence of contributions to the numerical
characterization of the rock mass. Between 1980 and 1985,
the three mines adopt geomechanical rock classification
systems based on the scheme developed for mining by
Laubscher from Bieniawskis work. With minor
modifications derived both from the evolution of the
definition of the Laubscher index and from local
adjustments, the same classification system is still in use in
order to define design parameters such as cavability,
fragmentation and reinforcement.
Complementing the rock mass characterization,
advancement in stress measurement was started. Starting
in 1972 and for the first time in Chile, in situ stress
measurements were taken at El Teniente mine, using the
"overcoring" system with the USBM gage. Since that time
the "overcoring" and the "doorstopper" systems have been
used at various locations in the three mines (and also at
other locations), so there is now an extensive data base of
the natural stress field in the country. This information has
been used for the global design of the undercutting and
mining sequences, to define orientation of mine openings,
and to design resistant pillars.
As has been pointed out, the deepening of the mines has
implied that mining has been of harder rocks subject to
more aggressive stress fields. Because of this, the
occurrence of violent liberation of energy, has been an ever
more frequent phenomenom (induced seismicity). In the late
70s, these phenomena started at El Teniente mine, with
more intense expressions corres-ponding to rock burst
constituting a permanent threat to the exploitation of primary
rock, which has meant toll in lives and also has had an
important impact on costs.
The way in which this situation has been dealt with in El
Teniente considers microseismic monitoring of the mine,
which has been done since 1980 and is able to give early
warning to evacuate parts of the mine. It also helps to
understand the phenomena in order to regulate draw rate,
to alter undercutting sequence and even to redesign
fortification. Similar to many other aspects, the problem is
far from solved: only the learning of the cause-effect
relationship has taken almost a decade. But as far as the
phenomenom has been able to be characterized and
understood, there has been advancement regarding the
mitigation and control of effects.
An important subject related to the rock mass
characterization is fragmentation. In 1973, a well known
colleague stated the general belief of the time: "avoiding the
productions of boulders in a block caving is like squaring the
circle". Through the years, ever coarser fragmentation has
required more expensive designs, smaller draw rates,
bigger capital expenditure in infrastructure and equipment
for fragmentation and ore handling, and in the bottom line,
has meant a negative impact on the profitability of the
operations. Up to some time ago, the only aim was to
improve fragmentation as an additional advantage of
designs which main objective was another one: forced
caving with explosives to induce caving; the adjustment of
undercutting sequence and mining progress to control
damage in the production level openings; the control of
draw rate to manage extraction and dilution. In the last three
years there has been an effort to modify the in-situ
characteristics of the rock mass, which has been termed as
pre-conditioning of the ore, using special techniques with
explosives or with hydraulic fracturing. Hopefully we are in
the eve of another major change in cave mining, as was the
introduction of LHD equipment in its time.
Massmin 2004
3 FIRST DESIGNS
El Salvador Mine: In the year 1970, still under Anaconda
management, for the first time in Chile block caving with
LHD equipment was utilized. In a sector planned to be
extracted with the standard system, with chute tappers,
grizzlies and branched orepasses, because of the poor
production rates achieved and because of serious problems
with ore pass maintenance, it was decided to place a few
well fortified orepasses outside the blocks and introduce
LHD equipment for the extraction and haulage of ore in the
production level.
Shown in Figure 2 is the first design adopted for the
Production Level, with a herringbone design, where the
loading accesses concurred from either side to only one
central draw point. These central loading points aligned
every 12,5 m.
Figure 2: El Salvador Mine, original design with mechanized
LHD extraction.
Probably the main design criteria considered, was to give
the 5 yd3 LHD's enough space to face the heap for loading
in a straight position, a position strongly recommended at
the time by equipment manufactures. The resulting
extraction grid was then 24,0 x 12,5 m, defined as the dis-
tance between rows of loading points and the distance
between two consecutive loading points in the same row.
Unconfirmed information, because of the change of
administration at the time, indicate that results of that
experience, mainly regarding ore recovery, were not good.
Chilean engineers that took the technical control of the
operation, in light of the publications about gravity flow
models by Mc Cormick, Janelid and others, concluded that
the problem originated in the excessive distance between
rows of draw points (24 m).
The design was corrected and the next block had an
extraction grid of 16,0 x 12,5 m (Figure 3), that later evolved
to 14,3 x 16,0 m. .The idea was to maintain the length of
the loading accesses to allow straight LHDs, offsetting the
draw points from the extraction points by means of a raise
that climbs backs up from the loading access.
Conceptually it was a good solution, in the sense that it
yielded an almost equilateral extraction grid, but there were
operational problems associated to the weakness of the
brow of the draw points and to the labour intensive type of
development required. It also turned out complicated to
maintain the stability of the intersection between the loading
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 3: Block caving with LHD extraction, El Salvador
mine.
access and the tramming drift, requiring heavy steel and
concrete structures. In relation with these three problems,
other design criteria and parameters were incorporated,
such as the ratio between voids and total area, and the
angle between the loading access and the tramming drift.
In this first successful block caving experience with LHD's
in Chile, loading rates around 400 to 600 t/shift per
equipment were obtained with 5 effective hours per shift and
a tramming distance of between 50 and 150 m.
Ro Blanco Mine: In the mid 70's, in this mine of the
Andina Division of Codelco-Chile, in the south sector of the
first Production Level, more than 200.000 m2 rock of a
different characteristic to what had been successfully
exploited with a traditional block caving (chute tappers,
grizzlies, gravity ore transfer) had to be mined. It was mainly
turmaline breccia that presented cavability problems and
generated coarse fragmentation.
After the results of the first block in this area, -the
productivity of the chute tappers decreased by 30% and the
powder factor in secondary blasting increased 3,5 times- it
was decided to modify the mining system. Three
alternatives were analysed:
Block caving with scrapers and haulage by railroad.
Block caving with LHD's.
Forced caving with big diameter long hole blasting and
chute tappers.
The trade-off analysis favored the second option of block
caving with LHD and the herringbone type design chosen is
shown in Figure 4. The main design criteria considered were
related to parameters such as the length of the loading
access and the dimensions of the extraction grid. There
389

Figure 4: Block caving with LHD, Ro Blanco mine, Andina.
were also some local conditions such as the lack of barren
overburden and no dilution problems. The reason not to
mine by open pit, even though there was no overburden,
was because of extreme climatic winter conditions.
El Teniente Mine: The year 1970, coincidental with the
change of administration, the Mine Department starts the
first discussions about the change in rock conditions. In the
central sector of the Teniente 4 Production Level, numerous
blocks already prepared with the traditional layout were
emplaced in the primary ore zone of the deposit, in some
cases only at the base and in others to a considerable
height.
In 1972 the first block in primary rock was undercut using
a slightly modified standard system (4 million t) and the
results obtained highlighted the real magnitude of the
problem: chute tapper productivity was reduced to between
20 and 30 t/man-shift, as compared to an average of 200 in
secondary ore. The conclusion was that there was no
alternative but to introduce radical modifications to the
method or change it altogether.
With the assistance of swedish professor and
consultant I. Janelid, internationally reputed in massive
mining at the time, the first conceptual studies were
started. His approach points to the dynamics of gravity
flow and to materials handling of coarse ore. His
contribution in this respect was conceptually of great
importance, even if swedish praxis and theory were
oriented to sub-level caving, which has a different
extraction dynamic. At that time, and for obvious reasons,
the possibility to seek advise from US consultants, with
ample experience in block caving, was not an scenario.
390 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
At the outset of these preliminary studies, it was
concluded that the rock would cave, even for very
competent rock conditions and for "normal" base areas,
and that the coarse fragmentation was manageable with
diesel LHD equipment, pick hammers for secondary
reduction and with an underground crusher. As a
synthesis, the block caving method was still the best
solution.
After this conclusion, the final conceptual engineering of
the primary ore project is started in 1974. The analysis
focused first on the configu-ration of the Production Level,
specifically on the design of the extraction grid. The clue of
the problem was to reconcile design parameters where the
optimization of one of them affected others in a negative
way. For example:
The extraction grid had to be as equilateral as
possible and also ample enough to have loading
accesses long enough to allow LHD equipment to
load straight.
The spacing between draw points had to allow the
interaction of the draw volumes: it cannot be too big.
Reducing the distance between rows of draw points
augments the ratio between voids and total area, affecting
the stability of the Production Level.
A smaller angle between the tramming opening and the
loading accesses, allows increasing the length of the
latter one, but generates instability conditions difficult to
control.
The most important subject, the spacing of the extraction
grid, was uncertain. Even though some qualitatively
approaches to the problem were known, originated in
gravity flow models, the scaling of these models to real
conditions was then and is still an unresolved question. The
only certainty was that as the ore gets coarser, the diameter
of the volume that flows also increases, and therefore the
distance between draw points could be enlarged
considerably.
Figure 5: Block caving with LHDs, Henderson mine,
original design
The experiences of El Salvador and Andina were
extensively analysed, and also careful attention was given
to the Henderson mine in the US, that had started
operations with LHD recently (Figure 5). It was concluded
that the herringbone type configuration was the limiting
factor of these designs.
Massmin 2004

Figure 6: Block caving with LHDs, El Teniente mine.
The new proposed configuration (Figure 6) consisted in
confronting the loading accesses in opposite directions, and
aligned along the same axis. The idea was to take
advantage of the space provided by both loading accesses
for the manoeuvring of the LHD's. The design was validated
by marking down the ground plan on surface to duplicate the
design geometry, and test driving the first LHD equipment
that had been acquired by the mine. Results spoke for
themselves: the cycle time of equipment increased in only a
few seconds, which were irrelevant in the total cycle time.
The adopted design is shown in Figure 6.
The first block undercut with this new design started
production in May, 1982. Two years later, after steady state
production and with a continuous modality of undercutting
(panel caving), 5 yd3 LHD productivity reached 850 t/shift,
with a daily draw down rate in the order of 0,5 to 0,6 t/m2
(185 to 222 mm/day).
5 PRESENT DAY DESIGNS
In the mid 80's Andina starts studying its third Production
Level (Third Panel Project) with the participation of D.
Laubscher as consultant. A new design methodology was
incorporated. The distance between draw points was
refined with respect to the expected fragmentation
produced by the undercutting; also the interactive draw
concept was definitely introduced, postulating that the
diameter of the active material can attain 1,5 times the
diameter of a column with isolated draw. Nonetheless, the
results of recent investigations by the IM2 group of
Codelco and by the Mine Department of the University of
Chile seem to indicate that the final "paper" about the
subject has not been written.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Eventually, with minor differences, the three Codelco
mines ended up applying this methodology for the design of
the new production sectors, adopting variations of what has
been termed the "Teniente Type Design", with different
spacing between rows of draw points, as a function of the
expected fragmentation according to the local conditions of
each mine or sector. Also, even though it may seem a detail,
this greater flexibility has been possible because of better
mechanical conditions of equipment, which has made it
possible to ease the restriction imposed on them to load on
a straight line.
6 THE FUTURE AND PENDING PROBLEMS
The mining method which we have termed mass
caving with LHD, and in particular the "Teniente Type
Design", has been successful for more than 20 years
and may well continue to be a good option for mass
mining in the future. It is a productive and low cost
method, which makes it the logical continuation for deep
open pit mines. Nevertheless, there are still many
challenges to face.
The main pending problems are related to the following:
forced caving and/or pre-conditioning
caving height
secondary fragmentation
seismic activity and collapse of openings
draw control and reserve recovery
undercutting rate
Forced caving and/or pre-conditioning: One of the
effective ways to control the occurrence of rock bursts has
been to maintain a low draw down rate for the initial area of
a project, until it can break through to surface or the
previous level, which usually happens after one third of the
rock column has been extracted. After this precaution,
practice has shown that draw down rates can be
accelerated. It is possible that there exists a trade-off
between the cost to force the caving or pre-condition the
rock mass of an important initial area and, on the other
hand, the benefit of obtaining a more productive rate and a
safer undercut.
Undercutting height: The trend in under-cutting height in
hard rock, at least in El Teniente, has been to decrease.
From the initial 16,6 m used in sector Teniente 4 when it
started production in 1982, it has evolved to the actual 3,6
m in the pre-undercut modality being used in the Esmeralda
sector. Even though this design has some opera-tional
advantages, the doubt remains whether such a low
undercutting height will cause the settling of huge blocks,
pressure on pillars and collapses of openings in the
production level.
Secondary fragmentation: The amount of secondary
blasting required by natural caving of hard rock can be
very significant. It is necessary to make a good prediction
of this unit operation and compare it to the convenience of
making a forced caving, as has been successfully done
for example in the west part of Teniente 4 South. The
normal behaviour of rock is that secondary blasting will
decrease as the extraction column increases. This unit
operation must be carefully planned, designed and
executed. After secondary blasting, there is a materials
handling design for coarse ore, which depends upon the
particular characteristics of each mine. There must be a
match between bucket size of the LHD, grizzly size at the
dump points, pickhammer at the production level or at the
reduction level, sizers or crushers if to load conveyor
belts, type and size of chutes if to load trucks or trains,
bins, primary crushers, etc.
391
 Seismic activity and collapse of openings: The
collapse of openings in the production level is a problem to
deal with. The main reasons for this problem are settling of
huge blocks, high abute-ment stresses, improper design,
poor construction, and inadequate undercutting sequence.
High stress concentrations can also produce induced
seismi-city, with violent effects such as rockburts.
Examples of these are: 18% collapse of the total undercut
area in the production level of Teniente 4 South sector; 5
major seismic events, between 3,2 and 4,0 in the Richter
scale, in Teniente Sub 6 sector from Jan 90 to Mar 92, with
great damage and extensive stoppage of activities.
A mitigation measure for these situations has been to
change the undercutting modality to pre-undercutting, which
consists in making the production level openings and
constructions "under shadow", that is, after the abutement
stress has passed, which is accomplished by doing the
undercut before the development of the production level
openings and constructions. This has been successfully
done in the Esmeralda sector of Teniente, even though not
exempt of problems.
High magnitude seismic events occur mainly at the start
of mining a virgin sector in highly competent rock, while
subsidence is propagating to surface or to the previous
level. As a control measure, strict restrictions to the drawing
rates are imposed up to one third extraction of the column,
after which the restriction is eased. As mitigating measures
for rock projections and collapses caused by rockbursts,
special reinforcement has been designed, where yielding
characteristics are important.
Draw control and reserve recovery: In some which use
block caving with LHD's, there is a trend of uneven draw.
For instance, in Teniente 4 South sector, an effective LHD
productive daily rate varying between 0,1 and 9 t/m2, for an
average of 2,27 has been reported. Furthermore the daily
draw rate for the whole sector was 0,59 t/m2 as an average.
This would indicate a deficiency in the draw control, which is
also reflected in the low reserve recovery shown as
compared to higher figures for the standard chute tapper
system. For the first 66 million t extracted, recovery was
+19% of the in-situ tonnage and -34% of the in-situ grade,
with a resulting 10% loss in recovery in terms of fine copper.
Undercutting rate: The pre-undercut moda-lity, which
apparently has been a solution to preserve the integrity of
openings and deve-lopments of the production level, has
important difficulties regarding accesses and coordination of
work in a much restricted area. This limits the undercutting
rate, and therefore the capacity to produce from the sector.
Some challenges ahead visualized to solve this problem
are: uncouple production faces; adopt advanced undercut
instead of pre-undercut and redesign fortification of
accesses to allow for rockburst, and industrial engineering
analysis to improve work organi-zation and coordination in
the confined areas.
7 CONCLUSIONS
The evolution of block caving in Chile over the last thirty
tears shows how the mining industry has been able to adapt
to changing natural conditions, keeping its competitiveness
in spite of an increasingly complex environment. This has
been possible thanks to the ingenuity, open mindedness
and effort of the professional teams both at the mines and in
supporting outside groups.
Among the different improvements which were introduced
during the three decades, the "Teniente Type Design" of the
production level has probably had the biggest impact on the
successful lay-out of the ore extraction scheme and has
hence been introduced in all three chilean operations.
392 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Although there have been significant advances both in
knowledge and in design and operation of Codelcos block
caving mines, several issues still have to be addressed in
order to solve the many problems that remain, and most of
which are related to the geotechnical nature and behavior of
the rock in the mines as they progressively get deeper.
REFERENCES
Alvial, J, 1992. Analysis of the extraction at Teniente 4 Sur
LHD. Massmin 92. Johannesburg, South Africa, SAIMM,
pp. 233-244.
Behn, B and Gpfert, H, editores,1973. Los mtodos por
hundimiento: su aplicacin en minas chilenas. Primer
Congreso latinoamericano de minera y metalurgia
extractiva, Santiago, Chile.
Chacn, J, 1976. Block Caving y LHD: Compatibles?,
Revista Minerales N 134, Instituto de Ingenieros de
Minas de Chile (IIMCH).
Chacn, J and Krstulovic, G, 1978. Antecedentes geotc-
nicos para el hundimiento forzado con tiros de gran
dimetro, Revista Minerales N 144, IIMCH, Santiago,
Chile.
Crdoba, N and y Daz, G, 1986. Hundimiento de bloques
con traspaso LHD en mina El Teniente, Revista Minerales
N 172, IIMCH, Santiago, Chile.
Didyk, M and Baeza, L, 1986. Geomecnica en la mina El
Teniente, Revista Minerales Nos 172 173, IIMCH,
Santiago, Chile.
Encina, V, 1977. Anlisis de alternativas de explotacin
de la mena dura en la mina Ro Blanco, Memoria de
Ttulo, Universidad de Chile.
Hoppe, R. Amax prepares to cave the Henderson after a
decade and $ 400 million in development, E/MJ January
1976, New York.
Ovalle, A and Codoceo, J, 1977. Factores que inciden en
la productividad de un bloque en la mina El Teniente,
Revista Minerales N 139, IIMCH, Santiago, Chile.
Ovalle, A and Albornoz, H, 1981. Block caving with LHD
equipment at El Teniente, Design and Operation of
Caving and Sub Level Stoping Mines, Dan Stewart,
Editor, SME of AIME, Denver, US, pp. 355-361.
Ovalle, A, 1981, Analysis and considerations for Mining
the El Teniente ore body, Design and Operation of Caving
and Sub Level Stoping Mines, Dan Stewart, Editor, SME
of AIME, Denver, US, pp. 195-208.
Rojas, E, Cavieres, P, Dunlop R. and Gaete, S. Control of
induced seismicity at El Teniente Mine, Codelco-Chile.
Massmin 2000. Brisbane, Austalia, pp. 775-782
Saldivia, J, 1976. Experiencia con uso de equipo LHD,
mina EL Salvador, Revista Minerales N 133, IIMCH,
Santiago, Chile.
Sisselman, R, 1978. Chile's El Teniente mine: Meeting the
challenge of declining ore grade, E/MJ Vol. 179 N6, New
York.
Susaeta, A and Daz, H, 2000. Estado del arte del
modela-miento del flujo gravitacional en minera por
hundi-miento por bloques, Revista Minerales N 235,
IIMCH, Saantiago, Chile.
Torres, S and Alvarez, R, 1987. Mtodo de Explotacin
para Ro Blanco III Panel, Revista Minerales N 177,
IIMCH, Santiago, Chile.
Massmin 2004
 Koffiefontein mine front
cave - Case History
Linda Hannweg, Geotechnical Engineer, De Beers Kimberley and
Koffiefontein Mines, Loren Lorig, ITASCA S.A., Chile
Gert van Hout and Alan Guest, Department of Geotechnical Engineering, De Beers

Abstract
In a first for the diamond mining industry, Koffiefontein Mine in the Free State, South Africa, opted for the Front Cave
mining method to extract a 90 metre high block of kimberlite ore. Front Caving is essentially a combination of the
traditional Block Cave and Sub Level Cave mining methods using retreating drawpoints on two or more levels. Many
rules have to be applied in order to keep control over this method. Caving-by-gravity techniques of mining rely on
closely controlled draw of the caved ore to ensure proper caving action and to minimise the dilution of ore with waste
material from the open pit. The Front Cave was operated quite successfully until February 2003 when a major collapse
occurred on the undercut level, and significant movement was recorded on an upper sub-level cave level. The events
are thought to be related as they occurred at the same time. The cause of the collapse is uncertain, but a number of
actions that may have triggered it are described.

1 INTRODUCTION overall draw level infrastructure was considerably less

In a first for the diamond mining industry, Koffiefontein
Mine in the Free State, South Africa, opted for the Front
Cave mining method to extract a 90 metre high block of
kimberlite ore. It was initially planned to mine the ore body
by the Blast Hole Open Stoping mining method used in the
upper levels, but slope stability studies indicated the
possibility of major ore dilution from slope failure in the
surrounding rock.
Other mining methods were considered, including the
Sub-Level Cave method as well as conventional and
mechanised Block Caving. Due to the low in-situ grade,
Block Caving, although technically sound, was ruled out
because the large capital requirements would result in a
negative return on investment.
expensive than a similar sized Block Cave layout since the
complete draw level and its drawpoint support was not
required to last the life of the cave as would be the case with
Block Caving. Lower initial capital requirements together
with the benefit of concurrent production from upper levels
during production build up in the Front Cave, guaranteed
early revenue to offset up-front capital expenditure.
Front Caving is essentially a combination of the traditional
Block Cave and Sub Level Cave mining methods using
retreating drawpoints on two or more levels. The extraction
levels consist of 4m wide by 4.2m high tunnels spaced at
15m centres. The two levels are vertically spaced 12 metres
apart with the upper level (480m or 48 Level) acting as the
main undercut level. The lower level (490m or 49 Level) is
the main extraction level.

2 BACKGROUND

The main reason for a proposed change of mining method

was to control the increasing quantities of dilution that would
occur as mining progressed. The retreating block cave method
(having production levels on 450m and 470m, and scavenger
level on 490m level) was initially decided on; however this
meant that all the dilution had to be loaded out before the next
blast could be taken. The stability of the 450m level
drawpoints was considered a problem owing to a 60-degree
angle to the 470m (47) level operating drawpoints. The
irregular shape of the cave front would lead to higher side
dilution. By pulling 60% of the ore column on 450 and 470m
levels, dilution would be brought into these drawpoints and the
490m level scavenger drawpoints would draw into diluted ore
zones. A further consideration was the capital cost involved in
developing a third level.
Front Caving was felt to be technically sound with a Figure 1: Section through Koffiefontein Mine
minimum financial outlay, an advantage without which
Koffiefontein Mine would not have been able to mine the
block economically. This included the fact that operations 3 ESTABLISHING THE FRONT CAVE
could continue on the upper levels while mining began in the
centre blocks of the Front Cave, allowing for a slower The initial slot cutting took place on the east-west axis.
production build up required from the Front Cave itself. The Two 660mm raise-bore holes were drilled upwards from 48

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 393

Level for 18m. A 660mm hole was drilled between 48 and
49 Levels, and reamed to 1,2m. A pattern of 89mm holes
were then drilled around these raise-bore holes and blasted
until the opening was 4m wide. Further rings were blasted
from east to west until the slot was 10m wide. The slot was
then progressed for 22m after which the 49 Level section of
the slot blasting commenced.
Once the eastern portion of the slot was established,
undercutting commenced against the mudstone contact
where preferential caving was most likely to occur. During
this undercut process, only the swell from the blasted
ground was drawn to create sufficient void to blast the next
ring. Broken ground in the void provided a cushion to limit
the effect in the event of an air blast. The undercut was
retreated 24m from the slot centreline on 48 Level and 13m
on 49 Level. The undercut was not retreated in a longwall
fashion (parallel to the rows of drawpoints) but rather in a
breast configuration with the eastern side leading the
undercut. This allowed undercutting and production (and
hence revenue) to commence whilst development was in
progress.
During the undercutting phase and the opening of the slot,
high horizontal stresses perpendicular to the slot axis were
experienced. This could be seen in the large deformations
in the support, especially in the hangingwall of the slot about
20m from the brow on 48 and 49 Levels. It was noticed that
the south side suffered more stress build-up than did the
north side.
Hydraulic radius was achieved by undercutting a
small column of ore, which was then drawn until the
planned extraction percentage was achieved. The next
column of ore was then mined by advancing the
undercut.
On Friday, 13 November 1998 the Front Cave holed
through into the 370m Level pit floor. The theoretical
hydraulic radius of 17 (90m x 55m) was achieved in
December 1998. The period between 50% and 100%
hydraulic radius is critical in terms of delays, which could
result in the build-up of stresses. The undercut must be
advanced as smoothly as possible during this period, and
the timing of ring drilling, blasting and loading should remain
on schedule.
4 RULES DURING PRODUCTION STAGE
Right from the start of the feasibility study (Preece,
1996), it was decided to draw at a maximum of 400 mm
per column per day. This rate was set such that the caved
ground has time to mature and by attrition, reduce the
fragmentation size of rocks reporting to the drawpoints. In
June 2001, the draw rate was consciously increased to
600 mm for a period of three months during the first strip
extraction, in order to see what the effect on
fragmentation was. Larger than normal blocks were found
at the drawpoints, and the influx of waste (dolerite and
shale) was rapid. The original draw rate of 400 mm was
found to be most practical.
In order to maintain a smooth production profile, it
was decided to apply an East to West angle of 20
degrees. This 20 degrees angle was considered to be
an appropriate compromise between geotechnical and
production requirements. It did coincide with the angle
between the horizontal and the line obtained when
connecting the bottom of the most eastern column and
the top of the most western column, both on the North
side of the Front Cave. If production could adhere to
this rule, it meant
that the very first column (T29/T28 on the East) on a
particular strip could retreat at the same time when the last
column of that strip (T3/T4/T5) came into production (Figure
2).
394 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 2: Plan detail of Front Cave layout showing tunnel 3
on the left and 29 on the right
This 20-degree angle would thus ensure that there was a
continuous and almost constant production throughout the
life of mine: some drawpoints would be producing while
other drawpoints were retreated to their next semi-
permanent position.
This angle also ensured that waste (not on top of the cave
at the start but later having filled the entire pit) would not rill
into the eastern side of the pit as 20 degrees is far below the
angle of repose for kimberlite, 37 degrees.
This rule was converted from a value in degrees to a rule
expressed in depletion difference between neighbouring
columns in April 2002. This was justified on the basis of
several arguments such as the problem of calculating an
angle: what density needs to be used to convert pulled tons
to a height difference in a column, bulked or virgin? Also,
one could ask the question what angle it can be referred to,
the angle on top of the remaining column or the angle based
on mined tons?
This rule was not always adhered to, mainly due to
production pressures, resulting in the drawpoint being
brought into production regardless of whether or not the 20
degree angle was in place.
Two rules were established with regards to the North-
South control. The first dictated that the depletion difference
between two similar columns across the central slot should
not exceed 1000 tons (N-S rule). The other stipulated that
the production on both sides should have ceased at the
same time, in other words, the North side should slow down
the production after strip one as it has more drawpoints than
the South.
5 RETREAT STAGE
The original planned sequence of retreating was as
follows: Once a column achieved a depletion of 81%, the
semi-permanent drawpoints (SPDs) have to retreat to the
next position. (concrete SPDs act as passive support to
prevent brow deterioration). From this position it was again
planned to mine another 90 m high, 24 m by 15 m wide ore
column, without causing failure in the vertical wall of the
next column.
Once the hydraulic radius was achieved, and the mine
had been in production for a while, concerns were raised on
the timing of the pull back of the SPDs to the next strip.
These concerns were justified as at that stage. The ore was
not covered by any waste and failure of waste material from
the open pit above could easily sterilise any ore if a
subsequent localised kimberlite failure (of the now vertical
ore faces), was to occur. The probability of a kimberlite
failures was very real, as the depletion of a column would
Massmin 2004
theoretically leave a vertical ore face of 90 m high. In fact
(and later seen), depleting an ore column from 48 level and
49 level brought down the surface of a 24 m by 15 m ore
column in a vertical mode, without causing failure or
affecting the ore column in the next strip. This is very
unlikely in the absence of any confining material against the
vertical wall, and was certainly a real concern for the Front
Cave during the mining in strip 1.
The geotechnical engineers decided to break the strict
connection between 48 and 49 SPDs at a high column
depletion stage. By retreating the 48 level SPDs in 12 m
intervals, it was hoped to flatten the profile of broken
material in the cavity and hence reduce the probability of
highwall toppling failures. It was further intended to reduce
the sterilisation of ore zones as a result of the increased
sphere of influence of the 48 Level drawpoint cones.
Another advantage of decoupling the 48-49 relationship
was that the draw ellipsoid of the 48 level SPD did not
overlap that of 49 level, and therefore the 400mm rule could
be applied over two columns. The possibility of increased
call convinced mine management to agree with the following
changes put forward by geotechnical staff in June 2000:
Retreat 48 level SPDs at 12 m intervals, assume their zone
of influence to extend 12 m ahead of the SPD and not
interact with the zone of influence of the 49 level SPD.
This retreating process would then be repeated after each
strip is completed, until the entire ore block is depleted to
the contact.
6 DRAW CONTROL
Subsidence mining relies on closely controlled draw of the
caved ore to ensure proper caving action and to minimise
the dilution of ore with waste material from the open pit.
A Mixed Integer Linear Program based draw control was
developed for Koffiefontein Mine, the first mine in De Beers
where a Vehicle Monitoring system was linked directly to a
draw scheduling program (Guest et al, 2000 and Hannweg
et al, 2001). It was initially implemented to schedule the call
from the Front Cave and was used successfully until June
2000 when the pullback was changed to 12m. Two
versions of this MILP based code were implemented
successfully, the last one however for a very short period of
time. Due to staffing limitions, a third version could not be
developed and an Excel based program was applied, and is
still being used.
A dedicated draw control officer has kept records of all
daily draw figures, waste predictions, ran the draw control
programs and declined on a number of occasions to give
production personnel extra call when it was not aligned with
the rules described above.
The concept of a Production Factor and Draw Control
Factor was also initiated at Koffiefontein. Both factors are a
single value between 0 and 100%, indicating how well the
actual production over a weekly period adhered to the
planned call (Production Factor) and to draw control rules
(Draw Control Factor).
7 FRONT CAVE PERFORMANCE
Production from the Front Cave occasionally exceeded
the planned production. There was a constant pressure to
mine drawpoints at full capacity once they came into
production, leading to a flatter draw profile than expected.
This then resulted in more drawpoints having to retreat at
the same time, causing logistical problems with the pull back
operation. Despite the production pressure, most draw
control rules were adhered to very well and the recovery of
strip one exceeded the planned 81% by far. But as a result,
the ore/waste interface was now very close to the
production elevation and waste actually followed the SPDs
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
that were retreated to the next position. The introduction of
the 12 m intervals on the 48 level and then the abolition
thereof caused major problems in the scheduling of
retreating the SPDs, resulting in poor interaction between all
SPDs.
There was evidence that pillars or span interrupts -
since pillars do not necessarily consist of intact kimberlite -
were left when retreating to the next SPD position. These
span interrupts prevented the cave from propagating above
the undercut rings, allowing the waste to rill into the tunnels,
cutting off intact ore. There was a perception on the mine
that the 12 m intervals on 48 level were insufficient to cause
caving to follow. However, cave inhibition was most likely
caused by the span interrupts, not insufficient span. By this
time also, major pit sidewall failures had occurred, resulting
in the disappearance of the threat of highwall toppling
failures. The decision was then taken to revert to the
original pullback scenario i.e. 24m on both levels, which
have proven to work well.
Retreating the SPDs took longer than expected and
during these periods, there was no proper interactive draw.
In addition, during the 2 months before the failure, brow
positions were unintentionally retreated rapidly without
loading the entire call after blasting the undercut rings.
8 FAILURE
Since the Front Cave mining started in 1997, no
significant geotechnical occurrences were recorded until
February 2003. In February 2003, tunnels on the northeast
side of the pipe on 48 Level began to collapse from the cave
front towards the contact, and cracks started to form in the
footwall of tunnels on the northwest side of 37 Level close
to the contact at the same time. Collapse of tunnels close
to the contact on the northwest side of 49 Level followed.
9 NUMERICAL MODELLING
OF ROCKMASS BEHAVIOUR
Following the collapses in 2003, earlier three-dimensional
numerical models were updated in an attempt to explain the
observed behaviour. This included simulation of the actual
mining sequence prior to the collapse and introduction of a
new rock mass material model based on the Hoek-Brown
failure criterion. Among other things, the new rock mass
material model (Cundall et al, 2003) allowed for a strength
reduction (strain softening) as the rock mass weakened
over a critical strain, scrit. The rock mass material properties
used in the analyses are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: TKB Rock Mass Material Properties
Parameter Value
Density 2430 kg/m3
UCS 50 MPa
RMR (GSI) 50
Rock mass elastic modulus 7 GPa
Rock mass Poissons ratio 0.25
mb (D=0) 1.677
mb (D=1) 0.281
s (D=0) 0.0039
s (D=1) 0.0002
Critical Strain, scrit 4.5%
The updated numerical modelling showed that:
The original design may have been somewhat brittle or
fragile. The original extraction level layout with parallel
395
 tunnels spaced 12m vertically and 15-m horizontally had
a horizontal pillar width of 11 meters. Overbreak reduced
the average pillar widths to about 10.4. If it is assumed
that blast damage reduced the pillar to ten meters then
the resultant pillars with rock bolt support had the capacity
to support 11.5 MPa of vertical stress based on two-
dimensional numerical analysis using average RMR and
UCS properties. Taking into account measured variations
in RMR and UCS the pillars probably had a capacity
about 10 to 13 MPa.
Three-dimensional modelling suggested that pre-mining
vertical stresses could have been in the order of 8 to 11
MPa and that mining increased vertical stresses at the
abutment.
Abutment stresses increase as mining retreats toward the
kimberlite/country rock contact, and
Introduction of a veranda geometry due to rapid brow
retreat at the extraction level significantly increases
vertical abutment stresses over cases without a veranda
geometry.
Therefore, it appears that the extraction level had only a
small safety factor with respect to the applied loads, making
pillar collapse a plausible failure mechanism. Any factor that
increased abutment loads could have contributed to stability
problems. The factors that potentially contributed to
abutment loading included the rapid retreat on 48 Level from
December 2002 to February 2003, a crater wall failure that
imposed an additional load on top and the irregular mining
pattern over the previous two years. The pillar collapse
mechanism is manifest as severe tunnel deformation as
shown in Figure 2.
It should be noted that the numerical analyses assumed
homogeneous and isotropic initial conditions. Weathering,
particularly contact with water, is known to severely reduce
the strength of kimberlite. Weathering in the floor may
explain the severe floor heave observed in the mine, but
which was not as evident in the numerical models.
For the parameters used here, mb > 1.5 indicates
undamaged rock and mb < 0.5 indicates completely
damaged rock.
Figure 3: Tunnel deformation and rock damage around
extraction tunnels
396 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
10 CONCLUSIONS
From the discussions detailed, it can be seen that a
number of factors contributed to the sudden massive failure
experienced at Koffiefontein Mine. No single action can be
held accountable for this. The Front Cave mining method
has many inherent rules to make it work if these are all
strictly adhered to, there would be no problem with the
method. In the case of Koffiefontein Mine, production
constraints and requirements may have contributed to the
failure of the Front Cave.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to all their colleagues that helped
them during the development of this work. Also, the authors
wish to acknowledge the permission of the Director,
Operations to publish this paper.
REFERENCES
Cundall, P, C. Carranza-Torres & R. Hart, 2003. A new
constitutive model based on the Hoek-Brown criterion.
Guest, A and Van Hout, G, 2000. An application of Linear
Programming for Block Cave Draw Control, in
proceedings MASSMIN 2000, Brisbane, pp 461-468.
Hannweg, L and Van Hout, G, 2001. Draw Control at
Koffiefontein Mine, in proceedings Mine Mechanistaion
and Automation, 2001, Johannesburg, pp
Preece, M, 1996. Front Caving a solution to waste
dilution at Koffiefontein Mine for the extraction of the
370m to 490m ore reserve. Massive Mining Methods,
Randburg. The South African Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy.
Massmin 2004
 Hendersons new 7210
production level
K. Keskimaki, B. Nelson, M. Callahan, R. Golden, S. Teuscher, C. deWolfe, A. Hansen,
Climax Molybdenum Company, Henderson Mine Empire, CO USA

Abstract
Hendersons new 7210 panel cave production level is currently under development, with plans to initiate the undercut in
October 2004. This level will provide nearly all the production from Henderson for the next 20 years. The 7210 level
design is similar to 7700 level with the following improvements: high lift cave, wider bell spacing, enhanced wire meshing
and shotcrete for drift support, a redesigned drawpoint brow, alternative roadway construction methods and the addition
of dewatering drifts. These improvements will reduce ore development costs by over 50% from historic costs. The initial
undercut area will be monitored with TDR to ensure that voids that potentially could cause an air blast are not allowed
to form. LHDs with 7.4 m3 buckets will feed bins that transfer the ore from 7210 production level to 7065 truck level,
where remotely controlled loading chutes are utilized to load 72 tonne side dump haul trucks. From there the ore will
flow across the existing 24 km conveyor system to the concentrator located on the opposite side of the continental divide.

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 General Description

The new 7210 level is as deep as 1550 m below the peak
of the overlying mountain, with the crusher reclaim located
at a depth of 1643 m. This makes Henderson one of the
deepest caving operations in the world. (Figure 1).
The largest improvement in development costs comes
from mining a portion of the orebody in a 240 m to 340 m
high cave. Another major change to the way the cave is
mined is an increase in the drift spacing from 24.4 m to 30.5
m. This will reduce the number of bells which will need to
be mined to exploit this orebody. Other improvements
included in the new lower level include an increase in the
size of the bucket on the existing and new LHDs from 6.7
m3 to 7.4 m3 and improved support in the drawpoints.
Finally, roads have been improved on the 7065 haulage
level by changing construction methods to allow for less
expensive new installation and easier repairs. The Figure 1: Henderson Mine Cross Section
dewatering drifts ease the maintenance of the roads by
positively draining away the water as well. These
improvements have and will increase productivity and will is relatively continuous in the orebody and consists of
also make the operation much safer. These improvements molybdenite and quartz in random, intersecting, closely
combined with a behavioral based safety program and a spaced veinlets. (Rech et al, 2000)
commitment to "Zero" (to not get hurt at work or at home), The ore of the Henderson deposit has exhibited the
have driven the incident rate four times lower than it was 15 strength characteristics of a competent granite or rhyolite,
years ago, and three times lower than five years ago. with uniaxial compressive strengths typically ranging
Although larger, the modern equipment greatly reduces the between 100 Mpa and 275 Mpa.
risk to the operator due to enhanced designs, better Past experience on the 8100 and 7700 production levels
guarding, and more ergonomic cabs with sound has been that the rock caves fairly readily, more so than
suppression and dust filtration. might be expected of a rock of this compressive strength.
This is believed to be due to the lubricating influence of
molybdenite coatings and fillings on geologic structures.
2 GEOTECHNICAL ISSUES The low friction angle of molybdenite leads to easy shear
ON THE LOWER LEVEL CAVE and tensile failure along mineralized structures. Ore grade
has historically been a good indicator of both rock
The Henderson molybdenum deposit is comrised of two competency, and cavability at Henderson (Rech et al,
partially overlapping orebodies that lie 1080 m to 1600 m 2000).
beneath the summit of Red Mountain. The orebodies are Low grade areas, particularly in the high-silica zones on
entirely within a Tertiary rhyolite porphyry intrusive complex the 8100 production level, correlated closely with areas
ranging in age from 24 to 30 million years that has intruded where weight problems were experienced (Rech et al,
Precambrian granite. The deposit is elliptical in plan, with 1992).
overall dimensions of 670 m x 910 m. In section, it is These relationships are expected to continue to hold true
arcuate with an overall height of 550 m. The mineralization for the 7210 production level. Models showing ore

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 397

classification by molybdenum grade will be created to help
predict geomechanical conditions. It is also expected that
models of other geomechanical parameters such as RQD
and a rock mass classification such as RMR or Q will be
developed. Historically, Hendersons RQD has ranged from
0 to 100, averaging 49, and RMR has been found to range
from 27 to approximately 60 (Rech et al, 2000).
Orderly progression of the growth of the new cave on the
7210 production level is vital to ensure safe working
conditions and achievement of production goals. A plan to
monitor growth of the cave using Time Domain
Reflectometry (TDR) cables has been developed.
The current plan assumes installation of TDR cables in 13
vertical holes approximately 120 m long. Those holes will
be drilled from exhausted areas of the overlying 7700
production level. The layout of these holes on
approximately 50 m centers and their near-vertical
orientation should provide good data of the geometry of the
new lower level cave as it grows up towards the existing
cave.
A similar system of vertical and sub-vertical TDR cables
was successfully used at Henderson to monitor the growth
of the 7755 level cave towards the 8100 production level Figure 2 7210 Level General Layout
(Rech and Watson, 1994).
It will also be important to monitor the eastward growth of
the 7210 cave as it crosses over the critical boundary from also reduces the amount of drifting required on the 7065
low-lift to high-lift conditions. truck haulage level.
For this purpose, two additional fans of inclined holes are The 7210 production level is located 18.3 m below the
planned to be drilled from the former 7500 rail haulage level. undercut level. Production drift spacing is 30.5 m with
TDR cables installed in inclined holes on the northeast drawpoints spaced at 17.1 m intervals. The entry angle into
corner of the 7755 undercut level are currently showing the the drawpoints is 56 degrees. (Figure 3).
eastward progression of the cave in response to the
shooting of the undercut. 3.1 Bell Development
Where safely possible, cave growth will also be monitored The increase in the production drift spacing from 24.4 m
by routine drift inspections on the existing upper levels to 30.5 m necessitated a redesign of the V-cut and bell. The
which are located in the path of the cave growth from the location of the brow relative to the production drift was not
7270 undercut level. changed when the drift spacing was increased. This
resulted in a doubling in the length of the V-cut from 7.4 m
3 LAYOUT & DEVELOPMENT to 14.8 m. The V-cut has 3 drill set-up locations from each
end of the drawpoint crosscut rather than the single set-up
The 8100 and 7700 production levels were oriented with in the past (Figure 4). The new drawpoint spacing and brow
production drifts at a bearing of due north. The 7210 lcation results in a much more uniform area of influence for
production level is rotated to an azimuth of 64 degrees. the drawpoints than with the previous layout.
(Figure 2). This orientation better follows the orientation of The bell development drilling was also redesigned with
the orebody and reduces the amount of boundary drifting. It the increase in the production drift spacing. The previous

Figure 3 7210 Drawpoint Layout

398 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

method of bell development required holes to cross each
other from the two adjacent undercut drifts. This required
the offsetting of bell development rings from drift to drift.
Although the offset would theoretically eliminate the
intersection of bell development holes from the adjacent
drifts, it was still a common occurrence. The alternating
offsetting of the rings from drift to drift also resulted in bell
shapes that were inconsistent from drift to drift.
The new bell and undercut ring spacing is 2.13 m with 8
rings per bell. This new bell development ring design has
eliminated the issue of intersecting holes and has made the
bell shape consistent from drift to drift. In addition, the slope
from the major apex of the bell down to the brow is now
defined with holes from the near drift resulting in a
consistent and well defined surface. The previous design
defined this slope with the ends of holes from the opposite
drift which resulted in a ragged and inconsistent slope,
especially when the ends of these holes were lost and
couldnt be loaded (Figure 4).
Figure 4 7210 Ring and V-cut Layout
3.2 Production Drift and Drawpoint Support
As part of lean mining at Henderson, an evaluation of the
support for the production drifts and draw points was Spacing of the ore bins varies from 102 m to 137 m
conducted. The poured concrete linings required significant depending on factors such as the overall length of the
manpower to install and maintain and in most cases were production drift and the ore column height and tonnage in
over-designed for the draw life of the area. The current the particular area. Ore storage bins are oriented with the
design is an installation of 100 mm by 100 mm by 12 gauge long axis parallel to the 7210 level production drifts, and half
wire mesh with 1.5 m split bolts covered with 100 mm of way between the two production drifts that each bin serves.
shotcrete as soon as the excavation of the draw point is (Figure 6). The bins are developed off drifts driven
completed. This flexible support is more forgiving under perpendicular to the production drifts on the 7150 ventilation
abutment loads than the poured concrete linings. This level. Accessing the bins from this level allows the
process requires minimal re-shotcreting to maintain safe exhausting of some ventilation air down the orepasses,
production drifts for the draw life of the area. The steel brow reducing the pistoning effect and resulting dusting on the
section is the only the portion that is in poured concrete. production level. The two 60 degree, bored 2.1 m diameter
(Figure 5). production orepasses feed the bin from opposite sides and
opposite ends of the storage bin.
3.3 Bins and Orepasses The bins are developed by mining a 5.5 m wide by 25 m
The ore bins for the new production level will be long bin cutout on the 7150 ventilation level. A 2.1 m
configured similarly to the bins used to feed ore from the diameter by 18.5 m long raise is bored at a declination of
7700 production level to the 7500 rail haulage level. The 65 degrees from the 7150 level down to the truck loading
major difference is that the new bins will be developed chute cutout on the production level. The bin is then mined
directly over the truck haulage level for the center loading by drilling from the 7150 level and slashing to the bored
chutes rather than the offset configuration used with the raise. The resulting bin capacity is approximately 675
side-loading chutes for with the trains. tonnes.

Figure 5 7210 Drawpoint Support

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 399


Figure 6 7210 Ore Bin Layout
The rock above the front of the truck loading chute is
reinforced by installing cable bolts from the 7150 level.
These bolts are installed after the orepass is bored from
7150 to the 7065 chute but before the bin is slashed.
Additional ground support such as grouting and additional
bolting will be added as geologic conditions warrant.
3.4 Ventilation
The ventilation system at Henderson is an exhaust
system that uses a single 930 kW fan on the surface of the
7 m diameter No. 1 exhaust shaft and six 225 kW
underground fans that feed the 9.8 m diameter No. 5
exhaust shaft. Intake air is fed to the mine through the 8.5
m diameter No. 2 shaft, the 7 m diameter No. 3 shaft and
the 16 km conveyor tunnel. The No. 2 shaft also serves as
primary access into the mine.
The new production level will not require deepening of the
ventilation shafts nor new ventilation drifts to be driven to
these shafts. Ventilation raises were bored from the
perimeter of the previous intake and exhaust ventilation
levels down to the new ventilation levels. The main access
ramp to the new production level also serves as a primary
source of intake air.
Production area ventilation consists of intake air that is fed
up 2.1 m diameter raises that are northeast of the initial
production area. A temporary boundary drift was driven at the
southwest end of the initial cave area. Ventilation doors will be
installed in all production drifts along this southwest boundary.
A 2.1 m diameter exhaust raise will be bored from each of
these drifts to the 7150 exhaust level. All intake and exhaust
raises will have pneumatically controlled doors so that
ventilation can be shut off from inactive production drifts.
The 7025 drainage level doubles as a secondary exhaust
ventilation level. Each of the truck loading chutes has a 1.2
m diameter exhaust raise at the back of the chute that draws
air down to the drainage level. This design ensures that the
dust generated during truck loading operations is pulled
away from the truck operator.
400 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
3.5 Shops
Currently, the haul truck fleet, consisting of four 72 tonne
haulage trucks, is maintained in the 7065 haulage level
shop. This shop consists of a primary crane bay with four
adjoining secondary work bays. An 18 tonne overhead
bridge crane having 32 meters of travel and a maximum
working height of 6 meters serves the crane bay. In addition
to the haul trucks, mine support and development
equipment is also maintained in the 7065 shop.
A shop will be built on the 7210 production level to
support the seven production LHDs. This shop will consist
of a crane bay with two adjoining secondary work bays. An
18 tonne bridge crane having 10 meters of travel and a
maximum working height of 4 meters is currently planned.
Like the 7065 shop, the 7210 shop will also be used to
maintain mine support and development equipment.
The fuel system for the 7210 and 7065 levels will consist
of a 26,000 liter tank and an automated fuel transfer system
fed from the existing 8035 fuel storage system that is fed via
a fuel line from the surface. The 8035 storage has a total
capacity of 80,000 liters. Oil and lube is provided to both the
7210 and 7065 levels using totes, refilled from surface
storage facilities.
4 HIGH LIFT CAVING
The word "lift" refers to the height of the ore column
extracted by a production level of draw points in any caving
operation. Traditionally, at Henderson, production levels
were developed to extract a nominal 122 m lift. This means
that every 122 m vertically in the ore body, a new production
level with drawpoints and the associated levels to support
the production level must be mined. Therefore, it stands to
reason, that if the lifts can be made higher, the amount of
development mining will be decreased.
As production progressed on the 7700 level, engineers
and operators began to study and design the next lower
production level. The optimum elevation for the new level
was determined to be 7210. This would result in a slightly
higher lift of 150 m to mine the ore beneath 7700 level. At
this time, only the western portion of the 7700 level had
been mined and the idea emerged that the eastern portion
of the ore above the 7700 level could be mined from the
7210 level. This would result in a nominal 240 m to 340 m
lift for the eastern portion of 7210 while a 150 m lift would
remain for the western portion of 7210 beneath 7700 level.
If the 270 m lift could be done, it would cut the
development mining costs per ton of ore in half. Loss of ore,
however, could quickly negate these savings if there were to
be major problems. To address these concerns, Henderson
personnel benchmarked several other caving mines around
the world that utilized high lift caves. Codelcos El Teniente
and Andina mines in Chile and the DOZ mine at Freeport,
Indonesia were visited and found to be using high lifts
successfully. The Philex Mine in the Philippines, although
not visited, had been using high lifts for years. The
information gathered from this benchmarking, along with the
experience at Henderson of observing very vertical caving
from cave monitoring systems and observation of the cave
propagation to the surface, led to the decision to design and
develop a high lift cave for the eastern portion of the 7210
level.
In addition to cutting development costs per ton in half, a
high lift cave has other advantages. Hendersons
experience has been that dilution from surrounding waste
rock in a cave is less when there is not an existing cave
above. Dilution occurs when fine rock from an older cave
above sifts down through the coarser ore from the new
cave. This phenomenon is avoided with the high lift. There
will also be no steel from the drawpoints of an exhausted
production level above reporting to the lower level with a
Massmin 2004
high lift. Secondary blasting will be minimized as the
percentage of very coarse ore from the bottom of ore
columns will be low.
There will also be several challenges with a high lift. While
fine ore will minimize secondary blasting, it can also create
dust problems and problems with grinding at sag mills at the
concentrator. Fine ore will be present for the upper two
thirds of a high lift column as compared to the upper one
third of a 122 m column. Since twice the tonnage is undercut
with each cave shot, the undercutting process will be much
slower. As a result the abutment loading in front of the cave
will sit in one spot for a longer time, potentially resulting in
more damage to the pillars. This will create the need for
additional ground support on the undercut level as well as
additional support for the drawpoints. Each drawpoint will be
used to extract twice the tonnage creating a need for a
longer lasting brow.
At Henderson the benefits outweigh the challenges for a
high lift cave. These challenges will be addressed with the
design of the production and undercut levels.
5 PRODUCTIVITY AND LEAN MINING
5.1 Productivity for LHDs
The Henderson mine LHD production rate is expected to
increase from 270 tonnes per hour per LHD to 300 tonnes
per hour per LHD on the 7210 production level even though
the average tram distance will increase from 50 meters to 60
meters. This improvement is a direct result of recently
increasing the size of LHD buckets from 6.7 m3 to 7.4 m3.
5.2 Lean Mining
Historically a large portion of mining cost at the
Henderson Mine has been associated with substantial
development mining leads to ensure cave capacity that
would support any production demand. Recent market
conditions have forced Henderson to reevaluate this
process and develop a lean mining approach to long
development leads. Development drifting, undercut
drifting, undercut drilling, bell development, draw points and
undercutting blasting are now in the same year they are
scheduled for production. Mining activities that are
significantly above our current capabilities are addressed by
using a contract mining company.
5.3 Contracted mine development
In lieu of adding staff and mining equipment to complete
the development of the 7210 level with company forces,
Henderson chose to hire a mining contractor to complete a
portion of this work (6.5 km). The advantages, with over 50
per cent of the work completed, include less disruption to
normal mine production as the existing employees and
supervisors can focus on their normal activities. Henderson
supplies four contractor support personnel, a project
manager, and consumables like rock bolts and wire, and
shotcrete as required.
6 7065 HAULAGE LEVEL
In 1999, Henderson replaced its 23-year-old rail haulage
system with a 24 km conveyor system fed from an
underground crusher. To feed this crusher, Henderson
purchased four side dumping 72 tonne haul trucks. These
are backed up by two 36 tonne, rear dumping haul trucks
used to initially develop the level and access ramps. Truck
loading is accomplished by remote controlled
pneumatic/mechanical center loading chutes. Truck traffic is
controlled by a timed light system, similar to a city traffic
control system.
Production is currently achieved through the use of two
or three of the 72 tonne trucks. The trucks are rigid frame
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
and utilize a 5-axle system. The third and fourth axles
are the drive axles while all but the center axle provide
steering.
Average cycle time is seven minutes, with an average
productivity of 560 tonnes per operating hour. Although the
trucks are rated at 72 tonnes, they are typically loaded to
only 68 tonnes due to bed liners. The truck beds are lined
with seven tonnes of 500 Brinell hardness liner plate to
minimize wear on bed surfaces.
Choice of the rigid-framed, side-dump trucks came from
extensive benchmarking trips to other underground and
surface mines. The rigid frame design has a longer life
than the articulated trucks typically found in underground
mines. And, when the 72 tonne trucks were ordered, the
largest underground articulated truck available had a
capacity of only 60 tonnes. Although tractor/trailer
combinations were available with larger capacities,
benchmarking indicated that rigid frame trucks were
capable of faster dump cycle times since no stabilizing
jacks are required for dumping. In addition, rigid frame
trucks traditionally require less maintenance (Tyler,
Keskimaki and Stewart, 2000).
Issues with the trucks have been the under-designed
axles which have been replaced with heavy duty axles and
steering linkages which have also been upgraded. Potential
improvements for the future include replacing the heavy
liner plate with lighter plate, and modifications to the loading
process to more evenly distribute the weight and increase
capacity.
Currently, 7 center-loading chutes are used to load
the haul trucks. A truck backs under a chute, and then
loads as the truck pulls forward. The chute is operated
via an infrared controlled remote, with video monitoring
in the cab and the chute and video is also available at a
central dispatch control room. Chutes are designed for
between two million and six million tones of ore and
have liner plates ranging from 37 mm to 75 mm in
thicknesses. Chute supporting steel is embedded in
concrete and a concrete floor is poured in the chute and
entrance.
The haulage trucks are currently operated via two-way
traffic with an average tram distance of 1000 m (Figure 7).
The trucks are operated in 6.1 m wide by 5.5 m high drifts,
which are wide enough for a single truck. The traffic control
system is a municipal off-the-shelf system programmed for
our truck route. This system is flexible and allows for
changing traffic patterns. Installation and maintenance of
the system is performed by the instrumentation staff at the
mine (Tyler et al 2000).
The haulage system is currently running at 20,000 tonnes
per day utilizing two trucks. Development is nearly
complete to allow the haulage system to operate as one-
way traffic for increased productivity.
6.1 Haulage road construction
Haul roads on the 7065 haulage level are vastly improved
from when the haulage level started in late 1999.
Improvements in drainage, road construction and
maintenance have been instituted and truck productivity has
increased.
While ramping down to the haulage level, large water
inflows were encountered. Original estimates were 150 l/m
to 200 l/m based on core holes drilled through the proposed
crusher centerline. Actual flows in the declines to the
haulage level peaked at 1,500 l/m to 2,000 l/m of 50 degree
C water when the 7065 level was reached (Callahan et al
2000). The discrepancy was due to the nature of the
geology of the haulage level. The crusher itself is designed
to be in the barren, but stronger Ute granite. Most of the
haul route is located outside the core in surrounding stocks
(Carten et al 1988). Water courses abound in the contacts
401
 Figure 7 7065 Haulage Level Layout
between the stocks and are intersected throughout the
haulage route.
As haulage was first initiated on the level, a series of
pumps and drainage pipes were installed. Although this
system was adequate for the first year, as the route
expanded, road inundation and damage occurred with
resulting loss in production.
A secondary system of sump pumps and concrete ditches
was installed and a dedicated drainage maintenance worker
was assigned to keep the water from damaging road
integrity.
Finally in the fall of 2002, production had to be halted for
one week in order to install concreted roadway in 245 m of
the north end of the haulage route due to inability to
maintain the roadway.
It was decided to mine small (2.1 m wide by 2.7 m high)
drainage drifts five meters below the roadway and drill drain
holes down to these drifts to handle the water inflow. This
was highly successful, and eventually was expanded to all
of the wet areas of the haul route. All future haul route drifts
are designed with this accompanying drain drift in order to
facilitate water removal.
When the haul roads were originally designed, several
methods of construction were analyzed. These included
concrete roads with imbedded drainage, muck haul roads
with a poured concrete lean mat and several engineered
gravel roads using geotextiles and sub-drains.
The first haulage roads were built from mine muck from the
drift development process. Development and haulage were
scheduled concurrently; therefore these first primitive
development roads became main haul roads. A maintenance
402 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
program using motor graders and a vibratory compactor was
instituted to keep these roads passable for the 72 tonne trucks.
Studies and benchmarking were undertaken to develop a
longer lasting, easier to maintain road. Concrete roads were
eliminated due to installation cost and previous experience
that had shown a rough ride and a short life (less than 6
months). Three types of an engineered road system were
chosen and tried. The first roadway system (Type 1) was a
sub-base of ballast, a layer of geotextile, and a top layer of
mixed mine muck and raisebore cuttings.
The second roadway system (Type 2) investigated was a
sub-base of ballast, a honey-combed grid system 15 mm
thick filled with ballast, a layer of geotextile and a ballast and
mine muck mix top layer.
The third system (Type 3) examined was a ballast layer, a
layer of geotextile, a ballast layer, a 15 mm thick geogrid
layer filled with ballast and a top layer of a class 5 road
base. The purpose of the ballast in all cases was to allow
sub-drainage below the road.
All three systems appeared to work at first, but in wet
areas all failed within three to six months. In fact, the Type
1 system installed in the north end of the haul route (TNHW)
failed completely and had to be replaced.
After drainage drifting was installed, testing was begun for
new types of road building materials and methods. A road
improvement team developed a cement-modified soil road
using run-of-mine muck with a lean concrete fill underneath
where needed, and raisebore cuttings as a top-layer. This
was not only less expensive than any other options (other
than muck only) it was workable for a good riding surface
and lasted much longer.
Massmin 2004
 Table 1 - Summary Haul Roads - Cost Per
Running Meter (average 425 mm depth, 6.4 m width)
Ballast, geotextile, mine muck /
raisebore cuttings $48
Ballast, geocell, ballast, geotextile,
ballast / mine muck $53
Ballast, geotextile, ballast, geogrid,
class 5 road base $49
Mine Muck with lean concrete fill $29
Mine Muck without lean concrete fill $11
Cement Modified Soil with lean concrete fill $41
Cement Modified Soil without lean concrete fill $24
High strength concrete road $52
Road maintenance is performed with two motor graders
and a vibratory compactor. Water dripping from the back
onto the road is controlled with small sections of brattice
cloth nailed to the shotcrete, or for large sections, a "tent" of
brattice cloth suspended from the center of the drift and
draped out to the ribs.
7 MINE DEWATERING
Mine dewatering is done via a series of pumping and
settling stages. Water is collected at the 6920 level via
drainholes and sump pumps. The collected water is
pumped up 35 meters via 56 kW vertical turbine pumps to a
slurry tank. Water is pumped from there up 80 meters via
two in-line 75 kW horizontal pumps to a solids settling area.
The cleared water is transferred to a holding area where
it is pumped up 200 meters with 300 kw vertical turbine
pumps. Finally, water is pumped completely out of the mine
730 meters vertically with 1,300 kW six-stage horizontal
pumps. All mine water is processed through a surface water
treatment plant. The average amount pumped from the
entire mine is 70 l/s.
8 COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE
7210 PRODUCTION LEVEL.
The communications for 7210 will consist of three major
categories: Voice communications, the business Local Area
Network (LAN) and the Process Control Network.
Voice communications will take place in two forms, the
telephone system and the leaky feeder radio system. The
telephone system will be a standard copper wire phone
system. This system will be present in the offices, shops and
certain other key spots on the level. Touch tone telephones
will also be used to clear the blasting area in conjunction
with the mines Automated Brass System.
The second mode of voice communications for the level
will be the leaky feeder radio system. This system will be the
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
same as the one used on other levels of the mine and
involves the stringing of leaky feeder antenna throughout
the working areas. As a result, this will provide radio
communications to everyone working on the level.
The business LAN will be used for data and ordinary
business needs. Fiber optic cable will extend the Henderson
LAN to the new 7210 level. This LAN will be extended to the
offices, lunchrooms and the shops. This network will be
used for e-mail, entering time for payroll, internet access,
the warehousing and accounting systems, etc.
The process control system is a PLC based control
system. This system communicates using a combination of
fiber optic and copper cabling to monitor and control various
equipment needed to operate the levels pumping and
ventilation systems. Fans, pumps, air doors, CO monitors
and other equipment can be monitored and controlled from
central computer stations with this system. A radar system
will also be used in conjunction with the process control
system to monitor the level of ore in the ore passes. This
information will be available to the truck haulage
dispatchers computer for dispatching decisions.
REFERENCES
Callahan, M F, Keskimaki, K W, and Rech, W D, 2000. A
Case History of Crusher Level Development at
Henderson, Proceedings MassMin 2000, Brisbane, pp.
307- 323.
Carten, R B; Geraghty E P; Walker, B M and Shannon, J
R; 1988. "Cyclic Development of Igneous Features and
their Relationship to High-Temperature Hydrothermal
Features in the Henderson Porphyry Molybdenum
Deposit, Colorado"; Economic Geology, Vol 83, pp 266-
296.
Lorig, L, and Brandshaug, T, 1996. Rock Mechanics
Analyses of the 7175-Level Mining at the Henderson
Mine, Minneapolis, MN: Itasca Consulting Group.
Nelson, B V and Fronapfel, L C, 2002. "Recent Ventilation
Improvements at the Henderson Mine"; SME annual
meeting, Phoenix.
Rech, W D, Jensen, E B, Hauk, G, and Stewart, D R,
1992. The Application of Geostatistical Software to the
Management of Panel Caving Operations, in Proceedings
MassMin 92, pp 275-281.
Rech, W D, and Watson, D K, 1994. Cave Initiation and
Growth Monitoring at the Henderson Mine, SME Annual
Meeting, Albuquerque, NM.
Rech, W D, Keskimaki, K W, and Stewart, D R, 2000. An
Update on Cave Development and Draw Control at the
Henderson Mine, in Proceedings MassMin 2000,
Brisbane, pp. 495-505.
Tyler, W D; Keskimaki, K W and Stewart, D S; 2000. "The
New Henderson Mine Truck Haulage System The Last
Step to a Totally Trackless Mine", MassMin 2000,
Brisbane, pp317-323, SAIMM.
403
 The DOZ Mine A Case History
of a mine startup
Timothy Casten, Senior Manager of Underground Planning, Brian Clark, Manager Maintenance,
Banu Ganesia, Manager Production, John Barber, Leon Thomas, Vice President,
Underground Mines Division, P.T. Freeport Indonesia

Abstract
The Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) Mine is the latest underground block caving mine to be developed at the P.T. Freeport
Indonesia mine site in West Papua, Indonesia. The original feasibility design was for a 25,000 tpd production rate. This
was achieved 17 months ahead of schedule and under budget. During this period the mine reserve base was increased
and the mine underwent an expansion to 35,000tpd with a 50,000tpd option currently being considered. The mine has
been a very successful project for P.T. Freeport Indonesia and this paper attempts to capture some the valuable lessons
learned during the start-up phase and on through the ramp-up to full production. High capacity block caving mines are
being planned to supply P.T. Freeports future production ore, these lessons learned are the keys to successful
implementation of new projects.
The mine initiated undercutting in November 2000 and has ramped up to a sustainable rate of over 40,000tpd. The mine
is an advanced undercut, mechanized block cave, utilizing a truck haulage level and a gyratory crusher. This paper will
describe some of the issues encountered during mine development, pre-production and the production ramp-up periods
and how they were dealt with. The paper will discuss the key lessons learned in bringing the mine up to full production
and describes the methodology employed to reduce activity scheduling interference, improve work quality, how
bottlenecks in production were overcome and some of the critical challenges dealt with along the way.

1 INTRODUCTION The DOZ Mine commenced pre-production development

in 1997 and initiated caving in November 2000. The
The DOZ Mine is part of the P.T. Freeport Indonesia feasibility study called for a production ramp up to 25,000
(PTFI) mining complex. It is the third vertical lift in the East tpd by January 2004, a little more than a three year
Ertsberg Skarn System (EESS) deposit. The mining production ramp up period before achieving steady state.
complex began block caving operations in 1980 with the During the development and pre-production periods
Gunung Bijih Timur East Ertsberg (GBT) block caving exploration drilling continued and the orebody was
mine. This mine achieved a maximum production rate of expanded.
28,000 tpd and was depleted in 1994. The mine started with
a gravity slushing system on the extraction level but quickly
converted to a more efficient LHD system. The mine used
a trench slot post undercutting method.
The Intermediate Ore Zone (IOZ) block caving mine
began production in 1994 and ramped up to a maximum
production rate of 32,000 tpd. This was designed as a LHD
extraction system with rockbreakers and grizzlies located at
the north and south fringes of the extraction level. The sized
ore was loaded onto coarse ore conveyors using vibrating
feeders and conveyed to one of two Jaw crushers. The
mine began with an El Teniente style layout on the
Extraction level but had to convert to a herringbone layout
due to wet muck problems. A conventional post
undercutting system was used. The IOZ mine was depleted
in 2003.
The DOZ mine was designed as a fully mechanized block
caving mine using LHDs and a Truck Haulage level. The
ore handling system was designed to handle the largest
particle that the 54" x 77" crusher would accept. This was Figure 1: DOZ and ESZ orebody reserve growth
accomplished by the use of a 1 meter grizzly on the
extraction level, 4.1m diameter orepasses from the Operational ore demands from the rest of the PTFI mining
Extraction to the Truck Haulage level, chain gate style area challenged the production ramp-up plan and required
chutes and 55 tonne capacity trucks direct dumping into the that the DOZ Mine achieve 25,000tpd by September of
crusher. 2002, nearly a year and half ahead of the original schedule.

404 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

The additional ore reserves and production demands also
made an expansion to 35,000tpd economically viable and
this expansion occurred between October 2002 and March
2003. The DOZ mine produced at an average of 40,500tpd
in 2003 to meet additional ore demands for the operation.
As of writing this paper the DOZ has produced at a peak of
58,800 tpd with an average YTD production rate of 45,000
tpd.

Table 1: DOZ/ESZ Reserves as of 2003

Mine Tonnes Cu Au Ag
(Millions) (%) (g/t) (g/t)

DOZ 184 0.96 0.65 5.11

ESZ 121 0.54 0.90 1.64

In 2000 an adjacent orebody named the Ertsberg

Stockwork Zone (ESZ) was added to the reserve base.
The ESZ is located on the south west side of the DOZ
orebody. The two orebodies are geologically distinct but
physically contiguous. Figure 1 shows the DOZ and
ESZ reserve growth since 1995. Table 1 shows the
current ore reserves for the DOZ and ESZ mines. A
study is currently underway to include the ESZ into the
DOZ mining sequence and increase the average
production output to 50,000tpd.
This paper examines some of the key lessons learned in
the DOZ mine startup period and focuses on some of the
critical bottlenecks encountered and the methodology
applied to successfully overcome them. The intent of this
paper is to focus on the key issues in some detail while
giving mention to the other project drivers.
2 GEOLOGY AND GEOTECHNICAL
The geology of the EESS and the DOZ Mine has been
described in detail by others (Coutts, 1998). The key issue
to note in the DOZ is the extreme variability of rock types
encountered in the ore zone across the strike of the orebody
from the footwall to the hangingwall. Starting at the north
(hangingwall) and proceeding to the south, ground
conditions change from very poor to very good. Rock
strengths (UCS) vary from a high of 219 MPa in some
Figure 2: DOZ Simplified Rock Quality Undercut level
massive magnetite to less than 10 MPa in the DOZ breccia.
RMR varies from a low of 25 in the poorest ground to a high
of 65 in the most competent ground.
In order to plan and design for this variability in rock
quality a series of simplified plans were produced. These
plans formed the basis for the design and scheduling of
activities for the development, pre-production ground
support and caving teams. Figure 2 shows a typical plan
view of the east side of the DOZ. The mine has been
divided into three rock quality categories; good, medium and
bad. This simplification allowed planners and supervision to
look ahead and prepare for a change in ground support,
caving rates etc.
3 KEY ISSUES AND LESSONS LEARNED
The IOZ mine was in active production during the
feasibility, design and development phase of the DOZ mine.
Several lessons learned from the IOZ mine were applied to
the DOZ mine design. In addition, new technologies to the
operation were applied in the DOZ such as advanced

Figure 3: Section Looking South Undercut Transition

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 405

undercutting and improved QA/QC systems. This section
discusses some of the key changes applied to the DOZ
during the ramp-up process.
3.1. Caving Methodology
The DOZ mine initially employed a conventional post
undercutting system during cave initiation. The post
undercutting method had been used in the IOZ Mine and
was familiar to management and crews alike. The post
undercutting system had caused stress damage problems
in the IOZ resulting in the premature closure of some
drawpoints and additional repair activities.
In addition to the post undercutting method the DOZ also
initially incorporated a 10m vertical stagger to accommodate
an existing exploration drift. This was driven at grade along
the strike of the orebody to help prove up the reserve by
adding drilling stations. The grade of the drift was such that
it intersected the planned extraction and the undercut levels
as it progressed from West to East. Figure 3 shows this
development in section, looking south. The cave was
initiated between Panels 13 (P13) and 14 and advanced to
the east.
Early on in the undercutting sequence at DOZ,
management decided to change to the Advanced Undercut
method. This change resulted in a significant reduction of
stress related damage to the DOZ Extraction levels and has
been a major factor in the reduction of panel and drawpoint
repair requirements.
The layout of the Extraction and Undercut levels to
incorporate the existing exploration drift and change in
undercutting methodology required significant design and
construction work. The extraction and undercut level
elevations were set to match the gradient of the exploration
drift where possible. This resulted in a series of split level
drawbells between P15 and P16. Significant engineering
and caving resources were required to open these
drawbells. The success rate of the staggered drawbell
blasting was fairly poor with numerous remnant crown
pillars that required remedial drilling and often incurred
significant delays (Sinuhaji).
Changing extraction elevations and undercutting methods
could have resulted in a significant delay to the mine production
ramp-up as the cave moved east. Although the caving rate
was slower than planned during this period the DOZ caving
team were able to manage the transition safely and
successfully. Since November 2000, over 85,000 square
meters of undercutting have been accomplished with no
accidents. The issues encountered in this transition and the
methods applied to overcome them helped formulate the
scheduling rules of thumb discussed in section 4 below.
3.2. Quality Control
The quality control on ground support installation and
concrete placement was not under an independent QA/QC
group in the IOZ. The post undercutting system applied
considerable abutment stress to the opened panels. This
ground weight and poor quality resulted in some drawpoints
and panels failing prematurely and required them to be
repaired earlier than anticipated. The DOZ mine has a
dedicated team of QA/QC engineers and technicians who
monitor the development and pre-production ground
support process on a daily basis.
Having the Field Engineering group in place at the start of
the pre-production process was critical in reducing short
term re-work issues required due to poor materials or
practices and has improved the long term quality of ground
support and development significantly. Having field
engineers working directly with operations on a daily basis
has greatly assisted in the successful completion of several
critical projects such as the main crusher installation, chute
modifications and undercut and drawbell blasting issues.
406 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 4: IOZ/DOZ mine lintel set comparison
3.3. Pre-Production Ground Support
A review of the key problem areas was undertaken in the
IOZ, and the drawpoint design and construction was
identified as an area that could be improved. The lintel sets
were redesigned by the onsite central engineering group
and were fabricated in the operations Light Industrial Park
(LIP) rather than being built as required by the underground
shops. Figure 4 shows a comparison of the IOZ and DOZ
mine standard lintel set designs.
Closing an active drawpoint for repair requires the panel
section to be closed for a significant period of time,
potentially impacting access up to 8-10 other drawpoints.
This can often result in additional damage to the panel as
the drawpoints are not being pulled and the area begins to
take weight from the cave. The other active drawpoints are
typically pulled harder to maintain tonnage calls resulting in
further uneven draw.
The new lintel sets are fabricated with shear studs to tie
them to the formed concrete and with pockets that allowed
for bolts to pin the sets to the ribs. The bolts have been very
effective in preventing the posts from buckling and kicking
out under load. The bolts and shear studs have also
protected the lintels from secondary blasting damage and
impacts from the loaders.
In practice the new lintel sets have performed extremely
well. To date three drawpoint lintel sets have required repair
out of 270 opened drawpoints.
4 PRODUCTION RAMP UP ACTIVITY SCHEDULING
The Extraction Level posed the greatest problem in short
term scheduling for the numerous activities planned in the
area. Once production was initiated in a panel, production
LHDs and secondary breakage units as well as drawbelling
drills, pre-production ground support crews, construction
crews and development crews would require access
through the same area. As each panel only has two access
points, every intervention by a separate crew caused a
safety risk and disruption to the other working crews. With
the application of an advanced undercut system the
required activities by different crews on the Undercut Level
increased and posed a similar scheduling problem.
The scheduling of activities became a trade off between a
Just-In-Time method and an Early Completion method. In
Massmin 2004
the JIT method tasks were deferred as late as possible and
a series of crew interventions were required to be managed
in the panel and undercut areas. This deferred capital
expenditure but increased the risk of slipping the schedule.
In addition, the advanced undercutting method requires that
development and construction of drawpoints and drawbells
be delayed as long as possible to improve the stress
distribution of the abutment. This is the typical methodology
applied to most projects but also tends to have the least
flexibility during the start-up period.
The Early Completion method reduces crew interactions
by bringing forward activities and separating work areas,
effectively decoupling sets of activities. This tends to
accelerate activities but reduces risk.
The JIT method was found to be not flexible enough to
deal with delays or issues such as unexpected ground
conditions, material delivery delays or re-work issues. At
mine start-up there are typically very few working areas
available on the Extraction and Undercut Levels. Any
delays or loss of access tend to have a domino effect on the
crew activities and overall schedule. A small cave front with
limited alternative working areas places every undercut ring
and drawbell on the critical path.
The savings generated by deferring activities were
soon consumed by the lower availability of working
places, resultant crew inefficiencies and overall
schedule slippages. The ability to move crews to
alternative working places as required greatly improved
overall productivity and allowed the mine to accelerate
production. Although this may have accelerated some
capital this was more than offset by the accelerated
production that resulted.
By accelerating development and pre-production
activities, the opportunity for faster drawbell opening
and undercutting was realized. The ability to keep all of
the crews working in an available heading, with minimal
interruptions, ultimately drove the accelerated
production ramp up. It was recognized that the price of
delay far outweighed the cost of an Early Completion
methodology.
Although the exploration drift discussed previously
presented a significant design and construction hurdle it did
effectively split the undercut level of the mine into two
sections. This presented an opportunity to defer some
undercut development by utilizing this existing access. The
splitting of the undercut into manageable sections allowed
the crews to focus on the critical path areas while also
providing a multiple work place environment. Although not
originally planned for the West side of the mine the success
of the East side split has driven the change in design for the
Figure 5: Undercut level showing existing and planned mid
access drifts and deferred activities.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
West. Figure 5 shows the planned undercut level designs
with mid access drift.
This methodology was carried down to the Extraction
level with the production panels being split into two sections
typically at the centrally located orepass. The split is
accomplished by driving the drawbell drift through to the
adjacent panel and creating a mid-fringe drift for access,
ventilation and to multiple activities in a single panel. The
development of the drawbell drift ahead of the undercut is
an out of sequence event for the advanced undercutting
process, but the benefits of this mid-access more than
covers the cost of additional ground support required to
compensate for the open drift.
A set of guidelines were produced to assist in the mine
scheduling process:
Extraction Level
Panels are split into two sections, North and South,
typically at the centrally located grizzly tip.
A mid drawbell drift is chosen and driven between panels.
This effectively allows each panel section to have two
access points and allows for two concurrent activities per
panel with minimal interference between crews.
Separate panel sections to contain development, pre-
production ground support and construction, caving and
production activities.
The panel section schedules are driven by the drawbell
opening sequence.
Cave advance is based on the maximum lead/lags
allowable in the differing ground types based on Figure 2.
The draw belling must be completed after one month of
the undercut completion to prevent packing of the blasted
muck in the undercut.
Undercut Level
The drill drift level development is split into two sections
using a mid-access drift.
This created a multiple heading environment for the
development and caving crews compressing schedules
by deferring non-critical activities.
The splitting of the undercut also deferred capital by
sectioning off longer term development.
Pre-drilling and pre-charging of undercut holes is utilized
to reduce activities around the open brow and improve
undercutting efficiencies.
Figure 6 shows the production ramp up of the DOZ Mine
in tonnes per day by month. There is a clear change in
production rates after about the first 16 months of
production. In this first phase the mine ramped up at
approximately 700tpd/month. This slower rate reflected a
smaller cave front and limited working areas. Numerous
crews working in the same locale caused interference and
delay. It also reflects the typical mine start-up issues
normally encountered such as the problems with the chutes
and the transition from advanced to post undercutting as
discussed in this paper.
The second phase shows a ramp up rate of 1900
tpd/month up to an average monthly rate of over 45,000 tpd.
Three main factors were responsible for this change in
production rate; 1) the de-bottlenecking of the caving areas
by the application of the guidelines discussed above, 2) the
re-design of the ore handling chutes and, 3) the completion
of the transition from the post to the advanced undercutting
method.
The goal of any ramp up is to compress the start-up
period as much as possible. Although the different key
production drivers encountered in the DOZ are discussed
within this paper, the ability of the project team to recognize
and react to these issues was the real key in exceeding the
planned production rates.
407
5 ORE HANDLING SYSTEMS
The ore handling system in the IOZ utilized rockbreakers
at the north and south fringes of each panel. The LHDs
dumped ore onto 0.4m x 0.4m grizzlies, sizing it for feeding
onto coarse ore conveyor belts that transferred the ore to
one of two jaw crushers.
During the design phase it was anticipated that a coarser
ore would be found in the DOZ mine than was evident in
other block cave mines within the PT Freeport contract of
work. Several options were considered on how to handle
the larger fragmentation and ultimately a coarse ore
handling system was decided upon and designed into the
system.
The final option selected was to use one meter
spaced grizzlies on the extraction level on top of a 4.1-
meter diameter raise. A single bored orepass was
designed for each extraction level panel which
services up to 20 draw points. At the bottom of the 35
to 45 meter long raise a 2.4-meter wide center loading
chute was installed which loads into Elphinstone AD55
haul trucks. The trucks then dump to a 54" x 77"
gyratory crusher.
The ore passes, when kept three-quarters full, were
designed to give up to 800 tonnes of storage per orepass.
With up to 15 ore passes in production during peak
production considerable tonnes could be stored which
would allow the mine to compensate for disruptions in the
system. This storage was also envisioned to enable the
extraction level to be disconnected from the truck haulage
level.
The DOZ Mine began production in 1999 with three
installed chutes or LPs. During the initial period of mine
startup several issues became apparent with the chute
installations that were significantly reducing the flow of ore
and acting as the main bottleneck to production. Ramp up
production targets were not being achieved and
considerable damage was being done to the existing chute
installations in order keep the ore flowing through the
chutes.
The DOZ ore material ranges from blocky, hard diorites to
soft, sticky breccias. The ore types behave significantly
different from a handling point of view. The mine was
initially undercut in the high grade breccia areas which
resulted in large amounts of sticky ore being delivered to the
raises and chutes without the ability to blend with coarser
material.
Being identified as the highest priority obstacle to
reaching production goals considerable effort went into re-
designing the chutes. A campaign of chute re-design was
embarked upon by the underground maintenance,
construction and engineering groups to overcome this
Figure 6: DOZ Mine production ramp-up
408 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
obstacle. Many variations of the standard chute design
were tried along with some unique solutions.
There were three major problems with the original chute
design that needed to be overcome; 1) the chute structural
design, 2) the chute control systems and, 3) the ore flow
through the chute due to sticky ore packing in the top of the
chute.
5.1. Material Flow Issues
The biggest obstacle to overcome in increasing
production was the sticky ore encountered early on in the
mine start-up from the high grade DOZ breccia material.
Tests revealed that the angle of repose of the sticky ore was
at a minimum of 60 degrees and could be as high as 90
degrees (Jenike and Johanson).
Although the raises were bored at an inclination of 75
degrees and the chutes were inclined to 45 degrees in the
fully open position the sticky material quickly compacted
and blocked the raises at this junction. This required a
campaign of hang-up blasting in the lower section of the
raise that often resulted in significant damage to the chutes.
High pressure water hoses were tried at the chutes but in
some cases made the problem worse by adding water to the
breccias and marble ore types making them stickier and
harder to handle. This created a cleanup problem around
the chutes and occasionally caused the crusher pocket to
plug and hang-up.
In the short term the transfer raises were run empty to
prevent the sticky muck from compacting and hanging
up. This removed the approximately 800 tonnes of
storage from the orepasses and trucks had to queue at
chutes waiting for a full load. This impacted the
achievable production rate significantly. Additional
damage was also seen at the chutes due to the ore
impacts caused by the empty raises.
Many different vibrator configurations were tested to help
vibrate the packed ore loose but these met with limited
success. The chute vibrators also resulted in increased
damage to the entire structure and were not considered to
be a long-term solution. The concept of floating the floor
was developed so that the rest of the chute structure would
be isolated from the vibration.
With the concept of turning the chute floor into a vibrating
plate a chute was selected for trial. The floor was detached
from the chute and suspended with the use of heavy springs
placed around the floor. The exciter mechanism was
attached to the floor bottom and connected to an electric
motor by V-belts. In effect, the chute was converted into a
vibrating feeder with the floor at a 45 degree angle. The
modification turned out to be an immediate success so all
the existing chutes were modified while a longer-term
design was finalized.
Figure 7: Cross section of DOZ chute showing design
modifications
Massmin 2004
5.2. Chute Structure RE-Design
The chute design also exposed several key header beams
to the muck flow. Although these had been armored with
liner plate the repeated impacts seen from running the
raises empty resulted in accelerated wear and loosening of
these header beams. Several of these beams made it to
the crusher, jamming it, and requiring extended shut
downs to remove them. Chute downtime for repair was
also considerable.
Widening the chute and elongating the floor helped
overcome the ore flow and structural design issues.
Different widths were tested, with the optimum being 3.1-
meters. This width moved the sides of the chute out of the
flow sufficiently enough to alleviate damage and stop
bridging of the ore.
Floor elongation was accomplished by excavating a hitch
under the footwall of the raise. The chute floor was
extended underneath the footwall into this hitch. A
secondary support set was put at the back of the hitch to
prevent erosion of the raise. The head beams were then
recessed into the hitches, protecting the beams, improving
chute down times and reducing transient steel feed to the
ore flow system.
5.3. Chute Control Systems
A hydraulic system had been designed to move the chain
gates and lips and control the flow of muck. In order to save
money these were set up so they could be shared between
two chutes and would switch across chutes using PLC
systems. The hydraulics proved to be difficult to install,
impacted two chutes if they were out of operation, and
required considerable maintenance. As the hydraulic
cylinders tended to hold the chutes quite rigidly they were
easily damaged by rock falling onto the chute through the
open raise.
The hydraulic chutes were replaced with pneumatic units
that were quicker and cheaper to install, easier to maintain,
and had a more flexible response to impacts. This reduced
the control equipment cost by almost 85% and installation
time was reduced to three days versus three weeks. The
systems have proved to be very dependable with little or no
downtime. An air intensifier is used on the system to
provide sufficient power for the lip up function. This air-to-
air intensifier has proved reliable and boosts the
compressed air by 50% of operating parameters to ensure
adequate power is available to raise full chute lips.
As new chutes were constructed these changes were
made in the field and the results monitored. The campaign
was successful and currently transfer raises are run full and
the chutes are performing well. Figure 7 shows the key
areas modified to improve the chute design.
6 CONCLUSIONS
PT Freeport Indonesia has been block caving at the East
Ertsberg Mining district since 1980. The DOZ Mine is the
third lift in the sequence. The operation has ramped up the
DOZ mine faster than initially anticipated and has
incorporated lessons learned from the previous mines as
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
well as new technologies. The DOZ mine achieved full
production 17 months ahead of schedule and was under
budget. The mine is still undergoing expansion and is
studying a 50,000tpd mining rate.
Every mine start-up encounters challenges and
unexpected issues. The mine start-up environment also
often presents unexpected opportunities. The
management, engineering and operations team must be
flexible and reactive enough to cope with these setbacks as
well as leveraging any opportunities presented.
A block cave mine start-up is a series of interlinked
activities that often require close coordination and
scheduling. The initial nature of a block cave often places
individual undercut rings and drawbells on the critical path.
The ability to decouple these activities and allow the crews
to work with minimal interruptions in a multiple heading
environment is a major driver in growing the cave and
accelerating the production ramp-up process.
At 40,000tpd the DOZ mine is one of the worlds
largest block caving mines. The continued success of
the DOZ Mine is critical to PTFIs future operations. As
the Grasberg Open Pit finishes mining in 2015 the
operation will be supplied by ore from underground
mining operations for the next several decades. Future
block caving mines at the PTFI mining complex are
currently being planned to produce at rates over
100,000tpd.
Block cave mines are capital intensive projects
requiring high expenditures in the early years of
development. A large component of a block caving
mines value is driven by the speed at which it can begin
producing at full capacity. The ability quickly bring into
production large capacity block caving mines is a key
driver for the PTFI future operations. Successful
projects like the DOZ not only provide ore to the mill but
generate confidence for the future of the operation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank PTFI Management for
allowing the publication of this paper, Rod Mainland and the
DOZ Field Engineering Group for their work on the QA/QC
systems and Rodger Bonney and 68 Engineering for the
improved structural designs.
REFERENCES
Coutts, et al., "Geology of the Deep Ore Zone, Ertsberg
East Skarn System, Irian Jaya", PacRim 99, Bali,
Indonesia, October, 1999.
Casten, Sinuhaji, Poedjono, Flumerfelt, "The Application
of Advanced Undercutting at P.T. Freeport Indonesias
Deep Ore Zone Mine", Operators Conference, Townsville,
Australia, 2002.
Jenike and Johanson, Internal Report on Ore Material
Characteristics, 2002.
Barber, Thomas, Casten, "Freeport Indonesias Deep Ore
Zone Mine", MassMin 2000.
409
 Undercutting at E26
lift 2 Northparkes
AC (Tony) Silveira, Senior Mining Engineer, Northparkes Mines

Abstract
Northparkes Mines completed the undercut on the Lift 2 block cave in January 2004. This paper discusses the designs
considered at the time of the feasibility study, and the various changes made to these designs prior to and during the
undercutting operation in the Lift2 block cave. This paper also highlights operational issues encountered whilst mining
the Lift 2 undercut and ways in which these issues were overcome. A summary of critical success factors is also
included.

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Northparkes Mines (NPM) is located in New South Wales
in Australia, approximately 350 km to the northeast of
Sydney. Production presently comes from the E27 open pit
and the E26 underground mine. The E26 underground mine
is the first mine in Australia to employ the block caving
method of mining. Extraction of cave ore commenced in
1997 from the Lift 1 extraction horizon, some 480 m below
the surface.
million tonnes per annum are expected from Lift 2 over the
next six years.
1.1 The Lift 2 Undercut
The Lift 2 undercut is a narrow inclined advanced
undercut or continuous void, extracted for the purpose of
inducing caving directly above it. Some of the critical factors
related to the extraction of this undercut include:
No remnant pillars are to be left since they could act as
transfer points for stresses from the Lift 2 block, directly
onto the extraction drives located below.
Creation of the stress shadow. In this shadow region,
further development of the extraction level drives can be
progressed.
The progress of the Lift 2 project hinged on the advance
rated achieved in the undercut, and preparation of the
extraction level for production.

Figure 1: Section showing layout of the Lift 1 & Lift 2.

Ore above the Lift 1 extraction horizon has been

exhausted and the mine has developed a second, lower
production zone, known as Lift 2. The Lift 2 extraction
horizon is located some 350 m below that of Lift 1 (Figure
1). The Lift 2 Undercut, which is the initial stage of setting up
for production in a block cave, is located some 10 m above Figure 2: Plan view showing undercut drives with the
the Lift 2 extraction level. Planned production rates of five access drive on the east and the slot drive on the west.

410 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The Lift 2 undercut consisted of 14 parallel drill drives
running from east to west. All these drives were linked
together on their eastern end by an access drive, and on
their western end by a slot drive (Figure 2). Areas
between the 14 drill drives were designed to be mined
out as inclined or flat portions of the undercut, generating
an overall crinkle/corrugated shape (Figure 4). The
inclined portions of the undercut were designed to
provide major apex pillars above the extraction level
drives, while the flat portions of the undercut lie directly
above the drawbell crowns. This is similar to that used at
Palabora mine in South Africa.
2.0 UNDERCUT DESIGN
The main design changes to improve operational, safety
and cost aspects are covered in this section.
The initial Lift 2 undercut design consisted of 14
parallel drill drives only connected at the flat pillar
portions. A major change made to this design involved
putting in a western slot drive (shaded section in Figure
2) that linked all the drives together on the western
perimeter of the undercut. This western drive allowed
early access into some of the western ends of the
undercut drives, as well as making slot opening easier as
the eight slots were now designed as vertical slots
(previously inclined).
The undercut drill pattern consisted of 89 mm diameter
blast holes in a combination of long incline, short incline and
dual flat rings. All these rings were drilled at an apparent
ring burden of 2.1 m (true burden of 2.0 m).
The initial undercut slotting design proposed at
feasibility consisted of a series of 14 inclined slots drilled
in a meshing manner above the major apexes on the
extraction level (Figure 3). Mining of inclined slots is an
inherently difficult task. The development of the western
slot drive led to a reduction in the number of slot rises
(from 14 to 8), as well as the elimination of inclined slots
altogether. This reduced the risks associated with
mining inclined slots.
During the feasibility stage, the long and short inclined
rings consisted of fanned inclined holes with five to six
holes per ring (Figure 4). The angle of the major apexes
(i.e. the angle of the flattest inclined holes) was
designed to be 50 degrees from the horizontal. This was
to ensure that the fired dirt cleared the apexes and
flowed into the drawbells. This angle was increased to
54 degrees.
The biggest change made to the undercut inclined ring
design involved reducing the number of holes from six per
ring to a final design of three per ring. The drill design went
Figure 3: Planned slot designs
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 4: Planned ring designs
through several stages of review and the decision to go to
three holes per ring was made after feedback from Palabora
mine indicated that it was not necessary to drill and fire the
brow portion of the inclined pillar holes above the flats. This
area fell in on a regular basis without being drilled or
blasted. Palabora at the time were using four 64 mm blast
holes on incline ring pillar holes, and four 76 mm blast holes
on the flat pillar ring holes. NPM opted for an 89 mm sized
blast hole pattern leading to:
Cost savings with fewer holes drilled and charged (only
three per ring).
Reduced redrills due to ease of loading primers into hole,
even in partially dislocated ground.
Time saving with quicker drilling and charging.
Greater face velocity of the fired dirt, throwing it further
into the cave, thereby reducing undercut bogging.
Better fragmentation due to higher powder factor.
Reduction of potential hole closures, dislocations and
redrills.
This last point was a major success and was also a result
of the quick turnaround maintained on all the undercut
faces, where no face was kept standing for any extended
period of time. On average, each undercut face was fired
once a week.
2.1 Inclined Ring Design
Figures 5 and 6 below highlight some of the changes
made to the inclined rings design. Shaded portion "A" in
Figure 5 was the region into which the long inclined rings
originally extended. All the drill rings were designed and
eventually drilled at a forward dump/tilt angle of 20 degrees.
The reasons for the 20 degrees forward tilt angle were:
Reduction in the possibility of loss in overall void height
during firing. The firing direction of the toes of the holes of
forward tilted rings, helps reduce the likelihood of pillar
formation at the toes.
Keeping the falling rocks (if any) away from reporting to
the open brow, as the ring was tilted forward.
Better packing of the fired dirt onto the previously fired rill
in the cave, due to the directional throw due to forward
tilting.
This would thereby reduce the amount of swell reporting
to the brow, thereby reducing the swell removal required.
The design change made involved flattening of the apex
of the inclined void, reducing the drill metres by
approximately 1.5 m per long inclined ring. This apex region
was a "tight corner" in the firing sequence of the ring, at the
time. This last metre was also the section where possible
deviation in the longest holes would be most prominent. The
number of holes per ring was also reduced from four to
three per ring.
411
 Ease with drilling and blasting i.e. smaller length holes.
Reduction in the risk of pillar formation due to hole
deviation.
Ease of bogging, as access is available from both sides.
Minimal tele-remoting required (avoiding delays and cost).
More flexibility with drilling headings i.e. more drill
headings to work with.
Potential reduction in the amount of misfires in the flat
pillar region.

This dual flats pillar comprised of 3 x 5 m long holes drilled

from either end and fired within the same shot (Figure 7).
Each flat ring had a jumbo stab hole in the floor to enable
ease with bogging of the fired dirt. After mining about 20 %
of the undercut it was found that these jumbo stab holes
were no longer required as the lowest hole in the flats
performed adequately by ensuring breakage of the ground.

Figure 5: Initial changes made to the planned inclined rings

design

Figure 7: Initial dual flats ring design

Modelling at the time indicated that as the undercut

progressed, hole dislocation could occur at the collar and
toe of the drill holes if a half flat pillar was excavated.
Modelling also indicated that hole dislocation would only
occur at the collar if the full flat pillar was excavated. In
reality however, no such problems were encountered with
the excavation of the full flat pillar.

2.3 Slot Design

A total of eight "6-reamer" up-hole vertical slots, of lengths
varying from 11 m to 14 m, were successfully fired to start
Figure 6: Final inclined rings design the initial firing faces within the undercut (Figure 8).

2.2 Flat Ring Design

During initial development of the drill drives, it was found
that additional wall overbreak had the potential to reduce the
pillar width. Following a geotechnical evaluation, the
decision was taken to increase the pillar width from 8 to 10
m to ensure stability of the flat portion of the undercut during
undercut retreat. Palabora mine at the time were using
approximately 13 m flat pillars. This flat pillar was fired in
two separate blasts, with a lead/lag between the 8.3 m and
5.5 m sections. NPM however evaluated the geotechnical
and production risks of a lead lag within a 10 m flat pillar,
and opted for a "dual flats" pillar. This involved drilling the
flat pillars from both adjacent drill drive accesses with 5 m
long holes (Figure 7), instead of the single flat 10 m holes.
All the drill rings were designed and eventually drilled at a
forward dump/tilt angle of 20 degrees. The reasons for this
20 degrees forward tilt angle were ease with bogging of the
fired dirt around the corner (turning radius of the LHD) and
better visual of the fired toes from a safe location (after
firing). Bogging is a term commonly used in Australia to
describe rock removal by an LHD. It is also referred to as
lashing (South Africa) and mucking (USA).
The flat portion was initially designed to have three holes
per ring, with these flat sections designed as single flats with
the holes being 10 m long. Changes were made to the
design wherein the risks of single flats with 10 long holes,
were evaluated against the use of dual flats with 5 m long
holes. NPM adopted the dual flat rings for a variety of
reasons some of which include: Figure 8: Pattern for rises/slots

412 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The 6-reamer slot pattern is a pattern widely used in many
mines for its forgiving nature with respect to drill hole
deviation. Drilling of the slots is a critical part of the
operation. Here a single experienced driller was given the
responsibility of drilling the inner box holes of this rise.
Lower feed and rotation pressures were required for drilling
of the initial eight box holes of each slot. Lead guide tube
and T-51 rods, drilling 89 mm shot holes and 152 mm
reamer holes.
The drill string combination used drop centre "Retrac" drill
bits to achieve better accuracy. "Retrac" bits have a partial
cutting action when the drill rods are retracted from a drill
hole, due to the serrated edge on the tail end of the bit. After
firing the vertical slots and using CMS (Cavity Monitoring
System) to confirm the void, a series of inclined holes were
fired to open up the void to the required excavation profile.
The design for these slot-stripping rings used on the first
four slots, consisted of four rings on either side of the slot
rises. While firing the initial slot rises it was found that quite
often the first slot stripping row was lost due to over break
from the rise firing. After four of these rises and slots were
successfully excavated, the number of slot stripping rings
was dropped from four to three on either side of the slot
(Figure 9).
Figure 9: Design for slot stripping rings showing extraction
level located below
3.0 OPERATIONAL ISSUES
This section describes some of the operational issues
encountered and the ways in which they were overcome.
3.1 Drilling
The contract between the owner and the contractor
specified a tube drill string requirement to ensure drilling
accuracy. In order to maintain drilling flexibility with the two
Solomatic 720 drill rigs on the undercut and extraction
levels, the following were agreed on:
Undercut level (89 mm holes) would use T51 speed rods
and drop-centre 89 mm Retrac drill bits.
Extraction level (64 mm holes) would use T38 speed rods
and drop-centre 64 mm Retrac drill bits.
Use of 700 Series drifters on both drill rigs.
3.2 Hole Preparation
No individual was allowed access past the last flat ring
fired so it was not possible to physically be under the collars
of the inclined rings at the brow (to clean and prepare them
for charging). A 1.5 m bund wall was erected at the brow
where the last flat ring had been fired. This bund was put in
place to protect personnel from injury from any rocks falling
from the brow area or from within the undercut void. Figure
10 below illustrates the access restrictions to personnel at
the undercut face.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 10: Plan view showing Brow Access Limits
3.3 Charging and Firing
Charging and firing activities were carried out using a
specialist explosives contractors charge-up personnel. Two
people were used to get this task completed within the time
frame of 3 hours required. On average the time spent on
charging two rings (two sets of long and short inclines and
flats = 126 m2) in two headings was 2.5 to 3.0 hours. As the
production rates were ramped up later in 2003, two shots
(four headings = 252 m2) were quite regularly blasted at the
end of a shift.
All the undercut rises were charged with IKON electronic
detonators. The precise timing and intrinsic safety benefits
of these IKON detonators made them suitable for the rise
firing application. Their cost however, made them
uneconomical to be used on standard undercut ring firings
as the Enduradet detonators are available at approximately
25% the cost of the IKON detonators.
The Feasibility Study considered single ring firings for
the entire undercut. After analysing the benefits of
multiple ring firings, a decision was taken to carry out all
undercut ring firings as "2- ring" firings instead. Each firing
comprised of two dual flat rings, two long incline rings and
two short incline rings. Some of the benefits of 2- ring
firings include:
Reduction in the number of times that charging of holes
needed to take place in the undercut.
Reduction in the exposure of personnel to poor brow
conditions and hazards at the undercut face.
Better throw characteristics of the fired dirt.
Feasibility assumed the use of a "square" brow, or no
lead/lag between the inclined and flat rings. Geotechnical
modelling was then carried out and confirmed that this could
be increased to two rings.
The two ring lead lag was then adopted and used for a
variety of benefits some of which include:
Improved stability at the brow area.
Less dirt required to be bogged from the area adjacent to
the collars of the flat holes.
Reduction in exposure of personnel to the brow area
when charging the flats, and the undercut in general.
Production drilling and blasting in the undercut proceeded
with no major setbacks. The use of a robotic arm for charging
helped increase productivity and this is reflected in the
increased undercutting rates achieved. The introduction of this
machine, coupled with completion of development mining in
other areas of the mine, resulted in an increase of LHD and
other resources available to the undercut. This all contributed
to the improved production rates from October 2003 on.
413
3.4 Swapping of Incline Rings
After commencement of the undercut blasting, it was
noticed that the long inclined holes, which lagged behind the
short inclined holes and were damaged from adjacent firings
(see DD6 & DD7 in Figure 11).
DD7 shows a lag firing of the long inclined rings after a
lead firing of short inclined rings has gone off in DD6. The
right hand side shows a lag firing of the short inclined rings
in DD9 after a lead firing of long inclined rings has gone off
in DD8.
Some of the advantages of swapping the inclined rings
included:
Opportunity to confirm breakage at the major apex after
firing the long incline holes in DD8, DD10 and DD12
through the short inclined holes and confirming breakage
into the void.
Less likelihood of experiencing hole dislocations and
damage in the long incline holes.
The swapped long incline holes pulled the ground
effectively providing the correct height and void size.
Figure 11: Ring Layout DD7 & 8
4.0 SUMMARY
The Lift 2 undercut drill and blast design has proven to be
a successful design. NPM has safely and efficiently
completed the undercut within a period of 11 months
(February to January 2004). During this period a total of
65,457 metres were drilled (planned metres totalled 64,754
m). Less than 1000 metres or 1.5% of the total metres
drilled in the undercut were re-drill metres due to hole
dislocations/closures or angle errors.
A total of 33,768 square metres were blasted in the
undercut, with the advance rate peaking at 6,101 square
metres per month in December 2003.
An average of 45% of the fired dirt was removed from the
undercut, which was significantly below the 60% forecast.
414 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
4.1 Critical Success Factors
The following aspects are considered to be key areas in
the success of the Lift 2 undercut:
The use of the 6-reamer vertical rise/slot (Figure 8) with
the benefits listed (slot design section).
The use of three slot stripping rings on either side of this
slot, (Figure 9).
Keeping the short inclined rings as the lag firing and the
long inclined rings as the lead firing coupled with the use
of dual flats in the flat portion of the undercut. Drilling 89
mm holes in these flats making the jumbo lifter holes
redundant (Figure 7).
Use of one ring lead-lag in the dual flats regions in order
to reduce early failure of the flat belly portion. The "2-ring"
lead-lag used in the drives, between the flat and incline
allowed face shape to be maintained whilst providing
some flexibility in activity.
Choke firing of the undercut rings with opening the brow
every four firings limited personnel exposure to an open
brow. It also helped reduce the quantities of fired dirt
bogged. Opening the brow for void confirmation was
essential.
The specialist explosives contractor using a robotic arm
charge up machine contributed to increased productivity
and improved safety.
Strict adherence to the lead lag rules ensured no
geotechnical problems during mining of the Lift 2
undercut. Good ground support systems ensured stability
of excavations and the shotcreted undercut drives all
stood up well during drilling and blasting operations.
Steady advance rates reduced the possibility of stress-
induced damage. By not leaving the undercut standing for
any extended period of time NPM were able to achieve
significant targets in a safe and efficient manner.
A good Quality Assurance programme and constant
supervision contributed a great deal to the success of the
Lift 2 undercut. The lack of experienced operators was an
issue during initial stages of the undercut. Engineering
staff maintained records on swell removal and ensured
that continuous void confirmation is carried out as and
when planned.
Provision of adequate resources, e.g. service crews for
fixing of sprays, ventilation and assisting with hole prep
work ensured that drilling, charge-up and swell removal
were completed in a timely manner.
All undercut development, as well as drill and blast
designs, were done in-house by NPM engineers and
technical specialists.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank those personnel who have
contributed to this paper especially those involved with the
design and mining of the Lift #2 undercut.
The author would also like to thank Northparkes mines for
permission to publish this paper.
Massmin 2004
 LHD versus mechanized grizzly
in III panel of Andina
Augusto Aguayo, Claudio Campos, Manuel Mansilla, Jorge Sougarret, Andrs Susaeta
Andina Division, Codelco Chile

Abstract
The secondary ore of the III Panel of Andina Division is being mined concurrently through a mechanized grizzly and
a LHD layout. The design criteria as well as layouts and materials handling system are presented.
The retro analysis of 7 years of mining results with a comparison between methods regarding recovery, dilution,
stability, costs, etc. is presented in a quantitative and qualitative way.
Results show that grizzlies have been a much better system than LHD, from the economic and technical standpoint.
Weakness of both methods are described.
The analysis intends to project the advantages of the full gravity system (grizzlies) over intermediate hauling systems
(LHD). The potential projection of this experience to future designs in more competent rock is considered, with concepts
of continuous mining and preconditioning techniques.

1. GENERAL CONDITIONS OF ANDINA MINE
The Rio Blanco Ore deposit is located at an altitude of
3240 m (undercut level) in the Andean range
approximately 50 km to the north of the city of Santiago.
The Mediterranean climate is characterized by cold and
rainy winter seasons and hot and dry summer
conditions. The average snow downfall over the crater is
over 10 meters.
Total underground tonnage is of 45.000 ton/day. The
mine has been caved since 1970 in three different
panels. The actual III Panel is being mined by grizzlies
and LHD concurrently. The LHD layouts are located
mostly in primary rock, mining secondary and grizzlies in
secondary rock.
2. DESIGN PARAMETERS
Table N1 presents the principal design parameters of
the LHD and Grizzly layouts of the Andina III Panel.
These designs have been in operation for more than 8
years.
Figure N1a and b shows a typical design plan of the LHD
system and in Figure N2a and b the III Panel Grizzly design
is presented.

Table N1 - Design Parameters

Parameters Grizzly LHD

Rock
- Fragmentation Assessment 3% > 1 m3 10% > 1 m3
- Primary 0m 0 - 120 m
- Secondary ore column 220 - 300 m 220 - 450 m
- Lithology Granodiorite, Andesite, Magmatic, Granodiorite, Andesite, Magmatic,
granodiorite porphyry Riolite granodiorite porphyry
Design 9x9 13 x 13
9 x 11 (limited sectors) 13 x 15 ( Ore pass singularity)
Geometry Grizzly layout Teniente layout
Extraction system Gravitational to truck 7 yd3 LHD
Ore Transfer Ore pass (2 x 2 m) Ore Pass (2.5 x 2.5 m)
Haulage 50 & 80 ton truck 50 & 80 ton truck
Development cost
(up to caving) - Project 1200 US$/m2 750 US$/m2
Total caved area up to 2003 56.159 m2 96.176 m2
Ore Reserves (Up to 2003 caving) 36 Million t 151 Million t
Average in situ ore column height 280 m 256 m
Estimated Dilution Grade (%Cut) 0.5% Cu 0.5% Cu
Project % Dilution entry point 65% 75%
Project extraction rate 0,44 ton/m2*day 0,56 ton/m2*day

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 415

 Figure 2a

Figure 1a

Figure 1b Figure 2b

Figure N 3 shows a profile of the primary/secondary

rock interface with the extension of the LHD and grizzly
layouts.
As it is shown the LHD as well as the grizzlies are
primarily extracting secondary ore. The dilution of the III
Panel is mainly the remnant of the II and I Panel, which had
very high grade. The main dilution (sterile rock) is of riolite
coming from the north of the subsidence area, but through
the years have migrated and diluted most of the subsidence
area. The riolite is used as a lithologic tracer of dilution
percentage.

3. OPERATIONAL RESULTS

The operational results to compare Grizzlies and LHD for

the III Panel consider a combination of results from all
information up to 2003 and some specific sectors for each
method that have been mined up to closure of the draw
points.

Caving Sequence
Following figure N4 shows the effective and future caving
sequence of the III Panel by year, starting in 1995 for the
grizzly (in blue) and LHD sectors (in red).
Development and operational cost
Following costs are effective average results for
representative areas and tonnage. Figure 3

416 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Primary rock presence in the lower part of the column, poor
performance of the ore pass system (due to mud), hang
ups, etc. The dilution entry point for LHD sector has been
lower than planned, as well as the projected productivity.
The following Table N4 shows the planned and effective
production by sector up to 2003:

Table N4
Effective tonnage production
by year for LHD and Grizzly

UN 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Total
Grizzly
Real kton 615 2,647 5,845 4,840 5,999 7,084 6,649 6,318 6,828 46,824
Program kton 1,124 4,090 4,208 4,861 5,091 4,765 5,944 5,885 5,476 41,444

LHD
Real kton 624 4,570 6,829 8,581 8,904 8,969 8,353 46,832
Program hton 2,945 4,679 9,340 11,435 10,256 10,315 10,724 59,694

Figure 4
Development: As a result of a more dense draw pattern
(9 x 9 meters), the grizzly design is more intense in
development and construction (specially drop boxes and
loading chutes), thus generating a higher development cost.
Following Table N2 shows Grizzly and LHD development
cost from caving to transport level in US$/m2.
Table N2 Development Cost
UN LHD GRIZZLY
Grade & Fine Copper Production
Even considering the low Copper prices that as an effect
generated a lower caving area in the III Panel, and lower cut
off grades, the average effective grade is higher than the
planned one, mainly due to higher grades in the grizzly
sector, explained by the higher dilution entry point and
probably higher dilution grades.
In the LHD sector grades have been a little lower than
planned, with also a lower tonnage extracted. The dilution
entry point was lower than estimated.
Table N5 shows extracted average grades by year for
both sectors.

Development Cost US$/m2 770 1.200 Table N5

Average extracted grade by sector

Operating: Operating costs are presented up to transport 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Total
(not included) due to differences in distances, for Grizzly
comparison purposes of both methods. Repairs of the Real 1.089 1.405 1.308 1.259 1,182 1.307 1.308 1.285 1.355 1.293
production infrastructure (production, ore passes, chutes,
etc.) are included in the cost. The total cost per ton including Program 1.155 1.188 1.187 1.154 1.161 1.324 1.339 1.203 1.039 1.199
operation and development has been estimated considering
the effective tonnage per square meter produced by each LHD
method, accounting the collapses. Table N3 summarizes Real 1.690 1.584 1.439 1.338 1.179 1.016 1.035 1.236
these results. Program 1.687 1.518 1.257 1.176 1.205 1.203 1.202 1.255

Table N3 Operational Cost When comparing the global balance of fine copper
produced, the result shows approximately 62.000 tons
Cost Grizzlies LHD below the project, mainly due to lower production in the LHD
Operational 0,773 US$7t 1,094 US$/t sector.
Table N6 shows the results expressed in fine Copper
Total Cost 2,05 US$/t 2,24 US$/t production for both sectors, against the planned tonnage.

Table N6
Total Extracted Tonnage Productivity Fine Copper Production by sector
Total Tonnage : Production was initiated in the grizzly
sector, effective produced tonnage was under the planned UN 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Total
schedule during the first two years. After that the situation
was reverted, from 1997 to 2003 production from the Grizzly
grizzlies have been more than 5 million tons higher than the Real kton 6,7 37,2 76,4 60,9 70,9 92,6 87,0 81,2 92,5 605,4
original project. The effective average dilution entry point for Program kton 13,0 48,6 49,9 56,1 59,1 63,1 79,6 70,8 56,9 497,1
the isolated draw zone (Pedza) for this sector is at 75%
extraction, that is 10% higher than the projected value LHD
(65%). Productivity has been higher than planned also. In Real kton 0,0 0,0 10,6 72,4 98,3 114,8 105,0 91,1 86,5 578,7
the other hand, the LHD sector has systematically been
Program hton 0,0 0,0 49,7 71,0 117,4 134,4 123,6 124,1 128,9 749,1
under the planned productivity, due to a series of factors:

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 417

 Draw Practice - Uniformity of Draw:
One of the relevant parameters of draw control in a panel
caving operation is the uniformity of draw. This parameter is
being controlled with the Uniformity Index (IU). Figure N5
presents the results for the index, indicating the % of total
tonnage per year drawn with uniformity (uniform and semi
uniform draw).
Figure N5: Tonnage drawn with Uniformity
4. BACK ANALYSIS OF PRODUCTION RESULTS
Recovery of reserves
The Grizzly sector has had a 18% higher recovery of
mining reserves than the LHD sector to date. The column
height were similar thus the grizzly sector has recovered up
to 350 m columns, compared to the 296 m of LHD. The
good recovery of the grizzlies can be explained due to the
very good interaction of a 81 m2 draw pattern, compared
with a 175,5 m2 LHD layout, for the same caved material.
Figure N6: LHD Area A % dilution entry curve.
418 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
% Dilution Entry Point
Represents the extracted percentage of the in situ column
when the dilution is reported in the draw points. In the case
of Andina the dilution corresponds to caved material from
the II Panel, overlaying the III Panel. The steel arches,
concrete and other materials from this level are a very good
tracer of the dilution, and have been mapped in every draw
point. This dilution corresponds to the "isolated column
dilution" or Pedza. The expected dilution from the
"interactive zone" should be determined when the
permanent increase in dilution percentage starts. The
mapping of a specific lithology (ryolite) that has
contaminated the subsidence area from the north side of the
crater, that can be easily recognized from the andesite and
granodiorite As seen in Figures N6 and N7 where all the
mapping information has been summarized for Area A
LHD and Areas 1 and 2 Grizzlies of the III Panel, there is a
very good correlation between the Pedza appearance and
the increase of ryolite percentage for both cases (not
considering the effect of side dilution that is incorporating
early ryolite). There is also a clear change in the dilution
curve slope showing the Pedzi (Dilution from the interactive
zone).
The summary of the total tonnages extracted, caved
areas, dilution entry points, etc. for the sectors presented in
the figures is presented in Table N7.
Available Area
The strength of each design can be evaluated considering
the geomechanic behavior through the III Panel caved area.
For the grizzly system a total area of 56.159 m2 have been
caved over 9 years, without the loss of a single draw point
due to collapses. With the LHD system a total of 96.176 m2
have been caved most of the development in primary rock,
with a total loss due to collapses of 26.369 m2, that
corresponds to 27,4% of the total caved area. Evidently this
is one of the greatest weakness of the designed system.
Massmin 2004
Figure N7 Grizzlies Area 1 and 2 % dilution entry curves

Table N7 Draw Results

Item Grizzlies LHD

Unit productivity(without collapses) ton/m2 952 795

Total Area m2 22.607 22.626
Total Tonnage ton 21.526.627 17.995.873
Total % Extraction % 145% 118%
Total % Ryolite extraction % 6,7% 6,7%
Ryolite Tonnage ton 1.351.803 1.032.012
Pedza % 73% 64%
Pedzi % 89% 79%

System Productivity
Effective productivity of each system has been evaluated Table N8 Productivity (t/m2)
considering the average tonnage produced per active
square meter, by year. In following Table N8 productivity for 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Total
each sector by year is summarized. The grizzly sector had Grizzlies
a program of 150 t/m2 and has an average of 177 t/m2 per Real t/m2 91 149 260 215 163 181 188 134 210 177
day. The LHD had a program of 185 t/m2 and the effective
productivity (not considering the collapsed area) is 136 t/m2. Program t/m2 71 129 138 128 143 180 204 175 182 150

Ore pass availability and Mud Problems LHD

Moisture coming from snow and water precipitated in the Real t/m2 70 168 144 151 153 135 129 136
subsidence area generates mud conditions for both the Program t/m2 70 157 190 217 212 222 214 195
grizzly and LHD systems. The vulnerability of the LHD due
to ore pass closure due to mud problems and repairs is high
(great area to one box). Low ore pass availability has
generated low productivity of the LHD system. Ore Reserves Recovery
The ore reserves recovery has been calculated with
Summary the total extracted tonnage per caved area (this
With the above information, Table N9 was computed includes the collapsed areas) the total productivity for
summarizing the main results of the two caving extraction the grizzly sector is of 940 t/m 2 against 667 t/m2 of the
methods used in the Andina III Panel. LHD.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 419

 Table N9 Summary of back analysis results

Index Observation Grizzlies LHD

Investment (cost/m2) From under cut to transport level 1200 770
plus caving
Design strength Strength of design is evaluated Total caved area = 56159 m2 Total caved area = 96176 m2
against collapsed area Total collapsed area = 0 m2 Total collapsed area = 26369 m2
% Area loss = 0% % Area loss = 27,4%
Unit Productivity Ton per open productive area 177 t/m2 136 t/m2
per periiod
Ore Reserves Recovery Total tonnage per closed area 940 t/m2 667 t/m2
(with collapsed area percentage)
Total Cost Operation to truck transport 0,773 US$/t 1.094 US$/t
(exclusive) with repairs)
Total Cost Operation plus development 2,05 US$/t 2,24 US$/t
% Pedza % Extraction 73 64
% Pedzi % Extraction 89 79
In situ reserve recovery % of mining reserves recovered 136% 118%

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS:

With the compiled results the conclusions are:
Total cost including development and operations,
considering collapses areas, is 9,2% lower for Grizzlies
against LHD.
Operational problems with LHD are higher due to high
vulnerability of the ore pass system.
Ore reserve recovery (due to 81 m2 layout against 169
m2) is much higher in grizzly layout (41% higher).
Dilution control even with the lack of uniformity in the
grizzly sector has been much better in grizzlies, obtaining
same total tonnage of dilution (ryolite) for 20% additional
recovery.
For secondary ore, or for cave fragmentation that can be
handled by a gravitational system, it should be preferred
over a LHD extraction system.
If fragmentation of the cave can be managed (ie: through
preconditioning of the rock) a gravity based method,
should be much efficient than an LHD alternative.
The LHD design should be reviewed to endure stability of
the future developments of the III Panel.

420 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 New mine level project
at El Teniente
Patricio Yez, Mine Engineering Superintendent, Rigoberto Molina, Geomechanics Engineer,
El Teniente Division, Codelco Chile

Abstract
El Teniente, one of CODELCOs mining Divisions, is carrying out an expansion plan of the underground panel caving
operation and the processing facilities in order to reach a 130,000 tonnes per day, plan known as the El Teniente
Development Plan.
For the production plan and future development plans, the exploitation of the deposit above elevation 2,120 meter above
sea level, has been considered until year 2014. From this year on, it will necessary to incorporate new mining projects,
located below that level, in order to maintain the long term production rates.
In this context, starting from year 2014 El Teniente will incorporate the New Mine Level project, which will become the
most important underground panel caving project and will sustain the production plans in the long term, exploiting only
primary ore. The undercut level will be located at 1,880 meters above sea level. The new level will be divided in five
mining sectors, including 1,371 million tons as total ore reserves with a 0.96% copper grade, covering an area of
1,606,000 square meters. The initial production rate will be 2,000 tons per day and will reach a maximum production
close to 130,000 tons per day in the long term.
The New Mine Level Project will deepen the exploitation of the deposit 100 meters below the current deepest level of
the mine (the main transport level, railroad Teniente 8) and will incorporate blocks with an average of 300 meters height
approximately. The location of such future mining level requires the introduction of relevant changes to the main
infrastructure of the mine, such as a new main transport level, new service shafts, primary crushers chambers, new
drainage and ventilation levels. Other important topics of the project to be discussed are the elevation of the future mining
level, the slope strategy with the mining going down to the new level (connection to the crater), the interaction with the
current operation sectors and with the main infrastructure of the upper levels of the mine, the mining plan and its
production capacity, the mining method design and the geological and geomechanical studies.
All these aspects configure the main focus of the studies currently under development at the pre-feasibility engineering
stage and will be emphasised on this paper.

1. INTRODUCTION

The El Teniente Codelcos Division, a state-owned

company, is located 80 kilometers South of Santiago at
2,200 meters above sea level (Figure 1). It exploits the
largest underground cooper mine in the world. The mine has
been exploited since 1905 and it includes 2,400 kilometers
of galleries.
This division annually produces close to 450,000 tons
of cooper fine, bars and cathodes. As a result of the ore
treatment, 4,750 tons of molybdenum and more than
800,000 tons of sulphuric acid are also produced each
year.
The 130,000 tpd production plan is supported by the
exploitation of ore reserves located over the 2,120
meters above sea level elevation (Teniente Sub6 level)
up to the year 2014. After that time, new mining projects
located below that level should be incorporated in order
to maintain the long term production in agreement with
the plan rates.
In that way, the "New Mine Level " is added to the
production plan starting on year 2014. Its reserves are
situated below the current main transport level (Teniente 8,
elevation 1,980 meters above sea level). It will include five
production sectors (Norte, Andes Norte, Andes Sur, Andes
Central, Sector Sur y Pacifico). Figure 1: Divisin El Teniente Location

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 421

 Figure 3: New Mine Level Sector Location

shape, close to 1 Km in diameter, with a sub vertical axe and

Figure 2: New Mine Level Sector Location
more than 2 Km of vertical extension. It includes ten main
lithological units which are presented in Figure 3.
A main set of strike slip N-E faults are present in the
northern orebody volume, N, N1 and N2 faults and P and P1
faults in southern area. The width range varies from 5 a
120cm with traces in th range of 100m to 500m. These
faults are projected to the lower levels, including the New
Mine Level.

Table 1: RMR Laubschers Classification Properties

2. NEW MINE LEVEL PROJECT
UNIT ff/m3 RMR
Location
The New Mine Level project is located in a zone defined Andesite HT
by the coordinates -660N y 1,300N and 0E y 1,580E, as (Late Hydrothermal ) Hw 5-8 50-60
shown in Figure 2. The ore column is defined by the level Andesite HP
1,880 meters above sea level and the current production (Principal hydrothermal) Principal) 8-11 42-53
sectors Esmeralda (2,210 meters above sea level) and
Teniente Sub6 (2,120 meters above sea level). The ore Diorite (primary) 4-9 55-65
columns are 240 meters for the sectors under Teniente Dacite (primary) 4-6 65-70
Sub6 and 340 meters for those under the Esmeralda sector.
Hydrothermal Brecchia 3-5 60-70
Almost 97 % of the project reserves are primary ore.
Primary Igneous Brecchia 3-7 55-65
Geology
The El Teniente orebody is located in the central Chilean
Andes and it is classified as a gigantic deposit. It is one of Table 2: Intact Rock Properties
the largest cooper-molybdenum deposit, with more than 75
millions of cooper fine tons. Parameter Andesite Diorite Dacite Braden
The size of the economical mineralized rock mass is 3 Brecchia
Km. in N-S direction and 1.5 Km in E-W direction. The Density [ton/m3] 2,8 2,7 2,7 2,60
underground mine has already exploited a 1 Km rockmass
column from the Teniente "J" level to the Teniente Sub6 Deformability
level. Modulus (E) [GPa] 60 45 30 25
The mafic complex is an aggregate of gabbros, diabasas, Poisson Ratio(n) 0,16 0,21 0,18 0,23
basalts, basaltic porphyries and basaltic andesites. It I
configured as a tridemensional set of fractures, veins and From Hoek & Brown
veinlets ("Stockwork"), with pyrite, chalcopyrite, bornite and criteria (ci) [MPa] 120 140 110 90
molybdenite mineralization. From Hoek & Brown
A relevant brecchia complex (Braden Brecchia) is located criteria, (Mi) 9,1 9,2 20,2 11,6
in the central zone of the orebody. It corresponds to a
Cohesion ( c ) 23 23 19 10
complex of hydrothermal brecchias, with an inverted cone

422 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The Rock Mass Rating (RMR) Laubschers (1990)
classification values are shown in Table 1 for the main
lithological orebody units.
Table 2 presents the intact rock properties for the
andesite, diorite, Braden brecchia and dacitic porphory
units.

Geomechanics
Guidelines for caving starting and propagation
The New Mine Level will initiate the caving using a
descending mining, avoiding an excessive tensile stress in
the surrounding rockmass and a relevant confinement in the
top of the caving cavity. If a standard connection method is
used, caving progressing upwards, the caving will be more
difficult. It will probably increase the recorded induced
seismicity. The abutment stress generated in the borders of
the cavity and the increase in the seismically active volume
above this cavity will create a higher radiated energy events
in relation to the size of the ruptures originating those
events.
The starting point of the induced caving corresponds to a
connection from the crater to the undercut level (downwards
connection) instead of a connection from the undercut level
to the crater as used in the standard connection (upwards
connection), Figure 4.
Once the undercut level is reached, the undercut zone is Figure 5: Stress Field zones
expanded by the incorporation of drawbells as in a standard
caving method.
A favorable condition is created by a gradual increase of Fragmentation
the seismically active volume as the mining goes down. It Five zone have been defined around the central Brecchia,
increases from a cero volume to its maximum. In the other included in the exploitation area of the New Mine Level. The
side, the active volume decreases from a maximum at the fragmentation has been classified in a relative scale including
starting of the undercutting as the caving progress upwards small size material, medium, coarse, very coarse and blocks.
in a standard caving method. The classification zones are presented in Figure 6.

Subsidence
Table 3 shows the subsidence angles for the New Mine
Level sectors. Those values have been derived from
empirical models validated against damage zones surveyed
in the current productive sectors.

Figure 4: Difference Natural Caving and Induced Caving

Stress Condition
The stress field as been estimated resulting a principal
major stress of 60 MPa and a minor principal stress of 33
MPa at a 1,800 meters above sea level elevation in the
central zone (see Figure 5). The higher stress
concentration are induced in the eastern zone (high
mountain zone, zone 3 in figure 5) and in the border of the
Braden Pipe (zone 2 in the same figure). This estimation
has been obtain from the stress measurements existing in
the production sectors and in the bottom level of the mine,
Teniente 8 at an 1,980 meters above sea level elevation.
Currently, efforts are made in order to improve this
estimations using numerical models and/or hydraulic
fracturing stress measurements. Figure 6: Fragmentation Zones Level 1,880 masl

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 423

 Table 3: Subsidence Angles of NML Sectors Tabla 4: Permisible Distances for the NML

Sector Subsidence Angles Sector Permissible Distances

(Collapse/Fracture) NML (meters)
North South East West From To

Andes Norte 63/55 N/A 63/55 68/55 Undercutting-Extraction 60 100

Andes Central 63/55 N/A 63/55 68/55 Undercutting- Developments

Andes Sur 66/58 65/58 63/57 68/55
Sur 74/65 71/64 68/60 70/62
Seismicity
ining induced seismicity is associated to the breaking of
the rockmass. Under same rockmass characteristics,
distances from seismic event sources and underground
work local conditions the seismic radiated energy can
damage galleries creating rockbursts.
Empirical evidences show that the most seismically
unfavorable stage of the caving process is the initial caving
before connecting to the upper caved level. The seismic risk
during this stage will be minimized by the use of the
deepening connection.
Permisible Distances
The application of the Panel Caving method define three
zones with different permissible distances.
Undercutting front extraction face distance
Undercutting front Production level Development
Advancing face
Undercutting front Prepared Area in Undercutting Level
Undercutting front Production level Developme Tabla 4
shows the permissible distances for the New Mine Level.
(Production Level) 20 25
Undercutting Mining
Preparation(Undercut level) 40 70
Note: The range depends on the NML zone
Reserves
The project reserves are close to 1,371 millions tons,
with an average cooper grade of 0.96%, a molybdenum
grade of 0.024%. From the total reserves 57% are
classified as proven, considering a total area of 1,606,000
square, Tabla 5.
Mining Plan
The principle used for defining the extraction sequence for
each sector was to maximize the economical revenues of
the reserve exploitation. In addition, other technical criteria
were utilized as the interaction between sectors under
exploitation (subsidence) and the geomechanical rockmass
characteristics which are predominant in relation to
economical criteria due to their relation with the technical
feasibility of the exploitation. Figure 7 presents the
exploitation sequence for the NML sectors.
The project expansion strategy for the starting of its
production operations is divided in two stages. The first
one called "going down" involves the connection of the
current crater with the undercutting of the New Mine Level

Figure 7: Exploitation Sequence for NML Sectors

424 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The typical production gallery section is 5.0 m width and
Tabla 5: NML Sector Reserves
4.5 m height.
The distance between drawbells crosscuts is 20 m and
Total Reserves
between galleries is 34.64 m, defining an influence area
SECTOR Mton % % % % % Area of 346.4 m2 for each extraction point. The tonnage to be
Cu Mo Proven Probable Possible extracted by each point will be in the range of 224,000
and 317,000 tons of ore, depending on the column
Norte 157.8 0.9 0.015 22 39 38 171 heights.
Andes Norte 216.6 1.03 0.022 20 44 36 309 The orepass system is configured by 3.5 m diameter
orepasses, with a 200 m spacing in each production
Andes Central 269.1 1.12 0.025 22 41 36 350 gallery. This means an influence area of 6,928 m2
Andes Sur 433.2 0.89 0.022 6 43 51 506 involving 20 extraction points for each orepass. Then, an
ore tonnage ranging from 4.4 to 6.3 millions tons would be
Sur 136.0 0.81 0.021 11 40 49 145
transferred depending on the column heights of the
Pacfico 158.3 0.90 0.031 5 15 80 124 corresponding sector
TOTAL 1,371.0 0.96 0.024 15 42 43 1,606 The secondary blasting reduction will be mechanized
using hydrofracturing equipments
Automatic LHD equipment is considered.
and the second one the expansion of the Panel Caving
operations.
The 130,000 tpd mining plan integrates the first NML
sector to the mine production during year 2014. Its initial
production rate will be 2,000 tpd and it will reach a 130,000
tpd production as permanent regime production after the
year 2025. Figure 8 presents the 130,000 tpd mining plan
and the NML production.

Figure 9: NML Production Module

Figure 8: The 130,000 tpd Mining Plan
Exploitation Method
A present-day approach for mining involving large
production volumes has been adopted. It will be highly
technified, with automated production operations and in
agreement with high environmental and safety standards
The Panel caving method has been selected for the New
Mine Level, using the pre-undercut or advance undercut
variant with the exception of the initial area where a
SubLevel Caving or an Inclined Caving are going to be
applied. A "going down" option for the initial mining will
generate a more favorable seismic rockmass response.
Besides a faster connection to the upper caved level and a
shorter time to reach a permanent regime production rate
are expected.
The main characteristics of the mining method to be
applied are the followings:
Four main levels: undercutting, production, haulage and
ventilation.
A production module involving a Teniente type extraction
mesh. The production module appears in Figure 9.
Production galleries and drawbell crosscuts in agreement
with the use of 13 yd3 LHD equipment.
Drawbell crosscuts with a 60 angle in relation to the
production galleries.
Ore Handling
The general criteria to be considered for the ore
handling system design are: a high production capacity,
handling of a primary coarse ore, operational flexibility,
low operational cost and high productivity, low
operational risk associated to the technology and an
easy construction.
From this point of view, the project has defined the use of
automatic 13 yd3 LHD equipment for the production level.
They will load the ore at the extraction points and dumped it
at the orepasses.
At the transport level, ore will be loaded to 80 tons trucks
by means of mechanized plate feeders. At each loading
point the production from 2 orepasses will be handled. The
typical gallery section will be 5.5 by 5.0 m to allow the
automated truck operation.
Ore will be transported by the trucks to the centralized
primary crusher chambers located out of the extraction
zone. These chambers are provided with shooters, 1.5
by 1.5 m grizllies and permanent pickhammers. The ore
will be transferred to the rotating crushers, 60" x 89"
size, with a 1.5 m feeder capacity. The resulting
material should be less than 8". It will be transported by
a conveyor belt system to the concentrator plant. The
conveyor belts will be 60" wide, 4.1 m/s speed, a
maximum capacity of 5,500 tph and different lengths
and slopes.
Table 6 and Figure 10 provided the main specifications
and a diagram of the ore handling system.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 425

 Table 6: NML Ore Handling System Specification

Fase Specification Notes

Secondary Reduction 4.9 hours/shift (LHD) Ratio > 1.8 m

Extraction (13 yd3 LHD) 4,000 t/shift Average distance 50 m.
Ore transfer 3.5 m diameter ore pass Material Size < 1.8 m
Feeder Loading 4 trucks/minute 2 ore pass/feeder
Haulage (80 t truck) 2,250 t/shift Haulage distance 1,500 m.
Pickhammer 2.7 hours/shift (truck) Reduced Ratio 1.5 m. 1.8 m. range
Grizlly (per crusher) 4 grizllies, 1 pickhammer each

Principal Indicators
The conceptual engineering studies currently under
development show the following figures:
First sector commissioning date year 2014
Permanent regime production capacity 130,000 tpd
Level lifetime > 30 years
Maximum rate per exploitation front 45,000 tpd
Area added for each sector < 28,000 m2/year
Estimated El Teniente personnel 476 personnel
Estimated contractors 1,599 personnel
Estimated productivity (El Teniente personnel)
> 280 tons/man-day
Estimated productivity (including contarctors)
> 70 tons/man-day
Mine investments 663 MUS$
Average operational cost 2.43 US$/ton
- Mining preparation 1.06 US$/ton
- Extraction and ore transfer 1.01 US$/ton
- Primary crushing and main transport 0.36 US$/ton
The estimated low costs are generated by the NML
project correspond mainly to the mining preparation low cost
due to the increased sized of the extraction mesh and a
decrease in the annual new area required due to the higher
rockmass columns, automation process, a single
exploitation level and preparation and maintenance
outsourcing.
Key Factors
The conceptual engineering studies have detected same
key factors regarding the technical and economical success
of the project. The main factor are the followings:
Geological and Geometalurgical Exploration Plan.
- In-situ geological resources
- Geometalurgical model
- Hydraulic drainage
Geomechanical Exploration and Studies
- Connection to crater method validation or
initiate induced caving

Figure 10: NML Ore Handling System

426 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 11: NML Project Global Plan
- Stress field estimation
- Seismic risk evaluation
Mining and Metalurgical Planning
- Exploitation sequence and production capacity
validation
- Simultaneous productive operation of different sectors
(subsidence and interference)
Mine design and Engineering
- Project master plan validation (construction analysis)
including engineering, construction, supplies and
commissioning. Figure 11, shows the project global plan.
- Technological developments (process automation)
- Exploitation method and its variant post-evaluation.
3. CONCLUSIONS
The New Mine Level is one of the most important project
among those with a conceptual engineering study at the El
Teniente Division. It will incorporate 1,371 millions tons of
ore reserves to the production plan.
Production from this project will be included in the year
2014 planned production. The first project sector (Andes
Norte) will support the 130,000 tpd long term production
rate. Exploiting the only the sectors located above the 2,120
meters above sea level elevation, that rate will be sustained
only to the year 2014.
The development of this project will generate a large
impact in the main mine infrastructure due to excavation of
a new infrastructure below the current deepest level existing
in the mine (Teniente 8 Level, 1,980 meters above sea level
elevation).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The autors thank at the "Gerencia de Recursos Mineros y
Desarrollo" and "Gerencia de Minas" of the El Teniente
Division, CODELCO CHILE, for the authorization to publish
this paper.
REFERENCES
Melndez L., Villanueva J. and Ynez P., "Resumen
Ingeniera de Perfil Panel 8", Report N PL-542/1999,
November 1999.
Melndez L., Villanueva J., and Ynez P., "Ingeniera de
Perfil Proyecto Panel 8 Seleccin de Reservas",
anexos, December 1999.
Celhay F., "Programa de Sondajes Proyecto Panel 8",
Report GL-042/2000, March 2000.
Yez P., "Ingeniera de Perfil Proyecto de Explotacin
Panel 8 Informe Final", Report N PDT-I-003/2000,
December 1999.
Yez P., "Ingeniera de perfil Proyecto de Explotacin
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Panel 8 Anexos", Report N PDT-I-003/2000, December
1999.
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Exploratorio Mina Concentrador Informe Final Volumen
I", September 2001, in contrat for El Teniente Divisin.
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Exploratorio Mina Concentrador Volumen II Area Mina",
September 2001, in contract for El Teniente Divisin.
JRI Ingeniera, "Proyecto Ingeniera de Perfil Plan
Exploratorio Mina Concentrador Informe Final Area
Planta", September 2001, in contract for El Teniente
Divisin.
Parraguez R., "Topicos a Considerar en la Ingenera
Conceptual Plan Exploratorio NNM (Panel 8), I Etapa",
Report N PL-059/02, February 2002.
Ynez P., "API T01M201: Proyecto Nuevo Nivel Mina
Panel 8 Ingeniera Conceptual", Report N PDT-I-
001/2000, July 2000.
Ynez P., "API T03M202: Proyecto de Explotacin Nuevo
Nivel Mina", Report SPD-I-MI-022/02, July 2002.
Celhay F., and Ziga P., "Proyecto Panel 8
Antecedentes Geolgicos", Report GL-I-59/02, July
2002.
Celhay F., and Letelier M., "Estimacin de Arsnico y
Antimonio Sector Sur Yacimiento El Teniente", Report
SGL-I-054/03, July 2003.
Celhay F., and Letelier M., "Estimacin de Recursos CuT
y MoT Sector Norte Central", Report SGL-I-131/03,
December 2003.
Molina R., Parraguez R., Catalano J., and Derk Ingeniera
y Geologa Ltda., "Anlisis Geomecnico Plan
Exploratorio Teniente ( P.E.T.)", Report DI-CT-SP-008,
July 2002, in contract for El Teniente Divisin.
Molina R., Parraguez R., Catalano J., and Derk Ingeniera
y Geologa Ltda., "Anlisis Geomecnico Proyecto
Aumento Capacidad Mina, Ingeniera Conceptual - Etapa
I", Report DI-CT-SP-004, July 2002, in contract for El
Teniente Divisin.
JRI Ingeniera, "Informe Ingeniera Conceptual Proyecto
Aumento Capacidad Mina Concentrador 150 ktpd, Vol 1
al 6", Report SDS-03/02, August 2002, in contract for El
Teniente Divisin.
Molina R., Parraguez R., Catalano J., and Derk Ingeniera
y Geologa Ltda., "Informe de Hundibilidad en Mina
Esmeralda, Fase I", Report DI-CT-SP-024, October 2002,
in contract for El Teniente Divisin.
Molina R., Parraguez R., Campos J., and Derk Ingeniera
y Geologa Ltda., "Informe de Hundibilidad en Mina
Esmeralda, Fase II", Report DI-CT-SP-029, November
2002, in contract for El Teniente Divisin.
Espinosa C., and CIIM T y S, "Sistema Estndar de
Control Operacional de Fragmentacin, SECOF", Report
P-106745, November 2002, in contract for El Teniente
Divisin.
427
 Len H., and TI, "Sistema Estndar de Control
Operacional de Fragmentacin, SECOF, Levantamiento
de Variables", Report TI-432/03, March 2003.
Dunlop R., "Estudio de Caracterizacin del Macizo
Rocoso por Mtodo Geofsico para Reservas bajo
Teniente 8", Report SPL-I-027/03, July 2003.
Cavieres P., and Vasquez P., "Aplicacin del Sistema
Standard de Control de Fragmentacin SECOF, al sector
Teniente 4 Sur", Report SPL-I-032/03, September 2003.
Molina R., Parraguez R., and Others, "Anlisis
Geomecnico Plan de Negocio y Desarrollo 2004",
Report SPL-I-004/04, February 2004.

428 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 KGHM The largest
underground mine in the world
Andrzej Zablocki, Atlas Copco Chilena S.A.C., Piotr Kijewski, CBPM Cuprum (Poland)

Abstract
Intensive exploration during the middle of the 20th century in the south-west region of Poland led to a discovery of one
of the world largest copper ore-bearing deposits. The excavation of the deposit is concentrated in three mining sectors:
Lubin, Polkowice-Sieroszowice and Rudna. All of them belong to a joint-stock company KGHM Polska Miedz S.A.
comprising three dressing plants, two smelters and one copper rolling mill.
Annual extraction of approximately 30 Mill tons of ore with an average copper content of 2% makes it the world largest
underground mine of fine copper production (530,000 t. in 2003). Geology, resources, geotechnical conditions and the
variation of mining methods for a depth of 1000 m and one of the worlds most unusual mineral deposits of such a large
excavation volume is described in this paper.

INTRODUCTION Deposits currently being exploited were discovered in

Poland belongs to a group of states that disposes of large
copper ore reserves. These deposits are concentrated in the
southwest of the country, in two geological units: the northern
Foresudetic basin and in the monoclinic grounds of Foresudetic
(fig. 1). These are the sedimentary deposits of a variety of
sulphuric mineralisation. Mining production is currently carried
out in the monoclinic grounds of Foresudetic, in the region of
Lubin, since in the northern basin of Sudetic exploitation ceased
due to exhaustion of reserves (region of Zlotoryja or because of
economic causes (region of Boleslawice).
1957 by Dr. Engineer Jan Wyzykowski of the National
Institute of Geology. The first documentation was
elaborated in 1959 and was the base for the first mining
investments in1960 and for the following exploitation
tasks, indispensable to recognize the geological-mining
conditions and to document the new portions of the deposit.
The first shaft reached the ore level on March 20th, 1960,
and the first mining units ("Lubin", "Polkowice") reached
25% of its productive capacity in January 1969. In the years
1970-1980 mining investments allowed making use of new
sectors in the deposit; "Rudna," "Sieroszowice", and also
increasing the exploitation to its current annual level of more
than 28-29 million tons of ore.
Parallel to the mining construction, ore treatment plants
have been created as well as copper foundries in Legnica,
Glogow and Cedynia.

Features of the Deposit

1) Eocretaceous, 2)Triassic, 3)Permian, 4)Paloeozoic formation
(cristalic), 5)Fault belts 6)Line of geological section, 7)Exploatation zone.
Fig. 1 Drawing of geological structure of the region showing
copper deposits in western Poland
The copper mine located in the mountainous region of
Foresudetic appears on the contact area between the
sandstone sediments called rotliegendes and marine
formations of Zechstein. In general it is a one stratum
deposit, with an irregular roof and floor surface with a slight
6 degree dip. The characteristic deposit lithostratigraphic
level is the layer of copper slate of Zechstein with a high
concentration of copper, silver and other accompanying
metals. Mineralisation also includes contiguously slate
located on the floors of the rotliegendes and carbonated
rocks of Zechstein on the roof.
The thickness of the deposit is quite variable, fluctuating
between 0.5 m and up to more than 20 m. Due to its
significant thickness the "Rudna" sector can be particularly
distinguished where close to 45% of the resources are
located in the group of more than 6 m with a maximum of 26
m.
The deposit is exploited at a depth of 600 to 1,000 m and
has been recognized to a depth of 1,600 m. The difference
in depth of the deposit is related to the rock stratum
monoclinic declination. In the limits of the deposit of each
mining division the quantitative differentiation of the mining
variations stands out. Thus, in the "Lubin" sector the
sandstone ore conforms to 71.5%, carbonated ore 17.5%
and slate 11%. The predominance of the sandstone ore
stands out even more, 84.5% in the "Rudna" sector, with
10.5 carbonated ore and 5% slate.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 429

 In the "Polkowice-Sieroszowice" sector the superiority of
the carbonated ore of 64.2% can be noted over the
sandstone ore and slate, 23.6% and 14% respectively.
The copper content in each sector of the deposit is
different. A general trend appears to be a higher quantity of
copper in the deposit where it is less thick, which is related
to an increased participation of the more mineralized slate.
This shows an average content of 10% of copper whereas
in the sandstone ore this fluctuates between 1-3%.
The characteristic feature of the deposit is the high
contents of silver which often exceeds 100 ppm over the
average exploited ore with a level of 60 ppm. Thus the total
production of over 1,200 tons puts KGHM within the group
of the main world producers of silver.
1)Documented deposit, 2)Exploatation zone, 3)GlogoW Gleboki
reserve zone, 4)Battery of shafts, 5)Individual shafts
Fig. 2 Copper-bearing Zone
Base of Reserves
The mining ownership in whose limits the Mining Divisions
of KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. carry out the exploitation of the
deposit, reaches about 416 km2 (fig.2), assuring a base of
reserves indispensable for maintaining the high production
of copper and silver. According to principles adopted in
Poland, balance resources
comply with that part of these geological resources
which makes the exploitation technically possible and
TABLE 1: Level of Reserves year 2000
Mining Divisions Reserves Average grade
(Million tons) Cu %
Lubin 423.888 1.29
Polkowice-Sieroszowice 490.693 2.60
Rudna 652.063 1.83
Total 1.568.744 1.92
430 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
economically justifiable. On this basis, the balance of
reserves has been determined in each Mining Division
(tab.1).
Included in the balance resources possible to exploit in
the near future, is part of the deposit "Glogow Gleboki",
which is today the reserve sector. Reserves of this part of
the deposit can be developed making use of the current
mining structure of divisions "Rudna" and "Polkowice-
Sieroszowice". Balance reserves in the reserve sector
comprise 688.4 million tons of ore and 14.9 million tons of
copper, that allow increasing the quantity of reserves of the
balance to 2,555 million tons of ore and copper to 45 million
tons.
Mining Operations and geotechnical conditions
The mine gradually increased the production
(table 2) split in terms of ore hoisting between Lubin (8
Million t/y), Polkowice-Sieroszowice (10 Million t/y) and
Rudna (11Million t/y).
In addition, KGHM is exploring to the north-east of its
existing mines and has already identified a further 700 Mt
of mineralization in the Glogow Gleboki area grading 2.2%
copper. Right now the new shaft is being developed in this
sector. At the moment the shaft is 1050 m deep and its final
depth will be 1246 m. Up to 635 m depth the freezing
method was used in order to be able to sink it.
In total the mines have 26 vertical shafts with diameters
ranging from 6 m to 7.5 m and depths that vary from 632
m at Lubin to 1,120 m at Rudna All of the shafts were sunk
using the freezing method as they pass through a major
aquifer.
The most modern shaft belongs to Rudna mine where the
depth of the loading level is 1,022 m; it is equipped with two
twin-skip Koepe friction hoists. Each unit consists of a four-
rope hoist with 5.5 m diameter friction drum powered by a
3,600 kW motor. Each of the skips has a capacity of 300 kN
and runs at a speed of 20 m/s.
Access to the deposit from the shafts and preparatory
workings is by a network of drifts located directly under the
strong dolomite roof and above the sandstone, along the dip
of the ore zone.
The main drifts are equipped with conveyor systems for
ore transport. Evaluation of mining methods is shown in fig.
3.
Originally the long wall method was used based on coal
mining experiences but very soon abandoned because of
limited possibilities to mechanise the work and low
productivity.
The predominant method used is room and pillar,
although this is adapted to the prevailing seam thickness
and geotechnical conditions. For instance, deposits up to 5
m thick are currently mined by room and pillar with roof
caving or roof deflection, considered to be more effective
and safer since it enables full mechanisation. The
technology behind mining deposits 5 to 7 m thick is based
on advanced-fracturing and post-failure capacity of pillars.
Quantity
Ag (ppm) Cu (Thousand t) Ag (t)
64 5.462 27.109
53 12.758 25.624
141 11.911 26.717
51 30.131 79.660
Massmin 2004
 TABLE 2: Annual Production of fine copper and silver at KGHM Polska Miedz S.A.
Year 1975 1980 1985
Fine copper (ton.) 235,244 348,849 376,106
Silver (ton.) 487.1 690.8 801.4
Fig 3. Evaluation of mining methods at KGHM
When exploiting a deposit with thickness of more than
7 m, as well as the exploitation of protection pillars at the
surface, a hydraulic filling is applied. The roof opening
reaches 150 m, and the longest edges of the pillars are
located perpendicular to the exploitation front line. Deposits
below 3 m thick, such as most of those encountered in
Polkowice-Sieroszowice, are excavated with a special
selective mining method using low-profile equipment (fig.4),
permitting to decrease dilution. This will be even more
important in the future as with the increasing depth of the
deposit, the seams are getting thinner.
Fig 4 Atlas Copco low profile drilling unit
The variation of the method for a height of 3 m at
Polkowice-Sieroszowice mine is shown in figure 5.
Geotechnically, the deposits are intersected by a
multitude of faults. An especially dangerous feature of the
rock is its ability to accumulate high amounts of energy,
which can occasionally explosively release as a rock bursts.
The deposit is stressed, and is subject to seismic events
and rock burst, so KGHM has developed a sophisticated
monitoring system and makes m3
Because of the variety of the thickness of different parts of
the deposit different size of to over 8 m3 bucket capacity,
which together with trucks take ore to conveyors.equipment
is used. For example, mucking is based on a large fleet of
LHDs ranging from 1,5 extensive use of rock bolts. Whilst
the immediately overlying rock is normally strong, in some
places weak layers of shales decrease the roof bearing
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
1990 1995 2000 2003
325,319 405,739 486,602 529,616
840.0 964.3 1,119.0 1,357.9
Figure No. 5. General layout of exploitation for the seam
thickness at Polkowice-Sieroszowice
capacity. For this reason, extensive rock reinforcement is
used, compromising standard mechanical and resin grouted
1.6 m and 2.6 m bolts and 5-7 m cable bolting, mainly at drift
crossings
SUMMARY
The Zechstein copper ore deposit in the region of Lubin
consists of an important base of resources for copper
mining in Poland . The mining ground together with reserves
foreseen for the near future exploitation, industrial reserves
amount to 935 million tons of ore and 47.6 million tons of
copper. There are also balance reserves documented in
adjacent land that form a potential base of raw material.
Ore mining that reached in 2003 more than 30 million
tons, is accomplished at three Mining Divisions, related
mutually by the structure of main drifts, horizontal and
vertical transportation, ventilation and ore treatment.
The homogeneity of the deposits geological structure,
mining level, technical and technological conditions of the
mining tasks, indicate that in Poland lies the largest
underground copper mine in the world and also the
second largest producer of silver, owned by consortium
KGHM polska Miedz S.A.
The mines technology will continue to evolve and this
may well include some even more radical mining
techniques in the future.
REFERENCES
Atlas Copco, 2003. Copper Mining in the Sudetic
Mountains, Underground Mining Methods.
Atlas Copco, 2003. Ericsson M. Mining trends,
Underground Mining Methods.
431
 Casteel K, Jan. / Febr. 1998. Low, long Lena, World
Mining Equipment.
Katowice, 1971. Monograph przemyslu miedziowego w
Polsce.
Krakow, 2002. Speczik At: Czterdziesci lat polskiej miedzi.
Lubin, 1996. Monograph KGHM Polska Miedz S.A.
Potts A, November 2003. Mining the Kupferschiefer,
Mining Magazine.
Wroclaw, 1998. Chronicle of Polish Copper.
Zablocki A. Kijewski P: Est en Polonia la mayor mina
subterranean de cobre? Minera Chilena, April 2004.

432 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Open Benching at EKATI diamond
mine Koala North: Case Study
Jaroslav Jakubec, SRK Consulting, Canada, Larry Long, BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc

Abstract
EKATI Diamond Mine was the first diamond mine to be developed near Lac de Gras in the Northwest Territories of
Canada. The first production came from the Panda open pit in 1998. Current operations are based on mining multiple
pipes by the open pit method, and Koala North pipe has been developed and mined underground. Koala North
underground project was undertaken to test the underground mining method and to provide access to the lower
elevations of the Panda and Koala pipes, which will also be mined from underground once the open pit operations are
completed.. The Koala North underground mine, North Americas first underground diamond mine, formally opened in
November 2002. It is being developed as an open-benching, mechanized, trackless operation. This paper documents the
experience from the first two years of open benching mining method applied to kimberlites in Arctic conditions.

1 INTRODUCTION
The EKATI Diamond Mine, operated, and 80% owned by
BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. (BHPB), 10% owned by Stewart
Blussom, and 10% owned by Chuck Fipke, is Canadas first
diamond mine. The EKATI Diamond Mine is located in the
heart of Arctic in Northwest Territories of Canada,
approximately 300 km northeast of Yellowknife and 200 km
south of Arctic Circle see Figure 1. The mine lease area is
entirely covered by treeless tundra and approximately one
third of the surface is covered by lakes.
The upper 40 meters of the Koala North pipe was mined
in late 2000 as a small open pit to provide grade and
geotechnical information and a prepared surface for the
transition to underground mining.
The Koala North pipe has been selected as a trial
underground mine for the purposes of testing mining methods
and to provide access to the lower elevations of the Panda and
Koala pipes which will be also developed as underground
operations once the open pit mining is completed. The trial
mining decision was made primarily because of uncertainty in
the several aspects of open benching and mass underground
mining at large in the northern Arctic environment. Although this
mining method was successfully used on several De Beers
diamond operations in South Africa, it has not been tested in
this setting.

2 GENERAL GEOLOGY

Koala North kimberlite pipe intruded into Archean

granitoids within central Slave Structural Province in the
Northwest Territories. It belongs to Lac de Gras group of
kimberlites and it is located between Koala and Panda
kimberlite bodies along the North-East trending structure
(Figure 2).

Figure 1: Geographical location of EKATI Diamond Mine.

Since its opening in 1998, the EKATI Diamond Mine has

produced more than 15 million carats. Its annual output
contributes to approximately 6% of world diamond
production by value. As of 2002 more then 150 kimberlite
occurrences had been found at EKATI claims that cover
more than 3,400 km2. Currently six kimberlite pipes are
included in the mining plan and nearly all of the diamond
production has been from open pit mining of multiple
pipes.
However, as some pits deepened the decision was made Figure 2: Aerial view (looking approximately north) across
to convert some of them into underground mines. the central development area at EKATI Diamond Mine.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 433

3 KOALA NORTH PIPE GEOLOGY
The Koala North body forms steep-sided pipe with
inverted cone morphology typical of most kimberlites in the
Lac de Gras area (Figure 3). It was covered with 15 to 20 m
of boulder - and gravel-dominated glacial till overburden and
it was located in a depression formerly occupied by the
Koala Lake. Immediate country rocks are formed by
competent, granodiorite of the Koala Batholith.
In general the kimberlite outline is roughly circular with
wall rock contacts dipping steeply inward at angle of
approximately 86. The pipe has irregular geometry in the
upper part where the eastern margin of the pipe flattens out
considerably. It was suggested that the irregular morphology
of the upper portion of the pipe is possibly controlled by a
fault that predates kimberlite emplacement.
The dominant infill lithology at Koala North is crudely
bedded to massive, relatively mud-rich volcaniclastic
kimberlite. This includes fine- to medium-grained crater
sediments, ash/mud-rich to olivine-rich resedimented
volcaniclastic kimberlite (RKV) and primary volcaniclastic or
pyroclastic kimberlite (PVK).
Current drilling at Koala North has intersected kimberlite
down to the 155 m elevation (~ 270 m below the top of the
pipe) and indicates that it is comprised exclusively of
volcaniclastic kimberlite material to this depth.
Figure 3: An isometric view of the Koala North pipe and
underground development (after Jakubec et al 2003).
4 GEOTECHNICAL CHARACTERIZATION
The initial geotechnical information was obtained from the
exploration drillholes using Laubschers rock mass rating
(RMR) classification system (Laubscher, 1990) for both
kimberlite and country rock masses. This was later updated
with data obtained from the open pit and it is continuously
updated with ongoing geotechnical mapping using updated
Laubschers classification system (Laubscher and Jakubec,
2001).
In comparison with other known pipes in the vicinity of
the Koala North it was very clear that majority of the
kimberlite rocks are relatively competent. The exceptions
are clay rich intervals within the RVK units that are
relatively weak and show low rock mass competency.
Such clay units form irregular bodies and are also highly
susceptible to degradation and weathering when
exposed to moisture.
434 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The rock mass weathering susceptibility in the mining
context is the strength deterioration within the life of
excavation due to the exposure to moisture. The degree of
weathering is influenced mainly by the clay minerals within
the kimberlite rock types. Weathering of the kimberlite can
adversely impact on ground support performance,
production blasting and trafficability. Weathering can also
promote the generation of mud as experienced in South
African operations and it is an important issue that needs to
be addressed in any kimberlite mining. An accelerated
weathering tests performed on the core revealed that the
majority of the Koala North kimberlite has low weathering
susceptibility except above mentioned clay-rich kimberlite
and mudstone, which form only 5-10% of the rock mass.
It is often found that poor quality rock mass is present
adjacent to the kimberlite body contacts. This could create
mining difficulties in both open pit and underground
operations. From the geotechnical point of view, two types
of contact zone are usually recognized: the internal contact
zone within the kimberlite body and the external contact
zone developed in the country rocks. In case of Koala North
the external contact zones are variable both in the geometry
and competency. Typically, as the development in the
country rock approaches the kimberlite pipe contact, there is
a zone of granodiorite approximately 1m to 5m in width with
increased joint frequency and in some areas there is also a
narrow (approximately 1m to 2 m wide) transition zone at
the pipe contact in which kimberlite stringers occupy joints
within the granodiorite. Although the contact zones are not
equally developed around the entire perimeter of the pipe,
their presence negatively impact on the dilution.
Based on the physical properties of the individual rock
types and geological zones, a geotechnical domain model
was developed subdividing the rock mass in the mining area
into eight geotechnical domains. The rock mass parameters
for individual domains are illustrated in Table 1.
5 MINING METHOD
The selected mining method for Koala North is open
benching. The decision was made as a result of technical,
economical and safety risk assessments. Competent
country rocks, favorable geometry, relatively competent
kimberlite, and most importantly, the arctic context of the
projects played an important role in the mining method
decision making process.
Table 1: Rock mass rating values
for individual geotechnical domains
Geotechnical Domain RMR
Overburden ---------
Near-surface Granodiorite 35 - 55
Granodiorite 60 - 75
External contact zone 40 - 55
Internal contact zone 18 - 30
Upper RVK 20 - 40
Lower RVK 45 -65
Clay-rich RVK 15 - 30
The natural caving option was rejected because the size
of the pipe in terms of the Hydraulic Radius (plan
area/perimeter) varies from HR=18m at the surface to
HR=10m at the base of the current study zone. These are
small values in terms of caving and would require very weak
material for an assured cave.
Massmin 2004
 The open benching is a top-down retreat mining method,
similar to sublevel caving but without the caved waste
behind the drawn ore.
Figure 4: Schematic vertical section of open benching with
individual production level geometries (after Jakubec et al
2003).
An access ramp to the underground workings was developed
from the surface down to the first production level at 2385. The
ramp has an arched profile of 5.5 x 5.5 m and all the
development drilling was conducted using brine solution due to
the presence of permafrost and cold air temperatures.
Accesses to the individual production levels are
developed from the main ramp at regular intervals. These
drives provide access for stope production, exploratory
diamond drilling and installation of the mining infrastructure
such as sumps, electrical installations and refuge bays. All
the level accesses have flat back square profiles of 5 x 5 m.
Production crosscuts were developed into and across the
kimberlite pipe for slot access, stope drilling and production
mucking. These cross-cuts are designed in an arched profile
of 4.0 m wide x 4.0 m high. Due to the susceptibility of
kimberlite to weathering, all the development and
production blast-hole drilling has been completed dry.
Figure 5: Production stope after the mucking is completed.
Note that frozen muck on top of apex pillar is standing up in
very steep angles.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
When the crosscuts are fully developed, the slot drifts
connect individual tunnels and the level is ready for the slot
development and production blast. Production stope with
apex pillars is shown in Figure 5.
Individual production levels have been developed at 15 m
spacing. The mining front maintained 3 levels in production,
maintaining approximately a 45 slope for stability purposes.
In the plan view, the front maintained a concave shape with
the boundary drawpoints lagging behind the central
drawpoint.
6 ACHIEVEMENTS IN ARCTIC CONTEXT
6.1 Production rates and Dilution
The production rates 1,500 wtpd achieved as planned.
Koala North underground operation experiences more
dilution than the open pits during normal mining operations.
The current average dilution rate is approximately 17%. Half
of the dilution is eliminated underground at the draw points,
and half is sorted on surface. It has to be noted that
approximately 75 % of the dilution is from upper 2385 level,
compared to 25 % from 2370 level. This is due to several
factors including pit bottom blasting damage, relaxation of
the rock mass at the upper edge of the pipe contacts and
also due to the underground production blast design for the
upper level. Once the rock mass is damaged and "loosen
up" then the effect of thaw and freeze up - ice jacking can
create small scale rock falls resulting in dilution.
6.2 Operational Issues
Freezing muck pile
During the winter months the broken muck pile in the
stope after the production blast will freeze up if not removed.
The level of freezing depends on water content. This can
potentially result in operational problems if measures to
mitigate the impact would not be implemented. The key to
the successful ore recovery is removal of freshly blasted
muckpile as soon as possible and prevention of water
access to the stope.
Any muck that left behind was primarily on the apexes
between the drawpoints was recovered on the next level
below when it was blasted. Although sometimes
experienced, the truck "carry back" of the ore due to
freezing has never been a serious problem.
Stabilizing effect of frozen pipe walls and the destabilizing
effect of ice jacking
When the Koala North open pit walls and the "glory hole"
walls are completely frozen from October to May no stability
problem as observed on exposed pipe walls. In late May
with the walls warming up due to the longer exposure to sun
and warmer temperatures followed by freezing during the
short night small scale rock falls were experienced. This is
mainly due to the "ice jacking" effect on open joints see
figure 6.
Trafficability and Ice build up
When the Panda Ramp had advanced to the point that it
was developed below the permafrost water began to seep
through the joints in the rock mass. Ice began to build up on
the haulage road and it quickly became a problem with
equipment moving on the ramp. After evaluating of the
alternatives the decision was made to install heaters on the
fresh air intake raise and within a few days of
commissioning the system the roads were free of ice.
During the winter there is also ice build up on the escape
ladder way and cleaning procedures were developed to
combat the problem.
Fogging - cold and heated air
After the heaters were installed on Panda fresh air intake
raise a pocket of fog would develop where the unheated air
435

Figure 6: View into the open stope from the open pit. Note
well developed apex pillars and stable blasting face. The
main source of wallrock dilution came from the upper levels,
combination of poor blasting, pit bottom relaxation and ice
jacking.
from Koala North mixed with the heated air. A "fog zone"
was created between 2245 Level and 2205 Level of the
Koala North Ramp. The fog would begin to dissipate once
temperatures rose above 30C. Procedures were
developed that allowed traffic to move safely through this
zone and prohibited pedestrians.
Impact of cold on productivity, men and equipment
Temperatures in the underground workings follow the
temperature outside with a significant delay of
approximately 1 month. Long development headings were
still +4.50C after 3 weeks of 10C to -15C outside. The
main reason is heat generated by the working equipment at
the headings and as well as low airflow due to leakage in the
vent ducting. Before the heaters were installed, some of the
mine areas could became very cold in the winter months.
The open drawpoints in the kimberlite could easily reach -
50C with the wind chill factor.
The underground crews work an 11-hour shift but their
effective time at the face is 8.5 hours. Based on the
assessment of the performance of the underground crews in
the winter months, the rotation of the underground
personnel was changed from 6 weeks in and 3 weeks out to
4 weeks in and 2 week out. The main reason for this was
the impact of the severely cold temperatures. It was felt that
six weeks proved to be too long to be exposed to that work
environment.
The primary impact the cold had on the equipment was on
the hydraulic systems. This was especially true at the
beginning of the project when ruptured hydraulic hoses
were a common occurrence. This was because the
equipment was more frequently exposed to the low
temperatures on the surface outside the mine. Indirectly,
there was also increased damage to the equipment due to
the use of brine for drilling. This issue is discussed below
separately.
Shotcrete mix for cold climate
Current shotcrete mix used underground comprises of
480 kg ready mixed shotcrete (Type 30 include silica fume)
and 1120 kg of aggregate. In the winter 27.5 kg of CaCl is
added to prevent freezing.
In order to achieve good quality product it was important
to introduce the QA/QC program that covers entire process
from batching to application. Daily inspections by the
geology/geotechnical staff are the best tool to inspect
shotcrete performance.
436 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The overall volume of shotcrete used per meter of
kimberlite development is 1.4 m3. It was found during the
testing that the shotcrete set up poorly at -18C, and never
attained full strength, but from 5C to 20C, the
compressive strength averages 38 MPa which is acceptable
for Koala North application.
Development and Production drilling
Two issues have to be considered: development drilling in
permafrost and production long hole drilling in the
kimberlite.
Due to the susceptibility of kimberlite to weathering, the
production drillholes had to be drilled dry. This proved to be
very successful and the only problem that has to be
combated in the context of the cold climate is re-drill due to
the icing up of the drillholes. Although this problem could
have a significant impact, it is experienced only during the
spring snow melt and freeze-up period, while in the
remainder of the year there were virtually no issues with re-
drilling.
The development in the permafrost granite required
drilling with brine. Some increased corrosion problems were
experienced on underground equipment. It was also found
that high quality two-stage settling of solids out of re-
circulated brine is essential.
Roadways construction
The key to the successful roadway maintenance system
in any underground mine is to keep water out of the running
surface.
In diamond mines this rule even more important due to
the weathering susceptibility of the kimberlite. Harsh
winter condition can add another level of difficulties to
the roadway maintenance especially during the spring
time of the year.
In Koala North all the drawpoints were driven at +4%
grade to allow water to drain quickly and for ease of
equipment recovery. Three roadway designs were tested on
2355 mining level; 150mm granite crush, graded kimberlite,
and "geogrid" beneath 100mm crush. The 100mm granite
crush as required on kimberlite floor provided the optimal
acceptable running surface. Kimberlite roadways when
frozen from November to June - provide excellent pavement
surface.
6.3 Stress Release
In order to accelerate the development of an access to
Koala and Panda pipes it was decided to temporarily
suspend the mining of Koala North. The production levels
that were already developed were retreated all the way to
the granite contacts but no slot was excavated on level 2340
below.
While the level 2355 was approximately half way
mined out, some shotcrete cracking occurred in the
tunnels and on level 2340 below. The intensity of
cracking on level 2340 increased towards the slot end
of the pipe. Stress measurements in the vicinity of the
pipe were conducted by CANMET and numerical
modeling using FLAC3D was undertaken by ITASCA.
The model was calibrated to the mining sequence and
the level of cracking was reproduced. The results from
the Koala North modeling are used to evaluate the
geometry, support and mining strategy for other
underground projects.
7 CONCLUSIONS
The successful introduction of open benching at Koala
North kimberlite pipe is very encouraging. Although this
mining method was successful on several De Beers
diamond operations in South Africa, it has not been tested
Massmin 2004
in the harsh arctic environment prior to commissioning the
Koala North underground operation.
The long term data are not available yet and initial
experiences are influenced by the learning process. For
example the 2003 spring snowmelt in comparison with
previous year had only relatively minor production impact
and in total only three shifts were lost due to water issues,
and approx. one additional week of 25% reduced
production.
While it is probably too early to properly assess all the
aspects of the operation very valuable lessons were
learned. The knowledge gained at Koala North will
contribute to the planning processes for the other
underground mining projects
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank BHP Billiton Diamonds for
permission to publish this paper. Also, the help of Tyla Hay
of SRK in making this paper a reality is greatly appreciated.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
REFERENCES
Jakubec, J., Long, L., Nowicki, T., Dyck D., 2003.
Underground Geotechnical and Geological Investigations at
EKATI Mine Koala North: Case Study. 8th International
Kimberlite Conference Abstracts. Victoria, Canada
Laubscher, D.H, Jakubec, J., 2001. The MRMR Rock
Mass Classification for Jointed Rock Masses.
Underground Mining Methods, Society for Mining,
Mettalurgy, and Exploration, Inc. (SME). Littleton,
Colorado, pp. 475 483.
Laubscher, D.H., 1990. A geomechanics classification
system for the rating of rock mass in mine design. J.S. Afr.
Inst. Min. Metall. vol. 90. no. 10. South Africa, pp.257 - 273.
437
438 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Chapter 11
Mine Planning II:
Case Histories
440 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 The development and
implementation of a mixed integer
programming model for production
scheduling at the Kiruna Mine
Mark Kuchta, Department of Mining Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

Abstract
Production scheduling is a critical aspect of planning the operation of an underground mine. While mathematical optimization
techniques have been widely applied to production scheduling for surface mines, the application of optimization techniques
such as Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) to multi-time period underground mine scheduling has been severely limited due
to the large number of integer variables and complex sets of constraints required, which results in unrealistically long solution
times. A new long-term MIP-based production scheduling model has been developed and integrated into the mine planning
system at LKABs Kiruna mine. The optimization model uses a new block data format for which production data for mining
areas is preprocessed into monthly production quantities. This data structure allows for a significant reduction in the number
of integer variables required. Algorithms to determine the earliest and latest possible start dates for production areas further
reduce the number of integer variables. In this paper, the model development is outlined and the results are illustrated using
practical scheduling examples from the Kiruna mine.

1 INTRODUCTION wide, with a strike roughly in the north-south direction and a

Production scheduling for large underground mines is
often a complex and time-consuming task. Due to the
complexity of the problem, heuristic scheduling algorithms
are often used. While heuristic algorithms may produce
useable schedules, there is no way of knowing how close
the schedule is to some desired optimum, for example, a
schedule that minimizes total mining costs. Mathematical
programming methods provide a means of producing
"optimal" schedules. While the application of such
techniques to open pit mine scheduling problems has been
widely used, their practical application has been limited in
underground mining. Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) is
a mathematical programming technique that can be applied
to the underground scheduling problem. The practical use of
MIP has been hindered because models must incorporate a
large number of decision variables, many of them restricted
to assume integer values. The large number of integer
variables required for model formulation results in
commensurately long solution times that may be
unacceptable for practical planning purposes. By
preprocessing the production data and through careful
model formulation, it is possible to reduce the number of
integer variables and thus greatly reduce solution times.
This paper summarizes a new mixed integer programming
model developed for the Kiruna Mine. The scheduling
system developed has been integrated into the mines
computerized mine planning system and is used for both
monthly and strategic planning. Five-year production
schedules with monthly fidelity can usually be produced in
about 10 minutes.
2 THE KIRUNA MINE
The Kiruna mine is located in Northern Sweden above the
Arctic Circle. It is owned and operated by the Swedish
mining company LKAB. The ore body is a world-class high-
grade magnetite deposit, approximately 4 km long, 80 m
dip of about 70 degrees. Two basic ore types are found in-
situ: a low phosphorous content very high grade magnetite
ore known as B ore, and a high phosphorous magnetite ore
known as D ore. The ore body is characterized by clear-cut
boundaries at the hangingwall and footwall contacts and
between the two primary in-situ ore types.
From the two in-situ ore types, the mine produces three
raw ore types based primarily on their phosphorous
contents known as B1, B2 and D3 ore. The three run-of-
mine ore types supply four mills. The B1 ore type is used
for fines production and feeds a single mill, the B2 ore type
is used for pellets production in a mill not equipped with a
floatation circuit, and the D3 ore is used to supply two
palletizing plants, each equipped with flotation circuits for
excess phosphorous removal. There is very little stockpiling
available between the mine and the mill, which places
enormous demands on the mine to carefully plan the
extraction sequence so that the proper quantities of the
three ore types can be delivered to the four mills.
Kiruna produces about 24 million tons per year using
large scale sublevel caving (Fig. 1). Transversal sublevel
caving is normally used with mining proceeding from the
hangingwall to the footwall. The spacing between sublevels
is about 27 m and the spacing between crosscuts is about
25 m. The production drifts are 7 m wide and 5 m high.
From the production drifts, rings of holes are drilled upward
in a fan-shaped pattern at an inclination of 10 degrees
forward (towards the hangingwall), with spacing between
rings of 3 to 3.5 m. Each production ring contains around
10,000 tons of ore.
The orebody is currently being mined from the 1045 m
main transportation level (Fig. 2). The mine is divided
vertically into 10 production areas, each with an extent of
400 to 500 m. One or two large capacity Load Haul Dump
units (LHDs) operate within each production area on a given
sublevel. The area where an LHD operates is known as a
machine placement. A series of ore passes known as a
shaft group runs from approximately the center of each

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 441

production area down to the main transportation level. The
ore passes extend down to the 1045 m transportation level MP1 MP2
where the ore is transported by large trains to the main
crushers and then hoisted to the surface through a series of 1, 50 1, 10
vertical shafts. Mining begins at the uppermost sublevels 2, 40 2, 20
and proceeds sequentially downwards. 3, 30 3, 30
4, 20 4, 40
5, 10

Figure 3. Two production areas MP1 and MP2 with 5 and 4

production blocks, respectively. The block number and
reserves in tons are given.

Indices
b = production block
t = time period

Sets
B = set of all production blocks
Figure 1. Mining by sublevel caving. V = set of blocks for which a sequencing
constraint exists
Sb = set of blocks by which block b is constrained

Parameters
T = number of time periods
Rb = total tons available in block b
Dt = production demand for time period t

Variables
Xb,t = tons mined in block b during time period t
Yb,t = 1 if block completely mined by time period t,
0 otherwise
Ut = under production from demand in time period t
Ot = over production from demand in time period t

Objective
t

minimize (Ut + Ot)

t=1

Figure 2. The 1045 m main transportation level at the Kiruna

Mine. Constraints

demand: Xbt + Ut + Ot = Dt , t
b
3 BASIC MODEL FORMULATION
t
A number of different types of sequencing constraints sequence 1: Xb,u > = Yb,t Rb , bt T
are required for MIP scheduling models. The most u=1
common is a constraint that simply requires that all of a
constraining block be mined before mining can t
commence in a constrained block. Constraints of this sequence 2: Xb,u < = Yb,t Rb , b V, b Sb, t
type are always required when the reserves for a block u=1
are greater than the tons that can be mined from a block
in a single time period. Such constraints require one t
integer variable per constrained block and time period. reserves: Xb,t < = Rb , b
The number of integers required increases exponentially u=1
as number of time periods increases. Figure 3 shows a
series of blocks that must be mined sequentially, i.e., an Xb,t , Ut, Ot = 0, Ybt binary
overlying block must be mined before the block
immediately under it can be mined. Assume that a Sequencing constraint 1 turns the binary variable Yb,t for
production schedule is to be determined which block b to 1 in the time period in which all the reserves for
minimizes the deviation from demand for ore in each that block have been mined. Sequencing constraint 2
time period. The mathematical formulation for producing insures that nothing can be mined from the constrained
such a schedule using MIP is given below: block b until all the material from the constraining block b
has been mined. The reserve constraint insures that no
more than the available reserves can be mined from a given

442 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

block, and the demand constraint insures that the demand
for ore is met in each time period while allowing for both
over and under production. The objective function seeks to
minimize the over and under production.
Using this type of sequencing constraint, a production
schedule consisting of five time periods for the two
production areas shown in Figure 3 would require a total of
20+15 = 35 integer variables.
Several attempts at multi-period scheduling using mixed-
integer programming have been made at the Kiruna Mine
using basic model formulations similar in structure to that
described above (Almgren, 1994) and (Dagdelen, et al.,
2002). In both cases the models could not be solved for
multiple time periods due to the excessively large number of
integer variables required and the resulting long solution
times.
The need for a sequencing constraint that insures that all
the available tons from a constraining block be mined before
anything can be mined from a constrained block can be
completely eliminated by preprocessing the production data
into production blocks that exactly contain the amount of
material that can be mined during one time period. Integer
variables are still required for scheduling; however, only one
integer variable is required per production area per time
period regardless of the number of blocks contained within
the production area. With such a formulation, the number of
integer variables increases linearly rather than exponentially
as the number of time periods increases. The mathematical
formulation for a production schedule that minimizes the
deviation from demand for ore using preprocessed block
data is as follows:
Indices
a = production area
b = production block
t = time period
Notice that the formulation contains no sequencing
constraints. As with the previous model, the demand
constraint insures that the demand for ore is met in each
time period while allowing for both over and under
production, and the objective function seeks to minimize the
over and under production. The constraint "limit one"
insures that at most one Y variable for each production area
can be 1. The key to the formulation is the demand
constraint, which for 5 time periods using the data given in
Figure 3 would expand as follows:
1) 50*Y1,1 + 10*Y2,1 + U1 O1 = D1
2) 40*Y1,1 + 50*Y1,2 +
20*Y2,1 + 10*Y2,2 + U1 O2 =D2
3) 30*Y1,1 + 40*Y1,2 + 50*Y1,3 +
30*Y2,1 + 20*Y2,2 + 10*Y2,3 + U1 O2 =D3
4) 20*Y1,1 + 30*Y1,2 + 40*Y1,3 + 50*Y1,4 +
40*Y2,1 + 30*Y2,2 + 20*Y2,3 + 10*Y2,4 + U1 O2 =D4
5) 10*Y1,1 + 20*Y1,2 + 30*Y1,3 + 40*Y1,4 + 50*Y1,5 +
40*Y2,2 + 30*Y2,3 + 20*Y2,4 + 10*Y2,5 + U1 O2 =D5
Figure 4 shows the overall structure of the formulation in
spreadsheet format. The reserves for two production areas
are shown in column 1. Columns 3 to 7 give the time
periods. The value of the Y variable for each time period
for each production area is given along with the
corresponding production. The total production, demand,
and deviation from demand for each time period are shown
in the last three rows. As can be seen with this simple
example the demand of 50 units per time period can be met
exactly by starting mining in production area 1 in time period
1, and in production area 2 in time period 2.

Sets
Time period 1 2 3 4 5
A = set of all production areas
Ba = set of blocks within production area A Reserves
Bt = set of blocks that can be mined in time period t. MP1 y 1 0 0 0 0
1- 50 50 40 30 20 10
Parameters 2- 40 0 0 0 0
T = number of time periods 3- 30 0 0 0
Rb = total tons available in block b 4- 20 0 0
Dt = production demand for time period t 5- 10 0

Variables MP2 y 0 1 0 0 0
Ya,t = 1 if mining starts in production area a in
period t, 0 otherwise 1- 10 0 0 0 0 0
Ut = under production from demand in time period t 2- 20 10 20 30 40
Ot = over production from demand in time period t 3- 30 0 0 0
4- 40 0 0
Objective
Sum 50 50 50 50 50
t Demand 50 50 50 50 50
minimize: (Ut + Ot ) Deviation 0 0 0 0 0
t =1

Constraints Figure 4. Spreadsheet representation of a production

schedule using preprocessed production data.
t

demand: Rb Ya,t + Ut Ot = Dt t
a b Ba Bt The formulation for this simple example requires 10
integer variables compared to 35 required with the previous
t formulation. While in this simple example the reduction is
limit one: Yat 1 , a small, with large model containing many production areas
t =1 and hundreds of production blocks, the reduction in the
number of integer variables can be dramatic. Often,
Ut, Ot 0, Yat binary solutions for large models can be found quickly using the
second model, whereas using the first model solutions

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 443

simply cannot be found at all in a reasonable amount of
time.
4 MODEL EXTENSIONS
The basic model structure using preprocessed production
data outlined in the previous section has been applied to the
problem of long-term production scheduling at the Kiruna
mine.
For planning purposes, the ore body is divided into 100 m
blocks, extending from the hangingwall to the footwall, and
with the block height equal to the sublevel height. Estimates
of the amount of B1, B2, and D3 ore that can be extracted
from each 100m block are then made. These estimates
take into account the blending of the in-situ high
phosphorous D-ore with the in-situ low phosphorous B ore
during extraction (Kuchta, 2002). Results from mining of the
upper sublevels are incorporated into the block estimates.
A machine placement, defined as the area on a sublevel
within a production area where an LHD operates usually
consisting of one to four 100m blocks, is the basic planning
unit for long term strategic production scheduling. For each
machine placement, the 100m block data is processed into
blocks that contain the amount of the three ore types that
can be extracted in one month. These block estimates take
into account the planed extraction sequence for the block as
well as the estimated LHD capacity. This preprocessing is
key to the model performance since it eliminates the need
for binary variables that sequence the extraction of blocks
within a machine placement. The block data for a typical
machine placement is shown in Figure 5. A five-year
strategic plan typically contains up to 60 machine
placements each with an average of 15 to 18 monthly
production blocks representing a total of over 125 million
tons of ore.
Figure 5. Production plan for a typical machine placement.
The objective of the MIP scheduler is to determine the
start dates for each machine placement such that the
deviations from the planned quantities for the three ore
types (B1, B2, and D3 ore) are minimized, subject to various
operational constraints that are tied to the mine layout and
mining aspects associated with the sublevel caving mining
method. The major operational constraints are: (i) vertical
sequencing, a constraint that insures that at least 50% of an
overlying machine placement has been mined before
mining commences in an underlying machine placement, (ii)
horizontal sequencing, a constraint that insures that mining
commences in the machine placement to the right and left
of a given machine placement when 50% of the given
machine placement has been mined, (iii) shaft group, a
444 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
constraint that limits the number of LHDs that can be active
simultaneously within the same shaft group, and (iv) limit
start, a constraint that limits the number of machine
placement s that can be started during a planning period.
The horizontal and vertical sequencing constraints make
use of the existing binary variables that represent whether
to start each machine placement in a given time period. As
such, these constraints do not require introducing any
additional integer variables. The complete mathematic
formulation for the Kiruna MIP scheduling model can be
found in (Kuchta, et al., 2003 and Kuchta, et al., 2004). The
first year of a typical 5-year schedule produced using this
model is shown in Figure 6. Twenty machine placements
were scheduled in the first year yielding a production of 22
million tons.
Figure 6. Example of a one-year monthly schedule.
5 VARIABLE REDUCTION
The principle variables in the model are binary variables
indicating in which time period the mining of a given
machine placement is to start. Various mining sequencing
requirements can be used to eliminate binary variables
corresponding to time periods when it can be shown that it
would not be possible to start the mining of a machine
placement.
In most cases it is possible to use a simple procedure
for establishing the earliest possible start date for each
machine placement. Figure 7 shows a small section of
a mining layout that is representative of the Kiruna
Mine. There are two production areas, each with its
own shaft group, SG1 and SG2. There are two
sublevels, L1 and L2, and each production area on each
sublevel has been divided into two machine
placements. For simplicity, each machine placement is
assumed to contain 10 monthly production blocks, each
with the same tonnage.
Referring to Figure 7, if machine placement MP1 is
assigned a start date of 1, the vertical sequencing constraint
requiring that 50% of the overlying machine placement be
mined before mining of an underlying machine placement
can begin would require the earliest possible start date for
MP5 located immediately under MP1 to be 6. All binary
Massmin 2004

Figure 7. Small section of a mining layout.
variables used to indicate whether or not to start mining
MP5 in time periods 1 to 5 can be removed from the model.
Additionally, the number of machine placements that can
be active within a given shaft group is limited, i.e., mining of
a given machine placement cannot begin until an ore pass
becomes available. Assume both MP1 and MP2 are started
in time period 1, and that the maximum number of machine
placements allowed to be active in shaft group 1 is 2. This
restriction would establish an earliest possible start date for
both MP5 and MP6 of 11. The binary variables
corresponding to this delay can also be eliminated. Finally,
the left and right sequencing constraints that require that
mining commence in an adjacent machine placement when
50% of the given machine placement has been mined can
also be used to establish the earliest possible start date for
a machine placement
In some cases it is also possible to use a simple
procedure for establishing the latest possible start date of a
machine placement. If the start date for any one machine
placement on a sublevel is known, the left and right
sequencing constraints that require that mining commence
in an adjacent machine placement when 50% of the given
machine placement has been mined can be used to
establish a latest possible start date for all other machine
placements on the same sublevel. For example, if MP2 is
started in time period 1, the latest possible start dates for
both MP1 and MP3 would be 6. All binary variables for a
machine placement greater than the latest possible start
date can be eliminated.
A complete description of the early start and late start
algorithms described above as well as an implementation in
the AMPL programming language is given in Topal (2003).
A five-year strategic plan typically contains up to 60
machine placements and with no variable reduction would
require 3600 integer variables for a production schedule
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
with 60 monthly time periods. Using the early satrt and late
start variable reduction procedures described above, the
model size will typically be reduced to around 900 integer
variables. The difference in solution times with such a
reduction is huge. By preprocessing the production data
into monthly production quantities and applying additional
variable reduction techniques, five-year production
schedules with monthly fidelity can usually be produced in
about 10 minutes.
6 SUMMARY
A new mixed integer-programming model has been
developed and is currently being used for long-term
production scheduling at LKABs Kiruna mine. The model
makes use of a new data structure based on preprocessing
the data for each production area into blocks containing the
amount of ore that can be mined in one time period. This
data structure significantly reduces the number of integer
variables required. Algorithms that determine the earliest
and latest possible start dates reduce the number of
integers required further. Five-year production schedules
using the new system can usually be produced in less than
10 minutes. Research is currently being conducted in
extending the model towards shorter term weekly planning.
The techniques described in this paper have been shown
to be useful for developing production schedules for a large
mine using the sublevel caving mining method. It should
also be possible to apply this model to operations using
other underground bulk mining methods such as sublevel
stoping.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank LKAB for the opportunity
to work on this challenging project and for permission to
publish these results.
REFERENCES
Almgren,T., 1994, "An Approach to Long Range
Production and Development Planning with Application to
the Kiruna Mine, Sweden", Lulea University of
Technology, Doctoral Thesis number 1994:143D.
Dagdelen, K., Kuchta, M., Topal, E., 2002, "Linear
Programming Model Applied to Scheduling of Iron Ore
Production at the Kiruna Mine, Kiruna, Sweden",
Transactions of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, And
Exploration, Inc., Vol. 312, 2002, pp 194-198
Kuchta, M., 2002, "Predicting Run-of-Mine Ore Grades for
Large-Scale Sub-Level Caving at LKABs Kiruna Mine,
Transactions of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, And
Exploration, Inc., Vol. 312, 2002, pp 74-80
Kuchta, M., Newman, A., and Topal, E., 2003, "Long Term
Production Scheduling at LKABs Kiruna Mine", Mining
Engineering, The Society of Mining, Metallurgy, and
Exploration, Inc., Vol. 55, No. 4, April 2003, pp 35-40
Kuchta, M., Newman, A., and Topal, E., 2004,
"Implementing a Production Schedule at LKABs Kiruna
Mine, Interfaces, Vol. 34, no 2, March-April 2004, pp 124-
134
Topal, E., 2003, "Advanced Underground Mine
Scheduling Using Mixed Integer Programming", PhD
Dissertation T-5733, Colorado School of Mines, Golden,
Colorado.
445
 Complex cutoff grade
optimization at the Kiruna Mine
Emmanuel Henry, Senior Geostatistician, AMEC, Canada
Kjell Klippmark, President, KGS, formerly Mine Manager, LKAB, Sweden

Abstract
LKAB operates the Kiruna mine, a large-scale sublevel caving (SLC) operation in Northern Sweden, and provides the
market with iron products of different qualities and prices.
Defining an optimal draw point closure cutoff grade is a key concern for SLC mines. It has a direct effect on operational
costs, mineral resource recovery, market deliveries and corporate financial results in the short and long term.
Lanes (1988) Cutoff Grade Theory gives a framework to address this issue, but must be adapted to account for several
particularities at the Kiruna Mine. First, the grade-tonnage curve must account for draw point dilution, a particular feature
of SLC, and second, complex process structures must be modeled with several parallel flows. Each flow has its own
blending, cost, and capacity constraints, which eventually become non-linear. Finally, fluctuations in the market capacity
for the various iron ore products impose different marketing capacity constraints.
The paper describes a cutoff grade optimization model that was built specifically for the Kiruna Mine. Based on market
conditions, the model determines the necessary cutoff grade to meet a required return rate, optimal production rates,
and the location of limiting capacities (bottlenecks in the process). The underlying assumptions, results and potential
significant economical benefits are also discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION waste-rock dilution (expressed as the weight percentage of

LKAB operates the Kiruna Mine, a large-scale sublevel
caving (SLC) operation in Northern Sweden, and provides
the market with iron fines and pellets. Iron ore producers are
subject not only to variations in the metal price, negotiated
once a year between major market suppliers and buyers,
but also to demand, which is very dependent of the global
economic conjuncture. The higher the economic
conjuncture (e g the more cars sold in the World), the more
steel consumed, and thus the more iron ore bought.
In order to keep competitive with major low cost open-pit
producers, LKAB invested heavily in process optimization
and cost reduction. One aspect that was overlooked until
recently was the potential impact of an optimization of the
cutoff grade on LKABs financial performance.
A cutoff grade optimization theory, intrinsically a process
optimization tool, was developed by Taylor in 1972. He
demonstrated that maximizing the cash flow of a mine by
using an optimal cutoff grade is a function of costs,
capacities, and a grade-tonnage curve. Lane (1988)
integrated financial constraints, such as the rate of return,
and long-term resource consumption optimization
constraints in the model, and made it a strategic planning
tool. An important conclusion of both theories is that the
break-even cutoff grade that is applied by many mines is
rarely optimal (see Hall, 2003).
A model was developed specifically for the Kiruna mine in
order to demonstrate the economic potential of adapting the
cutoff grade to market capacity (Henry, 2003). Adaptation of
Lanes theory, however, was not straightforward since
process flows are very complex, with several ore qualities
giving rise to several products processed and sold in
parallel. A very particular feature in SLC mining operations
is the distortion of the in situ grade-tonnage curve due to
waste-rock dilution at draw points.
2 BACKGROUND
Iron ore grades in the Kiruna mine run-of-mine (ROM)
depend on in situ iron grades in the raw magnetite and
waste-rock in a tonne of ROM).
Internal waste-rock dilution comes from in situ waste-rock
intrusions in the SLC production rings and external dilution
comes from the blending of caved waste-rock with newly
fragmented ore at draw points. External dilution increases
with increasing draw, defined as the percentage of the
tonnage produced from a ring compared to its theoretical in
situ tonnage (usually 10,000 t).
Iron grades are relatively constant in the magnetite and
external waste-rock dilution is the most influent factor on the
ROM iron grade.
ROM waste-rock content is monitored on the mines main
haulage level but it is not dynamically controlled. Annual
averages have been relatively constant around 36-37 %,
and when market capacity is high, plants generally complain
that the ROM contains too much waste-rock and not enough
magnetite to fulfill market capacity, and ask waste-rock
dilution to be lowered. The mine usually answers that
lowering waste-rock dilution by decreasing the draw would
increase mine development costs, and more important,
would result in "high-grading" of the resource.
This controversy motivated the construction of a waste-
rock dilution optimizer to find the waste-rock dilution that
would maximize the value of the mine in function of the
market capacity, using Lanes Theory (Lane, 1988).
3 PROCESS MODELING
The first step in the construction of a cutoff grade
optimizer consists in modeling the mining process sensu
largo (i.e. from mine development to marketing). The
process is described by material flows, capacity structure,
and cost structure.
3.1 Material Flow Model
The Kiruna mine produces at least three qualities of
finished products (f p) from three ROM qualities. Low-
phosphorus and low-alkali material (B1) is used to produce
fines (KBF) in a plant in Kiruna. Low-phosphorus and high-
alkali material (B2) is used to produce pellets (SPBO) in a

446 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

plant located in Svappavaara, 50 km south of Kiruna.
Finally, high-phosphorus material (D3) is processed into
pellets (KPBO) in Kiruna.
Processing of the in situ iron resource is divided in the
following steps (terminology derived from Lane, 1988; see
Figure 1):
Mining: Tunneling and production drilling of SLC rings.
Treating, Step 1: Ore fragmentation, loading, and hoisting.
Treating, Step 2: Primary grinding and primary separation.
Treating, Step 3:
- Secondary grinding and enrichment into KBF, or,
- Transport by train to Svappavaara, secondary grinding,
enrichment, and pelletizing into SPBO, or
- Secondary grinding, enrichment, and pelletizing into
KPBO.
Marketing: Transport by train to harbors and shipment to
customers.
The model considers a tonne of ROM loaded from a draw
point and dumped in an ore pass containing a proportion of
grb (grberg = waste-rock, in Swedish) of external waste-
rock and a proportion 1-grb of constant iron grade magnetite
(internal dilution and iron grade variations are ignored). For
each 1-grb tonne of magnetite loaded and dumped in an ore
pass:
1-grb t is hoisted.
1-grb t goes through the primary grinding and separation.
A part of (1-grb) is treated in the KBF-process.
A part of (1-grb) is treated in the Svappavaara-process.
A part of (1-grb) is treated in the Kiruna KA1/KK-process.
A part of (1-grb) is treated in the Kiruna KA2/KK-process.
For each grb tonne of external waste-rock loaded and
dumped in an ore pass:
grb t is hoisted.
grb t goes through the primary grinding and separation.
A part of grb is separated away in the primary separation
line and is dumped on waste dumps.
A part of grb follows in the KBF-process, where it is
separated and stored in tailing dams.
A part of grb follows in the Svappavaara-process, where it
is separated in the enrichment plant and stored in tailing
dams.
A part of grb follows in the KA1 enrichment process,
where it is separated and stored in tailing dams.
A part of grb follows in the KA2 enrichment process,
where it is separated and stored in tailing dams.
Mining: Ore Treating, Step 1:
Ore production Treating,
Development
and hoisting Step 2:
Grinding
and
primary
separation
Figure 1: Ore flow model at the Kiruna mine.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The proportions of magnetite (1-grb) and waste-rock
(grb) entering each sub-process (KBF, Svappavaara,
KA1, and KA2) were determined by analyzing historical
data. They will most likely vary with the differential
demand for KBF, SPBO, and KPBO, and will also
depend on grb.
Some of the magnetite which is fed into the primary
separator and following enrichment plants is lost with the
separated waste-rock, resulting in magnetite recovery less
than 100 %. Recoveries achieved in each of the KBF,
Svappavaara, and KA/KK processes are different and
functions of grb.
The proportion grb is directly related to the draw of a SLC
ring. The greater the draw, the greater the proportion grb.
3.2 Capacity Structure
Capacity constraints limit the quantity of material that can
be transported and processed at each step of the process.
A simplified capacity structure breakdown into major
process unit is proposed:
Annual mine development capacity (tunneling and
production drilling): M.
Annual ore production capacity (blasting, LHD loading,
hoisting, and primary grinding and separation): H1.
Annual enrichment and pelletizing capacity: H2.
Annual market capacity (train transport, harbour
stockpiles, demand): K.
Capacities are rarely constant and are often multivariable-
dependent. Hoisting capacity, for example, depends on the
proportions of B1, B2, and D3 ore qualities produced since
these qualities must be hoisted separately. Plant capacities
are dependent not only on the waste-rock proportion, but
also the moisture content and the fragmentation quality. A
high waste-rock proportion requires the raw material to be
re-circulated several times before an adequate quantity of
waste is removed, resulting in decreased plant capacities.
Whenever possible, non-linear relations should be
accounted for in the model. Although non-linear effects
between waste-rock dilution and plant capacities are
suspected, a valid mathematical model was not available at
the time of the model construction and capacities were
therefore modeled constant.
Mine development capacity must be expressed in tonnes
of resource, while for practical reasons mine personnel
reports it in meters of tunnel or in meters of blast-holes
drilled. A draw point can produce an almost infinite quantity
Treating, Step 3: Marketing:
KBF process KBF fines
Treating, Step 3:
Svappavaara Marketing:
process SPBO
pellets
Treating,
Step 3: KA1
process
Treating, Step 3: Marketing:
KK1/KK2 KPBO
process pellets
Treating,
Step 3: KA2
process
447
of raw material, but in the model, it is fair to assume that
after loading 150 % of its nominal in situ 10,000 t, a ring
does not produce any magnetite. Thus only 15,000 t useful
tonnes can be produced from a draw point. There is a 3 m-
spacing between production rings, and about 65 % of the
total tunnel length developed in Kiruna is for production
purpose. This implies that about 4,6 m of tunnels must be
driven for each 15,000 t developed in situ resource. For
example, a tunneling capacity of 15,000 m/yr would then
correspond to 3,261 draw points and about 48,9 Mt of
resource.
The nominal hoisting capacity is 26 Mt/yr. If the real LHD
production capacity was only 22 Mt/yr, this real capacity
should be used as parameter H1 in the optimization. The
optimization must reflect the actual process state, not
theoretical ones. This is also true for all the other capacities:
M, H2 and K.
Capacities H1, H2, and K must also account for the
material produced by tunneling, since it produces a
significant amount of ore and waste-rock, around 1 Mt/yr.
For example, if the true hoisting capacity is 23 Mt and 1 Mt
of material are produced by tunneling, the final capacity
available for ore production (from rings) should be reduced
to 22 Mt. If the market can take 11 Mt f p only, and the mine
development generates 0.5 Mt f p, then the optimization
should be run using a total demand of 10.5 Mt f p. Ideally,
the model should be dynamic and optimize the cutoff grade
as well as the quantity of tunnel needed at the same time.
However, this desirable level of sophistication would require
integrating long-term mine planning, market planning, and
certainly a resource block-model, in order to account for
mining infrastructures that must be developed in advanced
(e g new ramps).
One of the biggest assumptions in the model is that the
market capacity K is a summation of several semi-
dependent market capacities for KBF, SPBO, and KPBO.
Modeling individual and differential capacities would be
Figure 2: Waste-rock dilution at draw points.
448 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
more accurate but would also require a much more
sophisticated model which would integrate individual grade-
tonnage curves for B1, B2, and D3 ROMs, taking into
account quality mixes at draw points.
3.3 Cost Structure
Each sub-process induces fixed and variable costs. The
following variable costs are accounted for in the optimization
model:
Mine development.
Ore production, excluding primary grinding and
separation.
Primary grinding and separation.
Waste-rock handling at primary separation.
KBF-production.
Waste-rock handling in KBF-process.
Svappavaara enrichment and pelletizing.
Waste-rock handling in Svappavaara.
KA1 enrichment.
Waste-rock handling in KA1.
KA2 enrichment.
Waste-rock handling in KA2.
KK pelletizing.
Train transport and harbours.
Fixed costs were all regrouped in a single variable.
The separation between fixed and variable costs is
essentially a question of time perspective. Most personnel
costs, for example, could be considered as fixed costs. Most
material costs, like rock bolts in the mine, or contracted
maintenance costs were considered variable.
The model incorporates the very important opportunity
cost defined by Lane (1988). This cost should be evaluated
considering the present state of the remaining mining
reserves, market capacity forecasts, and the cost of capital.
It is indeed the parameter that links short-term process
optimization (immediate cash flow maximization) to mine
Massmin 2004
value maximization on long-term (net present value
maximization).
3.4 Marketing Price
Although market capacity was not modeled differentially,
marketing price was different for KBF, SPBO, and KPBO.
In iron marketing, it is not unusual to discount prices over
the official price negotiated every year in Germany and
Japan. This is used primarily when iron producers wish to
enter a new market or in periods of low conjuncture. It is
important to account for these discounts in the optimization.
4 GRADE-TONNAGE CURVE
The second step in a cutoff grade optimization consists in
defining a grade-tonnage curve. The diluted grade-tonnage
curve, not the in situ grade-tonnage curve, must be used.
Although there are some theoretical curves describing
waste-rock dilution as a function of increasing draw, they
could not be validated on real curves obtained from test
draw points.
Rings with early waste-rock dilution are generally stopped
early, giving low draws, while rings with late dilution are
stopped late, giving high draws. Although waste-rock
dilution is monitored for most rings at the Kiruna mine, this
makes it impossible to build an unbiased average waste-
rock dilution curve (the higher the draw, the higher the bias).
Figure 2 shows the diluted grade-tonnage curve finally used
in the optimization. It relies upon the two following points:
The very first tonnes from a draw point are expected to be
waste-rock-free, provided that the crosscut is located in
magnetite (this is an approximation since on the footwall
side, the lowest part of the ring is composed of waste-
rock). Average waste-rock dilution at 0 % draw should
therefore be close to 0 %.
Figure 3: Increment in present value of resource utilized in function of the average waste-rock dilution, market
capacity = 10.5 Mt.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The average waste-rock dilution for the whole year in
2002 in Kiruna was 36 %, which corresponded to an
average draw of 104 %.
This curve is one of the most uncertain parameters in the
optimization.
5 OPTIMIZATION PROGRAM
The model was programmed in Excel using 37 input flow,
capacity, cost, price and grade-tonnage-curve parameters.
For a series of draw increments between 0 % and 150 %, it
calculates the average cumulative waste-rock dilution in the
material produced from a draw point, the increment of
present value per resource unit utilized using functions
adapted from Lane (1988), the net cash flow before taxes
generated by a ring and by the whole Kiruna operation, and
the numbers of consumed rings and produced tonnes of
finished products.
Lane (1988) demonstrates that in order to maximize the
value of a mine, it is enough to maximize the increment of
present value per resource unit utilized, which is a function
of costs (variable, fixed, and opportunity costs), price,
grade-tonnage curve, recoveries, and process limiting
capacity. The program calculates the increment in present
value if M, H1, H2, or K are the limiting capacities,
alternatively. Figure 3 illustrates a configuration where the
market capacity (K) is low, 10.5 Mt. The optimum waste-rock
dilution is then determined by following the lowest curve
pass (M limiting between 0 % and 21 % waste-rock dilution,
K between 21 % and 44 %, and H1 limiting above 44 %) and
finding the maximum on this pass, which occurs at about 36
%. At this waste-rock dilution level, the increment in present
value is 13.9 kr.
449
Figure 4: Increment in present value of resource utilized in function of the average waste-rock dilution, market
capacity = 15 Mt.

6 HOW MUCH IS THIS WORTH?
The value maximization curve in Figure 3 is relatively flat
around the optimal 36 %, indicating a departure to this
optimum has little impact on the mines value.
In order to understand the impact of market capacity on
the optimal waste-rock dilution, the market capacity was
increased to 15 Mt.
The resulting optimal waste-rock dilution is then 30 %, as
illustrated in Figure 4. The optimum waste-rock dilution is
then determined by the balancing mine development and
hoisting capacities, M and H1. The optimal waste-rock
dilution is also lower than for a market capacity of 10.5 Mt:
Richer material is sent into the process, so that more
finished products are made from each tonne loaded at draw
points (less waste-rock circulates in the system). The
process is economically more efficient, at the cost of
increased resource consumption, however.
A decrease in these bottleneck capacities M and H1 would
have a direct impact on the net economy of the mine in periods
of high market capacity. Similarly, increasing H1, by renting
additional LHDs for example, would increase the mine value
and the optimal waste-rock dilution. Investing in enrichment or
pelletizing capacity (H2) increase, however, would have no
effect on the mine value and would be a waste of money.
Producing at 36 % waste-rock dilution instead of 30 %
when the market capacity is 15 Mt generates a significant
loss of value, as detailed in Table 1. A direct cash flow loss
of 242 Mkr is incurred as less finished products can be
shipped to customers, thus less net earnings can be
generated. Rings are "sold" for a net earning of 318,919 kr
instead of their potential maximum value of 358,743 kr.
Obviously, the value of such an optimal waste-rock policy
will vary considerably with the market level. It is during high
market capacity periods that it will have the most significant
economical impact.
Table 1: Cash flow generated for two
waste-rock dilution scenarios, 30 %
and 36 %, and market capacity = 15 Mt
Waste-rock dilution 30 % 36 %
Cash flow1 generated by an in situ tonne
of magnetite developed (kr/t) 23,9 21,3
Cash flow1 generated by a ring (kr/ring) 358,743 318,919
Global operation cash flow1 (Mkr) 897 655
Number of consumed rings 2,500 2,056
Direct loss2 (Mkr) - 242
1-Net before tax; 2-Direct loss = 897 655 = 242 Mkr
7 THE DRAW POINT DILUTION
CURVE, A STRATEGIC TOOL
The optimal waste-rock dilution calculated from the model
relies heavily on the grade-tonnage curve in Figure 2.
The sensitivity of the optimal waste-rock dilution to the grade-
tonnage curve was tested for a market capacity of 15 Mt. The
new grade-tonnage curve is illustrated in Figure 5. Draw points
are now assumed to produce only waste-rock from 120 % draw
and above. The resulting optimum waste-rock dilution is 37 %,
for an increment in present value of about 15.7 kr/t, as showed
in Figure 6. It corresponds to a draw of 88 %.
If the true curve was the one of Figure 2, but the
optimization was performed on the curve of Figure 5, the
(incorrect) optimal waste-rock dilution would cost about 280
Mkr. This amount (remember it is for one year only!) gives a
perspective on the value of a research and development
program aiming at determining the true grade-tonnage
curve achieved in operation.

450 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 5: Waste-rock dilution at draw points, second scenario.

Figure 6: Increment in present value of resource utilized in function of the average waste-rock dilution, market capacity = 15
Mt, and grade-tonnage curve as in Figure 5.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 451

8 CONCLUSIONS
Cutoff grade optimization could have a significant impact
on the Kiruna mine short- and long-term economic
performances and value. Net cash flow increases in the
order of several hundreds of million Swedish Crowns could
be achieved in high market capacity years.
Implementation of a cutoff grade control would need
relatively minor adjustments in the way the Kiruna operation
is run; particularly, no major investment would be needed.
Further investigations are required, however, first to
determine a reliable grade-tonnage curve, then to test the
various assumptions on the process model. In particular, the
model should account for the three run-of-mine ore qualities
and for the differential demands in KBF, SPBO, and KPBO.
A similar model was built for the Malmberget mine, LKABs
second operation, where differential demand for fines and
pellets were modeled. This second model demonstrated the
importance of modeling differential demands on the mine
value and optimal operating strategy.
452 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
REFERENCES
Hall, B, 2003. How mining companies improve share price
by destroying shareholder value, or how the junior
geologist and engineer determine the CEOs bonus. CIM
Conference 2003, Montreal, Canada.
Henry, E, 2003. Vrdemaximering av Kiruna gruvan med
hjlp av en optimal grbergsinblandningspolicy (Value
maximization of the Kiruna Mine using an optimal waste-
rock grade policy; in Swedish). LKAB internal report.
Lane, K, 1988. The economic definition of ore. Mining
Journal Books Ltd, London, United Kingdom.
Taylor, H K, 1972. General background theory of cutoff
grade. Trans Min Metall, Section A, Vol 81, July, p 160-
179.
Massmin 2004
 Production scheduling at Finsch
diamond mine, South Africa
Otto Richter, Mining Engineer, Block 4 Project Planning, Finsch Mine - De Beers, South Africa
Tony Diering, Principal Consultant, Gemcom Software International, Canada

Abstract
De Beers Finsch Diamond Mine in South Africa is in its final stages of developing the new Block 4 project which will
introduce block caving at Finsch Mine for the first time. There are several new and innovative technologies which will be
employed for Block 4. As a result of this, it has been necessary to pay particular attention to production scheduling for
the build up of production in the early years. The combination of geotechnical constraints and the need for special
conditions around the use of fully autonomous Load Haul Dumpers and Dump Trucks , whilst satisfying the need to
maximize Net Present Value (NPV), has resulted in a unique set of conditions for the production schedules. In particular,
the ventilation and vehicle access requirements impose unwanted production constraints on active draw points which
makes the generation of a smooth caving front much more challenging.

1 INTRODUCTION

Finsch Diamond Mine is situated some 165km North West

of Kimberley, the diamond city of South Africa. Finsch Mine
started as an open cast mine in 1964, changing over to
underground operations in 1990 after reaching a pit bottom
depth of 430m. Underground operations were planned to
extract ore from the kimberlite pipe through a modified open
stoping method.
Country rock instabilities and resulting sidewall failures
poses major challenges to the current mining method in
Blocks 2 and 3, resulting in the development of a block cave
in Block 4.
The Extraction Level will be situated on 630mL and the
Undercut Level 20m above on 610mL, with an average
column height of around 80-110m above the Undercut
Level. Undercut and Extraction tunnels run parallel to each
other as can be seen in figure 2. Loading in the Extraction
tunnels will only be performed from one side of the Figure 1: Finsch Mine - De Beers mining blocks.
kimberlite pipe.
This paper describes how the various facets of undercut
development, draw bell development and production build-
up to full production have been modeled. This required
extensive modifications to the PC-BC Block Cave system in
order to accommodate these complex constraints.
The end result is an improved confidence in the ability to
achieve the required production rates as well as overall risk
reduction for this significant project.

2 GEOLOGICAL MODEL

Due to the variance in grade between the different

kimberlite facies within the kimberlite pipe, the direction of
Undercut and Extraction level advance has a major effect on
the Net Present Value (NPV) of the project.
Initial planning, based on the geological information
available at the time, was done for the Undercut to start in
the North-Western corner as indicated by the arrow in
Figure 3 on 1999s lithology. As exploration drilling and Figure 2: Extraction / Undercut Tunnel relationship.
sampling progressed, it was realized however that the
highest grade (F8) portion of the ore body was not situated
where originally anticipated, but was located against the Through scheduling the updated ore body in PCBC it was
contact on the opposite side of the kimberlite pipe as shown proven that it would make financial sense to start the
on 2004 Lithology. Undercut on the opposite side of the kimberlite pipe

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 453


Figure 3: Changes in Geological Model
extracting the higher grade ore first. More detail is given on
this in Section 3.
The kimberlite pipe also contains internal "floating"
portions of Basaltic low grade ore. In order to understand
the effect these grade and rock type variances will have on
the overall mined grade and ore composition being sent to
the treatment plant over time when mining in different
sequences and at various rates, multiple runs were
performed in PCBC in order to come up with a schedule that
would best utilize the given resource model.
3 UNDERCUT LEVEL SCHEDULING
Geotechnical constraints and current infrastructure were
the two major role players in the design of the undercut face
shape. From a purely financial / NPV point of view, the
Undercut would ideally have to be mined in a chevron V-
Shape, starting in the highest grade F8 kimberlite in the
South-Eastern corner and advancing across the kimberlite
pipe in an North-Westerly direction. The associated
challenge of moving past two precursors and the current
sizer excavations on 620mL in this manner however
resulted in the undercut being designed to move across the
kimberlite pipe with a straight face, starting on the Eastern
side of the pipe at the one precursor and moving across the
pipe in a West-South-Westerly direction towards the other
precursor as shown in Figure 4.
Undercut rings are designed at a spacing of 2m and lead-
lags of 7m between adjacent undercut tunnels. Undercut
ring blasting commenced early May 2004 and is scheduled
454 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 4: Block 4 Undercut Ring Blasting schedule.
to build up to a maximum undercutting rate of 1,350m2 per
month over a period of about 7 months.
A down side to the straight undercut face and the advance
direction is the prolonged period required for the
undercutting process to progress across the width of the
kimberlite pipe and the associated prolonged duration each
Extraction tunnel will be exposed to both production loading
at the rear end and draw bell installation in the front.
4 EXTRACTION LEVEL SCHEDULING
Draw bell installation and hence production buildup will
follow in the shadow of the Undercut face at an angle of 450.
Two areas of the Extraction level scheduling will be
discussed, namely:
Drawpoint prioritization and
Development and support constraints
4.1. DRAWPOINT PRIORITIZATION
In order to optimize the Net Present Value of the project
within the given Geotechnical and Mining Constraints,
various scenarios were investigated using PCBC in order to
test how sensitive the overall grade and dilution are to the
prioritization of the drawpoints. Four main options were
investigated, namely:
Emphasis on new draw points
Emphasis on old drawpoints
Emphasis on all drawpoints according to remaining tons
in drawpoint
NPV optimization
The results clearly showed that the low cave height
placed a major constraint on the degree to which the
emphasis on the drawpoints could be varied. Should the
emphasis be varied too much, drawpoint availability was
seriously compromised due to earlier drawpoint depletions,
premature dilution ingress and resulting grade dilution.
It was found that despite this constraint, the grade can be
increased by up to 13% in the earlier years by placing more
priority on the new, undiluted drawpoints without
compromising the total ore resource. It was also found that
the period at which the cave would be producing at its
designed capacity of 3.8Mta can be extended by up to 12
months. This was done by placing the emphasis on the
drawpoints according to its remaining tons. NPV
optimization was also performed by scheduling the cave
using LINDO, a linear programming option within PCBC.
Massmin 2004
Care had to be taken not to compromise the cave angle challenges with regards to premature waste ingress, will
through this option as priority is placed on the drawpoints have to be contended with.
that will yield the highest NPV value, hence the full benefit The total number of activities taking place at any one time
of NPV optimization could not be enjoyed. This option could not be reduced as this would mean deviation to the
proved however that even within a given tons call, there is current design, nor could the number of activities taking
usually room for financial optimization. place at any one time be reduced as this would result in an
extended production build-up, negatively affecting the NPV.
4.2. DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT In order to increase the total number of ventilation
Poor kimberlite rock conditions (Mining Rock Mass Rating districts, a double return airway system was implemented.
of 19-25) resulted in major support work required to ensure This would allow for development and support as well as
the stability of the Extraction Level tunnels. Table 1 shows production loading to be performed in the same tunnel at the
a typical support requirement per meter Extraction Tunnel. same time. Making use of a double return airway effectively
splits the extraction tunnel into four separate ventilation
phases (Figure 5) during its operation with the following
Table 1: Typical Extraction level tunnel support advantages:
Allows for smaller ventilation zones to be in operation at
Unit Size Quantity/m any point in time, thus less activities per ventilation zone,
Allows for separation between autonomous production
Threaded bolts 25mm x 3.8m 15 (0.5m spacing) LHDs and employees involved in development and
support,
Vibro mesh 9mm 2.0m (Side wall)
Allows for separate ventilation zones in a single tunnel,
Woven mesh 5mm Hanging to Vibro thus multiple activities can be performed in a single
Cable straps 18mm 5 (Side wall) tunnel,
Ensures that production loading can be better controlled
Cable straps 15mm 9 (Hanging wall)
across the position of the ventilation barrier, thus ensuring
Wet-crete 30Mpa 200mm thick an improved cave back angle and a reduced chance of
Fiber-crete 40Mpa 50mm thick premature waste ingress as can be seen from Figure 6.

Intake air: Return air:

Added to the poor rock conditions is the decomposing
characteristic of Kimberlite in the presence of water due to
a high clay content, resulting in dry development with a full
cover of sealant and shotcrete to be sprayed after each
development round.
This had dramatic effects on the development and
support cycle times, resulting in slow linear advance rates
utilizing mechanized continuous operations on multiple
development ends using continuous operations. Draw bell
installation was also negatively affected, requiring around 3
months per draw bell with a total of 3 draw bells planned per
month.
In addition to development and support taking place
simultaneously in the same tunnel, time had to be allowed
for production loading. Production loading is as important in
the daily activity schedule as the development and support
activities, as this ensures continuous movement of the
production columns, which prevents re-compaction of the
broken kimberlite. Re-compaction of the broken kimberlite
would result in stress build-up which often leads to
infrastructure damage and tunnel collapse. Uninterrupted
production loading allows for faster payback of invested
capital and an improved Net Present Value (NPV). In order
to allow for more time to perform the above activities,
multiple ventilation districts had to be created in order to
facilitate the scheduling of multiple activities in the same
tunnel.

5 MULTIPLE ACTIVITY SCHEDULING

Making use of a central return airway in a block cave to

create multiple ventilation districts in the same tunnel is
fairly common practice when making use of a V-Shape
undercut face. Combining a single return airway with the
long single sided loading extraction tunnels of Block 4 and Figure 5: Four ventilation stages of an Extraction Tunnel
the relatively slow advance rates however resulted in a very
slow production build-up unless cave angles were allowed
to exceed angles of up to 600. The Block 4 portion of the 6 PCBC SOFTWARE MODIFICATIONS
ore body has a height to width ratio in the order of 1:2.5.
Should such steep cave angles be allowed in the early Block 4 currently makes use of a general scheduling
stages of the cave, it would soon hole into the current package to schedule the horizontal development and
operations and waste failures, posing major mining support activities. From this, the drawpoint commissioning

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 455

dates are given as input into the PCBC cave scheduling and
simulation software. In order to cater for the constraints
explained above, a number of alterations had to be
incorporated into the PCBC software in order to allow the
accurate scheduling of the expected Block 4 tons and grade
profiles. The most important changes are explained next.
Figure 6: Improved cave back angle
6.1. DATA SECURITY
Data security was ensured by converting the Desktop
edition of PCBC to support full SQL Server databases.
Scheduling is performed directly from the geological block
model as created by the Geologists in the GEMS SQL
Database, ensuring that all systems make use of the same
information from Geology and Geotechnical, to Survey, to
Mine Planning and Production. Data security will become
more important once production commences and schedules
have to be modified for actual tonnage production and draw
point development status.
6.2. MULTIPLE GRADE ELEMENTS
In order to ensure accurate diamond grade forecasts,
PCBC had to be modified to handle multiple grade elements
when scheduling. In order to cater for the various kimberlite
facies encountered, the slice file had to be expanded to
cater for 15 different grade elements. When performing a
production schedule with the expanded slice file,
information is obtained on both the total production values in
terms of tons and grades, as well as on the individual
kimberlite facies groups, improving the functionality and
accuracy of Diamond Value Management, Treatment Plant
flow control and accurate grade predictions.
6.3. SLICE HEIGHT
Block 4s relatively low column height required the bottom
two slices of the slice file to be modified to more accurately
reflect the trough and undercut ring tons. When scheduling
456 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
large columns, the variance between the PCBC generated
draw cones and the actual trough and ring designs are
negligibly small, but in Block 4s case these tons contribute
12% of the total column tons and therefore required more
accurate representation. This was done through a quick
import function where the correct trough and undercut
heights and its associated tons and volumes as per the
blasting designs are imported for each of the drawpoints,
replacing the slices as created in PCBC, as can be seen in
the illustration below.
Figure 7: Slice file modification for trough and undercut ring
slices
6.4. DRAWPOINT SEQUENCING
PCBC caters for scheduling in different time intervals, e.g.
monthly, quarterly, annually, etc. In order to make use of the
drawpoint dates as scheduled by the development and
support scheduling package, PCBC had to be modified to
generate a drawpoint commissioning sequence making use
of these dates, irrespective of what time interval is used to
schedule in PCBC. This was accomplished successfully by
stating both the drawpoint commissioning dates and the
PCBC periods in number format. PCBC then compares the
drawpoint commissioning dates with the PCBC scheduling
periods and automatically places the drawpoints in the
correct sequence and time period. In earlier versions the
time period was based on a text string and required manual
modifications to suit the PCBC scheduling periods.
6.5. USER INTERFACE
It can be seen from the information above that multiple
records of data are associated with each drawpoint. In
order to ensure easy access and modifications to this
information, PCBC was modified to easily export/import
data to/from MS Excel as it is often easier to modify data in
MS Excel than in the SQL Database environment. Any
information associated with a list of drawpoints (Drawpoint
Status, limiting draw heights, descriptions, tunnel
associations, production curves, hang-up curves, etc) can
now be easily formatted in MS Excel and import into the
PCBC Database to update drawpoint records.
6.6. PRODUCTION RATE CONSTRAINTS
Production rates are constrained by various methods
within PCBC. The first level of constraint is on the individual
drawpoint production rates. In order to ensure that the cave
matures adequately before higher production rates are
called for, each drawpoints daily production rate is
increased based on the cumulative tons being drawn from
Massmin 2004
that particular drawpoint to date. The production rate curve
below is defined within PCBC as a normal XY-Curve, stating
tons per square meter of drawpoint area per day versus
cumulative percentage drawn from that drawpoint.
Individual drawpoints can be assigned individual curves or
similar drawpoints can be grouped together to make use of
a single curve.
The initial stage of the drawpoint curve has a very high
rate during draw bell construction. There after it follows a
slow buildup, starting at about 50t/85mm per drawpoint per
day and maturing over a range of about 18,000t to a
maximum rate of about 120t/200mm per drawpoint per day
for a drawpoint area of influence of 225m2. A drawpoint will
reach maturity within about 9 months based on the stated
daily tons.
In addition to the constraints on individual drawpoints, a
constraint can be set per production block. This is typically
applied where the sum of the total available tons in a single
tunnel is greater than what a single loader can realistically
produce from that tunnel in the same time period.
Figure 8: Typical drawpoint production rate curve
The maximum capacity of a single loader is calculated
for each production block / tunnel based on the tons
weighted average tramming distance for that tunnel in
that time period. This function was further enhanced
within PCBC by importing the average cycle time per
drawpoint and based on the total available loading time
per period, PCBC will constrain the tons called for if it
exceeds the maximum possible tons which can be
loaded from that tunnel based on the individual
drawpoint cycle times.
6.7. HANG-UP CONSTRAINT
In order to further enhance the accurate prediction of
production tons and grades, the available time for
production loading had to be enhanced. This was done by
incorporating the expected number of hang-ups or
blockages expected due to oversize rock at any point in time
in a drawpoints life, as can be defined by a XY- Curve per
drawpoint of number of occurrences per 1000 tons drawn
versus accumulative tons/height drawn to date.
By doing this, the total number of blockages expected per
drawpoint can be calculate for every period based on the
tons loaded in that same period. Converting these
blockages to an associated "down time" where the
drawpoint will not be available for loading, the total time
available for production can be more accurately calculated.
Through an iterative process the most realistic available
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Table 2: Typical hang-up frequency table
production time is calculated and hence a more realistic
prediction of tons and grades is achieved.
7 CONCLUSIONS
The Block 4 project is currently standing on the doorstep
of moving from planning to actual implementation with the
undercut that commenced early May 2004. A lot of the
assumptions used in Block 4 are based on current
operations, both inside and outside of De Beers, yet these
assumptions had to be adapted and tried and tested where
possible to suit the current project. The Planning Phase of
any project is the stage where major cost savings or losses
are built into the project and should be adequately
resourced with regards to time, money and people and initial
assumptions should be re-evaluated and re-calibrated in
order to ensure that applicable, accurate values are used at
all times. Proper planning and scheduling ensures easier
implementation which in turn reduces risk to the success of
the project to a large degree.
Installing a block cave requires intense scheduling of
multiple activities. It is therefore important to create an
auditable schedule that can be tracked in order to highlight
areas lagging behind and to identify areas of opportunity.
Initial planning should therefore be realistic and rather on
the conservative side than on the optimistic side, especially
for a first of its kind project like the Block 4 operation.
Software applications are however not always designed to
best apply the rules and constraints applicable to each
project and therefore software customization is often
inevitable. Working closely with the software manufacturer
results in a final product that is better suited for the task at
hand and that will benefit the mining industry at large.
The Block 4 schedule is the product of many iterations. Only
through comparison of multiple scenarios could the schedule
be optimized to what it is now. Having only a large number of
scenarios however do not always proof to be valuable
information, but merely a lot of data. It is important that the
mine planning personnel, the software manufacturer and the
mine production personnel all understand and agree to the
problem at hand in order to turn heaps of data into usable
information. The best solution to a problem is usually only
found once the correct information is available.
Production pressure and NPV often play major roles when
making decisions. Even though these are good indicating
factors, they should not be used as over riding factors to
break the basic rules of mining. The cave should dictate the
production build-up, not vice versa (Dont let the tail wag the
dog).
The value of accurate, upfront information should never
be underestimated. Exploration work well ahead of time is
crucial in order to ensure proper extension of current
production blocks well in time, ensuring fewer complications
457
during change over between production blocks. The current
plan is only as good as the information it is based on.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors want to acknowledge the permission given by
De Beers South Africa to publish this technical paper as
well as the time and dedication of Gemcom staff in the
modification of the PCBC cave simulation and scheduling
software.
458 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
REFERENCES
Diering, T, 2000. PC-BC: A block cave design and draw
control system. Proceedings MassMin 2000, Brisbane,
pp. 469-484.
Diering, T, 2004. Computational considerations for
production scheduling of block cave mines. Proceedings
MassMin 2004, Santiago.
Massmin 2004
 Application of simulation
to improved planning at Esmeralda,
El Teniente Mine, Chile
Mauricio Barraza, El Teniente Division, Codelco, Chile
Matt Rohrer, Automod, Brooks Automation, SLC UT, USA
William Hustrulid, Department of Mining Engineering, University of Utah, SLC, UT, USA

Abstract
The mining systems used to mine the ore at El Teniente have evolved over the years. Today the primary mining system,
conventional panel caving, provides about 75 percent of the daily production. In 1997, panel caving with pre-undercutting
was introduced in the Esmeralda sector. Since that time, sector production has increased from 250 tpd to about 40,000
tpd. This rate is scheduled to increase to 45,000 tpd by year 2005. One of the major advantages of pre-undercut panel
caving over conventional panel caving is the much higher physical availability of the production area. This is due to the
fact that the development and construction work on this level has been done under largely de-stressed conditions. In
conventional panel caving, the development and construction on the production level is done under the existing high in
situ stress conditions. These stresses are then increased even higher by the abutment stress associated with the passage
of the undercutting front. This means that the production level can be severely damaged and in need of repair even before
actual production begins. Repair and rebuild of the openings is an on-going task in conventional panel caving. An
important question to be answered is how best to utilize the high physical availability of the production level offered by
pre-undercutting. This paper demonstrates through the use of Automod simulation how the utilization of the available
production area can be maximized. Because of the geomechanics constraints imposed upon the mine design and
execution, the planning and sequencing of the development and construction operations on the production and
undercutting levels is much more complicated than with conventional panel caving. Simulation offers the opportunity to
easily explore many different planning possibilities in a very short time.

1 INTRODUCTION Table 1: Several Types of Simulations

Simulation is defined as the imitation of a real-world
process or system over time. It is an indispensable
problem-solving methodology for the solution of many real
world problems and can be used both to describe and
analyze the behavior of a given system and also to aid in the
design of a new system. Both existing and conceptual
systems can be modeled with simulation (Banks 1998).
2 GENERAL SIMULATION CONCEPTS
The goal of any simulation is to mimic something.
Typically, there is a stimulus/response interaction (Banks
1998). Some examples of this are:
In a flight simulator, the goal is to mimic the visual and
tactile interaction between a person and a physical
system (the aircraft).
In a circuit simulator, the stimulus is the input signal and
the goals are to mimic the response of a physical circuit
component.
In an automobile simulator, the goal is to simulate the
response of the suspension to road bumps, the air flow
around a vehicle and many other physical factors.
All of these examples are primarily physical models. A
brief description of different types of simulations is
represented in Table 1.
2.1 Simulation Basics
Simulations can be thought of as a framework for
describing the operation of a system. Describing a system
(Brunner, 2001).
Static Simulation Static simulations, are used when the
effect (appearance, load-bearing
capacity, etc) is observed only at a
single instant of time.
Discrete Event Discrete event simulations (sometimes
Simulation called dynamic simulations) are typically
used to model systems whose states
change at discrete points in time. The
beginning of drill cycle, a skip reaching the
surface, and the contents of an ore pass
reaching a critically low level are all
examples of discrete events. Material flow
systems, where liquid or bulk solids move at
constant rates, are candidates for discrete
event simulation.
Continuous Continuous simulation is used to
Simulation model nonlinear behavior (chemical
reactions, heat transfer) using equations.
Stochastic The most common stochastic simulation
Simulation is the Monte Carlo simulation. For
example, if you know the probabilities that
the various components of an LHD will
independently fail today, and if you want to
know the probability that the entire LHD
will fail today, you could run a static
experiment a thousand times (or million
times) to see how likely it is that the LHD
will fail. Although this particular problem
might also be solved mathematically,
a stochastic Monte Carlo simulation
might be easier to set up for some
types of problem.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 459

using this framework can sometimes be very beneficial even
if the model is never used for experiments (Banks 1998).
Resources and entities In a simulation-oriented system
description, entities flow through a series of resources.
Entities are units of work or units of traffic. They queue up
for and use resources according to logical rules.
Resources are generally constrained.
In a simple model, an entity might represent some
quantity of material (ore or waste), and the resources
might be people, an LHD (equipment), or a storage area.
In a more complex model, there might be entities that
represent the logical controllers of the system (human
managers as well as automated controls).
Interactions: Simulation can capture interactions in a way
no static technique can. There are many, many dynamic
cascading events in an underground mine. A given task
may be subject, for example, to waiting for a blast, waiting
for repairs, waiting for adjacent work to be completed, and
so forth.
Random variables: Most simulations include
representations of random variations. Using point
estimates (averages) as inputs to any kind of model can
cause interactions to be overlooked. This is typically most
obvious in the case of failure modeling but many other
aspects of mine behavior can be sampled from a
probability distribution.
2.2 Simulation Inputs
Model inputs fall into these broad categories: logical data,
system description data, process data, and demand data
(Banks 1998, Brunner 2001, Hollberg et al. 2002, Pegden et
al. 1995).
Logical data: Logical data includes all rules for operating
the system. What activities must halt when a blast is
scheduled? Who decides which scoop should be
assigned to a pending mucking task and how is that
decision made? What shift schedule do the jumbo drill
operators follow? Is there a stope sequence that is to be
followed in the model or will the model make sequencing
decisions dynamically; and if so, how?
System description data: System description data
represent the physical system. This includes mine
geometry, material properties, and the equipment list. It is
often useful to break unique geometries into individual
material blocks that may have unique properties.
Process data: Process data are the rates and speeds that
constrain system performance. Operator and equipment
performance, equipment failure, hoisting rates, conveyor
speeds, and similar data fall into this category.
Demand data: Demand data drive the model. In other
contexts, the demand data are how many cars are we
trying to make or how many boxes need to be shipped
today. Demand data are not typically a major factor in a
mine model because the model is generally set to go all
out given the other constraints in place. However, there
may be cases when the model is set to start certain
material blocks at certain times or to stop before the end
of any shift once a certain tonnage is hoisted. The goal in
such case is to see how the equipment and operators are
utilized.
Data for a mining model are often difficult to gather and
reduce to a usable form. The logical data may be
incompletely understood by a single individual and a team
of people may have trouble agreeing on what practices are
or will be followed underground.
2.3 Simulation Output
The output from a simulation can assume various forms.
Although simulation outputs are usually statistical, they
need not be. There are two reasons for this. First, an
460 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
important benefit of a well-done simulation project may
simply be the insights gained by describing the system in
the simulation framework. This includes gathering,
analyzing and processing the raw data as well as
developing the logical rules for system operation. Second,
animation is sometimes used demonstrate to analysts,
operators, management, and others that the model is valid
(Banks 1998, Brunner 2001, Hollberg et al. 2002, Pegden et
al. 1995).
Statistics: Statistical output generated by a model can
be derived from a standard output report or customized to
suit the model user. Typical outputs include resource
statistics, queuing statistics, and other summary
information. The model can also produce any other
measurable statistic that is consistent with the models
level of detail. This could include, for example, the duration
of various activities, time plots, a trace file for
understanding the model logic, and a resource table
(schedule).
Under the heading of resource statistics, a simple
example would be the utilization of a drill. In the calculation
of drill utilization one could divide the operational time by;
total time
total time minus maintenance shift and shutdowns
time when crew members are available to run the drill
operating time divided by the sum of operating and repair
time
something else
It is important that there be agreement as to the correct
calculation.
Time plots, whether generated by the simulation software
or plotted from data produced by the model, can provide
many insights.
Animation: A simulation model can be animated in many
ways. Animation can, for example, be in 2-D or 3-D space.
It can (1) show people and equipment moving or only
show material state changes, (2) be pictorial or
schematic, (3) be to scale or not to scale and (4) be
delivered with or separately from the model.
All of these forms of animation are valuable for verifying
and validating the model. They are also extremely useful for
achieving buy-in from other operating personnel as well as
from top management. A model is not going to be
considered useful unless everyone understands that it is
valid and it is not going to be considered at all if people do
not understand what it is.
2.4 Steps in a Simulation Study
The flowchart shown in Figure 1 provides a set of steps to
guide a model builder in a thorough and sound simulation
study.
2.5 Simulation in Inderground Mining
There are many ways simulation can be used in the
planning and operation of mines (Table 2). The variables
include:
Model objectives
Model focus
Model time frame
The objectives for modeling a mining operation can vary
widely. Typical objectives may include some or all of the
following (Banks 1998, Brunner 2001):
Equipment type comparisons
Specific capital purchase decisions
Mine plan analysis (discussion of integrated planning and
modeling)
Mining method comparisons
Operating policy evaluation and improvement
Massmin 2004
 Step 1: Problem formulation
Medium-term models (might run for up to a few simulated
years) are used to evaluate equipment plans and
scheduling and operating policies.
Step 2: Setting objetives
and overall project plan Long-term models (might run for up to a few simulated
decades or more) are used to evaluate long-range mine
plans, look for development bottlenecks, and so forth.
Step 3: Model building Step 4: Data collection

2.6 Simulation Software-Automod (Banks 1998,

Step 5: Coding Pegdent ET AL 1995)
This software from AutoSimulations, Inc., has general
model-building features, including the specifications of
No
Step 6: Verified? processes, resources, loads, queues, and variables.
AutoMod software is a very powerful tool for describing
material handling systems. Automated guide vehicle (AGV)
Yes
and path-guide transporters, conveyors, bridge cranes,
No AS/RSs, and power and free devices can be defined
Step 7: Validated?
rapidly. The animation capabilities include true-to-scale
three-dimensional graphics, rotation, and tilting, to mention
Yes a few. A CAD-like drawing utility is used to construct the
Step 8: Experimental desing model.
A separate utility option is AutoStat. It provides simulation
Step 9: Production warm-up capability, scenarios management, confidence
runs and analysis interval generation, and design-of-experiment capability.
AutoView is a post-processor that provides three-
dimensional walkthrough capability for presentation-quality
Step 10:
Yes
More runs?
animation.

No
2.7 Software Considerations
Step 11: Document
program and report
Input Considerations
results
CAD Translation If there exists a CAD drawing of
the static background, a CAD
Step 12: Implementation translator will take a CAD drawing
and convert it into the drawing
Figure 1: Flowchart, Used to Guide a Model Builder in a system used by the simulation.
Simulation Study (by Bank, Carlson, and Nelson 1996) Importing a File These provide the capability to
import a data file for use in the
simulation.
Table 2: Uses and Benefits of Simulation in Exporting a File The output file will be used as
Underground Mining (Banks 1998, Brunner 2001) input to a spreadsheet for
drawing business graphics
Uses Benefits beyond or different from those
generated by the simulation
Analysis of proposed Supporting processes such as software.
capital expenditures. services, materials, and Syntax This should be easily understood,
Analysis of operating repairs. consistent, and unambiguous.
procedures. Material handing including Debugger Even the best of simulation
Analysis of plans muck movement by vehicle; bin analysis makes mistakes or
and schedules. flow with ore passes, crushers, commits logical errors when
Understanding and hoppers, and other building a model. The debuggers
communication of intermediate storage; and assist in finding and correcting
system behavior. hoisting and removal. those errors in the following ways:
Day-to-day Trucking operations. - The simulation can be monitored
decision making. Operator training. as it progresses.
- Attention can be focused on a
particular area of the simulation
Along with the many different objectives possible in or a particular entity.
underground mine modeling, the areas of focus can also - Values of selected model
vary widely. Some general areas of focus include (Banks components can be observed.
1998, Brunner 2001): - The simulation can be
The development process temporarily suspended, or
The production process paused, not only to view
information, but also to reassign
The time frame of the model depends, in part, on its values or redirect entities.
intended use (Banks 1998, Brunner 2001). Input Data Analysis The ability to determine whether
Short-term models (which might run for up to a few Capability input data can be described by a
simulated months) are used to evaluate operating statistical or mathematical
policies, to directly schedule the operations, or to assess distribution.
the impact of exceptional conditions.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 461

Processing Considerations
Speed When there are many entities in a
system, the software speed
should not degrade to the point of
slow motion.
Run-time flexibility An example of this feature is the
scenario generation. In this case,
with some prodding, the
simulation software will
automatically generate alternative
possibilities for simulation (i.e.; of
scenario generation allows input
data to vary over a range)
Random Variety There are about 12 statistical
Generator distributions that are commonly
used in simulation. Most, but not
all simulation software has the
ability to generate random
varieties using these 12
distributions.
Reset For steady-state analysis, it is
important to have the ability to
reset the statistics that have been
collected to zero. This reset is
accomplished without clearing the
entities that are currently in the
system.
Attributes and Attributes are local values
global variables available to the entity processing
that attribute, and global variables
are available to all entities. The
question is how many of each of
these is available.
Programming The ability to mimic custom logic
(Custom logic accurately to any desired degree
representation) of detail usually requires some
type of internal programming
capability or underlying language.
It is an absolute necessity for
modeling complex problems or
systems in order to build high-
fidelity model.
Portability This means the software can be
run on various classes of
computer without changes in the
software.
Output Data
Standardized Report Examples of standardized output
measures are the average
number in queue, average time in
queue, etc. The software can
produce these and other values
automatically or upon request.
Customized Report These are tailored presentations
such as those that would be
shown to a manager. The format
can be set by the simulation
analyst.
Business Graphics The software can have the ability
to generate bar chart, pie charts,
and histograms that are of such
high quality that they can be
shown to managers and included
in reports.
Data Base One possibility is to collect a
Maintenance stack of paper output
representing the replications from
each scenario. However, this
462 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
could become rather a large stack
of paper. At the other extreme is a
database that contains all these
output in an organized fashion.
Collection of Desired This allows the specifications of
Mathematical measures of interest to the
Expressions modeler.
Custom performance Does the software allow the
Expressions analyst to define and create new
or custom measures of
performance for a model?
Write to a File Does the software allow data,
events, or system variables to be
written to a file whenever
desired?
This feature allows the analyst to
later import the file into
spreadsheet or database
programs for further customized
analysis or manipulation.
Environment Considerations
Ease of use This is important to some, not
important to others. The power of
the software is probably much
more important than ease of use.
Ease of Learning This is important to the casual
user, not so important to the
frequent or continuous user.
Quality of Often, documentation is so
Documentation impossible to understand that
users refuse to read it. Context-
sensitive and useful on-line help
is an advantage.
Animation Not all animation is created
Capability (3D) equally. Consider the ease of
development, the quality of the
picture, the smoothness of
movement, and the portability for
remote viewing.
Stability Is simulation software their
primary business or just a
sideline?
Support Does the vendor offer adequate
technical support and access to
the system?
Components of the Path-Move System
Guide paths Guide paths represent routes that
are taken by vehicles or people in
a system. They may consist of a
number of segments. Guide
paths can be one or two
directional
Transfers Transfers are a connection that
joins two segments of guide path.
For a vehicle to move from one
segment to another, the two
segments must be connected by
a transfer.
Control points Control points are locations at
which vehicles can pickup or set
down loads in the system. These
can be located anywhere on a
path.
Vehicles Vehicles transport loads from one
location to another by following a
path in the path-move system.
Massmin 2004
 Vehicles can be defined and
grouped by type and can differ in
velocity, capacity, and the time
required to pickup and set down
loads in the system. Vehicles can
also be assigned different
attributes based on the type of
loads they are carrying; for
example, an LHD has a different
rate of acceleration or velocity if it
traveling empty or with a load.

3 APPLICATION OF SIMULATION TO
PLANNING AT ESMERALDA

In 1997, panel caving with pre-undercutting was

introduced in the Esmeralda sector. Since that time, sector Figure 3: Plan View of the Production Level. This is
production has increased from 250 tpd to about 40,000 tpd. represented by the Path Mover.
Although there are similarities between pre-undercut and
conventional panel caving, there are also a number of
significant differences. It has taken the mine some time to Table 3: Extraction Rates Imposed by the
learn both about the pre-undercut method and about its Geomechanical Group
application to extract primary ore under the relatively high
stress conditions which are present. There has been little Primary Ore Initial Caving Steady
opportunity to try and optimize the planning and sequencing Extraction (m/d) Caving(m/d)
operations but this is now in order as the daily production Ranges (%)
rate is scheduled to rise to 45,000 by year 2005.
This will be the first improvement opportunity evaluated by 05 0.05 0.10
simulation. The simulation example will show how the 5 10 0.07 0.13
utilization of the available production area can be 10 15 0.08 0.15
maximized. 15 20 0.10 0.17
20 25 0.13 0.20
3.1 Simulation Model DevelopmentI 25 30 0.16 0.24
Mine Layout
For simulation, the production, haulage, and undercut
levels will all be included since they interact directly. Of
these, the most important is the production level because its
advance rate controls:
the increase in the area of extraction,
the movement of the front on the undercut level, and
the need to incorporate new drifts on the haulage level.

The different model components for the example are

shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Ore Flow
The simulation model is used to study flow rates and
capacities. The flow of ore is represented by the height of
the ore column (Figure 4). The flows are subject to the
restrictions imposed by the Geomechanical Group. This
means that the extraction rates are defined so as to try to
control the breakage of the solid ore column (Table 3). Figure 4: A 3D Representation of the Mining Model
Showing The Production Level, Haulage Level, and Ore
Column Height.

Problem Formulation
Production area availability and utilization values under
conventional and pre-undercut conditions are presented in
Table 4.

Table 4: A comparison of Production Level

Areal Availability and Utilization by Mining

Panel Caving Availability (%) Utilization (%)

System Production Level
Figure 2: Section View Showing the Draw Bell between the
Conventional 50 45 to 50
Undercut Level and Production Level. This is represented
Pre-Undercut > 90 65
by a QUEUE

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 463

 As can be seen, the physical availability of the pre-
undercut panel caving production area is very high. This is
due to the better rock mass conditions resulting from the
development of the production openings in a de-stressed
area. Although the utilization of the area is higher than in
conventional panel caving (65 percent versus 45 to 50
percent), it can be improved. Today the main challenge
associated with the pre-undercut variant is to improve the
utilization of the available production area.
Areal utilization is defined as "the total area with
extraction divided by the total open area, expressed as a
percentage"
Physical availability is defined as "the total area for
extraction over the total open area, expressed as a
percentage"
The objective is to maximize the production from the
available production area. In this evaluation, one
determines the available physical area by multiplying the
total production area by the physical availability. This
available area should them be utilized to as high a degree
as possible to minimize the specific development and to
maximize the production efficiency.
of ore column extraction. This means examining how the ore
column is broken during the extraction time.
3.3 Model Validation-Simulation 1
In this step two simulations are run using historical
extraction data from the mine. The first model is run by shift
and the second is by month. The required LHD and train
data are the cycle time values (the time to load, speed-
loaded, speed-empty, time to dump, etc)
Simulation 1a Schedule by Shift
A particular shift schedule is simulated and the area
utilization is determined. The production rate and the
utilization of the LHDs and the trains was compared with
the actual information from the mine. The difference
between the actual LHD productivity and the average
productivity from 7 simulation runs is 13 tons/shift or 1.8
percent. For the trains the difference is 85 tons/shift or 3.6
percent and for the area utilization the difference is 0.5
percent. Essentially, there is no difference between the
simulated and actual conditions. An output report presents
all of the information from the analysis. The information for
one shift is represented in Table 5.

3.2 The case Study Model

The Model considers the utilization of the production level Table 5: Model Case 1 Validation.
area. This involves LHD movement on the production level,
the filling and emptying of ore passes, and train movement Productivity Actual Simulation
on the haulage level from ore pass to ore bin. Shift 1 Shift 2 Shift 3 Shift 4 Shift 5 Shift 6 Shift 7 Average

The respective capacities are: LHD( tons/Shift) 718 687 883 757 777 692 700 739 705
LHD = 7 t (7.3 yd3)/cycle Train(tons/Shift) 2450 2250 3000 2350 2335 2166 2190 2270 2365
Ore pass = 400 t Area Utilization (%) 65 61.4 67.2 66.1 66.8 62.2 62.8 64.9 64.5
Train capacity = 400 t
Simulation 1b Schedule by Month
The current production area is 300m by 150 m in extent. A second simulation was performed based upon the
It consists of: monthly schedule. The actual (or planned) mine operation
317 draw points by month including area utilization was compared to that
15 streets arising from the simulation. Two simulation runs were made.
2 train loops The first was to compare the actual mine production for the
15 ore passes months April and June 2002 with the output of the model.
The second run was made comparing the output fo the
Three simulations will be made with the model. model to that planned for the months of August 2002 and
Simulation 1: The current mine (LHD and train) schedule December 2002 as included in the program for year 2002.
with 65 percent area utilization. The actual/planned and simulated production rates and the
Simulation 2: Increase the utilization of the current LHD and train utilization values were compared. The results
available area to 80 percent. This is done by increasing the are shown in Tables 6 and 7.
number of LHDs. It is accompanied by increase in the
production rate. Table 6: Model Case 1 Mine Production Rate 2002
Simulation 3: Increased production efficiency while
maintaining the current areal production rate and the Year 2002 Actual Production Rate Planned Production Rate
number of LHD units. April June August December
Model Building Production (t/d) 22,370 23,350 26,909 25,717
The overall model consists of five "processes" or
modules. These are: PRODUCTION AREA, LOAD, LHD,
ORE PASS, and TRAIN. Table 7: Model Case 1 - Simulated Production
Rate for 65 Percent Area Utilization
Data Collection
The data needed are divided into: Year 2002 Simulation results Simulation results for
Schedule of the production plan for comparison to the comparison with the
LHD distribution schedule data from the mine planned program for 2002
The number of trains April June August December
An ore pass file
LHD (t/d) 22,598 23,599 26,911 25,745
Model Verification Number of LHDs 11 11 13 12
In this step, model verification means the determination Train haulage(t/d) 22,191 23,134 26,374 25,672
as to whether the computer implementation of the model is Open Area (m2) 94,175 96,520 105,507 111,370
correct. In this case, verification is done using animation. In Area of Utilization (m2) 61,214 62,738 68,580 72,390
the simulation analysis one can detect an action that is Area of Utilization (%) 65 65 65 65
illogical. The verification is made by observing the condition

464 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The difference between the actual and the simulated much greater attention to planning and sequencing is
production rates for April is 223 t/d, for June it is 230 t/d. In required of pre-undercut panel caving than of
both cases the simulation yields a smaller production than conventional panel caving. Simulation assistance is
the actual. This is because the actual production is required to achieve an optimum result considering all of
compared with the simulated output production recorded on the different factors.
the haulage level and the train takes the load from the ore With respect to the Case Study, one of the major
pass only if it is full. advantages of pre-undercut panel caving over
When comparing the planned production versus that conventional panel caving is the much higher physical
simulated for August, the difference is 522 t/d less than the availability of the production area ( >90 percent as
plan. For December the simulated production rate is 25 t/d compared to about 50 percent). This is due to the fact that
more than the plan. the development and construction work on this level has
been done under largely de-stressed conditions. In
3.4 Model Result Simulation 2 conventional panel caving, the development and
In this simulation, the area utilization will be increased construction on the production level is done under the
from 65 percent to 80 percent. This is done with by existing high in situ stress conditions. These stresses are
increasing the number of LHDs assigned to the same area then increased even higher by the abutment stress
as was used in simulation 1 (CVB Open Area). By adding associated with the passage of the undercutting front.
LHDs there is a natural increase in the production rate. The This means that the production level can be severely
output data from the model are summarized in Table 8. damaged and in need of repair even before actual
The output report shows the possibility of increasing the production begins. Repair and rebuild of the openings is
monthly production rate by increasing the number of LHDs an on-going task in conventional panel caving.
in production. The next step in the evaluation is to perform With the high physical availability of draw points in the
an economic analysis. pre-undercut variant, one can choose several different
production strategies.
Table 8: Simulated Production Rate Based Three alternatives were considered:
Upon 80 Percent Area Utilization. CVB Open Area. Alternative 1: was the production strategy in use today. It
has a production level area utilization factor of 65 percent
Year 2002 April June August December which means that 65 percent of the available draw points
are in use at any one time. The simulation yielded results
LHD (t/d) 26,317 29,524 33,830 32,117 very close to those achieved in the mine.
Number of LHDs 12 14 16 15 Alternative 2: the same physical production area as in
Train haulage (t/d) 25,704 28,815 33,507 31,536 Alternative 1 was assumed but the utilization factor was
Open Area (m2) 94,175 96,520 105,507 111,370 increased to 80 percent. This was accomplished by adding
Area of Utilization (m2) 75,340 77,216 84,406 89,096 more LHDs to the fleet. The result was an increase in the
Area of Utilization (%) 80 80 80 80 areal production capacity by 20 percent.
Alternative 3: was to maintain the same number of LHDs
as in Alternative 1 but to increase the utilization to 80
3.4 Model Result Simulation 3 percent. The result was that the same production as
In this simulation, the areal utilization will be increased to obtained in Alternative 1 could be achieved from a
80 percent while maintaining the same production rate and significantly smaller area.
number of LHDs as indicated in simulation 1. In achieving The overall conclusion from the Case Study simulation
this, the total area in production can be less thereby was that it is possible to increase the areal utilization of
improving the production efficiency. The output data are the production level from 65 percent to 80 percent. In
summarized in Table 9. doing so one can either get the same production from a
smaller area than today or a higher production from the
same area as today. Although an economic calculation
Table 9: The Results for an Areal Utilization has not been made at this point, it is certain that the
at 80 Percent and the CVB - Production Rate increased draw point utilization will result in very
substantial cost savings.
Year 2002 April June August December

LHD (t/d) 22,526 23,267 26, 908 25,694 REFERENCES

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Cavieres, P. (1999) "Evaluacin de los mtodos de
explotacin en mina El Teniente" Internal report, Area
Ingeniera de Rocas, Codelco Chile Divisin El Teniente.
Codelco Chile Divisin El Teniente, (2000) "CASO BASE
VIGENTE 2001 Unidad de Gestin Autnoma Mina
Concentradora", Internal report, Subgerencia Minco.
Diering, T. (2000) "A Block Cave Design and draw Control
System" Proceeding of the MassMin 2000, pp 469 484,
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Brisbane,
Australia.
Hollberg, K.F., Graehl, D., and Despain, L. (2002)
"Application of Simulation Technology to Underground
Production", SME Annual Meting, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Jofre, J., Yanez, P. and Ferguson, G. (2000) "Evolution in
Panel Caving Underground and Drawbell Excavation, El
Teniente Mine" Proceeding of the MassMin 2000, pp 249
260, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy,
Brisbane, Australia.
Jofre, J., and Blondel, J. (1993) "Geomecnica
conceptual Proyecto Esmeralda", Internal report,
Departamento de Estudios y Mtodos, Codelco Chile
Divisin El Teniente.
Karzulovic, A. (1998) "Evaluacin Geotcnica Mtodos de
Socavacin Previa y Avanzada", Estudio DT-PE-99-003,
A. Karzulovic & Asoc., Chile.
Karzulovic, A. (1997) "Caracterizacin Geomecnica
Rocas Proyecto Esmeralda", Estudio DT-PE-97-001, A.
Karzulovic & Asoc., Chile.
NCL, (2000) "Simulacin Capacidad de Produccin
Proyecto Esmeralda", Internal .report, Codelco Chile
Divisin El Teniente.
466 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Pegden, C. D., Shannon, R. E., and Sadowski, R. P.
(1995). Introduction to Simulation Using SIMAN, 2nd edn,
pp 8-24 (McGraw Hill: New York).
Rojas, E. Molina, R., and Cavieres, P. (2001) "Pre-
undercut Caving in El Teniente Mine, Chile" Underground
Mining Method, ed. SME 2001, pp 417 423, USA.
Rojas, E., Molina, R., Bonani, R., and Constanzo, H.
(2000) "The Pre-Undercut Caving Method at El Teniente
Mine", Proceeding of the MassMin 2000, pp 261 266,
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Brisbane,
Australia.
Rojas, E., Cavieres, P., Dunlop, R., and Gaete, S. (2000)
"Control of Induced Seismicity at El Teniente Mine",
Proceeding of the MassMin 2000, pp 775 781,
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Brisbane,
Australia.
Rojas, E., Barraza, M., Bonani, A., Morales, A., Munoz,
R., Pasten,O., and Morales, M.A. (2000) "Grupo de Tarea
Esmeralda Mediano y Largo Plazo, Situacin Sector Fw",
PL-I-005/2000, Internal report, Codelco Chile Divisin El
Teniente.
Rech, W. D. (2001) "Henderson Mine" Underground
Mining Methods, ed. SME 2001, pp 397 403, USA.
Rech, W., Keskimaki, K. W., and Stewart, D. S. (2000)
"An Update on Cave Development and Draw Control at
the Henderson Mine", Proceeding of the MassMin 2000,
pp 495 505, Australasian Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy, Brisbane, Australia.
Schriber, T.J. (1991) "An Introduction to Simulation Using
GPSS/H", John Wiley & Sons New York.
Sturgul, J.R. (2000) "Mine Design Examples using
simulation" SME.
Sturgul, J.R. (2000) "The Use of Simulation and
Animation for modeling Underground Mines", 3rd National
Conference of Underground Constructions.
Sturgul, J.R.(2000) " Using Animation of Mining
Operations as Presentation Models" Mine Planning and
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Animation for the 21st Century", Third Regional APCOM
Symposium.
Massmin 2004
 Chapter 12
Draw Management
468 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Extraction rate:
As an index of effectiveness
Francisco Carrasco J., Vctor Encina M., Soledad Maass V.
Instituto de Innovacin en Minera y Metalurgia S.A., IM2

Abstract
Extraction rate in Block/Panel Caving mining method is analyzed as the so called Critical Technological Dimension that
represents a whole index of the effectiveness of the process, in this case the mining method. Extraction rate is critical for
mining business because it limits the production capacity in a given ore body. It can be distinguished three rates of
extraction in Block/Panel Caving as follows: Propagation rate of extraction during caving propagation period, Full rate of
extraction, when all material is broken and Mean extraction rate representing the global performance of the process
considering the total active area, both under propagation and full extraction of broken material.
This paper presents the relations of dependence among those three extraction rates with a discussion of the impact of
rock mass condition affecting propagation rate and the effect of fragmentation in full rate of extraction of broken material.
Also, it is presented an application to Conventional Block/Panel Caving Method using LHD, whose results set a structural
limit for its mean rate of extraction [t/m2-day]. This analysis includes the effect of interruptions of flow in draw points (hung-
up frequency) and restrictions imposed by the batch system of extraction (LHD).

1 INTRODUCTION Better advance taking from high grade blocks, allowing in

Development of innovative technological projects requires
an insight of technological evolution of processes under
study. Toward this, it is convenient to identify the main focus
and targets to direct research and development efforts.
This work intends to adapt the concept of Critical
Technological Dimension (CTD) to get a new tool for
management of innovation in mining industry.
CTD is defined as a numerical index that reflects the
technological effectiveness and/or competitiveness of any
process under evaluation. CTD has to have an aggregated
character to represent the whole process, be universal to be
applied by/to any process user/application and variable in
time to allow monitoring its evolution.
CTD concept is applicable to any process; being
underground mining method only a particular one, however,
this work is dedicated exclusively to Block/Panel Caving.
Present work validates the use of mean extraction rate as
Block/Panel Caving CTD, and useful application of this
concepts are presented to actual state of the art in order to
outline its potential for innovation in underground mining
methods.
Conventional LHD Block/panel caving technology is
deeply analyzed to emphasize how CDT can guide us to
look for high impact technological innovation.
2 MEAN EXTRACTION RATE AS CTD
practice, an advance of fine ore output.
In the case of new mines, lower time is required to reach
full production.
Mean extraction rate results from a combination of several
factors, including mine design and material handling or
other unitary operations technology, and restrictions
imposed by the ore body or originated in management
practices.
Two operational conditions controlling the ore extraction
can be distinguished: extraction done while caving process
is ongoing, also called propagation phase; and extraction
done when all material is already broken after propagation
phase, when full extraction rate can be applied.
Propagation phase is the period when it is not convenient to
extract more material than the "ground" delivers as caving
phenomena converts in situ material in broken material. It is a
common practice to accept that this process finishes when
30% of material has been extracted. During propagation
phase, it is necessary to operate at an extraction rate Tp,
named propagation extraction rate, whose value is usually
much lower than the full extraction rate Tf.
In full extraction rate stage, restrictions imposed in
propagation stage are progressively abandoned and
consequently, other process control enters into play, as the
occurrence of hangups that interrupt the flow through
drawpoints.

For Block/Panel Caving methods, mean extraction rate
expressed in units of t/m2-d, has been identified as a CTD,
that is, a measure of global process effectiveness. CTD
strictly refers to technological key factors that determine the
business value.
For this analysis, we will define the mean extraction
rate (Tm) as the ratio between the total capacity of
production (t/d) and active area (m2) needed to obtain that
production.
Business impact is clear when greater rate of extraction
can be achieved as listed below:
Greater productivity from active area can be achieved,
which means that equal active area yields greater
production.
2.1 Full Extraction Rate Analysis
In conventional Block/Panel Caving system with LHD, a
production module is usually composed of a production drift
with 8 to 10 drawpoints each side and one ore pass. This
means that each LHD extracts the ore from any of those 16
to 20 drawpoints and dumps it to the ore pass.
If the bucket capacity is 6 tons and the mean transport
distance is between 50 and 60 m, as it is frequent in
different mines of Codelco Chile, LHD productivity ranks at
200 t/h, equivalent in the best case to 3,600 t/d (18 h/d). As
a result, for one module composed by 16 points with 225 m2
of influence each, (drawpoint spacing 15x15 m), production
will be carried out from 3,600 m2, meaning a maximum
structural capacity of 1.0 t/m2-d.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 469

 Even in conditions of maximum operational capacity, the Table 2: Impact of better unhangup productivity
mean extraction per drawpoint is 225 t/d, with 1.125 h/d of Case A.1: Conventional 6 t LHD, 16 drawpoints
LHD operation, so, drawpoints utilization is less that 5%. per drift, one half of standard unhangup time
This low utilization, which is remarkable by itself, becomes
even lower due to ore does not draw regularly through size hangup time for extraction rate
drawpoint, but intermittently due to hangups. frequency drift t/m2-day
In fact, depending on the size of broken ore, flow is change
intermittent due to hangups even when dealing with "fine
material". To face this situation, operational experience t per h drawpoint spacing in m
indicates that most convenient method to hold LHD hangup 15x15 13x13 11x11
productivity is to allow them shift the drawpoint each time
the flow is interrupted, and shift the drift every time that very coarse 80 4 0.57
module has completed 10 hanged drawpoints. This coarse 160 8 0.73 0.97
because secondary blasting crew can accomplish 10 medium 320 16 0.84 1.12 1.57
unhangups per shift, so under this work organization, almost
two modules are needed per LHD, therefore a lower fine 640 32 1.22 1.70
extraction rate will be achieved because the extra area very fine 1280 64 1.78
needed to face hangups. no hangups - - 1.00 1.33 1.86
Following the logic of this work organization for ore
extraction operation, the impact on the extraction rate can
be calculated for different ore quality and drawpoint spacing. Table 3: Impact of increase LHD bucket capacity
Results are presented in Table 1: Case A.2: 12 t LHD bucket, 16 drawpoints
per drift, 10 unhangup per shift

Table 1: Impact of hangup frequency size hangup time for extraction rate
Case A: Conventional 6 t LHD, 16 drawpoints frequency drift t/m2-day
per drift, 10 unhangups per shift change

size hangup time for extraction rate t per h drawpoint spacing in m

frequency drift t/m2-day hangup 15x15 13x13 11x11
change
very coarse 80 2 0.50
t per h drawpoint spacing in m coarse 160 4 0.80 1.07
hangup 15x15 13x13 11x11
medium 320 8 1.14 1.52 2.13
very coarse 80 4 0.40 fine 640 16 1.94 2.70
coarse 160 8 0.57 0.76 very fine 1280 32 3.13
medium 320 16 0.73 0.97 1.35 no hangups - - 2.00 2.66 3.72
fine 640 32 1.12 1.57
very fine 1280 64 1.70 done in one half of standard time, as it is shown in Table 4:
From analysis on extraction rate at full extraction rate for
no hangups - - 1.00 1.33 1.86 conventional LHD technology, it can be concluded that:
With flat infrastructure (drawpoint spacing of 15x15 m and
Table 1 shows that when material is medium sized the 13x13 m) in medium sized rock, extraction rates have a
possible achievable rate is 73% of ideal condition without structural limit of 0.7 to 1.0 t/m2-d respectively.
hangups. Former figures can be increased to 1.3 t/m2-d if 11x11 m
Extraction rate decreases because every time when a or less drawpoint spacing is used, for which infrastructure
change of drift is required, another one has to be available, design should be inclined or a Macrozanja type.
so to obtain the same production more active area is A technological improvement of unhangup operation to
needed. reduce the standard time to one half only implies 16%
Drawpoint production capacity is independent on its area extraction rate increase.
of influence, so extraction rate increases when drawpoint
spacing is small because module total area becomes
smaller. Table 4: Duplication of extraction rate
To evaluate the impact of unhangup performance, a Case B: 12 t LHD bucket, 16 drawpoints per drift, one
hypothetical exercise was done reducing unhangup time to half of standard unhangup time
one half of the standard, getting Table 2 results.
From Table 2 it is concluded that if unhangup could be size hangup time for extraction rate
done in a half of standard time, extraction rate in medium frequency drift t/m2-day
sized rock could increase since 73% to 84% of the ideal change
extraction rate, that is, approximately 15% more than with t per h drawpoint spacing in m
the standard unhangup performance. hangup 15x15 13x13 11x11
Another way for increasing the extraction rate is to
increase LHD bucket capacity. Results of an exercise with very coarse 80 4 0.80
12 t LHD bucket capacity are presented in Table 3. In this
coarse 160 8 1.14 1.52
case, the ideal rate (without hangups) is duplicated;
however extraction rate in medium sized rock only grows medium 320 16 1.45 1.94 2.70
56% compared to 6 t bucket (Table 1). fine 640 32 2.24 3.13
Then, to duplicate the extraction rate, considering the
very fine 1280 64 3.40
actual situation with hangups, not only LHD bucket capacity
has to be duplicated, but also unhangup time should be no hangups - - 2.00 2.66 3.72

470 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Double LHD bucket capacity implies only 56% increase of Where "n" factor is defined in such a way those times of
extraction rate extraction in propagation and full extraction rate time, could
To duplicate current extraction rate in all cases, both LHD be the same, so:
bucket capacity and unhangup performance should be
duplicated. In such a case, extraction rate Tf should reach 0, 3 * T f
at most 1 to 2 t/m2-d when flat infrastructure and wide n= (7)
drawpoint spacing design is applied in medium sized rock, 0, 7 * Tp
and when small drawpoint spacing (11x11m and
Macrozanja one) extraction rate could raise to less than 3 or:
t/m2-d.
7
2.2 Mean Extraction Rate Analysis T f = * n * Tp (8)
As formerly noted, mean extraction rate Tm represents 3
the link with business because it expresses the whole
production capacity per unit of active area. Where "n" factor also represents the relation that should
Given that propagation occurs while the first 30% of any exists between the area at propagation stage and the area
column is extracted, and in the remaining 70% full extraction at full extraction rate.
rate is used, the following relationship can be established: Mean extraction rate will be also given by:
Time in days needed to extract a column of ore:

Ap * Tp + Af * T f
Tm = (9)
0, 3 * T 0, 7 * T (1)
AT
time = +
Tp Tf
AT : Total area of system in m2
Ap : Propagation area in m2
T = tonnage per m2 of column Af : Full area in m2
TP and Tf = Extraction rate at Propagation and Full
production phases respectively in t/m2-d. With

Then, mean extraction rate Tm in t/m2-d is given by: AT = Ap + Af (10)

T From equations (8), (9) and (10) it is deduced that mean

Tm = (2) extraction rate Tm can be expressed as:
0, 3 * T 0, 7 * T
+
Tp Tf
10 * n * Tp (11)
or: Tm =
3 * ( n + 1)
1
Tm =
0, 3 0, 7 (3)
It can be observed that Tm is asymptotic to 10/3 of Tp,
+
Tp T f figure that is consistent with the one encountered in
equation 4. In this way, if one takes a reasonable value
Tp=0.40 t/m2-d, the maximum possible Tm will be 1.32 t/m2-
At the limit, when full extraction rate is as large as wanted, d.
it is noticed that mean extraction rate has an asymptote, Figure 1 shows values obtained for Tm and Tf in t/m2-d
which is proportional to extraction rate of propagation (main axis) according to different values of n and for
phase: propagation rate Tp=0.40 t/m2-d. Productivity of drawpoints
in t/h (secondary axis) is also plotted (dotted line).
Tp
lim v 2 (Tm ) = (4)
0, 3
A condition of production stability has to be set to assure
that any time the mine will produce the same amount of ore.
Toward this is necessary that each time an area is
exhausted, an equivalent one where its propagation period
has finished have to be ready to start extraction at full
production rate.

0, 3 * T
propagation _ time (5)
Tp
0, 7 * T
full _ time
Tf (6)

Condition of stability is verified when:

Figure 1: Relationship between mean extraction rate and
propagation time = n * full production time full extraction rate for Tp=0.40 t/m2-d

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 471

 It can be observed that:
Case A: For conventional system, is enough to maintain
an area ratio on the order of n=0.76 to be able to replace
opportunely the exhausted area. Full extraction phase
reaches extraction rates on the order of 0.7 t/m2-d (as
mentioned earlier) so, mean extraction rate would be
close to 0.57 t/m2-d.
Case B: if conventional LHD system could be improved to
achieve full extraction rates on the order of 1.45 t/m2-d,
as in the case of Table 2, mean extraction rate should
increase to 0.80 t/m2-d, for which it will be required an
area ratio close to n=1.55.
Case C: In an hypothetical system able to reach a full
extraction rate on the order of 3 t/m2-d, which accordingly
to earlier analysis is not reachable with conventional LHD
system, mean extraction rate could raise to 1.0 t/m2-d,
with an area ratio higher than n=3.25.
3 CTD ANALYSIS
In practice, in mines it is common to observe mean
extraction rate lower than those presented in Case A (Table
1) mainly due to:
The influence of propagation rate, which is the factor that
controls the process, as shown in Figure 2. In fact,
propagation rate average at first 30% of extraction could
in practice be lower to 0.40 t/m2-d for primary material,
being even closer to 0.30 t/m2-d or smaller in some
cases.
Figure 2: Mean extraction rate curves for different
propagation rate.
Note: It is assumed there is no technological limit
associated to material handling or another operational
factor.
Once restrictions due to caving propagation are over, full
extraction rate is mainly controlled by productivity of
material handling system (Secondary axis in Figure 1),
however, many factors are also involved in final full
extraction rate as, among others:
- Secondary size reduction done in drawpoints and/or in
ore passes.
- Grizzly and ore pass dimensions.
- Productivity of size reduction equipment (pick hammers
or crushers).
- Productivity of main transport.
- Operational interference (undercut and new
area adding).
- Availability and preventive maintenance and repairing of
equipment and productive areas.
472 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
A combination of those factors will give a characteristic
average output per drawpoint and the correspondent full
and mean extraction rate. For example, if an LHD
producing 200 t/h is serving 16 drawpoints, the maximum
output will be 12.5 t/h per drawpoint (225 t/d per drawpoint
). This value could decrease when considering all those
aspects formerly mentioned.
Returning to analysis of Figure 1, technological output
needed for each case are:
- Case A: Output slightly lower than 10.5 t/h per drawpoint,
a value that is consistent with the one analyzed.
- Case B: Output of 22.5 t/h per drawpoint.
- Case C: Output close to 45 t/h per drawpoint, that is, 4
times the conventional output.
Considering the maximum technological output
associated to materials handling and a hypothetical
situation in which rate of propagation is twice the limit set on
Figure 1, give us Figure 3:
Figure 3: Relationship between mean extraction rate and
full extraction rate for Tp=0.80 t/m2-d
In case A, attainable mean extraction rate with
conventional technology is at most on the order of 0.7
t/m2-d, which is equal to full extraction rate that this
technology can reach. This happens despite "ground" can
delivers more than that.
On the other hand, if an improvement of material handling
system (Case B) were possible in order to increase 105%
the maximum output of Case A, improved technology
could reach mean extraction rates on the order of 1.15
t/m2-d.
Notice that in Case B mean extraction rate increase is
only near to 65%, that is far from being proportional to the
effort required to improve conventional technology.
In Case C, a new technology as Continuous Mining or
Macrozanjas or other is considered, attainable mean
extraction rate is close 1.63 t/m2-d, that is, 2.3 times
higher than obtained with current technology.
In Case C, it is clear that conventional LHD technology
(even the improved one) could hardly attain the required
rates.
In an hypothetical exercise where propagation rate is
completely unrestricted (Figure 4), the new propagation rate
will be fixed by production capacity of material handling
system and will be equal to mean and full extraction rate. It
is clear in this case that the grater the material handling
system capacity the greater the advantage in mining
process.
Massmin 2004

Figure 4: Extraction rate by % extraction of varies
technologic scenarios
Tech1: Conventional technology with propagation limit
Tech2: Conventional technology without propagation limit
Tech3: Conventional technology improved without propagation limit
Tech4: Alternative technology without propagation limit
Another interesting element to analyze is the behavior
of area ratio "n" that can be a management tool, which
allows the owner to choose the better system capacity
compatible with operational complexity. The greater the n
factor the greater the operation complexity. Also, as can
be seen in Figure 2, mean extraction rate increments due
to n increments are lower than mean extraction rate
increment due to jump to a different curve corresponding
to a greater rate of propagation. One can guess that a
borderline value for area ratio should be between n=3
and n=4.
On the other hand, an increase of the mean extraction
rate implies necessarily that production area exhausts
faster. Hence, new area adding capacity could become a
technological restriction of mean extraction rate.
4 CONCLUSION
The main conclusion of this analysis is the relevance of
borderline that caving propagation process imposes to rates
of extraction.
Considering that mean extraction rate is the one
effectively linked with profitability of business; one observes
that it makes little sense to have a technology capable to
reach high full extraction rates after propagation phase, if for
being able to use it, a high area ratio is required, even
though that mean extraction rate will not have a proportional
increase.
In fact, it was seen in the hypothetical situation when
restrictions imposed by caving propagation were
eliminated, current material handling system does not take
advantage from that condition and consequently it
becomes the critical technology that determines the
productivity of the whole system. With current technology,
the expectation for increasing the productivity of the
method is relatively limited, because it will be blocked at
currently levels, not exceeding 0.7 to 1.0 t/m2-d. If new
technology could be able to get 2.0 t/m2-d (like
Macrozanjas) or 3.0 t/m2-d (like Continuous Mining
concept) as a full rate of extraction, expected profit would
be commanded by the ability to raise the rate of extraction
during caving propagation phase.
Future analysis will focus in finding new technological
elements not included in this work, as well as determining
the controlling factors of each of mentioned technological
borderlines as:
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Material handling technology for conventional and future
caving method.
Capacity for adding new area.
Production and development management.
Finally, present work has introduced a different approach
to innovation management in mining industry by means of
relatively simple analysis driven by business effectiveness
indexes, to focus the efforts of research and development
on those aspects that actually governing the mining
business behavior, instead of impulse partial improvements
increasing productivity of current technology, that only tends
to give us marginal results in mining process output.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authors are grateful to all their colleagues of IM2 that
helped them during the development of this work. Also, the
authors want to acknowledge the permission given by
Codelco Chile to publish this technical paper.
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Diaz, G. and Tobar, P., 2000. Panel Caving experiences
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produccin, Divisin Salvador, Codelco Chile. Internal
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macizo rocoso para hundimiento, Divisin Andina,
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tecnolgicos, 118 p. Final Thesis to obtain Degree in
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473
 Controlled draw in block/panel caving
Francisco Raa, Mauricio Telias, Instituto de Innovacin en Minera y Metalurgia S.A., IM2
Mario Vicua, Superintendencia Planificacin, El Salvador Division, Codelco Chile

Abstract
One of common paradigms in Block/Panel Caving set uniform draw as a rule to delay dilution entry, this is based on a
simplified description of the problem, that assumes ore-waste interface is an horizontal surface and that ore value
distribution is uniform.
This work presents, through theoretical analysis and simulation exercises applied to actual cases, that it is possible to
set non-uniform extraction schedules not only delaying dilution, but getting high value ore earlier.
The effect is achieved using a Dynamic Gravity Flow Simulator (DGFS), which is able to replicate any sequence of
extraction and allows knowing the broken ore configuration at any time. By using DGFS and an special algorithm of
optimization, developed at IM2, it is possible to get a significative improvement of global benefit using different
sequences of draw, each one adapted to each ore body and mining layout.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 DYNAMIC GRAVITY FLOW SIMULATOR

The goal of modeling gravitational flow on granular The model proposed for representing gravitational flow is
materials have been pursued long before mining industry very simple and based on mathematical modeling studies.
implemented block or panel caving as a mining method. It works as follows: the deposit is represented by
However, its massive use has contributed heavily to the preferably a small cubic block model (5x5x5 meters). Every
development of important studies on the matter. block takes as its main variable the density (proportional to
The most relevant development is the one achieved by the tonnage of ore material) and as a secondary variable the
D.H. Laubscher, who generate a mixed grades predictive ore grade inside the block. There are countless secondary
model based on the behavior of interactive flow, known as variables, as geomechanic or geologic data, but only
Volumetric Model. economical significant variables were used for this study.
Additionally to the studies about gravitational flow, arise
new alternative solutions for solving the problem of
premature dilution. Nowadays, uniform draw is considered
as the best alternative; however, it could be far from the best
choice.
Considering uniform draw as the best solution is a
simplification because it considers that ore-waste interface
is an horizontal surface and that all the ore has the same
value.
Nevertheless, experience shows that deposits are not
homogeneous and the ore body limit is just an economic
consideration.
This work introduces two essential planning tools.
First of all, it is considered a dynamic model for
gravitational flow problem, where every action in the present
causes an effect in the future; based on that, it was
developed a gravitational flow simulator which can
represents the deposit configuration, in every stage of
drawing.

WASTE

ORE

Figure 1: Simplification of the problem.

Secondly, it proposes an algorithm that finds a sequence

of extraction, which maximizes the global profit by Figure 2: When a block diminishes its density, the upper
considering each block with a different value. blocks contribute with material.

474 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Drawpoints are modeled as blocks with capacity to get
empty, that means to became blocks with density zero.
Process get started when drawpoint got empty and then
refilled with upper blocks material. The contribution of every
block is previously defined and becomes a parameter that
has to be calibrated.
Blocks that contribute to refill the drawpoint diminish their
density, so they have to be filled by their respective upper
blocks, repeating the process up to the upper level,
generally, surface.
During the filling process of blocks, there is a mix of
secondary variables, in the case ore grade. Resultant grade
is calculated as a weighed average, in this manner, every
time that a drawpoint is draw it is possible to determine its
exact secondary variables value (grade).
The model can be used for replicate the history of
extraction, determining for each drawpoint the grade
obtained after each draw.

3 DGFS APLICATION Figure 4: Result of replicating the real sequence in Inca

Central, with the Volumetric Model.
DGFS was tested with real data from Salvador copper
mine of Codelco Chile Corporation. There were made tests
in two different sectors, Inca Central and Inca Norte, both of
them mined with Panel Caving method.

Figure 5: Result of replicating the real sequence in Inca

Norte, with the Volumetric Model.

The explanation for these results is basically that the

Figure 3: Layout of the drawpoints in the analyzed sectors.
Volumetric Model is only applicable when a quasi-uniform
exploitation has been performed. In actual case, there are
drawpoints that are early closed and others with over
exploitation. In the last case, the most probable is that
overexploitation is not only vertical but presents a horizontal
movement that this model is unable to represent.

The background information was a block model, which
provides density and grade of copper up to surface. Also,
there was available the drawpoints extraction history and
grade sampling record of both Inca Central and Inca Norte
sector which have been already exploited.
Having this data it was possible to replicate the
exploitation step by step, as it was actually achieved, as it is
frequent, in a different way than scheduled.
Volumetric Model Validation
As a reference, the results obtained by replicating the
actual exploitation using the Volumetric Model were
compared. The results obtained were not as satisfactory as
it was supposed to be, getting more than 20% error in ore
recovery estimation. In fact, actual ore extraction was more
than 20% of ore predicted by Volumetric Model when it is
applied to actual sequence of extraction.
DGFS Validation
The solution for obtaining satisfactory results implies
considering a dynamic model. The results obtained doing
the same test using DGFS are very promising, getting less
than 5% of total error on ore recovery.
In this case the model adapts itself to the extraction
history and it considers the actual draw in every drawpoint
mixing the upper material grade following the actual
exploitation characteristics.
4 OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM
Using DGFS it is possible to know the deposit
configuration in terms of secondary variables value in every
moment. In practice, we can control every drawpoint status,
determining the copper grade value (or another variable) in
the next extraction and also have an effect on the sequence

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 475


Figure 6: Result of replicating the real sequence in Inca
Central, with the DGFS.
Figure 7: Result of replicating the real sequence in Inca
Norte, with the DGFS.
Figure 8: Every block makes a contribution to the expected
benefit of drawpoint. In this way, dilution can be detected in
advance.
of extraction, which is the most important. Changes in
sequence may means bringing forward the closing of points
or extending overexploitation. The complexity of the
476 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
reasoning above and the non-linearity of the problem makes
necessary the use of heuristics.
The heuristics based algorithm generates a list of
drawpoints with the amount of material to be extracted from
each one of them. It works as follows: at every moment
(everyday or every shift) it is determined the expected
benefit each every drawpoint. This expected benefit is an
average of the benefit generated by each one of the upper
column blocks, weighed by the probability of been extracted
through that drawpoint.
The geometry of the upper column and the weighing of
every block are parameters to be determined for each
deposit in particular. In practice, it can be assumed that the
material moves around successive ellipses and the
probability of being extracted decreases exponentially with
the distance from the drawpoint.
The advantage of this heuristics is that not only
determines the drawpoints with a better benefit but also the
extraction combinations that contributes to generate a
greater global benefit, bringing forward the extraction of
higher grade ore and delaying dilution.
5 ALGORITHM CONCEPTUAL ANAYSIS
The optimization algorithm above introduced reverts the
paradigm of uniform draw as the best choice for extraction.
This, because such process only happens under special
conditions (homogeneous deposit and constant height of
mineralization).
WASTE
WASTE
WASTE
ORE
ORE ORE
Figure 9: Different cases of geometries in ore bodies.
To demonstrate this, it was performed a theoretical study
about draw behavior considering different geometries of ore
distribution and a typical layout of drawpoints.
In each case, it was compared an uniform draw against a
draw proposed by the algorithm.
Figure 10: Drawpoints layout
The comparison was done between the ore recovered
before dilution percentage of every drawpoint were above 50%
Case A: Horizontal Geometry
This is a typical deposit geometry. Despite the intuitive
proposing of a uniform extraction sequence as the best
Massmin 2004
solution, results of the algorithm, shows a different
sequence.
Algorithm proposed result is a consequence of the fact
that central drawpoints could have a greater interaction than
lateral drawpoints. Therefore, it is better draw them at a
lower rate in order to control premature dilution.
Figure 11: Average percentage of activity in the drawpoint
during the mining stage. Case A
Quantitative result shows that global recovering for
uniform draw is 85%, whereas, for controlled draw,
recovering is 91%.
Case B: Inclined Geometry
In this case, conventional strategy was to have a uniform
draw in a first stage, followed by a second stage only
extracting from higher column drawpoints (right).
Algorithm proposes a solution where, at the beginning
only higher columns are extracted (drawpoints located to
the right) and then following stage, continue with an
extraction like case A.
Briefly, the algorithm suggests a sequence of extraction
where the ore-waste interface is moved up to an horizontal
status, where it applies the solution already known.
Figure 12: Average percentage of activity in the drawpoint
during the mining stage. Case B
It may seem that both extraction sequences are very
alike, however, the order, in these cases, do alter the result,
delaying dilution much more when draw is controlled.
The global recovering result for uniform draw is 77%
whereas controlled draw result is 89%.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Case C: Intermediate Waste
This is not a very common geometry in massive deposits.
Nevertheless, it is possible to find it in some cases, for
example, when outstanding material from older mined
sectors on upper levels, or ore bodies having high grade in
lower and upper levels separated by a low grade zone.
It is important to analyze the algorithm behavior under
these circumstances. As we can see, the best draw strategy
is not easily determined. Intuitively uniform draw should
have a good performance, although ore recovering would
be notably influenced by grade difference among the layers.
Figure 13: Average percentage of activity in the drawpoint
during the mining stage. Case C
The result proposed by the algorithm is very interesting.
At the beginning supposes the extraction like an horizontal
geometry deposit but when intermediate waste material
gets the drawpoints, it only extracts from some of them.
The reasoning is absolutely understandable, it assumes
that dilution is unavoidable but extraction from less
drawpoints implies a lower extraction of the waste material
and a faster flow from the upper high grade ore.
In few words, once the intermediate waste gets the
drawpoints and high grade ore is detected over itself, the
most advisable is a sequence that privileges the entrance of
the diluting material (in this case corresponding to high
grade ore). The roles get inverted and the sequence get
adapted to the change.
There is a random choice of the points that have to be
overexploited, because there is not big differences among
them. The uniform draw got a global recovering of 55% and
controlled draw, 72%.
In all cases above, the aim is to prove that despite that a
uniform draw gives good results, it is always possible to
have a better draw strategy.
Although these are fictitious examples, reality is just the
combination, in different proportions of those exposed
cases.
6 SCHEDULING ALGORITHM APLICATION
In order to verify the true potential of scheduling proposed
algorithm, it was applied on mine sectors presented before
(Salvador mine).
The same basic parameters applied in actual mining were
considered:
477
 Fixed tonnage for every year of exploitation.
Opening of new areas identical to the reference case.
Controlled rate of extraction.
Results obtained show that using the algorithm as
sequence generator it would have been possible increase
near 20% of ore recovery compared with actual results.
The greater recovery obtained is result of bringing
forward the extraction of high grade ore, which, in particular
for these sectors, correspond to outstanding high grade
material in upper levels, that were not mined before.
Figure 14: Result of applying the algorithm in Inca Central.
Figure 15: Result of applying the algorithm in Inca Norte.
478 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
We have to be kept in mind that the given values
correspond to benefits on ideal cases, where it has not been
taken into account operational problems of the mining
method. So, they can be considered as the "ceiling" value.
However, the benefits margin is quite great, to recommend
the use of this scheduling method in future plans.
7 CONCLUSIONS
Mining paradigm of uniform draw as "the best solution for
delaying dilution" is based on a simplification of the actual
problem.
Depending on the deposit, there are non uniform
strategies allowing greater ore recovery while delaying the
dilution entry.
DGFS, developed by IM2, provides the current status of
drawpoints in every moment of exploitation and it can
represents, according to obtained results, the behavior of
the gravitational flow.
As DGFS can be also a good simulator of ore draw in
Block/Panel Caving mines, optimization algorithm provides
a solution for scheduling depletion in a realistic way.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank Codelco Chile Division Salvador that
supported all the steps of this research and provided data
from its exploitation to perform the validation.
REFERENCES
Alfaro, M, 2000. Modelamiento Computacional Predictivo
del Flujo Gravitacional, Proyecto FONDEF 1037,
Santiago de Chile.
Gonzlez, G, 1999, Estudio del Comportamiento de un
Material Granular Mediante Modelos Computacionales.
Memoria Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile.
Goles, E y Pea, S, 1996, Modelamiento y Simulacin del
Flujo Gravitacional, Centro de Investigacin Minero y
Metalrgica (CIMM), Santiago de Chile.
Imenitov, V, Abramov, V and Gorbunov, V, 1969,
Probability Distribution for a Stochastic Model of the
Motion of Ore During Discharge, Moscow Mining Institute.
Yongjia, W, and Xinguo, L, 1981, Numerical Simulation of
Ore Drawing, Northeast Institute of Tecnology.
Massmin 2004
 A draw control system for
scheduling production in block caving
David Rahal, Research Scholar, Martin Smith, Senior Lecturer, JKMRC, University Of Queensland

Abstract
Block caving is an underground mining method that is suitable for low grade mineral deposits. One of the biggest factors
in determining the success of a block caving operation is the implementation of a rigorous draw control system.
This paper presents a scheduling system that allows the development of long term, tactical draw plans. The system is
based on the integration of a mixed integer linear programming scheduler (MILP) with a dynamic resource database. The
draw schedules generated are optimised for all production periods simultaneously. This life-of-mine optimisation offers the
advantage of having the production in each period being optimal with respect to all other periods. Once this tactical plan
has been implemented, actual production is used to update the panel contents before subsequent scheduling cycles.
The results presented in this paper show that the MILP model can be used for mine planning and tactical scheduling in
block caving mines.

1 INTRODUCTION decisions such as annual production rates, cave footprint,

progression of the undercut and production system
The JKMRC has developed the Integrated Draw Control capacities have already been determined. Still, as will be
System (IDCS) to provide the basis for optimal draw demonstrated, IDCS provides the means to evaluate the
practice and to minimize the impact of disruptions in the feasibility of strategic objectives and to compare the relative
production cycle. value of alternative mine plans.
Draw control, as referred to herein, relates to the The original concept for IDCS was derived from a draw
sequencing, scheduling and rates of draw from block and control scheduling system initially developed by De Beers
panel cave drawpoints. While the basic requirements of (Guest et. al, 2000) as shown in Figure 1. In its current
good cave management are well understood, they have version, IDCS includes several components: an Access
been difficult to implement. IDCS is designed to schedule database for the various production scenarios and a Mixed
production from drawpoints as close as possible to the Integer Linear Programming-based (MILP) draw
desired production targets while satisfying operational and optimisation module. IDCS also includes the option of cave
geotechnical constraints. Over the life of the panel, the draw simulation and material mixing as a component of draw
schedule provided by IDCS will maintain a smooth draw of optimisation. As envisaged in Figure 1, a fully integrated
the ore in order to minimise early dilution entry and thereby system would also include production/vehicle tracking and
maximise panel recovery. IDCS does not chase NPV at the short-term scheduling down to the level of a shift using the
expense of operational or geotechnical restrictions. In fact, monthly draw target coming from the MILP. Integration of
production targets exceeding operational or geotechnical short and long term draw control within the framework of
limits are not allowed. IDCS provides a rational approach to IDCS is planned for future releases.
cave management consistent with current draw control
practice.
Cave scheduling can be broken into two major components,
short-term and a long-term. Short-term scheduling is aimed at
guiding production towards the monthly plan. If variations
between the planned targets and the actual draw are
recorded, the daily scheduling system adjusts subsequent
calls so that the monthly plan is not compromised. Thus, short-
term scheduling consists of an iterative process of monitoring
draw, comparing to plan and correcting if needed. This is the
full extent of draw control at most operations and is insufficient
for guiding life-of-mine production.
Long-term (monthly to annual) scheduling aims at
meeting life-of-mine objectives such as retaining the
integrity of the cave while maximizing recovery or cash flow.
Production targets set by long-term draw scheduling should
dictate short-term and operational planning requirements.
The solution provided by IDCS includes the tonnage to be
drawn from each drawpoint by scheduling period, as well as Figure 1: De Beers scheduling system schematic (after
the deviation from the ideal production target. The objective Guest et. al, 2000).
of optimisation in IDCS is to find a sequence of solutions as
close to the ideal geotechnical draw profile and overall 2 DRAW OPTIMISATION
production requirements as possible. Therefore, IDCS is
primarily designed to be implemented as a tactical rather Draw optimisation is implemented in IDCS as an MILP. An
than a strategic mine planning system, i.e., basic strategic MILP is a Linear Program having binary variables controlling

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 479

the availability of drawpoints for production in a given
scheduling period. It consists of linear equations describing
constraints on production and an objective function that
seeks to minimize the sum of the period deviations (the sum
of the penalty weighted block deviations from ideal draw),
the deviation from the production targets and from external
sources such as dumps. The critical draw control
constraints regulating long-term production in the IDCS are:
Relative draw rate between adjacent drawpoints Ensure
interactive draw by limiting the draw rate between
adjacent drawpoints. Interactive draw aims to pull
neighbouring drawpoints simultaneously to promote equal
draw down over the entire footprint. Controlling draw rates
between adjacent drawpoints avoids early waste ingress
by maintaining a smooth ore/waste interface.
Minimum draw rate - Eliminate point loading by avoiding
ore recompaction in the drawpoints.
Maximum draw rate (Maturity Rules) Limit the maximum
draw rate to ensure that the cave advance rate does not
exceed the undercut rate. Also, the draw rate is chosen so
that the secondary fragmentation process within the cave
(induced by mechanical interaction of the caved material)
reduces secondary breakage by blasting.
Waste limit Waste content in the plant feed cannot
exceed a percentage during a given period. This
constraint is imposed because processing plant efficiency
drops dramatically with increasing waste percentage.
Materials handling and Capacity constraints production
cannot exceed the capacity of the materials handling
system including drawpoints, tunnels, orepasses, etc.
through to stockpiles and other accumulation areas.
Capacities can also be applied to the processing plant
both in terms of tonnages by material category and as
allowable grade ranges.
The equations defining the objective function and
constraints are composed of variables for the sequencing of
drawpoints, drawpoint production, upper and lower bounds
on drawpoint production, and the flow of various material
grades and classes through the materials handling system.
The constraints define the values that these variables can
take in any feasible solution while the objective function
drives the values these variables take towards optimality.
The objective function takes the form of a Goal Program
in which there is a balance between multiple, and possibly
competing, objectives. In IDCS there is a balance between
maintenance of an idealized ore/waste interface or Ideal
Profile and obtaining the desired production targets. As
described in the following section, this Ideal Profile is
defined as a set of contours in the IDCS GUI that describes
the desired draw down of the ore across the panel as a
depletion surface. The premise is that deviation from this
Ideal Profile will result in premature waste entry and stress
concentration resulting in loss of reserves and drawpoints.
Constraints in IDCS relate the desired depletion level into
the tonnage of production required from a drawpoint in a
given period that will maintain an even draw down as
defined by the Ideal Profile. Deviation from this ideal
drawpoint production is represented by a deviation variable
in the objective function. Other deviation variables represent
the deviation of total production from user specified
production targets.
3 DRAW CONTROL INTERFACE
The interface to the draw scheduling system is a C++ GUI
that interfaces with ILOG CPLEX (or AMPL) and Microsoft
Access. Access was selected as the production database
because it is a portable database that is available on most
mine sites. However, links between the GUI and other
database software can be forged because the GUI extracts
480 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
data using SQL queries via ODBC connections.
The scheduling system is based on the concept of draw
scenarios containing panel data for different operating
conditions. Creating a draw scenario consists of the
following steps:
Importation of block names, coordinates, tonnage data,
and column heights.
Enter period definition (length in months and days, target
production, economic discount factors), maturity rule
definition, and rock type definition.
Create the nodes and links in the materials handling
system (tunnels, orepasses, haulages, etc.) An example
of this is shown in Figure 2 where a crusher is being
connected to the shaft.
Define the ideal draw profile as a series of relative
depletion lines. The ideal chevron profile shown in Figure
3 was drawn in one of the three possible modes available
to the user.
Apply a weighted distance algorithm to calculate the
relative depletion levels for each block
Emulate ideal production by depleting the panel. The
depletion algorithm determines the levels of ideal
depletion for each block in each period based on the
production targets specified in the period definition. This
information is used with the remainder of the data to
generate the MILP formulation.
The model is then solved using the CPLEX MILP solver
and the optimum draw schedule is output for review.
An example of the results that can be obtained using this
system are presented below for the BA5 panel of the De
Beers Cullinan Diamond Mine.
Figure 2: Links in the materials handling system (BA5
panel).
4 CASE STUDY
The BA5 cave, opened in 1990, has served as a major
testing ground for block caving. It has a lift height of 130 m
with ore drawn on the 630 m production level using both
electric and diesel LHDs. The average monthly production
was on the order of 150,000 tons for the months between
January 1996 and April 2000. The panel layout is an offset
herringbone as shown in Figure 4.
Each production drift on the 630 level is bisected by
barricades and ventilation barriers which separates the
panel into North and South ventilation districts. These
barricades restrict LHD movement such that each end of
Massmin 2004
 the drift is treated as a separate tunnel for production
scheduling.
A schematic of the BA5 materials handling system can be
seen above in Figure 5. Rock is loaded at each drawpoint
and transported to a nearby orepass by LHD. The material
then gravity flows to the haulage level where it is transported
by train to underground crushers. The crusher product is
subsequently transferred by conveyor to the production
shaft for hoisting to the surface.
This materials handling system (also shown in plan view
in Figure 2), along with the BA5 data, was used to
demonstrate how the system can be used in mine planning
and for evaluating the feasibility of production plans. Its use
as a tactical planning tool for the recovery of a poorly
developed panel has been discussed in Rahal et al, 2003.
An important concern in planning an operation is the
effect draw strategy has on total production. This effect is
Figure 3: Ideal depletion profile definition.
explored by considering the results of the following four
scenarios:
Control, Baseline draw strategy in which all production
control constraints are active.
Maturity, Illustrates how draw maturity rules limit
production when no relative draw rate (RDR) constraints
are applied.
Reversed, Highlights how the system can be used to
determine effect that direction of advance has on
production.
Relative, Tightens the limit on the allowable RDR between
adjacent blocks.

The basic schedule definition for the trials and the

important differences between each trial and the Control
scenario are presented in Tables 1 and 2. It can be seen that
each schedule contains 35 periods with an "ideal"
production target of 150,000 tons.

Table 1: Schedule summary for all trials.

Schedule Length 35 periods

Schedule Duration 186 months (15.5 y)
Days Per Month 20
"Ideal" Production Target 150,000 tons/month
Maturity Rules 3 Levels
Rock Density 2.62 tons/m3
Mean Virgin Reserve
Per Block 76,340 tons
Mean Reserve Of Super 214,446 tons
Blocks (15 largest of 307 blocks)

Table 2: Scenario constraint parameters.

Figure 4: BA5 production level.
Profile Lower RDR Upper RDR
Direction

Control Normal a 0.25 4.0

Maturity Normal a * *
Relative Normal a 0.40 2.5
Reversed Reversed b 0.25 4.0

a Chevron advance from North-West to South-East.

b Chevron advance from South-East to North-West.
* Constraint dropped from optimisation.

A breakdown of the number of months in each period can

be seen in Figure 6. Table 1 also makes reference to a set
of "super blocks" which contain roughly three times the
average virgin reserve. This abnormally high reserve
Figure 5: Materials handling system schematic. causes these fifteen blocks to deplete more slowly than the

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 481

remainder of the blocks in the panel. It will be shown how
this slower depletion rate interacts with the RDR constraints
to have a significant effect on panel production.
Figure 7 shows the shape of the maturity rules production
profile. Note that the ratio between the minimum (101
mm/day) and maximum (404 mm/day) production rates is
4.0 (and conversely 0.25). The allowable production
difference between adjacent drawpoints, the lower and
upper relative draw rate ratios (0.25 and 4.0 respectively),
were set to reflect this characteristic of the maturity rules.
Figure 6: Duration of each period in months.
Figure 7: Three level maturity rule profile.
The total production achieved in each scenario compared
to the "ideal" production target can be seen in Figures 8 and
9. Figure 8 shows that all of the scenarios initially lag behind
the ideal production target. The Control, Maturity, and
Reversed schedules require a production ramp up of ten
periods (12 months) before achieving the ideal production
target for the remainder of the panel life. This delay in
achieving full production is not unexpected since the
maturity rules restrict total production until the blocks are
greater than 6.5% depleted. In contrast, the Relative
schedule only achieves the cumulative production target
towards the end of the schedule, nearly 114 months later
than the other trials.
The deviation from the ideal panel profile (shape) for all
four trials can be seen in Figures 10 and 11 where the
482 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
deviation is plotted as the sum of squared error (SSE). The
deviation has been expressed as SSE because the total
positive and negative deviations for all blocks in the panel
for each period must be represented. The deviation values
are squared to prevent positive and negative values from
cancelling each other out.
Figure 10 is rescaled in Figure 11 to show the SSE for the
Control, Maturity, and Reversed trials.
A comparison of the Control and Maturity schedules
shows that the maturity rules are a major factor limiting total
production. The cumulative production profiles for both are
similar.
However, Figure 11 shows that the two have different
profiles with time. Both trials deviate from the ideal during
production ramp up. The difference occurs in Period 10
when both achieve their ideal production target. The
Maturity trial assumes the ideal panel shape (zero deviation)
while the Control trial fails to achieve the target profile until
Period 26.
The difference between the two occurs because of the
presence of a number of "super blocks" in the panel. These
blocks each contain nearly three times the average block
reserve (Table 1) and as a result they are depleted at a
slower rate than the remainder of the panel (e.g. removing
one thousand tons from a super block depletes it only one
third as much as removing a similar amount from an
average block). Because these blocks deplete more slowly,
they restrict, and are restricted by, their relative draw rate
limit with adjacent blocks. This effect is illustrated in Figure
12 where the percentage of the total deviation generated by
these fifteen blocks has been plotted.
A comparison of the Control (Figures 3 and 14) and
Reversed (Figures 13 and 15) trials show the following:
Super blocks are major contributors to the total deviation
in both trials after Period 10,
The super blocks contribute on the order of fifty percent of
the total SSE until they are fully depleted,
The RDR constraints interact with the super blocks to limit
production across the panel, and
The interaction between the RDR and panel production is
related to the larger footprint and slower depletion rates of
the super blocks.
The first three trials illustrated the effect that the RDR
constraints have on the cave profile when combined with
production from super blocks. What remains to be shown is
whether or not the RDR achieves its goal of maintaining a
smooth profile throughout the panel life.
A comparison of the Control and Relative trials shows that
the SSE deviation reflects a smooth profile in which the
super blocks and their neighbours lag behind the desired
depletion levels. Figures 14, 16, 17 and 18 show the amount
of material remaining in each block as a percentage of the
original content. Figures 14 and 16 are the panel profiles for
Period 7 of the Control and RDR trials, respectively. Figures
17 and 18 show the same information for Period 20. In both
pairs of figures it can be seen that distortions of the panel
profile are tied directly to the location of the super blocks
(larger areas). However, the reminder of the panel maintains
the ideal chevron profile.
It can be seen that tightening the allowable lower and
upper RDR limits from 0.25 and 4.0 to 0.4 and 2.5 has
lowered production and increased the profile deviation in
the Relative trial (Figures 8 and 9). The primary cause of
this reduced production is the delayed maturity of the
super blocks. It can be seen in Table 3 that most of the
super blocks reached maturity (404 mm/day) one period
later in the Relative trail. The most dramatic of these
increases (Blocks 5, 6, and 7) had the greatest effect on
total production because their peak production, along with
that of their neighbours, was delayed for between 21 and
Massmin 2004
Figure 8: Total cumulative production, Periods 1 to 10.
Figure 9: Total cumulative production, Periods 10 to 35.
Figure 10: Deviation from ideal plan as expressed by sum
of squared differences.
96 months (Period 4 to Period 13 and Period 5 to Period
27).
5 CONCLUSIONS
The four scheduling trials presented in this case study
have shown that both the draw maturity rules and the
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 11: Expanded section of Figure 10.
Figure 12: Contribution to total SSE of the fifteen super
blocks (Control Period 31, Maturity Period 11 and Maturity
Period 12, are outliers. They are a large portion of an
insignificant deviation from ideal targets).
Figure 13: Design of reversed panel profile.
relative draw rate constraints have a significant impact on
production rates. The draw maturity rules tend to limit
production early in the life of the panel. Once sufficient
drawpoints have matured, the ideal panel profile can be
maintained.
483
 Table 3: The delay in super block maturity caused by
tightening RDR limits.

Super Block Control Relative

1 PERIOD04 PERIOD05
2 PERIOD04 PERIOD04
3 PERIOD04 PERIOD05
4 PERIOD04 PERIOD06
5 PERIOD04 PERIOD13
6 PERIOD05 PERIOD27
7 PERIOD05 PERIOD22
8 PERIOD05 PERIOD10
9 PERIOD06 PERIOD08
10 PERIOD05 PERIOD06
11 PERIOD12 PERIOD13
12 PERIOD12 PERIOD12
13 PERIOD13 PERIOD13
Figure 14: Panel profile, Control, Period 7. 14 PERIOD17 PERIOD16
15 PERIOD31 PERIOD31

Figure 15: Panel profile, Reversed, Period 7.

Figure 17: Panel profile, Control, Period 20.

Figure 16: Panel profile, RDR, Period 7.

The effect of the RDR constraints is more complex. When ore
blocks are uniform in tonnage and area, RDR limits that are
proportional to the initial and mature draw down rates (101 and 404
mm/day versus 0.25 and 4.0 lower and upper bounds) will not
have a significant effect on the panel profile. However, when large
"super blocks" are present, production is restricted by the RDR.
The lower production levels occur because the larger
blocks take longer to mature and they restrict the production
Figure 18: Panel profile, RDR, Period 20.
from their neighbours. This lower production level is
subsequently transferred across the panel because
adjacent blocks limit production from their adjacent blocks
and so on. Tightening the allowed RDR exacerbates this
effect.
In planning production where the ore blocks have a wide
range of contained material and cross sectional areas, draw

484 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

control policy can mitigate the effect of non-uniform block
contents by relaxing the relationships between super blocks
and their neighbours. This can be done in two ways, by
ignoring the relationship during the optimisation (drop the
relationship from the set of relationships) or by increasing
the allowable lower and upper limits on the RDR. Either of
these are suitable if it is accepted that super blocks
generally occur on the periphery of the panel and must
therefore lie outside of normal cave operations.
The examples of draw control given herein demonstrate a
variety of applications for IDCS and the impact of
geotechnical constraints on production. Production targets
are commonly set based on the capacities of the materials
handling system (LHDs) and the number of operational
drawpoints, without sufficient consideration of draw
constraints based on sound draw control practice. Adhering
to constraints such as drawpoint maturity and relative draw
rate limits between adjacent drawpoints will initially limit total
production, but the consequence of violation of these
constraints has been shown in practice to lead to reduced
recovery at best and loss of the panel itself at worst.
The case study has demonstrated the impact of the
parameter values used in the RDR and maturity rules
constraints. While these constraints correspond to
geotechnical requirements, their impact on production ramp
up demonstrates the sensitivity of production to these draw
control parameters. The MILP methodology provides the
means to find a balance between poor draw control and
overly constrained production. It also demonstrates the
need for continued research into flow and caving
mechanics.
The MILP optimisation technology incorporated into IDCS
also provides the means to consistently quantify and
compare various design and production strategies. An
example is given of two different draw (or "Ideal") profiles
showing the potential advantages of a reversal of the
undercut and production direction. By creating alternative
production or design scenarios, the life-of-panel production
and recovery results can be used to evaluate alternative
undercuts, rates of advance, panel footprints and production
level layouts.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Ongoing research includes development of an SLC
version of IDCS and a version that is integrated with cave
simulation and mixing. The structure and function of the
SLC version is similar but optimisation seeks a draws front
across all sublevels that optimises either cash flow (in a
sequential optimisation across a series of planning periods)
or NPV (in a multi-period formulation). The version of IDCS
that includes cave simulation also uses sequential
optimisation as opposed to the multi-period formulation
described in this paper. It has the advantages of accounting
for the non-linear relationship between draw and the state of
the caved material and enables the optimisation process to
account for vertical variability in material properties and both
vertical and lateral mixing from period to period.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Funding for this project was provided by the sponsors of
the International Caving Study (ICS II). The sponsoring
companies are De Beers, Anglo American Technical
Services, Rio Tinto Technical Services, CODELCO Chile,
Sandvik Tamrock, LKAB, Newcrest Mining and WMC.
Special thanks are due to De Beers for the contribution of
the BA5 panel data and to the JKMRC Draw Control Team
including Alan Cocker and Kai Riihioja.
REFERENCES
Guest, A.R., van Hout, G.J., von Johannides, A. and
Scheepers, L.F., 2000. An Application of Linear
Programming for Block Cave Draw Control. MassMin
2000, 461-468.
Rahal, D., Smith, M.L., van Hout, G.J. and von
Johannides, A., 2003. The Use Of Mixed Integer Linear
Programming For Long-Term Scheduling In Block Caving
Mines. Application of Computers and Operations
Research in the Minerals Industries, 123-132.
485
 Combining long term
scheduling and daily draw
control for block cave mines
Tony Diering, Principal Consultant, Gemcom Software International Inc.

Abstract
Daily draw control is an integral component of the cave management at an operating block cave mine. It requires the
routine gathering of actual production data such as tonnages and status per draw point as well as sampling information.
This information is required to be stored and processed as well as being made available for long term production
scheduling.
Some of the problems which have been encountered and overcome include the following: Allowances for time delays
in receiving daily actual data and the need to generate an order for the next day; the need to plan for the next month
before the current month is completed as well as the need for smooth data flow from one month to the next. Sole
reliance on Excel for such data manipulation is extremely error prone and risky.
This paper describes an effective methodology which has been established in the PC-BC and CMS programs. A key
component of this system is the effective manipulation of the large amounts of data generated on a daily basis. A
second important component is the assigning of responsibilities for the effective maintenance of this data in the long
term. The system is fully integrated into a SQL database for added data accessibility and security.
The transition between the daily draw order cycle and the keeping track with the long range plans can then be
established and reconciled. Benefits of the new methodology are discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION Nevertheless the operational and geomechanical

In principal, daily draw control in a block caving operation
should be a simple process. An operator is required to set
a tonnage target to be mined from each active draw point on
a daily (or shift) basis. Draw points which are lagging
behind should have a higher tonnage order, while draw
points which are overdrawn should have a lower (or zero)
order. However, experience has shown that the full
implementation of a daily draw order system is much more
complex.
The objectives behind the draw control and draw order
process can be divided into two components, long term and
short term. The long term objectives are to mine in such a
manner as to meet the long term mine plan, while the short
term objective is largely focused on dealing with
geotechnical stability and with other practical operating
considerations.
This paper presents the methodology and challenges
which were encountered during the development and
implementation of a daily draw order system. The system is
called CMS and resides within Gemcom Softwares PC-BC
system. CMS has been implemented and is operational at
the DOZ mine of PT Freeport Indonesia and is soon to be
commissioned at the De Beers Finsch mine in South Africa.
The following overall aspects of the problem are
discussed below:
The planning loop. Long term, daily and shift planning
Data collection and storage
The Catch up concept
Draw control.
Reporting
Some lessons learned
2 LONG TERM, DAILY AND SHIFT TIME SCALES
The objectives of long term plans for block caving are
similar in many respects to those for other mining methods.
particularities of the mining method add several constraints
to the process of planning and scheduling the block cave. A
few relevant aspects of long term planning related to this
paper are the following::
Overall cave shape
Controlled opening and development of draw points
Maximizing NPV to the extent possible subject to the
various geotechnical and other constraints
Generating monthly plans which can be fed to the daily
draw control system
Key functions of the daily draw control are:
Meeting the monthly target.
Adapting the draw rapidly to compensate for localized
over or under-draw situations.
Being responsive to safety considerations (For example:
wet muck draw points).
Being responsive to geotechnical considerations such as
over-stressed draw points.
Being responsive to operational considerations such as
draw belling, tunnel capacities due to secondary blasting
and maintaining even daily production.
At a shift level, to enable dispatch of the LHDs to draw
points in an orderly manner and to best achieve the daily
draw order, with respect to both draw compliance and
total tonnage produced.
2.1. From long term to daily draw order
The key data required for daily draw orders from the long
term plan are as follows:
Total tonnages for the month (separated into total,
production, undercut and development tons)
Tonnage targets for each draw point for the month
Maximum allowable draw rates per draw point per day
day which differs from the draw rate used in the long term
schedules and includes availability and utilization of the
draw points

486 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The data required for routine generation of the daily draw
order can be broken into categories shown in Table .

Table 1: Data requirements for daily draw control

management.

Totals / Other By draw point

Setup Shift details Draw point areas
Priority info Report positions
Strategy "rules"
User status codes
Report format info
Occasional Min buckets/shift Best HOD
Ave. dpt availability Best HOD tons
Panel status
Monthly Total tons targets Target tons
Development tons Past tons
Production tons PRC limits
New draw points
Daily Target tons Order tons
Control dates Actual tons
Latest assays
Latest status
Dpt priorities
Special order dpts
Storage GEMS Profiles SQL workspace

Total tons mined per draw point to date
Draw point closure strategy which might be linked to a
NPV and/or a geomechanical sequence.
Total maximum tonnage per draw point (referred to as
Best HOD tons)
Note that there are no direct NPV or grade targets sent
from long term to daily. If the daily draw meets the monthly
target, then the overall grade and NPV goals of the long
term plan will be met.
The above statement highlights one of the overall
strategies in setting up the CMS system. That is to clearly
identify and isolate the different responsibilities for the
overall process. We do not want daily operations personnel
trying to second guess the financial strategies in the long
term plan, or for the daily draw order to presume to know
how best to dispatch the LHDs to each draw point etc.
In the first implementation of the CMS system at Freeport,
much of the information was stored in Excel sheets. These
had the advantage of allowing for easy data entry and
visualization, but obviously lacked the data security of a
SQL database. In a project with De Beers Finsch mine, the
CMS system was upgraded to utilize the GEMS database
(from Gemcom) running on the SQL Server platform.
The current system is much more effective in producing
daily orders as well as management of the transition from
one period to another.
4 CATCH UP PROCESS
The overall strategy is that if the daily draw order can
reasonably meet the monthly targets, that the monthly
target, in turn, will drive the cave shape towards the long
term plan. Usually, this will not be achievable in a single

2.2. From daily draw order to shifts.

The key data required for each shift is as follows:
A list of active draw points
A tonnage target for each draw point. This is specified as
buckets
A tonnage tolerance for each draw point (called Extra
tons)
Overall draw point status (as available at the time the
order is generated)
deally, some indication as to the priority for the draw point

3 DATA COLLECTION AND STORAGE

In order to have an efficient system, we need ready

access to the appropriate information. In order for the
system to be robust, we need to be able to get by under a
number of conditions where we have insufficient, late or
erroneous data. There is little point in telling a draw control
operator that he cannot continue because of a lack of data,
when there is a deadline to generate an order. So, we have Figure 1: Example of progress with ten draw points
to work around these types of exception as best possible. illustrating the process of catch up.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 487

month, but may require several months, depending on the
extent of deviation from plan.
The process of steering the cave shape back to plan is
called "Catch up" This is shown schematically in a 10 draw
point example representing a cross section (Figure 1). In
general, the longer term constraints on minimum and
maximum draw point tonnages will limit how quickly draw
shape can be restored.
Figure 1 illustrates how the initial irregular tonnage profile
is smoothed out as quickly as possible as permitted by the
maximum tonnage per period constraints. If the maximum
tonnage per draw point is reduced (say from 300 per period
to 250 per period), then it takes longer for the smoothing
effect to be completed. This is shown in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2: With reduced maximum tonnages, the speed at
which catch can occur is reduced.
5 DRAW CONTROL
A methodology has been devised to define the daily
tonnage that is to be taken from each draw point, in order to
meet the monthly target. If an objective function can be
defined, then it is possible to use Linear Programming
principals to derive a solution.
A rating system has been set up for each draw point.
"Points" can be allocated to each draw point based on the
following:
Extent of over- or under-draw relative to the monthly
target
Number of days idle
The forecast grade of the draw point
Other factors such as whether the draw point is in
drawbell status
Safety or other special operational requirements
By using a points system, it is possible for each operation
to assign relative degrees of importance to the above
components. Once the points have been allocated, we can
also assign the minimum and maximum tonnages allowable
per draw point in a shift. The maximum tonnage is derived
from the overall PRC (Production Rate Curve) for each draw
point. The minimum tons (if non-zero) is set as a minimum
number of buckets per shift which is considered reasonable
for each operation.
The maximum tonnage per draw point per day also
has to be adjusted for the expected monthly
availability for the draw point, as well as some further
adjustments for draw point which are heavily over- or
under-drawn.
488 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Then, a draw order can be assigned to each draw point,
starting with those draw points with the highest "points"
rating. Further adjustments are required to ensure that the
draw order can achieve the daily production target set by the
draw control officer.
This is described in more detail by Samosir, Brannon and
Diering (2000).
6 REPORTING
If the right data is stored in an efficient database, then the
flexibility to generate useful production and management
reports increases dramatically. The CMS system currently
generates the following reports on a daily basis:
Detailed draw order by draw point (an example is shown
in Table 1)
Summary of draw order with tunnel and draw point type
summaries (an example is shown in Table).
Comparison of Actual vs Order for previous day.
Compliance summary (Refer to the example in Table 2).
Summary of draw point by "condition" as follows:
- Overpull
- Underpull
- Hang up too long
- Over 100% drawn, but still active
- Other : For example, no monthly target set in LTP
- Inactive too long. (ie Draw point is active status, but tons
are not being taken from the draw point)
- Hang up or temporary closed for too long.
- Low grade warnings
Month to date summaries for Order and Actual tons and
draw point Status.
Month to date summaries for draw point assay samples.
(E.g. Cu and Au)
Detailed report by draw point for internal use by Cave
management department.
Summary report for use by cave managememt
department.
Draw point closure analysis considering the following:
- % draw (vs Best HOD tons)
- HOD for neighbours and this draw point
- Grades, # low during last 30 days, latest and PC-BC
slice file (reserve)
- Current metal prices and shut-off grade
- Rock type
Draw point sampling recommendation. Draw point may
be sampled for any of the following:
- Tons since last sample
- Days since last sample
- Check up unusually high or low grade samples
- Check up on unexpectedly large change in grade.
7 SOME LESSONS LEARNED
7.1. Draw point priority
Determination of draw point priority is an interesting
challenge. There are various alternatives and each is likely
to have different appeal to different mines.
The draw point priority rating system in CMS tends to
assign priorities to draw points in the following order:
1. Safety draw points. Usually wet muck draw point which
are required to be mined regularly to avoid moisture build
up.
2. Geotechnical considerations. Any draw point showing
signs of stress or high convergence gets high priority.
3. Draw bell status. It is important to give these draw
points high priority to avoid delays to the development
and undercut process.
4. Under-drawn draw points.
5. "Normal" draw points.
6. Over-drawn draw points (in various categories).
Massmin 2004
 Table 1: Example of a detailed draw order Table: 3 Example of a draw order with tunnel and
draw point type summaries
Panel 15
Draw Point P15-01W P15-02W P15-03W P15-04W P15-05W P15-06W
Status CP CP CP CP CP CP
To Date 125189 139245 0 0 0 0
Order 0 0 0 0 0 0
Extra 0 0 0 0 0 0

Panel 16
Draw Point P15-01W P15-02W P15-03W P15-04W P15-05W P15-06W
Status CP CP CP CP A A
To Date 180162 0 0 195409 173457 155869
Order 0 0 0 0 0 3
Extra 0 0 0 0 0 0

Panel 17
Draw Point P15-01W P15-02W P15-03W P15-04W P15-05W P15-06W
Status A CP CP A A A
To Date 155334 168611 179781 173907 156208 147859
Order 0 0 0 0 0 0
Extra 0 0 0 0 0 0

Panel 18
Draw Point P15-01W P15-02W P15-03W P15-04W P15-05W P15-06W
Status A SP SP A A A
7.3. Adaptive vs shared shift orders
To Date 152146 160769 163615 170552 152393 147669
There are two basic strategies which can be followed at
Order 0 0 0 0 0 0
the shift level:
Extra 0 0 0 0 0 0
The daily order is divided equally amongst each shift.
This is probably preferable in a multi-shift environment
Table 2: Example Compance Report. which is not fully automated. Doing this provides each
shift with a more or less equal chance of meeting their
targets. However, the second and subsequent shifts are
not responsive to over or under-draw from the previous
shift.
The second (or third) shift must be adaptive to the results
of the first shift to best try to meet the daily order. This is
the system which will be used at Finsch and it will be
highly automated. This seems to be a better approach,
but there is an acknowledged draw back which needs to
be managed. The issue is that there may be a tendency
to mine the easier draw points in the earlier shifts and to
leave the harder ones for later on. This leads to there
being a higher risk of not making daily total tonnage
targets. Another factor is that if there is a large number of
draw points active, it may not be practical to try to mine
every draw point every shift.

7.4. LHD Dispatch sequence

7.2. Hang up / secondary breakage priorities
It turns out that the same drivers for the draw point
priority for a daily draw order can also be applied to
assign hang up clearance or secondary breakage
priorities. If a draw point has been idle (hung up) for too
long, then the priority to clear the hang up increases. Of
course, when these priorities are sent to the shift level,
additional shift based considerations may need to be
applied, such as how many draw points in a panel are
hang up and the overall crew availability etc.
Given that a draw point priority or rating system is already
included in the CMS draw order generation routine, it makes
sense to use that same rating system to try to dispatch the
LHDs in an optimal manner. This was tried at Freeport DOZ
with some success.
It makes sense to try to mine from those draw points
which are furthest behind, so that they have the best chance
to catch up. However, if production continually starts from
the "hardest" draw points, the risk that the total draw order
(in terms of tons) will not be met increases. At Freeport,
during the initial tonnage build up, when daily tonnage was
important, tons were generally scheduled from one side of a
panel to the other. The starting side was the more
favourable ground. Once full production was achieved, LHD
dispatch on the basis of a priority rating was successfully
implemented.
There is a assumption in the above that the LHD dispatch
system is sufficiently advanced to be able to facilitate this
type of optimization.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 489

7.5. Keep it simple
Perhaps the most important lesson learned in
implementing CMS was to keep things simple wherever
possible. This is achieved in part by keeping long term
planning considerations out of the daily draw order as far as
possible and only sending the information necessary to
generate the daily order. The CMS system has a number of
scaling parameters which allow the relative importance of
various parameters to be adjusted to suit each site.
8 CONCLUSIONS
The CMS system has been successfully developed and
implemented at Freeport DOZ block cave. It is currently
being implemented at De Beers Finsch Mine for production
start up during 2005.
Initial development was done on site at Freeport. This
was very useful in allowing the day to day exceptions to be
studied and accommodated in the system.
At the same time, the interface between the daily draw
order and the monthly and longer term planning was
streamlined and is now operating smoothly at Freeport.
490 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Although hard to measure directly, there seems little
doubt that the current system has been proven to be
effective in facilitating a smoother operation with obvious
benefits to the bottom line.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author is grateful to PT Freeport Indonesia and De
Beers Finsch Mine for their assistance in the development
of the CMS system. Thanks are also due to Gemcom
Software International Inc. for time and funding to complete
the work and submit this paper.
REFERENCES
Diering, T, 2000. PC-BC: A block cave design and draw
control system, Proceedings MassMin 2000, Brisbane,
pp. 469-484.
Samosir, E, Brannon C and Diering, T, 2000.
Implementation of Cave Management System (CMS)
Tools at the Freeport DOZ Mine. Proceedings MassMin
2004, Santiago, Chile.
Massmin 2004
 Status of draw control
practice and waste Management
at Cullinan diamond mine
Gert van Hout, De Beers Consolidated Mines, Technical Support Services, Operations Geotechnical
Stephen Allen, Mark Breed, John Singleton, De Beers Consolidated Mines, Cullinan Diamond Mine

Abstract
Cullinan Diamond Mine (previously known as Premier Mine) currently employs two mechanized block caves and plans
another extraction level at approximately 900 m below surface. As with all major block cave operations, challenging
situations and difficult events occurred during the implementation phase, unforeseen throughout the project feasibility
study. The panel caves in the kimberlite pipe have experienced problems of various types that caused deviations from the
original planned mining sequences. In combination with (the traditional) production pressures, numerous problems
resulted in not achieving good Draw Control practice. A drastic change to the weekly Draw Control planning was
introduced with the buy-in from production personnel and mine management. In conjunction with the improved Draw
Control practice, an innovative but simple waste determination process has been developed and implemented. Both the
Draw Control and the Waste Management at Cullinan Diamond Mine are currently based on back to basics principles,
straightforward and not controlled (yet) by impressive computer programs. This paper describes some of the geotechnical
and practical related difficulties that were encountered during the implementation phase and how those were tackled with
varying degrees of success. The importance and impact of Draw Control and Waste Management on the overall mine
performance is illustrated.

1 INTRODUCTION
Cullinan Diamond Mine (previously called Premier Mine)
started mining diamonds in 1903. The kimberlite pipe, the
largest in South Africa is cut by a flat dipping 75 m thick
gabbro sill at approximately 400 m below surface, shown in
figure 1, together with the position of current mining blocks.
Mining above the sill was initially open cast mining, later
long hole benching (early 60s) and block caving (late 60s).
Below the sill, resources in the BA5 and BB1E mining blocks
are currently exploited by retreat panel caving. BA5 and
BB1E presently have a combined production of
approximately 13,000 tons per day. In BA5, mining started
in 1988; 130 m below the gabbro sill and this mining block
has a current life of mine until 2005. It is anticipated that the
BB1E, where production started in 1996 approximately 230
m below the sill, will cease operations in 2009. In 2005, the
mine plans to start producing kimberlite ore from the BB1E
Advanced Undercut Cave providing interim tons until the
Centenary Cut (previously referred to as C-Cut) commences
mining at approximately 900 m below surface and starts
production in 2009.
Draw Control in the current block caves BA5 and BB1E
has always been regarded as strategic (Rood & Bartlett,
1994, Bartlett & Nesbitt, 2000, Nesbitt & Vorster, 2000). A
great deal of effort and capital have been spent over the
years on infrastructure, computer programs and other tools
to monitor the drawn volumes from the cave blocks. There
are several reasons to understand why Draw Control is
considered important, not only at Cullinan Diamond Mine
but also at most caving operations worldwide.
2 VITAL REASONS FOR DRAW CONTROL
Cullinan Diamond Mine hasnt experienced serious mud
rushes or seismicity and therefore these two supplementary
risks dictating Draw Control at many other sites are not
discussed.
2.1. Avoid premature gabbro dilution
Draw Control is very crucial in avoiding early ingress of
the overlying gabbro waste as this premature dilution would
reduce the overall ore recovery and shorten the life of cave.
Right from the Feasibility Study stage for BA5 and BB1E
onwards, fragmentation of the kimberlite was predicted to
be coarse and that of the overlying gabbro sill to be fine
(Rood and Bartlett, 1994).
At Cullinan Diamond Mine, it is anticipated that a recovery of
85 percent of the in situ ore can be achieved if proper Draw
Control is exercised. Poor draw practice results in a much lower
ore recovery rate as drawpoints will be forced to close earlier
than anticipated for two possible reasons. Firstly, cut-offs due
the influx of gabbro into the drawpoints adjacent to overdrawn
drawpoints occurs much earlier than planned. Secondly,
inconsistent draw practice stimulates migration of material over
considerable vertical and horizontal distances, inducing the
premature mixing of waste with ore, especially as gabbro
fragments are fine and would thus move through the column
quickly, (Bartlett, 1998). To compound matters, it was found that
the kimberlite fines percentage (a function of kimberlite
accelerated weathering) was underestimated at the time of
initial block cave feasibilities in the mid 80s (BA5) and early
90s (BB1E).
2.2. Minimise gabbro into plant headfeed
The gabbro not only sterilises the drawn ore but also
causes problems at the Dense Media Separator in the
diamond recovery plant due to its high specific density.
2.3. Reduce risk of ore recompaction
Lack of good Draw Control results in static columns of
cave rock, resulting in ore re-compaction, generating point

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 491

 2.5. Optimal ore fragmentation
Uneven draw or drawing at too rapid a rate may lead to
very coarse fragmentation, poor grade control and severe
waste dilution. As mentioned before, coarse ore
fragmentation and fine waste fragments induce rapid
gabbro waste movement from the top, through the column,
to the drawpoints, thereby sterilising the drawpoint
prematurely and creating problems at the recovery plant.
It has often been observed that drawpoints with coarse
fragmentation were subjected to draw, far above the call
allowed by the maturity rules. If material is drawn too
quickly, there is not enough residence time for the
kimberlite material: there is a lack of mechanical interaction
between the ore fragments and insufficient communition of
primary fragments as material gravitates down the cave
column.

Figure 1: Diagrammatic plan and section of the kimberlite

pipe showing geology and mining blocks.

loads on the extraction level that damage the production

infrastructure. In kimberlite, if the draw of ore occurs more
than three months after the undercut has taken place, the
material in the drawbell and above the major apex may
compact. This ore re-compaction creates uneven loading
conditions on the extraction level or excessive localised
stresses that adversely affect tunnels. This becomes
apparent as support integrity worsens or when tunnels
collapse. Experience in the BA5 and BB1E caves shows
localised re-compaction of kimberlite becoming a major
issue when the drawpoint was closed for rehabilitation for
more than six weeks. Re-opening of compacted drawpoints
requires a high level of secondary blasting, further
damaging the brow area and in some cases it has taken as
long as eight weeks to re-open a drawpoint.

2.4. Maximum Draw Zone Interaction

In both the BA5 and BB1E, the offset herringbone
drawpoint layout (figure 2) was used with the drawpoint
spacing across the major apex ranging between 24.2m to
24.7m, possibly creating interaction problems across the
major apex in some areas as the Isolated Draw Zone (IDZ)
varies from 9m to 11m, depending on the kimberlite rock
type.
Figure 2 shows the zones of draw at the three different
draw interaction modes according to Laubscher (2000). If
drawpoints draw in isolation, (the horizontal section of) the
zone of material affected by this draw can be approximated
by a circle with a diameter equal to the IDZ. If there is even
draw between the two drawpoints within the same drawbell,
the affected area has an elliptical footprint, one and a half
times larger than the IDZ. When there is interaction between
adjacent drawbells, the zone of influence enlarges another
one and half times.
Figure 2: Interaction modes (a: isolated, b: interaction within
drawbell and c: interaction across minor apex)
Large blocks cause high hang-up frequencies in the
drawpoints, create problems in the ore handling system
and have a negative effect on the productivity as well as
on the operating costs. Removal of drawpoint hang-ups
may result in long down-time and are costly because of
the secondary breaking requirements. Oversized ore
blocks in the drawpoints must be reduced to reasonable
sizes that can be handled by the load-haul-dump (LHD)
machines.
Back analysis of hang-up data during the period between
July 1998 and May 2000 (Rahal and Smith, 2000) revealed
that in any given shift, 34 percent of the available

492 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

drawpoints are hung up and that the vast majority of these
hang-ups were cleared within one day.
3 THE HISTORY OF DRAW CONTROL SYSTEMS
EMPLOYED AT CULLINAN DIAMOND MINE
To impose Draw Control on the current mining blocks,
various systems and software packages were implemented.
Some systems had more success than others.
A comprehensive Draw Control system should at least
consist of an integrated system of three major components:
an accurate and dynamically updated ore resource
database, a reliable vehicle monitoring system and a
planning system.
3.1. Ore Resource database
The very first version of PC-BC, developed for Cullinan
Diamond Mine in 1988, was cumbersome to use: it took a
long time (2 to 3 hours) to deplete all drawpoint loads on a
daily basis and it did not have the fine graphics displayed by
the present version. After some time, mine personnel moved
towards spreadsheet type applications to store daily
production data from the drawpoints. Later, a Microsoft
Access database was employed to store the drawn volumes
in combination with the status of each drawpoint. A user
interface was then developed to present this data in a
graphical format and to allow management to extract
comprehensive summary reports. This application called
BLOCINFO, also permitted the user also to reconcile the
drawpoint production figures with the tons recorded by the
treatment plant.
In 1999, MinRAS an SQL based product that also
contained the mixing algorithms, enabling the Mineral
Resource Manager to derive a more accurate and auditable
ore reserve statement (Guest et al, 2000).
3.2. Vehicle Monitoring System
Reconciling tons, calculated from the loads that are
recorded by the vehicle monitoring system (VMS) with the
tons from the weightometers at the plant is essential in any
good planning or effective Draw Control program to obtain a
correct and representative mineral resource database.
Various VMS options have been trialled at Premier
including a beacon system using micro-wave technology
(Nesbitt & Vorster, 2000) followed by a gyroscopic based
monitoring system. None of the systems were a hundred
percent satisfactory due to technical problems, as well as
resistance from production personnel who saw it as a
management policing tool.
A combination of the radio-based voice communication
(utilising the leaky feeder to establish contact between
control room at surface and underground) and a manual
recording based information system, currently in use, yields
the best results. However, it requires production crews to
buy into Draw Control.
As Cullinan Diamond Mine has different size LHD units,
there is an issue with the average bucket factor applied to
derive tons mined from buckets loaded at each drawpoint
and until recently, the total tons hoisted were consistently
larger than the value based on the recorded buckets.
3.3. Planning System
Up until 1998, Production planning at Cullinan Diamond
Mine was founded on empirical geotechnical guidelines
(Bartlett and Nesbitt, 2000) and did not take into account the
full effect of resource and equipment availabilities. The
empirical guidelines were derived from extensive block cave
experience at Cullinan Diamond Mine and have been
described by Bartlett, 1998.
A more pro-active approach was initiated in 1998 when
the weekly planning also incorporated mining constraints
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
such as LHD availability, ore pass capacity, haulage and
hoisting capability. The next draw control related concept
established was that of the ideal depletion surface. A
predetermined ideal depletion sequence up until the life of
draw determines the short-term (week) draw schedule in
that the plan attempts to come as near to the ideal depletion
state as possible. At any stage, mining is in function of the
ideal depletion profile and the call per drawpoint is
influenced by its draw history (corrective call when there
was poor draw in the past).
Planning on a monthly and weekly basis was also carried
out using spreadsheets. These files produced satisfactory
output as it catered for the input of all parties involved in
Draw Control. It was rather cumbersome to use but has
served its purpose to stimulate interaction between
geotechnical, mining and mineral resource management
departments. Regular meetings were held between these
departments to agree upon the monthly production plan
produced by these excel files but adherence to this plan
could be improved.
4 DISCUSSION OF CURRENT
DRAW CONTROL PRACTICE
4.1. The Integrated Draw Control System
In 1999, the Integrated Draw Control System (IDCS) with
a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) component
described by Guest et al , 2000 was introduced on mine.
The long and medium term schedule program based on
the MILP was originally developed at Koffiefontein Mine for
its Front Cave (Hannweg and van Hout, 2001), and is
currently being used in the BB1E Advanced Undercut at
Cullinan Diamond Mine. This scheduling module is the first
planning optimisation tool in block cave operations that is
able to optimise over the life of mine as well as over multi-
time periods. It incorporates all geotechnical, mining and
financial constraints, in a unique way.
Long term production planning for the older BA5 and
BB1E blocks is still done by the use of spreadsheets and
does not incorporate all ore flow constraints or geotechnical
rules, except for the draw rate limits. The reason for the
implementation of the excel files instead of MILP is
threefold. Firstly, those panel caves are considered too
depleted to optimise according to the principles within the
MILP. Secondly, the main focus of those caves currently is
avoiding tunnel collapses occurring from vertical loading
and keeping porosity in the areas that hasnt experienced
destructive stress levels. And lastly, the MILP version
allowing remote access only became available late 2003.
The current Draw Control system at Cullinan does not
cater for planning based on maximising NPV as the grades
in the ore columns are set to an average column value and
the mixing algorithms do not cater for vertical mixing within
an ore column. The choice of an average column grade is
justified, as there is generally very little resolution in the
assumed grade profile vertically across the massive
orebody.
An optimal (and in South Africa legally prescribed) plan for
all mining operations should be based on maximum ore
recovery, thus maximising tons instead of maximising NPV,
the last being a method relying rather on grade and revenue
per carat. Block cave mining is a massive mining operation
where principles of selective mine planning, based on
financial parameters, cannot determine the production plan.
These principles may constrain the schedule but an optimal
plan is primarily based on geotechnical considerations.
The mixing algorithms mentioned in section 3.1 were
developed on site to simulate the ore movements within the
cave and the parameters were calibrated successfully: the
predicted time of drawpoint closure in the BA5 cave was
within one month from the actual date of closure. These
493
mixing algorithms are still being used but it is expected that
REBOP,(Pierce et al, 2004), will be used as the standard
tool to update the ore resource database. This tool should
then also provide an accurate production waste ingress and
grade profile (or carat production graph).
4.2. The back to basics approach
Towards the end of 2002, a major drive from
management, the back to basics principle occurred, not
only in terms of keeping it simple but of increased
adherence to the basic Draw Control rules outlined in the
Cullinan Diamond Mine Code of Practice, (Bartlett, 2003)
and ameliorating interaction between Draw Control and
Production Departments. Some of the simple but critical
procedures for a successful Draw Control Practice are
discussed in this section. With issues of interaction being
inherited from design (see section 2), the main aim of the
current BA5 and BB1E Draw Control system is to draw
equally throughout the caves with all drawpoints in
production at one time and to minimise dilution from the
gabbro sill. Future optimising codes such as the MILP are
seen to be not applicable simply due to the maturity status
of the BA5 and the BB1E and past Draw Control practices.
The key to the whole short-term Draw Control process
(figure 3) is the accumulation, storage, processing and
presentation of data. The key relationship is between Draw
Control and Production. The culmination of the whole
process is presented at the weekly meetings that are held
where all parties "strategise" key loading and tunnel or
drawpoint rehabilitation patterns around Draw Control.
Production and short-term planning understand that Draw
Control needs alignment to the official annual production
plan, therefore by applying correct Draw Control principles
long-term cave management and production targets can be
achieved.
Figure 3: Process flow chart on Draw Control at Cullinan
Diamond Mine.
Draw Control Observers gather the occurrence and type
of drawpoint hang-ups and record it into the Draw Control
494 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
system daily (Bartlett & Nesbitt, 2000). This information, in
combination with daily production data, enables the Draw
Control engineer to analyse the effect of the draw rates and
draw history on the frequency and type of hang-up as well
as waste entry parameters.
Extraction rate limits at Cullinan Diamond Mine have
hence been determined in terms of tonnage per day using a
maturity classification, based on the accumulative
production or life of draw from a drawpoint. Four classes
were established and the associated draw rates increased
from a maximum of 50 tons per day for a new drawpoint to
a maximum of 200 tons per day for a mature drawpoint.
As can be seen in figure 4, since the end of 2002, adherence
to Draw Control has improved significantly (the average
deviation in 2000 was approximately 73%). The graph displays
the deviation (actual production - planned), averaged over all
BB1E drawpoints with the weighting factor being the planned
tons. A value around 10% is considered to be very good. A
Production Factor (van Hout & Guest, 2000), based on this
data has not been implemented at the mine as it is felt that
average weighted deviation is adequate enough to
communicate how well Draw Control is adhered to.
Figure 4: Weighted Average Deviation (datapoints and
trendline) from the weekly Draw Control plan for BB1E cave.
Cullinan Diamond Mine personnel are confident that the
present recording, storage and presentation of actual mined
tonnages in the MinRAS is satisfactory. Initially, the actual
production per drawpoint was entered into the system on a
weekly basis. This data is now imported on a shift to shift
basis, in combination with other information associated with
the drawpoint status (produced volume, hang-up type,
waste content, remedial support status, etc.).
Presentation of the draw data is usually in graphical
format, accessible for all people involved in Draw Control to
get a clear idea of the mined tonnage profile over a user
defined period as well as of the actual drawpoint status.
Figure 5 shows an example of the weekly Draw Control plan
that has been derived on a Friday afternoon, after
consultation between Draw Control and Production. Copies
of this sheet are given to the Draw Control Officers (who
enter it into MinRAS) and Production Mine Overseers (who
distribute it to the Shift Bosses). The Mine Overseers also
write this information onto Draw Control loading
whiteboards and compare the planned tons with the actual
production data on a shift to shift basis.
Listed below are some of the more important Draw
Control production principles developed with the "back to
basics approach" that are vigorously implemented with the
aim of achieve correct block cave management:
Massmin 2004
 Drawpoints closest to the orebody perimeter (highly
depleted or not), are continually loaded, at a reduced rate
if necessary. This allows for porosity in the caves and
prevents the movement of groundwater from the contact
areas to the centre of the ore body.
A strict minimum (120 tons) and maximum (1,200 tons)
weekly call per drawpoint is implemented with a maximum
daily call of 300 tons. This prevents the loading of all
planned production from a drawpoint in a single shift, with
no loading during the remainder of the week.
A target for the weighted average deviation (figure 4) has
currently been fixed at ten percent with acceptance from
both production crews and senior management.
It is strived to achieve equal draw across the major apex
and continuous production per drawpoint throughout the
week. This ensures achieving a maximum zone of
influence (as in figure 2c).
Frequent interactions between Draw Control and
production to communicate clearly the availability, waste
content and status of drawpoints to anticipate correct
loading calls.
Reducing the closure/maintenance time from six to three
weeks where possible, to avoid re-compaction.
Figure 5: Weekly Draw Plan for the BB1E block cave.
The implementation of above principles should
dramatically improve fragmentation across the caves,
creating further reductions in secondary blasting and the
possible achievement of monthly "production" targets at
acceptable waste percentage.
A secondary function of Draw Control was developed in
Feb 2002 and consists of a qualitative assessment of the
physical state of drawpoints. The system involved a monthly
rating of each drawpoint on the basis of condition, stress
damage, water and LHD damage. The ratings are
transferred onto mine plans for future analysis.
Fragmentation data in line with Laubschers, (2000), Rock
Mass Rating classification were added to the data
collection. The data is currently used in back analysis for the
fragmentation analysis programs in order to model future
block caves within the same ore body.
Another Draw Control function is to maintain waste levels
at twelve percent or below. Past sampling practices did not
record levels of gabbro in each drawpoint. A waste
management system developed by the Mineral Resource
Management department assists in the prediction of waste
tons and is discussed below.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
5 WASTE CALCULATION ON SURFACE
5.1. Current practice
For the last five years the official measurement of global
waste percentage has been determined by taking a sample
of approximately 50 kilograms with a plough sampler per
shift on the Sortex tailings stream. The size fraction on this
belt is -65mm, +32mm. The sample is washed and hand-
sorted into three different piles: internal waste, external
waste and kimberlite. The piles are then weighed and their
relative percentages calculated. Different tests have been
carried out to ascertain that this process of waste
determination is appropriate as the following underlying
assumptions could be questioned:
The waste percentage in the -65mm to +32mm range is
representative for the total size distribution of the
headfeed.
One sample of 50kg material per shift is an adequate
representation of the entire volume fed into the plant
during that shift.
The waste percentage does not depend on the person
who performs the test.
The first test involved the waste analysis in the +4mm size
distribution classes. It is impossible to quickly and
accurately recognise rock types in fragments smaller than
4mm by manual visual methods. Results for this analysis
were very similar to those of the -65mm to +32mm range. It
can therefore be concluded that waste is evenly distributed
across the different size fractions and the current fragment
size range is adequate.
During the second test, samples were taken every 15
minutes from the -65mm +32mm stream. The results from
this test did not indicate that the current practice of one
sample per shift needed to be adjusted.
The last test consisted of an identical series of samples
given to four different laboratory assistants. As can be seen
in figure 6, results may vary depending on the lab assistant
but would not justify the extra cost of additional personnel.
Figure 6: Analytical bias due to different lab assistants
5.2. Research and future technologies
Research was undertaken to identify technology that
could recognise waste accurately in - and possibly remove
it from - the ore flow within a short time span. Providers of
technology based on Microwave Attenuation, Infra red,
Laser Induced Fluorescence, Natural Gamma Emission
were approached and three different optical sorters
underwent testing and extensive assessments.
495
 All applications were successful in differentiating between
waste and kimberlite to some degree on surface (conveyor
belts) but none were suitable for underground application.
Optical sorter technology, widely used in the food and glass
industries, proved to be the most effective method in
recognising and ejecting waste from an ore stream. The
ability to eject waste from an ore stream offers obvious,
additional advantages in ore processing, allowing improved
flexibility, an increased ore extraction ratio by recovering
more diamonds from previously considered non payable
drawpoints, lower crushing costs and ultimately improved
revenues.
6 WASTE CALCULATION UNDERGROUND
To manage waste effectively, an accurate means of
measuring the waste percentage in each drawpoint must be
established but the following factors complicate this
process:
Dust, generated by LHDs, makes visual observations
extremely difficult.
Washing the ore in the drawpoint with water to get rid of
the dust settled on the muckpile can result in rapid
disintegration of the ore, thereby biasing the sample taken
to determine the waste content.
There are different types of waste and different
percentages of waste within different size fractions of ore,
making the derivation of an average waste value rather
difficult.
The finer the fragment size the more difficult it is to
differentiate between the different waste and kimberlite
types. The ore fragment sizes depend largely on the rock
type and the maturity of the cave.
At Cullinan Diamond Mine waste is classified as either
internal or external waste. Internal waste is that which
slumped back into the pipe during volcanic emplacement of
the kimberlite pipe and consists mainly of felsite, Waterberg
quartzite, norite and metasediments. The internal waste
also includes barren late stage carbonatite dykes. In the
metallurgical process these "floats" are separated from the
ore stream via a process of dense media separation, as
these rock types have a lower specific gravity.
External waste consists of the country rock norite and the
gabbro sill. These two rock types are mineralogically similar
and can differ only slightly in texture. The norite enters the
cave through the boundary drawpoints when country rock
blocks detach, slump down, and cuts off or sterilizes parts of
the resource It also enters the ore flow through the tipping
of waste development into ore passes. External waste
fragments are known in the metallurgical process as "sinks".
Their specific gravity is similar to that of diamond bearing
kimberlite, and it therefore reports to the concentrate of the
dense media separation.
Before 2002, the waste content was measured by visually
estimating the waste in each drawpoint on a daily basis. Loss
of historical waste data combined with the inaccuracy of visual
estimates made it impossible to compare waste estimates from
underground with the surface measurement of waste.
The test work described in section 5 showed that the
sampling methodology used on surface yields adequate
waste percentage values. It was therefore decided to
change the underground waste determination process from
the visual estimation to one similar as applied on surface.
This involves samples taken from a drawpoint, transported
to a lab analysed and results are entered into a database.
7 WASTE MANAGEMENT UNDERGROUND
AND BENIFTS THEREOF
As mentioned above, the waste percentage of the
headfeed needs to be kept below a critical level, above
496 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
which the plant recovery would be less optimal. Waste at
Cullinan Diamond Mine has become increasing challenging
over the last few years, as the current block caves become
older and the reserves in the block are depleting fast.
Keeping the average waste content below a threshold has
historically been addressed by stopping underground
drawpoints with waste content higher than 15% but this has
sterilised large portions of the kimberlite resource. Waste
problems can be controlled to some degree by blending, ore
from various sources underground and on surface can
assist to draw higher waste drawpoints longer, thereby
maximising extraction.
Prediction and control of waste tons is a task performed
by Draw Control. Multiplying drawn tons per drawpoint with
a waste percentage and adding this for all drawpoints
across the two caves represents a value that indicates the
expected waste tons. Initially (2002) there was an extremely
close match between the predicted waste tons and the
actual recorded waste tons. But of late, differences of 4% -
5% have been observed, with the predicted values based
on the underground results always exceeding the on
surface determined results.
Benefits of the current waste management system are
listed below:
The greatest benefit from a mineral resource perspective
is that more accurate forecasts and estimates can be
made. Financial contribution of drawpoints can be
established and assist in the decision making process,
together with geotechnical factors, whether or not
drawpoints or tunnels need to be closed.
When production planning is done, the expected waste
tons can be calculated for each draw scenario. On the
basis thereof, optimal draw and waste percentage can be
derived. The estimated waste percentage is of great value
to the metallurgical department as unexpected and
excessive high density waste negatively affects recovery
efficiencies.
A third benefit lies in the improved understanding of the
migration of gabbro sill material as the cave depletes. The
drawpoint waste data recorded since 2002 is still too
scarce but correlation between the column depletion
status and waste percentage will be analysed to
determine waste ingress curves that can be used in future
ore depletion planning.
8 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Cullinan Diamond Mine has experienced Draw Control
challenges, resulting in early waste ingress and serious
loading onto production tunnels. After a drive from senior
management for back to basics, Draw Control adherence
and ground conditions have improved drastically. Several
Draw Control procedures are outlined in this paper.
Waste is and always will be a mining and treatment
constraint requiring constant management to ensure
optimum extraction of ore.
The introduction of a system that recognises and can
eject waste from the ore flow will reduce the constraint of
waste on Draw Control and treatment efficiencies. Cullinan
Diamond Mine and the greater De Beers Group are
vigorously pursuing the implementation of optical sorting
technology, having completed extensive testing. A full
feasibility study of the project is being undertaken.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to all their colleagues who helped
and supported them during the development and
implementation of this work, in particular AR Guest, M
Preece, C Baltus, HP Grobler and PJ Bartlett. The authors
acknowledge the permission of the Director Operations and
Massmin 2004
the Cullinan Diamond Mine, General Manager to publish
this technical paper.
REFERENCES
Bartlett, P.J. 1998. Planning a mechanised cave with
coarse fragmentation in kimberlite. PhD. Thesis.
University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Bartlett, P.J. & Nesbitt, K. 2000. Draw Control at Premier
Mine. Proc. MassMin200, Brisbane. Vol 1: pp, 485-493.
Bartlett, P.J. 2003. Block Cave Code of Practice for
Cullinan Diamond Mine.
Guest, A.R., van Hout, G.J., von Johannedis, A &
Scheepers, L.F. 2000. An application of linear
programming for block cave Draw Control. Proc.
MassMin2000, Brisbane. Vol 1: pp, 461-468.
Hannweg, L.A. & van Hout, G.J 2001. Draw Control at
Koffiefontein Mine. Proc. VIth International Symposium on
Mine Mechanisation and Automation, SAIMM, 2000, Vol
1:pp, 93-96.
Laubscher, D.H.L 2000. Block Cave Manual.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Nesbitt, K & Vorster, J.A. 2000. Premier mine Draw
Control and underground vehicle monitoring and control
system. Proc. VIth International Symposium on Mine
Mechanisation and Automation, SAIMM, 2000, Vol 1:pp,
93-96.
Pierce, M., van Hout, G.J. & Singleton J 2004. Draw
Control of the BA5 cave Cullinan Diamond Mine: Back
Analysis with REBOP. Proc. MassMin2004, Santiago.
Rahal, D.C. & Smith, M.L. 2000. De Beers Site Visit,
unpublished internal report. Corporate Head Quarters, De
Beers Consolidated Mines.
Rood, H.R. & Bartlett, P.J. 1994. Mechanized Caving at
Premier Mine. Proc. XVth CMMI Congress,
Johannesburg, SAIMM, 1994, Vol 1: pp, 219-225.
van Hout, G.J. & Guest A.R. 2000. Production Factor and
Draw Control Factor, presentation to the International
Caving Study.
Malope, P. 2001, Waste distribution in different size
fractions of the kimberlite ore at Premier Mine,
unpublished internal report, Premier Mine, De Beers
Consolidated Mines.
497
 Draw point analysis using a marker
trial at the Perseverance Nickel Mine,
Leinster, Western Australia
Bradley Hollins, Mining Engineer, WMC Resources Ltd., Olympic Dam, S.A. (formerly of Perseverance Mine)
John Tucker, Production Engineer, WMC Resources Ltd., Perseverance Nickel Mine, Leinster, W.A.

Abstract
An important challenge when operating a sub level cave (SLC) is to optimise draw point performance against metal
recovery and ore grades. WMCs Perseverance Nickel mine (Leinster, Western Australia) has recently improved metal
recovery, whilst maintaining consistent grades from its SLC operations. To improve the recoveries, a series of steps was
followed culminating in the implementation of a formal draw marker trial. This draw marker trial deployed 1762 cement
filled steel markers across a series of 126 conventional production long holes. The aims of the trial were to determine
draw ellipse shape, ascertain the nature and extent of any interaction of draw, and analyse the effect of fragmentation on
draw performance. By doing this it was planned to assess the nature of material flow within the cave so that draw and
hence cave extraction horizons can be optimised.

1 INTRODUCTION Mining of this deposit is by sublevel cave (SLC) mining

Perseverance nickel mine is part of WMC Resources
Leinster Nickel Operations. Leinster is approximately
645km northeast of Perth in Western Australia. The Leinster
nickel deposit is located within the Agnew-Wiluna
greenstone belt at depths of 375m to +1120m (Figure 1).
method. Several smaller nickel lenses/pods are mined
using a variety of open stoping mining methods.
In 2003 the SLC produced >1.5Mt. at 1.93%Ni., with an
additional 118kt. at 2.29%Ni mined during stope
development. Current proven and probable SLC reserves
total 14Mt at 1.77%Ni. (Cooper, 2004).
Forecasting of tonnes and conducting resource
reconciliations in the SLC have proven difficult in the past.
This was in part due to ore stocks being left in higher levels
of the mine, following a planned drop down strategy
(triggered by an inflexion zone in the orebody), and a
change from tonnage to grade based cutoffs (Wood et al.,
2000).
This paper discusses improvements in the understanding
of flow behaviour and in predicting the draw performance
within various areas of the SLC at Perseverance mine.

2 DESIGN PARAMETERS

In 2000, two major reviews of the sublevel cave

Figure 1: Perseverance Regional Geology
In 2003, 42,000 tonnes of nickel-in-concentrate were
produced from the Leinster nickel concentrator and dryer.
Ore was sourced from Perseverance underground and
Harmony open pit mines. The Perseverance underground
mine consists primarily of a disseminated nickel orebody.
performance were undertaken at Perseverance (Bull, 2000;
Rosengren and Scott, 2000) from which several design and
operational changes were made. The most notable change
was a reduction in the centre-to-centre crosscut spacing
from 17.5 to 14.5 metres. This was based on the theory of
interactive draw as shown in Figure 2 below. Essentially the
theory supports a uniform draw down of the cave material,
reducing early dilution ingress, and hence improved metal
recovery.
The theory of interactive draw also required the
introduction of strict bogging practices for the SLC.
Interactive bogging involves retreating individual levels with
an aligned cave front and cycling the bogging of drawpoints
between adjacent crosscuts on the level. Perseverance
rules were developed where bogging from individual
crosscuts was limited to a maximum of 300 tonnes per cycle
(with 100 tonne the optimum) and an absolute maximum of
600 tonnes per shift. These measures were implemented in
an attempt to avoid surging of waste ingress. The shift
bogging limits have also assisted in providing a more

498 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 2: Independent vs Interactive Draw (Bull, 2000)

consistent hoist performance by ensuring that problems in

an individual cross-cut are dealt with in a timely manner
rather than having all the adjacent cross-cuts stop and wait.
Prior to managing by interactive practices a difficult cross-
cut could be left for days or even weeks before being
addressed.
Some of the key design parameters currently used in the Figure 3: Cross section of 9715 crosscut (XC) 25 and 9715
SLC are summarised in Table 1 and shown in Figure 3. XC27 ring designs
Rings between adjacent crosscuts are staggered by 1.5
metres (looking in plan view) to avoid drilling into holes from
adjacent crosscuts. The drill holes are drilled past the ring
design tonnage outline in an attempt to fragment the
material between adjacent crosscuts.

Table 1: Typical Design Parameters

Parameter Value
Blasted drive width 5.1 metres
Blasted drive height 4.8 metres (with flat backs)
Level interval 25 metres, floor to floor
Blast ring rump 150 forward
Apparent ring burden 3.0 metres
Ring toe spacing 3.2 metres
Explosive type Powerbulk VE, density 1.0
Blast hole size 102 mm
Shut off grades 0.9% below forecast tonnes;
(grade at which 1.2% forecast tonnes to
bogging is stopped design tones; 1.4% above
and next ring prepared design tonnes
for firing)
Cut off grade 0.9% nickel
Production ring tonnage 3,500 tonnes (approximate)
75mm of fibrecrete; mesh
(floor to floor) pinned Figure 4: Movement of steel sets and red sand through the
with 2.4 metre long Perseverance mine
SLC ground support split sets; an additional
50mm of fibrecrete; rings
containing 15 debonded for ground support rather than draw markers, they have also
gewie bolts (3 metre long) provided an opportunity to follow the movement of large
on 1.5 metre burdens. structures over multiple levels. Figure 4 shows the movement
of these steel sets along with reported sightings of red sand
(which was originally used as backfill in old stopes).
3 HISTORICAL DRAW MARKERS Movement of the steel sets and sand has shown that the
drop down strategy pillar has broken up as planned. In
Steel sets were installed in sections of the 10030 level of addition, the steel sets are known to have moved 270
Perseverance mine. Although these steel sets were intended metres while deviating less than three degrees from a

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 499

vertical trajectory. The path of the red sand is less well
understood as there were three adjacent stopes filled on the
10000 level.
In 2001, unsuccessful attempts were made to use old
bogger tyres to study the flow of material through the cave.
Following this attempt, six concrete filled drums were bolted
into the sidewalls of the 9850mRL prior to production
blasting. These drums are yet to be recovered. The SLC is
now down to the 9740mRL.

4 DRAW MARKER TRIALS

A more formal approach to studying the flow of material

through the Perseverance SLC was commenced in 2002.
The aim of these draw marker trials was to further improve
metal recovery through gaining an understanding of the flow
characteristics in the SLC. The approach undertaken was
based on similar trials conducted at Ridgeway Gold Mine
(Power, 2002-2004).
The markers used in the trial were constructed of steel
pipe 250mm long and 45mm in diameter. This marker size
is consistent with measurements of fragmentation indicating
that around 90% of material is smaller than 0.4 metres
(Passmore, 2002). Each marker had an individual identifier
welded on the side and was filled with concrete to simulate
the ore density. The markers were finished with a spider at
the top to centralize it during insertion in the marker hole
and a red cap at the base to keep it in position.
The trials were conducted in five separate crosscuts on
three different levels of the mine. A total of 1762 markers
were installed at one-metre intervals. Half of the 126 marker Figure 5: Cross section looking west showing the marker
holes were grouted after the markers were installed. By trial results
varying the number and pattern of marker rings between
blast holes, the depth and width of draw could be studied.
After firing of production blast rings, markers were
primarily retrieved manually when ore was transferred by
loader to a designated inspection area. This method
accounted for 53% of markers found. During the period of
markers being recovered detailed records of the ring
material and visual flow characteristics were collected for
analysis at a later stage.
Secondary means of marker collection included
inspecting the draw point rill, bogger bucket and crosscut.
As a last resort, a magnet located adjacent to an
underground conveyor belt was used to collect any
remaining markers. When markers were collected using the
magnet (20% of the markers found), an estimate was made
of the tonnes that would have been extracted when the
marker reported to the draw point.
During the trials, there was no evidence of interactive draw
behaviour in any of the trial areas (figure 5). The maximum
width of draw measured through the recovered draw markers
was 11.5 metres (+/- 1 metre). This means a zone of blasted
material located between crosscuts and at the toes of blast
holes did not report to any of the draw points from which the
material was fired. During the trials, the measured size and
width of this zone varied, however generally 35% of the
blasted tonnes did not report to the crosscut from which they
Figure 6: Long section (looking north) showing marker trial
were fired or any of the adjacent crosscuts. As more than
results
100% of design tonnes were bogged from the marker trial
areas, material must have been travelling to the draw point
from outside the blast envelope. blasted (design) tonnes. This is consistent with early
To study the depth of draw, up to three marker rings were observations of barren ultramafic and felsic dilution entry
positioned between each apparent blast burden (3 metres). when crosscuts above were bogged to waste. At the time of
On the 9715mRL crosscuts, markers were recovered from writing this paper, markers were starting to appear in draw
positions up to 2 metres in front of the ring being fired (figure points on levels below the trial areas. The second stage of
6). There was no difference in results between areas where marker recovery confirms the observations of vertical piping
the markers were grouted into position and areas where of material from above (figure 6). Recovery has been from
they were not grouted. markers positioned directly above the crosscut in an area
The trials indicate that markers placed at the level above between the extraction draw zones of adjacent cross cuts
can flow into the draw point within bogging of 20% of the on the level above.

500 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The recovery of markers behind a freshly fired ring is
consistent with brow break back records throughout the
mine. At Perseverance, typical wear at the brow is
approximately 1.5 metres and in some cases up to 6 metres
of the brow has worn away during bogging. Brow wear and
shearing of blast holes occasionally means that remedial
work including cleaning out blast holes, redrilling blast holes
or slashing (heavily dumped drill rings) through existing
blast holes is necessary.
At the time of writing, 540 markers had been recovered.
The percentage of markers recovered ranged from 21% in
9740XC24 to 53% in 9715XC27. While this percentage of
markers recovered might seem low, the pattern of markers
recovered indicates that the collection methods were
successful. Rather, the low percentage of markers found to
date from the 9740 level trials is believed to be due to the
production decisions made as a result of poor ground
conditions in the trial areas. In one of the areas, two
production rings (six marker rings) were fired together. In
the other crosscut, slashing rings were drilled and fired
through the area containing markers. While unplanned
events, the slashing and multiple ring firings actually
contributed substantially to the understanding of material
flow at Perseverance.
In the 9715 level trials, 20% of the markers were
recovered from behind the ring being bogged. Therefore,
without firing multiple rings together as occurred on the
9740 level, a true indication of the depth of draw in front of
a ring would not be gained. When two rings were fired
together, markers were initially recovered within one metre
of the brow. In the crosscut where slashing was drilled
through marker rings, the flow of markers was
preferentially distributed around the position of the
slashing holes.
Detailed draw analyses were undertaken for all the
marker trial rings. The results showed dilution entry
points occurred between 11 and 25% of the tonnes
extracted. Two of the crossucts which had early dilution
entry points were affected by initial blasting related
issues. Figure 7 shows the recovery curves of the
marker trial rings.
Figure 7: Draw Recovery Curves from the marker trial rings
The analysis of the data confirmed a correlation
between hang-ups in the drawpoint and waste surging
(Figure 8). From visual observations of the hang-ups it
appeared that waste ingress was coming from the front of
the ring as opposed to dilution from above the blasted
ring. When a hang up did occur, markers from deeper,
wider, and lower down in the blast envelope were
retrieved.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 8: Dilution Draw Curves showing the affect of hang-
ups on recovery
5 PREDICTING OVERDRAW
In 2003, reconciliation of material extracted against the
tonnes fired at that point in time was undertaken. This
showed that 94% of the tonnes bogged, 86% of the grade
and 81% of the nickel metal contained had been recovered
(Wood, 2003).
Perseverance mine has historical records of draw point
observations at intervals ranging from 50 to 300 tonnes.
These observations provide detailed information on all
aspects of the draw point performance. Using this
information, block modeling of historical production
information was undertaken and is regularly updated. With
this block model and statistical analysis of the historical
data, the impact on metal recovery of changes in design
(including crosscut spacing, level intervals and ring burden)
and varying draw point performance factors (such as hang-
up frequency, rock size and bogging rate) have been
investigated.
One of the best ring performance prediction tools was
found to be the nickel grade left in the levels immediately
above a draw point. Areas where metal was left above
(indicated by higher last nickel grade calls) tend to perform
better than areas mined to the cutoff grade of 0.9% nickel.
This result was not unexpected and is consistent with the
vertical nature of the draw observed during the marker trials.
Using plots of the last nickel grade call recorded on a level
(Figure 9), the extent of a dilution blanket on new levels can
be studied in advance.
CONCLUSIONS
Metal recoveries at Perseverance are comparable with
those achievable using an open stope mining method.
The flow behaviour of material in Perseverance SLC is
now better understood, and future planning will make use
of this information to assist in optimising the extraction
process.
The discipline and implementation of rules for firing and
bogging practices associated with interactive draw have had
a substantial positive impact with regards to metal recovery.
The theory of interactive draw and the associated
interaction of material between cross-cuts does not appear
to be true.
The ongoing recovery of markers below the initial trial
areas will add to our knowledge, and allow ongoing
incremental improvements in the modeling of flow
behaviour.
501
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are grateful to all their colleagues at Leinster

Nickel Operations for their assistance and interest shown
during the trial, in particular the support from Chris Stone,
Geoff Booth, and Andrew McDonald is greatly appreciated.
Also, the authors want to acknowledge the permission given
by WMC Resources Ltd to publish this technical paper.

REFERENCES

Bull, G, 2000. WMC Leinster Nickel Operation, Sublevel

cave review. Internal report, September 2000.
Cooper, A, 2004. Ore Reserves December 2003, Leinster
Nickel Operation. Internal report, January 2004.
Passmore, A, 2002. Sub-Level Cave Fragmentation
Study, WMC Resources Perseverance Geology Internal
Report, October 2002.
Power, G, 2002-2004. Personal Correspondence.
Rosengren, K, Scott, A, WMC Resources, Leinster Nickel
Operations Sublevel cave, Review of Drilling and Blasting
Operations, Internal Report, October 2000.
Wood, P L, Jenkins, P A, and Jones, I W O, 2000.
Sublevel Cave Drop Down Strategy at Perseverance
Mine, Leinster Nickel Operations, in MassMin 2000
Conference Proceedings, Ed. Chitombo G., ISBN 1
875776 76 9, AusIMM, Melbourne, pp. 517 - 526.
Wood, P, 2003. Perseverance mine sublevel caving,
internal presentation, October 2003.

Figure 9: Block model slice of 9780 level showing last nickel

grades

502 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Chapter 13
Caving Propagation
& Subsidence
504 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Continuous modelling
for caving exploitation
Octavio Araneda Oss, Sergio Gaete Becerra,
Gerencia de Recursos Mineros y Desarrollo, El Teniente Division, Codelco Chile

Abstract
Based on the mineral stock balance equations, relations for the active area and production capacity are deduced; these
equations are solved in closed form. The models represent the mining dynamics in terms of extraction and development
rate. The models allow to estimate capacities and its variations, in tonnage and cash flow.
The lost due to approximation error is overcompensated by the obtained simplicity and the insight.
The models do not replace the detailed final calculations, but allow wider analysis saving detailed case evaluations.

1 BASIC MODEL FOR CAVING EXPLOITATION In this case the area evolves according to
AT
Planning and improving planning requires a vh ph phv (t tm )
A (t ) = 1 e e
ph
representation of the processes easy to understand faithful
enough and easy to use. We will present a model class that v
,in the authors opinion, fulfills the requirements.
AT
Let us consider a sector with constant height h, v ph
1 e
h ph
undercutting rate y extraction velocity , the production area t tm
satisfies the following relation v
A (t ) =
AT
T vh ph phv (t tm )
d A = Vhdt dt 1 e ph
e t tm
ph v


The production rate is T = A ,then
The exploitation is designed whit a constant steady area
vA Ar less than the maximum, to maintain it constant A = 0 is
d A = Vhdt dt required and
ph
% r
vA
The production area satisfies the differential equation = v%h
ph
vA
A+ = vh
ph Since
Vh ph
This equation has a closed form solution Ar <
v
v v
d ph t ph
t we obtain v%h vh
e A = Vh e <
dt v% v%
The solution is So, if the extraction velocity is constant the steady state
undercutting rate is less than the maximum..
v v
vh ph t t
A (t ) = 1 e + Ao e
ph ph
The steady state is reached when
v v
v ph tr
The solution with initial condition is Ar = A ( tr ) = h 1 e ph
v
v
vh ph t
A (t ) = 1 e
ph
The undercut area until tr is htr , the total undercutting
v time, tT satisfies

v
t vhtr + v%h ( tT tr ) = AT
T ( t ) = Vh ph 1 e
ph

AT + ( v%h vh ) tr
tT =
v%h
Considering a finite total area At the undercutting rate in
zero after tm such that
htm = AT

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 505

 For a exploitation with steady state area Ar the solution is The solution for Aq is similar for the basic model
vq
v ph v
t vh ph t

h
1 e
ph
t tr A (t ) = 1 e ph
3vq
A ( t ) = v
v ( t tm )
Ar e ph t > tT If Aqr , Alr are the steady state areas, and k = 3 , we have

3vq Aq 3vl Alr

Model including broken and unbroken material v%h = =
ph 2 p ( h + hs )
h
Let us consider a sector with solid height hs and a height vl Alr = 2 1 + s vq Aq
of broken material above the solid, let pq the broken material h
density. A simplified model for caving propagation can be
built assuming that the process propagates filling the The steady state production capacity is
cavities generated by extraction. let Vq the extracted solid
volume, the broken volume, the balance equation is T = vl Alr + vq Aq
pq ( vq + ve ) = pVq 2h
T = vq Aq 3 + s
pqVe h
Vq =
p pq In term of the steady undercutting rate

If caving propagates vertically let the extraction height, 3vq Aq

the limit for the breaking process, the base area v%h =
ph
pq Bhe
B ( hq he ) = 2h
p pq T = phv%h 1 + s
3h
he p pq 1
= = The production capacity is strongly dependent on the
h p k undercutting rate.

When the whole column is broken, so the extraction

required to complete the process is OPERATION VARIATIONS EFFECTS

he p pq Undercutting rate variation

= If the undercutting rate decreases this results in a flow
h p production lost and the steady state starting is delayed.

The broken material density varies between 1.8 and 2.1 , Let us suppose that since ti and during t the
the in situ material density is 2.7, hence undercutting rate is vh d vh , during the period the break-
ing area evolves according to
2 0.6 he 0.9 1
= = & vA%
9 2.7 h 2.7 3 A% = vh dvh
ph
In practice the column is assumed totally broken when the
extraction is one third of the in situ column. The original area satisfies
vAq
Let Aq , Al , vq , vl the area and extraction velocity for the A& q = vh
breaking zone, the broken height over the in situ material. ph
The breaking area satisfies
So the difference A = A A satisfies
v A
Aq + q q = vh vd A
h d A& = dvh
p ph
k
vq Aq k The complete solution is
Aq + = vh phdv 3vq

ph ( t ti )
h
1 e ph t ti
The broken area satisfies 3vq

d A (t ) = t i < t t i + t
vq Aq k vl Al
3vq 3vq
Al = t ( t tit )
phdvh
ph pq ( h + hs ) 3v 1 e ph
e ph t > t i + t
q
506 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 The steady state starting time satisfies Assuming zero initial condition for Aq , Al and applying to
the differential equations, we obtain
A ( tr + dtr ) Ad ( tr + dtr ) = Aqr
L ( vh )
by definition tr > + tr + t , then the variation is L ( Aq ) =
3v
a+ q
ph dv 3vq ti 3vq t ph
dt r = log 1 + h e ph e ph 3vq 3vl
3vq vh L ( Al ) = a + a +
ph 2 p ( h + hs )

The general rule for calculating the effects of a variation is
L ( vh ) = vh
(1 e ) + 3v Av
0 ar
q qr e0 ar e0 aT
to compare the differential equation with and without the
variation and to derive a equation for the difference. a ph a

Present values calculation
h q vq 3vq hl vl
v= + ch L ( vh )
The continuous version for present value for a flow (t) is 3vq ph 3vq 3v
a + 1
a + ph a + 2 p h + h
ph ( s )
L ( f ) = f ( s ) e as ds
0
Let q , l , c h , the net revenues per ton and the Since all the relations are linear the present value
developing cost per square meter the net flow is variation is the present value of the variation, for example to
evaluate the impact of decreasing de undercutting rate
before the steady state we only need to calculate
u ( t ) = h q vq Aq + hl vl Al ch vh

The present values is

0 t ti
V = h q vq L ( Aq ) + hl vl L ( Al ) ch L ( vh )
dvh ti < t ti +t

vh dvh = 0 ti + t < t tr
3v q 3vv A
tr < t < tT vh q qr t r < t t r + dt r
ph
vh = ph
0 0 t > t r + dt r
e oai
e 3v A e oar e a(tr +dtr )
a ( t1 + t )

t > tT L (dvh ) = dvh + vh q qr

a ph a
We recall that Aq , Al satisfy

hv 3v hl vl
vA dv = q q + q ch L (dvh )
3vq ph 3v
A& q = vh q a + a + q a +
3v1

ph ph ph 2 p ( h + hs )
3vq Aq 3vl Al
A&l =
ph 2 p ( h + hs ) CONCLUSIONS

If we denote the flow derivative then The continuous models for a caving exploitation allow to
build explicit formulae for the evolution of mining parameters
L () = (0) + L() and their variations, additionally explicit formulae for the
present values were built. This way the economical
evaluation is simplified and the analysis ability increased.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 507

 Propagation of a caving zone, A case
Study from PT Freeport, Indonesia
T. Szwedzicki, E. Widijanto, F. Sinaga, PTFI Freeport Indonesia

Abstract
Time Domain Reflectometry was used to delineate changes in size, shape, cave ratio and to define a caving rate of
progressive caving over the Deep Ore Zone Mine at PT Freeport Indonesia. The mine was designed to block cave 600
m with subsequent caving to the surface making the total caving height in excess of 1200 m. TDR cables were monitored
and analyzed against rock mass properties, undercut sequence, production rate and total production.
It was found that the cave rate was related to the rock mass rating (RMR) and on average varied from 0.15 to 1.10
meters per day with an average for three years being 0.6 meter per day. From a time and space distribution of breakage
it was inferred that caving took place in cycles with relatively large caves-in randomly progressing in isolated areas. The
period between cave-ins depended on rock mass properties and varied from one to six weeks.
It was also found that large scale rock mass fracturing took place periodically forming a dilation zone around the cave.
Fracturing extending from tens to hundreds of meters took place in more than six months intervals.

1 INTRODUCTION

PT Freeport Indonesia block caving mines are located

within one geological complex and are divided into three
vertically stacked ore bodies which have been mined by
Gunung Bijih Timur (GBT) Mine, Intermediate Ore Zone
(IOZ) Mine and Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) Mine (Fig. 1). The
GBT Mine was in operation from 1980 to 1993 and
produced 60 million tonnes of ore. The GBT cave (300 m
high) reached the surface in 1986 (Barber et al, 2000).
The IOZ mine started in 1994 and ceased operations in
2003 producing over 50 million tones of ore. The IOZ
cave superimposed on the GBT cave. The vertical
distance between production level of the GBT and IOZ
mines was 200 m. The DOZ mine started in 2000 and by
the end of 2003 produced 22 millions tones. The total
amount of ore mined from the three mines exceeded 132
million tones. The area of the DOZ undercut was 79,300
m2 and the perimeter of the undercut was 1.6 km
(January 2004). The designed height of draw of DOZ
mine was over 600 m with the total cave height from the
production level to the surface being in excess of 1200 m.
The shape of the DOZ mine caving zone was ellipsoidal
with the short axis being 200 m and 400 m (width and Fig. 1. PTFIs Underground Mines Complex
length of the undercut) and the long axis being 600 m
(height of draw). The DOZ cave zone merged with the
GBT and IOZ cave and reflected on the surface in 2003.
Fig. 2 shows surface reflection of the GBT, IOZ and DOZ
block caving mines in January 2004.
Caving reflection on the surface termed subsidence area
was more than 1 km wide and 1.2 km long with the total area
estimated to be 1.2 km2. Area of caving influence i.e. within
a crack line limit was 1.7 km2 (January 2004).
Caving and subsidence monitoring using TDR cables was
carried to:
define a draw rate
determine an air gap between broken ore and the crown
pillar above, and to
determine the shape of the caving zone, caving rate and
the effect of caving on rock mass fracturing.

The shape of the caving zone was crucial from a draw

control point of view. The caving rate and rock mass
fracturing was important to determine the effect of caving on
surface facilities such as main exhaust fans and access
Fig. 2 Subsidence area over block caving mines
roads.

508 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

2 GEOTECHNICAL CONDITIONS AT THE DOZ MINE
The Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) mine is situated within the
Ertsberg East Skarn system (EESS) and consists of skarn
assemblages locally intruded by variably altered Ertsberg
Diorite. Ertsberg diorite forms the footwall with forsterite
skarn, magnetite-forsterite skarn, magnetite and DOZ
Breccia and marble in the hangingwall (Coutts et al, 1999).
Along the footwall the main diorite body was intruded by
the skarn producing local alternation which resulted in poor
ground conditions. The DOZ Breccia zone forms a lenticular
zone that can be traced continuously across the western
half of the DOZ mining block. The zone contains both diorite
and skarn fragments within clay-carbonate matrix.
Ground conditions within the EESS system are highly
variable. Within good to very good ground conditions there
are elongated zones of very poor ground conditions
characterized by low strength, low core recovery and low
RQD values. The values of the Uniaxial Compressive
Strength (UCS) and Rock Quality Designation (RQD)
together with Rock Mass Rating (RMR) classification are
given in Tab. 1.
measure a location of a break along the cable. When caving
intersects the cable, the cable forms an open circuit
modifying the internal impedance of the cable.
Consequently the breaking point can be identified in a
space by reading the distance from the collar to the
intersected location. The accuracy of the reading is
estimated between 5 to 10 m.
TDR cables were installed on the DOZ undercut level (1200
m below the surface), the IOZ production level (900 m below
the surface) and from the surface (Rachmad, 2002). At IOZ and
DOZ, 33 and 70 cables were installed respectively, making the
total length of monitored cables to over 14,000 m. At the DOZ
TDR holes were drilled up dip at an angle varying from 10 to 30
degrees. At the IOZ TDR holes were drilled sub horizontally,
with the dip angle varying from 10 to 30 degrees. Fig. 3.

Tab. 1. Geotechnical classification

of major rock types, Deep Ore Zone Mine.

Rock type UCS RQD RMR

[MPa] [%]

Forsterite Skarn 127 84 Very good

Forsterite - Magnetite Skarn 56 67 Fair
Magnetite Skarn 97 71 Good
Diorite 111 80 Good
Fig. 3. 3-D view of the TDR cables located around the DOZ
Breccia 2 22 40 Very poor cave zone
Breccia 4 41 45 Poor
In each location, the TDR cables were installed in an
Marble - Sandstone 22 65 Poor
array of 8 15 stations in a fan like manner to cover a large
area so that the cave progression could be determined, Fig.
Caving and fragmentation is a function of geotechnical 4.
properties. The fragmentation distribution for the East side On the DOZ undercut level the TDR cables monitored
of DOZ is shown in table 2. cave initiation and horizontal progression of caving and
fracturing. On the IOZ production level the TDR monitored
Table 2. Average fragmentation in the DOZ east vertical and horizontal propagation of the DOZ caving zone.
The TDRs installed from the surface aimed at assessment
Block size Percentage Cumulative of vertical propagation of the cave zone. However, till
(m) (%) percentage (%) January 2004, the caving zone did not progressed far
enough to the West to be detected by the cables installed
<0.05 38.7 38.7 from the surface.
0.05 0.5 24.9 63.6
0.5 1.0 9.4 73.0
1.00 - 2.00 9.6 82.6
>2.00 17.4 100.0

The rock mass across the DOZ layout consists of diorite

(brittle, massive and competent) rock at the south part of the
layout, breccia (plastic and weak rock) in the middle of the
layout, and marble (friable, low strength) at the north side of
the layout.

3 TDR MONITORING

Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) monitoring is widely

used in mining especially for monitoring of cave propagation
(OConnor et al, 1994). Monitoring of TDRs breakage
provides information on timing and volume of the rock mass
affected by cave propagation either by fracturing or caving. Fig. 4. Plan view of the TDR cables location around the DOZ
TDRs consist of coaxial cables that allow to identify and mine caving zone

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 509

4 PROGRESSION OF CAVING of the mine with the purpose of monitoring the effect of the
advanced undercut sequence on weak and plastic breccia
For analysis of the obtained results three series of TDR rock.
cables were selected. Two series were installed at the
bottom part of the cave in the south and north part of the ore
body and the third one at 330 m above, at the IOZ
production level.
Results obtained for a period of over two years were
analyzed i.e. from the first detected TDR breaks surrounding
the DOZ mine until the cave back propagated to the surface.
Results of TDR breaks were calculated as the absolute
length of cables, their horizontal component and their
vertical component. The vertical component of the breaks of
the cables installed at the IOZ mine were used to determine
propagation of the cave to the surface. The horizontal
component of the breaks of the cables installed at the DOZ
mine were used to determine lateral cave propagation. The
absolute length of the breaks were used to determine the
extend of individual collapses of ground.

4.1 Vertical progression of the cave

Nine out of the 33 cables installed at IOZ were used to
estimate the vertical cave progression of DOZ. The original
length of the cables varied from 290 m to 470 m.
The absolute length of broken off cables varied from 10 m
to 120 m. Out of 21 measured cable breaks, four were
longer that 60 m and it could be assumed that these breaks
represented rock mass fracturing i.e. formation of a dilation
zone. Four cables broke at the length 25 to 60 m. The
remaining 13 breaks were less that 20 m.
Fig. 6. TDRs break vs. monthly production at the North side
of a caving zone
4.2.1 Horizontal progression, South Side
Thirteen out TDR cables that were installed at the south
side of the DOZ undercut level reported breaks. In total 28
breaks were reported and analyzed. Fig. 7 shows the
absolute length of broken cables in time. There were 17
breaks shorter than 30 m, four between 30 m and 60 m and
seven longer than 60 m. The average length of the broken
cables was about 36 m.

Fig. 5. Periodical break of the TDR cables positioned over

the progressive cave zone

During caving cycles the TDR cables were broken in

series over a period from two to four months. Fig. 5
indicates that the caving process was cyclic. The periods of
caving activities were intertwined by periods of stability,
lasting from a month to over two months. Values of the
vertical components of the length of broken cables vs.
monthly production of the panels underneath the
progressive cave are shown in Fig. 6. It can be concluded Fig. 7. Periodical break of the TDR cables at the South side
that it was not the production rate which controlled cave of the DOZ Mine.
progression but rather the total volume of removed rock.
TDRs breakage progressed cyclically. The cycles lasted
4.2 Horizontal progression from a day to about a month, with periods between the
Two sets of TDRs cables were installed on the undercut breakages being about three weeks. Values of the
level of the DOZ East. The first set was installed at the horizontal component of the length of broken cables and
South side of the layout with the purpose of monitoring the position of the advancing cave line vs. monthly production
effect of the advanced undercut sequence on competent from the drawpoint in the immediate vicinity are shown in
diorite rock. The second set was installed at the North side Fig. 8.

510 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Fig. 8. TDR breaks and advancement of the undercut line vs.
monthly production at the south side of the caving zone
The breakage indicating rock mass fracturing took place
in front of the approaching caving face.
4.2.2 Horizontal progression, North Side
Eighteen cables were installed at the undercut level at the
North part in breccia zone (weak and plastic rock) of the
DOZ mine. The length of cables varied from 120 to 160 m.
The cables faced the caving front approaching from the
southwest.
Fig. 9 shows the absolute length of broken off cables in
time. In total 20 breaks were recorded. Two cables broke off
at a distance of 50 60 m indicating the large-scale
movement possibly across faults or shear zones and 18
breaks shorter than 30 m with an average length of a broken
off cable being 15 m. Fig. 9 shows the absolute length of the
breaks in time. The cables broke cyclically, as at the South
side with cycles of ground movement / caving lasting for a
period of four weeks. Periods of rock mass stability varied
from two to six weeks.
Fig. 9. Periodical break of the TDR cables at the North side
of the DOZ Mine.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The intensity (the average period between breaks of the
cables) and the length of the breaks decreased with time.
There was an indication that caving progressed to the east
of the ore body (in the direction of the undercut). After
undercut passed the over the cables, the cables did not
indicate any ground movement or fracturing. Production rate
from the draw points on the north side of the ore body was
kept steady at the same level and caving was progressively
induced, Fig 10.
Fig. 10. TDR breaks and undercut line vs. monthly
production at north side of DOZ mine
5 ROCK FRACTURING AROUND THE CAVE ZONE
Fig. 8. and Fig. 10. show the position of the undercut in
relation of to the breaks of the cables. Analysis indicated that
some of the TDRs installed at the sides of the DOZ mine broke
in front of the undercut line and some behind. Breaks located
in front of the undercut line indicated rock mass fracturing in
advance of the created void. As the result of that fracturing a
dilation zone was formed. Breaks located behind the undercut
line indicated rock mass disintegration by caving
Rock mass fracturing started immediately over the
undercutting front and advanced in front up to 50 m.
In a few cases the final cracks / fractures were
established in line with the undercut line. However the most
of TDRs revealed that caving behind the advancing face still
took place after stoping undercut and the cave line was
"catching up" with the undercut line.
After the undercut lines reached their limits and advance
stopped, some stress adjustments in the rock mass still took
place with formation of new fractures continued up to six
months, Fig. 10.
In a number cases, a few TDR cables broke at the same
time. With a wide coverage of the cables and large length of
breakages, it can be assumed that the volume of cyclically
fractured rock mass might have exceeded million of tones.
In a case of caving the volume could easily exceed tens of
thousands tones.
6 CAVE RATIO
Cave ratio is defined as the ratio of the cave back height
and the height of draw. The cave rate was estimated based
on TDR breaks and production data. The result proved that
the cave ratio was not constant but increases as the cave
propagates.
511
 Fig. 11. indicates that for the cave height less than 200
meters, the range of the cave ratio is between 1 and 4, and
at the cave height more than 200 meters the range is
between 4 and 6.
Cave growth or cave rate dictates the production rate.
When caving slows or stops the production must slow down
or stop. It was found that cave rate was related to the class
of rock mass (RMR):
for marble cave rate was from 0.25 to 1.10 m per day
for magnetite skarn was from 0.15 to 0.95 m per day, and
for forterite skarn was from 0.08 to 0.30 m per day.
Fig. 11. Change in cave ratio with caving height
For breccia and diorite cave rate was not determined. For
a period of three years, starting from the first cave after
reaching the hydraulic radius, the cave propagated vertically
for estimated 645 m i.e. the average cave rate was 0.6 m
per day
7 CONCLUSIONS
An analysis of breaks of the TDR cables proved that
caving took in large periodical falls of ground at various
parts of the mined out void. Periods of active caving
512 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
depended on rock mass properties and mining activities and
in some cases lasted for a few weeks. The periods of caving
were intertwined by periods of rock mass stability. In poor
ground conditions an average length of broke cables was 15
m and frequency of caving was higher. In good to very good
ground conditions the average length of broken cables was
36 m and the frequency of caving was sparser. The results
of TDR monitoring proves that most of the caving happens
in relatively large fall of ground. The volume of cave in rock
as well as time intervals between fall of rock did not depend
on a production rate but rather on the total volume of
production.
Long cable breaks indicated rock mass fracturing and
formation of a dilation zone rather than caving. Cables
installed at the upper part of the mine indicated that the
dilation zone immediately above the void could reach 120
m. The TDR cables installed at the perimeter of the cave
zone indicated that fracturing of the rock mass could take
place in front of progressing undercut to the distance of 50
m. Fracturing in some cases continued even after undercut
stopped progressing.
Propagation of rock mass fragmentation and caving
above the undercut depends on rock mass properties. The
calculated average cave rate (for a period of three years)
was 0.6 m per day. The TDR cables installed in different
geotechnical domains showed that the rate varied from 0.08
m very good ground conditions to 1.1 m in poor ground
conditions.
8 REFERENCES
Barber J, Thomas L, Casten T, 2000, Freeport Indonesias
Deep Ore Zone Mine. Proc. AusIMM MassMin 2000 Conf.
Brisbane, 29 Oct 2 Nov.
Coutts BP, Susanto H, Belluz N, Flint D, Edwards A, 1999,
Geology of the Deep Ore Zone, Ertsberg East Skarn
System, Irian Jaya. Proc. AusIMM PACRIM Conference,
October 10-13.
OConnor KM, Wade LV, 1994, Application of Time
Domain Reflectometry in the Mining Industry. Proc. Symp
on Time Domain Reflectometry in Environmental,
Infrastructure, and Mining Applications. Northwestern
University, Illinois, September 17-19.
Rachmad L. Sulaeman A. Cave Management practices at
PT Freeport Indonesias block caving mine. Proc.
NARMS-TAC, (ed Hammah at al). Balkema, 2002
Massmin 2004
 Implementation of cave management
system (CMS) tools at the Freeport
DOZ Mine
Eddy Samosir, Project Engineer, Strategic Planning, Freeport-McMoRan Inc
Charles Brannon, Manager, Strategic Planning, Freeport-McMoRan Inc
Tony Diering, Principal Consultant, Gemcom Software International Inc

Abstract
A daily draw order system called CMS has been successfully implemented at the DOZ mine to assist with the cave
management process and to help manage the daily data generation and storage requirements. An effective interface
between CMS and the Modular Dispatch system used for LHD dispatch has been developed. Monthly cumulative figures
are used to deplete the draw column reserves, providing the ability for long-term plans to be adapted accordingly.
Management of the cave shape requires effective control of the ore pulled from the drawpoints. This depends on the
rock type, the drawpoint condition, the height of draw (HOD), the cave profile, the water content, and many other
constraints. The overall process requires effective underground monitoring of drawpoint status, fragmentation, wet muck
draw points and interaction between different panels. Related forecasting tools that have been implemented include PC-
BC applications that produce schedules of ore grades, fragmentation, and rock type distribution.

1 INTRODUCTION
The Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) Mine is in the Ertsberg Mining
District in Papua, Indonesia. The operation is run by P.T.
Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) under contract to the Republic of
Indonesia. The PTFI project site is located approximately
4o-6'S latitude, 137o-7'E longitude (Figure 1), in the
Sudirman Mountain range of Papua, the eastern most
province of Indonesia which occupies the western half of the
island of New Guinea.
The ore deposits, discovered in 1936 and then acquired and
developed by PTFI beginning in 1967, are located
approximately 96 kilometers north from the southwest coast,
between elevations of 2900m and 4000m above sea level.
Access to the project is through the PTFI portsite of
Amamapare on the Tipoeka River, and from the international
airport of Timika, some 43 kilometers north Amamapare. The
mine site is 118 kilometers from Amamapare. An access road
to the mine project site connects the portsite to the mill, passing
by the Timika airport en route.
DOZ is a copper-gold skarn deposit located on the
northeast flank of the Ertsberg diorite intrusive body. It
comprises the lower elevations of the East Ertsberg Skarn
System (EESS). The EESS outcropped on surface at about
4000 meters, and the DOZ lift of the EESS is located on the
3100 meter level.
Current operations in the district include the Grasberg
open pit (200,000 tpd ore) and the DOZ block cave mine
(40,000 tpd).
The DOZ mine is a mechanized block caving operation.
The eight cubic yard loader is utilized in DOZ production. In
addition, the oreflow system, due to the coarse nature of the
fragmentation, utilizes truck loading from chutes filled from
ore passes from the extraction level, and direct dumped into
a 54 inch gyratory crusher. The DOZ is the third lift of the
block cave mine that has exploited the East Ertsberg Skarn
complex since 1980, and design and operation has
benefited from the previous experience gained while mining
the upper lift (GBT) and the intermediate lift (IOZ).
There are four main levels at the DOZ mine, from top to
bottom they are; undercut level, extraction level, exhaust
level, and the truck haulage level. An advanced undercutting
system is employed at DOZ.
2 CAVE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS)
2.1 Draw Control at DOZ
Draw control at the block cave operations has become
progressively more sophisticated over time as the operation
has proceeded through the successive lifts of the mine.
Effective draw control has many goals:
minimize the dilution
prolong the drawpoint life
control convergence at a safe level
control water influx and wet muck
maximize ore recovery

Today a system is in place at the DOZ mine that

Figure 1. Location of PTFIs mining operations.
addresses these goals by fully integrating production
forecasting, draw control, cave management, draw order,
and compliance to the draw. The Cave Management
System (CMS) is a sub-system of the PC-BC block cave
planning software. The end results from CMS include the
daily draw orders, which are exported directly to the
dispatch system which in turn interfaces with the LHDs. The
LHD operator is able to read the draw order for the current

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 513

drawpoint from the Modular Dispatch system (Prasetyo, et
al, 2004). CMS thus provides a seamless two-way
connection.
The following sections will discuss the procedures for
implementing the CMS system.

2.2 PC-BC to CMS

PC-BC is a program used by Freeport for studies and
activities ranging from pre-feasibility through to detailed
daily draw control (Diering, 2000).
The ultimate basis for the daily draw order is the
production forecasts generated in PC-BC. The production
forecast schedule is run in PC-BC in "catch-up" mode. The
catch-up concept provides a mechanism for the draw order
to be adjusted so that the actual tonnes can be brought back
in line with the longer term target cumulative tonnages.
One of the PC-BC main objectives with catch-up mode is
to smooth the cave back profile from month to month. The
benefit of the smoother cave back is to avoid a premature
ground water inflow or dilution due to a cave spike or
"chimneying" created. The cumulative tonnes to date, the Figure 2: PC-BC to CMS interaction
latest active drawpoints, and the opening sequence are the
input into this run to create a medium term plan. is in turn based on how long a drawpoint has been idle, the
The long term planner will run PC-BC and generate a percentage drawn for the month, allowable draw rate and
production schedule in which the monthly target tonnage is draw point grade, and geotechnical input. The draw order
generated using the "catch-up" mode. The target tonnes emphasizes an even draw and respects the overall cave
are stored in a SQL database table for shared access by development strategy and long term plan.
PC-BC and CMS users. CMS users will then retrieve the
target tonnes bucket for developing the draw orders. Figure 2.3 CMS Data Process
2 is a simple diagram showing the work flow for getting a At the beginning of the each month, the CMS is set up
new target tonnage for CMS from PC-BC at month end. with the actual historical data (i.e. the monthly development
A monthly draw order is calculated at the beginning of tonnes and grades through the previous month).
each month. The order is based upon the total tonnage The daily actual tonnage per drawpoint is downloaded
requirements but also considers a drawpoint priority which from the Dispatch system and from regular LHD reports of

Figure 3: CMS data processing flowsheet.

514 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 4: Production Rate Curve adjustment due to stopped temporarily condition
the development and undercut tonnage. The Modular
Dispatch system will record all of the data from the loader at
the drawpoint, while the other tonnage will be reported
manually by the operator for production from undercut muck
or development muck to the CMS operator for input into the
Modular system manually (Prasetyo, et al, 2004). The sum
of all these tonnages together is calculated as the actual
daily tonnage.
The CMS operator also inputs the daily drawpoint assay
data as an actual grade into the CMS which allows for the
assay to be compared against the model grade in the PC-
BC "slice file". The slice file is essentially a block model of
the deposit but with tonnes and grade allocated to individual
drawpoints in slices, as opposed to blocks in a model. The
slice file grades are derived (per drawpoint) from the
geological block model.
Another input into the CMS is the drawpoint status. This
status is one of many CMS parameters used to determine
the buckets order per drawpoint. These parameters are
shown in Figure 3 below.
Beside the inputs, as shown above, within CMS there are
other inputs that need to be completed while running
through the process, such as current date, total order for the
day, etc.
Sometimes the daily order will vary from the average
remaining tonnage of the month, for instance on crusher
preventive maintenance (PM) schedule, oreflow system PM
schedule, production demands, etc. For these particular
types of cases, a "manual tonnage adjustment" is utilized
that allows CMS to force a higher or lower daily draw order
than its calculated remaining tonnage.
2.4 The Principal of the Daily Order Calculation
The basic driver for the draw order calculation is the
required tonnage target for the month. If the drawpoint is
hung up for a period of time, or if another temporary
production interruption occurs, the production rate curve
(PRC, inches/day) will be adjusted for the subsequent daily
order. The conceptual diagram in Figure 4 illustrates the
philosophy. After a period of time in which a drawpoint is
behind target production, the PRC is adjusted by CMS,
within limits, to allow the drawpoint to catch up to the
monthly target.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
2.5 Drawpoint Priority
When generating the daily draw order, drawpoints are
categorized into groups of descending importance or priority
as follows:
Wet Muck
The highest drawpoints priorities to be pulled are those that
are wet. Wet drawpoints must be pulled in order to minimize
wet mud rush hazards by continually removing water form the
caved muck, and to minimize spreading of the wet areas to
additional drawpoints. The daily or monthly target for the active
wet muck drawpoints is set up before start of the month. But for
the new wet muck drawpoint, the daily or monthly target needs
to be adjusted as soon as it is classified as wet.
Convergence/Geotechnical Stability
The next highest priority drawpoints are those related to
the panel drift convergence. Unfavorable convergence is
often related to the mucking history. By prioritizing the
mucking plan, the stress is more evenly distributed and
convergence mitigated. As with the wet muck drawpoints,
the unfavorable convergence drawpoints must be mucked
out regardless of whether month-to-date tonnage has been
achieved or not.
Drawbell
Newly blasted drawbells are pulled hard until production
reaches the first 6,000 tonnes, the theoretical blasted
quantity of material in the drawbell. This is the next priority
to provide enough space to propagate the cave.
Underpull Drawpoints
The PRC for the underpull drawpoints need to be adjusted
from day to day in the draw order to catch the tonnage target
for the month.
Normal Drawpoint
These will have a regular order limited by daily maximum
PRC.
Ovepull Drawpoint
The overpulled drawpoints, those where the month to
date production is above the plan, in the normal condition
515
Figure 5: Drawpoint type based on CMS priority hierarchy

will typically be ordered as idle. These drawpoints can be
pulled only if there is insufficient tonnage available from
other drawpoints due to hung up or other temporary stop
condition. Figure 5 below shows the drawpoint priority
hierarchy for the conditions described above.
2.6 Output
CMS produces a daily draw order, as well as tabulations
of compliance to the draw, drawpoint status, comparisons of
actual grade versus model grade, etc. Figure 6 shows an
example of part of one daily draw order summary. The
output highlights drawpoints that may require attention by
the operations group, such as drawpoints that have been
idle too long, newly hung-up, newly released, etc.
When CMS is run, an ascii data file of the draw order
is created automatically. Then with one "import"
command this file is imported directly into the Modular
system and ready to use as a daily draw order. This daily
draw order will be available at the LHDs using the
Dispatch System.

DOZ-Draw Order (3 Shifts)

Panel Bucket WMT DMT %Cu ppm Au

P26 144 16.27 1.557 0.82 0.62

P27 27 305 292 1.07 0.45
Sub-total 4.269 48.240 46.162 1.15 0.74
Develop - 2,986 2,857 0.80 0.30
Total 4,269 51,225 49,019 1.13 0.71

Description Status Description Status

Dry Coarse A 214 Hang up (A) A/H 0

Dry Fine B 5 Temp Close (A) A/T 1
Wet Coarse C 0 Hang up (B) B/H 0
Very Wet Coarse D 2 Temp Close (B) B/T 0
Draw Point D/P 0 Close Permanent CP 18
DrawBell DB 2 Temp Close (D) D/T 1
Wet Fine E 0 Temp Close (E) E/T 0
Very Wet Fine F 0 Temp Close (F) F/T 0
Overpull OP 0 Temp Close (C) C/T 1
Special Order SP 18 Hang up (C) C/H 0
Total Active DPTS 241 Total Close DPTS 21

DP_id require action Daya idle %Drawn Status New Hangup New released

Temp closed draw points-Idle too long

P13-04W 16 0% CP P21-07W P18-009E
P13-06W 7 0% A/T P19-10W P19-09W
P16-02E 20 0% CP P17-11E

Figure 6: Daily Draw order summary.

516 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Drawpoint closure tracking is another output. This
analysis is based on the current height of draw (HOD)
compare to its best HOD and the average grade for the
month. If the actual grade for a month is consistently lower
than the reserve grade, CMS will recommend the closure of
the drawpoint. Final decisions on closure involve other
criteria in addition to grade, such as geotechnical
(convergence) considerations.
Production tonnes and grade daily outputs of the actual
and the reserve grade, results from CMS. The outputs are
produced in various formats that can highlight individual
drawpoints, panels, or mining areas. The month to date
tonnage and historical grade information is also available
from the CMS, and once finalized and reconciled becomes
the official production data.

3 QUALITY CONTROL AND RESULTS

3.1 Field Inspection

To ensure that the draw order is executed and reported
well, a field inspection of the drawpoints is conducted daily.
This field inspection takes place at the same time that the
draw control crew collects drawpoint samples for assay.
The muckpile in the drawpoint is marked with the date by
spray paint when the draw control personnel take the grab
samples. This is a mark reviewed on the following day by
the draw control crew. The crew will make sure that there is
no tonnage reported from the drawpoint if the mark is still in
the drawpoint. If there is production reported, then the draw
control supervisor will report this to the production
supervisor and remove the recorded tonnage from the
modular mining. The marked drawpoint also alerts the draw
control crew for over-idle drawpoints so that they can be
brought to the attention of the operations staff for action.
3.2 Compliance
To evaluate the mucking performance to the daily order,
the draw compliance is analyzed daily. The draw
compliance is a degree of expectation of how close the
actual tonnage is to the daily draw order. Compliance is
calculated on individual drawpoint basis rather than the total
tonnage. Perfect compliance would give a value of 100%.
The formula below shows how the compliance is calculated:
% Compliance = 1 - (S abs (order-actual)/S order)
Where,
% Compliance is degree of the expectation
absolute (order-actual) is sum of absolute order to actual
order is sum of the order
Figure 7: DOZ historical compliance to the draw order.
3.3 Results
One of the objectives of the CMS is to maintain as
consistent and smooth a cave back as possible. Figures 8
and 9 illustrate the monthly progress of the draw profiles for
two more mature panels in the mine. Each curve represents
successive months.
Panel 16 East, for example (Figure 8), at the beginning
drawpoint 3E had excessive draw, relative to adjacent
drawpoints. As the draw order was controlled over the
last 10 months, the cave profile gradually smoothed out
and height of draw variances controlled. Panel 18 East
(Figure 9) is similar, except that the draw profile was
maintained smooth since initiation of mining and was well
maintained.
4 SUMMARY
The CMS was installed at the DOZ mine in late 2001.
Since that time the overall draw compliance at DOZ has
improved significantly. The man-hours required to
generate the daily order is greatly reduced, and more
importantly, the draw order and compliance to the draw
is now more independent of individual operator
preference. Finally, the real benefit of the CMS system
is in the improved draw profile which will help to reduce
dilution, improve draw point stability, maximize ore
recovery, and greatly assist development of accurate
production forecasts.

There are other ways this calculation could be done, but

experience has shown that this formula works well for DOZ.
DOZ compliance shows a continual improvement over
time since it has been used. Figure 7 below shows the
historical compliance from January 2002 through December
2003 on a monthly basis.
Initially, the compliance target was set to 60%.
Gradually, the target was increased by 5% per month,
up to the current 90% target. Some months had worse
compliance compared to the previous month. Usually
there was a reasonable explanation, i.e. unexpected
loading point problems or unexpected longer hung-up
period, etc.
In the beginning the compliance implementation was
not so easy. The habit of production personnel was to
produce as much ore as possible, regardless of the draw
order. Now, however, there is a better general
understanding of the benefits of good compliance, so that
the draw order process is well followed right through to
the dispatch system. Figure 8: Panel 16 East cave height of draw over time.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 517

 5 REFERENCES

Diering, T, 2000. PC-BC: A block cave design and draw

control system. Proceedings MassMin 2000, Brisbane,
pp. 469-484.
Diering, T, 2004. Combining long term scheduling and
daily draw control for block cave mines. Proceedings
MassMin 2004, Santiago.
Prasetyo, et. al. Use of the Modular Dispatch System to
Control Production Operations at the DOZ Block Cave
Mine. Proceedings MassMin 2004, Santiago

Figure 9: Panel 18 East cave height of draw over time.

518 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Development and measurement
of the subsidence zone associated with
SLC mining operations at Perseverance
WMC, Leinster Nickel Operations
Duncan Tyler, Geotechnical Manager, Nickel Business Unit,
Andrew Campbell, Geomechanics Engineer (Planning), Leinster Nickel Operations,
Stephen Haywood, Senior Surveyor, Leinster Nickel Operations,
WMC Resources Ltd, Western Australia

Abstract
The Perseverance mine is located 15 km north of Leinster and 370 km north of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The mine
produces approximately 40,000 tonnes of nickel per annum with the majority of the ore extracted from the sub level cave
(SLC). All development and infrastructure is located in the hanging wall and current mining is at the 9715mRL (805m
depth). The mine has ongoing reserves for a further 12-years of extraction, with extraction of the SLC scheduled to
9400m RL (1122m depth).
The first signs of surface failure as a result of underground extraction were observed in December 1995. The ongoing
use of the SLC mining method has lead to wide spread discontinuous subsidence and toppling failure in the area
surrounding the previously completed open pit. The proximity of the mines surface infrastructure to the ore body makes
it likely that almost all major surface infrastructures will ultimately be subjected to some level of cave related
displacements. This paper discusses the observations made using the cave monitoring systems at Perseverance and
discusses the potential impacts of surface subsidence on critical mine infrastructure.

1 INTRODUCTION 1. The majority of the critical infrastructure required for the

operations was sited prior to the development of the
The Perseverance mine is located 15km north of Leinster Perseverence pit and the use of SLC mining methods.
and 370km north of Kalgoorlie. The deposit comprises a
disseminated nickel sulphide resource of approximately Table 1: Mining timeline for the Perseverance
45Mt nominally grading at 2% nickel and several smaller main disseminated ore body
orebodies comprising narrow veins of massive nickel
sulphide grading to 8%. Since 1994, the majority of the Date Depth, m Mining Method
disseminated orebody has been mined by the sub-level
caving method. The cave broke through to surface in 1995. 1989 to 1995 0 to 190 Open Cut
This paper documents the progression of the cave front and
1978 to 1986 190 to 375 Post Pillar (AMC)
the methods of monitoring employed.
June 94 to June 1998 375 to 500 Sublevel Cave
2 MINING OPERATIONS N/A 500 to 600 Un mined
(temporary pillar)
The Perseverance orebody was discovered in the 1970s
and was initially mined by the Agnew Mining Company June 97 to Present 600 to 805 Sublevel Cave
between 1978 and 1986 when the mine was mothballed due
to difficult ground conditions and a low nickel price. The 3 GEOLOGY AND GEOMECHANICS
lease was purchased by WMC Resources Ltd in 1989 and
an open cut pit was established above the existing mine 3.1 Geology
workings (Perseverance pit) whilst underground The Perseverance nickel deposit is situated in the
development and rehabilitation continued in preparation for Archaean Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia. The main
full scale underground mining. The Perseverance pit was disseminated ore body occurs within ultramafic komatiite
completed at a depth of 190m in 1995. and dunite rocks set in the intensively deformed eastern part
Most of the nickel in the Perseverance resource is of the Agnew-Wiluna greenstone belt. The nickel
contained in the ultramafic hosted disseminated ore body mineralisation occurs as massive and disseminated
which, apart from remnant mining around old stopes, WMC sulphides hosted by ultramafic-serpentinite lithologies
Resources has mined exclusively by sub-level cave (SLC) (Barnes et al, 1988).
methods since 1995. The Perseverance deposit is bounded to the west by
However, the disseminated ore body at Perseverance has deformed felsic meta-sedimentsand to the east by barren
not been mined exclusively by means of SLC. Historically, ultramafics. The disseminated ore body is defined by a one
several mining methods have been used, as shown in Table per cent Ni grade boundary and is typically about 80m wide

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 519

(east-west) and 150m long, see Figure 1. The dip of the
disseminated ore body is sub-vertical towards the west with
an inflection zone between the 10100 and 9900mRls (420m
to 620m below surface) where the dip flattens to around 45
before steepening again below the 9900mRl (Figure 2). The
ground surface is taken as 10520mRl.
Figure 1: Geology plan on 9700mRl.
Figure 2: Geology section looking north.
520 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
3.2 Geomechanics
The vertical stratigraphy can be summarised as 80m of
sapprolite, a 40m transition then fresh rock below.
The indicative UCS for the fresh meta-sediments is
150MPa and for the ultramafics 90MPa.
Stress measurements have been undertaken down to
9400mRl using HI cells and hydraulic fracturing (AMC
2004). The results of the measurements within the hanging
wall felsic metasediments can be summarised as:
Sigma 1 = 0.0642z MPa, dip 22 towards 112
Sigma 2 = 0.0367z MPA, dip 28 towards 010
Sigma 3 = 0.0250z MPa, dip 53 towards 235
Z is the depth below original surface in metres.
There are several major structural features close to and
passing through the ore bodies at Perseverance. These
include a proterozoic dolerite dyke that dips north at
approximately 60, a gabbro dyke that passes between the
Progress and 1A ore bodies, and a hanging wall sheared
contact between the main disseminated ore bodies and the
felsics, see Figure 1.
Seven joints sets are identified in the felsic waste, three of
which are combined to create rhombic blocks:
J1 80 / 286 Foliation, occ faulted
J2 73 / 200 Planar joints, occ sheared
J3 22 / 196 Planar joints, often faulted
4 SURFACE CAVE CHARACTERISATION
The surface deformation due to caving can be defined
into three zones; the cave zone, the fracture zone and the
stable zone. At Perseverance, each of these zones displays
characteristic modes of failure as described below.
Cave Zone
Defined in terms of absolute deformation and rates of
movement. The current cave front along the western
margin is essentially defined by a 20m high scarp. Survey
prisms within the cave zone have generally moved at a
rate >25mm/year, with prisms moving at up to
1500mm/year. The interface with the fracture zone
generally represents a discontinuity both physically and in
terms of deformation rates.
Fracture Zone
Defined in terms of absolute deformation and rates of
movement. Cracks up to 50mm wide are evident but
these are often discontinuous. Prisms within the fracture
zone generally move at a rate of 10 to 20mm/year.
Onset of the stable zone
Onset of the stable zone is defined in terms of rate of
movement. GPS stations tend to be used and the rates
are typically < 10mm/year.
5 CAVE MONITORING
Since 2000, significant resources have been allocated to
measuring and monitoring the surface expression of the
cave and its effect on the surface/sub-surface infrastructure.
This was driven by the acceleration of obvious surface
movement towards critical items of infrastructure including
the main shaft, F93 vent shaft and southern vent shaft
(SVS).
Prior to this only qualitative methods had been used to
monitor the cave. The most enduring of these has been
photogrammetry, which can be traced back to the early
1980s. A basic manual prism monitoring program was
established along with surveying a number of points using
Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS located around the pit.
Massmin 2004
Neither derived any useful data that could be used for future 5.2 Quantitative ground monitoring
reference. GPS
Since 2000, rigorous monitoring programs have been A series of sixty six GPS stations are strategically placed
implemented, including an extensive GPS program outside the cave zone in a series of nominally radial lines.
capable of recording true movements down to 5mm and Stations are also concentrated around the SVS. The GPS
survey prisms with an accuracy of 20mm. The types points are used to monitor deformation up to 100mm. A
and effectiveness of monitoring systems currently in use high resolution Leica SR530 GPS receiver and AT 503
at Perseverance are shown in Table 2 and discussed "Choke ring" antenna combination is used to record point
below. positions. Each point consists of a concreted solid
stainless steel shaft with a machined 5/8th inch thread to
force center the antenna. Two control base stations
Table 2: Appraisal of monitoring systems located 4km apart enable dual differential solution for the
roaming rover unit. Each reading takes approximately 30
Element Strengths Limitations minutes, after which the receiver is moved to the next
station. The point accuracy obtained using this method
Photography Low CapEx./OpEx. Non quantitative has been found to be in the order of 5mm in the
Quick, easy, Image only horizontal plane and 10mm in the vertical plane.
instantaneous record Prisms Monitoring
Sixty one prisms are located within the western and
Surface mapping Low CapEx/OpEx. Time consuming southern margins of the cave and fracture zones.
Quantitative, Interpretational These are surveyed on a daily basis, via an automated
details detected. Leica Total Station TCRA1100. The instrument is linked
via radio, to a PC based software program
GPS High precision & High CapEx./ (QuickslopeTM) located at the survey office several
accuracy in X,Y OpEx. kilometers away from the instrument station. The
& Z planes. Extensive setup system has an average sighting error of 20mm in both
Millimeter detection. required the horizontal and vertical planes, with a distance error
Early warning Long term. of 2mm. The prisms are positioned in areas where
Intensive monitoring displacements are expected to be >100mm/yr, many
are now well within the cave zone. All readings
Survey prisms Mod CapEx./OpEx. Limited Accuracy automatically have reference corrections applied to
Program easy to Atmospheric them via the software for atmospherics.
setup - fully automated conditions Bi-axial inclinometer
Centimeter detection A single 80m long bi-axial inclinometer was comissioned
near to the SVS in January 2003. This instrument is read
Inclinometers Low Cap Ex./Op Ex. Reading error on a monthly basis.
Continuous data Discrete X, Aerial Photogrammetry
with depth Y points This has been undertaken 6 times since the cave broke
through: 1995, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. Initially
Aerial Low CapEx. High OpEx. fly-overs were not undertaken with measurement of
Photogrammetry Cover large areas Limited subsidence in mind and the resolution on contour plots
quickly resolution was 500mm. Since 2001, flyovers allow subsidence
(quoted 200mm) resolutions of 200mm. This information is otho-scaled and
digital terrain models created.
Laser & tape Low CapEx./OpEx. Limited coverage
extensometer High accuracy Localised result 5.3 Quantitative surface infrastructure moniting
Laser & tape extensometer
Precise leveling High CapEx. Low OpEx. These methods have been used to monitor differential
Early warning Intensive monitoring foundation movements.
Sub millimeter Weather variant Precise leveling
detection This is conducted on all the critical infrastructure within
the potential region of the fracture zone. This includes the
main shaft, F93 vent shaft and SVS.
A Leica NA3003 precise level, capable of measuring to
5.1 Qualitative surface & underground monitoring 0.01mm is used in conjunction with fixed invar strips
Photography and a 4m bar-coded staff. Individual traverses are
Photographs have been taken progressively of the open performed around each of the structures to detect
pit, starting in 1995. They are taken from specific locations settlement. A linking traverse connects each of the
on a routine basis. No effort has been made to ortho-scale structures to a dual benchmark (common reference
them. point). The quality of results allows detection of sub
Surface Mapping millimeter movements.
Since July 2000 the surface effects of caving have been Multi point extensometers
mapped on a six monthly basis. New or continuing cracks Wire extensometers have been installed in deep
are marked and surveyed using RTK GPS and added to boreholes to monitor key strucures.
a composite map.
Underground Mapping 5.4 Quantitative underground monitoring
Since June 2000 the effects of the cave on 3 Level (3L) Multi point extensometers
infrastructure (10030mRl) has been mapped on an Rod and wire borehole extensometers have been
approximately annual basis. This is recorded on a installed at various levels in the hanging wall to monitor
composite underground level map. the cave development.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 521

Figure 3: Surface cave history with mined footprint to 1997.

522 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 4: Surface cave history with mined footprint 1998 to 2003.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 523

 Figure 5: Prism monitoring data, prism 17

6 CAVE HISTORY quadrant of the pit. To date, approximately 1.4 Mt of waste

has been tipped.
6.1 Surface The limit of the stable zone to the west of the pit has not
The history of SLC mining and cave propogation at the been established conclusively. GPS stations over 500m
surface is summarised in Figures 3 and 4. These plans are from the pit show movements of 5mm/year towards the
based on interpretation of air photographs, walk-over cave. Fine cracking of less than 2mm has been observed
surveys and GPS / prism data. parallel to the cave front 300m to the west.
SLC mining commenced on the 10145mRl in August 1994 To date the SVS inclinometer has not indicated any lateral
and the cave broke through into the floor of the pit in 1995. movement. However, a GPS point directly on it indicates
The initial cave break-through was closely related to the 15mm movement toward the cave to date. The discrepancy
mined foot print of 1994/95. In the following two years the
cave zone moved rapidly to the south and west before
extending north west. The fracture zone expanded ahead of
the cave zone at a rapid rate. By 1998, a distinct nose
remained in the northwest; this corresponded to an unstable
wall feature in the pit that had been buttressed during pit
mining.
Interpreted expansion of the cave zone in 1999 prompted
increased monitoring.
Cave zone advance slowed significantly on the western
margin after 2000 but acclerated to the south over the
period 2001-04. The western limit of the fracture and cave
zones have remained largely unchanged since 1999 and
2001 respectively. This is consistent with the westerly dip of
the orebody steepening to near-vertical below 9920mRl
(extraction completed in 1998) and increased mining
towards the south. Mining is currently advancing on the
9740, 9715 and 9690mRls (780 to 830m depth). In general
there appears to be a one to two year lag between mining
levels and the development of associated surface damage.
However, there is a direct relationship between mining and
cave movement in the cave zone. During 2003 a shaft re-fit
was carried out between 30 Sept and 31 Oct leading to a
significant reduction in SLC production. During this period,
movement as recorded by prisms in the cave zone almost
ceased. This response to reduced mining was detected
within 48-hours (see Figure 5). However, corresponding
prism movement in the fracture zone was unaffected.
Buttressing of the F93 shaft area has been undertaken
since 2001 by tipping mine waste into the north western Figure 6: Cave zone development on 3 Level.

524 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

is attribuited to inclinometer casing failure at 80m depth, GPS stations are routinely replaced with prisms once the
which is just above the fresh rock interface. total movement exceeds 100mm and/or when access for
The has been no evidence of wall instability on the east reading is deemed to be unsafe. The GPS stations are then
wall of the pit. relocated. New automated GPS stations are to be trialled
with solar panel power supply and modem connection to the
6.2 Underground base station. Gyroscopic surveys of the shaft guide rails are
Observation of caving underground is difficult as proposed.
production levels are generally barricaded shortly after Biennial reviews of the cave zone will be carried out by
completion of mining. However, access is possible on 3L to external consultents.
a ventilation drive that was developed to the west of the
cave zone in 2000, prior to the collapse of 3L access drive. 9 CONCLUSIONS
Multi-point wire extensometers were installed from the vent
drive to monitor cave development. Visual assessment can The implementation of robust surface and underground
also be made on the north and south ends of the cave zone. monitoring systems has allowed routine measurement of
The interpreted 3L cave zone is shown in Figure 6. both the cave and fracture zone development associated
Expansion of the cave zone over the period 2001-04 is with the Perseverance SLC.
between 10 and 25m. The least expansion has been to the Monitoring should ideally commence prior to development
west and is greatest at the northen and southern ends, of the cave as the data gleaned from the systems is vital
consistent with surface cave deformations over that time. to allow for long term strategic planning.
Development and implementation of monitoring systems
7 EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS & PREDICTION is time consuming and requires site champions to ensure
their long term survival.
Review of Laubscher cave cones was undertaken by SRK At Perseverance there is a one to two year lag between
Consulting in 2002 and shown is in Table 3. level completion and its impact on the surface. However,
prisms in the cave zone indicate that there is negligible lag
between SLC production and movement in this zone. This
Table 3: Laubscher Cave Angles (after SRK, 2002)
suggests elastic continuity between the surface and the
production horizons through the caved material.
mRl Factor MRMR Cave Angle
Cave and fracture zone development is not impacted by
10520 10400 0 30 35 rainfall events.
The cave zone was defined by a Laubscher cone to the
10400 10360 0.2 37 52 north and west in July 2002. This work will be reviewed
10360 10330 0.5 39 64 and updated in May 2004.
At present, the main shaft is not expected to be impacted
10330 10200 3.2 42 80 by the cave zone when SLC production reaches
10200 10030 11.8 40 83.6 9400mRl.
10030 9960 17.2 39 84.5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
9960 9900 22.9 37 85.2
The authors are grateful to all their colleagues at the
9900 9760 40.8 29 87.0
Perseverance Mine who provided aid and assistance to this
9760 9715 47.5 29 87.5 paper. The authors acknowledge the permission given by
9715 9615 64.5 29 88.4 WMCs Nickel Business Unit to publish this paper.

9615 9490 89.0 29 89.5 REFERENCES

9490 - 9415 104.3 30 89.9
The method was calibrated to both site monitoring data
and cave observations for the west and northern cave zone.
It is noted that the east wall of the pit is stable and that a line
projected up along the east edge of the mined areas to the
surface suggests that the cave angle is at least 75 in the
ultramafic.
The SRK report indicated that the main shaft will not fall
inside the cave zone when scheduled SLC extraction to the
9400mRl is completed.
AMC Consultants Pty Ltd, 2004. Rock Stress
Measurement 9590 Progress Incline. AMC report
103127, issued to WMC Resources January 2004.
Barnes, SJ, Gole, MJ, Hill, RET, 1988. The Agnew Nickel
Deposit, Western Australia: Part I. Structure and
Stratigrphy. Economic Geol., 1988 Vol 83., 524-536.
SRK Consulting, 2002. Assessment of possible
subsidence zones Perseverance SLC 6 to 11 level,
Hanging wall inclusive. SRK report WM212, issued to
WMC Resources July 2002.

8 FUTURE MONITORING & ANALYSIS

Additional monitoring is planned for areas around the

main shaft and the F93 vent shaft. This will consist of 200m
deep inclinometers sited to the south east of each shaft.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 525

526 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Chapter 14
Rock Mass
Pre - Conditioning
528 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Hydraulic fracturing used
to precondition ore and reduce
fragment size for block caving
Enrique Chacn, Victor Barrera, El Salvador Division, Codelco Chile
Rob Jeffrey, CSIRO Petroleum, Australia
Andre van As, AVA Mine Geotechnical Services, Australia

Abstract
A full-scale experiment was carried out in a block of primary ore from the 2600 level of Salvador mine to investigate the
use of hydraulic fracturing to precondition the ore for caving. A reduction in the size of rock fragments produced during
caving is the main concern in this orebody. Ten monitoring boreholes were drilled around a central injection hole at the
site to allow fracture pressure, growth rate, opening and stress change to be measured. Seismic cross-hole velocity
mapping was carried out before, during and after the hydraulic fracturing and two of the fractures were mined and
mapped on the undercut level below the site. The site was extensively characterized by conducting overcore stress
measurements and microfrac breakdown measurements. Rock property and geological data was obtained from the mine
database. From direct measurement of fracture intersection with monitoring holes the fracture growth rate and orientation
was determined. Stress change monitoring was used to measure the maximum stress change caused by the fractures
and helped in orienting the fractures, which were sub-vertical. Microseismic events at 1 to 3 per second were recorded
during the growth phase of the fractures and cross hole seismic measurements made before and after the treatments
revealed a significant change in compressional wave velocity, corresponding to a change in rock strength.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Salvador block caving copper mine, a division of

Codelco, is located in the northern part of Chile, in the
Atacama desert, about 800 km north of Santiago. Much of
the ore extracted from the mine over past years has come
from the oxidized zone of the porphyry copper orebody.
However, much sulfide primary ore remains in the deposit
and is of mineable grade, but the panel caving operations
result in a significant amount of oversized rock blocks that,
in turn, cause production delays and increase mining costs.
Therefore, methods to precondition the primary ore in order
to increase fragmentation during mining are being
investigated by the mine.
Salvador mine therefore offered the International Caving
Study II a site on the 2600 level of the Inca east sector of the
mine where the project described in this paper could be
carried out. Figure. 1 shows a 3D view of part of the
Salvador mine with the shaded cube corresponding to the
experiment site. HF02 was the injection borehole and was
drilled downward into the 100 x 100 x 100m block of ore
beneath the 2600 level. A caving operation was approaching
Figure 1: Overview of site at Salvador mine.
the site from the east, as indicated in Figure. 1.

2 DESCRIPTION OF SITE
The injection borehole, HF02, was drilled to the east at
59 degrees dip. Around HF02, ten monitoring boreholes
(also nominal 60 degree dip to the east) were drilled from
this area of the mine previously used as an underground
garage and workshop. A grid-work of shotcreted tunnels,
about 5m x 5m in cross section, made up the garage and
allowed easy access for the drilling and pumping
equipment and for instrumentation activities. Figure. 2
contains a plan of the experimental area, showing the
tunnels and collar positions of the boreholes used.
Overcore stress measurement sites are also shown in
this figure as OC-01 etc.
The contact between the oxidized and primary ore cuts
across the site just south of overcore stress measurement
holes OC3 and OC2. Stress measurements, made in the
primary ore at OC4, were therefore relied on to site the
boreholes. In addition, a vertical HQ-size hole was drilled
(HF01 in Figure. 2) and, during March 2002, five hydraulic
fractures were placed in it at depths of 27 to 49 m below the
collar. This work was undertaken to test the operation of the
new fracturing pump and to verify the orientation of the
fractures formed so that HF02 and the monitoring holes
drilled around it were correctly positioned. The fracturing
work in HF01 produced fractures that intersected the garage
tunnels 10 m to the east of HF01. Acoustic scans of HF01
showed nearly vertical fracture traces that left the hole with

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 529

Figure 2: Plan view of site on 2600 level showing injection
and monitor holes.
a west dip. As a result, the monitoring and injection holes at
the main experimental site were drilled dipping at 60
degrees to the east. This orientation allowed more
consistent isolation of the fractures formed using inflatable
straddle packers.
Figure 3 shows one of the post-fracture acoustic scans of
the injection borehole HF02. The trace of the hydraulic
fracture on the borehole wall can be clearly seen. The
fracture has initiated, because of stress concentrations
Figure 3: Acoustic scan log of the fracture at 57.5m in HF02.
around the hole, as an axial fracture and then rotated to
align with the far-field stress. The strike of the fracture is
north-south, based on the trace in the borehole and the
fracture is turning from the borehole dip of 590 E to a dip of
about 750 W (based on intersection data and stress change
interpretations). As the fracture realigns itself with the stress
field, a number of en echelon branches formed. These
multiple fractures increase the fluid friction losses as the
fracturing fluid is pumped through them, but they are
expected to only extend for a short distance near the
borehole.
The initiation along the borehole axis also gives the
fracture an S-shape for a few meters near the hole, which in
turn means the two wings of the fracture are offset slightly
above and below the depth of the straddle section.
Development of such offsets results in less control of the
exact placement of the fractures along the hole and the
effective spacing between fractures may vary. Some
fracture treatments may open existing natural fractures that
are favorably oriented at the borehole. In these cases, the
offset that is suggested by the trace in Figure 3 may be
small or non existent. The fracture traces observed in HF02
were fairly consistent and would be expected to produce
similar offsets from the straddle, implying that the effective
fracture spacing away from the hole may not be severely
affected by the offsetting. Modification of the straddle
packers to allow the pressure to load the borehole axially
and notching of the borehole ahead of fracturing could be
implemented to better control the fracture initiation and
effective spacing.
3 FRAGMENTATION
Primary fragmentation is determined by the rock structure
and strength interacting with the stress acting during caving
(Brown, 2003). Hydraulic fracturing can modify all of these
main controlling parameters. Hydraulic fracturing forms
new fractures through the rock mass, connects and
weakens existing natural fractures, and modifies the
strength (by pressurizing and resulting shearing) of natural
fractures and joints in the rock on either side of the main
hydraulic fracture path. The hydraulic fractures extend as
530 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
single connected features for 30 to 50 m from the injection
point, or for farther if higher injection rates or more fluid is
used in each treatment. The in-situ stress field is changed
by the fracturing, as reflected in part by microseismic
activity, and by residual opening locked into the main
fracture channel. Shearing of natural fractures will tend to
reduce stress differences while the locked in deformation
can increase the minimum principal stress and, eventually,
lead to changes in the hydraulic fracture preferred growth
direction.
In the rock mass at Salvador, the mine through data
collected and discussed later in this paper, clearly
demonstrates that the hydraulic fractures cross most veins
and filled joints and form new fractures through unbroken
rock. Interactions are with weaker sheared joints which can
be taken to form the primary block size in the ore before the
introduction of hydraulic fractures. Therefore, the spacing
between the hydraulic fractures should have a strong effect
on final fragment.
4 HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
Hydraulic fractures are initiated in a borehole by
pressurizing an isolated section of the hole. The fracturing
fluid, which can be water or a thicker water-based gel, is
injected into a straddle section between two inflatable
packers. The pressure in the hole induces tensile stresses
along the hole axis that eventually exceeds the tensile
strength of the rock, initiating a fracture there. This fracture
is extended by the fluid entering and pressurizing it.
Alternatively, natural fractures that intersect the borehole
may be opened by the fluid injection. In some cases the
hydraulic fracture may follow along a succession of natural
fractures, extending them and linking them up into a
continuous fracture plane.
In either case, the hydraulic fracture tends to grow in the
plane of the maximum and intermediate in-situ principal
stresses and to open against the minimum principal stress.
The pressure to extend the fracture must exceed the
minimum principal stress magnitude. In addition, an excess
Massmin 2004
pressure above the minimum stress magnitude must exist
that produces fracture opening and stress concentration at
the leading edge of the fracture that are sufficient to break
the rock as the fracture extends.
3.1 Fracture Treatments
An electric-driven triplex pump capable of pumping 215
liters per minute at up to 35 MPa pressure was used to
produce the fractures at Salvador. The injection string
consisted of BQ drill rods with an inflatable open-hole
straddle packer used to isolate 0.5 m long sections of the
hole for each treatment.
Fractures were initiated in borehole HF02 at depths down
the borehole of from 50 to 70 m below the collar. The two
fractures that were mapped during mining were placed 112
and 118m below the collar. The treatments produced
fracture intersections with monitoring holes located to the
north and to the east of the injection hole, but not in monitor
holes located south and west of HF02. Fracturing fluid was
usually noted coming from the tunnel floor and walls 15 to
30 m east of HF02, consistent with a 70 dip of the fractures
to the west. The fracture treatments are summarised in
Table 1.
A typical treatment record is contained in Figure 4 for
fracture treatment 1. In addition to the treating pressure and
injection rate, the plot shows pressure response at monitor
holes M1 and M8. The rapid rise in pressure at these holes,
located about 25m from HF02, is associated with arrival of
the hydraulic fracture and provides a measure of the
fracture growth rate and of the pressure in the fracture at
that point after arrival.
Extensometers in monitor holes M2 and M7 measured
average fracture opening of 0.3 to 0.5 mm during the water
treatments and up to 0.5 to 1.0 mm for crosslinked gel
treatments. Numerical fracture models predict fracture
openings that are larger by about a factor of two compared
with these measurements. The extensometers used
measured deformation over 10 and 20m intervals and the
elasticity of the rock between the anchors is expected to
have reduced the deformation measured by up to 30
percent, which does not explain the smaller than expected
opening measured. In addition, the shut-in pressures
measured up and down the injection hole revealed a stress
gradient that favors fracture growth up dip over the down dip
direction. Asymmetric growth of the fractures would move
the maximum fracture opening up dip, which should
produce more opening at M7 and less at M2 than what
would be measured for symmetric fracture growth. The
measured displacements did follow this trend. The
displacements are consistent with opening width in opening
mode fractures and provide fracture growth data and
residual opening information.
Figure 4: Summary of fracture 1 at Salvador.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
3.2 Fracture Growth
Intersections with extensometers and piezometers
grouted into monitor holes M2 and M7 and with holes
monitored with packers (M1 and M8) provide a direct
measure of the fracture growth in the rock mass at Salvador.
Figure 5 contains a summary of the fracture growth data
from several treatments. A power law curve fits the data and
provides an empirical fracture size versus time relationship
that can be used to design fracture treatments in this rock
mass.
The growth relationship is:
R = 7.56t0.55 (1)
The relationship given by equation 1 is for water fracturing
fluid injected at 215 lpm. A numerical model that fits the
growth data can be used to consider the effect of changing
the fluid, injection rate or injected volume on the fractures
produced.
3.3 Fracture Stress Change and Orientation
Stress change monitoring cells were installed in BQ
boreholes located about 7m north and south of HF02. Two
ANZI stress change cells (Mills, 1997) were installed in
each hole at about 40m from the collar. During each of the
fracture treatments, the stress change sensed by these
cells was logged every 15 seconds. Analysis of this data
gives the 3D stress change tensor induced by the
hydraulic fracture. The maximum stress change
component is a reflection of the pressure inside the
hydraulic fracture and also provides information about the
fracture orientation since this stress change vector points
toward the plane of the fracture. A more detailed
presentation of the stress change results is contained in
Mills and Jeffrey (2004).
The stress change analysis indicated sub-vertical
fractures were formed with a general north-south strike and
dipping at 75 to 80 degrees to the west. This orientation
agrees with the directly observed intersections of the
fractures with the tunnel to the east of HF02. Planes were
fitted through the intersection data recorded at the monitor
holes around the site using a least squares method. Table 2
summarises the orientation obtained from this fit to the
monitor hole intersections, which agree with the stress
change orientation data.
The magnitude of the maximum principal stress change,
during the injection, was in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 MPa for
the water based fractures and 1 to 2 MPa for the crosslinked
gel fractures. These stresses decreased with time after
shut-in but limitations of the instrumentation logging system
did not allow for monitoring this decay for more than a few
hours.
The change in maximum and intermediate stress
recorded is consistent with sub-vertical fractures dipping to
the west and propagating as opening mode fractures rather
than shear fractures. The mine through observations
confirm the fractures formed are opening mode.
4 MINE THROUGH OF TWO FRACTURES
Two hydraulic fractures were placed in HF02 at depths
of 111.5m and 117.5m from the hole collar. These fractures
were therefore at the depth of the undercut level. Red
plastic chips were mixed into the crosslinked gel fluid used
for the fracture at 117.5m and yellow plastic was mixed
into the linear gel fluid used for the fracture at 111.5m.
During the treatment, crosslinked gel containing red plastic
was seen leaking from an overcore stress measurement
hole on the extraction level, indicating this fracture had
intersected the end of this short hole. This intersection
point is consistent with the dip of the red propped fracture
mapped on the undercut level. Red plastic containing gel
531

Figure 5: Measured fracture growth in Salvador rock mass.
also leaked from the zone on the 2600 level located 120m
east of HF02.
In January 2003, a tunnel was driven near the bottom of
HF02 on the undercut level, intersecting the two plastic-
propped hydraulic fractures. Figures 6 and 7 contain
drawings of the fractures mapped on the north and south
walls of this tunnel.
Both the yellow and red propped hydraulic fractures were
mapped. Because much less yellow plastic was mixed with
the lower-viscosity linear gel fluid, the trace of this fracture
was only visible on the south wall near the borehole. The
borehole was not directly intersected by the tunnel but is
estimated to lie less than 0.5 m into the rock on the south
wall of the tunnel.
Table 1: Summary of fractures at site.
Fracture Straddle top Fluid Vol.
(metres) (m3)
In contrast to the shallower fractures at the
preconditioning experiment site, these two fractures both
dipped slightly to the east. The change in dip with depth may
be the result of stress rotation caused by interaction with the
approaching cave front. The east dip also caused the two
fractures to be closer to each other than otherwise. A 250 E
dip results in the 6m separation along the hole direction
becoming a 0.5m perpendicular separation between the
fractures.
The red propped fracture was mapped on both the south
and north sides and across the back of the tunnel. Both
fractures grew through most veins and natural fractures they
encountered without any visible interaction or offsetting of
their path. Some more weakly cemented natural fractures
produced minor offsets in the hydraulic fracture path. For
example, the fracture near the roof line on the north side
(Figure 7) caused an offset of about 20mm in the hydraulic
fracture path. This natural fracture had undergone shear
deformation previous to the placement of the hydraulic
fracture. The hydraulic fracture mined at Northparkes (van
As and Jeffrey, 2002) interacted with most of the natural
fractures it crossed and contained many small and several
larger offsets in its path. Mineral filling and cementing is less
prevalent or absent in the rock mass at the Northparkes site
and comparison between the Salvador and Northparkes
mined fractures demonstrates the effect of natural fracture
shear strength and permeability on the type of crossing
interaction that develops. As the natural fractures become
stronger in shear and less permeable, few offsets and other
interactions develop when a hydraulic fracture grows toward
and through them.
In contrast, the widely spaced more permeable and weak
shear zones at the Salvador site, which were spaced at from
meters to tens of meters apart, interacted strongly with the
hydraulic fractures, In some cases, the hydraulic fracture
growth was stopped in that direction by these shear zones.
Average spacing of major structures such as these should
be determined at preconditioning sites so that the spacing

1 57.55 water 6.3

2 66.55 water 6.5
3 51.55 water 5.1
4 51.55 xlinked 3.6
5 54.55 Linear 4.9
6 60.55 water 4.2
7 63.55 xlinked 3.8
8 117.55 xlinked 5.5
9 111.55 linear 5.2
10 57.55 xlinked 4.4

Table 2: Fracture strike and dip from intersections.

Fracture Strike azimuth Dip

(degrees)

1 02 81 W
2 343 90
3 07 75 W
4 07 75 W
5 10 78 W
6 356 85 E
7 02 82 W Figure 6: Fracture trace on south side of tunnel.

532 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 7: Fracture mapped on north side of tunnel.
between the injection boreholes can account for the
possibility of impeded fracture growth across them. It is also
useful to plan for monitoring of intersections with pre-drilled
injection holes around the borehole being treated. This
monitoring provides direct feedback of fracture extent and
Figure 8: Cross hole seismic survey geometry and velocity changes measured.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
growth and serves to verify the fracture size used in the
design.
5 SEISMIC DATA
Microseismic events were recorded during several of
the treatments using 12 hydrophones and a
seismograph system. Event locations cannot be
determined from this type of logging, but the number of
events during different phases of the treatments was
measured. During the initiation of the fracture, about 20
events per second were recorded. Later, during the
fracture growth stage, this rate dropped to 1 to 3 events
per second. Even at this lower rate, the 20 to 25 minute
long treatments were associated with several thousand
microseismic events each.
Cross hole seismic surveys were carried out between
holes M9 and HF01 before and after the fracture treatments
in HF02. Figure 8 shows the before and after compressional
wave velocity for the rock between M9 and HF01. The
velocity change was 2 to 4 milliseconds over the 60m
distance, reflecting a significant change to the rock mass
strength.
6 CONCLUSIONS
Ten hydraulic fracture treatments were carried out at the
Salvador preconditioning experimental site. Two of these
fractures were mined on the undercut level to obtain
information about fracture geometry and interaction with
natural fractures in the rock mass. Monitoring of the other
eight fractures included measuring pressure and opening,
and stress change during each treatment. Cross hole
seismic surveys were carried out before and after the
fracturing.
Stress changes of up to 2 MPa were measured. The
stress change data also provided a measure of the fracture
orientations and indicated they were sub-vertical, dipping
about 75 degrees to the west. This orientation was
supported by intersections with monitoring holes and with
the tunnels on the 2600 level and is in agreement with the
533
stress field measured during the characterisation phase.
Hydraulic fractures 40 to 50m in radius were produced by
injecting 4,000 to 6,000 liters of fracturing fluid at 215 litres
per minute. Growth occurred to the north and east of
injection hole HF02 with only limited growth to the south and
west. A conductive fault or shear zone is believed to have
acted as a barrier to growth to the south and west.
The mined hydraulic fractures on the undercut level
crossed most pre-existing joints and natural fractures. Small
offsets in the fracture path occurred at weaker natural
fractures. Most of the hydraulic fracture path was through
fresh rock.
Cross hole seismic data demonstrated a large change in
seismic velocity occurred as a result of placing 8 fractures in
a 20m zone of the 60m ray path. A significant reduction of
rock mass strength can be inferred to have occurred in the
treated zone.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge the International Caving Study
II (ICS-II), Salvador mine and CSIRO for support of the work
described in this paper.
534 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
REFERENCES
Brown, E.T., 2003. Block Caving Geomechanics, JKMRC
Monograph Series in Mining and Mineral Processing 3,
University of Queensland.
Mills, K.W. 1997 In situ stress measurement using the
ANZI stress cell. Proceedings of the International
Symposium on Rock Stress, 149-152. Rotterdam:
Balkema.
Mills, K.W. and Jeffrey, R.G. 2004. Remote high
resolution stress change monitoring near hydraulic
fractures, Proceedings of the MassMin 2004 symposium,
Santiago.
van As, A., Jeffrey, R.G., Chacon, E., and Barerra, V.
2004. Preconditioning by hydraulic fracturing for block
caving in a moderately stressed naturally fractured
orebody, Proceedings of the MassMin 2004 symposium,
Santiago.
van As, A. and Jeffrey, R.G. 2002 Hydraulic Fracture
growth in naturally fractured rock: Mine-Through mapping
and analysis. NARMS-TAC 2002, Mining and Tunnelling
Innovation and Opportunity. Pp 1461-1469.
Massmin 2004
 Preconditioning by hydraulic fracturing
for block caving in a moderately
stressed naturally fractured orebody
Andre van As, AVA Mine Geotechnical Services, Australia
Rob Jeffrey, CSIRO Petroleum, Australia
Enrique Chacnn, Victor Barrera, El Salvador Division, Codelco Chile

Abstract
Preconditioning by hydraulic fracturing is a tool with the potential to modify the caveability and fragmentation of an
orebody prior to and during mining. A field-scale experiment was carried out in the Lift 2 orebody at Northparkes E26
mine near Parkes, NSW to measure hydraulic fracture growth and assess the affect of the fracturing on rock mass
strength and in-situ stress.
The 9700 level exploration drill drive located near the top of the Lift 2 orebody provided an ideal site for the experiment.
Eight fan arrays of NQ-size exploration drill holes had already been drilled laterally and down into the ore from this level.
These holes provided excellent access for placing fracture-monitoring instrumentation across the hydraulic fracture
growth path. Site characterisation work included, geology, rock properties, overcore and micro-frac stress
measurements, and seismic velocity profiling. In addition, a microseismic monitoring array was extended to the site by
adding to the existing mine microseismic array. Cross-hole seismic measurements were conducted before, during and
after the hydraulic fracturing period. In addition, the fracture geometry and hydraulic fracture volume were also remotely
monitored using eighteen sensitive tiltmeters. Stress change associated with the fracturing was recorded using three
ANZI cells located 15 to 40 m above the hydraulic fracture plane.
When combined with previous data from mining and mapping a hydraulic fracture placed into the country rock ahead
of development tunnels, the experiment provided a comprehensive data set to define and understand hydraulic fracture
growth in naturally fractured rock. The effect of hydraulic fractures on rock mass caveability and resulting fragment size
during caving is being assessed using this data.
This paper summarises the measurements made and important results obtained that will assist in future design and
implementation of hydraulic fracturing as a preconditioning tool for cave mining.

1 INTRODUCTION International Caving Study (ICS II), and formed a major

In the past the use of cave mining has been limited to
massive ore bodies characterised as having a fairly uniform
grade distribution, large aerial extent (i.e. foot print) and
relatively weak rock mass strength (such as kimberlites). In
recent years several low-grade, massive ore bodies have
been discovered at depth, which due to low metal prices,
can only be exploited profitable through the adoption of the
block cave mining method. Unlike the typical caving ore
bodies of the past, many of these new deposits comprise
highly competent rock masses and their geometrical
dimensions (i.e. foot print and block height) are often
dictated by their economic viability. Hence, the rejuvenated
interest in cave mining of more competent ore bodies has
forced the industry to reassess the suitability of current
caveability predictive tools for stronger rock masses whilst
simultaneously investigating the prospect of rock mass
preconditioning and its potential to enhance the caving
characteristics of these deposits.
The successful hydraulic fracture cave inducement
program conducted at Northparkes Mines has lead to a
considerable interest in the technique with respect to its
application to cave mining. van As and Jeffrey (2000) have
demonstrated the technique to be an extremely cost
effective means of cave inducement and state that it also
has the potential to be applied to cave preconditioning,
ultimately reducing the risks associated with caving hard
rock orebodies.
Recent site experiments were conducted at both
Northparkes and Salvador Mines, partially supported by the
component of the ICSII research. The experiments were
specifically designed to measure hydraulic fracture growth
in competent and well jointed rock masses and examine
their influence on the rock mass.
This paper describes the Northparkes Mines site
experiments, provides an overview of the findings and
discusses the implications for cave preconditioning.
2 WHAT IS HYDRAULIC FRACTURING?
Hydraulic fracturing involves isolating a section of a
borehole, often by means of a straddled packer system.
Once sealed, fluid is pumped into this straddled area
causing the fluid pressure to rise, generating tensile hoop
stresses along the axis of the borehole which eventually
exceed the tensile strength of the rock, causing a fracture to
form. The orientation of the fracture plane is defined by the
orientation of the minimum principal stress whilst the
propagation of the fracture into the rockmass will continue
as long as the pumping rate exceeds the rate of fluid loss
into the rock and as long as the pressure in the fracture
exceeds the far-field minimum stress magnitude..
3 PRECONDITIONING EXPERIMENTAL SITE
Two site experiments were conducted at Northparkes Mines,
the first involving mapping a hydraulic fracture by mining it and
the second, the main preconditioning experiment, involved a
multiple fracture treatment within a well instrumented region of
the proposed E26, Lift 2 block cave.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 535

 The Mine-Through experiment involved placing two
hydraulic fractures well ahead of an advancing tunnel. The
fracture fluids contained fluorescein and plastic proppants
which enabled the fractures to be visually traced and
inspected upon mine through. The objective of mine-
through experiment was to map the hydraulic fractures,
recording their orientation, residual width and interaction
with the natural jointing. More detail on this experiment can
be found in the paper by van As and Jeffrey (2002).
The main preconditioning experiment involved creating
several hydraulic fractures at various intervals within a
region of the proposed E26, Lift 2 block cave. The site
location was selected primarily due to its abundance of
diamond drill holes which would allow for a dense array of
monitoring instrumentation to be installed in and around the
hydraulic fractures. A single HQ hole, drilled between these
existing monitoring holes, was used as the injection hole
along which all of the hydraulic fractures were placed.
Figure 1: Location of the preconditioning experiment site
with respect to the Northparkes block caves.
4 GEOLOGY AND GEOTECHNICAL
The Lift 2 orebody generally comprises four main rock
types. Central to the orebody is a quartz monzonite
porphyry body around 70 metres wide, to the east is a biotite
quartz monzonite which is a massive equ-granular unit that
comprises the greater proportion of the rock mass within the
Lift 2 block. To the west of the monzonites is a volcanic
sequence, dominantly porphyritic lavas, through which a
coarsely crystalline, diorite sill has intruded. The diorite sill
measures up to 80 metres thick, dips into the orebody at
approximately 35 to 45 degrees and is the main unit in
which the preconditioning experiment was conducted.
In general the rock mass is well jointed and rock type is
the dominant control on variations in rock mass properties.
The rock mass has been classified using Laubschers
MRMR system, Laubscher, (2000), with the Rock Mass
Rating (RMR) ranging from a minimum of 41 in the volcanics
to a maximum of 64 in the biotite quartz monzonite. The in
situ stress measurements conducted at the experiment site
536 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
indicate a horizontal major principal stress of approximately
40 MPa whilst the minor principal stress is subvertical with
a magnitude of around 10 MPa. It should be stated however
that these measurements are slightly different to those
measured elsewhere in the mine and this is thought to be
attributed to the presence of the diorite sill.
5 MONITORING AND INSTRUMENTATION
Hydraulic fractures were propagated from a central
injection hole out into the rock mass, intersecting the
adjacent monitoring holes as the fracture grew. The arrival
time and pressure provided by the intersections measured
the fracture growth rate, pressure and orientation, including
their variation over time. The effectiveness of different
fracture fluids and proppants in inducing changes to the
rock mass was also investigated.
The experiment site was located on the 9700mRL level,
which is 250m above the Northparkes E26 Lift 2 extraction
level. The 9700mRL level was previously used as an
exploration drilling level and hence contains numerous NQ
diamond drill holes, drilled from eight cuddies spaced at
25m centres along a north-south oriented drill drive (refer to
Figure 2). Each cuddy contains a fan of holes drilled with
varying dips yet with roughly the same bearing. The
injection hole used to place the hydraulic fractures was
located centrally such that all of the surrounding holes could
be effectively used to monitor the hydraulic fractures. The
instrumentation was grouped into near-field and far-field
monitoring systems with most of the near-field
instrumentation installed in the drill holes nearest to the
injection hole. The far-field instrumentation included the
seismic monitoring system, the downhole seismic system
and an array of tiltmeters located throughout the mine.
The positioning of these instruments is illustrated in
Figure 3, and is summarised as follows:
The injection hole was an HQ hole drilled from cuddy 5
with a dip of 560 towards 1180 east.
ANZI stress cells were installed in a hole directly above
the injection hole with the cells located between 15 25m
from the nearest fracture to 40 48m from the furthest
fracture.
Piezometers and extensometers were installed in 4 holes,
one hole immediately below the injection hole in cuddy 5,
Figure 2: Plan of the 9700 mRL level, showing the site
layout and drill holes.
Massmin 2004
 two in the steepest holes in cuddy 4 and one in the Table 1: Summary of hydraulic fracture
steepest hole in cuddy 6. preconditioning treatments at Northparkes.
Packer systems, each containing down-hole pressure
transducers, were lowered down four holes. Single Fracture Straddle top Fluid Vol.
packers were installed 30m from the collar in one hole at (metres) (m3)
cuddy 6, one in cuddy 4 and one in cuddy 3. A straddle
packer system with a 25m long straddle was installed in 1 79.76 water 11.6
D284 in cuddy 6 with the top of the straddle located
initially at 81.5m. 2 79.76 water 6.4
A geophone used as a receiver for the down-hole seismic 3 99.36 water 7.9
measurements (during the fracturing process) was
lowered down the steepest hole in cuddy 3. 4 93.76 water 10.6
All of the remaining drill holes were used simply as open 5 96.56 water 9.3
holes. Any intersection of the hydraulic fractures with
6 110.56 water 10.3
these holes resulted in water flowing from the hole collars
and provided useful information on both the geometry of 7 79.76 xlinked gel 10.8
the fracture and its propagation rate. 13 96.56 gel/water 12.5
The mine microseismic monitoring system consisted of 16
tri-axial accelerometers and five uni-axial geophones.
Sampling rates for all accelerometers was set at 6 KHz so tiltmeter monitoring and from the stress change cells.
as to ensure the detection of extremely small events. Analysis of the tiltmeter data also provides information
Finally, an array of 19 tiltmeters were installed, 13 were about the fracture volume while the stress change
located on the 9700 mRL level, 5 were located on the monitoring provides information about the stress change
9800mRL level and one was located in a conveyor drive induced by each fracture and the type of fracture growth
on the 9770mRL level. (opening or shear).

6.1 Fracture Pressure Analysis

Analysis of the treating pressure response can be used to
determine the general mode of fracture growth, the amount
of fluid lost from the fracture during the treatment via leakoff,
the pipe friction and fracture entry loss, and the minimum
principal stress magnitude. For example, fracture 13 (Figure
xx) has been analysed in detail. Figure xx contains a G-
function plot of the falloff data from which the pressure
associated with closure of the natural fractures and of the
hydraulic fracture have been determined. Closure of the
natural fractures causes a decrease in the fluid loss rate.
The closure of the hydraulic fracture is a measure of the
minimum principal stress in this part of the rock mass. A
value of 19.2 MPa for the closure stress is indicated.

Figure 3: Isometric view of the 9700 mRL level depicting the

instrumentation layout

6 MONTORING RESULTS

The hydraulic fractures were placed using a straddle

packer tool that exposes 0.5m of the open hole to fracture
pressure. A down hole pressure transducer is located at the
top of the top packer in this tool and measures the fluid
pressure as it enters a 20mm diameter mandrel tube that
carries it into the straddle section. A small pressure drop,
therefore, occurs between the transducer and the open hole
section.
Table 1 provides a summary of the 8 fracture treatments
carried out during the preconditioning experiment. Fractures
9 through 12 are not listed since injection was limited to a
few litres per minute and a higher rate treatment was not
carried out for these injections.
Intersections were recorded for most treatments with
several piezometer, extensometer, and packer monitoring
points. The fracture orientation was obtained from the
Figure 4: Summary of fracture 13 showing bottom-hole
pressure, injection rate, and pressure in monitor hole D284.
The pressure declined throughout the treatment which is
an indication of continued fracture growth with an
approximate radial geometry. The sharp increase in
pressure a D284 corresponds with arrival of the hydraulic
fracture at this monitor hole and provides a direct measure
of the fracture growth rate. The pressure in D284 after the
fracture arrival gives a measure of the pressure in the
hydraulic fracture at this location away from the injection
point. However, loss of fluid from the hole into other
fractures acts as a pressure regulating mechanism which

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 537

means the recorded pressure is only a lower bound on the
pressure in the fracture itself.

Figure 6: History match of fracture treatment 1.

fracture is predicted by the model to grow to a radius of

about 30m and a maximum width at the injection hole of 2.2
mm. Figure xx shows the model-predicted shape of the
fracture, with the center of the fracture moving east of the
Figure 5: Pressure falloff after shut-in of fracture 13. injection point

The efficiency of a fracture treatment is defined as the

ratio at any time of the injected volume to the volume stored
in the fracture itself. Based on analysis of the falloff data, the
fracture efficiency at shut-in for fracture 13 can be estimated
as (Nolte, 1989)

Gc
= , (1)
2 + Gc

where Gc is the value of the G-function at fracture

closure. Using this relationship, an efficiency of 52 percent
is found.

The fracture closure pressure implies a minimum principal

stress of 19.2 MPa which is about 7 MPa higher than the
minimum stress measured by overcoring at the 9700 level
tunnel. Fracture 13 is 84m vertically lower than the elevation
of the overcore test, which is expected to result in an
increase in the sub-vertical minimum stress by about 2.2
MPa. Furthermore, the fracture site is located inside the
diorite dyke which may be acting as a stress concentrator
because of its higher elastic modulus.
In contrast to these effects, there is a decreasing
minimum stress trend across the 80 to 110m interval
fractured. The ISIP (Instantaneous Shut-In Pressure) values
recorded after each fracture show a gradient in the minimum
principal stress exists at this site. The ISIP values are upper
limits for the minimum stress but will reflect the change in
minimum stress with position. The ISIP measured gradient
in stress is minus 0.06 MPa per meter into the hole. Such a
strong gradient is expected to significantly affect the
hydraulic fracture growth, causing the fractures to grow
more in the direction of lower stress. Hence, the fractures
created are expected to have grown along their strike
direction and more to the east than to the west. The
existence of the measured stress gradient is consistent with
a stress shadow caused by the overlying Lift 1 abutments
and mined area (see Figure 1).
Fracture 1 at the site has been history matched using a
pseudo 3D hydraulic fracture model. Figure 6 contains a plot
comparing the modelled and measured data for this
treatment.
Measured pressure and fracture size are shown on this
plot with a reasonable match obtained. A minimum stress of
20 MPa and a rock modulus of 77 GPa were used in the
model, perhaps reflecting the stiffer diorite dyke. The
Figure 7: Plan view of fracture 1 showing biased growth to
the east.
6.2 Tiltmeter Monitoring of Fractures
An array of 19 tiltmeters was deployed to monitor the
hydraulic fractures formed in the rock mass. Each tiltmeter
measures the horizontal gradient of the vertical
displacement at its location. Tiltmeter monitoring of
hydraulic fractures is a commercial service in the petroleum
industry and Pinnacle Technologies provided the tiltmeters
at the site.
As a hydraulic fracture grows and opens, it induces
displacements in the surrounding rock. A tiltmeter located
remote from the fracture will measure the tilt associated with
these displacements. Analysis of such tilt data is an inverse
modelling problem. The goal of the inverse modelling is to
find a fracture with opening and orientation that produces
tilts at all measurement points that are the best fit to the
measured data.
The instruments at Northparkes were located more than
three fracture radii from the hydraulic fracture which means
only fracture volume and orientation can be determined (not
fracture length, width, and height) (Lecampion et al., 2004).

538 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Table 2: Tiltmeter analysis results. The best fit line, using a power law model, is given by:
L = 8.15t 0.46 (2)
Frac Depth Dip Strike Efficiency
(metres) (deg) (deg) % where L is the fracture half-size (radius for a circular
fracture) and t is pumping time in minutes. Hydraulic fracture
1 80 18 E 57 29 growth for ideal geometry models follows a power law
behaviour which is motivated using a power law fit to the
2 80 16 W 136 30 measured data. Equation 2 can be used to determine a
3 99.6 26 E 27 56 pumping time that will produce fractures of a desired size at
Northparkes. This empirical approach can be improved by
4 94 23 E 32 47 fitting individual fracture treatments. A numerical model with
5 96.7 23 E 32 51 parameters that fit the average growth curve can be used to
vary the injection rate and volume as part of a
6 110.7 11 E 80 49
preconditioning design exercise.
7 80 11 E 71 30 Extensometers measurements recorded 0.15 to 0.2 mm
13 96.7 17 E 59 34 of opening during treatments with water and 1 to 1.9 mm of
opening for the crosslinked gel treatment. Measured
maximum pressure response at monitor holes was 19 to
Results from analysis of the tilt data are given in Table 2. 20.4 MPa, which is about equal to the estimated minimum
The Pinnacle and CSIRO analysis of the data gave stress at each depth. It appears likely that other fractures in
essentially similar orientation results and CSIRO results are each monitor hole opened at about this pressure and acted
shown. as pressure regulators. These pressure measurements then
The fractures were found to be subhorizontal and dipping serve to confirm the minimum stress value determined from
to the east in all cases except for fracture 2 which was falloff data and provide a lower limit for the pressure in the
interpreted to dip to the west. However, fracture 1 and 7, at fracture.
the same depth as 2 were both found to dip to the east. The
azimuth strike of the subhorizontal hydraulic fractures is less 6.4 Stress Change Monitoring
well defined by the tilt data than is the dip. A strike to the NE Stress change was measured during each treatment
is consistent with the overcore stress data for the site and using three ANZI stress change cells (Mills, 1997) installed
with local failures in tunnels observed nearby the site. The in a BQ-size borehole drilled just to the north and above the
fracture volume determined from the tilt analysis allows the injection hole. Each cell contains 18 strain gauges on an
fracture treatment efficiency to be calculated. The efficiency inflatable packer that is cemented to the borehole using a
listed in Table xx is the volume of the fracture at the end of special epoxy. More detail of the use of these cells can be
pumping divided by the total fluid volume injected. The found in Mills et al. (2004) in these proceedings.
numerical fracture model history match provides an The stress changes displayed consistent responses to the
estimate of fracture treatment 1 efficiency of 26 percent, start and end of injection for each fracture treatment. The
which compares well with the 29 percent calculated from the magnitude of the maximum stress change observed varied
tiltmeter analysis. from 0.5 to 1.4MPa for distances of 15-40m from the
Tiltmeter monitoring of the fractures provides a reliable fracture plane during the treatments using water. The
method to remotely determine the fracture orientation and maximum stress changes measured for the cross-linked gel
can be used to provide rapid feedback during treatment varied from 2.3 to 3.3MPa at 15-25m from the
preconditioning operations. Fracture growth rate and size fracture plane.
must still be determined by direct measurement at Water treatments resulted in a residual stress change,
monitoring boreholes combined with fracture modelling. measured several hours after the treatment, of about
0.5MPa (0.2-0.6MPa). The cross linked gel treatments
6.3 Fracture Monitoring by Borehole Instruments. resulted in a residual stress change of about 1.5MPa (1.0-
Packers were used to monitor pressure in four holes and 2.1). These residual stresses are expected to have
grouted-in extensometers and piezometers were used in decreased further with time but logging system signal drift
four other holes at Northparkes. These instruments provided did not allow for longer term monitoring.
data on fracture growth rate, pressure and opening. The maximum stress change vector can be used to help
Figure 8 contains a summary of the fracture growth data determine the orientation of the hydraulic fracture. East
obtained from the direct intersection data. dipping subhorizontal hydraulic fractures were consistent with
the orientation of these stress change vectors provided the
hydraulic fractures grew more to the east than west. This
fracture growth mode is supported by the ISIP measurements
and stress gradient discussed in section 6.3 above. The
numerical modelling of fracture 1 took account of this
measured stress gradient, with the result that the fracture
grew more in the east direction as shown in Figure 7.

6.5 Micro Seismics

Figure 8: Measured fracture growth at site.
The flurry of seismic activity associated with hydraulic
fracturing was unexpectedly high and in some cases the
intensity of the activity lead to communication bottlenecks
in the acquisition system resulting in a loss of data. In
addition the system rejection rate (i.e. the number of
associated waveforms defined as noise) proved
significantly higher during the injection period, where a
large number of associated waveforms appeared to
contain more than one event, making processing
ambiguous and consequently leading to the rejection of

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 539

the events. Nevertheless a large number of events were
recorded and processed leading to the following findings,
De Beer and White (2003):
Seismic activity tended to lag breakdown.
The spatial distribution of seismic events do not seem to
cloud along a discrete fracture zone but exhibit a large
degree of scatter, thus suggesting that the fracturing
results in stress redistributions and inelastic deformations
over a large volume (hundreds of metres from the
source). This finding alone holds considerable
implications for preconditioning and particularly the
benefits of hydraulic fracturing as a preferred technique,
but may in part arise because of multiple events close to
the fracture being rejected by the system.
There was a continuation of elevated seismic activity for
approximately 10 days after the hydraulic fracturing.
The calculated Apparent Volume (measure of inelastic
deformation of the rock mass) increased substantially
during fracturing and continued to do so for up to a week
after fracturing. This high deformation rate has since
proved similar to that experienced during the Lift 2, block
cave undercutting process.
The calculated Apparent Stress (measure of stress
change in the rock mass) revealed large stress changes
induced to the rock mass although small when compared
to those associated with undercutting.
6.6 Down-hole Seismics
Down-hole seismic measurements of the treated rock
mass were conducted before, during and after hydraulic
fracturing.
Measurements taken during fracturing revealed that the
travel-time increased, over a distance of 91 metres, by 2.0
ms (ie 6.7 %), De Beer and White (2003). Thus the concept
of a fracture zone where the fracture fluid penetrates,
opens, shears and propagates surrounding fractures
stemming off the primary conduit fracture/s seems to
provide a more plausible explanation than a discrete
fracture. However in contrast to this observation, the
propped fracture at the mine through site was mapped as a
primary single fracture 1 to 2 mm wide at most locations.
Measurements conducted after fracturing continued to
show a reduction in velocity around the fracture zone
although not as pronounced as those measured during
fracturing. The implications of these low velocity regions is
expounded further in subsequent sections.
7 INDUCED ROCK MASS CHANGES
Quantifying induced changes to the rock mass as a
consequence of hydraulic fracture preconditioning can be
demonstrated through various rock mass classification
schemes. The parameters most notably affected are :-
joint frequency (through the introduction of new hydraulic
fractures),
joint condition (through the breaking of rock-bridges,
induced shear and the introduction of pressurised fluids),
and
the stress regime (through increasing pore pressures, the
opening and closing of fracture systems, shearing along
fractures and a reduction of in-situ stress differences ).
Although much effort has been made to measure the
changes to each individual parameter it is difficult to
attribute exact changes to specific parameters. Thus
calculating a preconditioned rock mass rating from
individual parameters, although instructive, is in most cases
speculative. However, quantifying the cumulative affects
induced to the rock mass can be reliably accomplished
through the application of seismic data, namely seismic
profiling and microseismic emissions. Several researchers
540 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
have demonstrated strong correlations between rock mass
characteristics and seismic P-wave velocities (VP) and have
subsequently derived equations which can be used to verify
and validate both individual rock mass parameters and their
cumulative affects.
Barton (1991) established a correlation between Q and
VP, for hard rock below 500m depth where:
Vp = 5.0 + 0.5logQc (3)
Other relationships established between VP and rock
mass parameters include those with RQD and fracture
frequency, e.g. Sjogren, et al. (1979), Palmstrom (1996),
and Tanimoto and Ikeda (1983). In general, VP decreases
with increasing fracture frequency, decreasing RQD,
increasing porosity, decreasing density and increasing fluid
content.
Results from the hydraulic fracturing preconditioning
experiment at Northparkes Mines revealed a decrease in
the post fracturing VP of around 15%. This equates to a
increase in the fracture frequency of between 5-8
fractures/m, a drop in RQD of around 25-30 and a reduction
in Q from around 3.8 to 1.2. A similar change could be
demonstrated using the MRMR system where speculated
changes to the various indices reduced the IRMR from
around 58 to 46. It must be emphasised however that these
induced changes are dependant on the character of the
initial rock mass to begin with, i.e. a highly fractured, weak
rock mass is less likely to be influenced by preconditioning
than sparsely fractured, homogenous hard rock. Boadu
(1997) suggested that once a rock mass has fractured such
that the VP has decreased by approximately 25% of its
intact rock value, it becomes insensitive to further increases
in fracture density. Thus with respect to preconditioning this
finding implies that there is a critical fracture frequency
and\or joint condition value below which preconditioning is
ineffective. However, in terms of improving the caving
characteristics of a rock mass one may argue that a rock
mass insensitive to preconditioning is one which does not
require preconditioning.
8 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS.
The fracture treatments produced subhorizontal fractures
that extended from 30 to 50m from the injection point. The
orientation of the fractures formed was consistent with the
measured stress field. Growth of the fractures was affected
by stress gradients, lithology, and structure in the rock
mass. Borehole monitoring of fracture growth was the only
method tested that directly verified the size of the fracture
created. Microseismic monitoring should be able to be used
for this purpose with modifications to event logging and
analysis. Tiltmeter monitoring provided the best data on
fracture orientation, which was confirmed by stress change
monitoring after accounting for non-symmetrical fracture
growth effects. Stress change monitoring provides a direct
measure of the induced stress around the fractures and can
be used to discriminate between shear and opening mode
fracture growth.
There is no doubt that the measured changes induced to
the rock mass as a direct result of hydraulic fracture
preconditioning are significant and should consequently be
realised through a reduction in primary fragmentation,
improved caveability and enhanced caving rates. Figures 9
and 10 demonstrate examples of the anticipated effects of
preconditioning calculated for the Northparkes experimental
region, from either the introduction of discrete fractures or a
fractured zone, as discussed in the preceding section.
The next stage of preconditioning research should
therefore focus on acquiring cave performance data that
can be used to validate these rock mass changes.
Massmin 2004
Unfortunately the mining industry, with a few exceptions,
has yet to invest in adequate cave propagation and
fragmentation monitoring tools and resources from which
cave performance can be evaluated
Figure 9: The effects of preconditioning demonstrated on
Laubschers Stability Chart (2000).
Figure 10: The effects of preconditioning demonstrated on
primary fragmentation predictions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge Northparkes
Mines, CSIRO Petroleum and the International Caving
Study II for supporting this research. Thanks also to iGeo
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Ltd for their work on the seismic profiling and microseismic
monitoring, Ken Mills for his analysis of the ANZI cells,
Pinnacle Technologies and Brice Lecampion for their
analysis of the tiltmeter data and Tim Fergusson, Kevin
Quinlan and Anthony Coleman for all their work installing
and monitoring the instrumentation and operating the
pumping equipment.
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in site characterisation and tunnel design, International
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Laubscher D H, 2000. The Block Cave Manual, Internal
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Tanimoto, C., Ikeda, K., 1983. Acoustic and mechanical
properties of jointed rock. Proceedings of the 5th
International Congress for Rock Mechanics, pp. 1518.
Palmstrom A (1996) Characterizing rock masses by the
RMI for practical rock engineering. Part 1: The
development of the rock mass index (RMi). Tunnelling
Underground Space Technol ll:l75-188.
Sjgren B. Ovsthus A, Sandberg J (1979) Seismic
classification of rock mass qualities. Geophys Prospect
27(2):409-414
van As, A. and Jeffrey, R.G. 2000. Hydraulic fracturing as
a cave inducement technique at Northparkes. In
Proceedings of MassMin 2000 Conference pp 165-172.
van As, A. and Jeffrey, R.G. 2002 Hydraulic Fracture
growth in naturally fractured rock: Mine-Through mapping
and analysis. NARMS-TAC 2002, Mining and Tunnelling
Innovation and Opportunity. Pp 1461-1469.
De Beer, W and White, H. (2003), Final Report:
Characterisation of the hydrofracture process using
seismic techniques, Northparkes Mine (ICSII). Internal
Report: International Caving Study ICSII.
Mills, K.W. (1997) In situ stress measurement using the
ANZI stress cell. Proceedings of the International
Symposium on Rock Stress, 149-152.
Rotterdam:Balkema.
Mills, K.W., and Jeffrey, R.G. (2004) Remote High
Resolution Stress Change Monitoring near Hydraulic
Fractures, Proceeding of the MassMin 2004 Symposium,
Santiago.
Lecampion, B., 2004. Mapping hydraulic fractures from
tiltmeter measurements at Northparkes E26 mine, CSIRO
Petroleum confidential report No. 04-015, March, 2004.
Nolte, K.G. 1989. Fracturing-pressure analysis, Ch. 14 in
Recent Advances in Hydraulic Fracturing. J. Gidley et al.
editors, Monograph 12, SPE, Richardson.
Boadu, F.K. 1997. Fractured rock mass characterization
and seismic properties: Analytical studies, Journal of
Applied Geophysics 36, 1-19.
541
 New Vision in Caving Mining
in Andina Division, Codelco Chile
Jorge Sougarret, Luis Quiones, Ricardo Morales, Reinaldo Apablaza,
Gerencia de Recursos Mineros y Desarrollo, Andina Division, Codelco Chile

Abstract
Andina Division has a world class ore deposit, with relevant reserves of competent rock. Their mining may be performed
in two ways: one, by conventional mining methods; another, by trying to innovate a different mining option.
Competent rock mining by conventional method shows low productivity at high costs. In this regard
Andina Division has decided to reconsider caving mining in order to make it more attractive at a long term period. A
question comes to our mind, how can we operate over the rock mass previously to the caving in order to get a more
manegeable final product?
Under this scope, we are introducing the experience of Andina Division in the use of a preconditionning technique of the
rock mass by blasting over a competent rock mass. This technique should enable us to develop in a close future from the
present traditional mining method to a high productivity mining method.

1 INTRODUCTION sized equipment, investing in relevant resources in order to

Divisin Andina, disposes of potential reserves at a world
level. Approximately 70% of these are located within a
competent rock environment. This fact should influence the
production capacity of the future mines, comparing it to the
present mining from low to medium competent rocks.
This influence shold be reflected mainly in the folowing
aspects:
- Low caving of the rock mass.
- Low speed in caving propagation.
- Thick fragmenttion.
- Less productivity.
- Operational cost increasement.
So far, the efforts to face the challenges shown by
competent rock mining, have been oriented to affect the
mining designs, aiming to strengthen the pillars by
increasing the extraction network and incorporating large
measure the phenomena involved in this mining, like the
demonstration of efforts and the occurrence of seismic
events.
In this environment, mining engineering areas have
worn out efforts and in a certain way they have inhibited
the actions that may bring a different point of view from
the knowledge reached in this new reality. In fact, the
idea to check the factors involved in competent rock
mining arises. At first, this has produced a technological
break in the way of facing competent rock mining. This
sort of new paradigm for mining, puts into operation the
concept of operating on the rock mass before its mining
and work on it at a point such as to count on a material
that may allow to take up again the standards of a low
cost and large volume mining. Therefore, reach a high
economical afficiency. We can visualize that the point is
to go back to the beginning of the concept of the mininf
method by block caving. This means to take up firmely

Figure 1

542 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 2

the utilization of the gravitational flow in the different The experimental place selected, emerges as a strategic
stages of the extraction systems. measure, to perform a previous process on the rock mass
within a demarcated area, so as to insure its caving.
2 DEVELOPMENT This place is located in the Southwest extreme of the
Third Panel under the following characteristics:
This project can be found in the program of Technological
Innovation in Underground Mining from Codelco. It was Experimental area : 7000 m2
developed by Andina Division and the Mining and RMRL : 65
Metallurgy Investigation Institute IM2, Filial of Codelco, Veins frequency : 3 4 (ff/m3)
Chile. Lithological Units : Granodiorite Ro Blanco and
It is important to emphasize that this operational process Granodiorite Breccia
on the rock mass is focused in identifying the relevant Ro Blanco
factors and then affect them through an action that may Height of the Rock
provoke a weakening of the competent condition. Figure 1 Column Competent : 100 to 150 meters.
This way, through the action of explosives, it is intended
to achieve the weakening of the rock mass. It is not This effort for technological innovation should develop a
expected to be fragmented, as it happens in a "forcing" process that should have a maginal cost, regarding the
operation through free face blastings. It rather leaves the technological alternatives available nowdays.
"processed rock mass" in the proper conditions so that the Within the operational aspects, the project faced the lack
next coming caving may favour the caving propagation. of experience at a national level in the requirement of drilling
Figure 2 in an upwards direction from an underground work, lengthes
over 120 m in a diameter over 5 1/2" .

Figure 3. Figure 4.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 543

 Another relevant challenge concerned the explosives
cargo in an upwards direction. This explosive must
guarantee the maximum efficiency in the reconditionning
process and it must be safely loaded in vertical drillings over
100 m length.
For this purpose a group of tests at a pilot scale were
performed. The main purpose was to determine the principal
parameters that rule the blasting process in a confined
environment, calibrate the numerical models of the blasting
process, visualize and measure the interaction effect of the
stress waves, check and calibrate the electronic blasting
system selected, and improve the blaster system designed
for this process.
The criteria used to design the preconditionning blasting
was to maximize the energy available from the waves of
stress. This indicated to measure a multiple blasting
strategy along the column of explosives and select a
sequency of start that would allow a wave-wave interaction
and/or a wave crack interaction, and finally for safety
reasons, direct the front of reinforced waves towards the
zones distant from the mining substructure.
Figure 5 Interaction wave-crack.
In the process of understanding the interaction
mechanisms of the stress waves produced by the blasting of
a column of explosives, and besides configurating the
optimus blasting strategy, it was necessary to face an
exhaustive study to introduce a numerical tool that could
allow to simulate at its best accuracy the blasting
phenomenon in terms of propagation and interaction of the
stress waves. This was achieved based on an important
number of controled experiences that enabled to calibrate
and validate the numerical tool introduced. (FLAC 2D and
FLAC 3D).
As an explosive, an emulsion especially formulated to
fulfill the requirements of this process, diminishing its
density to1.15 gr/cm3, in order to reduce the hydrostatic
load was selected.
The optimal distance between the starting points was
determined by a numerical simulation for the emulsions
used in this project. The starting points must be placed
every 8 m along the column of explosives. Regarding the
starting time between them, the most convenient
determination should be that every detonation point in the
column should start simultaneously.
3 INDUSTRIAL TEST
Area processed : 7000 m2
Amount of shots : 19
Diameter of the shots : 5 1/2"
Explosive of the Column : Emulsion RS-5
Density: 1.15 gr/cm3
System of Initiation : electronic blasting machine
544 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Amount of Explosives : 29500 Kg.
Length of the Cargo : 85 m
Length of the shots : 100 y 112 metros
Area to be covered : 7000 m2
Time of the blasting : 26 ms
Evaluation of Preconditionning of the Rock Mass.
Fragmentation
The evaluation of this project was focused in the
fragmentation, which is the most representative variable to
measure the impact, in order to settle a comparisson base.
The evaluation of the fragmentation, consisted on a
photographic sample of the draw points in the sector located
in the extreme south of the streets of preconditionning, as
well as in a competent mineral sector not preconditionned
located in the streets 61 and 63. Figure 6.
Figure 6.
These lifts show the following results:
Total tonnage sampled : 1.000.000
N of draw points sampled : 32
Streets evaluated : 4
Figure 7 shows the average curves obtained for each
production street, bearing in mind that the experimental
sector was formed by four production streets, 69, 71, 73, 75
into which streets 71 and 73 are located in the centre of
the preconditionned zone. Additionally to this graphic a
representative curve of competent rock not preconditionned
was included as a reference.
Note that in relative terms, the curves associated to the
streets 69 and 75 are more displaced towards the referring
curve, and represent the limits of the experimental area.
The representative size D80 for the preconditionned rock,
according to Figure 7, varies in a range from 0.70 m to 0.80
m, which is approximately 50% of the size of D80 of a not
preconditionned material.
Figure 8 shows a typical digital image of the
preconditionned material of the experimental sector.
According to the results obtained, it is necessary to mention
in this part, that, there is a 20% of primary rock which
exceeds the value of the result desired of 0.70m or 0.80 m
Nevertheless, the remarkable fact is that no hangings in
height were recorded, as it frequently happens in not
preconditionned materials. The obstructions recorded were
just at a floor level by the interaction of 3 or 4 rubble stones
with sizes that could be handled and reduced without
important operational problems. The image was obtained
from CP-73, Trench 22-W, after approximately 18,000 Tons
passed by the draw point. . The size D80 of this image is
0.83 m, nevertheless, there is one sole rubble stone whose
Massmin 2004
Figure 7.

commonly cover a big part of the draw point, generating in

these cases, hangings at different heights. This brings
difficulties while trying to achieve its reduction. Figure 9
shows a typical digital image obtained from the not
preconditionned sector. In this case the value of the size
D80 is 1.82 m, and the maximum visible size is 2.3 m.
Other measures correspond to the reduction of the
burnings and the light blasts in the draw points. This
diminished in 50%.

Figure 8.

Figure 10.

Figure 9.

largest size is 1.6 m, corresponding to 20% of the oversize

expected.
On the other hand, opposed to the characteristic that
shows a preconditionned competent rock, the not Figure 11.
preconditionned material is usually found in big blocks that

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 545

 Another indicator sampled, coresponds to the entry of the
dilution of this preconditionned area. This is shown in
Figures 10 nd 11. As it may be noted, a delay in the entry of
the dilution regarding similar areas in competent rock takes
place.
4 CONCLUSIONS.
The main results of this experience correspond to:
- The preconditionning technique of a rock mass is possible.
- The results of this project show the possibility to get
important reductions in the fragmentation expected.
- It helps the caving of a competent rock mass.
- It delays the entry of dilution.
- At the beginning of the year 2005, Andina Division starts its
application in a massive way in the extreme North of the
III Panel. Besides, it will evaluate aspects that have not
been deeply discussed, such as the handling of extraction
speed and the impact over the abutment stress.
- It is important to emphasize that the application of this
technique will require a higher control and accuracy in the
planning and operation of this additional front, which is
connected to fronts of development, construction, caving
and extraction.
There is no doubt that according to these data, the
expectations and the potentiality of this technique will lead
to a higher efficiency in the productive system, generating
mechanization alternatives that will favour the productivity
of mining by Panel Caving.
REFERENCES
Amadei, B., and O. Stephansson, Eds. (1997) Rock
Stress and its Measurement. London: Chapman & Hall.
Whittaker, B.N., R.N. Singh, and G. Sun, Eds. (1992)
Rock Fracture Mechanics, Principles, Design and
Applications. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Persson, P., R. Holmberg, and J. Lee, Eds. (1994) Rock
Blasting and Explosives Engineering.Boca Raton: CRC
Press.
Ouchterlony F., Prediction of crack lengths in rock after
cautious blasting with zero interholedealy. FRAGBLAST
International Journal of Blasting and Fragmentation
1(1997):417-444
Stagg, M.S. and J.N. Michael, Influence of blast delay
time on rock fragmentation: onetenth-scale tests. Bureau
of Mines Information Circular IC 9135, Surface Mine
Blasting proceedings: Bureau of Mines Technology
Transfer Seminar, Chicago, IL, April 1987.
Liu, L. And P.D. Katsabanis, A numerical study of the
effects of accurate timing on rock fragmentation. Int. J.
Rock mech. Min. Sci. Vol. 34, No. 5, pp. 817-835, 1997.
Stagg, M.S. and S.A. Rholl. Effects on accurate on
accurate delay on fragmentation for single-row blasting in
546 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
a 6.7 m (22 ft) bench. Proc. 2nd Int. Symp. Rock
Fragmentation and Blasting, eds W. Fourney and R. Dick.
Soc. Exptl. Mech., 1987, 210-223.
Chiappeta, R.F., Precision detonators and their
applications in improving fragmentation, reducing ground
vibration and increasing reliability A look into the future.
Fourth High-Tech Seminar, Blasting Technology,
Instrumentation and Explosives Applications, Nashville,
Tennessee, U.S.A. 20-25 June 1992.
Pyrak-Nolte L. J. And Nolte D. D. Frecuency dependence
of fracture stiffness. Geophys. Res. Lett. 3(19), 325-328
(1992).
Chacn E., E. Lagos, y L. Quiones, Plan Maestro
Proyecto Pre-Acondicionamiento Macizo Rocoso
Primario, Informe interno Divisin Andina / IM2 (2000)
Chacn E., y V. Barrera Plan Maestro Proyecto Pre-
Acondicionamiento Macizo Rocoso Primario, Informe
interno, Divisin El Salvador / IM2 (2001)
INFORME FINAL PROYECTO IM2 18/99 073/01 - 251
- Revisin A Jeffrey R. Hydraulic Fracture Test at El
Salvador Mine Internal Draft Report, Divisin El Salvador
/ IM2 (2002)
Blair D., Minchinton A. (1997), "On the damage zone
surrounding a single blasthole",International Journal of
Blasting and Fragmentation (1): 59-72.
Daehnke A., Rossmanith H.P., Schatz J.F., "On dynamic
gas pressure induced fracturing", International Journal of
Blasting and Fragmentation (1): 73-97.
Hustrulid W. (1999), "Blasting principles for open pit
mining. Volume 2. Theorical foundations", A.A. Balkema,
Rotterdam, 1013p.
Itasca Consulting Group (1998), "FLAC: Fast Lagrangian
Analysis of Continua, Users manual, Version 3.4",
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Kouzniak N., Rossmanith H.P. (1998), "Supersonic
detonation in rock mass Analytical solutions and
validation of numerical models Part 1: stress analysis",
International Journal of Blasting and Fragmentation (2):
449-486.
Liu L., Katsabani P. D. (1997), "A numerical study of the
effects of accurate timing on rock fragmentation", Int. J.
Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Vol. 34, No 5, pp. 817-835
Lorig L. (1997), "Fundamentals of mining geodynamics",
SIMIN 97 (Proceedings of the Conference, August 1997),
Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Departamento de
Ingeniera de Minas, Santiago, pp 161-174.
Minchinton A:, Lynch P. M. (1997), "Fragmentation and
heave modelling using a coupled discrete element gas
flow code", International Journal of Blasting and
Fragmentation (1): 41-57.
Rossmanith H.P., Uenishi K., Kouzniak N. (1997), "Blast
wave propagation in rock mass Part I: monolithic
medium", International Journal of Blasting and
Fragmentation (1): 317-359.
Massmin 2004
 Remote high resolution stress change
monitoring of hydraulic fractures
K.W. Mills, SCT Operations Pty Ltd, Australia
R.G. Jeffrey, CSIRO Petroleum, Australia

Abstract
This paper describes the use of strain gauge based borehole instruments to monitor stress changes associated with the creation
and extension of hydraulic fractures in massive rock strata at Northparkes Mine in Australia and Salvador Mine in Chile. This work
was conducted as part of the International Caving Study ICSII. These instruments proved very sensitive to the stress changes
induced by the hydraulic fractures close to the fracture plane. Analysis of the stress changes observed allowed the fracture
orientation and non-symmetric fracture growth to be constrained sufficiently that a clearer insight into fracture behaviour could be
obtained at both sites, particularly when combined with other observations. Recognition of the elastic stress reorientation about
an opening mode hydraulic fracture has proved to be an important element in the interpretation of stress change monitoring data.
The nature of the stress reorientation is useful in discriminating between opening and shearing mode fracture growth. A technique
of identifying a range of possible solutions of fracture orientation and non-symmetric fracture growth consistent with the stress
changes observed on multiple instruments has been developed. Unique definition of fracture orientation from the stress change
instruments is possible if the instruments are sufficiently distributed relative to the hydraulic fracture plane.

1 INTRODUCTION

This paper describes the use of strain gauge based

borehole instruments to monitor stress changes associated
with the creation and extension of hydraulic fractures in
massive rock strata at Northparkes E26 Mine in Australia
and Salvador Mine in Chile.
The stress change monitoring described in the paper was
one of several monitoring systems used to measure the
behaviour of hydraulic fractures at two field sites as part of
the International Caving Study ICSII. The stress change
monitoring described is a new method to monitor hydraulic
fracture growth to obtain stress change and fracture
orientation information. Further details of the other work
conducted at the two sites are presented elsewhere in these
proceedings (van As et al. 2004, Chacon et al. 2004).
The operation of the stress monitoring instruments, their
in situ calibration and analysis procedure are common to
Figure 1 (a): Epoxy cement being applied to one of the two
both sites and these are described first. The installations,
ANZI cells installed in each hole.
results and implications for the hydraulic fracture behaviour
are then described for each site.

2 INSTRUMENTATION AND ANALYSIS PROCEDURE

ANZI stress cells are strain gauge based stress change

monitoring instruments. Their operation is described in
detail by Mills (1997). Each instrument comprises eighteen
electrical resistance strain gauges of various orientations.
The instrument is internally inflated using air pressure to
press the strain gauges into contact with the rock until an
epoxy cement coating applied to the outside of the
instrument has cured. Figure 1 shows a photograph of one
of the instruments during installation at Salvador Mine.
ANZI stress cells are able to be tested in situ prior to the
commencement of monitoring, and subsequently if required,
to check their correct operation and determine the
equivalent stiffness of the rock into which they were
installed. This process gives a field calibration that takes
into account cable lengths, temperature effects and the data Figure 1 (b): Installation of the instrument into the
logging system. monitoring hole
The internal pressure of the instruments is incremented
in stages from the initial set pressure and back again while case a high initial set pressure was necessary to inflate the
the instruments are being continuously logged. In each instrument against the hydraulic head in the water filled

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 547

borehole plus provide sufficient pressure to bond the strain
gauges to the rock.
Figure 2 shows the pressure test results for one of the
instruments installed at Northparkes as an example. The
pressure test shows that the instrument is operating
correctly. The six circumferential gauges go into tension
and the axial gauges going slightly into compression as the
pressure was incremented. Any individual gauges that are
identified as being not properly bonded to the rock or
bonded across joints can be ignored in the subsequent
analysis.
Figure 2: Pressure test results - NPK7.
The thick black line in Figure 2 indicates an equivalent
stiffness or modulus for the instrument. The monitoring
results have been analysed using this equivalent modulus.
It should be recognised that the equivalent modulus can not
be determined with a high degree of precision because of
the low strain magnitudes involved. The effect of an error in
the modulus reflects on the magnitude of the stress changes
determined but not the orientation of the stress tensor.
The strain changes measured on the data logger during
each hydraulic fracture treatment were recorded at a
resolution of 1V and a signal noise level of about 5V with
occasional electrical interference spikes of 100V.
The data was prepared, before analysis, in four stages. A
reference gauge located within each instrument but not
subject to any strain changes was used to eliminate
systematic strain changes in the cable and data logger
system. Electrical spikes were then removed from the
record and replaced with the strain values from the previous
scan. A triangular, moving average filter of two minute
duration was applied to the smooth out random variation.
The stress changes were then determined every 10 minutes
by averaging strains over a four minute interval.
The determination of the stress field uses a standard
multiple linear regression analysis. Multiple strain readings
are analysed statistically to give a best fit estimate of the
stress field. This process is standard for reduction of
borehole strains to determine stress changes. An important
characteristic of this process is that a statistical correlation
between redundant strain gauges gives an indication of the
confidence that can be placed in each result.
3 STRESS CHANGE MONITORING AT
NORTHPARKES MINE
3.1 Site Description
Figure 3 shows the locations of the stress change
monitoring hole, the instruments and the hydraulic fracture
treatments conducted at Northparkes Mine.
548 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 3: Location of stress change monitoring instruments
at Northparkes.
Three ANZI stress cells were installed in a single BQ hole
drilled from Drill Cuddy 5 on 9700 Level. The instruments
were installed at depths of 83m, 76.3m and 69.7m
respectively in a borehole dipping at 39 from horizontal at
an orientation of 112-115GN.
The hydraulic fracture treatments were conducted in a
hole collared 0.75m from the stress monitoring hole, dipping
56 and oriented at 119GN.
Table 1 summarises the timing of the hydraulic fractures
and the injection details. Injections not listed either did not
result in breakdown or were associated with reopening
existing fractures to allow intersections in monitoring holes
to be located. The stress cells were not monitored during
these injections.
The three stress monitoring instruments are located 14-
48m above and 5-20m laterally from the initiation point of
the hydraulic fractures.
The full three dimensional stress field had previously been
measured at the site using ANZI stress cells and the
overcoring method of stress relief (Mills 2002).
The results of these measurements indicated that at this
site the major horizontal stress is dipping 5 at 132GN with
the minor principal stress dipping 67 at 235GN. The
vertical stresses are slightly less than the anticipated weight
of overburden consistent with the proximity of the site to the
extraction in the overlying block cave.
3.2 Results
Figures 4 and 5 summarise the results from one
instrument (NPK5) for two treatments, Fracture 1 and
Fracture 7. Both these treatments were conducted at the
Massmin 2004
 Table 1: Summary of the Hydraulic Fracture Treatments

Frac Date Injection Period Straddle Interval Injection Fluid

(m)

1 25/09/2002 11:09-11:45 79.76-80.26 Water

3 27/09/2002 12:56-13:37 99.36-99.86 Water
4 28/09/2002 17:42-18:12 93.76-94.26 Water
5 29/09/2002 10:36-11:08 96.56-97.06 Water
6 29/09/2002 16:19-17:02 110.56-111.06 Water
7 1/10/2002 9:50-10:34 79.76-80.26 x-linked gel
13 3/10/2002 9:24-10:02 96.56-97.06 water/broken gel

Figure 4: Stress changes measured by NPK5 during Hydraulic Fracture 1 at Northparkes.

same location in the injection borehole, one using water as
the injection fluid and the other using cross-linked gel. Each
of the figures is plotted on a consistent time base.
Figure 4a is a record of the hydraulic fracture treatment.
Figure 4b is a record of the strain readings on all the strain
gauges after pre-processing to remove electrical spikes and
application of the moving average filter. Figure 4c shows
the vertical stress change calculated for the strains
averaged over a four minute interval every ten minutes.
Figure 4d shows the horizontal stress change components
plotted as they would appear if projected onto a horizontal
plane at the same stress scale as the vertical stresses.
These stress monitoring results show a high degree of
internal correlation with the correlation coefficient
approaching 1.00 once the stresses begin to change. Other
characteristics that increase confidence in the results are:
The timing of the stress changes correlates closely with
the start and end of the hydraulic fracture treatments.
The orientation of the stress changes is consistent across
all three instruments.
The alignment of the stress vectors appears to be broadly
consistent with the expected orientation of the hydraulic fracture.
In each treatment there are four clearly defined stages.
There is a steady state of essentially zero stress change
before the treatment starts.
The vertical stress increases almost immediately after
each treatment commences. Changes in strain are
apparent within one minute of the commencement of
pumping.
A peak is reached and the stress change induced in the rock
remains steady. The peak is typically in the range 0.7-1.4MPa
for the water treatments at a distance approximately normal to
the fracture plane of 15-30m. When this distance is greater
than about 30m, the peak vertical stress is consistently lower at
0.5-0.8MPa. In the gel treatment (Fracture 7), the peak vertical
stress indicated is 2.3-3.3MPa with the stress change
decreasing with distance away from the fracture plane.
Once pumping stops, there is a gradual decay in
pressure. The rate of the pressure decrease reduces over
time in the form of a classical decay curve. Logging typically
only continued for 1-2 hours after pumping stopped. By the
time logging is discontinued, the residual vertical stress is in
the range 0.4-0.6MPa for the water treatments and 1.1-
2.1MPa for the gel treatment.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 549

Figure 5: Stress changes measured by NPK5 during Hydraulic Fracture 7 at Northparkes.

Table 2 summarises the maximum principal stress
orientation for the last stress change calculated prior to the
cessation of pumping for each treatment that was
monitored. These measurements give an indication of the
hydraulic pressure in the fracture and the orientation of the
hydraulic fracture.
The observation that the major stress change is sub-
vertical, while the horizontal stress changes are small by
comparison, is consistent with the hydraulic fractures
forming on a sub-horizontal plane. A plane of this
orientation is consistent with the measured in situ stress
field at the site and further corroborated by borehole
intersection and tiltmeter measurements.
3.3 Fracture Orientations Based on Stress Orientations
The orientation of the major stress change vectors is
expected to provide an indication of the dip and dip direction
of the hydraulic fractures once the fracture becomes large
relative to the distance of instruments from the fracture
initiation point.
Figure 6 shows the compressive principal stress vectors
that would be expected from modelling of a hydraulic
fracture in an elastic, isotropic, homogeneous half space.
Close to the centre of the hydraulic fracture, the
compressive stress change component is oriented normal
to the fracture plane. However, toward the fracture tip and
at greater distance from the fracture plane, there is a
tendency for rotation of the stress change component
outward and therefore away from the fracture plane.
The hydraulic fractures at Northparkes are estimated to
have grown to a maximum radius of 30 to 50m. Assuming
a 40m radius fracture, the stress cells are located on the
diagonal shown in Figure 6 at the time of maximum fracture
extent (assuming the hydraulic fractures are sub-
horizontal).
A process of matching the stress changes measured with
the stress changes modelled allows a number of admissible
orientations to be determined. The number of admissible
orientations based on the stress change measurements is a
function of the spatial relationships of the stress change

Table 2: Summary of Measured Stress Changes at Nearest Time Period Analysed

Prior to Maximum Extent of Each Hydraulic Fracture Being Reached

Frac Time NPK5 NPK6 NPK7

Stress Dip /Brg Stress Dip /Brg Stress Dip /Brg
(MPa) (MPa) (MPa)

1 11:40 1.41 74/244 0.93 81/212 0.69 86/253

3 13:30 1.27 75/103 1.08 64/114 0.50 60/117
4 18:10 1.43 80/65 1.34 71/100 0.78 68/109
5 11:00 1.28 77/73 1.22 67/98 0.61 66/105
6 17:00 0.84 64/133 1.38 53/125 0.57 51/123
7 10:30 3.27 67/291 2.90 77/301 2.25 77/261
13 10:00 1.59 86/122 1.67 71/113 0.92 72/123

550 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Table 3: Admissible Hydraulic Fracture Orientations
on a Plane Striking 117GN Based on Stress Change
Measurements

Frac Assumed Fracture Plausible

No Radius Offset Fracture
(m) To East 1 Orientation
(m) ()

12 40 0 7W
40 8 2E

3 40 0 50W
40 26 10E
25 21 3E

4 40 0 42W
40 26 7E
25 20 10E

5 40 0 47W
Figure 6: Compressive stress vectors about a horizontal
40 26 7E
hydraulic fracture.
25 17 10E
instruments to the hydraulic fracture, the size of the 6 40 0 No fit possible
hydraulic fracture and the symmetrical or otherwise growth 40 24 30E
of the hydraulic fracture about the initiation point. 60 0 60W
Table 3 summarises some of the admissible orientations
indicated by the stress change measurements for each of 7 40 0 7E
the hydraulic fracture treatments. These orientations are 40 14 29E
based on the assumption that the fracture plane passes 60 0 11E
through the injection point (i.e. there are no bypasses 25 No fit possible
through other holes or fracture cross-over).
While there are other combinations of fracture size, fracture 13 40 0 34W
orientation and non-concentric growth that would fit the stress 40 20 5E
orientation data from each measurement, other independent 25 7 50W
information narrows the possibilities. For instance, a fracture
radius of about 40m is indicated by intersection and modelling
data, so this is assumed as a first pass. 1 The fracture offset is a measure of the degree of non-
The fracture orientation that would fit the stress symmetric growth of an assumed circular fracture relative
orientation assuming concentric fracture growth is shown in to the injection point along the plane of the fracture.
the first instance. The fracture orientation that would fit 2 There is significant component of dip out of the projection
assuming some non-symmetric growth of the hydraulic plane for Fracture 1 so the dips in the plane are less
fracture about the injection point is also shown for a fracture meaningful.
plane that is dipping slightly to the east. The orientations
that would be consistent with other different sized fracture If only concentric fracture growth is assumed, then the
are also shown. stress change orientations from all the deeper treatments
The results presented in Table 3 suggest that in general (all those except Fracture 1 and Fracture 7) are not
the stress changes measured support an east dipping consistent with east dipping hydraulic fractures. The data
fracture only if there is some possibility of non-concentric would only be consistent with west dipping fractures at dips
fracture growth. Only the stress changes observed during of between 34 and 50. There does not appear to be any
Fracture 7, the crosslinked gel treatment, are consistent other observations that support fracture growth of this
with an east dipping fracture without there being a orientation so the implication is that the water fractures did
requirement for some non-concentric (or possibly non- not grow symmetrically about the injection point.
circular) fracture growth. Independent measurements using tiltmeters (van As et al.
In a pre-mining stress environment, the vertical stress 2004) indicate that fractures formed were sub-horizontal
would tend to increase with depth and therefore the with an east dip, but the size and shape of the fractures
preferred fracture growth direction would be to the west (up cannot be determined independently from the tiltmeter data.
dip in an east dipping fracture), although it is recognised that Fracture 7 is not particularly sensitive to the size of the
the effect would be small in a shallow dipping fracture. hydraulic fracture and this fracture appears to have grown
However, at the trial site, the extraction of the Lift 1 orebody concentrically about the injection point. The stress change
above is expected to have significantly lowered the vertical data supports a fracture radius of about 40m, but the
stress to the east of the trial site. fracture radius could be as low as about 30m (no match was
In fact, measurements of fracture shut-in pressure, after possible at 25m) or upwards of 60m. The concentric growth
each treatment at the site show a reduction in the shut-in is thought likely to be a consequence of the higher viscosity
pressure with increasing depth down the hole. This data of the cross-linked gel fluid.
implies a stress gradient exists with lower stress occurring Principal stress change magnitudes shown in Table 3
down dip and to the east (van As et al., 2004). Therefore, it indicate that the water injections generate smaller stress
is considered quite likely that a hydraulic fracture would changes in the rock mass than did the gel injections as
preferentially grow toward this lower stress (i.e. in an would be expected. It should be noted that the hydraulic
easterly direction). pressure in the fracture may be slightly greater than

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 551

indicated because of the distance the monitoring points are
from the plane of the hydraulic fracture.

4 STRESS CHANGE MONITORING

AT SALVADOR MINE CHILE

4.1 Site Description

Figure 7 shows the layout of the monitoring site at 2600
Level in Inca East sector at Salvador Mine. The locations of
the stress change monitoring holes, the instruments and the
hydraulic fracture treatments are shown.
Four ANZI stress cells were installed in two BQ boreholes.
These instruments were installed at depths of 37.39m and
39.90m in borehole S1 and 41.13m and 44.31m in borehole
S2. Hole S1 dips at 59 from horizontal at an orientation of
85GN. S2 dips 58 from horizontal at an orientation of
89GN.
The hydraulic fracture treatments were conducted in a
hole HF02 collared midway between the stress monitoring
holes. This hole also dips 59 and is oriented at 87GN.

Figure 8: Stress changes measured by CODI during

Hydraulic Fracture 10 at Salvador Mine (Chile).

Table 4 summarises the timing of the hydraulic fractures

and the injection details.

4.2 Results
Figure 7: Location of stress change monitoring instruments Figure 8 summarise the stress changes measured during
at Salvador Mine (Chile) Fracture 7 on COD1.

552 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Table 4: Summary of the Hydraulic Fracture Treatments

Frac Date Injection Period Straddle Interval (m) Injection Fluid

1 26/11/2002 10:50-11:20 57.55-58.05 Water

2 27/11/2002 14:44-15:15 66.55-67.05 Water
3 28/11/2002 11:28-11:52 51.55-52.05 Water
4 29/11/2002 11:13-11:30 51.55-52.05 X-linked gel
5 29/11/2002 14:22-14:45 54.55-55.05 Linear gel
6 30/11/2002 10:56-11:16 60.55-61.05 Water
7 1/12/2002 13:07-13:25 63.55-64.05 X-linked gel
8 2/12/2002 16:12-16:41 117.55-118.05 X-linked gel
9 3/12/2002 13:13-15:00 111.55-112.05 Linear gel
10 4/12/2002 12:08-12:31 57.55-58.05 X-linked gel

The stress monitoring results show a high degree of
internal correlation with the correlation coefficient
approaching 1.00.
The observation that the major stress change is sub-
horizontal, while the vertical and other horizontal stress
changes are small by comparison, is consistent with the
hydraulic fractures forming in a sub-vertical plane. There is
corroborating evidence from other measurements made at
the site that this is indeed the case.
The hydraulic fractures at Salvador Mine are estimated to
have grown to a maximum radius of approximately 40 to
50m based on the length of injection and the timing of
various intersections. The principal stress changes are
expected to be approximately normal to the plane of the
hydraulic fracture when the fracture is at maximum extent.
Table 5 summarises the maximum principal stress
orientation for the last stress change calculated prior to the
cessation of pumping. These measurements give an
indication of the maximum hydraulic pressure in the fracture
and the orientation of the hydraulic fracture.
No stress changes were perceptible in the results for
Fractures 8 and 9. These treatments were conducted at a
much lower horizon for other purposes. The correlations on
some of the results from COD4 were too low to give
meaningful indications of the stress orientations.
Assuming that the maximum stress changes are oriented
approximately normal to the plane of the hydraulic fractures,
the measured stress changes indicate that all the hydraulic
fractures except Fracture 7 are dipping to the west (normal
to the plane oriented at 87GN) at about 15 from vertical.
The fracture plane orientations appear to be much more
consistent in the vicinity of stresscells COD1 and COD2
than in the vicinity of the other two instruments.
Nevertheless, the average orientation indicated by COD3
and COD4 is still essentially the same as indicated by COD1
and COD2, and the scatter may be a result of more variable
behaviour in the rock mass in the vicinity of COD3 and
COD4. However, other measurements indicate only limited
growth of the hydraulic fractures occurred to the south of
HF02 (Chacon et al., 2004)
The different orientation observed in Fracture 7 is
apparent in all four instruments. Fracture 7 was a new
hydraulic fracture using cross-linked gel as the injection fluid
and it would appear from the stress monitoring results that it
grew predominantly in a northerly direction toward COD1
and COD2.
Fractures 1, 2, 3 and 6 are all water treatments and the
maximum stress change from these treatments are all
closely aligned dipping 12 at 80GN 4 in the vicinity of
COD1 and COD2.
Fractures 4, 5 and 10 also show similar alignment to each
other. These are either linear gel treatments (Fracture 5) or
cross-linked gel treatments injected into pre-existing
hydraulic fractures. These tend to be aligned more easterly
with the stress changes dipping 13 at 90GN. Fracture 7 is
a cross-linked gel treatment injected into a previously

Table 5: Summary of Measured Stress Changes (_1) at Nearest Time Period Analysed Prior
To Maximum Extent of Each Hydraulic Fracture being Reached

Frac Time COD1 COD2 COD3 COD4

1 Dip 1 Dip 1 Dip 1 Dip
MPa /Brg MPa /Brg MPa /Brg MPa /Brg

1 11:20 0.47 11/80 0.93 12/84 0.85 12/90 1.0 4/80

2 15:10 0.95 14/79 0.97 11/84 0.54 8/78 -
3 11:50 0.97 15/85 1.2 16/89 0.90 22/110 1.6 6/113
4 11:30 1.8 15/90 2.1 13/94 1.6 11/103 2.1 3/107
5 14:40 1.5 15/92 1.7 12/96 0.39 23/61 0.98 29/75
6 11:10 0.92 17/81 0.90 13/84 0.67 29/73 0.46 12/56
7 13:20 0.59 49/85 0.91 43/86 0.34 37/50 0.42 42/38
8 16:40 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 -
9 15:00 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 -
10 12:30 1.8 12/89 2.0 9/92 1.7 7/87 2.0 9/71

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 553

untreated section of the borehole. This fracture dips at 30
from vertical with the normal aligned at 87GN.
The average results for all four instruments indicate
westward dipping hydraulic fracture that dip at an average
of about 15 from vertical.
5 FRACTURE GROWTH AND STRESS CHANGE
The stress change around a hydraulic fracture can be
obtained from analytical solutions for certain fracture
geometries. The stress change around a circular or penny-
shaped fracture that is uniformly pressurised (Sneddon,
1946) has been used in this section to compare the
modelled and measured stress change.
If the fracture growth is assumed to occur symmetrically
about the injection point, then the stress change at the
location of any instruments is easily found as the fracture
grows from an initially small radius to a radius much larger
than the distance separating the instruments from the
injection point. The stress change for such symmetric
growth is found by tracking along a straight line running from
the centre of the model fracture outward at an angle to the
fracture plane that passes through the location of the
instrument. This line is shown in Figure 6. When the
fracture is small relative to the distance to the instrument,
the stress change corresponds to points located at large r/R
on this line. Conversely, as the fracture grows r/R
decreases.
Figure 9: Stress changes measured and modelled for
Fracture 10 at Salvador Mine (Chile).
The stress change can be calculated along such a line
and both the stress change magnitude and orientations can
be compared to the measured stress changes. Such a
calculation has been carried out for Fracture 10 at Salvador
and is shown in Figure 9.
The relative distance r/R has been translated into a time
by using the fracture growth relationship established by
direct measurement of fracture growth at this site. The
growth relationship is:
R = 7.56t 0.55 (1)
Equation 1 can be rewritten as:
1
R 0.55
t = (2)
7.56
The model results are calculated in terms of r/R, where r
is the distance between the injection point and the location
554 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
at which the stress change is measured. Figure 9 compares
the measured and modelled data after applying equation 2
to obtain a time from the start of fracture growth for the
modelled data. The model assumes the fracture strikes
north-south and dips at 80o to the west. A uniform pressure
of 2MPa was used inside the model fracture to obtain the fit
shown. Pressure falloff after shut in is not modelled. The fit
to the stress magnitudes is reasonable considering the
assumptions used and the orientation fit to the orientation of
the maximum stress change is quite good and also shows
the sensitivity of this measured parameter to fracture growth
and flow back. The magnitude of the secondary principal
stress change, which corresponds to the north-south stress
change, is overestimated by the model suggesting the
Poissons ratio used for this calculation may be too high.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The stress changes observed are consistent in terms of
timing and magnitude with the commencement and
cessation of pumping in all the hydraulic fracture treatments.
The stress changes orientations are consistent across the
instruments at both sites when elastic stress distributions
about hydraulic fractures are taken into account.
At Northparkes, the initial stress monitoring results
indicate that the hydraulic fractures have formed in a sub-
horizontal plane, consistent with the in situ stress
measurements made at the site using the overcoring
method of stress relief. The orientations of the hydraulic
fractures are not able to be uniquely defined using only the
stress monitoring information because of the locations of the
instruments relative to the fracture plane and the directions
that the fractures have grown.
Nevertheless, the stress change monitoring constrains
the possible fracture orientations to only a few possibilities.
Using other information, these possibilities are further
constrained to give a unique result. The measurements
indicate that all the hydraulic fractures dip gently to the east
at an orientation consistent with the in situ stress field at the
site, but the fractures have grown non-symmetrically in a
down dip direction consistent with the stress geometry
expected about the overlying block cave.
The magnitude of the stress change measured is
consistent with the nature of the injection fluid. For water
treatments, the magnitude of the stress change observed
was about 0.5-1.4MPa for distances of 15-40m from the
fracture plane. For the cross-linked gel, the stress changes
measured were 2.3-3.3MPa at 15-25m from the fracture
plane.
The pressures locked into the fracture at the completion
of the treatment were also reflective of the nature of the
injection fluid. In water treatments, the residual stress
change observed several hours after the treatment was
complete was typically about 0.5MPa (0.2-0.6MPa). For the
cross linked gel treatments, the residual stress change was
about 1.5MPa (1.0-2.1).
At Salvador Mine, the initial stress monitoring results
indicate that the hydraulic fractures are generally westward
dipping at an average dip of about 15 from vertical.
A detailed model of the stress change associated with
Fracture 10 produced a good fit to the measured data and
illustrated the sensitivity of the orientation of the maximum
stress change vector to fracture growth relative to the
position of the stress change monitoring instruments.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The fieldwork described in this paper was conducted as
part of the International Caving Study (ICSII) with additional
support provided by Salvador Mine and Northparkes Mine.
The analysis of the stress change data undertaken to date
Massmin 2004
has also been supported by CSIRO Petroleum and SCT
Operations Pty Ltd. The authors gratefully acknowledge the
support of all of these groups.
REFERENCES
Chacon, E, Barrera, V, Jeffrey, RG, and van As, A, 2004.
Hydraulic fracturing used to precondition ore and reduce
fragment size for block caving, Proceedings of the
MassMin 2004 symposium, Santiago, August 22-25.
Mills, KW, 1997. In situ stress measurements using the
ANZI stress cell, Proceedings of the International
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Symposium on Rock Stress, edited by Sugawara and
Obara, Kumamoto 7-10 October 1997, published by A.A.
Balkema. pp 149-154.
Mills, KW, 2002. SCT Report to Northparkes Mine In Situ
Stress Measurements 9700 Level and Lift 2 Decline.
Sneddon, IN, 1946. The distribution of stress in the
neighbourhood of a crack in an elastic solid, Proceedings
Royal Soc. Of London, 229-260.
van As, A and Jeffrey, RG, 2004. Preconditioning by
hydraulic fracturing for block caving in a moderately
stressed naturally fractured orebody, Proceedings of the
MassMin 2004 symposium, Santiago, August 22-25.
555
556 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Chapter 15
Seismicity & Rock Bursts
558 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Design and implementation
of seismic monitoring systems
in a block-cave environment
Hylton White, Willem de Beer, Hamish White, iGeo Ltd, P O Box 58-598, Greenmount, Auckland, New Zealand
Andre van As, AVA Mine Geotechnical Services, Kenmore, Queensland
David Allison, Northparkes Mines, Australia

Abstract
Seismic monitoring provides quantitative information on the rock mass response throughout the various stages of the
block-caving lifecycle. This includes the monitoring of:
seismicity which may effect the stability of excavations during the early development and construction phase,
pillar stability and abutment stresses during the undercutting phase,
seismically active structures,
cave propagation and,
subsidence effects (i.e. cave angle) as the cave walls break back, possibly influencing surrounding excavations.
Due to the significant role that seismic monitoring can play during the various phases of the cave lifecycle, it is imperative
that mine development and seismic system installation be done in parallel. Consequently, system design must be
undertaken very early in the mine-planning stage, with close interaction between mine planners and seismologists to
ensure adequate access for the system installation. System design must consider all aspects of the evolution of the
mine, including relocation of subsystems as requirements change, as well as shadowing effects of the cave itself. This
includes sensor selection (geophone and/or accelerometers), sensor placement (which controls location accuracy and
system sensitivity), communications and cabling requirements, hardware and software selection, and system
documentation and reporting procedures. In particular, it is imperative that documentation systems (both during
installation and operation) provide a traceable and auditable record of the seismic system performance and operational
status in addition to recording the mine seismicity. This is of paramount importance in the mining environment, as system
performance (availability of seismometers and sensors) can influence the perceived levels of seismicity. Such system-
related effects must be taken into account to ensure the accurate quantitative interpretation of seismic source
parameters related to the mining activity and rock mass behaviour.

1. INTRODUCTION Seismic monitoring allows one to quantify the rock mass

Seismic monitoring provides a direct method for rock mass
characterization during the various stages of mining in a block-
caving environment. Section 2 of this paper discusses the
information that can be gleaned from seismic monitoring at the
different stages of mining. Section 3 discusses the system
design and implementation principles essential to achieving a
robust monitoring environment, both from a Health and Safety,
and a rock mass characterization perspective.
2. WHAT DOES SEISMIC MONITORING ACHIEVE?
Specific objectives of seismic monitoring in a block-caving
environment include:
Monitor seismic events related to induced stress
concentrations on the undercut level, extraction level
pillars and major excavations in a block cave mine at
different stages of mining.
Monitor seismic events related to cave propagation and
the definition of the active seismogenic zone above the
cave back.
Monitor seismic events related to preconditioning or
possible cave induction.
response to mining, and can yield the following information:
2.1. Location and magnitude of seismic events
At the very least, seismic monitoring indicates the
magnitude and location of seismic events within the mine.
This is the most common application for seismic monitoring;
however magnitude is at best a summary number that
conveys the relative intensity of a seismic event.
2.2. Largest Likely Event
Seismic event magnitudes can be quantified in terms of
the Gutenberg-Richter Distribution (GRD). In equation form
this reads:
LogN ( mL) = a bmL (1)
N ( mL) is the expected number of events greater than
local magnitude mL, and a and b are constants (Gutenberg
and Richter (1949)). Equation (1) states that a seismic event
larger than magnitude mL is 10b times more likely to happen
than a seismic event with magnitude larger than mL + 1.
Typically, b U1.5. Therefore, an event of magnitude would
be times more likely to occur than an event of magnitude

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 559

mL 0 would be 101.5 U 31 times more likely to occur than Table 1: Rock mass behaviour during undercutting
en event of magnitude mL 1.
The value where N = 1, is the (extrapolated) one event Period mm/yy Observation
with expected largest magnitude. In other words, if
everything else stays the same, this provides a measure 03/03 d - and b -values oscillate, not
of the possible "largest" event to be expected within the necessarily in phase: First changes
mine. in stress redistribution
04/03 05/03 Substantial increase in d - and b -
values, and activity rate. Increase in
rate of cave development. The initial
redistribution of stress in the intact
rock surrounding the cave causes the
stiffness to increase.
05/03 09/03 d - and b -values decreasing.
Reduction in stiffness accompanied
by events having comparatively
greater seismic moments
(i.e. larger deformations).
10/03 d - and b -values increasing,
coincident with ramp-up in
undercut firing.
11/03 02/04 d - and b -values decreasing together
with activity rate as undercut firing
ceases.

2.4. Time series

Figure 1: Gutenberg-Richter distribution of seismic activity.
The extent of the linear best fit line (mL = 2.6 and mL = 0.5)
provides the magnitude limits in which seismic events are
accepted for further analysis.
2.3. Rock mass stiffness
Apart from magnitude, a seismic event can be further
quantified in terms of numerous "source parameters".
Among these are the Radiated Seismic Energy and the
Seismic Moment . It is possible to fit a straight line to the
energy-moment distribution:
Several other source parameters can be used to monitor
the rock mass response to mining. These include the
Cumulative Apparent Volume (CAV) and Energy Rating. The
CAV provides a measure of the deformation within the rock
mass. It is intuitive that generally the greater the amount of
seismic activity, the more deformation there will be. This is
evidenced in Figure 3 by increasing CAV coincident with
peaks in activity rate.
Energy rating gives a measure of the amount of energy
released by a specific seismic event having a given moment
Table 2: Characterisation of rock mass response
based on comparison of energy rating and CAV
as a function of time (derived from Mendecki
(1996) and Mendecki et al (2000)).

LogE = dLogM + c (2) Energy Rate of Characterization

Rating change of CAV
Seismic Moment provides a measure of the deformation Increasing Little or "Brittle" or
associated with a seismic event, while Radiated Seismic no change / very stiff
Energy provides a measure of the stress release at the decreasing
source. Therefore the -value can be viewed as a modulus
or stiffness (Mendecki et al (2000)). Increasing Constant, Creep / soft:
The slope of the GRD (b-value) indicates the higher rate Linear regime
proportion of small to large events and is also an of change where stress
indicator of system stiffness. An increasing d -value release is
together with an increasing b-value indicates a stiffening accompanied by
regime, where stress release is by comparatively more concomitant
small fractures. Conversely, a decreasing d-value deformation
together with a decreasing b-value slope may indicate a Decreasing Increasing Plastic:
softening regime, where stress release is by Successively
comparatively more large fractures. smaller stress
Figure 2 shows the changes in b-value, d-value and drop events
activity rate as a function of time for an 11 months period of are accompanied
monitoring a block cave. The overall character of the rock by increasing
mass response in Figure 2 has a cyclical pattern of deformation
stiffening followed by softening, mimicking the phases of
mining. Initiation of the undercut began at the very end of Decreasing Little or no Quiet or stress
February 2003. Table 1 describes the rock mass behaviour change build up. To be
after the undercut was initiated. compared with
system availability

560 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 2: Example plot of b-value, d-value and activity rate for an 11 month period. All trends have been derived from seismic
events larger than for the whole mine volume of interest. In this example, undercut advancement firing began on 27
February 2003.

Figure 3: A plot of activity rate, CAV and energy rating for the undercut and extraction volume of interest, for a period of 17
months. The activity rate and energy rating trends have been calculated in a moving 14-day window, in increments of 12
hours. The minimum magnitude filter is set at .

as compared to the average energy radiated by events of
that moment. An increase in energy rating suggests larger
than expected stress releases are being observed for a
given amount of deformation. Conversely, decreases in the
energy rating are indicative of lower than expected stress
releases.
In the most basic terms CAV is a strain related parameter,
whilst energy rating is a stress related parameter.
Essentially, the relationship between the trends of CAV and
energy rating as a function of time indicate different regimes
of rock mass response (see Table 2).
2.5. Post-firing activity analysis
Post firing activity analysis shows:
The decay time of seismic activity after firing sessions in
a volume surrounding the undercut and extraction levels
as a method for statistically quantifying the re-entry time
into the mine;

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 561

Figure 4: Activity rate (per 10 minutes) for 6 hours after undercut advancement firing, comprising 666 events. The curve fitted
to the decay is approximated by .

The difference in decay time of seismic activity after
blasting between phases of mining activity.
An example is shown in Figure 4, where the activity rate
is plotted vs. time. Here a large number of blasts have been
stacked together, to give a statistically relevant indication of
activity rate immediately after blasting. This can be used to
determine safe re-entry times.
2.6. Peak particle velocity and magnitude
Since magnitude is merely a summary parameter by
which to characterize a seismic event, it is useful to find a
relationship between the damage potential of a seismic
event and its magnitude. In practice, this means finding a
relationship between the magnitude and estimated peak
particle velocities (PPVs) at different distances from the
event. A direct mathematical relationship between the

Figure 5: Plot of relative changes in stress from a hollow inclusion cell ( , , ) including the energy rating trend, for a period of
two weeks. There appears to be a correlation between decreases in the energy rating slightly preceding an onset of changing
stress, indicated by the thick black vertical lines.

562 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 6: Plot of anchor node displacements for an extensometer for a period of three months, including CAV and energy
rating. Only events larger than have been used in creating the CAV and energy rating trends.
magnitude of a seismic event and PPV does not exist.
However, it is possible to establish an empirical relationship
between the energy, moment and the PPV.
2.7. Blast characterization
Where and when firing takes place, it is possible to
evaluate
Conformance to blast design;
The effect of the blast on nearby mine infrastructure.
At minimum, data from sensors in the firing district and
those close to infrastructure provide waveforms, PPVs,
Peak Particle Accelerations and ground motion response
spectra.
2.8. Seismic and geotechnical data sets
Seismic sensors can be installed remotely from active
mining areas consequently it is practical to install a
seismic system in the early stages of mine development. On
the other hand, geotechnical sensors (e.g. extensometers
and hollow inclusion cells) have to be installed after
development as their measurements focus on the nature of
the rock mass response surrounding the mine
infrastructure. Consequently, geotechnical sensors will
generally be installed much later than seismic sensors. It is
now possible to integrate the data from seismic and
geotechnical datasets in quasi-real-time. An example of this
is shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6, where outputs from
hollow cells and extensometers respectively are integrated
with the seismic time series.
2.9. Analysis
During the undercut progression, the advance of the
undercut could be followed very clearly by visualising induced
seismicity. Activity followed the line of advance, clustering
mainly in the crown of the cavity. An initial redistribution of
stress in the intact rock surrounding the cave caused the
stiffness to increase and was followed by an apparent
relaxation to an equilibrium phase. In turn, it appears as if this
was interrupted by a ramp-up of development.
Combination of seismic and geotechnical data points
towards stress increases in undercut pillars correlated with
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
a strength degradation (decreasing energy rating indicating
lower stress release through seismic activity) in the
seismically active zone.
3. SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
FOR A ROBUST MONITORING ENVIRONMENT
3.1. Design
System design must be undertaken very early in the mine-
planning stage, with close interaction between mine
planners and seismologists to ensure adequate access for
the system installation. System design must consider all
aspects of the evolution of the mine, including relocation of
subsystems as requirements change, as well as shadowing
effects of the cave itself.
The system specification must ensure that (at all stages of
mining) the required accuracy of event location and sensitivity
(i.e. minimum event magnitude that can be reliably recorded)
is achieved. It is possible to model both the sensitivity and the
location error. Sensitivity can later be checked by referring to
the Gutenberg Richter Distribution once sufficient events are
recorded. In the example in Figure 1, the GRD can be seen to
taper off for events having.
3.2. Installation
System design for block caving must provide for future
shadowing effects by the void. It is therefore necessary (as
far as possible), to surround the ore body with sensors. This
poses several challenges:
Several holes of hundreds of metres in length need to be
drilled;
Sensors have to be lowered to the required depths and
Grouting performed in stages, with sensor tests at every
stage.
3.3. Sensor selection
Accelerometers have higher sensitivity than geophones at
higher frequencies. The frequency at which accelerometers
become more sensitive than geophones is usually of the
order of a few hundred Hertz. Very small seismic events
associated with caving have high frequency content and
require accelerometers for accurate measurement.
563
Nevertheless, it is common to have mixed networks
comprising (for example) triaxial accelerometers (for source
parameter calculation) and uniaxial geophones (for
improved location accuracy).
3.4. Communications
The communications infrastructure is potentially the single
most expensive subsystem in a seismic monitoring system.
Consequently, the design must contain sufficient
redundancy to allow relocation of seismometers as required
during the various stages of mining. In particular, it must be
possible to accommodate unforeseen requirements.
3.5. Documentation
Because of limitations imposed by mine development, it is
usual to phase the installation of sensors as mining
progresses. The consequence of this is that system
sensitivity changes with time as more sensors are installed,
causing an apparent rise in activity rate.
Documentation systems are put in place which ensures
that apparent levels of seismic activity can be correlated
easily with seismic system status and performance are
essential.
3.6. Operation
It is imperative that documentation systems (both during
installation and operation) provide a traceable and auditable
record of the seismic system performance and operational
status in addition to recording the mine seismicity. This is of
paramount importance in the mining environment, as
system performance (availability of seismometers and
sensors) can influence the perceived levels of seismicity.
Such system-related effects must be taken into account to
ensure the accurate quantitative interpretation of seismic
source parameters related to the mining activity and rock
mass behaviour. During normal mining operations, parts of
the seismic system may be offline temporarily due to
maintenance or because of inadvertent damage. Apparent
activity rates will thus rise and fall depending on the system
status. Careful management of the data is required to
prevent false conclusions being drawn about the activity
rate related effects
During monitoring, an adequate amount of quality
verification needs to be conducted. This includes regular (at
least daily) detailed checks of system status. Any changes
to monitoring parameters should be accompanied by a
detailed analysis of possible consequences, and properly
recorded in the system documentation.
Data quality verification is undertaken at the processing
stage. All accepted events must have a location error of less
564 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
than a specified amount (typically 3% of the average hypo
central distance). Accepted events must also approximate
expected values of moment and energy for their given local
magnitudes.
4. SUMMARY
4.1. The outputs of seismic monitoring
From a short term perspective, seismic monitoring
enables up-to-date information to be provided on the state
of the rock mass response. If these results are to be used
as a means of determining procedures underground then
the information must be available to mine staff in a readily
updated form that presents the important facets of rock
mass response quickly and clearly.
The long term benefits of seismic monitoring include
providing a knowledge base concerning the nature and
pattern of rock mass response to mining in mass mining
environments. These results form the constraints and
empirical limits for numerical models of the caving
process. As modelling of the mechanics of caving
becomes more complex more detailed empirical
information recorded from active mines will be
necessary to verify these.
4.2. System design and implementation
Seismic monitoring systems are by their nature extremely
complex distributed systems. Careful evaluation of system
issues is required when analyzing data, to ensure that
correct conclusions are drawn regarding the rock mass
response to mining.
The scale and resolution of monitoring required in a mass
mining environment means that system design and
implementation must be an integral part of the mine
development process.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors wish to acknowledge the support provided by
Northparkes Mines in the preparation of this paper.
REFERENCES
Gutenberg, B. and C. F. Richter 1949. Seismicity and the
Earth, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Mendecki, A.J., ed. 1996. Seismic Monitoring in Mines.
Chapman and Hall, London.
Mendecki, A. J., G. van Aswegen and P. Moutford 2000.
Chapter 9: A Handbook on Rock Engineering Practice for
Tabular Hard Rock Mines. A. Jager and J. A. Ryder, Ed.,
SIMRAC, Johannesburg.
Massmin 2004
 Seismic monitoring of
block cave crown pillar
Palabora Mining Company, RSA
Stefan Glazer, Palabora Mining Company, RSA
Neil Hepworth, Somincor, Portugal

Abstract
With mining operations taking place concurrently in the open pit and underground, it was considered prudent in mid 2002
to establish a 200m high crown pillar, or exclusion zone, between the base of the open pit and the cave back. This pillar
had two functions, firstly safety of the open pit operations due to potential instability of the pit walls as a result of caving
and secondly to prevent rapid ingress of rainfall water into the underground workings before adequate protection
measures were in place. By the end of 2002 this pillar had become fractured and de-stressed to the extent that there was
a hydraulic connection between surface and underground despite the indicated cave back being about 200m below the
pit. This paper describes the history of this pillar as revealed by seismic data analysis, which became the principal means
of monitoring the cave progress when other means and instrumentation were lost..

1 INTRODUCTION made up of magnetite-rich svite with minor amounts of

Initiation of the block cave undercut at a depth of
approximately 1200m below surface, commenced at the
end of 2000 and by the end of 2002 the area of undercut
had reached 60,000m2 which is considerably more than
that predicted to achieve caving. Despite significant
rockmass fracturing around the undercut and in the cave
back above the undercut, which by definition is associated
with seismicity, up to the end of 2002 Palabora was not
experiencing a seismic hazard in the working places.
Seismicity was taking place remote from the production and
development beneath and immediately around the cave
footprint. By mid 2002, when the critical hydraulic radius of
the producing area was reached and the caving process
was initiated, the situation changed, as more of the seismic
events started to concentrate on the geological
discontinuities. This clustering of events was investigated
and the seismically active faults and dykes were identified.
At that time the depth trend of the larger seismic events was
that the large events were migrating upwards away from the
undercut level and the working places. As from the
beginning of 2003 this situation changed and the depth
trend of these relatively large seismic events was no longer
upwards. During 2003 Palabora mine experienced several
large seismic events with associated damage in the
workings, which meant that Palabora become a seismically
active mine.
The aim of this paper is two fold. Firstly to document the
observed changes to the character of the seismicity that
took place and secondly to relate these changes to the
mining and development operations in order to understand
the likely cause of the changes.
PALABORA MONITORING FACILITIES
The Palabora copper body is an elliptically shaped,
vertically dipping volcanic pipe. The pipe measures 1400m
and 800m along the long and short axes. The ore reserves
are proven to a depth of 1800m below surface. Copper
grades of approximately 1% are found in the central core of
the ore body and decrease gradually towards the
peripheries with no sharp ore-waste contact. Three main
rock types host mineralization. Trangressive and banded
carbonatites form the central core of the ore body and are
apatite, dolomite, chondrodite, olivine and phlogopite.
Barren dolerite dykes with a steeply dipping northeast trend
are present and account for about 8% of the ore reserve
(Calder et al, 2001). The average uniaxial strength of the
carbonatites is about 120 MPa. Dolerite is a strong, brittle
rock with a uniaxial strength of up to 320 MPa. Adjacent to
the major faults, dolerite is extensively jointed and locally
weathered with marked reduction in strength to around 80
MPa.
The underground mine exploits the ore below the open pit
using mechanized block caving. The undercut level is at
elevation 800m (1200m below the surface) and
approximately 400m below the open pit base. The
production level with its drawpoints is located 18m below the
undercut.
The Palabora cave back monitoring facilities during
2002 consisted of a digital seismic network and four
open holes. In addition there were five TDR holes. By
the end of 2002 all the open holes were lost due to
movements along the dykes and faults. In fact the only
reliable measurements of the cave back position and
the expansion void height were achieved from one open
hole located in the open pit. The other open holes were
lost due to hole dislocations before the cave back had
reached them. On the other hand the TDR holes
measurements were very successful in confirming the
cave back position and assumed swell factor. Seismic
data had been used to estimate the cave back position
and to chart the progression of the cave back relative to
the tonnage of ore drawn.
By the end of 2003 the Palabora seismic network
consisted of 21 recording stations located around the cave
on several levels. Nine of these stations are located on the
production and development levels. Four stations are
situated in the open pit. The eight remaining ones are
located in the old and abandoned Exploration Shaft and in a
deep borehole. The latter were installed as part of the
network upgrade to give better coverage close to the pit
base. After completing the network upgrades the area of
maximum sensitivity and location accuracy of the network
encompasses the entire production area of the mine. The
network accuracy is important not only for locating events,
but also for calculating the source parameters. From the

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 565

data interpretation viewpoint it is important to know the
weighting that has to be attached to each set of data.
At Palabora the cave monitoring devices installed in
boreholes were lost with time not only due to rockmass
response to mining, but also because of interference from
the mining activities themselves. As it is not always
convenient or possible at a later stage, to install additional
TDRs or drill new open holes, the seismic network might be
the only cave back monitoring option remaining after some
point in time. It is the Palabora experience that it is important
to fully implement the seismic system right from the outset
with some redundancy to allow for the inevitable equipment
downtime and losses.
2 FRACTURING MECHANISM
The tonnes extracted from the cave result in the cave
back propagating upwards, towards the surface. At
Palabora the fracturing zone is located about 60 to 80m
above the cave back with an aseismic zone of already
fractured rockmass between the cave and the ongoing
fracturing (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Aseismic zone around the cave
As the thickness of this aseismic zone during 2002 was
relatively constant over several months, the location of this
zone could be used to monitor the cave back position. This
was by assuming that the increase in the average elevation
of recorded seismic events followed the increase in
elevation of the cave back. This progression of the aseismic
zone was also used to estimate the natural cave expansion
rate. If the cave was pulled at a rate above this, then an
excessive expansion void would occur increasing the risk of
air blasts. Below this rate the expansion void would not
develop sufficiently and would impede cave progression and
possibly reduce fragmentation. This natural cave expansion
rate value was compared with extrapolated natural
expansion rate of mines with lower rockmass quality and
then used as the Palabora protocol target draw rate. Other
seismic information recorded by the end of 2003 confirmed
that this target rate was a reasonable estimate and that
because of the lower cave draw rates, there was no
significant expansion void. At the beginning of 2004 it is
expected that the cave break through into the open pit will
be slow and that there will be no significant air blast hazard.
Seismic data recorded at Palabora displays bimodal
patterns typical for mine induced seismicity (Gibowicz and
Kijko, 1994). While for the events belonging to the first mode
the maximum magnitude is in range 0.0 to 0.5, the events of
566 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
the second mode can be of magnitude up to 2.1. The first
mode of events is associated with rockmass fracturing
immediately ahead of the undercut and in the propagating
cave back. The second mode of events locate at geological
discontinuities some distance from the mining. Events of
this second mode are connected with stress redistribution
ahead of the undercut abutment and around the cave. Due
to their locations and amounts of emitted energy these
events are considered a negative feature of the block caving
and result in seismic hazard (Gibowicz and Lasocki, 2001).
On the other hand seismicity of mode one events is the
principle manifestation of the cave progress and can be
used to monitor and manage the cave and thus are
considered as a positive feature.
The progression of the cave generates fractures in the
more competent (intact) rock immediately ahead of the
fracture zone, which changes the rock properties and lowers
its load carrying ability. As the cave back approaches the
fractured rock it will yield under the increased load and
increased shear movement between the blocks of rock will
create further propagation of fractures. The cave
progression will also result in the breaking of asperities and
other locking mechanisms in the fractured rockmass,
creating a favorable environment for shear movement and
more growth of the fracture zone around the cave back.
In addition to the fracturing around the cave back resulting
in mode one seismicity, there is another mechanism of rock
failure that is taking place. This mechanism is aseismic
deformation, which is the process of either extension of
already existing shear fractures, or creation of new fractures
with little or no seismicity. While the asperities on the joint
surfaces are being broken down there will be sliding and
opening of the joints. This firstly does not produce significant
seismic energy during movement and secondly inhibits
propagation of seismic energy through this zone of fractured
rock. The seismic and aseismic deformation of the
rockmass around the cave will result in stress redistribution,
which in turn will lead to further fracturing. These fracturing
mechanisms are very similar to the one described for de-
stress blasting used to reduce the seismic hazard for
underground excavations (Rorke and Brummer, 1990).
3 CROWN PILLAR MONITORING
With mining operations taking place simultaneously in the
open pit and underground, it was considered prudent in mid
2002 to establish a 200m high exclusion zone, or crown
pillar, between the base of the open pit and the cave back.
This crown pillar had two functions, firstly to minimize the
risk to the ongoing operations from destabilizing the pit walls
by the cave undercutting them and secondly to provide a
barrier to prevent rapid ingress of rainfall water into the
underground workings before adequate measures to control
the water were in place.
Analysis of the seismicity recorded in this pillar was carried
out in mid-February 2003, when the crown pillar was
estimated to be 180m thick. For several months preceeding,
a very low amount of seismic activity was observed above the
cave back maximum elevation. Initially it was thought that this
low amount of seismic activity above the cave back was
because of poor network configuration, but in January 2003
additional seismic sensors were installed in the open pit, and
this did not change this pattern of seismicity. Figure 2 shows
all of the seismic events recorded during the month following
the installation of the additional open pit sensors. The cave
profile in Figure 2 is for February 2003. The cave back
maximum elevation is about 600m and the open pit
minimum elevation is 417m, so the crown pillar is 183m thick
at worst, with the exclusion zone top just above the pit base.
At this time ramp scavenging operations are taking place well
above the pit base and were not considered at risk.
Massmin 2004
 Figure 4: Cumulative energy and seismic activity.

Figure 2. The 200m exclusion zone. Figure 5 presents the time histories of the energy index
and the moment fragmentation index. Interpretation of these
plots is as follows: the increase in the values of the energy
Figure 3 shows a volume above the February 2003 cave index at the end of June 2002 indicates the start of the
back elevation with all seismic data recorded between fracturing process with associated seismicity. At this stage
January 2002 and mid- February 2003. There are only 77 the rockmass is assumed to be sufficiently intact to be able
such events. to emit seismic energy. By the end of October 2002 this
process is completed and the energy index plot flattens.
Figure 4 shows time histories of two independent
parameters of seismicity for the rock volume in Figure 3 -
the cumulative seismic energy and the monthly seismic
activity rate. The activity rate shows a sharp increase during
the period August to October 2002, but due to two relatively
large events (February and December 2002) the trend of the
cumulative energy is not so clear. Still there is a visible
increase during September 2002 followed then by a more
flat shape by the beginning of 2003.

Figure 5: Energy and moment fragmentation index time

histories.

The rockmass is fractured and further fragmentation

results in seismic events that emit only very small amounts
of energy. The moment fragmentation curve indicates the
same process. Energy index is a function of seismic
moment and energy, while moment fragmentation index is
cumulative seismic moment normalized over a rockmass
Figure 3: Volume above the cave. volume. For this reason these two parameters are related
and in general should indicate the beginning and the end of
this same process. The energy index difference between its
background and maximum values is very small. This
indicates that the actual seismic fracturing process was in
already relatively fractured rockmass. It was concluded that
this small amount of recorded seismicity could be accounted
for by the essentially aseismic deformation taking place in
the rockmass volume below the open pit and above the
cave.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 567

 Figure 6 shows the monthly seismic activity rate and its
average depth. This data is recorded in a rockmass volume
centered around the middle of the February 2003 cave
footprint.
Figure 6: Monthly activity and average depth.
From July 2001 to December 2002 the average elevation
of seismicity recorded above the cave migrated upwards at
a rate of about 15m per month, from about 750m to
460m. This upper limit is assumed to be at the depth of the
fractured zone below the pen pit, which would not emit or
transmit seismic energy for the same reasons as the
aseismic zone. For this reason the seismicity could not
migrate any higher in the area below the pit base. The
average location of seismicity during 2003 is characterized
by monthly average depth increases, but with a new
characteristic, namely the increase of the horizontal
migration of seismicity around and away from the pit base.
The second trend displayed by this figure is the change in
the number of events recorded per month. There is a distinct
decrease in seismic activity from October 2002. These two
trends in depth and activity rate could be best explained by
the aseismic zone around the cave reaching the fractured
zone located below the open pit base sometime during the
last quarter of 2002
Based on the above it was concluded that the 180m thick
crown pillar between the top of the cave and the base of the
open pit is fractured and de-stressed. The majority of
fracturing that took place in 2002 was aseismic deformation.
A contributing factor to the early failure of this pillar is the
geometry of the dolerite fractures and of the carbonatite
joints.
At the time it was made clear that this rock volume is
fractured but has not caved. This differentiation is important
for the stability of the pit walls and the safety of the open pit
operation, as the crown pillar continues to act as a relatively
stable foundation for the pit walls. For the underground
operations, however, there will be a substantial increase in
permeability for both situations. New protocols and actions
had to be put in place to account for the water hazard.
At the beginning of March 2003 the town of Phalaborwa
experienced its first strong rain fall of the season. Over
60mm of rainfall was recorded for the open pit. The recent
water management study examined a range of values from
1.00E-02 m/s, 1.00E-04 m/s, but the assumed permeability
was 1.00E-03 m/s, which would result in the first rainwater
arriving at the production level in 4.4 days. In reality the
rainfall water was observed in the underground excavations
after only six hours close to the most pessimistic
prediction. Fortunately the rainfall was only 20% of that for
the 100 year designed storm. This rainfall has verified that
the crown pillar is fractured, as evidenced by seismic
analysis.
568 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
4 CONSEQUENCES OF THE CROWN PILLAR FAILURE.
The premature fracturing of the crown pillar has changed
the stress distribution around the mine on a regional scale.
This failed rock restricts the passage of horizontal stresses
through it. As indicated by Figure 7 this has tended to
increase the vertical stress relative to the horizontal stress
acting on the subvertical structure in, and immediately
adjacent to, the cave zone. In consequence Palabora
become a seismically active mine and during 2003
experienced several damaging seismic events, of which the
first took place already in mid January 2003.
Figure 7: Redistribution of stress.
Comparison of seismicity recorded during 2002 with
seismicity recorded during 2003 shows very significant
differences. The stress change influenced not only the small
scale jointing in the rockmass, but also the large scale sub-
vertical geological features close to, and in the cave zone.
The decrease in horizontal stress reduced confinement on
the planes and increased shear movement, which is
confirmed by the seismic data. Analysis of the source
parameters of seismic events recorded in 2003 indicates a
significant increase in the shearing component, in addition
to a major increase of released energy per moment. Another
important change is nearly a three-fold increase in relatively
large seismic events.
There remains a significant difference between the
seismicity recorded on the west and east sections of the
mine. The seismicity on the west side is much deeper and
closer to the development and production levels than
seismicity on the east side. This is attributed to the more
vertical cave profile on the west as well as the progress of
the cave footprint towards the Mica Fault, which is a major
structure. For this reason seismic hazard precautions were
issued for the west side of the mine in June 2003. Additional
support was installed as deemed necessary. During the last
quarter of 2003 further stress redistribution took place due
to the cave shape. The west side of the mine is experiencing
low stresses, while there is a significant stress build-up in
the east side of the mine. In consequence, as from
September 2003 the east side of the mine is experiencing
more seismic events with the potential for damage than the
west side. This is indicated by the difference in the seismic
source parameters of events recorded in the west and east
sides of the mine.
The slow development of the cracks in the open pit, which
started to be apparent from February 2003, confirmed the
crown pillar was indeed fracturing and de-stressing by the
end of 2002. The slow development of the cracks and the
absence of seismicity indicated that the rockmass at the
bottom of the pit is in a process of relaxation. The ramp
Massmin 2004
mining in the open pit was successfully and safely continued
until the beginning of November 2003. The first wedge
failure in the pit wall close to the bottom of the pit took place
at the end of November 2003. Observations of the open pit
in January 2004 indicate that a second wedge failure can be
expected soon. According to January 2004 estimations it is
calculated that the cave back is less than 40m from the base
of the pit and production rates are indicative that there is no
expansion void above the cave. The absence of significant
instability of the lower pit walls tends to confirm that the
progression of the cave is gradual with no large collapses
into high expansion voids.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Mine induced seismicity is both site and time dependent.
Site dependent means that the seismicity depends on
properties like depth, ore body geometry, geology and
mining methods and their unique interdependency. This
interdependency is dynamic and practically never repeats
itself in either time or space. As a result, the mine induced
seismicity characteristics defined for one mine, or its part, at
a specific mining stage are not necessarily applicable to
other mines, or even to the same mine in the future. The
failure of the crown pillar and the consequent redistribution
of stress and seismicity is a very good example of how and
when the mine induced seismicity can change.
The understanding of mode one seismic events is
important for understanding the processes of the block cave
mining. Mode one seismicity is a natural process indicating
that the cave is progressing and should not only be
monitored in a passive way to confirm the cave progress,
but should be also used in an active way to manage the
cave development. The space and time distributions of
mode one seismicity, as well as the changes of their source
parameters with time, are directly associated with what is
happening in the rockmass around the cave and
underground mining infrastructure.
By nature, mode one seismic events are relatively small
events and as such difficult to detect and record. For this
reason seismic networks installed at mines using the caving
method must have good sensitivity and accuracy. From
Palabora experience it seems that the minimum sensitivity
would be all events from magnitude about 2.0 and above
with five stations. The XYZ location accuracy should be
within 10m.
Several applications of seismic monitoring at Palabora
have proved that it is a very valuable and useful tool for cave
mining. Apart from the monitoring and management of the
cave progress it was used to solve the following problems:
Allowed continuous underground operations during
blasting operations in the open pit. In 2002 the network
allowed analysis of the ground motions at the
development level resulting from the blasts in the open pit.
A maximum charge per delay was established that
resulted in much lower PPV values than those expected
to result in damage to the underground excavations. The
increased underground production time on its own from
this single application of the network resulted in recovery
of all capital expenses connected with purchasing and
installation of the network.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Evaluation of swell factor. This estimate was done by
comparing the cave back profiles with different applied
swell factors with the recorded space distribution of
seismicity. The assumed swell factor was then confirmed
by the TDR measurements.
Recording the initiation of the caving process when the
critical hydraulic radius was reached. This is important
information for comparison with the theoretical
considerations and future design.
Estimation of the natural cave expansion rate. This allows
control over the size of the expansion void, which is
important for maintaining the correct cave profile and
reducing the risks inherent with too large an expansion
void.
Establishing the expansion void existence. This is done
by establishing the relationship between the cave
production and the resulting seismicity. This is an indirect
assessment, but very useful when confirmed by other
geotechnical observations.
Stress distribution around the cave and underground
excavations.
Seismic hazard monitoring.
The real challenge for the future is full application of mine
seismology for the purpose of cave management. This can
be achieved only with proper network configuration and very
good quality of recorded data. It must be also understood
that mine seismology, as any other geophysical method, on
its own cannot solve all problems. It must be supplemented
by other data. At this stage it is planned to implement
seismic passive tomography as an additional tool for cave
monitoring and management. In this way information about
the seismic source parameters will be supported by data
relating directly to the conditions of the rockmass.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank the Palabora Management for
granting permission to publish this paper, especially Keith
Calder, now at North Parkes, for his support and
encouragement in the early stages.
REFERENCES
Calder, K, Townsend, P, Russell, F,2001 Palabora
Underground Project. Underground mining methods:
Engineering Fundamentals and International Case
Studies ( Ed: W A Hustrulid and R s Bullock) Society for
Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. Colorado, USA,
pp 405-409
Gibowicz, S, and Kijko, A, (1994), An Introduction to
Mining Seismology, Academic Press, New York
Gibowicz, S,J, and Lasocki, S (2001) Seismicity Induced
by Mining: Ten Years Later, Advances in Geophysics, Vol
44, Academic Press, New York.
Rorke, A, J, and Brummer, R, K, (1990) The Use of
Explosives in Rockburst Control Techniques, Rockbursts
and Seismicity in Mines, (Ed: Fairhurst)pp. 337-385,
Balkema, Rotterdam.
569
 Strain energy control for the
Big Bell longitudinal sublevel cave
John Player, PhD Student, Western Australian School Mines

Abstract
The Big Bell longitudinal sublevel caving operation had a production tonnage of 1.8Mtpa prior to the onset of seismic
activity in 1999. During 1999 and 2000, substantial damaging seismic events resulted in a suspension of mining
operations in late 2000. Major mine redesign work such as; extraction principles, development location, ground control
systems, and man access to working areas, were undertaken to develop a safe and stable seismic environment. This was
achieved in mid 2002 once all design principles were implemented. Due to rising costs from the lower production rate of
0.7Mtpa the mine closed in mid 2003.

1. INTRODUCTION rockmass for mining.Energy changes in a mine domain

Big Bell had a history of rockbursts from 1999 until mine
closure in 2003. During this period the mine had to develop
suitable mining front geometry, development locations,
ground control systems, and automated equipment usage,
to minimize the potential hazard to the underground work
force.
Other papers by Player 2004a, Player 2004b, Barrett and
Player 2002, Turner and Player 2000, Player 2000, Sandy
and Player, 1999 describe the rockmass properties, ground
response, mining environment, and mining methodology.
These papers were written over a number of years when the
ground response to mining changed from non-seismic to
seismic. They detail the progressive understanding of
strategic factors involved in combating mine seismicity.
This paper will examine the driving factor for the mine
seismicity and the performance of the hangingwall cave. In
particular, it updates the approach to mining the orebody
published by Turner and Player 2000.
2. SEISMIC GEOTECHINCAL ISSUES
It is difficult to determine when a mine changes from a
non-seismic to a seismic environment. The relative induced
stress compared to the rockmass strength, and how the
rockmass stores and releases the energy are some of the
most important controlling factors.
How the rockmass releases strain energy from stress
change is a function of; the rock matrix, discontinuities
present, the regional / mine wide loading system, and the
amount of work that the rock does before and after failure.
The loading system is considered to be influenced by the
mining front rate of advance.
Beck 2000, takes the approach, "seismic induced
events can be described from numerical modelling utilising
Mohr Columb slip criterion for events on discontinuities and
the relationship between for seismic events not associated
with deviatoric mechanisms". To undertake this work
requires quality processed seismic events from the mine
micro-seismic monitoring system. The method is applied as
a back analysis of known mining steps and associated
seismic activity. It is possible to allocate seismic criteria to
future mining steps or sequences, if it can be assumed that
the seismic criterion remain consistent.
Brady and Brown 1994, provide the following definitions,
"Rockbursts arise from unstable energy changes in the host
arise from generation and displacement of excavation
surfaces and energy redistribution accompanying seismic
eventsthe strain energy changes which arise from the
way in which surface forces are applied as part of the mine
structure" are considered to be the dominate source of
energy.
According to Brady and Brown 1994, two factors need to
be considered in relation to energy changes, "increase in
static strain energy occurs in areas of stress concentration
(stress concentration occurs around all underground
openings).sudden excavation of a surface causes an
energy imbalance in the system". This can lead to a
dynamic stress component related to the volume of material
that is rapidly removed / blasted. It should be noted that
local rock fracturing around openings would consume some
of the released energy. The rapid excavation of a mining
void applies a dynamic stress to the ground closest to the
excavation then spreads into the rockmass. When this
encounters a static stress field concentration the sum of the
stresses can result in damage to the rockmass by
exceeding the rockmass strength.
For mining environments, the energy released from the
excavation of the rock can be considered as an index for the
potential local degradation of the rockmass. The
degradation, or yielding, can either by non-violent or violent
(i.e. bursting conditions). Hence the energy released by an
excavation can be used as a design principle. It is better to
have a consistent energy release rate from a mining
geometry and sequence, rather than one which has sudden
energy changes.
This can be succinctly explained by the illustration of three
different excavation sequences in Figure 1 from Whittaker et
al 1992. Sequences one and two have a rapid energy
release during the excavation cycle. This makes the
sequences more susceptible to a rockburst than sequence
three, which has a regular energy release. Sequences one
and two could be related to;
a mining geometry utilising primary and secondary open
stopes (with pillar removal and fill compared to a pillar less
sequence with the use of paste fill),
or a longwall mining face (that uses an arrow head rather
than a flat face),
or the release of strain energy along a fault (clamping a
fault and mining towards it compared to releasing the fault
and moving away).

570 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 1: Example energy release rate
Strain energy release into the mine environment is
controlled by the displacement of the excavation surface
and the creation of new surfaces. The mechanisms will
depend on the loading system stiffness and rockmass
strength to stress ratios. The creation of the hangingwall
cave has a very high potential energy release. The cave
effectively increases the excavation size and available
energy to the mining environment from the formation of new
surfaces. Rather than a mining environment that has
controlled displacements of the hangingwall, from fill
placement or partial extraction by leaving pillars. The
additional energy needs to be accounted for as part of the
mine design.
The Big Bell operation utilised rapid advancing
longitudinal mining front with limit retreat pillars from 1997
to 2001, Barrett and Player 2002. The use of pillars and a
flattening of the mining front, promoted a non-uniform
energy release. Intuitively the performance of the
hangingwall strata (particularly from rockmass variations
between strata), would be expected to influence the caving
process in conjunction with; mining geometry, dimension,
and rate of advance of the mining front. These factors
probably contributed to rapid changes in the energy release
in the rockmass, similar to sequence one or two of Figure 1,
rather than the gradual release of sequence three.
Brady and Brown 1994, define the potential energy of the
loading system upon the rockmass as unstable, when it will
lead to unstable deformation i.e. seismic events from an
instability source.
There are two modes of unstable rockmass deformation
that lead to instability and mine seismicity. Method One
typically involves the crushing of rockmass in pillars, and
around excavations at both development and stope scale.
These events are modelled by relationships of the
monitored seismic events in a process that is explained by
Beck 2000 and Wiles 2004. Method Two involves the slip of
structures, which could be natural, or mining induced. Slip
on a structure can be defined by the Mohr Columb criteria,
Beck et al 1997. Beck 2000, assesses both modes of
rockmass deformation from monitored micro-seismic events
for the period April to August 2000 at Big Bell. The criterion
does not describe the potential magnitude for a seismic
event, but rather defined when conditions exist for a seismic
event to occur. This was based on previously monitored
seismic events. At Big Bell five criteria were developed for
and Mohr Columb modes of rockmass instability.
The above approach relies on the results of micro-seismic
monitoring, stress modelling and rockmass properties. It is
unlikely to be sensitive enough to provide why one location
will burst within a zone that meets a criteria, as opposed to
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
another location. However, the approach should be able to
describe at which zones rockbursts wont occur. Work by
Wiles 2002, and Wiles 2004, examines a combination of
modelled rockmass properties, released energy and loading
system stiffness, to determine conditions for rockburst
occurrence from the back analysis of previous bursts.
The reliance of back analysis techniques to determine
future rockburst potential implies early rockbursts will be
unexpected hence good mining practices must always be
applied during the life of a mine. Good mining practices
should use suitable geometry and sequences that
redistribute the induced stresses as uniformly as practical.
This is the first step in controlling a potential rockburst
problem and should be used in combination with an
advance rate that controls strain energy buildup in the
rockmass.
There are a number of tactical issues that need to be
considered when evaluating the geotechnical needs of a
mine once a strategic decision has been made to assess
seismic activity;
When does seismicity present a problem, or is there
already a problem?
Can the seismicity be represented or restricted to a rock
unit, mine sequence, mine geometry or development
location?
Which personnel are available to assess the seismic
activity including processing of the data, recording mine
geometry change and maintenance of the seismic
system?
There are specific issues relating to geotechnical
properties and mine seismic that are worth further
expansion (Section 2.1 to 2.3).
2.1. Rockmass, Local and Global Issues
The following list of local and global rockmass items have
shown to have an that influence the geotechnical seismic
potential and properties;
Many attempts at determining a rock burst index from
rock samples have been made. However, the factor that
influence a potential rock burst have complexity in their
geological and non-geological controls,
Rock mass characterization across the mine
environment,
Rock mass stiffness and post peak properties,
Rock P and S wave velocity calculation then undertaking
a site survey to provide greater accuracy for the seismic
system,
Regional structures that will influence stress, can be a
source of seismic activity. They could also damp seismic
energy transmission from an event, and
Insitu stress levels and background seismic activity.
2.2. Mine Sequence and Geometry Issues
The following list of mine sequence and geometry items
have shown to have an influence on the geotechnical
seismic potential and properties;
The stress path from mining sequence, Beck and Sandy
2002, examines ground performance changes with
different loading conditions,
Extraction rate from areas of the mine, a number of South
African reports refer to square meters exposed, some
operations with an extended life have been able to
develop critical benchmarks. This forms the basis of the
Energy Release Rate principal that is discussed by Brady
and Brown 1994, Brink et al 2000, Spottiswoode et al
2000, and Spottiswoode and Milev 2002, and
The presence of pillars in the mine layout, and the
overall geometry of the mining front. Both of these
influence the hangingwall response in a sublevel cave
operation.
571
2.3. Development Location and Support Criteria Issues
The following list of development location and support
criteria have shown to have an influence on the
geotechnical seismic potential and properties;
Drive orientation and location relative to geological
structure and the stress fields, both insitu and mining
induced,
Support / reinforcement installed, yieldable reinforcement,
strong surface support that wont fail, quality integration of
the two systems, and
Appropriate design criteria for the determination of
support and reinforcement.
3. REGIONAL STRUCTURES AND SEISMICITY
At Big Bell the examination of damaging seismic events
showed that the graphitic shear acted as a dampening
barrier. This observation applied for events occurring within
the ore zone or the footwall amphibolite, Figure 2. It was not
established whether the graphitic shears reflected energy
away due to fractures, or whether the brecciated material
reduced the amplitude of a wave travelling through the
shear zone. Damage only occurred within the zone that the
event sourced. Damage would not cross the lode graphitic
shear to influence closer parallel development but rather
occurred along strike, up and down dip, to effect other high
stress areas.
Improvements to the seismic monitoring array in 2001 and
2002 clearly identified seismic events occurring on the
graphitic shears. The implementation of additional triaxial
sensors and a higher number of accepted triggers
dramatically reduced the scatter in location of processed
events about the lode graphitic shear. Due to the nature of
the brecciated graphitic shear, it was possible that recorded
seismic events occurred very small distances off the shear
along parallel fractures, local splays, or rock asperities in the
shear.
Far field footwall activity, often resulted in events felt on
the surface. These occurred on what has been termed the
Big Bell Fault. Grinceri 2002, proposed this as being the
Figure 2: View in cross section showing damage transmission from rockbursts.
572 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
footwall contact between the granite and the mine
sequence. Distinct activity was also located in the
hangingwall about the granite contact. Both areas were
several hundred meters to one thousand meters from the
nearest workings.
4. MINE SEQUENCE AND GEOMETRY
Sequence and mine geometry effect stress
redistribution around mine openings. A poor initial mining
geometry and / or poor mining sequence may bring about
unstable pillars, extensive linear mining fronts, or
pendants being developed. These shapes can lead to
very high localised stress. If a longwall mining sequence
is not correctly progressed, then an increased proportion
of the mining front will be more highly stressed compared
to a good geometry. Morrison and Beauchamp 2002,
explore geometry and seismic proneness principals. A
numerical approach can also be in conjunction with
seismic data.
5. ROCKBURST HISTORY
Barrett and Player 2002, fully describe the history of
rockbursts from 1999 to 2002. Damaging seismic events
from 1999 to 2000 had a reduced association to specific
production blasts. This most likely occurred because of a
change to flatten the mining front. As a consequence of the
flattened geometry any particularly firing had less influence
on the stress field.
The flattened geometry contributed to the complete mine
front becoming highly stressed rather than just an abutment
stress around each production heading.
Figure 3 is a long section through the cave profile showing
the damaging event locations (each event is represented by
an individually shaded rectangle), and change in mining
fronts from February 1999 to July 2000. Mining in the lower
grade southern extension was undertaken, from September
2000 to December 2001 as shown in the right side of Figure
4. Figure 4 also shows, has the change in mining profile in
Massmin 2004
Figure 3: Change in mining front with major rockburst locations February 1999 to July 2000

Figure 4: Change in mining front with major rockburst locations from February 2002 to July 2003

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 573

Figure 5: Sequence of stope extraction to achieve good mining front angles from
the lower levels with corresponding damaging seismic
events from December 2001 to July 2003. Each damaging
seismic event area is again shown by individually shaded
rectangles.
The principal damage morphology was similar for all
moderate to significant damaging seismic events. The
observed principal mechanism was shear rupture along
foliation planes and intact failure of the rock on the footwall
of the rupture plane. Occasionally minor damaging events
exhibited different morphology.
An assessment of the principal damage mechanism
indicated that a specific foliation place was not responsible
for these events, rather any number of foliation planes from
one meter into the hangingwall shoulder of the drive, to
halfway across the drive. The breakout location was most
likely controlled by local factors such as; drive orientation,
the presence of the foliation plane, rock mass properties,
and the stress field.
Numerical modelling of the mine geometry did not
distinguish significant differences in stress concentration
between the southern and northern ends of the mine.
However, seismic activity and the rockburst damage were
different between the northern and southern ends. The
largest damaging events of local magnitude greater than 2.0
only occurred north of 3750mN.
The papers by Barrett and Player 2002, and Player 2004a
provide detail on the ground control system utilised at Big
Bell to control rockburst damage. Surveys of contained
rockbursts showed displacements of 300mm to 700mm in
the ground control system.
6. THE IMPORTANCE OF MINE FRONT
GEOMETRY ON CAVING
During a review of access development in 2000 the
mining front angle was also examined. The mining front was
flattened during 1999 and 2000 due to;
the production rate exceeding the required development
rate,
failure to open up the 535 slot in a timely fashion,
damage from seismic events restricting development rate, and
use of limit retreat pillars (Barrett and Player 2002) at the
final cross cut location.
574 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Limit retreat pillars are ore strike pillars from one level to
the level above at the last cross cut location. Figure 3
shows an example of a limit retreat pillar. Ore strike
development occurred from the crosscut to the end of the
ore zone, where a slot was put up and the stope / cave was
then retreated to the pillar, which was mass blasted.
The flattening of the mining front changed the mining
induced stress inturn modifying the ground response and
seismic activity. This change was only realised in hindsight
through analysis of a sufficiently large seismic event
database.
Comparative seismic activity analysis should only be
undertaken on similar mining geometries for a mining
operation. The changing geometry of the mining front made
it difficult to correctly evaluate the changes in the seismic
response to mining. Differences in the seismic response
should be expected when there is a variation in the mining
geometry.
With hindsight, the data processed in 2000 was influence
by mining decisions that were made many months if not a
year before hand.
The establishment and maintenance of a favourable
mining front angle was a key criterion in the management of
seismic activity for the lower levels of the mine from 2002.
The planned scheduled sequence to achieve a good
geometry from March 2002 is shown in Figure 5. This
required a slow production rate. The established mining
front and mining front angles at October 2002 are shown in
Figure 6.
The schedule from March 2002 could not be maintained
exactly due to ground control problems and additional
tonnage draw at the northern end of 535 and 560 levels in
the middle of 2002.
However, the 45 angle was maintained at the
northern end of the mine as shown in Figure 6. This
was due to the higher seismic activity level and
magnitude that occurred at the north when compared to
the south. Seismicity was considered to be strongly
influenced by the hangingwall conditions. The
hangingwall conditions included more competent
rockmass that would have altered the local loading
system and potentially stored additional strain energy
from the caving process. The caving process was also
likely to be less regular.
Massmin 2004
Figure 6: Base of Cave Geometry October 2002
The 45 angle for mining front had been determined to
be the ideal angle, for it was expected to minimise
seismicity. This was mainly due to the horizontal and
vertical lengths to distribute mining induced stresses
being maximised.
The 45 angle was maintained at the northern end until
the mining sequence required the 535 and 560 stope
numbers 78 and 80 to be extracted to enable the opening of
the 585 slot. As expected, this increased seismic activity
and resulted in deteriorating ground conditions at the
northern end of 535 and 560 levels.
The 585 level was opened slower than scheduled, due to
blasting and geotechincal problems. Blasting problems,
sub-optimal slot design resulted in bridging. Geotechnical,
oversize development and levels less than 25m apart
resulted in increased ground damage. These delays
required ore from the southern side of the mining to be
sourced with out excessively flattening the mining front
angle.
A mining front angle of 20 was observed to be
satisfactory in mid 2002, and as such mining continued with
this angle. The satisfactory performance of the flatter angle
was probably due to principal stress orientation (assessed
as sub-horizontal and from the north east, slightly shielding
the southern cave faces) and weaker hangingwall
conditions (allowing softer loading system around the
bottom of the cave and more regular caving). During the
last months of mine operation, the extended level
separation created by the 20 mining front resulted in
ground deterioration and seismicity on the 560 and 585
levels, therefore efforts were being made to steepen the
angle.
7. CONCLUSIONS
The principal factors controlling hangingwall cave
performance include rockmass properties, mine geometry,
and mine sequence. By understanding the caving
mechanism in 1999, it could have been realised earlier that
the more competent hangingwall promoted strain energy
build up in the rockmass with the potential to generate larger
rockbursts. The mining technique also allowed additional
energy input into the mining environment when compared to
non-hangingwall caving techniques. This is particularly
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
important where the principal stress is sub horizontal and
not parallel to the orebody.
Improved management strategies may then have
included; a slowing of the advance rate, changes to the
mine development layout, and the implementation of the
required heavy ground control scheme. Short term pain for
a long term gain.
These changes could have preserved additional levels
and enabled a higher production rate than the 0.7Mtpa that
was possible from 2001-2003, thereby improving the mining
economics. Mining in a very high induced stress field, using
longitudinal sublevel cave methods proved to be
operationally and technically possible during 2002-2003.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thank Harmony Gold for
permission to publish this paper, and my colleges and
operators at the mine and within the mining industry for the
effort involved in understanding and working with damaging
seismic activity.
REFERENCES
Barrett, D. and Player, J. 2002. Big Bell, High Stress at
Shallow Depth. International Seminar on Deep and High
Stress Mining, Perth, Australia. Australian Centre for
Geomechanics.
Brady, B and Brown, E. 1994, Rock Mechanics for
Underground Mining, Second Edition, Kluwer Academic
Publishers. ISBN 0412475502
Beck, D. 2000. Big Bell Gold Mine Quantification of
Seismic Mechanisms.
AMC200099 :August 2000.
Beck, D., Brady, B. and Grant, D. Induced Stress and
Microseismicity in the 3000 Orebody, Mt Isa.
Geotechincal and Geological Engineering,1997, V15,
pp221-233
Beck, D and Sandy, M. 2002. Mine Sequencing for High
Recovery in Western Australian Mines. International
Seminar on Deep and High Stress Mining, Perth Australia.
Australian Centre for Geomechanics.
Brink, A. Hagan, T. Spottiswooode, S. Malan, D. Glazer,
S. and Lasocki, S. 2000. Survey and Assessment of
575
 Techniques used to Quantify the Potential for Rock Mass
Instability. GAP608. SIMRAC. South Africa.
Grinceri, M. 2002. Structural and Spatial Controls to Mine
Seismicity at the Big Bell Mine. Unpublished
Undergraduate Honours Thesis, University of Western
Australia, 81 pages + appendices.
Morrison, D, Beauchamp, K. 2002. Stope Design and
Sequencing Under Deep Mining Conditions. International
Seminar on Deep and High Stress
Mining, Perth, Australia. Australian Centre for
Geomechanics.
Player, J., 2000. Longitudinal Sublevel Caving, Big Bell
Mine. Underground Mining Methods Engineering
Fundamentals and International Case Studies. Ed W. A.
Hustrulid and R. L. Bullock. SME
Player, J., 2004a. Field Performance of Cone Bolts at Big
Bell Mine. Ground Support 2004. Perth. Australia.
Balkema, Eds, Villescusa and Thompson.
Player, J., 2004b. Reinforcement and Support
Investigation for Static and Dynamic Loading Conditions
at the Big Bell Sublevel Caving Operation. Unpublished.
Masters of Engineering Science Geomechanics Thesis.
Curtin University, West Australia. 256pages
Spottiswoode, S. Napier, J. Milev, A. and Vieira, F. 2000.
The Relationship between ERR and Seismic Energy
576 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Release for different Geotechincal Areas. GAP612c.
SIMRAC. South Africa.
Spottiswoode, S and Milev, A. 2002. A methodology and
computer program for applying improved, inelastic ERR
for the design of mine layouts on planar reefs. GAP722.
SIMRAC. South Africa.
Sandy, M., and Player, J. 1999, Reinforcement Design
Investigations at Big Bell, Rock Support and
Reinforcement Practice in Mining. International
Symposium Kalgoorlie 1999.Balkema, Eds Villescusa,
Thompson, Windsor.
Turner, M., and Player, J. 2000. Seismic Reinforcement at
Big Bell Mine. Proceedings of MassMin 2000 Brisbane
Australia.
Whittaker, B.N., Singh, R.N., Sun, G., 1992, Rock
Fracture Mechanics; Principles, Design, and Applications,
Elsevier, 570 pages
Wiles, T. 2002. Loading System Stiffness a Parameter to
Evaluate Rockburst Potential. . International Seminar on
Deep and High Stress Mining, Perth Australia. Australian
Centre for Geomechanics.
Wiles, T. 2004. Map3D Course Notes. Mine Modelling
Pty Ltd.
Massmin 2004
 A methodology for seismic risk
analysis of mining facilities
Jorge E. Crempien, Laborie Dean, School of Engineering, Universidad de los Andes

Abstract
This work presents a methodology to estimate the seismic risk and design spectrum determination for mining installations
in seismic areas such us the northern part of Chile. The methodology developed is applicable to any area. First the
seismicity of the area is studied, looking at the frequency of events and their geographical distribution in order to establish
a model of temporal and geographical occurrence for events of different magnitudes. The temporal occurrence model
is based on the Gutemberg and Richter law which is determined using maximum likelihood. Also a law of attenuation for
earthquake ground peak accelerations is determined for Chile; the attenuation law and the Gutemberg and Richter law
are used to determine the probability of occurrence of accelerations for different design levels.

1. INTRODUCTION 2. ANALYSIS OF SEISMIC DATA BASE

In general, Chile is well known as an earthquake country, In any seismic risk study the first thing to do is to review the
and since the arrival of the Spanish conquerors there exists data available. The typical data needed for the analysis are:
the records of historic earthquakes that produced abundant the date of occurrence, the latitude and longitude of the
loss of lives and great economic damages in the past. It is not epicenter, the depth of the hypocenter and magnitude. This
strange to have earthquakes with Richter magnitudes over means that if any of this data is missing in any record it should
7.2 in any place of Chile, as an example of this some be discarded from the data base. In the case of the present
earthquakes with magnitude over 7.2 that have been reported work the methodology developed has been applied to a zone
in the northern town of Arica are consigned in table 1. nearby the town of Arica, establishing for this zone an
influence area of 500 km radius with center in Arica, the
Table 1. Earthquakes with Ms>7.2 relevant data of earthquake occurrences in this area was
in the last 150 years. obtained from the USGS catalog. From this catalog complete
records and with magnitudes over 4.5 were selected only.
Year Lat. Lon. Prof. Km. Ms Effect Therefore, from an initial number of 4065 records of
earthquakes from 1570 up to December 2002, only 2311
1868 18.5 70.3 ? 8.5 Tsunami reported events were selected to perform the study.
1877 19.6 70.2 ? 8.3 Tsunami
2. Model of tTemporal Occurrence
1950 23.5 67.5 100 8.0 ----
Earthquake occurrence can be modeled as a Poisson
1995 23.3 70.3 37 7.5 Marejada random process model, where the arrival of earthquakes
are events independent of each other. The model of
Also, Fig. 1 shows a sample of the heavy seismic activity in occurrence is given by the law of Gutemberg and Richter
the northern part of the country. In this figure the epicenters of that relates the number of earthquakes in a year within the
the reported earthquakes since 1960 are plotted. influence area that have magnitudes Ms greater that a
minimum Magnitude Mmin. This law is given by:

Log10 (N) = a bMs (1)

In this last expression and are constants that are

determined from the data gathered for the specific area for
a certain time. In the case of Arica, the occurrence in time
of earthquakes can be observed in Fig. 2

Fig. 1: Epicenters for different magnitudes in Arica.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 577

 From figure 2 is easy to see that the data is homogeneus
starting from the year 1960, and that the data obtained
before that year is a small fraction of the total data and can
be neglected.
The distribution of earthquakes by magnitudes can be
observed in Fig. 3 for the same area

Fig. 3: Distribution of Earthquakes by Magnitude

3. MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD
ANALYSIS OF SEISMIC DATA Fig. 4: Comparison between observed data and Gutemberg
and Richter law
Several authors have proposed methods to determine the
parameter b using maximum likelihood methods. The first
work is due to Aki1 , in latter works Bender2 and Weichart3
improved Akis work by adding the possibility to have data in 4. SPACE DISTRIBUTION OF HYPOCEN-TERS.
different time spans. In this work we adopt the method
proposed by Aki, because it is simpler and also because the The space distribution of hypocenters is studied to
size of the data base. The maximum likelihood estimation of establish a space model of occurrence The distribution of
after Aki is given by: epicenters in the earth surface can be seen in figure 5
where the shore line is also shown. In this plot no difference
log10 e is made for magnitude in contrast to Fig 1.
b= (2)
M MMin

Where M is the mean magnitude of the observed

samples.

Parameter a is obtained from the condition that for the

lowest magnitude in the observed period of time, the
computed number of earthquakes N should be consistent
with the total number of events in the data base. This is:

a = log10 N log10 T + b MMin (3)

Where T is the time length of the data base in years and

N is the total number of earthquakes in the data base.

For the observed zone in Arica the values obtained for a

and b are:

a = 5.92400
b = 0.92966

In figure En la figure 4 it is shown the fit of the predicted

curve obtained by the Gutemberg and Richter law and the
one obtained from the observed data for the region.

Fig. 5: Distribution of epicenters in the studied region.

578 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 In figures 6 to 8 it is possible to see the distribution of
hypocenters in a view from east to west for different
latitudes. These figures clearly show the Benioff plane,
where the Nazca Plate takes contact with the Continental
Plate. The Nazca Plate is subducting beneath the
Continental Plate, for this reason all the hypocenters
appears clearly grouped close to the Benioff plane.
Fig. 6: East-West Distribution of Hypocenters.
Fig. 7: East-West Distribution of Hypocenters
Fig. 8: East-West Distribution of Hypocenters
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
5. ATENUATION LAWS FOR MAXIMUM ACCELERATION
The important thing in seismic risk procedures for
earthquake resistant design is that the maximum
acceleration that can happen in a place con be related with
the occurrence of earthquakes of expected magnitudes, in
the zone where a structure is being designed. What is
needed is to obtain the probability of occurrence of an
acceleration greater than a certain minim acceleration
Amin. To obtain this relation it is necessary to know how
varies the maximum acceleration in a point with the distance
of the point to the hypocenter of the earthquake and also
with the magnitude. These are the so called attenuation
relations for a given region or zone.
Many of these relations have been proposed in the past,
and some of them have been plotted and can be observed
in figure 9. In this work, the attenuation relation initially
proposed by Arias and Crempien4 and latter modified by
Crempien5, for Chilean data was adopted. In general,
attenuation relations have a general form given by:
c1 e c2M
amax = (4)
(D + C3)c4
Where c1, c2, c3, y c4 are constants. In this case, the
values of the constants obtained by Crempien in the
corrected model are:
c1 = 422.0
c2 = 0.79
c3 = 60.
c4 = 1.42
In eq. 4 M is Richter magnitude and D the epicentral
distance in kilometers (km).
6. SEISMIC RISK MODEL AND DESIGN EARTHQUAKE.
To compute the seismic risk of a zone, the procedure
suggested by Cornell6, and modified by Algermissen and
Perkins7, is used. The attenuation law is jointly used with
the all the Gutemberg and Richter law of temporal
occurrence determined for the different seismic sources
within the influence area. In the case of the zone being
evaluated near the of Arica, we can observe in Fig. 1 that
epicenters are well distributed almost all over the influence
area, so the model of space occurrence adopted was a
continuous source distributed over the influence area. This
area was divided into square elements that form a mesh,
and for every element i in the influence mesh the ratio of
earthquakes happened in them to the total number of
earthquake in the influence zone was computed.
Ni
i = (5)
NT
this ratio gives the earthquake productivity of that
particular element in the mesh relative to the total area. This
procedure was suggested by Der kiuregian and Ang8 for
linear sources and extended to area sources by Arias and
Crempien4. Then, for a certain level of acceleration that can
happen in the point where the earthquake risk is being
evaluated, the necessary magnitude to produce that level of
acceleration is computed for all the squares defined in the
mesh, and the total number of earthquakes that produce
magnitudes equal or larger is computed. The probability of
occurrence of the acceleration A grater than a minimum
acceleration Amin is defined as the ratio between favorable
579
 The maximum credible magnitude for this study was set
to Ms = 8.75 based on observed data.

The probability excedence curves obtained for Arica are

shown are shown in figure 10. This figure shows the
probability of excedence of four localities near Arica for
small mining facilities. Because these localities are so close
together the probability curves obtained for each one of
them differ very little from each other.

Fig 10. Excedence probability for accelerations

In Fig. 11 the period of return of accelerations in years is

given for the same localities close to Arica.

Fig. 9: Atenuation Relations for Subduction Zones.

outcomes and total outcomes, the probability of excedence

of a is defined as the total number of earthquakes that
produce the acceleration divided by the total number of
earthquakes in the influence area. In this computation the
actual number in each square that produce acceleration
greater that Amin is multiplied by the factor to take into
account the productivity factor of each element in the mesh.
This is
m

a xE {N ( A < a / M M )}
i Min
F (a) = i =l (6)
E { N ( M M )}
T Min

where E {%} indicate expected value. The return period

of this acceleration is computed as

Fig 11: Return period for accelerations

1 1
F (a) = (7)
1 F (a) E {N (M Mmin) per year }

580 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

7. SELECTION OF DESIGN EARTHQUAKE
According to Standard design practice it is recommended
to use to levels of design earthquake. The first level is the
operation earthquake, this is an earthquake that is likely to
happen during the life span of the facility and that the facility
have to withstand with no loss of functionality. For example
if it is decided to use an earthquake with a return period of
250 years, then from Fig. 11 the maximum horizontal
acceleration is Amax = 0.18g. The second level is the shut
down earthquake. This is an earthquake that has low
probability of happening during the life span of the facility
and it can cause its loss of functionality. For example, if it
is decided to use an earthquake with a return period of 600
years, the maximum horizontal acceleration obtained from
Fig. 11 is Amax =0 .25g.
The next step is to obtain the design response spectra.
This can be accomplished using the design response
spectrum given in the design code, or using the response
spectra of representative earthquakes that have happened
in the region. In this case, the spectra of the acceleration
records obtained during the 1985 earthquake are used.
These spectra are usually normalized so that he maximum
acceleration of the ground be 1.0g. Therefore it is
necessary to scale them to be usable, for this reason they
are multiplied by the maximum acceleration obtained for the
operation and shutdown earthquake respectively, the
outcome is shown in figure 12 where the average design
response spectra for the earthquake records obtained in the
1985 central valley earthquake is plotted for both levels
design and shutdown.
Fig. 12: Design spectra showing shutdown and operation
level.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
8. CONCLUSSIONS
A method for estimation of the seismic risk and for
defining design levels was developed and applied to the
zone northern zone taking the town of Arica as center for the
study. This methodology is portable, and can be used in any
location or zone for both studying seismic risk and defining
the design level of mining facilities.
9. ACNOWLEDGEMENTS
Support for this research was granted by FAI project
CING 001-99, this support is deeply acknowledged.
10. RERENCES
1. Aki, K., "Maximum Likelihood Estimate of b in the
Formula and its Confidence Limits.", Bulletin of The
Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokio, Vol.
43, pp. 237-239, 1965.
2. Bender, B., "Maximum Laikelihood Estimation of b Values
for Magnitude Grouped Data.", Bulletin of the
Seismological Society of America, Vol. 73, pp. 831-851,
June 1983.
3. Weichert, D., "Estimation of the Earthquake Recurrence
Parameters for Unequal Observation Periods for
Different Magnitudes.", Bulletin of the Seismological
Society of America, Vol. 70, pp 1337-1346, 1980.
4. Arias, A. y Crempien J., "Aislacin ssmica de equipos
elctricos de la sub-estacin de Endesa en Alto Jahuel",
V Jornadas Chilenas de Sismologa e Ingeniera
Antissmica, Vol. 1., pp. 1075-1083, 1989.
5. Crempien, J., "Un modelo de Atenuacin para
Aceleracioneas Mximas de Terremotos en la Zona
Central de Chile", Documento de Trabajo No. 44,
Universidad de los Andes, 2001.
6. Cornell, C.,A., "Engineering Seismic Risk Analysis,"
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. 58,
pp. 1583-1606, 1968.
7. Algermissen, S.T., and Perkins, David M., "A probabilistic
estimate of maximum acceleration in rock in the
contiguous United States," U.S. Geological Survey
Open-File Report OF 76-416, 45 p. 1976.
8. Der Kiureghian, A., Ang. H.S., "A Fault-Rupture Model for
Seismic Risk Analysis", Bulletin of the Seismological
Society of America, Vol. 67, pp. 1173-1194, 1977.
581
582 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 A methodology for seismic risk
analysis of mining facilities
Jorge E. Crempien, Laborie Dean, School of Engineering, Universidad de los Andes

Abstract
This work presents a methodology to estimate the seismic risk and design spectrum determination for mining installations
in seismic areas such us the northern part of Chile. The methodology developed is applicable to any area. First the
seismicity of the area is studied, looking at the frequency of events and their geographical distribution in order to establish
a model of temporal and geographical occurrence for events of different magnitudes. The temporal occurrence model
is based on the Gutemberg and Richter law which is determined using maximum likelihood. Also a law of attenuation for
earthquake ground peak accelerations is determined for Chile; the attenuation law and the Gutemberg and Richter law
are used to determine the probability of occurrence of accelerations for different design levels.

1. INTRODUCTION 2. ANALYSIS OF SEISMIC DATA BASE

In general, Chile is well known as an earthquake country, In any seismic risk study the first thing to do is to review the
and since the arrival of the Spanish conquerors there exists data available. The typical data needed for the analysis are:
the records of historic earthquakes that produced abundant the date of occurrence, the latitude and longitude of the
loss of lives and great economic damages in the past. It is not epicenter, the depth of the hypocenter and magnitude. This
strange to have earthquakes with Richter magnitudes over means that if any of this data is missing in any record it should
7.2 in any place of Chile, as an example of this some be discarded from the data base. In the case of the present
earthquakes with magnitude over 7.2 that have been reported work the methodology developed has been applied to a zone
in the northern town of Arica are consigned in table 1. nearby the town of Arica, establishing for this zone an
influence area of 500 km radius with center in Arica, the
Table 1. Earthquakes with Ms>7.2 relevant data of earthquake occurrences in this area was
in the last 150 years. obtained from the USGS catalog. From this catalog complete
records and with magnitudes over 4.5 were selected only.
Year Lat. Lon. Prof. Km. Ms Effect Therefore, from an initial number of 4065 records of
earthquakes from 1570 up to December 2002, only 2311
1868 18.5 70.3 ? 8.5 Tsunami reported events were selected to perform the study.
1877 19.6 70.2 ? 8.3 Tsunami
2. Model of tTemporal Occurrence
1950 23.5 67.5 100 8.0 ----
Earthquake occurrence can be modeled as a Poisson
1995 23.3 70.3 37 7.5 Marejada random process model, where the arrival of earthquakes
are events independent of each other. The model of
Also, Fig. 1 shows a sample of the heavy seismic activity in occurrence is given by the law of Gutemberg and Richter
the northern part of the country. In this figure the epicenters of that relates the number of earthquakes in a year within the
the reported earthquakes since 1960 are plotted. influence area that have magnitudes Ms greater that a
minimum Magnitude Mmin. This law is given by:

Log10 (N) = a bMs (1)

In this last expression and are constants that are

determined from the data gathered for the specific area for
a certain time. In the case of Arica, the occurrence in time
of earthquakes can be observed in Fig. 2

Fig. 1: Epicenters for different magnitudes in Arica.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 577

 From figure 2 is easy to see that the data is homogeneus
starting from the year 1960, and that the data obtained
before that year is a small fraction of the total data and can
be neglected.
The distribution of earthquakes by magnitudes can be
observed in Fig. 3 for the same area

Fig. 3: Distribution of Earthquakes by Magnitude

3. MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD
ANALYSIS OF SEISMIC DATA Fig. 4: Comparison between observed data and Gutemberg
and Richter law
Several authors have proposed methods to determine the
parameter b using maximum likelihood methods. The first
work is due to Aki1 , in latter works Bender2 and Weichart3
improved Akis work by adding the possibility to have data in 4. SPACE DISTRIBUTION OF HYPOCEN-TERS.
different time spans. In this work we adopt the method
proposed by Aki, because it is simpler and also because the The space distribution of hypocenters is studied to
size of the data base. The maximum likelihood estimation of establish a space model of occurrence The distribution of
after Aki is given by: epicenters in the earth surface can be seen in figure 5
where the shore line is also shown. In this plot no difference
log10 e is made for magnitude in contrast to Fig 1.
b= (2)
M MMin

Where M is the mean magnitude of the observed

samples.

Parameter a is obtained from the condition that for the

lowest magnitude in the observed period of time, the
computed number of earthquakes N should be consistent
with the total number of events in the data base. This is:

a = log10 N log10 T + b MMin (3)

Where T is the time length of the data base in years and

N is the total number of earthquakes in the data base.

For the observed zone in Arica the values obtained for a

and b are:

a = 5.92400
b = 0.92966

In figure En la figure 4 it is shown the fit of the predicted

curve obtained by the Gutemberg and Richter law and the
one obtained from the observed data for the region.

Fig. 5: Distribution of epicenters in the studied region.

578 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 In figures 6 to 8 it is possible to see the distribution of
hypocenters in a view from east to west for different
latitudes. These figures clearly show the Benioff plane,
where the Nazca Plate takes contact with the Continental
Plate. The Nazca Plate is subducting beneath the
Continental Plate, for this reason all the hypocenters
appears clearly grouped close to the Benioff plane.
Fig. 6: East-West Distribution of Hypocenters.
Fig. 7: East-West Distribution of Hypocenters
Fig. 8: East-West Distribution of Hypocenters
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
5. ATENUATION LAWS FOR MAXIMUM ACCELERATION
The important thing in seismic risk procedures for
earthquake resistant design is that the maximum
acceleration that can happen in a place con be related with
the occurrence of earthquakes of expected magnitudes, in
the zone where a structure is being designed. What is
needed is to obtain the probability of occurrence of an
acceleration greater than a certain minim acceleration
Amin. To obtain this relation it is necessary to know how
varies the maximum acceleration in a point with the distance
of the point to the hypocenter of the earthquake and also
with the magnitude. These are the so called attenuation
relations for a given region or zone.
Many of these relations have been proposed in the past,
and some of them have been plotted and can be observed
in figure 9. In this work, the attenuation relation initially
proposed by Arias and Crempien4 and latter modified by
Crempien5, for Chilean data was adopted. In general,
attenuation relations have a general form given by:
c1 e c2M
amax = (4)
(D + C3)c4
Where c1, c2, c3, y c4 are constants. In this case, the
values of the constants obtained by Crempien in the
corrected model are:
c1 = 422.0
c2 = 0.79
c3 = 60.
c4 = 1.42
In eq. 4 M is Richter magnitude and D the epicentral
distance in kilometers (km).
6. SEISMIC RISK MODEL AND DESIGN EARTHQUAKE.
To compute the seismic risk of a zone, the procedure
suggested by Cornell6, and modified by Algermissen and
Perkins7, is used. The attenuation law is jointly used with
the all the Gutemberg and Richter law of temporal
occurrence determined for the different seismic sources
within the influence area. In the case of the zone being
evaluated near the of Arica, we can observe in Fig. 1 that
epicenters are well distributed almost all over the influence
area, so the model of space occurrence adopted was a
continuous source distributed over the influence area. This
area was divided into square elements that form a mesh,
and for every element i in the influence mesh the ratio of
earthquakes happened in them to the total number of
earthquake in the influence zone was computed.
Ni
i = (5)
NT
this ratio gives the earthquake productivity of that
particular element in the mesh relative to the total area. This
procedure was suggested by Der kiuregian and Ang8 for
linear sources and extended to area sources by Arias and
Crempien4. Then, for a certain level of acceleration that can
happen in the point where the earthquake risk is being
evaluated, the necessary magnitude to produce that level of
acceleration is computed for all the squares defined in the
mesh, and the total number of earthquakes that produce
magnitudes equal or larger is computed. The probability of
occurrence of the acceleration A grater than a minimum
acceleration Amin is defined as the ratio between favorable
579
 The maximum credible magnitude for this study was set
to Ms = 8.75 based on observed data.

The probability excedence curves obtained for Arica are

shown are shown in figure 10. This figure shows the
probability of excedence of four localities near Arica for
small mining facilities. Because these localities are so close
together the probability curves obtained for each one of
them differ very little from each other.

Fig 10. Excedence probability for accelerations

In Fig. 11 the period of return of accelerations in years is

given for the same localities close to Arica.

Fig. 9: Atenuation Relations for Subduction Zones.

outcomes and total outcomes, the probability of excedence

of a is defined as the total number of earthquakes that
produce the acceleration divided by the total number of
earthquakes in the influence area. In this computation the
actual number in each square that produce acceleration
greater that Amin is multiplied by the factor to take into
account the productivity factor of each element in the mesh.
This is
m

a xE {N ( A < a / M M )}
i Min
F (a) = i =l (6)
E { N ( M M )}
T Min

where E {%} indicate expected value. The return period

of this acceleration is computed as

Fig 11: Return period for accelerations

1 1
F (a) = (7)
1 F (a) E {N (M Mmin) per year }

580 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

7. SELECTION OF DESIGN EARTHQUAKE
According to Standard design practice it is recommended
to use to levels of design earthquake. The first level is the
operation earthquake, this is an earthquake that is likely to
happen during the life span of the facility and that the facility
have to withstand with no loss of functionality. For example
if it is decided to use an earthquake with a return period of
250 years, then from Fig. 11 the maximum horizontal
acceleration is Amax = 0.18g. The second level is the shut
down earthquake. This is an earthquake that has low
probability of happening during the life span of the facility
and it can cause its loss of functionality. For example, if it
is decided to use an earthquake with a return period of 600
years, the maximum horizontal acceleration obtained from
Fig. 11 is Amax =0 .25g.
The next step is to obtain the design response spectra.
This can be accomplished using the design response
spectrum given in the design code, or using the response
spectra of representative earthquakes that have happened
in the region. In this case, the spectra of the acceleration
records obtained during the 1985 earthquake are used.
These spectra are usually normalized so that he maximum
acceleration of the ground be 1.0g. Therefore it is
necessary to scale them to be usable, for this reason they
are multiplied by the maximum acceleration obtained for the
operation and shutdown earthquake respectively, the
outcome is shown in figure 12 where the average design
response spectra for the earthquake records obtained in the
1985 central valley earthquake is plotted for both levels
design and shutdown.
Fig. 12: Design spectra showing shutdown and operation
level.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
8. CONCLUSSIONS
A method for estimation of the seismic risk and for
defining design levels was developed and applied to the
zone northern zone taking the town of Arica as center for the
study. This methodology is portable, and can be used in any
location or zone for both studying seismic risk and defining
the design level of mining facilities.
9. ACNOWLEDGEMENTS
Support for this research was granted by FAI project
CING 001-99, this support is deeply acknowledged.
10. RERENCES
1. Aki, K., "Maximum Likelihood Estimate of b in the
Formula and its Confidence Limits.", Bulletin of The
Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokio, Vol.
43, pp. 237-239, 1965.
2. Bender, B., "Maximum Laikelihood Estimation of b Values
for Magnitude Grouped Data.", Bulletin of the
Seismological Society of America, Vol. 73, pp. 831-851,
June 1983.
3. Weichert, D., "Estimation of the Earthquake Recurrence
Parameters for Unequal Observation Periods for
Different Magnitudes.", Bulletin of the Seismological
Society of America, Vol. 70, pp 1337-1346, 1980.
4. Arias, A. y Crempien J., "Aislacin ssmica de equipos
elctricos de la sub-estacin de Endesa en Alto Jahuel",
V Jornadas Chilenas de Sismologa e Ingeniera
Antissmica, Vol. 1., pp. 1075-1083, 1989.
5. Crempien, J., "Un modelo de Atenuacin para
Aceleracioneas Mximas de Terremotos en la Zona
Central de Chile", Documento de Trabajo No. 44,
Universidad de los Andes, 2001.
6. Cornell, C.,A., "Engineering Seismic Risk Analysis,"
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. 58,
pp. 1583-1606, 1968.
7. Algermissen, S.T., and Perkins, David M., "A probabilistic
estimate of maximum acceleration in rock in the
contiguous United States," U.S. Geological Survey
Open-File Report OF 76-416, 45 p. 1976.
8. Der Kiureghian, A., Ang. H.S., "A Fault-Rupture Model for
Seismic Risk Analysis", Bulletin of the Seismological
Society of America, Vol. 67, pp. 1173-1194, 1977.
581
582 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Chapter 16
Transition from Open
Pit to Underground
Mining
584 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Caving and fragmentation at Palabora:
Prediction to Production
Allan Moss, Principal Consultant Geotechnical Engineering,
Frank Russell, Principal Consultant Underground Mining, Rio Tinto Technical Services
Colin Jones, Consultant Mining Engineer

Abstract
Palabora Mining Company has successfully transitioned from an open pit operation to an underground block cave mine.
The transition faced a number of technical challenges, not the least caving and fragmentation of a competent rock mass.
Initial predictions made during the feasibility study were that, due to the overall quality of the rock mass, oversize and
drawpoint blockages would exert a major constraint on production build-up and cave progression. The actual
fragmentation, while still coarse relative to other block cave operations, has been finer than predictions. There a number
of reasons for this, the most important being the impact of cave induced stresses. Because of problems in dealing with
hang-ups, initial draw rates were low. It is believed that this provided time for caving induced stresses to pre-condition
the rock mass by extension of existing joints and the creation of new ones. The results of numerical modeling and micro-
seismic monitoring are used to substantiate this view.

1 INTRODUCTION
Palabora Mining Company is bringing into production a
30,000 t/d block cave operation below the now closed open
pit. The rock mass being caved represents some of the
most competent ground in which cave mining has been
carried out, as is evident from the pit that has one of the
deepest and steeply sloping excavations in the world. The
caving process therefore relies very much on the generation
of stresses of sufficient magnitude to induce fracture in the
competent rock mass. This process provides the impetus
for cave propagation. Equally important, it reduces the
naturally occurring joint bounded blocks down to a size that
can be managed on the extraction level.
Cave breakthrough has occurred above the central
section of the production footprint where the draw height is
greatest and the cave column the least. Sustained caving,
once regarded as a major project risk, is now occurring.
Fragmentation, which was also identified as a major risk, is
generally finer than originally predicted. Because of
problems dealing with large number of drawpoint blockages
the initial draw rate has been low, allowing, it is conjectured,
caving induced stress to pre-condition the rock mass.
2 OVERVIEW
2.1 Geology
The Palabora copper ore body is an elliptical shaped
vertically dipping volcanic pipe. The pipe measures 1400 m
and 800 m in plan with resources identified to 1800 m below
surface. Transgressive and banded carbonatites form the
central core of the ore body with the banded carbonatites

Figure 1 Plan of Extraction Level Showing Dykes and Faults

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 585

and transgressive carbonatites dominant in the western
sector and eastern sectors of the orebody, respectively.
Barren dolerite dykes dipping steeply to the northeast are
present as are a number of northwest and northeast
trending faults, refer Figure 1.
2.2 Geotechnical Properties
The uniaxial strength of the carbonatites ranges from 60
MPa to 180 MPa with an average value for the
transgressive carbonatites of 120 MPa and 95 MPa for the
banded carbonatites. The dolerites are very strong with
uniaxial compressive strengths in excess of 300 MPa.
Stress measurements indicate that, away from the
influence of the open pit, the stress regime is hydrostatic
and equivalent to the overburden load of approximately 38
MPa at the extraction level.
There is substantial structural variability within the
orebody. The central section of the production footprint is
extensively faulted and is intersected by a number of closely
jointed dolerite dykes. The west section has only a few
minor dolerites dykes while the east section has a single
major dyke.
Two major moderately spaced relatively continuous sub-
vertical joint sets are evident throughout the orebody.
These trend north-south and east-west, approximately
parallel to the major mine development. Other sub-vertical
sets occur but are not as dominant. A widely spaced sub-
horizontal discontinuous set exists. Joint spacing ranges
between 1.2 and 12 m. During the geotechnical drilling
programme long lengths of unbroken core were obtained
underlining the relatively un-fractured competent nature of
the ore.
The orebody was classified using Laubschers MRMR
system. Values vary between 48 and 76 for the various rock
types with an "average" of 61.
For reference the footprint has been divided into West,
Central and East zones that approximate to structural and
geotechnical domains (note these zones are also coincident
with zones of different seismic signature).
2.3 Mining
The production level (see Figure 1) is located about 1200
m below the surface and 400 m below the final pit bottom.
The undercut level is located 18 m above the production
level. Crosscut drives in the undercut are excavated at 4 m
wide by 4m high at 17 m centres above the 34 m spacing of
the extraction drives (Calder and Russell, 2000).
Undercut mining was based on the extraction of a
diamond shape undercut with four fronts advanced
simultaneously. Mining was initiated from a central slot
drive and retreated to the north and south rim drives in each
crosscut. North and south access drives are located 20 m
from the orebody. Average crosscut length is 200 m, with
undercut east-west width of 700 m.
Drawbells were developed below the horizontal drill rings,
with the major apex pillar and extraction drive beneath
inclined drill rings. The undercut was advanced ahead of
drawbell development. Originally 21 production crosscuts
were planned. However, due to poor ground conditions
associated with a major fault in the western extremity, only
20 crosscuts have been developed at present. In all 166
drawbells will be available for production.
There are four crusher stations located along the northern
side of the production footprint. Because of the anticipated
coarse fragmentation LHDs dump directly into these
crushers thus obviating passes.
3 CAVE DEVELOPMENT
The Palabora orebody is one of the most competent rock
masses in which caving has been attempted. Figure 2
586 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
shows the relative position of various caving operations in
terms of rock quality, intact rock strength, induced stress
and a simple assessment of cave performance. Palabora is
positioned at the upper bound of experience.
Figure 2 Relative Cave Performance
The principal method used to predict the size of
footprint required to initiate and sustain caving was the
MRMR approach developed by Laubscher (Laubscher,
1994) The hydraulic radius (HR) required to initiate
caving was predicted to be 35 m and was based on the
results of core logging and mapping in an exploration
drive and in the pit. Because of natural variability of
geotechnical properties, it was realised that this number
was not absolute but represented the central estimate
of a range of outcomes. Numerical modeling (FLAC3D
and 3DEC) was also undertaken to provide further
insight to the caving process and to allow an
assessment of likely ground conditions as the cave
developed.
Undercutting and drawbell development commenced
approximately in the centre of the footprint where the
ground was weaker due to the presence of a number
of major faults and more intense jointing. Though not
ideal from a construction or operating perspective, it
was considered that this strategy provided the lowest
overall project risk with regard to caving and the
impact of caving induced stresses on mine
infrastructure.
Cave development was monitored in a number of ways,
including changes in ground conditions, seismic activity
(Glazer and Hepworth, 2004) and observations of wall
behavior in the overlying pit. Key milestones are shown in
Figure 3. Five stages of cave development can be
identified:
Stage 1 Undercutting: Prior to production mining when
undercutting was the major extraction activity, the amount of
seismic activity was reasonably consistent with the
elevation of this activity increasing with time as undercutting
proceeded. This is believed to reflect the impact of stress
re-distribution due to the undercutting process. The
overlying ground, while experiencing changes in stress, did
not cave during this stage.
Stage 2 Initial Pull: Once production mining
commenced, there was an increase in the number of
seismic events and a decrease in elevation of this
activity. This removal of significant volumes of rock
results in stress change adjacent to where the ground is
Massmin 2004
Figure 3 Seismic monthly activity and average depth of seismicity
removed, hence the lower elevation of seismic activity
in Q4 2001.
Stage 3 Cave Initiation: Caving was initiated upon
the production footprint reaching a critical dimension
(HR=45 m). This was marked by a substantial increase
in seismic activity and increasing elevation of this
activity (Q1 2002).
Stage 4 Initial Cave Breakthrough: The pillar
between the cave and the pit floor failed marking the on-
set of cave breakthrough and a major re-distribution of
stress (HR~ 60 m). This was accompanied by an
increase in seismic activity together with a trend of
decreasing elevation of seismic events (Q1-2 2003). In
addition, survey monitors in the pit showed an increase
in rate of movement.
Stage 5 Breakthrough: Evidence of cave break-
through can be seen in the pit with the advent of wedge
failures associated with general caving induced rock
mass dilation. This demonstrates that the production
footprint has reached the critical size to allow sustained
caving to occur. This probably occurred during stage 4
at an HR of around 60 m.
Comparison of the predicted hydraulic radius to induce
caving with the actual value shows an under-estimate of
some 30%. Though it is possible to adjust the prediction
process to more accurately reflect observed conditions, it is
considered that the error is a measure of uncertainty in
empirical approaches to what is a complex engineering
problem. Results of numerical modeling predictions were
close to actual cave initiation.
Conversely, ground conditions during cave development
have been surprisingly benign in contrast to the predictions
made with numerical modeling. Ground control problems in
the undercut were only encountered after about 80% of the
total undercut area was developed. Similarly, on the
extraction level ground problems have generally only
occurred once cave draw took place over about 80% of the
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
footprint. Local anomalies have occurred related to
structure.
All of the foregoing experience underlines the need for
further investigation into caving mechanics.
4 FRAGMENTATION
The mine is in the initial years of production and though
cave breakthrough has occurred, the maximum height of
cave draw is only some 60 m (less than 15% of column
height). During Q2 2004 production rates approaching
30,000 t/d have been achieved. The main constraint to
production has been secondary breaking of drawpoint
blockages. Drawpoint hang-ups, blockages and oversize
are common with, on average, a yield of some 350 t per
hang-up event. Secondary breaking is therefore a critical
component in achieving full and sustainable production.
4.1 Predicted Fragmentation
During the feasibility study it was recognised that the
competence of the rockmass would result in a high
proportion of oversize and the need for secondary breaking.
At the time of the study, however, there was little experience
with caving of competent rock masses and no tools were
available for predicting cave fragmentation. A model for
predicting block cave fragmentation (BCF) was therefore
developed in conjunction with Premier Mine (Esterhuizen,
1994)
BCF is a mixed analytical model and expert system that
considers the effects of both primary and secondary
fragmentation to predict the fragmentation range reporting
to the drawpoints. Input data to the BCF model includes a
measure of rock mass quality (RMR), cave geometry, rock
jointing and in-situ stress regime. Blocks are generated from
the joint set data and the effects of stresses and orientation
are considered in determining the manner in which blocks
separate from the cave back. This information is used to
determine primary fragmentation
These blocks form input to the secondary fragmentation
module, in addition to geometry, height and specific gravity
587
of ore columns. Accounted for in this module is the
probability of blocks splitting according to their aspect ratios
or from temporary arching. The comminution of corners and
the effect of cushioning fines are also considered.
Output from the second module is the size distribution of
material reporting to the drawpoint. Any rocks that are
greater than 2 m_ are considered oversize. This cut-off
volume is based on the largest rocks that can be efficiently
handled by the 6 m_ LHDs. Figure 4 shows the percentage
oversize predicted during feasibility over the life of the cave,
while Figure 5 shows the predicted numbers of high and low
hang-ups over mine life.
Figure 4 Predicted Percentage Oversize by Year
Figure 5 Predicted Hang-ups by Year
A second model was also developed to provide an
estimate of the frequency and location of hang-ups and
oversize. This model compared the fragmentation range to
the cross sectional area of the drawbell to determine if a
hang up would occur. High hang-ups were defined as
occurring at more than 9 m from the floor of the drawpoint
and low hang-ups were defined as those occurring up to 9
m from the floor. Oversize refers to rock greater than 2 m3
that has to be broken before loading. Information generated
from the fragmentation and hang-up models were then input
into a discrete event simulation in order for production rates
and equipment requirements to be assessed.
4.2 Observed Secondary Breaking
One of the critical issues with respect to predictions of
fragmentation is matching the secondary breaking
requirements. Methods of dealing with all hang-ups and
588 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
oversize were identified as a major risk to the project,
particularly high hang-ups where the technology was
limited. Much work was carried out during the feasibility
study, even to the extent of fabricating a prototype, to have
a capability of dealing with hang-ups up to 16 m in height.
Despite this effort and preparedness it is perhaps fortuitous
that no high hang-ups have occurred!
The current secondary breaking fleet (see Table 1)
consists of a mixture of medium reach rigs (MRR) capable
of reaching up into the drawbell a distance of 12 m, oversize
rigs that use non-explosive technology to break oversize
rocks on the floor of the drawpoint and water cannon and
percussion rigs used to ensure hang-ups are stable before
attempting to remove the hang-up using the medium reach
rig.
Table 1 Secondary Breaking Fleet
Equipment Purpose No
Medium reach Hang-ups and 7
rigs (MRR) blockages up to 12 m
Commando rigs General purpose 2
Robust rigs Breaking oversize 7
(RR) in drawpoint
Water cannon Stabilise hang-ups 2
prior to use of MMR
Concussion rigs Bombing of blockages 2
prior to use of MMR
The type and number of secondary breaking equipment is
different to that originally envisaged. The changes are part
of an ongoing exercise to resolve secondary breaking
issues of suitability, reliability and organisation.
Suitability is not just related to change in fragmentation
but also to the fact that hang-ups now occur in a different
location to that expected. For example, many hang-ups
occur as "jumbles" of rock in the throat of the drawpoint
and original equipment fleet was only capable of drilling
either a 100 mm diameter hole inside the drawbell or
oversize lying on the floor of the drawpoint.
Reliability was a problem with the original fleet,
particularly in the demanding environment of production
ramp-up. In addition, despite the use of water cannons
and concussion rigs to stabilise hang-ups, boom
damage has been high resulting in lower than expected
availability.
Organisation of secondary breaking has been
continuously improved by the use of multi-discipline
process management teams. Current practice is to carry
out sequential passes with the water cannon, concussion
rig, medium reach rig followed by the oversize rig.
The foregoing demonstrates the importance of good
estimates of fragmentation and hang-ups together with
reliable estimates of hang-up clearance times. With this
information the appropriate type and number of equipment
can be selected prior to the start of production.
In terms of operations management, each unit maintains
a record what work is done and where. Thus, a
comprehensive database exists of secondary breaking
events across the entire production footprint. This
information demonstrates the impact of fragmentation in
production terms and provides an indirect measure of
fragmentation. The tonnage yield per hang-up event or the
frequency of hang-ups is directly proportional to the size of
fragments reporting to the drawpoint.
The results show that geology, location within footprint,
Massmin 2004
and draw height are key factors in the number of hang-ups
and oversize that has to be dealt with and, by inference, the
distribution of fragmentation. The following summarises
secondary breaking achievements to the end of Q1 2004:
Overall average yield = 409 t
Average yield in the Eastern area = 248 t
Average yield in the Central area = 736 t
Average yield in the Western area = 433 t
In the Central and West mining zones, yield begins
increasing from a height of approximately 45 m draw height
. The East zone has not reached this height and is showing
a relatively unchanging yield in the range 20-45 m in situ
cave height.
The numbers of hang-ups varies by mining area and,
more importantly, by draw height as summarised in Table 2
and illustrated in Figure 6
Table 2 Tonnes/Hang-up and Draw Height
Zone In Situ Draw height (m)
15 30 40 60
East 238 193 170 -
Central 6861 457 448 621
West 440 318 374 833
The overall average oversize blast rate is 80 t/oversize
blast though, like hang-ups, this varies by draw height and
mining area. The rate of oversize drops beneath the
average from heights of 40 m and above. Again, however,
this trend may change as the East zone begins caving in
this height range. Oversize is more frequent in the East
than in the Central and West zones, but the difference is not
as great as for hang-ups.
Figure 6 Average Tonnes/Hang-up Relative to Position in
the Footprint (shown West to East)
4.3 Observed Fragmentation
A site specific classification system ("flip-chart" method) is
used to measure the distribution of fragment size across the
production footprint. This system is based on an approach
developed as part of the International Caving Study where
image analysis is used to derive the distribution of the
particle size reporting to the drawpoint. The method
involves the determination of like fragmentation size ranges
and then, by using a typical image, classifying the drawpoint
into one of five size categories. This process enables data
to be collected both simply and rapidly. With routine
drawpoint inspections this data is easily merged with draw
data. Figure 7 shows a photograph of a drawpoint and the
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
subsequent rendition for image analysis in the course
category. Over the six-month period since fragmentation
sampling commenced at Palabora a total of 30 sampling
sessions have been completed using the flip chart method,
sampling a total of 6031 drawpoints.
Figure 7 Fragmentation Analysis Photo and resultant
image Category C "Coarse" ore
The general fragmentation tends to mirror the secondary
breaking pattern. The following summarises findings to
date:
The coarsest material is in the East followed by the West
and Central zones.
The percentage of larger material (>2 m3 in size) is
remaining steady with height.
The amount of fines is increasing with height, with a
change being observed in the East and West zones at
greater than 35 m draw height. This is much less than the
100 m predicted by BCF and is possibly due to enhanced
secondary fragmentation and preferential movement of
fines.
On a monthly basis there has been an increase in the
amount of coarse material underground. This fits well
with the production data, which describes a reduction in
yield over Q4 2003 to Q1 2004. This increase in the
amount of coarse material underground is a general
trend explained by the reduction in material coming from
the undercut as a percentage of total material mined from
underground. There is as yet insufficient material coming
from a high draw height to counteract this reduction in
undercut tonnage.
4.4 Discussion
Caving was initiated in the more faulted weaker centre section
of the footprint. Stronger transgressive carbonatites
predominate in the eastern sector and weaker banded
carbonatites in the western sector. In addition, the Mica Fault,
located at the western extremity of the footprint effectively
concentrated stress within the western sector while by contrast
a large dyke at the eastern extremity may have acted as a stress
riser. The concentration of stress in the west induced additional
fractures in the rock mass creating smaller blocks and thus finer
fragmentation. Fewer fractures were generated in the east due
to stress sheltering and a stronger rock mass. This resulted in
larger blocks and an increased incidence of hang-ups. There is
support for this hypothesis from the results of seismic monitoring
that indicates relaxation (softening of the rock mass due to
fracturing) in the West and increasing stress in the East (the less
fractured rock mass able to attract more stress) together with
the results from monitoring of secondary breaking and
fragmentation.
A number of fragmentation zones can be identified.
These are:
Zone of undercut influence (0 to 20 m draw height): A
rapid increase in fragment size as ground influenced by
the undercutting process is pulled.
589
 Zone of primary fragmentation (20 to 40 m draw height):
Coarsest fragmentation, lowest yield per hang-up. Zone
least impacted by caving induced stresses.
Zone of initial fining (40 to ? m draw height): Initial
reduction in fragment size due to factors such as stress
conditioning (as indicated by micro-seismic activity), and
comminution in the draw column.
Ongoing monitoring of secondary breaking performance
and of drawpoint fragmentation will allow better definition of
these and subsequent zones as the cave progresses
5 CONCLUSIONS
Block caving at Palabora is at an early stage. Break-
through into the overlying pit has occurred clearly
demonstrating that competent rock masses can be
successfully caved. However, there was a 30% under
estimate in the size of footprint required to induce caving.
The magnitude of this estimating error is large (particularly
when the demands of feasibility studies are to estimate
capital and operating costs to within +/- 15%) underlining
the need for further work on cave prediction.
Though the production ramp-up to 30,000 t/d is well
underway it has been constrained by the secondary
breaking process. This has resulted in the draw rate to be
in balance or less than the caving rate. It is considered that
in terms of cave performance this has been beneficial in
allowing stresses to build and pre-condition the rock mass
resulting in the creation of new joints and the extension of
existing joints. The prediction of fragmentation allowed the
critical nature of secondary breaking to be identified.
590 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Though fragmentation is substantially finer than predicted,
the ability to identify the magnitude of the problem was
remarkably good given the limited knowledge at the time of
the feasibility study. Experience has shown that substantial
demands are placed on secondary breaking equipment and
that maintenance and task organisation are key factors in
achieving breaking targets. Nevertheless, better methods
are required for predicting fragmentation and the associated
hang-up rates.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The paper presented here is the result of all those who
participated in the Palabora Underground Mine Project and
the role of the authors has simply been to report this work to
a wider audience.
The permission of Palabora Mining Company and Rio
Tinto Technical Services to publish this paper is gratefully
acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Laubscher, DH, 1994. Cave Mining - the State of the Art.
J S Afrr Inst Min Metall, 94(10);279-293.
Calder, K, Townsend, P, and Russell, F, 2000. The
Palabora Underground Mine Project. Proceedings
MassMin 2000. Brisbane (Ed: G Chitombo) 219-225.
Esterhuizen, G S, 1994. A Program to Predict Block Cave
Fragmentation, Technical Reference and Users Guide.
Glazer, S and Hepworth, N, 2004, Seismic Monitoring of
Block Cave Crown Pillar. To be published Proceedings
MassMin 2004. Santiago.
Massmin 2004
 Geotechnical challenges of the
transition from open pit to
underground mining at
Chuquicamata Mine
Germn Flores, Codelco Norte Division, Codelco Chile

Abstract
Chuquicamata mine is an open pit operation located in the northern part of Chile. This mine went into production in 1915,
mining 1,000 tpd of oxide ore. Today it is a large scale operation mining 186,000 tpd of mainly sulphide ore. The present
mine plan is for open pit operations to cease in year 2013 at a depth of 1100 m. Although the orebody continues below
the bottom of the final pit shell, the cost increments associated with a deep pit operation do not allow for further open pit
mining, therefore it become necessary to initiate a transition from open pit to underground mining. The underground
operation will be implemented at depth, in a hard and massive rock mass and in high stress environments. To make this
project economically viable requires application of a large scale and low cost underground mass mining method in order
to achieve the required high production rates. The only methods that can achieve these requirements are block and panel
caving. The transition from a large scale and deep open pit to underground cave mining at Chuquicamata will face with
several geotechnical challenges. These include the presence of the large and deep open pit which will produce zones of
stress concentrations and zones of low confinement, the magnitude of induced stresses due to the pit depth, cave
propagation, simultaneous open pit and underground operations, the presence of the West fault and the shear zone,
subsidence and water inflows. This paper discusses these geotechnical challenges identified at the scoping engineering
stage of Chuquicamatas project for a transition from open pit to underground mine by caving and describes technical
strategies to reduce and manage associated risk at all stages of project development.

1 INTRODUCTION in Figure 1. This mine is part of Codelco Norte Division

Chuquicamata mine lies at approximately 3,000 m
elevation in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, some 16
km from Calama city, in the Province of El Loa, and some
250 km north-east of Antofagasta city, II Region, as shown
which has three open pit operations with Chuquicamata
being the biggest, as shown in Figure 2. Currently,
Chuquicamata is one of the largest open pit mines in the
world, as shown in Figure 3, with a strike length of 4.5 km in
NS direction, a width of 2.7 km in EW direction and a depth

Figure 1: Map showing the location of Chuquicamata Mine

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 591

Figure 2: Aerial view of Codelco Norte Division

Figure 3: Aerial view of Chuquicamata mine looking to the North

592 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 4: Reserves and geological resources at Chuquicamata orebody

Figure 5: Conventional panel caving method

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 593

of 850 m. This mine started in 1915 and currently mines 88 Fortuna granodiorite

Granodiorites
Mt of ore and 115 Mt of waste. The current mine plan is to
reach a depth of 1,100 m in year 2013. Although the ore Moderately sheared zone

Waste
body continues below of the final pit bottom the open pit, the Highly sheared zone
operational cost at that depth will not allow for continued
mining by the open pit method. Therefore, it has become
necessary to initiate a transition from open pit to
underground mining. This transition phase will require suc- -------------- West fault -----------------------------------------------
cessfully overcoming a number of technical and economic
issues (Arancibia and Flores 2004). The technical issues Quartz-sericitic rock / Highly sericitic rock

Increasing grade
include the geotechnical challenges which must take into

Porphyries
account the re-gional West Fault and its shear zone as East porphyry with sericitic alteration
shown in Figure 4, the presence of a large and deep open
pit which will produce zones of stress concen-trations and East porphyry with chloritic alteration
zones of low confinement, a hard and massive rock mass
and the depth of the un-derground excavations. It should be East porphyry with potassic alteration
evident, therefore, that the decision on transition from open
pit to underground mining should take into account the
number of geotechnical factors which control the rock mass Table 1: Geotechnical Units
response during this phase. This is particularly crucial when
simultaneous surface and underground operations are Geotechnical UCS FF RMRL GSI
considered. Unit (MPa) (fract./m)
The scoping study of this project has indicated that the
most suitable underground mining method is panel caving Quartz-sericitic
based on the characteris-tics of the Chuquicamata deposit rock 20 1 to 5 55 to 65 70 to 85
and the eco-nomic and business requirements of the Highly sericitic
project. Panel caving, illustrated in Figure 5, is considered to rock 10 > 10 35 to 45 25 to 40
be the only method that could achieve high production rates
East porphyry with
and low operational costs.
sericitic alteration 31 1 to 5 60 to 70 55 to 70
This paper presents and discusses the geotechni-cal
challenges which may have a significant im-pact on the East porphyry with
economic of this transition project from a large and deep chloritic alteration 84 1 to 10 55 to 65 55 to 65
open pit to underground cave mining at Chuquicamata mine East porphyry with
potassic alteration 85 1 to 10 55 to 70 55 to 75

2 GEOLOGICAL AND GEOTECHNICAL
SETTING AT CHUQUICAMATA
The Chuquicamata porphyry copper orebody is
rectangular in plan, and dips vertically. The
mineralization was controlled by the West Fault which is
located at the toe of the West wall. From the fault to the
West is waste and from the fault to the East is ore, as
illustrated in Figure 4.
About 2,470 Mt of ore, averaging 1.54% Cu, have being
mined out from the Chuquicamata ore body since 1915, and
870 Mt will be mined out from 2004 to 2013 (final pit).
However, the ore body is open at depth, with geological
resources estimated to be 1,500 Mt at an average grade of
0.65% of Cu for the underground mining, as shown in Figure
4.
At the Chuquicamata mine the predominant rock types
are granodiorites and porphyries, whose western contact is
defined by the West fault, a large regional fault with a NS
trend, 4 to 6 m thick, and defining a 150 to 200 m wide shear
zone on its western side. This shear zone has a poor to very
poor geotechnical quality, and is located in the lower third
part of the West Walls slopes. In the upper part of these
slopes the rock is Fortuna granodiorite. On the eastern side
of the West fault appears a massive quartz-sericitic rock,
and beyond that porphyries with different types of alteration.
Hence, from West to East the main rock mass types at
Chuquicamata are:
The engineering geology at Chuquicamata is such that
twelve geotechnical units have been defined (Torres et al
2003), as shown in the plan view of Figure 6 and the EW
and NS cross sec-tions shown in Figures 7 and 8, which
also shown the main geological structures, as also the
current and final pits. The main geotechnical units in the
sector of interest to the transition project have the
characteristics summarized in Table 1 (Flores et al 2004c).
UCS Uniaxial compressive strength of the intact rock
FF Fracture frequency (including weak veinlets)
RMRL Laubschers rock mass rating
GSI Geological strength index
The stress field at Chuquicamata has been measured
using a hydro-fracturing technique in deep vertical down
holes. The in situ stress field is defined by a vertical stress
proportional to the depth, with a magnitude in the range of
35 to 40 MPa at the elevation of a future UCL. The hori-
zontal stresses are defined by minimum and maximum
stress ratios, KMIN and KMAX, respec-tively. KMIN ranges from
0.5 to 1.0, with a direc-tion of N20E and KMAX varies from
1.0 to 1.7, with a direction of N70W (Torres et al 2003).
These values will be verified using the CSIRO hollow
inclusion technique to perform stress measurements from
the exploration tunnels which will be available below the
final open pit shell at the end of the year 2004.
3 THE TRANSITION PROCESS
There are many near surface deposits that have
considerable vertical extent. Although they are initially
exploited by open pit mining, there is often a point where
decisions have to be made to either continue deepening the
pit or mining the same deposits by underground methods. At
pre-sent several open pit mines are planning, or are in the
process of implementing, a transition to underground
mining. They include Bingham Canyon in USA,
Chuquicamata and Mansa Mina in Chile, Grasberg in
Indonesia, Palabora and Venetia in South Africa, Argyle,
Mount Keith and Telfer in Australia.
The decision to make the transition from open pit to an
underground operation is often based on a simple
determination of the NPV of the next feasible open pit

594 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

pushback. Underground mining is only contemplated when
a further pushback is shown to be uneconomic. However,
any decision to go underground also requires consideration
of a wide range of technical factors, and careful planning,
which means a significant amount of time for achieving
underground mining (up to 20 years has been suggested by
Stacey and Ter-brugge 2000). This is in addition to the
thorough assessment of the risks associated with the rock
mass failure that accompanies underground cave mining,
and its interaction with the open pit and the surrounding
infrastructure.
Perhaps one of the most important decisions, in the initial
stages of a project for a transition from open pit to
underground mining, is the definition of the most suitable
underground mining method based on the characteristics of
the deposit and, at the same time, the economic and
business re-quirements of the mining company. If the busi-
ness requires high production rates and low op-erational
costs, then underground cave mining methods, such as
block or panel caving, are the only methods through which
these main objec-tives can be achieved. In such cases, it is
desir-able that the open pit continues its operation during
the first stages of underground mining, and that the
underground mine gets to a high productivity quickly and
before closure of the open pit operation. This means that
there will be a period of simultaneous open pit and under-
ground mining operations.
This simultaneity implies an interaction between the open
pit and the underground mining which makes the problem
more complex than the typi-cal open pit or underground
mine designs, be-cause the presence of the deep open pit
will af-fect the stress field in which the underground mine will
be developed and, conversely, the propagation of the caving
will affect the stability of the surface crown pillar that defines
the bot-tom of the open pit.
Figure 6: Geological units present in Chuquicamata Mine
including lithology and alteration (Torres et al 2003)
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 7: Section 3900 N illustrating the geotechnical units
and the major structures (Torres et al 2003)
Additionally, there are many other factors or po-tential
hazards that could make the problem even more difficult if
they are not identified prior to making the transition from
surface to under-ground mining.
Some of the major hazards that could be expe-rienced in
a transition from open pit to under-ground cave mining are:
1. mining by caving in relatively massive rock masses will
induce seismicity which could trigger rockbursts;
2. if the caving propagation is arrested by the formation of a
metastable cavity, a sudden failure of the cave back may
occur which could trigger an air blast (de Nicola and
Fishwick 2000);
3. an early break down or failure of the surface crown
pillar, in simultaneous surface and un-derground
operations, may cause an unex-pected end of the open
pit operations, affecting the production plan and, if
sudden, could put at risk the safety of the entire mine
operations;
4. subsidence, which begins once the caving reaches the
pit bottom, could affect not only the surface infrastructure
close to the pit, but also the location of the main
underground ac-cesses and infrastructure; and
5. the open pit could act as a catch-basin for heavy rainfall,
increasing the risk of sudden water inflows and/or
mudrushes into the un-derground mine.
Even if these potential hazards are identified, it is difficult
to assign a probability of occurrence to each one and to
determine the potential safety risk/cost associated with it.
This makes the issue of transition even more complex and
challenging.
It should be evident, therefore, that the decision on
transition should not only be based on eco-nomic indicators,
but must also take into account the number of technical
factors which control the rock mass response during
transition. This is par-ticularly crucial when simultaneous
surface and underground operations are anticipated.
The behaviour of a rock mass in a transition from open
pit to underground mining by caving has been shown to be
a subject of interest to todays mining industry, because of
the number of mines planning to start implementing the
first engi-neering stages of such a transition. In addition,
there are still a number of unknowns to be ad-dressed in
order to solve key geotechnical issues associated with
595
Figure 8: Section 3300E illustrating the geotechnical units and the major structures (Torres et al 2003)
such a transition, and the follow-ing questions must be
addressed:
1. What is the optimum height of the ore column that can be
mined safely from a economi-cal/geotechnical/ operatio-
nal perspective?
2. Will the cave propagate upwards through the entire block
height?
3. What is the minimum thickness of the surface crown pillar
required to allow simultaneous surface and underground
operations?
4. When is it no longer safe to be mining in the open pit
while caving is occurring? How long could both mines
operate simultaneously?
5. Will the subsidence generated by the under-ground
mining affect the surface infrastructure surrounding the
pit ? When?
6. What are the main geotechnical hazards, and how should
they be dealt with?
The potential consequences of an ill-defined transition
project can be large, not only economi-cally but also
environmentally, and even politi-cally.
In addition, many aspects of the transition prob-lem are
beyond the ranges of applicability of known solutions. For
example, the simultaneous operation of the open pit and
underground mines by caving methods requires a stable
surface crown pillar between the cave back and the pit
bottom. However, at the same time, cave propagation
requires the failure of this pillar to connect to ground
surface, so the definition of crown pillar failure is not the
usual. Furthermore, the span of this surface crown pillar is
much larger than the maximum span of surface crown pillar
used in open stope mining.
The answer to this and other questions requires an
improved understanding of the behaviour of the rock mass,
the mechanics of caving propagation, and the effects of a
simultaneous surface and underground mining by caving
methods.
The quality and reliability of the geotechnical data is of
paramount importance for the engineering of a transition
project, and factors such as the strength, cavability and
fragmentation of the rock mass could have a large impact
on the project.
596 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
For example, if the layout design was based on a certain
fragmentation finer than the actual one, the occurrence of
hangouts would become a serious operational problem, and
the need for secondary blasting and draw point repairs will
be larger than expected.
As the evaluation of the cavability of the rock mass is
commonly based on Laubschers chart, the MRMR
estimates must be as reliable as possi-ble, as illustrated by
the following example:
If the data available indicates that Laubschers RMR
could vary from 55 to 65, a Monte Carlo simulation indicates
that a value of 57 for MRMR have a 15% probability of
exceedance, and caving initiation would require a hydraulic
radius, HR, equals to 38, which corresponds to a 23000 m2
square area.
If the data indicates that RMR varies from 45 to 65, the
same analysis would indicate that a 22000 m2 square area
is required (HR = 37).
On the other hand, if the data indicates that RMR varies
from 55 to 75, the same analysis would indicate that a
37000 m2 square area is required (HR = 48).
Hence an overestimation of the lower bound for RMR has
a minor effect on the project (-4%), but a underestimation of
the upper bound for RMR could have a major impact on the
project (+61%).
Therefore, any additional cost incurred improving the
reliability of the geotechnical data must be considered a
very good investment and, at the same time, an insurance
against changes from the expected geotechnical setting.
The key geotechnical issues that are considered relevant
in a project for a transition from open pit to underground
mining by caving are:
1. The selection of the undercut level, which defines the
block height. Proper selection of the block height is
particularly important when there is the potential for
simultaneous open pit and underground operations.
2. The cave initiation and propagation through the rock
column to be caved. This is important to determine if the
rock mass will cave or stall.
3. The minimum crown pillar thickness required for
simultaneous open pit and underground operations.
4. Subsidence due to the failure of the pit slopes after the
connection of the cave back with the pit bottom, with a
Massmin 2004
Figure 9: Diagram illustrating the different stages of caving propagation in a transition from open pit to under-ground mining
by caving

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 597

 zone of influence with an important width. Knowledge of
the extent of the subsidence zone is crucial for the
location of the main accesses to the underground mine
and the underground infrastructure. This is in addition to
assessing the likely impact of the subsidence zone to the
existing surface infra-structures, which eventually would
have to be relocated.
5. The presence of a large open pit above the underground
mine increases the likelihood of water inflows/mudrushes
because the open pit could act as a catchment for heavy
rainfalls, and the water could seep into the underground
mine through fractures induced by the caving and the
broken rock above the UCL. This may cause disruptions
in production and, worst, safety risks for the underground
operation.
Figure 9 illustrates the different stages of the caving
process in a transition for open pit to un-derground mining.
The detail and mechanisms associated with these issues
have been discussed in an accompanying paper (Flores et
al, 2004b).
4 MAIN GEOTECHNICAL
CHALLENGES AT CHUQUICAMATA
The planned transition from a large scale and deep open
pit to underground cave mining at Chuquicamata is
expected to face a number of unique geotechnical
challenges, as illustrated in Figure 10. Given their potential
impact to the transition project these need to be addressed
dur-ing the early and subsequent design stages of the
project. These main geotechnical challenges are:
1. The presence of the large and deep open pit, which will
produce zones of stress concentra-tions and zones of low
confinement. These in-duced stresses will likely affect the
propaga-tion of caving and must therefore be consid-ered
in evaluating the likelihood of caving propagation through
the whole ore column to be cave, as illustrated in Figure
11.
2. The level of induced stresses due to the pit depth in
addition to the height of the block to be caved. When the
final pit is reached in 2013 with a depth of 1,100 m, the
undercut level will be located at a depth of around 1,500
m from surface. Therefore, the induced stresses are likely
to be high and induced seismicity will be expected during
under-ground mining, which eventually could gen-erate
rockbursts. Figure 12 illustrates the con-sequences of a
rockburst phenomenon in a caving operation. Due to this
a seismic monitoring system is considered an absolute
Figure 10: Geotechnical challenges associated with a
transition project at Chuquicamata
598 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
need, and it should be implemented when the initial
developments of the underground mine begin.
3. Cave initiation and propagation. The initial stage of the
underground mining will be in a hard and massive rock
mass, where cave ini-tiation and propagation may be difficult.
As the cave propagation approaches the pit bot-tom the rock
mass above the cave back would be affected by the higher
stresses associated with the presence of the open pit, which
may affect the rate of the caving propagation by either
accelerating or arresting the process. The main factors
affecting cave propagation in a transition from open pit to
underground cave mining are shown in Figure 11. Also, it
becomes important to define and implement an
instrumentation system to monitor the de-velopment of the
cave. Considering the expe-rience at El Teniente (Rojas et al
2000) and Palabora mines (Glazer and Hepworth 2004), this
system would include seismic instru-mentation, TDRs and
borehole camera ob-servations.
4. Simultaneous open pit and underground mine operations.
The economic and business re-quirements of
Chuquicamata are such that a period of simultaneous
open pit and under-ground mining would be required.
Hence, at least for a certain period, a stable crown pillar
must be maintained between the cave back and the pit
bottom. This period must be defined considering the
stability of the crown pillar and the fact that its thickness is
reducing due to the ore draw from the underground mine,
as illustrated in Figure 13. A longer period of simultaneity
requires a larger block height. A low block height would
lead to a very short period of simultaneous operation,
which could be non practical. Once the period of
simultaneity has been established it is pos-sible to define
when the underground mining should begin.
5. The presence of the West fault and the shear zone. The
West fault forms an abrupt contact between the ore and
the waste. The waste is a soft, weak and highly fractured
rock mass which potentially could become a source of
early dilution of the ore if the cavity reaches the West fault
before connecting with the pit bottom. Hence, a rib pillar
is required between the West fault and the undercut area
as illustrated in Figure 10. If this rib pillar is too thin it could
fail and early dilution may occur. On the other hand, if it is
too wide some high grade ore would not be mined. Figure
14 il-lustrates the rib pillar at Chuquicamata.
6. Subsidence. Once the caving connects to the pit bottom the
pit will become a subsidence crater with a zone of influence
extending be-yond the pit perimeter. Of course, this condi-tion
will evolve with time, and due to slope failures and the
extension of the undercut area this crater will grow. The
geometry of a subsidence crater at Chuquicamata will be
defined by the crater depth, H, and the angle of break, a,
which is the angle between the edge of the undercut level and
the start of discontinuous deformations (large tension cracks).
The influence zone adjacent to the crater perimeter is defined
in terms of the in-fluence width, dIZ. The a and dIZ terms de-
pend on the rock mass quality and the pres-ence of major
geological structures. The morphology of the subsidence
phenomenon at Chuquicamata is illustrated in Figure 15. The
importance to define the a and dIZ is due to the requirement
to determine the location of the main accesses to the
underground mining and the location of the underground
infrastructure which must be outside of the influence zone. In
addition, it is necessary to know if the subsidence due to the
under-ground mining will affect the current surface
infrastructure related to the open pit opera-tions.
7. Ground water. Due to the presence of ground water in the
slopes of Chuquicamatas open pit and some rains during
the Bolivian winter (January and February), there is a non
zero probability of inrushes of water or mud into the
underground mine. These inflows/mud-rushes could be
facilitated by the presence of major geological structures
Massmin 2004
 Figure 11: Induced stresses affecting the caving propagation

Figure 12: Consequences of rockburst phenomenon in a panel caving operation

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 599

 Figure 13: Diagram illustrating the surface crown pillar developed in a transition
from open pit to underground cave mining
and/or the frac-tures and the cave generated by the
caving. Water inflows and/or mudrushes can cause
damage to underground mines by caving methods due to
the sudden inflow of wa-ter/mud from drawpoints, ore
passes or other underground openings. Figure 16
illustrates the consequences of a mud rush in a mine by
caving.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The geotechnical challenges associated with the planned
transition from open pit to underground cave mining at
Chuquicamata have been identified at the early stage of the
project (scoping study), and Codelco Norte Division is
developing appropriate technical strategies to reduce and
manage the potential risks associated with the geotechnical
challenges identified. These strat-egies are now being
incorporated into the ongoing engineering studies of the
transition project.
Hence, and as an integral part of the overall tran-sition
project at Chuquicamata, a worldwide benchmark study and
literature review on transi-tion from open pit to underground
mining by caving was undertaken (Flores et al 2004a). This
was carried out through the International Caving Study
Stage II (ICS-II), managed by the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral
Research Centre, Brisbane, Australia, of which CODELCO
is one of the sponsors.
The benchmark concluded that there is currently neither
sufficient experience in transition for deep pits nor available
design methodologies in spite of the topics importance to
mining in-dustry. The only documented transition involv-ing
a large open pit and underground mining by caving is
Palabora mine, South Africa (Glazer and Hepworth 2004). In
600 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
the near future a number of large open pit operations which
include Bingham Canyon and Grasberg will be undergoing
similar transition. As a result, the subject of transition was
included as one of the major research topics in the ICS-II.
This research was focussed on developing guidelines on
rock mass charac-terization, caving propagation, surface
crown pillar, subsidence and water inflows, all of which are
important geotechnical issues for consider-ation in a
transition project.
The outcomes of this research will be used in the
Chuquicamata transition project as part of the overall
Codelco Norte strategy to ensure the suc-cessful transition
from open pit to underground cave mining given the
geotechnical challenges identified.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author acknowledges the Division Codelco Norte for
the permission to publish this paper. He wishes to also
thank the Geotechnical Group of Codelco Norte Division for
having provided material used in the paper. Special thanks
are given to Professor E T Brown AC and Drs. Antonio
Karzulovic and Gideon Chitombo for their encouragement
and technical discus-sions.
REFERENCES
Arancibia, E and Flores, G, 2004. Design for under-
ground mining at Chuquicamata orebody. Scoping
engineering stage. Proceedings MassMin 2004,
Santiago, (Ed: A Karzulovic and M Alfaro).
de Nicola, R and Fishwick, M, 2000. An under-ground air
blast - Codelco Chile - Division Salva-dor. Proceedings
MassMin 2000, Brisbane, (Ed: G Chitombo), 279-288.
Massmin 2004
Figure 14: Rib pillar between the caving cavity and the west fault

Figure 15: Subsidence phenomenon

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 601

 Figure 16: Effects of a mud rush in an underground mine
by caving.
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy:
Melbourne.
Flores, G, Karzulovic, A and Brown, E T, 2004a. Current
practices and trends in cave mining. Pro-ceedings
MassMin 2004, Santiago, (Ed: A Karzu-lovic and M
Alfaro).
Flores, G, Karzulovic, A and Brown, E T, 2004b.
Evaluation of the likelihood of cave propagation in mining
engineering practice. Proceedings MassMin 2004,
Santiago, (Ed: A Karzulovic and M Alfaro).
Flores, G, Karzulovic, A and Gonzalez, G, 2004c.
Geotechnical considerations for the scoping engi-neering
stage of the transition project from open pit to
underground mining at Chuquicamata mine (in Spanish).
Technical Report, Codelco Norte Division, Codelco Chile.
Glazer, S and Hepworth, N, 2004. Seismic monitor-ing of
block cave crown pillar Palabora Mining Company,
602 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
RSA. Proceedings MassMin 2004, Santiago, (Ed: A
Karzulovic and M Alfaro).
Rojas, E, Cavieres, P, Dunlop, R and Gaete, S, 2000.
Control of induced at El Teniente Mine, Codelco Chile.
Proceedings MassMin 2000, Brisbane, (Ed: G Chitombo),
775-784. Australasian Institute of mining and Metallurgy:
Melbourne.
Stacey, T R and Terbrugge, P J, 2000. Open pit to
underground transition and interaction. Pro-ceedings
MassMin 2000, Brisbane, (Ed: G Chi-tombo), 97-104.
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy:
Melbourne.
Torres, R, Araya, E, Crdoba, S y Domnguez, O, 2003.
Geotechnical characterisation for the scop-ing
engineering stage of the transition from open pit to
underground mining at Chuquicamata mine (in Spanish).
Technical Report, Codelco Norte Division, Codelco Chile.
Massmin 2004
 Design for Underground Mining
at Chuquicamata Orebody.
Scoping Engineering Stage
Ernesto Arancibia, Germn Flores, Codelco Norte Division, Codelco Chile

Abstract
The current Chuquicamata mines long term mine plan has established that the final pit will be reached in year 2013
when the pit reaches a depth of approximately 1,100m. However, since there are still mineable geological resources
underneath the final pit, the mine is currently assessing the feasibility of a transition to underground mining using panel
caving method. This is the preferred caving method as it potentially should allow for highly mechanized operations with
high production rates at low production costs. This paper presents and discusses the panel caving parameters and
associated cost estimations that have been proposed at the scoping engineering stage including a number of both
technical and human resources issues likely to be faced and how they are to be addressed. This scoping study is based
on a combination of a series of preliminary analyses, other Codelco panel cave experiences supplemented by a world
benchmark on transition. These may be refined as more data is obtained and made available followed by more detailed
analyses. A key development of the transition from the Chuquicamata large open pit to the planned underground panel
cave to date has been the identification of the potential major technical issues. These will now be taken into account in
all subsequent stages of the transition and underground design process.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Chuquicamata open pit mine is located in the II Region

of Chile, El Loa Province, 16 km north from the city of Calama
and 1,600 km from Santiago, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 2: Aerial view of Chuquicamata open pit

The operation at Chuquicamata began in 1915 and

currently is removing about 600,000 tpd with a waste-ore at
a stripping ratio of 2.1:1. Based on the current long term
mine plan, the open pit mine will reach the final pit at a depth
of 1,100 m in the year 2013, as illustrated in Figure 3.
However, the continuity of mineraliza-tion has been proven
at depth, and plans are now under way to carry out a
transition from open pit to underground mining by a panel
caving method.
This paper presents the mine design param-eters for this
transition project which have been determined from the
scoping study carried out recently by Codelco Norte
Division. The paper briefly discusses a number of technical
challenges that this project has to overcome to ensure a
successful transition project at Chuquicamata mine.

Figure 1: Chuquicamata mine location 2 MINE DESIGN OF THE TRANSITION PROJECT

Currently (2004), the Chuquicamata pit is 4.5 km long, 2.7 The scoping engineering study carried out recently by
km wide and around 850 m deep, as shown in Figure 2. Codelco Norte Division indicates that it is feasible to exploit

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 603

Figure 3: Overall schematic view showing geologic reserves
the ore below the final open pit envelope using panel caving
as shown in Figure 4. Based on a combination of a series of
preliminary analyses, other Codelco panel cave
experiences supplemented by a world benchmark on
transition (Flores et al 2004a), the following initial design
parameters are proposed for the Chuquicamata panel cave.
These may be refined as more data is obtained and made
available followed by more detailed analyses.
The undercut level, UCL, is planned to be located at a
depth of 1,500 m below surface or approximately 400 m
below the final pit bottom. The extraction level, EXL, would
be located 18 m below the UCL. The extraction geometry
would be the El Teniente layout with 15 17.32 m
(drawpoint x production spacing). The planned caving
initiation area will be located just below the pit bottom where
the block height is expected to be minimum and also where
the rock mass is considered favourable for initiating the
initial caving process. Given the characteristics of the local
geotechnical environment (Torres et al 2003), the minimum
area required to initiate the caving is estimated to be 15,000
m2 with a square or rectangular shape. A slot is considered
a necessary measure to facilitate the initial cave initiation.
The mining sequence will start from the centre of the
footprint and then extended in two fronts, one to the East
and the other to the West and after that towards the North
and the South. The undercut rate would be of the order of
3,000 m2/month based on other Codelco panel cave
experiences and the cave front would have an orientation of
N85E. The average draw rate is estimated to be of the
order of 0.25 m/day (0.65 t/m2/day). The maximum
production rate is expected to be 40,000 tpd for each
extraction sector or panel and 125,000 tpd from the whole
underground mine when the caving reaches steady state or
continuous caving. The production ramp-up period is
expected to be 8 years.
604 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The angle of break is estimated to be 60 for the East
wall and 50 for the West wall. The influence zones are
estimated to be125m for the East wall and 250m for the
West wall. The rib pillar designed to reduce possible
early dilution from the West fault is estimated to be 80 m
thick at its base. The minimum surface crown pillar
thickness required for the simultaneous open pit and
underground operations is estimated to be 200 m. This
will allow for approximately to 2 to 3 years of
simultaneous mining of the final open pit and initial
underground panel cave.
Based on the experience of the other Codelco Chile
operations (El Teniente, Andina and Salvador mines) the
transition project has considered that the mine production
plan would be affected by the occurrence of 3 collapses of
up to 4,000 m2 each one during the first 5 years of
operation. An analysis carried out also predicts a probability
of a metastable cavity forming before continuous caving is
achieved possibly affecting an area of 12,000 to 15,000 m2.
As a result, the induced seismicity is expected to be high
and as such a seismic monitoring system has been included
during the early development stages. The support system is
expected to be similar to the support used at El Teniente
mine (Rojas et al 2000).
The main accesses to the underground mine are to be
located in the East wall and outside the estimated
influence zone and would consist of two declines. One
is to be used for production with two conveyor belts and
the other for maintenance. In addition to these declines,
there will be a service shaft and ventilation shafts.
Figure 5 shows the location of the planned declines,
and shafts. The total investment of the transition project
has been estimated to be around US$ 500 millions and
the operational cost is expected to be as low as 3.4
US$/t.
Massmin 2004
 Table 1: Panel caving parameters and costs estimation at scoping engineering stage
(Arancibia 2002a and b and, Flores et al 2004b)

Parameter Recommendation

Geological resources 1,500 millions of tonnes with an average grade of 0.65%

of copper and 0.03% of molybdenum

Underground mining method Panel caving

Main accesses to the underground mine 2 declines, 1 service shaft and 4 ventilation shafts

UCL depth from surface 1,500 m

Block height 400 m

Crown pillar between UCL and EXL 18 m

Estimated initial fragmentation 35 to 50% > 2 m3

Initial area to initiate the caving process 15,000 m2 with an square or rectangular shape

Cave initiation sector Below the pit bottom and where the rock mass quality is
favourable to propagate the cave

Measure to facilitate the cave initiation Slot

Mining sequence Initiate the undercutting just below and centred to the pit bottom
projection then to expand the area to the East and to the West.
When the undercut has reached the footprint width then the
sequence will go to the North and South at the same time.

Undercutting rate 3,000 m2/month

Cave front orientation N85E

Extraction layout El Teniente 15 m 17.32 m

Tonnes per drawpoint 240,000 to 280,000 t

Draw rate 0.25 m/day average (0.65 t/m2/day)

Maximum production rate per sector 40,000 tpd

Total production rate from underground mine 125,000 tpd

Ramp-up period 8 years

Angle of break (subsidence) 60 for the East wall and 50 for the West wall

Influence zones (subsidence) 125 m for the East wall and 250 m for the West wall

Rib pillar width 80 m at its base

Minimum surface crown pillar thickness 200 m

Maximum time for simultaneous open pit

and underground operations 2 to 3 years

Collapses Expected the occurrence of 3 collapses affecting about 4,000 m2

each one during first 5 years of operation.

Metastable cavity May occur at the beginning of the underground

operation affecting an area of 12,000 to 15,000 m2

Rockburst A seismic monitoring system at the early stage

of the development phase.

Capital investment US$ 500 millions

Operational costs 3.4 US$/t

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 605

 Table 1 is a summary of the expected main panel caving
design parameters and associated costs of the transition
project at Chuquicamata mine.
3 TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
The technical challenges anticipated for the
Chuquicamata panel cave are expected to be relatively
significant given the planned high pro-duction rates and the
requirement for low cost. The challenges will be
exacerbated by the tran-sition from a large open pit to
underground mining at great depths (1,100m), where both
the geological and geotechnical environments are
considerably more aggressive than currently experienced.
The key technical challenges are related to the following
(Arancibia 2002 a and b):
1. the depth of the underground operations which will be
around 1,500 m below surface;
2. the location and type of the main accesses to the
underground mining;
3. the construction period for a large scale underground
caving project;
4. the block height, cavability and fragmentation of the
anticipated hard and massive rock mass;
5. the number of mining fronts and sequencing of
production sectors to achieve the produc-tion target of
125,000 tpd;
6. the mine layout and mining sequence;
7. draw control constraints, eg differential draw to control the
West fault;
8. the ramp-up period required to reach the design
production;
9. the interaction between the open pit and underground
operations;
10. the ventilation system;
Figure 4: Panel caving underground mining method
606 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
11. the material handling system required to achieve the
production from a depth of around 1,500 m;
12. the location of the underground infrastruc-ture; and
13. the logistics system to mobilize the workers, equipments
and materials to different places of the underground
mine.
In addition to these technical issues, there are a number
of geotechnical challenges associated with the transition
project at Chuquicamata mine. They are (Flores 2004):
1. the presence of the large and deep open pit, which will
induce zones of stress concentra-tions and zones of low
confinement;
2. the level of induced stresses due to the pit depth in
addition to the height of the block to be caved;
3. cave initiation and propagation;
4. simultaneous open pit and underground mine operations;
5. the presence of the West fault and the shear zone;
6. subsidence; and
7. ground water
These geotechnical challenges are summarized in Figure
6 and they have been discussed in detail in an
accompanying paper (Flores 2004).
In addition to the anticipated technical and geo-technical
issues there are a number of social and human resources
aspects that need to be con-sidered when converting form
a large scale and deep open pit to underground mining by
caving method. These equally need to be resolved with the
same degree of urgency in order to ensure a successful
transition from open pit to under-ground mining by caving
method. In the case of Chuquicamata, the social issues
include:
1. The workforce. The number of employees required in
underground mining will be much lesser than the current
workforce working in the open pit operations.
Massmin 2004
Figure 5: View showing the open pit and main accesses to the underground mine

Figure 6: Geotechnical challenges involved in the transition

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 607

2. The workers skills. The technology used in underground
mining is completely different from that currently used in
open pit oper-ations.
3. The contractors companies. The skills of the contractors
employees and their companies should be different from
that required in open pit mining.
4. The suppliers. The equipments and materials required at
the underground operation will be different to those
required at the open pit.
4 JUSTIFICATION FOR THE TRANSITION
The technical and geotechnical challenges an-ticipated
during and after the transition from a large open pit to a
large panel cave may seem overwhelming to the point
where undertaking such a project may be questionable.
There are however a number of positive attributes associ-
ated with overall Chuquicamata underground project that
have justified its initiation. These are:
1. the availability of large geologic resources below the final
pit amounting to 1.5 billion tonnes of ore with average
grades of 0.65% copper and 0.003% molybdenum ;
2. the availability of modern surface ore pro-cessing
infrastructure, currently used to con-centrate, smelt and
refine the ore from the Chuquicamata open pit;
3. the availability of the other geologic resources in the
same Codelco Norte mining district which should allow
for the careful planning of the transition from open pit to
underground mining at Chuquicamata deposit without
being subjected to much production pressures;
4. as a group, Codelco has considerable experi-ence in
mining ore deposits by block/panel caving methods in
relatively hard, massive rock mass and high stresses
achieving large production rates and low operating costs.
These should benefit the new Chuquicamata project;
5. the availability of the financial resources required to
undertake the investment for this transition project,
expected to be around US$ 500 million; and
6. the improvement of the NPV of Codelco Norte Division
and Codelco Chile.
5. MINING STRATEGIES
To date, the engineering objective has been to
demonstrate to Codelco Norte that underground mining by
panel caving beneath the final Chuquicamata open pit was
feasible while meeting the economic expectations or
criterion set by Codelco Chile (Arancibia 2002a and b).
In order to ensure a successful transition phase, the ram-
up period has been estimated to be around eight years. This
is considered feasible also given other geologic resources
that Codelco Norte Division has available in the same
mining district which have still not been included in the
current mine plans. Hence, the strategy devel-oped for the
transition project will need to con-sider bringing these
geologic resources into the mine plan.
The gradual increase of production from the underground
mine will allow proper management of the geotechnical
challenges identified at the early stage of the transition
project thereby reducing the associated risks.
From an economic perspective, this transition phase will
require the simultaneous open pit and underground
operations. As production from the open pit declines,
underground mining will need to increase until it reaches the
designed produc-tion rate. The strategy is also to design the
underground mine with a low initial investment, which will
mean beginning the underground production in one sector
and then expanding into several production areas in
different stages. This strategy offers the advantage of
allowing the investments to be made over a much longer
time frame.
608 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Human resources are crucial for a state-owned company
such as Codelco Chile. Therefore, con-sideration needs to
be given to the utilization of the manpower the Corporation
already has. The human resources strategy must be based
on the retraining of site personnel to work in under-ground
mining, bringing personnel with experi-ence in caving
operations from the others Codelcos Divisions and the use
of contractors to develop and construct the underground
mine.
However, the above strategy should not necessa-rily
prevent introduction of new technologies needed for the
effective and efficient underground mining. The following
technologies are therefore being considered:
1. Automation. This technology should be fo-cused on
development, construction and pro-duction activities in
order to reduce the time and costs associated with these
tasks. Auto-mation should also allow for the improve-
ment of the underground environment thus creating
better quality environmental condi-tions for the workers.
2. New ore handling systems. Most of the underground cave
mines have relied on the use of conventional LHD
equipment. In the case of Chuquicamata underground
project the plan is to look for alternative equipment with
lower operating cost, fewer maintenance requirements,
and better adaptability to new ore extraction design and
handling concepts.
3. Development and construction of under-ground
excavations. One of the key param-eters that potentially
has a large impact on the economic indicators of the
project, is the time required to develop and construct the
transition project at Chuquicamata. New technologies
are therefore required to reduce this time.
6. CONCLUSIONS
Based on the assumptions made to date, the scoping
engineering stage has shown that the transition from open
pit to underground mining by panel caving at the
Chuquicamata deposit is feasible.
Aspects of the transition that may have a signifi-cant
impact on economic indicators have been identified and
engineering solutions are now being proposed and sought
in order to better reduce their impact on the NPV.
The geotechnical challenges identified need to be
addressed at the earliest stages of engineering so as to
reduce the potential consequences of undesirable events
that could occur during the operation of this project.
The human resources issues need to be solved early in
order for the workforce to be prepared with the skills needed
to achieve the production rate and the low costs required by
the Codelco Norte Division.
The challenges anticipated with this transition now require
that next engineering stages focus on the following aspects:
1. rock mass characterization;
2. cavability and fragmentation assessment;
3. block height assessment and potential dilution control;
4. variants of the proposed panel caving method;
5. main accesses to the underground mine;
6. development and construction of the under-ground
excavations;
7. material handling systems;
8. production ram-up to achieve the production rate of
125,000 tpd in 8 years
9. production sectors required to achieve the production
rate;
10. simultaneity of open pit and underground mining;
11. geotechnical hazards such as air blasts, col-lapses,
hang ups, rockbursts, subsidence and water inflows;
12. new mining technologies;
13. human resources; and
14. costs
Massmin 2004
 The mine design is currently based on existing
technology, but the overriding philosophy is to use proven
developments in technology and automation for the benefit
of the operation in terms of safety and productivity.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to all their colleagues of the
Gerencia de Recursos Mineros y Desar-rollo that helped
them during the development of this work. Also, the authors
want to acknow-ledge the permission given by Division
Codelco Norte to publish this technical paper.
REFERENCES
Arancibia, E, 2002a. Pre-scoping engineering study I for
the underground mining at Chuquicamata ore body (in
Spanish). Technical Report, Codelco Norte Division,
Codelco Chile.
Arancibia, E, 2002b. Pre-scoping engineering study II for
the underground mining at Chuquicamata (in Spanish).
Technical Report, Codelco Norte Division, Codelco Chile.
Flores, G, 2004. Geotechnical challenges of the transition
from open pit to underground mining at Chuquicamata
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
mine. Proceedings MassMin 2004, Santiago, (Ed: A
Karzulovic and M Alfaro).
Flores, G, Karzulovic, A and Brown, E T, 2004a. Current
practices and trends in cave mining. Pro-ceedings
MassMin 2004, Santiago, (Ed: A Karzu-lovic and M
Alfaro).
Flores, G, Karzulovic, A and Gonzlez, G, 2004b.
Geotechnical considerations for the scoping engi-neering
stage of the transition project from open pit to
underground mining at Chuquicamata mine (in Spanish).
Technical Report, Codelco Norte Division, Codelco Chile.
Rojas, E, Molina, R, Bonani, A and Constanzo, H, 2004.
The pre-undercut caving method at the El Teniente mine,
Codelco Chile. Proceedings MassMin 2000, Brisbane,
(Ed: Gideon Chitombo), 261-266. Australasian Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne.
Torres, R, Araya, E, Crdoba, S y Domnguez, O, 2003.
Geotechnical characterisation for the scop-ing
engineering stage of the transition from open pit to
underground mining at Chuquicamata mine (in Spanish).
Technical Report, Codelco Norte Division, Codelco Chile.
609
 Mine design of The Argyle
underground project
Damien Hersant, Senior Underground Mining Engineer Feasibility Study

Abstract
Argyle Diamonds operate a 10Mtpa open pit diamond mining operation in northern Western Australia. Current schedules
show the open pit finishing production by the end of 2007, having reached its economic depth.
Some 60Mt of resource is below the ultimate pit bottom and consequently Argyle Diamonds is undertaking a Feasibility
Study on the underground mining of this resource. The Vision for the project is based on setting benchmarks for safety,
productivity and sustainability. This will be achieved through the application of best practice designs and techniques, high
levels of automation and remote operation and a commitment to the vision by all those involved. In essence, the Argyle
Underground Mine will be designed and operated as a safe and predictable rock factory.
This paper presents various aspects of the mine design philosophy, underground conditions and their management and
the incorporation of the Argyle vision into the design.

1. INTRODUCTION January 2003, examining various underground mining

Argyle Diamond Mine, a 100% owned subsidiary of Rio
Tinto Limited, operates the Argyle mine located in the
eastern Kimberley region of Western Australia (Figure 1).
The operation comprises a large open pit mine, centred on
the lamproite AK1 orebody, feeding a processing and
recovery plant. Diamond product is shipped to Perth for
sorting, further processing and marketing.
strategies, approvals processes and organisational options.
In February 2003 approval granted by the Rio Tinto
Investment Committee for Argyle Diamonds to undertake a
two year Feasibility Study into underground mining of the
AK1 orebody. Approval was also given for the development
of an Exploratory Decline to further improve knowledge of
the underground environment.
2. THE VISION

In embarking on the Feasibility Study, all aspects related

to the project were to be undertaken with the following
requirements in mind:
Argyle will set the benchmarks for safety and productivity
in underground mining through:
- Commitment to safe design and risk assessment
throughout the design stage;
- Application of best practice designs and techniques;
- High levels of automation and remote operation, thereby
removing people from hazardous work areas; and
- Commitment to this vision.
Argyle will be designed and operated as a safe and
predictable rock factory.
The project will provide sustainable outcomes for Argyle
and for the people of the East Kimberley region.

In keeping with this Vision:

Figure 1 Location Map
Currently, the AK1 operation moves over 80 million tonnes
of rock to treat 10 million tonnes of ore annually.
The current schedule, sees completion of open pit mining
of the AK1 orebody by 2007. The AK1 and associated
mineralistion is known to extend some 600m below the
planned pit bottom.
Underground mining of this resource has been
investigated a number of times between 1995 and 2000. In
July 2000, an Order of Magnitude Study was conducted to
provide a fresh look at underground mining given the
alternative of a deeper open pit plan and the confirmation of
further resources at depth. This study indicated good
potential for underground extraction. In light of this, a Pre-
Feasibility Study was undertaken between July 2001 and
frequent risk assessments and updates have and will
continue to be undertaken;
safety experts/personnel have been employed from the
early stages of the project to ensure sufficient
resources are available to proactively deal with safety
issues;
communication with equipment suppliers is frequent to
ensure that technological developments are known and
incorporated into the design as appropriate;
Argyle is represented at the International Caving Study
which continues to pursue improvements in the
understanding and processes used in the design,
planning and control of cave mining;
a Lessons Learned methodology has been
incorporated into the Argyle project which draws on
learnings and experience from other Rio Tinto
operations and projects;

610 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Argyle is undertaking the transition to a Kimberley It can be seen that, in general, the orebody is more
Centric workforce, with increased local employment; and competent than the surrounding stratigraphic units,
where possible, local Kimberley based companies will be especially the mudstones. This is a major consideration in
used for on-going work at the mine. determining optimum locations for permanent infrastructure
such as crusher chambers.
3. REGIONAL GEOLOGY Acoustic emission and Hydraulic Fracture stress
measurements were taken from boreholes drilled within the
The AK1 deposit is a volcanic intrusion of Lamproitic tuff pit. These methods gave conflicting results however and
and magmatic Lamproite intruded into a stratigraphic consequently design flexibility is considered essential.
sequence of interbedded quartzites, siltstones and Additional stress measurements will be undertaken from the
mudstones that overlie dolerite and basalt units Exploratory Decline.
The deposit extends below the base of the final pit,
plunging steeply towards the south and dipping to 5. MINING METHOD
the west at approximately 70o. The main area of the
AK1 orebody, where a majority of the mine In keeping with The Vision defined for the Argyle
production will come from, thins and bifurcates with Underground Mine, selection preferences of mining
depth. Figure 2 shows a Long Section of the orebody methods tended towards non-entry methods such as
and LOM Pit. block caving and sublevel caving. These methods make
it possible to implement high levels of automation, control
and monitoring, thereby minimising the number of people
required to work in potentially hazardous conditions.
They also create an underground rock factory
environment, which can be operated in a safe and
predictable manner.
Earlier mining studies identified that open stoping options
led to poor recoveries (low percentage extraction) as well as
having the risks associated with entry methods, the stope
and fill methods were not economically viable and it was
concluded that only the caving methods, more particularly
block caving, could be seriously considered for mining of the
AK1 ore body. The grade, size, geometry and rockmass
conditions of the AK1 deposit are also such that it is most
appropriate to mine using bulk extraction mass mining
methods.
Figure 2 Long Section of the Argyle Deposit During the Pre-Feasibility Study, a number of mining
scenarios where assessed. From these, two options were
taken forward. Further work undertaken as part of the
4. GEOTECHNICAL CONDITIONS Feasibility Study identified that the option of an extended
block cave, whose footprint extends out into the less
There are numerous regional faults within the area competent footwall sedimentary units, holds the greatest
however the dominant structural feature expected to be a value. Below the cave extraction level, a sublevel cave
major controlling factor for any mining is the NNW trending mining method will be used.
Gap Fault, which is located at the northern end of the AK1
orebody. 6. BLOCK CAVE
Infrastructure development is likely to intersect at least
three main geological structures, namely the Gap Fault, The block cave area is some 230m in depth, below the
Lamboo Thrust Fault and Eastern fault. The proposed base of the final pit, 450m along strike and 190m wide,
development will also pass through the contact margins of giving a mining block of approximately 50Mt. The extraction
the AK1 pipe, which in many places is a wide zone of healed level itself is 466m below the surface.
brecciated lamproite and host rock.
Table 1 below indicates the rock types and associated Undercut
indicative UCS and IRMR results. Strategy
An advanced undercut strategy is proposed. In this
strategy a limited amount of extraction level development is
TABLE 1 Indicative UCS and IRMR Values done prior to the start of undercutting. At Argyle, this
development will consist of the establishment of the footwall
Rock Unit Rock Type UCS (Mpa) IRMR and hangingwall perimeter drives, extraction galleries and
drawpoint stubs. Undercutting on the level above will then
RCFM (Pvb) Basalt 50 46 - 49 begin and the extraction level drawpoints and drawbells will
be developed once de-stressed conditions have been
RCFM (Pvd) Dolerite 50 46 - 49 established. De-stressed conditions are assumed when the
LCG (Pb) Granite 110 drawpoint development lags behind the undercut advance
by 45o (15m).
RCFS Interbedded 35 40 - 45
Profile and Footprint
AK1 Lamproite 80 51 - 57
The undercut footprint for Argyle is an irregular
(orebody) Sandy Tuff rectangular shape with dimensions 450m x 190m. The
RCFS Mudstone 20 35 -40 hydraulic radius considered necessary for caving at Argyle
is ~40m. The proposed footprint has a hydraulic radius of
RCFS Quartzite 120 47 - 50 67m, and as such cave propagation is not considered to be
an issue.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 611

 The undercut profile, as shown in Figure 3, is described allowing each gallery to be isolated from the perimeter
as a narrow inclined undercut and is the profile adopted by drives and minimizing interactions between automated
both Northparkes and Palabora. and manual activities.
ventilation and drainage raises connect directly into the
mine exhaust system on the Transfer level such that all
heat generated on the Extraction level is removed quickly
and efficiently.

Ground support design and implementation will be a major

consideration in the construction phase of the Extraction level
with emphasis being placed on getting it right the first time in
order to avoid costly rehabilitation and delays.
A workshop/cribroom complex will be located within the
orebody at the southern end of the Extraction level. Regular
servicing and minor maintenance will be carried out at this facility
with all major maintenance work being undertaken at the surface
workshop. The Extraction Level Layout is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 3 Undercut Profile

Direction
An analysis was undertaken using FLAC3D to determine
the best direction in which to advance the undercut. Six
different undercut directions were assessed with the
preferential direction for undercutting being from the north-
west corner to the south-east. This recommendation was
based on:
the undercut progressing from weaker to stronger rock
giving improved cavability.
the orientation to major structure is such that major
wedges should not be formed.
Figure 4 Extraction Level Layout
Extraction Level
In defining the design layout of the Extraction Level, a Transfer Level
number of considerations were taken into account, the main The lower level of the block cave has the multipurpose use
ones being automation, ground support, ventilation and of ore transfer to the crusher and transfer of exhaust air and
production flexibility. drainage away from the mining area. It is proposed to use large
In order to comply with the Argyle Vision, a high level of capacity loaders for ore transfer. Each of the Extraction Level
automation is needed. The single extraction horizon makes orepasses report to the western side of the Transfer level and
it relatively easy to setup and maintain the communication are accessed much as a drawpoint. Twin transfer drives are
infrastructure required for the automated systems currently proposed facilitating the use of multiple loaders operating on
being developed. Rio Tinto, through its Northparkes concrete roadways. The transfer drives report back to a
operation, have already been trialling the Autotram system centrally located gyratory crusher. The eastern footwall side of
and given positive developments of this technology into the the level is quite separate from the ore transfer facility. Each of
future it is intended that the Argyle underground mine will the ventilation/drainage passes from the extraction level
utilize a fully automated loader fleet. Secondary breaking terminates on the footwall perimeter drive of the Transfer level.
remains an issue given the hazardous conditions often This drive collects drainage water and return air, passing them
encountered. It is unlikely that much of this work will ever be south to the main ventilation exhaust and primary pumping
fully automated but wherever possible teleremote operation infrastructure. All loading, crushing, conveying and pumping
will be used to remove personnel from the underground activities will be monitored and controlled from the central
environment. A central control room will be located on control room. Figure 5 shows the layout of the Transfer level.
surface from which all major activities will be controlled and
monitored.
Given hot and humid surface conditions, high ambient
rock temperatures and the introduction of heat through
ground and surface water, ventilation is of prime
importance. As such, in order to minimize the ventilation
requirement for equipment and in line with positive
experience at Northparkes, a fleet of electric loaders will be
used for ore production.
Based on these requirements, it was determined that the
Extraction level would comprise the following:
a transverse layout to give production flexibility given a
relatively elongated orebody.
an offset herringbone drawpoint layout to facilitate the use
of electric loaders.
extraction galleries with an orepass at the hangingwall
end and a ventilation/drainage raise at the other thus Figure 5 Transfer Level Layout

612 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

7. ORE-HANDLING
Requirement/Duty
Mining studies have identified a sustainable underground
production rate of 7.5 million tonnes per year during Stage
1 Block Cave operation. Given the need to design for
some waste handling capacity and providing some room for
mining productivity improvements, a design capacity of 8.0
million tonnes per year (wet) has been selected for ore
handling components.
Crusher
Numerous crushing options were investigated as part of
the Pre-Feasibility Study. These ranged not only from
underground versus surface primary crushing but also jaw
versus gyratory versus hybrid crushers. Through this
assessment, it was established that an underground
primary Gyratory Crusher with surface secondary crushing
was most appropriate for the Argyle Underground operation.
A gyratory crusher in the order of 54-74 size, fed with
ROM ore supplied through 900 millimetre to1200 millimetre
orepass grizzlies and orepasses will be used. The crusher
has been selected to suit the feed size and provide the
required throughputs.
The crusher itself will be located centrally relative to the
block cave footprint. It is currently proposed to be within the
orebody, given the unfavourable ground conditions
anticipated in the hangingwall sediments. Locating this
infrastructure within the orebody does however complicate
the transition in production from the Stage 1 block cave to
the Stage 2 sublevel cave.
Conveyors
A variety of ore haulage systems were evaluated,
including conveyor, shaft and truck haulage. Ultimately
however the relatively shallow nature of the underground
Figure 6 Schematic of Underground Orehandling System
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
mine, together with the staged nature of orebody
development and the requirement for significant lateral
haulage away from the orebody, has pointed towards a
conveyor solution for ore handling to surface (Figure 6).
Recent advances in underground conveyor design,
installation and operation has seen the planning and
commissioning of long, steep underground conveyors at
Palabora, Ridgeway and Northparkes. The lessons
learned from each of these sites will be incorporated and
referenced in the Argyle design and operation.
8. DEWATERING
Expected Inflows
The monsoonal nature of the climate in the Argyle region
results in the potential for severe tropical rainfall events.
Combining with this is the location of the open pit directly
above the proposed underground mine, which comprises a
substantial catchment area ultimately funnelling surface
water into the underground workings.
Dewatering Strategy
Given the wide range of potential inflows and uncertainty
of the expected inflow quantities, a three part dewatering
strategy has been developed. After cave breakthrough into
the pit, three pumping conditions have been identified:
- normal conditions, representing typical day to day
pumping requirements;
- seasonal conditions, where summer rainfall may increase
pumping requirements substantially for a period of time;
and
- flood conditions, where unexpected intense inflows occur.
Normal water inflow to the mine, including average
rainfall, ground water and collection of raw water used for
mining processes amounts to flows of between 40 to 120
613
litres per second. This will be handled by two Geho TZPM
800 positive displacement pumps, each of 60 litres per
second capacity, with over 750 metre head lift capability.
For seasonal/abnormal conditions, when inflows into the
pump stations exceed the capacity of the two Geho positive
displacement pumps, a series of 3 to 4 Warman 16/14 TYFC
APH slurry centrifugal pumps will be used to dispose of the
extra water, up to a total rate of 920 litres per second.
Flood conditions prevail when inflows exceed the
designed pumping system capacity. In this circumstance the
mine will go into a shut-down mode. A series of water-tight
doors installed in bulkheads will be used to protect key
infrastructure such as pumping stations, crusher stations,
workshops and conveyors. These doors will separate this
infrastructure from level drives and declines, which would be
allowed to flood and subsequently pumped out.
9. VENTILATION
The ventilation design for the Argyle Underground Project
has been undertaken with the following considerations in
mind:
Air quality must comply with Occupational Exposure
Limits of Australias NOHSC 1003.
As specified by the WA Mines Safety and Inspection
Regulations 1995:
- Re-circulation of air is minimized and air is drawn from
the purest source available (single pass ventilation)
- Where diesel units are used for production, a general
criteria of 0.04 to 0.06 cubic metres per second per
kilowatt of rated engine output will be applied to each
ventilation district.
- A minimum air velocity of 0.25 metres per second is
maintained where electric vehicles are used.
- If wet bulb temperature exceeds 25oC, a minimum air
velocity of 0.5m/s.
Block Cave
The greatest ventilation requirement for the block cave is
when both production and construction activities are
occurring at the same time. The block cave production rate
at its peak is expected to be 7.5 million tonnes per year.
Even though electric loaders are expected to be used,
diesel loaders have been assumed to ensure sufficient
capacity for flexibility.
Table 2 summarises the ventilation requirements.
Table 2: Block Cave Ventilation Requirements
9715 BLOCK CAVE
Production Drives 150 m3/s
Transfer Drives 60 m3/s
Crusher 35 m3/s
Conveyors 40 m3/s
Lower Infrastructure
(Pump stations, etc.) 15 m3/s
Level Workshops 30 m3/s
Leakage 45 m3/s
Level Development/ Undercutting 100 m3/s
TOTAL EARLY PRODUCTION 395 m3/s
TOTAL PRODUCTION 375 m3/s
Ventilation Circuit
For all stages of underground operation, the primary
ventilation system comprises fresh air being drawn down
the Main Decline and the Fresh Air Decline, through the
614 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
various mine workings to the Main Return Airway.
Schematic of the ventilation circuit is illustrated in Figure
7.
The ventilation system has been designed as a push-pull
circuit. In doing so the extraction level is maintained under
positive pressure such that contaminants and air will not be
drawn through
the cave into the mine workings. The disadvantages of the
system are the additional heat generated by the location of
fans underground and additional capital and operating
costs.
It is considered however that the benefits of this system
outweigh the disadvantages.
It is proposed that exhaust fans be installed at the collar
of the exhaust shaft. It should be noted that due to the
length of the intake and exhaust declines, the fan would
operate at high ventilating pressures.
Establishing the primary ventilation system is on the
critical path of the project and as such it is essential that
the Main Return Airway is developed as soon as
possible.
10. REFRIGERATION
Design of the refrigeration system was undertaken with
the objective of providing acceptable working conditions at
major workplaces throughout the mine during fluctuations in
climatic conditions. Expectation is that a majority of the
underground workforce will operate within the confines of
air-conditioned mobile equipment cabs. There will of course
be occasions when work outside of such equipment will be
necessary.
Heat Load
Heat is generated from a variety of sources including:
Climatic conditions
Heat from development walls and broken rock
Heat from machinery
Auto-compression of air
Heat from ground water
Ground water is a major contributor to the mines heat
load and as such it is important that water is removed
from the underground environment as quickly as
possible.
Initial indications are that the mine will require between
9MW to 10MW of cooling capacity for operation of the block
cave.
Refrigeration & Cooling Plant
Given the relatively shallow nature of the Argyle
underground operation, a surface refrigeration plant will be
used as it gives the advantages of ease of access, unlimited
capacity for expansion and the ability to use refrigerants
such as ammonia.
Through the use of bulk air cooler serviced by a surface
refrigeration plant, cooling of the mine can be accomplished
in the most economical manner possible using a relatively
simple system.
The bulk air cooler should be positioned at the top of the
intake ventilation shaft, with the refrigeration plant a further
200m away. The use of a number of refrigeration modules
allows:
A build-up of refrigeration capacity consistent with the
underground requirements at the time.
Flexibility in adjusting the amount of refrigeration given
seasonal and diurnal variations in ambient temperature.
Capacity to maintain cooling during the maintenance of
refrigeration units.
Easily expandable system.
Minimization of early capital expenditure.
Massmin 2004
Figure 7- Block Cave Ventilation Circuit
11. CONCLUSION
The major technical issues associated with the project
are:
ventilation, given hot and humid surface and underground
conditions,
dewatering, given a monsoonal environment and mining
under an open pit; and
ground conditions associated with numerous structural
features and relatively weak host rock units.
These technical issues, whilst still posing a risk, are being
addressed within the mine and infrastructure design
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
processes of the Feasibility Study. In all aspects of the
study, The Vision for the Argyle underground project has
been referenced and used as a point of focus.
12. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank Argyle Diamonds for the
opportunity to present and publish this paper and to
acknowledge all of those contributing to the successful
completion of the Argyle Underground Feasibility Study.
Special thanks goes to Stephen Brennan, Brian Morris and
David Nicholls for their help in preparing this paper.
615
 The alternate design considered
for the Argyle underground mine
Geoffrey Bull, Gary MacSporran, Campbell Baird, SRK Consulting, Perth, Australia

Abstract
The Argyle Diamond Mine open pit reaches its economic limit in 2007. As mineralisation extends to beyond 600m below
the final pit base, studies have considered potential underground mining options, with the two most viable combinations
being, either:
A large block cave for the upper part of the resource and a sub level cave for the lower parts, or
A smaller block cave to extract the main portion of the ore body, a core-andshell method to extract the footwall wedge
(ore between the block cave and the dipping footwall contact) and a sub level cave beneath the block cave.
The final feasibility study is progressing the former option, which is described by Hersant (2004), whereas this paper
discusses the latter option, focusing on the challenging geotechnical and practical mining issues leading to the
development of this combination of methods in the search for a safe and reliable underground mine design.

1 INTRODUCTION Confirmation of achievable development rates in the

Argyle Diamonds Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio
Tinto Limited, operates the Argyle Mine, an open pit operation
located in the eastern Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Pit production from the lamproite AK1 orebody feeds a
processing and recovery plant at a rate of 10Mtpa.
By 2007 the pit will have reached its economic limits in the AK1
ore body. The remaining substantial resource, extending some
600m below the final pit base, will only be amenable to extraction
by underground methods. Since 1995 a number of underground
mining studies have been undertaken, investigating the potential
of a range of bulk mining methods. In the process, non-caving
methods were gradually eliminated due to excessive costs,
insufficiently high production rates and safety issues. The dipping
and plunging nature of the AK1 ore body, its narrowing and
bifurcation deeper down and the relatively weak inter-bedded
sediments in the hangingwall and footwall introduced some
technical challenges to the mine design and mining method
selection process. Finally, the methods considered in the Pre
Feasibility study, undertaken from July 2001 to January 2003,
were narrowed down to two options:
A large block cave, with an extraction horizon covering the
lamproite ore body and extending out into the footwall
sediments, extracting the upper part of the resource,
followed by a sub level cave (SLC) for the lower parts.
A smaller block cave, with an extraction horizon confined
to within the stronger lamproite body and located at a
higher elevation than that for large block cave, to extract
the main portion of the ore body, plus a core-andshell
method to extract the "footwall wedge" (ore between the
block cave and the dipping footwall contact) and, finally, a
sub level cave beneath the block cave.
different rock types for more accurate scheduling
Assessment of support requirements in the different rock
types
More accurate development cost information
The fact of an inclined ore body and the questions
surrounding the competence of the footwall sediments and
major structural features led to the inclusion of the second
mining option in the pre feasibility study, in an attempt to
optimise the mining of the AK1 ore body. This paper
discusses this "alternate" option.
2 GEOLOGY AND GEOMECHANICS
The AK1 deposit is a volcanic intrusion of Lamproitic tuff
and magmatic Lamproite intruded into a Proterozoic
stratigraphic sequence of inter-bedded quartzites, siltstones
and mudstones that overlie dolerite and basalt units. The
AK1 deposit consists of three north-south oriented pipe
structures (Northern Bowl, Central AK1 and Southern Tail)
that plunge steeply to the south (Figure 1). The central pipe
of the AK1 ore body dips at approximately 70o to the west,
plunges at 70o to the south and narrows and bifurcates at
depth. The narrowing and bifurcation of the AK1 with depth
is shown in Figure 2.

Assessment of technical risk indicated that the former

option (large block cave and SLC) provided a lower risk
profile. The final feasibility study, currently under way, is
focusing on this preferred option. To assist in final design
and decision making a decline is also currently being
developed to provide further information, including:
Additional information regarding the strength and
competence of the footwall sediments
Measurement of in-situ stresses
Characteristics of the major structural features that will be
intersected by planned production and infrastructure Figure 1 Long Section through the AK1 deposit and Argyle
development final pit

616 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 2 Plan of AK1 ore body at different elevations
showing narrowing and bifurcation.
The AK1 and surrounding country rock was domained
according to a structural interpretation and the different
rockmass characteristics and is shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3 Geotechnical domains
Domain 2, the AK1 lamproite consists of 60-80% quartz
and is a relatively competent lithology. Irregular zones of
more competent, fine grained, grey, almost aphanitic rock
occur throughout the lamproite.
Domain 3, the Western Contact Zone consists of an
irregular and complex zone of breccia developed along the
western edge of the AK1 pipe. It involves both the host
sediments (quartzites and mudstone/shales) and the
lamproite, and occupies a zone varying in width from <5m to
>50m.
Domain 4, in contrast to the western margin of the pipe,
intrusion breccias appear much less well developed on the
eastern margin. Breccias zones up to 5m thick are present
along this contact but major changes in bedding plane dip
and large blocks of country rock within the lamproite have
not been observed. The lack of a complex contact zone
suggests that either the intrusion processes were different
on the eastern margin of the pipe or else the Gap Fault Zone
in this region has faulted out much of the breccia. Projecting
of faults mapped in the northern part of the mine indicates
that the NW to NNW striking, moderate W to SW dipping
Gap Fault Zone extends along the eastern margin of the
AK1 pipe into this domain.
The Gap Fault diverges into a number of strands at least
one of which cuts into the lamproite body in Domain 2. On
the SE wall of the pit, displacements in sedimentary units
suggests that at least three N-S trending faults cut the
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
stratigraphy here and all are probably components of the
Gap Fault Zone. Investigation of pre-mining aerial
photography for this region reveals that NW-SE trending
faults extending from the North Bowl Region swing into
more northerly orientations as they pass through the "Neck
Zone".
The major structures in the area can be summarised as
follows:
The dominant active systems responsible for the tectonic
deformation observed at Argyle are the Halls Creek Fault
System (HCFS) and the Bow River Fault System (BRFS).
In the regional tectonic setting, the Gap Fault formation is
currently interpreted as a second order feature and results
from the activity of the HCFS and the BRFS. In terms of
the AK1 deposit it is considered the major structural
feature.
A few hundred metres to the north of the AK1 ore body is
the Eastern fault that runs sub-parallel to the Gap fault.
Cutting across the ore body is the Razor fault. The Gap
and Razor faults are shown in Figure 2. Within the AK1
lamproite the Razor fault is generally a discrete, narrow
planar feature, often difficult to see in the core, and not a
wide feature like the Gap Fault. Figure 4 shows the main
structural features in and around the AK1 ore body. The
black lines are major faults, red lines are domain
boundaries and grey lines are pit contours.
Figure 4 Domains 2, 3, 4, and 8 and structures
The different rock types in each domain were classified
into IRMR values as shown in Table 1.
The strongest of the rock types are the lamproites and the
weakest are the mudstones and interbedded
mudstone/siltstone units.
Attempts were made to measure the stress conditions
using acoustic emission and hydraulic fracturing
techniques, however, the results were conflicting and
inconclusive. Analyses and modeling dependent on stress
inputs used an assumed range of values.
The resource model indicated that the upper, eastern side
of the AK1 contains high diamond values, making it
particularly important to recover this part of the ore body.
3 EARLY STUDIES
In earlier mining studies conducted under the direction of
the previous owners, Mineco Pty Limited, mining method
selection for the AK1 ore body considered a range of bulk
mining options, including: open stoping with and without fill,
sub level caving and block caving (single and dual lifts). The
open stoping options led to poor recoveries (low percentage
extraction) as well as having the risks associated with entry
617
 TABLE 1 Rock Properties

Domain Rock IRMR IRMR IRMR

Type (Avge) (Min) (Min)

2 Lmp (all) 53 25.3 83.2

Lmp(p2000) 57.7 25.8 83.2

3 All (all) 46.4 25.2 77.2

All (p2000) 52.5 25.2 77.2
Mudstn (all) 36.1 27.3 57.6
Qtzite (all) 47 25.2 77.2
4 All (all) 47.4 25.8 74.8
All (p2000) 50.6 25.2 74.8

8 All (all) 42.4 11 70.4

All (p2000) 49.5 11 70.4
Mudstn (all) 31.7 24.8 61.1
Qtzite (all) 46 23.1 69.4
Dolerite (all) 46 11 70.4

(all) denotes all geotechnical data,

(p2000) denotes only data collected after 2000 (less
data was available but it is considered more reliable than
pre 2000 data).

methods, the stope and fill methods were not economically

viable and it was concluded that only the caving methods,
Figure 5 Cross-section and Long-Section showing the
more particularly block caving, could be seriously
different mining areas
considered for mining of the AK1 ore body. The early
studies included a block cave that was situated within the
lamproites, where it was considered that the cave would
propagate up the perceived weak footwall contact enabling
the "footwall wedge" of ore to be drawn on an incline from
the east-most row of draw points.

4 THE "ALTERNATE" MINING OPTION

The components of the "alternate" mining option are

shown in Figures 5 and 6. The essential difference between
this option and the large block cave option (Hersant, 2004)
is the selective mining of the "footwall wedge". The issues
that prompted the development of this "alternate" option
included:

Concerns that the footwall sediments, particularly the

weak mudstones, may cause draw point stability issues,
even if substantial support is included. This footwall area
may be further weakened by the presence of the Gap fault
and its splays.
In a large block cave option, with draw points extending
out into the footwall sediments, a large wedge of waste
occurs between the draw points and the inclined footwall
of the lamproites. This waste has to be drawn off in order
to draw down the valuable lamproites above it. Handling
this waste separately from the ore generated from other
draw points in a single material handling system will be
very difficult to schedule.
Concerns that the weaker footwall sediments may cave
and draw more readily than the lamproites, drawing in
excessive dilution laterally from the footwall.
Disagreement with the postulation from early studies that
an "inclined draw" would occur as the cave followed up
the weaker contact zone, enabling the lamproites in the
footwall wedge to be drawn from eastern drawpoints
within the lamproites. This "inclined draw"assumption is
considered very risky as it is quite likely that, while the Figure 6 Plan of Block Cave and Footwall Wedge mining
cave may propagate readily into the weaker footwall areas

618 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 rocks, large amounts of the weaker footwall waste
material would be drawn preferentially in the attempt to
draw the ore, diluting this ore excessively. As the grade of
the footwall wedge of ore is relatively high it is important
that it is extracted at minimal risk. Therefore, an alternate
method of extracting this footwall wedge of ore was
proposed.
The northern part of the AK1 flattens out towards the
"neck" between the AK1 and Northern Bowl (Figure 1)
making it uneconomic to include this in the block cave
footprint. This area too had to be mined selectively by an
alternate method.
The advantages and disadvantages of selectively mining
the "footwall wedge" (FWW) include:
Advantages:
The FWW can be accessed and developed early so that
production from this source can provide positive cashflow
while the Block Cave undercut, extraction and ore transfer
levels are being accesses and developed.
Early extraction of the FWW ensures minimal risk of
dilution or loss of this valuable part of the AK1 resource.
Removal of the FWW will create a vertical free face along
the caves eastern boundary, which, together with the
undercut will assist caving of the main part of the ore
body.
The FWW north area can continue to produce when the
block cave starts to produce. Production from the FWW
north can be used to supplement block cave production
during the block cave ramp up to full production.
The FWW development on the lowest level can be
used as drainage tunnels for dewatering and drawing
down of the water table prior to commencement of
production.
FWW development can be used for locating Block Cave
propagation monitoring and seismic system equipment.
FWW production costs will, however, cost more per tonne
than if this ore was extracted by Block Caving, but the mill
head grades will be better due to less dilution.
Development of the FWW can commence while mining
the open pit, however, the risks associated with
underground interaction with the Open Pit must be
identified and addressed.
The FWW production trucks will not add to the traffic
congestion (Block Cave development and construction
vehicles and equipment) as they will travel in the intake
airway decline (exploratory decline). They only travel a
short distance in the top section of the main decline.
The use of the intake airway decline for trucking will allow
for production from the FWW of up to 2.0 Mtpa during
peak block cave construction.
feasibility study) has reshaped and reduced the ore body
footprint at the extraction level of the small block cave.
5 MINING METHODS
Block Cave
Economic modelling indicated that the optimum elevation
for the extraction horizon is around the 9775mRL elevation.
A transverse Henderson offset herringbone extraction
horizon is planned to make it possible to implement high
levels of automation. The Hydraulic Radius (HR) of the
economic footprint at this elevation is ~42m. This is just in
excess of the required HR=40m for caving of the lamproites.
The width of the extraction horizon is between 110m 120m
which is marginally greater than the minimum critical span
(~107m) for caving for the lamproites (Figure 12). The
design of the extraction level, undercut level and the
transfer/drainage level are similar to the design described
by Hersant (2004) for the large block cave option.
Core and Shell
Studies have examined various methods of mining the
FWW and have concluded that the most appropriate is a
Core and Shell method, which in recent studies has been
referred to as the "Trough and Ring Retreat" method.
The Trough and Ring Retreat mining method consists of
modules of individual components which allow flexibility in its final
layout and firing sequence (Figure 7, 8 and 9). The modules
consist of Slot and Swell (Primary Stope), Ring Retreat
(Secondary Stope) and Trough Undercut, which is blasted prior
to the former modules. The dimensions of the components can
be modified to suit ground conditions and orebody geometry. In
areas where two modules are situated side by side, a central
pillar is designed in between them to isolate the Slot and Swell
components of the modules. These pillars are recovered in the
final blasting of the two modules. Furthermore, to ensure good

Disadvantages:
There will be more up front capital expenditure incurred by
the additional development necessary to effect the FWW
production.
With the ore removed from FWW and having drawn down
waste to fill this void, there will be the risk of this waste
being drawn into the first row of block cave draw-points,
undercutting the ore above. This risk can be minimized by
good draw planning and control.
Potential stope stability issues given the variable
geotechnical conditions in the ore body and undercutting
of pit walls.
Scheduling risks associated with the production transition
from FWW to Block Cave.
Reduced economic value due to lower production rates
associated with the FWW and smaller BC.
Caveability risks associated with the small Block Cave
footprint. Latest resource modelling (completed after pre Figure 7 Modular stope layout for FWW

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 619

fragmentation and to assist in initiating pit wall failure, cleaner
rings can be employed on the eastern and western sidewalls of
the modules and fired along with the Central Pillars.
The regional sequencing of the modules is flexible with
respect to blasting sequence. These modules can be
produced either in a Continuous Retreat fashion
(recommended for Footwall Wedge, Figure 10), or Mass
Firing the Ring Retreat component of the modules
(recommended for Footwall Wedge "North", Figure 11).
Either of these sequences can be implemented in each of
the Footwall Wedge zones.
Figure 8 Modular stope layout FWW "North"
The main advantages of this method are:
Only two development levels required.
Low operating costs.
Flexibility in final design and blasting sequence through
modular approach.
Figure 9 Typical Long Section FWW layout
620 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Establishment of Trough Undercuts provides early
production and Mass Firing turns it into a "rock factory"
yielding high tonnages. Schedules indicate that
production rates of 1.8Mtpa will be achievable form the
FWW.
The FWW development and production schedule does
not hinder the infrastructure and production schedules of
the main block cave operation.
The FWW "North" can produce concurrently with the
block cave operation. Production from the FWW "North"
area that is in contact with the Block Cave area must be
completed prior to commencing Block Cave production.
The mining sequence of the FWW "North" is south to the
north in order to limit the mining interaction between the
Block Cave and the Footwall Wedge "North". This south
to north extraction is possible due to the establishment of
an alternative access decline in the north connecting the
Block Cave extraction, undercut and transfer levels with
the FWW 9860mRL.
The main risks of the method are:
Exposure to open voids for the period until mass firing
takes place
Uncertainty concerning pit wall behaviour. Sudden large
failures may affect stability of underground workings.
The ventilation requirements (volume and cooling
capacity) for concurrent development of the FWW and
block cave infrastructure may exceed design capacities.
Sub Level Cave
Below the Block Cave extraction horizon the ore body
narrows down fairly rapidly, particularly below 9700mRL
(Figure 2), and then splits up into two limbs. It would not be
possible to consider a second, lower lift to the block cave as
the ore body narrows to below the minimum critical span for
caving of the lamproites.
The minimum critical span can be determined from the
HR for caving using the chart shown in Figure 12. For the
lamproites, where the HRcaving = 40m locus intersects the
3:1 aspect ratio line the dimensions of the rectangular
footprint having a width equal to 1/3 of the its length (107m
x 320m) can be read off the chart. For the lamproites, this
width of 107m is considered to be the minimum critical span,
below which dimension the cave is likely to form a stable
arch and stall.
In some cases this ratio can be less than 1:3 (width to
length) and the cave will continue to propagate, however it
Massmin 2004
 Figure 10 Continuous Retreat sequence for FWW
Figure 11 Mass Fire sequence for FWW "North"
has generally been found that this 1:3 ratio rule is a good
guide for determining the minimum critical span.
Figure 12 Chart for determining Minimum Critical Span
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
SLC is a top down caving method and, if started below a
large mass of caved ground, is not dependent on the width of
the ore body or cavability of the rockmass, as the caved ground
will rill down into narrow zones extracted by the SLC provided
the dip and plunge of the ore body does not flatten out to angles
less than the angle of repose of the rock within the cave. SLC
is therefore the most suitable and economic method to use to
mine the lamproites below the block cave horizon.
There is one matter of concern that will need careful
consideration in the ongoing design of the Argyle
underground mine, which is, the possibility of a drop in
production for a period during the transition from block cave
to SLC. However, careful sequencing of the block cave to
mine from north-west to south-east will allow the northern
parts of the block cave to be completed in time for SLC to
commence production in the north-west on the 9750mRL
while the block cave is still being depleted in the south.
Below the block cave there are only about four or five
levels that are sufficiently large to maintain production at the
621
high rates obtained in the block cave. Further down, where
the ore body narrows and where it eventually splits into two
and the tonnes per vertical metre decrease significantly, it
will be impossible to maintain the same rate of production as
obtained in the block cave.
6 SEVICES AND MATERIAL HANDLING FACILITIES
For this "alternate" mining option, the main access
decline, ventilation decline, return airways and conveyer
declines and all crushing and dewatering facilities will be
common with those being designed for the large block cave
option that is being progressed to final feasibility study
stage.
7 CONCLUSIONS
The "alternate" mining method option for Argyle
underground mine design combines three bulk mining
methods (Block Cave, Sub Level Cave and Core and Shell)
to allow for a high recovery of the ore resource and a rapid
build up in production.
622 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
However, along with the many potential advantages this
option presents, there is also some uncertainty surrounding
the caveability of the small block cave footprint, the risk of
unstable stopes in the FWW, the potential scheduling risks
associated with the production transition from FWW to Block
Cave and the less economically attractive result this option
produces. For these reason this alternate option will no
longer be considered for the Argyle Mine Underground
design.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to Argyle Diamond Mines
Limited, to Stephen Brennan and Damien Hersant in
particular, for the opportunity to have been involved in this
interesting project and for their permission to publish this
technical paper.
REFERENCES
Hersant, D, 2004. Mine Design of the Argyle Underground
Project, Massmin 2004, Santiago Chile.
Massmin 2004
 Design of the Grasberg
block cave mine
Charles Brannon, Manager, Underground Planning,
Timothy Casten, Senior Manager of Underground Planning,
Mark Johnson, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer,
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.

Abstract
The Grasberg Block Cave (GRSBC) Mine will be the main source of mill feed after the Grasberg Open Pit has been
depleted in 2014. When the pit is finished in 2015, the district-wide underground ore reserves will be on the order of 1.7
billion tonnes, of which the GRSBC mine comprises 874 million tonnes at a grade of 1.0% Cu and 0.8 g/t Au.
Development of the access adits was initiated in 2004 in order to access and develop the GRSBC mine in time for the
open pit completion. This paper summarizes a study undertaken on the GRSBC to confirm the viability of the mine
project and to gain approval to commence with the long lead-time access development required.
Block cave mining was determined to be the most applicable method for mining the deposit, with production rates of
115,000 tpd being considered. The method by which the large footprint (1km by 1km) will be developed and caved is
discussed in the paper. The geotechnical issues, ventilation infrastructure and ore handling systems required to support
the proposed tonnage rates are also described.

1 INTRODUCTION in 1970. The Grasberg deposit was discovered in 1988,

The world-class Grasberg copper-gold deposit is located
in the Ertsberg Mining District, in the province of Papua,
Indonesia (4o-6'S, 137o-7'E; see Figure 1). The district is in
rugged mountainous terrain from 2,900 to 4,200 meters in
elevation, with annual rainfall exceeding 300cm. The district
has reserves exceeding 2.6 billion tonnes in eight surface
and underground deposits that contain recoverable metal of
about 54 billion pounds of copper and 66 million ounces of
gold.
and the district has seen almost continuous reserve
increases and production expansion through to todays
production rate of about 240,000 tonnes per day.
Current operations in the district include the Grasberg
open pit (200 ktpd ore) and the DOZ block cave mine (40
ktpd). The Grasberg open pit is the flagship operation in the
district, and when the pit is concluded in 2014, the Grasberg
block cave mine (GRSBC) will be the primary source of mill
feed. Figure 2 is a snapshot of the projected final Grasberg
pit and surrounding topography, showing the planned
underground workings and estimated cave shape of the
block cave mine.

Figure 1. Location of PTFIs mining operations.

The Ertsberg District was discovered in 1936 during a

mountain climbing expedition led by Dutch petroleum
geologist Jean Jacques Dozy (Mealey, 1996). His detailed
report of the surface geology and descriptions of
outcropping high grade copper skarn mineralization led to
investigations by Freeport Minerals Corporation in the early
1960s. Development of the initial Ertsberg open pit began
Figure 2. Snapshot of Grasberg final pit and underlying
block cave mine.
This paper is a brief description of the results of the
prefeasibility study completed on the Grasberg block cave
mine. The study concluded that the project was viable; the

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 623

feasibility study for the GRSBC was initiated in 2004. A
project of this magnitude presents many challenges that
need to be fully explored before development begins in
2008, and many of those challenges are discussed in this
paper.
2 GEOLOGY, HYDROLOGY, & RESERVES
2.1 Geology
Grasberg is a porphyry copper-gold deposit with many
similarities to other porphyry deposits of the region
(MacDonald and Arnold, 1993). The geology is typical of
subduction-related arc systems formed at plate tectonic
collisional boundaries. Calc-alkalic intrusive bodies are
preferentially emplaced at intersections of major cross
structures into tightly folded Tertiary-Cretaceous sediments.
The Grasberg Igneous Complex (GIC) is a multi-stage
dioritic intrusion about three million years old. The
intrusions are emplaced into the center of a volcanic breccia
complex about one kilometer in diameter that flares near the
surface.
A central intrusive phase forms a +/- 100 meter-wide
septum of poorly mineralized rock that cuts through the
otherwise roughly cylindrical GIC, resulting in a horseshoe-
shaped ore footprint in plan view.
The mineralization is dominated by chalcopyrite although
bornite becomes more significant with depth. The
mineralization extends more than 1,600 meters vertically,
from the 4,300 meter elevation at the original surface to at
least the depth of 2,700 meters. Width of the mineralization
ranges from about 200 meters to over one kilometer.
Copper and gold grades are highest near the center of the
deposit, adjacent to the low-grade core.
On the margins of the GIC is an irregular zone of massive
pyrite with minor magnetite and chalcopyrite, termed the
Heavy Sulfide Zone (HSZ). This zone is up to one hundred
meters thick and is related to a mineralizing event that post-
dates the main GIC. Portions of the HSZ are included in the
block cave reserve.
2.2 Ore Reserves
The diluted mineable reserve established for the
prefeasibility study is 874M tonnes @ 1.0% copper, 0.8 g/t
gold, and 2.9 g/t silver (as of January, 2004). The reserve
was established using the PC-BC block cave planning
software. PC-BC simulates the block caving process and
produces a predicted mined tonnes and grade, including
estimation of "toppling" of pit wall material into the cave
(Diering, 2000). The cut-off grade was roughly 0.90%
copper equivalent (value of gold and silver calculated as
copper percent).
2.3 Hydrology
The passive inflow to the cave is predicted to peak at
about 17,000 gpm, at the time of ultimate cave and
cracklines, and in particular when the cave has broken
through the HSZ into surrounding karstic limestone. Direct
precipitation into the cave comprises approximately 7,000
gpm of the total; the remainder is primarily from major
structures or certain limestone units susceptible to karst
formation.
3 GEOTECHNICAL STUDIES
The average uniaxial compressive strength of the ore is
about 110 MPa, with variation in values depending on
mineralogy and alteration between 70 and 140 MPa (Srikant
and Nicholas, 2003). The principal in-situ stress is in the
northeast direction and corresponds to the regional
structural geology (about 50 MPa). The principal horizontal
stress is twice the overburden stress.
624 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
RMR has been utilized to establish mine design
parameters (hydraulic radius and ground support) for the
GRSBC . The rock mass rating, at the 70th percentile of the
populations, is "good" for the Development Levels, the lower
fifty meters of the mineable zone, and for the central Kali
intrusive.
In general, primary fragmentation of the GRSBC will be
coarse, with more than 76 percent of the tonnes being in
blocks greater than two cubic meters. The secondary
fragmentation curves indicate that at greater than 250-meter
column heights, 23 percent of the tonnes will have a volume
greater than two cubic meters.
The estimated hydraulic radius required for sustained
caving is 33 meters. Rock burst potential does exist and will
be evaluated in more detail during the feasibility study.
Assumed draw rates range from 0.13m/day during the initial
100 meters of column height, up to 0.30m/day at greater
than 200m of column height.
The overall technical risk due to wet muck is thought to be
relatively low, particularly for the early years of mining. The
predicted coarse in-situ grain size for Grasberg should
inhibit significant wet muck, despite the relatively high
volumes of predicted passive groundwater inflow. However,
communition of the HSZ, fines from adjacent open pit
overburden stockpiles reporting to the cave, or secondary
fragmentation of limestone derived from pit walls may
eventually report to the drawpoints and present a wet muck
issue.
Immediately adjacent to the GRSBC is another 500-
million tonne block cave reserve, Kucing Liar (KL). The KL
deposit has an extraction level some 220 meters below
GRSBC. One of the major issues for Grasberg in the next
phase of study is how to best manage the interaction
between these two massive caves.
4 ACCESS TUNNEL DESIGN
The extraction level is designed at the 2,820 meter
elevation. The primary access to the mine will be via twin
adits, each eight kilometers in length, that will be
developed from surface at the 2,600 meter level (Figure
3). The tunnels are named the Ali Boediardjo (A.B.)
Tunnel system. Due to the long lead-time for
development of the A.B. adits, development was initiated
in early 2004 so that the adits could reach the base of the
mine by 2008 when block cave mine development is
scheduled to begin.
The adits will be fitted with an electrically powered rail
haulage system that will deliver manpower and materials,
and haul waste for the planned mining operation. The adits
will also provide reliable gravity drainage of groundwater,
ventilation, and service and maintenance lines.
5 MINE DESIGN
The mine is scheduled to begin development in 2008 and
will be accessed via the A.B. adits. The mine will be a
mechanized block caving operation with a planned peak
production rate of 115,000 tonnes per day. Undercutting is
initiated in 2014, peak production is forecast by 2019, and
closure estimated in about 2037.
5.1 Level Description
The extraction level (2820m) is based on an "El Teniente"
style of layout, used previously in the Ertsberg District at the
now-exhausted IOZ mine. Spacing of the panels is 35
meters with drawpoint spacing of 20 meters (Figure 4). The
current mine layout is a very large footprint with a diameter
of about one kilometer (694,000 m2) and contains nearly
two thousand drawpoints.
Massmin 2004
 In order to develop and mine this size of footprint, the
panels and drawpoints are broken down into five
manageable sections about 260 meters wide. Each panel
section contains an orepass and a vent raise, located in
adjacent pillars. Extending the drawpoint through the
drawbell to the next panel allows the creation of an open
access and can be used as a short-term fringe drift.
The sections allow for an LHD to access both orepasses
located North and South of the section. This improves
tramming efficiencies, with the longest tram being 140m. It
also adds in the flexibility of a back-up orepass in case one
is down for repair or maintenance.
A flat, room and pillar undercut system is planned
(2840m); headings will be directly above and parallel to the
extraction level panels. Crosscuts are parallel to the
drawpoint drifts but offset by 10 meters so that they lie on
top of the drawbell minor apex (Figure 4).
The service level (2790m) provides intake and exhaust
to the undercut and extraction levels and is the primary
ore handling level. The rail haulage system has four
haulage lines that run under the orebody in a northwest
orientation that match the section divisions on the
extraction level. The lines gather into a northeast-
trending fringe drift that runs over the coarse ore bin
dumps. Two intake and two exhaust drifts parallel the
haulage lines (Figure 5).
5.2 Caving
The mine will utilize an advanced undercutting system.
Expected draw column heights average 460 meters, and
every method must be employed to protect the integrity of
the extraction level drawpoints. A room and pillar advanced
undercut is proposed for the mine. Lateral crosscuts are
driven over the top of every minor apex. The narrow
undercut removes only a narrow opening (4.0 m) between
undercut level and cave back (Figure 6).
Figure 3. Schematic perspective view of Grasberg block cave and AB access adits.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The caving concept basically sections the undercut
horizon into a series of identical pillars that are blasted or
"wrecked" using the surrounding development drift as
expansion void, rather than the open cave. Pillar size has
been set so that two pillars are equivalent in area to a single
drawbell. The room and pillar undercut removes the swell
mucking requirements, as the undercut drifts themselves
are used as the expansion void for the blast.
The major and minor apex are the same height with this
plan, which helps ensure connection between drawbells.
This geometry aids sequencing and scheduling because the
undercut is blasted in drawbell-shaped sections rather than
in incremental rings. Furthermore, the blasting process is
simplified. A series of 32 near-horizontal holes are drilled
into the pillar from the crossover, and then charged and
blasted laterally to the open undercut drift. An expansion
void in the cave is not required to be mucked open and an
initiation raise is not needed. Some cleanup of blasted
muck is required but an ongoing campaign of swell mucking
is not required.
The drawbell will be mined out once the undercut has
passed by a minimum of a single drawbell ahead and the
bell is clear of abutment stress. The excavation method
consists of a portable Alimak nest and climber that is used
to drive a 2.0m by 2.0m vertical raise 13.5m long. Once the
raise is in place and secure the drawbell will be drilled and
a mobile emulsion charging unit will be employed to load the
bell and fire the round. Variable density emulsion and
electronic detonators will be used to fire the bell in a single
shot.
Undercutting is initiated in 2014; active drawpoint
production is initiated in 2015 after the open pit has ceased
operations. Maximum drawbell opening rates are eight
drawbells per month; maximum draw rates are 0.20m per
day. The plan assumes that the cave will be developed in
two separate areas simultaneously. The sequence has
625
 Figure 4. Undercut and extraction level layout, showing vertical position of
undercut relative to extraction drifts.

Figure 5. Schematic layout of GRSBC extraction level and service level.

Figure 6. "Room and Pillar" advanced undercut concept.

626 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 7. Generalized undercutting concept, split into two-
year increments as indicated.
been designed to maximize grade and minimize dilution
effects from the toppling of the pit material. Figure 7 shows
the generalized undercutting sequence, by two-year
periods, utilized for this study.
5.3 Ventilation
The GRSBC area will be supplied and exhausted with air
via primary intake and exhaust drifts. These drifts will portal
close to adits that access existing development at
elevations of about 3,000 meters. Four main intake and four
exhaust drifts, each sized at 6.8m square, are required to
facilitate the total estimated airflow of 1,755 m3/s required
for the mature mine. Details of the proposed ventilation
system are in the MassMin 2004 proceedings paper by
Duckworth (2004).
Airflow is delivered and exhausted via connecting raises
from ventilation service drifts on the 2790m service level.
This allows the full width of the footprint to be segmented
into five separately ventilated zones. The undercut level will
be discretely ventilated via two ventilation drifts to be driven
across the undercut level prior to caving.
5.4 Ore Handling
Ore is delivered to the haulage level by a series of 4.0m
diameter bored raises; the material will pass through the
grizzly, with a 1.0m opening, to the haulage level. The
raises can serve either as ore passes or as intake and
exhaust during their life. The concept is to be able to swap
raise functions during the mine life of the panel, allowing a
worn ore pass to be quickly converted into a vent raise and
the vent raise to an ore pass. Figure 8 illustrates the
concept. The ore passes are monitored over their life, and
when wearing becomes excessive the orepass will be
switched over to the vent raise.
Rail haulage was the system selected for ore handling of
the operation. The system will operate on a two-way shuttle
scheme with empty trains running into the end of rail line
under the orebody and then reversing back towards the
crusher station. With the side-loading chute configuration
the trains can be loaded in either running direction. Rail
cars are bottom-dump ASEA-type, 20-tonne capacity units.
Split dump points allow multiple cars to load into one of
three coarse orebins.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 8. Cross Section; extraction and service levels & the
orepass/vent raise configuration.
The loaded trains will dump the ore into one of three
coarse ore bins near the main fixed facility area. Separate
feeders will draw from the three ore bins and deliver ore to
one of three 60" x 89" gyratory crushers. Crushed ore is
pulled from the crusher discharge bin over an apron feeder,
onto a transfer belt, and delivered to the first leg of the main
conveyor system. Ore is conveyed approximately three
kilometers to the mill stockpiles.
5.4 Production/Development Simulation
Simulations utilizing the Arena software program were
performed to confirm production capacity, production and
secondary breakage equipment requirements, ore haulage,
and requirements for the AB adits to handle all development
activities. The results to achieve a daily production rate of
115,000 tonnes per day produced the following
requirements:
45 operating LHDs
864 active drawpoints
16 low hang-up drills
26 non-explosive breaking units (Commando/Boulder
Buster)
4 haulage trains consisting of 24 cars of 20 tonnes per car
Three 60" x 89" crushers
The simulation runs incorporate the fragmentation
predictions for the mine, to include in the production
simulations drawpoint hang-ups as well as drawpoint
oversize. Estimated frequencies of hang-up or oversize
events simulate secondary breakage activities. Maximum
numbers of equipment are allowed in a panel drift at a given
time, and interference with the LHDs is taken into account.
Similarly, the rail haulage was simulated to confirm
production capacity. Although there are additional
investigations required to further evaluate and optimize
design of the rail haulage system, the model shows that the
required tonnes per day production capacity can be
achieved.
6 SUMMARY
The mine plan as currently developed is based on current
technology; many of the design parameters are based upon
experiences gained during successful development of the
627
DOZ block cave mine. Grasberg clearly has the footprint
size and the column heights to sustain production rates of
115,000 tpd or higher. However, it is recognized that the
actual construction, operation, and cave management of a
single mine with those dimensions presents numerous
challenges that must be thoroughly explored during the
feasibility phase.
The Freeport operation will enter the underground-only
era with the completion of the Grasberg open pit in 2014.
The development that has begun in 2004 on the A.B. adits
will provide the gateway to the major underground
operations. The Grasberg block cave will be the flagship of
the underground era. Freeport will continue to strive to
improve the mine design and district-wide development plan
so that the future of the district carries on the tradition of
mining excellence and engineering achievements that have
been trademarks of the Ertsberg district in the past.
7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper is a brief summary of the work carried out by
many who have participated in the prefeasibility study as
well as in earlier precursor studies. In addition to
contributions from many of the underground technical staff
at PT Freeport Indonesia, significant input was provided
from Crescent Technology Inc., Call and Nicholas Inc.,
628 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
McIntosh Engineering Inc., Hydrologic Consultants Inc., and
others.
The permission of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. to present this
paper is gratefully acknowledged by the authors.
8 REFERENCES
Diering, T, 2000. PC-BC: A block cave design and draw
control system. Proceedings MassMin 2000, Brisbane,
(Ed: G Chitombo), 469-484. Australasian Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne.
Duckworth, I, 2004. Preliminary ventilation design for the
Grasberg block cave mine. Proceedings MassMin 2004,
Santiago, Chile.
MacDonald, G D, and Arnold, L C, 1994. Geological and
geochemical zoning of the Grasberg igneous complex,
Irian Jaya, Indonesia. Journal of Geochemical
Exploration, 50 (1994): 143-178.
Mealey, G H, 1996. Grasberg; Mining the Richest and
Most Remote Deposit of Copper and gold in the World, in
the Mountains of Irian Jaya, Indonesia, 384 p. Tien Wah
Press (Pte.) Ltd., Singapore.
Srikant, A, and Nicholas, D E, 2003. Geotechnical Design
Parameters for the Grasberg Block Cave. Unpublished
PT Freeport Indonesia document produced by Call and
Nicholas, Inc.
Massmin 2004
 Combined open pit underground
operation at El Teniente:
facing a new challenge
Octavio Araneda O., Resources and Development Manager, Patricio Yaez U., Mine Engineering
Superintendent, Patricio Vergara L., Chief Long Term Mine Planning, El Teniente Division, Codelco Chile

Abstract
El Tenientes Business Plan, a new strategic and long term view of resources development was defined. The work was
based on a scenario analysis having as input Codelcos mission and vision and some key strategic aspects regarding
the mineral resource base, the current reality of the mine, and future possibilities of development.
The process, that started analyzing several expansion alternatives, ended selecting an option combining both open pit
and underground caving operations as the best long term option to capture value. A 100 years old full underground
mining complex has now to face the challenge of raising an Open Pit mine. The paper presents the overall process, the
final plan and discuss some challenging issues.

1. INTRODUCTION Today, the ore is processed both in Coln, concentrator

located 10 km from the Mine at elevation 1980m and with a
Codelcos mission states the search for maximizing the capacity of 104,000 tpd, and in Sewell, the old milling plant
economic value of the company in a long-term perspective. situated 1 km from the mine, at elevation 2200m, and with a
Additionally, one of the most demanding strategic objectives capacity of 23,000 tpd. Copper concentrate is delivered to
imposed by the current Administration is its decision to Caletones smelter, where copper anodes and fire refined
double the value of the Company by year 2006 in copper are produced.
comparison with the results from year 2000.
To achieve this particular objective of capturing value, the
identified resources presented the most attractive potential.
Clearly then, El Teniente pretends to raise a plan that
maximizes, under accepted risk assessments, the
profitability of its main asset, the deposit, known as probably
one of the biggest copper deposit in the world.
A process named the "Business and Development Plan"
was then established, formally an intense strategic exercise
to find out the best route to capture most of the deposits
value.

As a primary goal, this means to set up a plan allowing the

Division to increase mine output, and to reach it in
accordance with the current development plan under
construction (PDT) but also with the production
commitments engaged in the current Base Case.
Figure 1: Location of El Teniente.
2. GENERAL OVERVIEW

El Teniente, one of the 5 Divisions of Codelco Chile -the
Chilean state-owned company-, is situated 80km south of
Santiago and 44 km (Figure 1) up to the Andes, and it
comprises mining, processing and smelting facilities.
At El Teniente over 1,100 million tons of ore have been
mined out during almost 100 years of mining. Today the
mine has begun an expansion program driving the
production from 100 Ktpd to 130 Ktpd of mineral.
This plan, the El Teniente Development Plan (PDT),
precises that during 2004 the mine is to produce 127 Ktpd
of mineral, i.e. around 450 Kt Cu per year, becoming one of
the biggest underground copper complexes of the world.
3. GEOLOGY AND RESOURCES
El Teniente is one of the largest known deposits of
porphyry copper in the world. The main rock types of the
deposit are: Andesite (3 per cent), Diorite (12 per cent),
Dacite (nine per cent) and Breccia (six per cent).
Copper mineralization is set around a subvertical
intrusive pipe of breccia named "Braden" that
appeared once the mineralization process was
completed. This intrusion moved apart some of the
original volume with copper, creating a sort of
backbone to access the mine.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 629

 As a result from this, mining at El Teniente has historically
followed a mining pattern around the pipe, where the
infrastructure is built in (offices, maintenance garages, lifts,
etc). See Figure 2.
The "planned" column correspond to the result from the
former planning instrument in a 25 years exercise: an
instrument designed for budgeting and control more than
value creation. Because of its limitations, it could only
capture 18% of the economic potential and didnt provide a
correct assessment on the companys value.
From previous figures it becomes clear that El Tenientes
deposit is an invitation to growth in mine production. In this
sense, the expected result of this process is to declare a
new strategic road map, to direct exploration needs,
engineering decisions, technological innovations and
expansion investments while transferring its opportunity
cost to current operations.
BDPs first step consists in finding mutually excluding
scenarios focused in creating value at different risk levels.
Preliminary economic evaluations are computed with almost
no capital restrictions and with special flexibilities regarding
the technological basis and the engineering status of
projects. A risk assessment is then also required in order to
provide Head Office with a value at risk estimation.

The overall BDP process from the scenario generation to

the final decision is schematically shown in Figure 3.
Figure 2: Underground mining sectors and projects

Identified in situ resources at El Teniente account for

almost 80 million tons of copper plus some 13 million
additional in tailing dams and remaining broken ore from the
caved zone. Tables 1 and 2 present their distribution
according to JORCs.

Table 1: In Situ Resources

Measured Indicated Inferred Total

Mtons Ore 1,463 3,097 8,344 12,903

% CuT 0.89 0.71 0.54 0.62
Mtons Cu 13 22 45 80

Table 2: Tailing Dams and Caved Zone

Measured Indicated Inferred Total

Mtons Ore 17 32 1,823 1,878

% CuT 0.54 0.63 0.71 0.71
Mtons Cu 0.1 0.2 13 13

4. BUSINESS AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN PROCESS

The Business and Development Plan (BDP) is a new

planning instrument aiming to estimate Codelcos value Figure 3: The BDP Process
under a long term perspective. It is basically a new, less
restrictive, view on the resources available and focused on Selection from the different scenarios is realized by a
getting out most of its potential. Head Offices team of experts, in a Corporate perspective,
and finally proposed to Codelcos Board of Directors who
The following table (Table 3) shows El Tenientes in situ finally takes the decision on which scenario to concentrate
resources vs. planned reserves. efforts.
The selected scenario is then refined and some
restrictions are applied related to the engineering basis and
Table 3: El Tenientes In Situ potential
reserves category requisites. Finally, a plan and a definite
economic evaluation are provided including:
Identified Economic Planned
- Ore reserves and mineral processed
- Ore grades, capacities, and metallurgical recoveries of
Mtons Ore 12,903 7,500 1,100
the concentrator, and smelter
% CuT 0.62 0.83 1.03 - Total production by product
- Investment profile over time, depreciation and
Mtons Cu 80 62 11
amortization

630 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

- Costs by business, process, activity and major equipment
fleets
- Operation cost by element: HHRR, materials, fuels,
electric power and services
- HHRR profile, payroll personnel and third parties
- Incomes
- Productivities and Performance indexes
- Prices and Tariffs
- Others
5. SCENARIOS GENERATED
Five main scenarios were generated as part of El
Tenientes 2004 BDP process. Figure 4 summarizes how
they were conceptualized.
Figure 4: BDP Scenarios
Scenario 1 is the Base Case scenario, the former long
term plan available for El Teniente. It is conservative by
definition, since it keeps the current expanded capacity of
130,000 tpd over time.
Scenario 2 considers a marginal expansion using only
underground mining and reaching the limits of the current
infrastructure capacity.
Scenario 3 (and its variants) was based on the
possibilities given by an underground expansion through a
brand new panel, reaching its maximum capacity.
Scenario 4 (and its variants) explores the potential of a
combined underground and open pit mining strategy.
Scenario 5 is similar to scenario 4, but in a context of
maximum capacity for both mining methods.
Variants in scenarios 3 and 4 differ basically in the kind of
reserves included, technological basis and operational and
geomechanical risks.
The relative economic evaluation of scenarios is shown
in Figure 5:
Figure 5: Economic Evaluation of Scenarios
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
6. EL TENIENTES 2004 BUSINESS
AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The finally selected scenario for El Teniente corresponded
to a combined open pit underground operation pushed at
its almost maximum capacity with current planning
parameters. Figure 6, shows a graph with sectors grouped
as in:
AT8 : Sectors Above level Teniente 8
BO : Broken ore
NL : New Level, below Teniente 8
OP : Open Pit
DL : Deep Level, conceptual planning continuity of
the deposit
Figure 6: Plan selected as El Tenientes BDP
It is a long term plan with a focus in the current expansion in
progress (PDT) in the first years. Intermediate expansions area
then based in the use of broken resources (remaining of past
mined out sectors), investments in two additional mining sectors
plus marginal expansions coping current infrastructure capacity
(railroad, Colon concentrator). Finally, expansions that allow
boosting the overall mine capacity are a whole new panel (2014)
in addition to an open pit operation (2016).
Selection was based on the following criteria:
Plan according to the huge amount of resources available
Mine capacity offering economic returns capable to afford
investments
The diversification of the mining methods provides the
opportunity to have flexibilities
Scenario lets the Division in a good position facing future
expansions
The choice of having an open pit is still a reversible
decision: resources can be mined underground
Value creation according to Corporate goal to double the
value of the Company.
The scenario is also attractive because:
The open pit project is planned only starting in year 2016,
being very conservative regarding the current engineering
phase of the project and its geological information
Without compromising the short term of the plan, the
scenario sets a clear guideline in terms of long term
strategy
Finally, it is almost a fact (according to external and
internal engineering judgment), that the open pit project
will improve during the next engineering phases
The open pit project is expected to be in the north-west
side of the deposit, letting the east and south side too
underground mining.
631
 Figure 7 shows a plan view with the underground
sequence and the open pit. It is clear the degree of
interaction between both, also that an adequate sequencing
becomes a critical issue in planning.
Figure 7: Open Pit + Underground sectors
7. CHALLENGING ISSUES
Challenging issues regarding the open pit project may be
grouped into three main families: information, interaction
and planning. The first one involves general requirements of
information needed for raising a mining project. The second
one is related on how to keep a combined operation with
underground panel caving sectors. Finally, and as a third but
more general aspect, the expected benefits of having such
a project make it attractive to have it planned before year
2016.
The quality of the resources involved in the open pit is
indeed a matter of challenge. Especially the first years of the
plan: broken ore from past mining, reserves in special
"mining difficulty" zones (due to accesses, material from the
Braden pipe, loose material from the alluvial zone...etc.). In
comparison with the rest of the deposit, the area involved in
the open pit lacks -in quantity- of important information. An
aggressive exploration campaign, was proposed in order to
improve the knowledge in geology, geomechanics,
geotechnics, water management, waste dump alternatives,
infrastructure position and also environmental issues (to
establish a base line).
Among these, one special issue is related to the quality
(grades, recoveries) of the depleted caved zone that is
included in the plan. This broken ore is the remaining left
from past underground mining and, up to now, has always
been treated in a very conservative manner: just as waste in
the case of the open pit. A special drilling campaign is
expected to give detailed information. Meanwhile, planning
exercises based on a better assessment on its copper
content and aiming to see the impact on the open pit design
will be conducted.
632 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Interaction in certainly another of the most challenging
aspects of the plan: first among underground sectors, but also
between the open pit and underground operations. Sequencing
was treated initially under a heuristic approach, however the
complexity of the problem, and the fine-tuning required, forced
the need of having it treated in a more detailed way. A four
dimensions model was set up based in the 3D subsidence
angles defining active caving zones and its evolution in time
(fourth dimension). The model, works based on the output from
the underground planning and allows to easily constructing
actives caving volumes using any market design and planning
software. This allows checking the validity of the overall
sequence and eventually introducing changes whether in the
underground or open pit operation. See Figure 8.
Figure 8: Dealing with Open pit and Underground
interaction at a specific year
On the overall planning aspect, it becomes clear that by
giving a better estimate on the Divisions value, the BDP
should allow better decisions in terms of the opportunity
costs involved. In this case, it appears indeed very attractive
to have the open pit starting before year 2016 trying to
capture its value as soon as possible. If this is to be planned
then we would see an increase in interaction which will
probably cause to plan a smaller overall plan capacity, but
nevertheless returning a still higher value. The challenge
being to have it around year 2010, exercises will be started
this year, for the 2005 Business and Development Plan
process.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to all their colleagues of the
Superintendence of Mine and Metallurgy that helped them
during the development of this process. Also, the authors
want to acknowledge the permission given by Division El
Teniente to publish this technical paper.
REFERENCES
Crorkan, Araneda, et al. Caso Base 2003, Codelco Chile
Divisin El Teniente. 2002.
Codelco, Corporate guides for Mine Planning: PEX
Process. Internal document CODELCO, 2003.
Codelco, Procedimiento de Estimacin de Riesgo PEX,
Codelco internal document, 2003.
Skewes, A et al (2002), The Giant El Teniente Breccia
Deposit: Hypogene Copper Distribution and
Emplacement in Society of Economic Geologists, Special
Publication 9,2002, p.299-332.
Metlica Asoc, 2003.Estudio Material Quebrado Mina El
Teniente.
NCL, 2003.Proyecto Rajo Teniente, Ingeniera
Exploratoria.
Massmin 2004
 Going to an underground
(UG) mining method
Sergio Fuentes S., Director, Metlica Consultores S.A., Chile

Abstract
Recently, underground mining methods have been analyzed by some open pit (OP) staff people, mainly because they
are anticipating the end of the economic life of those operations in the near future. Block caving is one of the lowest cost
underground mining methods and can compete with some open pits. It is a natural substitute mining method for open
pit because of the high production rates, levels of mechanization and of course the cost level that can be achieved.
Underground mining presents more technical risks that open pit method, with the possibility of events such as air blasts,
rock bursts, hang-ups etc. These risks can be quantified and managed in a rational, technical and reasonable way. This
paper briefly describes some key issues regarding block caving, some basic information requirements, cost trends,
potential production capacity, management issues and the expected evolution of some techniques that could improve or
solve some of the main technical constraints of the method.

1. INTRODUCTION

If we have an open pit operation and we do not visualize

the final pit in the medium term, e.g. 5 to 15 years, some
basic question appears over the planning area, such as:
How many years in advance we have to consider an
underground mining configuration? or,
Why we have to evaluate an underground mining method
in an early stage of the open pit planning or production?
Or,
Is a crazy idea to analyse UG mining 10 years in advance
of the final pit achievement?

These are some of the most common questions feelings

or statements that we could "feel" the first time when we
discuss the point about open pit to underground transition.
Indeed, people reactions are commonly quite magnificent
and with some kind of aggressiveness about this idea.
In the following section it is briefly described our
experience and approach managing those issues.
Figure 1 Open Pit & Underground Resources Configuration
2. FIRST EMOTIONAL SHOCK

Traditionally, the decision making process in the open pit

planning, does not take into account the opportunity cost
associated to the underground exploitation of the remainder
resources left by an open pit design.
Standard methodology considers sequential push back
evaluation, identifying the expansion that maximizes the net
present value (NPV) of the design.
In most of the cases, an asymptotic trend of the NPV is
demonstrated in the final expansions. As an example, this
could be because the economic weight of the waste removal
is not considered by undiscounted outputs from moving
cone valuations.
If we take into account the economical potential
associated to underground resources (see Figure 1), the
final pit can be significantly reduced if an additional Figure 2 Open Pit versus Underground, Break Even
expansion of the pit can not generate large enough NPV Analysis
than the financial effect of an underground exploitation
displacement trough the time (see Figure 2 ).
The first time this kind of analyses is carried out, the This effect can be named "First Emotional Shock", and
economic impact and mine planning consequences can be the entire organization involved in the decision process,
impressive and shocking. The life reduction could imply that begins to look for problems or good excuses to delay further
there is no time to start with an underground project. analyses.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 633

3. STRETCHING THE TIME
Usually, until this time a break even analysis (OP versus
UG) has been carried out using a primary approach for the
underground exploitation with big uncertainties within the
UG project basis. We called it "Diagnosis Study", where the
mine planning team begins to optimize the OP designs,
modifying production schedules, investment profiles, etc.,
searching better options for open pit planning and
consequently improving the economic performance of the
expansions.
On the other hand, the mine planning team and the entire
organization start configuring a strong navigation chart for
the UG project, where some main topics are:
Ore reserves estimations.
Geotechnical characterization for UG purposes.
General UG mining method definition.
UG production rate searching.
Material handling questions.
Preproduction time required estimations.
UG production ramp up approach.
Subsidence and UG mining sequence.
OP & UG interaction.
Mechanization and automation.
Working time effectiveness.
Human resources.
Capital expenditure constrains.
Environmental.
For sure, there are many more not mentioned topics in
this brief list. However, the issue here is to introduce the
importance and sense of urgency at the business
administration level, not avoid right and proper managerial
decisions.
Dont worry, we have time! It is a common statement when
we see some years in front to start an UG project under
these conditions. But usually "some years" are not enough
to develop proper and certain analyses in this matter, mainly
when it is necessary to collect and define base information
for UG purposes.
Stretching time is a common attitude hoping to find a
better option for OP mine planning, and it is a valid and
possible situation, but this searching does not justify to
stop important decisions about further UG related
studies.
4. BLOCK CAVING AS FIRST OPTION
Some of the biggest open pit mines worldwide will be
achieving their final pit limits during the next 10 to 15 years
(Metalica, 2002). Block/panel caving will likely enable these
operations to continue achieving a high production rate and
low costs.
A review of the literature indicates that the first block
caving mine was the Pewabic in Michigan USA at the
beginning of the 1900s (Peele, 1927).
This mining method has evolved from total cost close to 7
US$/t down to 4 US$/t during the last two decades (see
Figure 3).
One of the most important technical aspects in cost
improvement has been the evolution from an ore grade
selective approach to a massive exploitation, increasing
cave draw control while avoiding as far as possible any
increased dilution in the material produced. i.e. improving
regularity of the drawing surface instead of selective
production from individual draw points to keep ore grade as
high as possible. .
Those major planning changes allows mining layouts
modification and changes in management criteria, such as
outsourcing of preparation and development operations due
to variable preparation requirements trough the time . The
634 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 3 Chilean Block Caving Mines, Total Cost Trend
costs of these outsourced operations represented almost
half of the total mining cost.
If there were proper geometric and geotechnical
conditions, this cost trend suggests block/panel caving is
the best choice as mining method.
5. BLOCK CAVING CONSTRAINS
AND VULNERABILITIES
Today, we can remark that main constrains and
weaknesses of this mining method are related with
geotechnical considerations, such as:
Caving induction and progression.
Fragmentation and block size distribution.
Induced stresses over mine infrastructure.
Rock mass strength capabilities.
Dilution behaviour.
If we consider high preproduction capital and time
required to start with production, we can find from
economical point of view some additional risks associates
with block caving. Even though, massive exploitation
implies some reduction in the ore grade fed to processing
plants, this situation permits to mine out low ore grades
because of unit mining cost reductions achieving high
productions rates . Planning and design for those marginal
mineral resources (low grades ore) implicitly involved
greater economic risk, especially when the prices of metals
mined were depressed.
Finally, considering the mining method change the work
force skills adaptation must be carefully analysed, planning
the training requirements and calculating the productivity
projections associated with the new system. Indeed, these
two factor wrongly combined could produce catastrophic
results in cost, productivity and finally, profitability.
All that constrains and vulnerabilities generate a risky
heaven sense compared to open pit mining, usually
inducing reactive planners behaviour about changes of the
current mining method.
6. MINIMIZING THECNICAL CONSTRAINS
Getting good enough knowledge of the rock mass
characteristics, such as geology, geotechnical,
environment, ground water, etc., could make the difference
minimizing risk and uncertainty of the engineering
assumptions to manageable levels.
Additionally, new techniques such hydraulic
preconditioning, blasting preconditioning or a mix of both,
are gaining knowledge and expertise within block/panel
cave miners, transforming and adapting rock masses to our
purposes (Chacn, 2002).
Massmin 2004
 Rock Mass Preconditioning research field, is one of the
most impacting research areas for block caving purposes
because of improvements on material handling and caving
induction conditions. Indeed, some of the modification
achieved with those techniques, almost avoid most of the
geotechnical constrains and vulnerabilities above
mentioned. Some, industrial test shows quite good results,
favourable changing rock mass conditions over the material
to be mined.
This mix, using hydraulic and blasting preconditioning
techniques, it seems as the most successful combination,
significantly reducing hang-ups and consequently,
improving productivity of the active area. Also, cutting
infrastructure reparation cost, due to reduction of stability
problems, shall be some other advantages associated with
this preconditioning implementation as standard in hard
rock mining.
An important consequence of successfully rock mass
preconditioning shall be continuous material handling as
much as possible. Indeed, this aspect could sustain
important mining cost reductions increasing profit in low ore
grade exploitations.
7. ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT TOPICS
Other important topics, previously mentioned, cannot be
underestimated. Those could introduce higher levels of
uncertainty than the technical variables.
When we are going from open pit mining to an
underground method, it is necessary to develop and
implementing a reengineering process over the entire
structure of the mining business, taking into account new
expertises, skills, risks, process controls, etc., generally
speaking, appear new border conditions to introduce in the
organization.
For example, if there is no correction or cleaning of
environmental liabilities associated with open pit operation,
it makes possible the introduction of high no (under)
estimated costs conditions into the projected results over
the future underground operation estimations.
The analysis and definition of the real choice to make a
proper personnel searching and selection, and then the
training programme associated, etc., could be an important
risk factor that could imply success or fail of the project
projections.
Also, proper configuration, programming and
management of the preproduction development
(preparation), while a high level of simultaneous
requirements are needed to achieve the goal in a short
period of time, is an issue and could imply a huge
uncertainty of the profitability of the project.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Finally the change of the strategic position in the market
is an important additional factor, while the most probable
production scenario is that a large open pit with large fine
copper production will achieve smaller output scale in terms
of production. That situation introduces drastically changes
in the relative strategic positions in the market,
consequently we could expect some cost impacts because
of this already changed strategic position.
8. CONCLUSIONS
The economic final pit is usually closer than we think.
Reactions against break-even analyses are usually found
in an early stage of OP-UG studies.
Open mind of the entire organization is the best way to
find a proper and profitable transition from OP to UG
mining.
Underground mining using block/panel caving appears as
first option in the transition of actual large open pit mining
to underground.
Rock mass preconditioning appears a good guideline of
research and development, contributing significant
improvements in block/panel caving mining.
A successful rock mass preconditioning, suggests
important improvements in material handling in
block/panel caving designs.
Several non technical aspects, such as work force
training, environmental constrains, etc., must be deeply
analysed in primary stages of the transition studies.
If we consider the long time needed to start up with an UG
project, OP limit taking into account UG opportunity cost,
should be frequently analysed along the mine life.
REFERENCES
Chacn, E., (2002). Pre-Acondicionamiento de la Roca
Primaria en Codelco Chile, Seminario de Innovacin
Tecnolgica en Minera, Mayo 2002, Santiago, Chile.
Fuentes, S., (2003). Planning Block Caving Operations
with Metal Price Uncertainty, MSc(Eng) Thesis, Queens
University, Kingston, Canada.
Fuentes, S., and J. Cceres, (2003). How Improvements
in Block Caving Method and Costs Have Impacted in Final
Pit Definition, 2003 CIM Annual Mining Industry
Conference & Exhibition, Montreal Canada.
Metlica S.A., (2000). Anlisis de Lmite Rajo
Subterrneo, Internal Report.
Peele, R., (1927). Mining Engineers Hand Book, John
Wiley & Sons , 2nd Edition, New York, USA, Vol. 1, pp 721
-727.
635
636 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Chapter 17
Mine Operations
638 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 The Application of new underground
mining technology and sound systems
engineering principles to develop a
cost-effective solution for the Finsch
mine block 4 ore management system
Danie Burger, Mining Systems Manager, De Beers Finsch Mine
James Oosthuizen, Account Manager, Sandvik Mining and Construction RSA (Pty) Ltd.
Brett Cook, Project Manager, Mine Automation Department, Sandvik Tamrock Corporation
Japie Visagie, Divisional Project Engineer, De Beers Finsch Mine

Abstract
The capability to excel in the acquisition or development of products, services, systems and processes has become vital
in the global, competitive environment. This is true not only for the young, breakthrough industries but also for the
traditional, mature industries.
To be world-class, the critical business function of system/product and process development needs to be given high
priority in order to ensure optimum performance at reduced operating and support cost. This includes, amongst others,
the use of a formalized system product development and acquisition process.
This paper describes the systems acquisition engineering process followed during the development of the Finsch Mine
- Block 4 Project, Ore Transportation System (OTS).
Furthermore, it addresses the business and production management requirements of the block cave operation in terms
of the effective and sustainable management of the ore body, utilising the OTS as a part of the overall Ore Management
System (OMS).
The paper also describes the conceptual trade-off study methodology and selection model utilised to define the preferred
OTS concept together with a description of the selected system configuration for the Block 4 Project. The selected system
implementation and commissioning strategy together with the systems operating and support concepts are also briefly
highlighted. The paper concludes with a generic systems overview and description of associated benefits of the key
technologies that make up the Integrated Ore Management System..

1 DE BEERS FINSCH MINE OVERVIEW

Finsch Mine is situated approximately 165 kilometers

west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province of South
Africa. (Figure 1).
The Finsch kimberlite pipe is a near vertically sided
intrusion into the country rock, the latter consisting of
dolomite, dolomitic limestone with chert bands and almost
pure lenses of limestone (Figure 2).
Exploitation of the kimberlite pipe commenced in 1964
utilising an open pit mining method. Approximately 120
million tons of kimberlite ore was mined from the open pit.
Underground operations commenced during the latter
part of 1990. The underground ore body is divided into
mining Blocks 1 to 5. (See Figure 3). Each block terminates
at varying depths below surface as 350m, 430m, 510m,
630m and 830m respectively.
Blocks 1 through to 3 are being exploited via a modified
blasthole open stoping technique. Blocks 1 and 2 were
mined out while Block 3 is nearing depletion in 2007. Figure 1: Geographical Location of Finsch Mine
Blocks 4 and 5 are planned to be extracted utilising
mechanised block caving mining methods. Block 4
underground infrastructure development is well underway resource is in progress already aimed at improved
with production startup planning to commence during the qualification and quantification of the remaining kimberlite
latter part of 2004, while exploration drilling of the Block 5 pipe at depth.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 639


Figure 2: Geological model of the Finsch kimberlite pipe
Figure 3: Cross section of mining blocks
Block 4 will be mined by means of a mechanised panel
retreat block caving method, utilising an advance
undercutting methodology. The undercut level of the block
is situated on 61 level (610m below surface). The main
extraction level, trackless workshop infrastructure, truck
haulage tramming loop and primary crusher excavation and
associated infrastructure are located on 63 level (630m
below surface).
The slot cutting process required to initiate the
undercutting process has already commenced in April 2004.
The Hydraulic Radius necessary to allow the caving process
to commence, ranges between 14 to 18 and this specific
milestone activity is scheduled to be achieved during the
first quarter of 2005.
The undercut tunnels are spaced at 15 m intervals, and
will allow for the mining of an inclined 12 meter high
undercut profile. The undercutting process is planned to be
completed in 2009. The layout geometry of the extraction
level is designed on a staggered herringbone configuration
with 30m tunnel spacing and 15m drawpoint spacing.
Based on geotechnical constraints and associated tunnel
stability risks, the mining sequence on the extraction level is
such that all drawbell and associated infrastructure will
require development in the "shadow" of the advancing
undercut face with only the extraction tunnels and
640 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 4: 61 Level Undercut level layout
Figure 5: 63 Level Extraction level layout
drawpoint development allowed to take place ahead of the
undercutting process.
Depletion of the Block Cave draw columns will commence
once the Hydraulic Radius is achieved in early 2005. The
production buildup rate will be dependant and to a large
degree, be governed by the rate of undercutting as well as
drawpoint maturity rules. A full production rate of 3.8 Mta is
planned to be achieved in 2007 and this steady state
production rate will be maintained until 2011. The production
from this block will then reduce significantly until the block 4
resource is planned to be depleted in 2015. To maintain
production from the underground mine, Block 5 will have to
start full production during 2011 thereby ensuring sustained
production of Finsch Mine beyond 2020.
2 INTRODUCTION
Growth within the De Beers organisation is essential for
sustainability and increased market share. New acquisitions
as well as expansion of existing operations such as the
Block 4 project at Finsch Mine, requires that De Beers
follows a process that produces world class outputs in both
quality and performance. For this purpose De Beers
adopted a formal project management and systems
acquisition approach.
The main concept of the De Beers Total Project
Management (TPM) and system acquisition process
Massmin 2004
involves the effective management of time, cost and quality
of a complex multi disciplinary system applied throughout
the system life cycle (Figure 6). The whole life cycle of the
system is taken into account, from determining the needs
and requirements, system acquisition, right through to
system utilisation whilst always considering the interfaces
and interactions with its environment.
Figure 6: System life cycle model
This paper aims to explain the system acquisition
principles applied to the Ore Transportation System (OTS)
as part of the Finsch Mine Block 4 project.
3 OTS SYSTEM ACQUISITION PROCESS
3.1. Needs identification and requirements
determination
The baseline document of the Requirement Determination
is a User Requirement Statement (URS), in which Finsch
Mine Block 4 end-user and mining client requirements and
constraints, from context requirements through to operating,
support, cost and schedule requirements for the specific
Ore Transportation System are covered.
The URS defines how the resulting system will perform
the ore transportation functions. The OTS is required to
collect ore from the various draw points and to convey the
production ore to a bin at the underground crusher. This
transportation system shall furthermore receive ore from the
mining development system and convey development ore
to the underground crusher bin .
The URS provides a point of departure in the search for
the optimal system solution without considering any
specific, preconceived solutions. It does however, include
high level cost ,time and quality constraints within which the
ultimate solution must be developed and implemented .
These constraints are then effectively utilized as baseline
key performance indicators against which the continuous
performance of the system can be evaluated over the
complete system life cycle.
3.2. System Acquisition
There are four phases within system acquisition, with the
following main objectives:
3.2.1. Concept exploration phase
(Pre-feasibility estimate)
The primary objective of the concept exploration phase is
to identify and explore all potential solutions to the defined
URS. All potential solutions are then evaluated against
defined key performance criteria as specified within the
URS using a selected decision model. By applying suitable
weighting measurement criteria, each solution can then be
suitably rated and the best rated solution will be ultimately
selected. Therefore resulting in a single system
specification being a formal deliverable for this phase.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
3.2.2. Definition and validation phase
(Feasibility estimate)
In this phase the preliminary design of the selected
system specification is done in order to firm up on the
cost estimate of the solution to enhance the certainty
that the selected solution is the optimal alternative. This
preliminary design includes layouts, general
arrangements, preliminary equipment selections, etc.
During this phase, solutions are engineered to a level of
confidence sufficient to request financial approval for the
project. All equipment, technologies and processes will
have to be specified and costed at a more detailed level.
The Engineering process followed during this phase,
should effectively utilize integrated risk and change
management principles aimed at identifying, eliminating
or adequately controlling any undue risks associated
with the selected system design.
3.2.3. Design and development (Control Budget)
Following the definition and validation phase, the
preliminary design is further developed to a detailed design
level suitable for construction, manufacturing and
commissioning purposes. The deliverable from this phase is
a detailed system breakdown structure complete with
definite time, cost and quality estimation, as well as detailed
system commissioning, manufacturing and execution plans.
3.2.4. Construction, manufacturing and commissioning
(detail budget)
During this phase the system is constructed as a product.
Items and equipment are manufactured and the system
product as a whole is assembled, commissioned and
handed over to production for use. At the end of this phase
the system is signed off as a fully operational system, and is
normally associated with the handover from project team to
operational team (end-users). Continuous stakeholder
involvement and management are essential throughout the
entire system acquisition process. This allows a smooth and
successful transition from commissioning to operating and
support of the system.
3.3. System utilisation
During the system utilisation phase, the system is
operated and supported by the end-user and supplier until
the end of the system life cycle has been reached when the
system is disposed of.
3.3.1. Operations and support
Operation and support is defined as the mature phase of
the system acquisition process during which the
commissioned system is operated and maintained in its
intended operational mode. System performance during this
phase continuously needs to be measured against the initial
URS to ensure optimum operational and end-user
satisfaction. Sub optimum performance and end-user
dissatisfaction could negatively impact on the system life
cycle performance as a whole due to the risk of premature
system disposal.
3.3.2. Disposal and restoration
This entails the decommissioning and termination of the
system from its operational service in the most cost effective
manner.
4 PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS
Sandvik Mining and Construction (SMC) was awarded the
role of system integrator and joint partner with De Beers
Finsch Mine in the development, design, manufacturing,
commissioning and support of the Ore Transportation
System solution for the Block 4 project.
641
 SMC applied a systems acquisition process defined by De
Beers Finsch Mine, with specific reference to the following
scope of work:-
Execute all the system acquisition phases of the system
life cycle, from needs identification, up to the final
commissioning, operation and support of the system
accepting overall system acquisition and performance
responsibilities.
Perform all systems engineering necessary to address
the entire User Requirement Statement (URS) from high
level requirements down to detailed levels.
OTS engineering design, manufacturing and
commissioning project management responsibilities.
Satisfy all engineering design and development
requirements.
Procure, manufacture and integrate all system elements.
Commissioning of total system.
Participate in operational risk assessments ( Safety and
production related)
Relevant stakeholder engagement
OTS system training responsibilities.
Support the eventual system during utilization and phase-
out.
De Beers Finsch Mines partnership role pertained to the
following client interface responsibilities:
Project sponsor;
Owner of the needs identification and requirements
specification;
Active partner and system acquisition process
stakeholder;
Operational end-users.
Integrated Block 4 project management responsibilities.
Finsch Mine and De Beers group stakeholder
engagement and management responsibilities.
System operational responsibilities.
5 BLOCK 4 PROJECT: OTS SOLUTION
The Ore Transportation System forms a major component
of the Ore Management System (OMS) for Block 4. The
OMS is an integrated system that will manage the planning,
optimal extraction, reconciliation and effective management
of the Block 4 ore resource. As a sub-system of the OMS,
the OTS is responsible for the optimal transport of ore from
production draw points to the underground primary
crusher.(Figure 7)
Figure 7: OMS system context
The preferred ore transport system solution selected from
the concept exploration phase was a hybrid system
configuration consisting of a combination of manual and
automated LHDs and automated trucks.
642 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
This solution proved to be the most costeffective with the
capability of delivering optimum revenue over the life of
mine together with improved draw control and management
of the Block 4 resource. The hybrid OTS will operate within
specified operational and associated underground
infrastructural constraints and will significantly reduce safety
related risks.
The Block 4 Ore Transportation System (OTS) provides
for all the functionality required to operate and supervise an
automated LHD and dump truck fleet from a central control
room located on surface - removed from the production
area.
5.1. Ore Transportation System Overview
Ore is loaded by LHDs from the 302 production
drawpoints located within 11 extraction tunnels as well as
from 5 undercut passes. The LHDs then tram the loaded ore
to 4 designated transfer points located on the perimeter of
the orebody after which the ore is dumped into autonomous
trucks (Figure 8) .
The trucks then automatically haul the ore and dumps it
into the primary crusher located at the shaft.
Figure 8: 63 Level - OTS Layout
The LHDs selected will be Toro 007s fitted with a 5.4m3
bucket with a 10 ton tramming capacity. LHDs are operated
either manually or semi-autonomously depending on the
implementation stage. (Figure 9)
The trucks selected will be Toro 50Ds equipped with a
24m3 rock box capable of hauling 50 tons which will be
operated fully autonomously (Figure 9).
Figure 9: Selected loading and hauling equipment
This combination of LHD bucket size and truck box size
allows for 4 pass loading.(Figure 10)
Massmin 2004

Figure 10: LHD tipping configuration
5.2. OTS System interfaces
The following sections briefly describe the sub-systems
below in the operating segment of the OTS and the two
external systems that are interfaced to the OTS (As shown
in the figure below).
Figure 11: OMS system architecture with OTS system
interfaces
5.2.1. Cave Management System
The Cave Management System (CMS) is an external
system that, from an OTS perspective, has the main
function of providing a daily draw order (i.e. daily production
targets and priority for each drawpoint) to the Production
Control System (PCS). This daily draw order takes into
account the undercut face position as well as the drawbell
installation schedules. Each of the drawpoints will receive a
draw order that takes into account geotechnical and mining
related rules. This system also receives information from the
previous shifts production in order to recalculate the
required tons per drawpoint for the next period. This will
facilitate effective draw control.
5.2.2. Production Control System
The Production Control System (PCS) provides main
functions to schedule shift production and to manage the
production execution by manual and autonomous LHDs and
autonomous trucks. The PCS creates Manual Production
Orders (MPO) for manual LHDs that are grouped into a
Manual Production List (MPL) for each machine. The PCS
creates missions for autonomous LHDs and autonomous
trucks that are grouped into an Auto Mission List (AML) for
each machine. The system is based on a client-server
configuration and users interact with a PCS client connected
to the De Beers network. The PCS is operated through a
Windows based dedicated graphical user interface with
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
which the manual and automated machine fleet will be
supervised and controlled. It will facilitate the viewing and
assignment of statuses and objects in the production area.
5.2.3. Mission Control System
The Mission Control System (MCS) has the following
main functions:
Control of production execution including:
- issuing manual production orders to manual LHDs.
(Manual production orders are received from the PCS.)
- creating and issuing drive orders to autonomous LHDs
and autonomous trucks. (Drive orders are created based
on auto mission lists received from the PCS).
- traffic control (autonomous machines only)
- management of truck loading by LHDs
Supervision of the machines and production area
resources.
Monitoring of the total fleet production.
Monitoring of the fleet condition and status.
User interface for supervision and control of autonomous
LHDs and autonomous trucks
5.2.4. Access Control System
The fundamental safety concept for the operation of a
hybrid OTS system is to provide an isolated area for
automated machines from manually operated machines and
personnel at all times.
The Access Control System (ACS) conforms to this safety
concept by using both physical and electronic means with
the following main functions:
Control access to autonomous areas including:
- restricting entry;
- detecting unauthorized entry;
- preventing unplanned machine exit;
- providing controlled access for autonomous machines;
controlling the boundaries of autonomous areas including:
- adding/releasing extraction tunnels to/from the
autonomous LHD area
- adding/releasing haulage tunnels to/from the
autonomous truck area
Each access or entry point to the autonomous areas will
be equipped with warning signs, zone status indicator lights,
control panels, a lockable gate to restrict entry, a photocell
to detect unauthorized entry of personnel or machines and
also to detect unplanned machine exit attempts. (Figure 12)
Figure 12: Access gate system configuration
Access points consists of 2 components: Access Gates
and Transit Locks. Access Gates are used to barricade off
normal access points to the autonomous areas. Access
643
Gates are opened and closed manually by mine personnel.
Transit Locks are a combination of 2 access gates and are
used to introduce and/or remove autonomous machines
from the autonomous areas under controlled conditions
whilst allowing other autonomous machines to continue
operating. The inner gate of the transit lock is remotely
controlled whilst the outer gates are opened and closed
manually by authorized underground mine personnel.
In addition to the photocells to detect unplanned machine
exit attempts, a "hard-wired" safety antenna system will be
fitted to the autonomous machines with a tripping device to
be installed at each access gate. The safety antenna
(Figure 13) will be a pole that is raised when the machine is
introduced to the autonomous area. When tripped the
antenna will mechanically break the emergency stop circuit
and immediately stops the machine independent of any
communication system. The safety antenna tripping device
will be a steel cable that is suspended at a height sufficient
to trip the safety antenna (i.e. knock it down).
Figure 13: Safety antenna tripping device
5.2.5. Operator Station
The Operator Station is the location from where the
autonomous fleet is supervised and controlled and is
located in the surface central control room. One of the main
functionalities performed by the operator station is to assist
and facilitate tele-remote bucket loading of the autonomous
LHDs.
Figure 14: Operator station
644 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
5.2.6. Citect SCADA
Citect is an external Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition (SCADA) system that provides data to the
Mission Control System essential for the monitoring and
control of the OTS. Data includes:
crusher bin level: ton capacity available in bin - (% level)
crusher feed rate (at apron feeder)- (tons/hr)
crusher operational status-(running/stopped)
u/cut pass levels (tons in pass, high level, low level)
cumulative crusher discharge tons - (tons)
The data from the Citect Scada system is integrated with
the PCS which utilizes this data to optimise production
throughput by monitoring upstream and downstream
resource-related and other operational constraints.
6 BENEFITS OF OTS SYSTEM ACQUISITION
The following list summarizes the benefits of applying a
formal acquisition process:
The risks of failing to meet technical performance,
schedule and cost requirements of the project are
significantly reduced.
The step-by-step authorization of baselines protects the
project team, the end-user as well as the stakeholders.
Clear management responsibilities and transfer thereof
are identified during the different phases of the system life
cycle.
Clear statement of requirements upfront.
Traceable and auditable decisions/processes
Formatted documentation and revision tracking (change
control process)
Clear/forced objectives and performance measurement
criteria over system life cycle.
Knowledge capturing and sharing of intellectual capital
Integrated client/supplier team synergy.
7 OTS BENEFITS
The Finsch Mine Block 4 Ore Transportation System
provides all the functionality required to operate and
supervise an automated LHD and dump truck fleet from a
control room located away from the production area. It
provides the following benefits:
Effective block cave management and control through
automation.(improved quality)
Improved machine fleet utilization: More efficient fleet
utilization results in increased production. (increased
revenue)
Lower operating costs: One system controller is able to
manage several machines.
Lower maintenance costs: Smoother operation and
reduced damage to equipment cut down maintenance
expenses.
Optimized tramming speed : machines are able to
maintain optimized speeds throughout the route in each
LHD and dump truck cycle
Increased safety: The Access Control System protects the
automated production area from both unauthorized
access and machine escape. People are removed from
dangerous underground environment.
Improved working conditions: System Controllers are
located in a safe and comfortable control room
environment which implies decreased occupational
injuries.
Improved production control and monitoring (reducing
stoppage times which results in improved recovery rates).
Realtime production followup and response: Using the
MCS interface, the system controller can easily monitor
the production in real time.
Massmin 2004
 By following a systematic and methodological systems
engineering approach to the design and development of this
transportation system, the benefits described in the
previous two sections would be realized.
8 CONCLUSIONS
Applying the core principles of high level up-front thinking
early on in the lifecycle of a project will ensure that the most
suitable requirements and solutions are defined and
successfully achieved. The correct concept needs effective
development, design, manufacturing and implementation to
ensure that the process required to produce the final system
solution is guaranteed, reliable and that it meets the
customers requirements and satisfaction.
By utilising these principles captured under the De Beers
total project management and system acquisition
methodology, effective concept exploration and design have
been assured. Optimistic expectations related to the
commissioning, operating and support of the OTS by the
end of the year will be successfully executed to the
specified performance criteria.
This current focus on time, cost and quality will ensure
that Finsch Mine Block 4 project has the ideal opportunity
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
not only to provide the OTS system solution on time and
within budget but that it also meets all customers
requirements thereby ensuring full customer satisfaction.
9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to all their colleagues/partners at
Finsch Mine and Sandvik Mining and Construction (SMC)
that have contributed to the development of this system
solution. Also, the authors want to acknowledge the
permission given by the partners, Finsch Mine and SMC to
publish this technical paper.
10 REFERENCES
De Beers Total Project Management System Guidelines
for Project Management.
User Requirement Specification for Block 4 Ore
Transportation System, Revision F, 04-06-2003
System Specification for Finsch Mine Block 4 Ore
Transportation System, Edition C, 14-02-2003
Block 4 OTS-Operating System Preliminary Design
Report, Revision B, 24-03-2004
645
 Visual grade control techniques and
sub-level cave draw optimisation
Perseverance Nickel Mine, Leinster,
Western Australia
Geoff Booth, Senior Mine Geologist, WMC Resources Ltd., Perseverance Nickel Mine, Leinster, W.A.
Ernie Gaspar, Sam Vine, Leanne Noble, Mine Geologists, WMC Resources Ltd.,
Perseverance Nickel Mine, Leinster, W. A.
Scott Dunham, Geology Manager, WMC Resources Ltd., Leinster Nickel Operations, Leinster, W. A.
Glenn Sharrock, Senior Rock Mechanics Engineer, AMC Consultants, West Perth, W. A.

Abstract
Mass mining methods such as sub-level caving (SLC) require rapid and flexible grade control procedures. With SLC
operations often suffering from erratic waste ingress, intensive inspection regimes are now widespread. Throughout its
entire underground development, WMCs Perseverance Nickel mine at Leinster, Western Australia has relied exclusively
on inexpensive visual techniques to quantify grade. With ring designs ranging from ~4000-5000 tonnes, SLC rill
inspections are carried out initially at 300 tonne increments. However, as dilution increases such examinations may
occur more frequently, sometimes as often as every 50 tonnes. Repeated practice has shown that during a 5 minute
inspection, hanging-wall and footwall dilution can be estimated confidently to within 5%. Simultaneously, fragmentation
sizing and brow wear (break-back) factors are also easily recorded. Subsequent dilution draw curves can be used to
depict and ultimately predict waste and ore surging. Such data forms the basis for real-time 3 dimensional flow modelling
and can aid in delineating remnant pillars and dilution pipes. In the absence of any structured rill sampling programs,
cumulative (yearly) SLC metal reconciliations lie at or near 99% of published design estimates. Accordingly, the creation
and application of rigorous visual grade estimation protocols at Perseverance have become key to optimal SLC
performance.

INTRODUCTION

WMCs Leinster nickel deposits lie ~380 km north of

Kalgoorlie, Western Australia and 15 km north of the
Leinster townsite. They are confined to south-eastern
sections of the celebrated Agnew-Wiluna greenstone belt
which is traced locally over a 200 km length and from 5-50
km in width. Acknowledged as the largest komatiite-hosted
Ni orebody in the world, the Perseverance Class 1 deposit
comprises a main disseminated (~2%) Ni sulphide lode,
together with lesser massive (1A and F2) sulphide lenses
located at or near the base of a thick (>700 m) ultramafic
flow. These are further enveloped by an extensive sheet of
weaker, Class 2 (~0.6%) Ni mineralisation. The
Perseverance mine operates a large sub-level cave (SLC)
and lesser open stopes with annual production rates of
~1.9Mt Its cumulative pre-mined resource was estimated at
~50 MT grading at 2.2%Ni for 1MT of total metal.

1 SLC GRADE CONTROL

Current production and development (face-mapping) levels

at Perseverance require a 3 person geotechnical crew and
coordinating geological assistant for 24 x7, 365 day per year
coverage. Shifts are 12 hours long and are based on a 7 day
: 7 night: 7 day off roster, for a 21 day cycle. Geotechnicians
nominally undergo 6 months prior training at a advanced Figure 1: Aerial view of Perseverance Pit
technical college, receiving a degree in mining geoscience,

646 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 2: Perspective view of Perseverance Nickel Mine
looking northwest
while the assistant role is filled by a junior geologist. To facilitate
data collection, dedicated underground offices were built at
Perseverance for the grade control team with three separate
computer stations for geotechnician, geological assistant and a
roving duty / senior geologist.
Grade control training at Perseverance commences with
shift geotechnicians calibrating their visual assessment of
sulphide percent against analysed development face and / or
rill samples. Repeated comparison of these results permits
progressive refinement of visual acuity, ensuring minimal
ore:waste misclassification (Figure 3: - 1 error from 42
estimates).
Once qualified in visual estimation techniques,
geotechnicians progress to rill inspections (Figure 4).
Designated crosscuts are accessed via light vehicle with
permission from a given production bogger operator. To
avoid climbing the rill, a single ~13T ore bucket is left at its
base. Prior to inspection, this separate ore parcel and rill are
watered down. Visual inspections then follow, requiring a
minimum of 10 rocks to be split for lithologic confirmation.
Commencing at 300T mining intervals, rill checks
increase in direct proportion to waste ingress or extracted
tonnes, often to as low as 50T by the end of ring. During an
idealised 5 minute inspection, a given drawpoint is
examined for
1) Waste type, including hangingwall and footwall
percentages
2) Ore and waste fragmentation for <0.4m, 0.4-1.0m, 1-2m
and >2 m intervals.
3) Brow wear of active ring
4) Hang-up presence by type (ore, waste; high,low)
5) Noteworthy draw characteristics including rill profile.
Ore : waste discrimination at Perseverance is facilitated
by rock colour and angularity contrast. Lighter and harder
hangingwall gneiss and rounded footwall ultramafic are
readily differentiated against a darker and more often
angular ultramafic ore. Once singled out, traditional
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 3: Visual calibration estimates vs actual %Ni for a
typical geotechnician (0.9% Ni cutoff)
Figure 4: Shift geotechnician estimating waste ingress
during a rill mark-up.
percentage estimation charts / diagrams are employed to
assess respective waste concentrations.
3 DILUTION MONITORING
AND QUALITY ASSURANCE
Cross-check inspections using nominal double blind
techniques enables verification within and between crews.
Significant changes for a given drawpoint within a 24 hour
period trigger automatic re-assessment by senior staff. On
rare occasions, a bulk sample may be collected for analysis
as a final arbiter, however significant differences with
primary visual estimates are rare. Sizing by class frequently
focuses rill inspections on bimodal (0.4m and/or >2.0m)
waste ingress. Coarser hangingwall material often results in
significant hang-ups that exacerbate dilution entry.
Distinctive draw characteristics, favouring specific sides of
a given rill are symptomatic of such hang-ups. Careful
monitoring of coarser size fractions remains a useful aid in
both understanding and predicting metal loss (Figure 5).
On-line data processing at Perseverance permits
automatic grade and dilution draw curve generation for a
given drawpoint and ring (Figure 6). With the unpredictability
of SLC flow and dilution entry, careful deliberation by all
staff, particularly towards the end of design tonnes, is
required to reduce or ideally eliminate ore:waste mis-
classification.
647

Figure 5: Waste size performance bar chart with zone of
interest indicated.
Figure 6: Dilution draw curve with zone of interest indicated.
4 SHUT-OFF GRADES
In anticipation of episodic waste piping between rill
inspections, particularly at elevated tonnages, increasingly
higher shut-off grades are imposed to lessen the potential for
significant hangingwall or footwall ingress (Table 1). The tonnage
limits used are derived from nominal interactive draw zone (IDZ)
geometries, together with the upper limits of blast designs.
Additional precautions include lower mark-up tonnages between
inspections at specified lower grades (e.g. 50t at or below
1.1%Ni). Such simple precautionary techniques have facilitated
creation and preservation of a formal dilution blanket at
Perseverance. They have replaced prior practises of attempting
to bog through waste or bogging for prolonged periods at or near
a lower economic cut-off grade.
Table 1: Shutoff grades vs tonnage extracted
Tonnes 0%- Forecast Forecast- >Design
tonnes Design tonnes tonnes
Shut-Off 0.9%Ni 1.2%Ni 1.4 %Ni
Grade
648 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
5 PILLAR RECOVERY AND FLOW MODELLING
Periodic overbogging or recovery of remnant pillar
material from multiple levels is a common feature
throughout the history of Perseverances SLC. Consistent
with independent as opposed to interactive draw, some of
these tonnages have been extraordinarily large, peaking at
>61kT for a single fired ring. While over-reliance on
extraction of unclaimed pillars remains highly questionable,
simple accounting techniques can be applied to estimate
likely tonnages as well as probable locations.
In general, ore is readily recovered from up to two
overlying levels (~50 vertical metres) by careful bogging and
grade control. Especially vigilant extraction has identified
markers from greater than 250 vertical metres, retrieved on
designated "clean-up levels". Block models of recovered Ni
metal (tonnes x grade) for individual rings are also useful
indicators of likely recovery positions. In particular, analysis
of N-S long-sections across the Perseverance SLC (Figure
7) have proved invaluable when depicting overdraw
cyclicity.
Figure 7: Recovered nickel block model in long section with
class percentages of reconciled metal vs design.
6 RECONCILIATION
On an annualised basis, metal reconciliation at
Perseverance illustrates the benefits of comprehensive
geostatistical interpolation, com-paratively homogeneous
in-situ mineralisation and meticulous grade controllership.
In 2003, the cumulative claim grade (1.93%Ni) was 97% of
its mill actual equivalent (2.00%Ni). When combined with
their respective tonnages, total claimed and reconciled
nickel metal at Perseverance were within 0.01% . This level
of accuracy greatly facilitates mining factor generation,
which in turn allows for improved mine scheduling and
reserve estimation.
7 FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Ongoing automation of grade control techniques are
planned for the Perseverance mine which include:
1) Hardware upgrades with the introduction of superior
ruggedised tablet PCs for data collection.
2) Software upgrades with improved links to corporate
intranet reporting and site production tracking systems.
Massmin 2004
3) Digital image capture of all rills with links to a formal
photographic database for further cross validation of
grade and fragmentation estimates.
4) Comparative flow modelling using a variety of available
software packages (CAVE-SIM, REBOP).
8 CONCLUSIONS
Mature grade control techniques developed at
Perseverance embody the collective efforts of geological
and mining teams over a period of several years. Visually
based systems allow for rapid and flexible estimation,
requiring minimal sampling intervention during the
extraction process. Extreme care in dilution monitoring,
supported by automated data analysis and the
implementation of variable shut-off grades has greatly
facilitated ore-waste classification. Straightforward book-
keeping together with block modelling of recovered Ni
metal have been used in concert to help reclaim pillar
remnants. When fully integrated, such rigorous protocols
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
have formed the basis for SLC draw optimisation,
significantly impacting on the bottom-line economics of
this world class orebody.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to all their production
colleagues at Perseverance and in particular Paul Edsall,
Diane Whibley and Reuban Campbell for their extreme care
when performing underground geotechnical duties,
frequently under trying physical circumstances.
REFERENCES
Booth, G.W. Cervoj, K, and Dunham, S.F., 2003. New
Frontiers in Research on Magmatic NiS-PGE
Mineralisation, 10-14 February, 2003, Centre for Global
Metallogeny, School of Earth and Geographical Sciences,
Crawley, W.A., pp. 69-72.
649
 A suppliers aspect on drilling for
mine preparation and production
Gunnar Nord, Construction Adviser, Veikko Subanto, Business Line Manager,
Atlas Copco Rock Drills AB, Orebro, Sweden

Abstract
Being a supplier of a tool like a passenger car, a dishwasher or a drill rig for mining purposes you are always interested
in how the customer is making the best use of it. In case the customer is not using the full capacity of the tool the
manufacturer of it is losing some incentive for improvement of the tool. The tool shall be like a race horse, always
maximising the output and care for its well being.
In this paper a suppliers aspects on how the mine owners are using their drilling equipment is given. The major focus
is on utilisation and availability of drill rigs. A minor part is spent on the quality of the drilling with respect to drilling
accuracy. A few cases will be described without revealing the identity of the mines.

INTRODUCTION equipment up to reason-able high figures. The reasons and

Each mine is a unique entity. That means that no mine is
equal to any other due to differences in a number of
conditions. Those are for example the geological and
geophysical properties of the ore and parent rock, the depth,
the climate, the staffing, local regulations, salaries etc. Still
there are some conditions that are similar for most mines
and one of those is to get as much as possible out of the
investments that have been made. By that is meant that the
added capital and running cost for a purchased tool, which
might be the investment, should be as low as possible
expressed as expenditure per ton ore handled by the tool.
The time for activity of the tool is expressed as [Total
available time]* [Availability of the tool]* [Utilisation]
In discussions with customers the term availability is
extensively discussed, while the term utilisation is almost
neglected. Whereas the availability is commonly recorded
close to 0,9 (90%), the utilisation often reaches 0,3 to 0,6
(30 to 60%). Sometimes it can be expressed much higher.
Certainly the utilisation is a matter of the customer and not
the supplier. Being an outside observer aware of the great
potential for savings by improving the production conditions,
the paper conveys experience gained at various mines
having reached variable success in squeezing the utilisation
up to a figure well beyond 0,6.
Utilisation is not the only factor to be considered when
aiming at an optimised mine operation. The relationship
between excavated waste and excavated ore is also of
utmost importance. Not so much for the mining operation
itself as for the concentration plant which might have to
process excessive waste. The waste factor can be improved
by use of the technology that traces the boundaries between
ore and parent rock.
The geology, the size of the ore body and the mining
method coupled with the blasting technique rule the
frequency of boulders. Boulders are a pain in the mining
activities as they block extraction points and ore chutes.
Dismissal of the boulders is therefore recommended as
early as possible in the process. Drilling accuracy is
discussed here. A better drilling accuracy will bring the
amount of boulders down.
(This paper presents in general terms a number of mine
projects having different success in raising the utilisation of
measures taken are analysed and discussed.)
Utilisation and Availability
The term utilisation needs to be defined before the
discussion can start. The most obvious definition is as
follows. Here all hours available is considered and that
means 24 * 365 = 8760 hours per year.
Utilisation is calculated by the following
Utilised Hours
Utilisation % = ------------------------------------------- x 100%
Available Hours - Downtime Hours
Utilised Hours = Time the drill rig is in operation
Available Hours = Days in Month x 24 hours
Downtime Hours* = Planned Service + Repairs
+ Breakdowns
* Not included is hours spent on repairing damage i.e.
rock falls, misuse and abuse.
In many mines the utilisation is calculated on the time the
miners are really employed in the production process
omitting the time for lunch breaks, transport to the rigs etc. .
This means that the available hours get considerably less
than 24 hrs per day. As mine production is best governed by
a steady and continues flow of ore to the concentrator to
minimise capital tied up in intermediate storages, all 168
hours per week have been considered as total available
time. In the automotive industry this minimising of storages
is called "just in time production".
There is nothing new or unique in discussing the
utilisation of the mining equipment, but the aspects will differ
depending on who is considering the issue. Problems will
arise when the utilisation is unsatisfactory. Investing in new
equipment could be an option in order to increase the
utilisation.
It should be stated however that even a supplier of drilling
equipment realises that the drilling equipment does not
represent the most costly item in the total process. In most
cases it is the investment and running costs of the

650 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

concentrator and mine infrastructure that is the ruling factor.
The mining activities have to follow the budgeted flow of ore.
This means i.e. that for an established production only 2,4
drill rigs (with a rated utilisation of 40%) will be needed. Here
there are two options: either to employ three rigs or to raise
the utilisation to 48%. In the latter case the risk exposure is
higher as a major failure of one rig may cause a severe
reduction of the flow of ore for one or two days. This
example is picked to clearly show that improvement of the
utilisation has effect on the economy. In many cases it is not
just the cost for the rig that is involved, as the crews may be
allocated to the equipment.
Consequently this also results in low utilisation of the
drilling staff. Utilisation is discussed below for a number of
actual mine cases. The mines have on purpose not been
designated.
Mine production with Boomers
An example on the monthly fluctuation of the utilisation is
shown in the figure below. In this case the mining company
used storages to ensure a constant flow to the concentrator.
The drilling tool in this case is a two boom Boomer used for
stoping and face drilling.
Figure 1 Utilisation of a two boom Boomer for mine
production year 2002 to 2003.
For the mine production activity two Boomers were used
and they had very similar utilisation on a month by month
basis (see Figure 1 above). The average utilisation over 24
months for the two rigs was not more than 40 percent and
with an availability of 94% there might be a chance to
reduce the number of rigs in production from two to one.
However it is unrealistic, as the mine might never expose
itself to a situation relying one Boomer only. A major
breakdown of a single rig would cause a complete stop of
the ore flow.
This mine is located in a high salary region and the miners
are not engaged in the drill rigs only. They will participate in
other mining activities and consequently no salary costs are
tied to the idle time of the rigs. In this case there is not much
to do to improve the situation for the utilisation.
Another mine located in a low salary region differed
very much from the above case with respect to
utilisation and availability but had fairly similar orebody
geometry. The availability of the drill rigs was low and
instead of squeezing that percentage up, the mine
management acquired more drilling units. The mine
became owner to an excessive fleet of drill rigs, whereof
many could not be used due to shortage of parts. This
resulted in lack of priority in making each drill unit
running. The product of availability and utilisation was
consequently as low as 15 to 20%.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
By arranging service contracts with a supplier the
availability as well as the utilisation is now rising for the drill
rigs and is presently running at xx%.
It should be obvious to the reader to realise that in most
cases it is much easier to boost the output of a rig by better
discipline in the mine and thus push the utilisation up
instead of going after the few percent possible to gain on
availability.
Long hole drilling for mine production
Production drilling by use of the so called long hole drilling
technology is in principal facing the same problems as face
drilling by struggling to maintain high utilisation and
availability. The blast holes are normally much longer and
larger compared to those for face drilling. There is also more
drilling from the set up and moving between the set ups is
often only a couple of meter. As the penetration rate is
considerably lower it would here be possible to achieve a
higher utilisation. But is this always the case?
It has been pointed out above that the number of rigs will
never exactly match the demanded output. If the demand
for blast hole production just exceeds the capacity of one
long hole drilling rig with availability 0,9 and an utilisation of
the same magnitude (0,9) the installation of the second rig
means that utilisation will drop to 0,45.
If the demand for rigs increase from 2 to 3, the drop will
be down to 0,60 and from 3 to 4 the drop will be down to
0,675.
The message with this discussion is that no matter that
you possess the skill to run the production rig at 90%
utilisation, the actual figure will be lower as the demanded
production only rarely matches the capacity of an even
number of rigs. Figure 2 supports this discussion.
Figure 2. Schematic evaluation of what can be reasonable
utilisations depending on number of drill rigs employed
In reality the actual situation is not as simple as these
calculations show, as there is often not just one type of rig
available on the market. Therefore the worst case as
described is unlikely to occur. Furthermore, the mine might
consist of a number of orebodies spread in such a way that
transport between different sites will be very time
consuming. Therefore it could prove profitable to leave the
rig idle for some percentage of the available time.
There are examples of mines that seem to be properly
operated and their figures match the figure above. Two such
mining operations are shown below. In both cases there are
production rigs located in mines with large ore bodies which
means that transport of the drill rigs constitute only a very
small share of the time. In the second case the estimated
transport time is added on top of the bars (Figure 4).
651
 In both cases the availability is typically 95%.

Figure 5 Case, utilisation of a Simba based on working all

available time (8760 hrs/year)

Figure 3 Utilisation of three Simbas for one year of
production. Month 37 represents the average for all 36
months.
cases used in this presentation which are picked randomly
indicate that availability is not a factor that will have a major
impact on the production output. Occasionally, the
availability can be low but over the year the figures rarely go
below 90%. These are commonly in the range of 90 to 95%.
In two of these mine cases having reliable figures, the
utilisation has been plotted versus the availability. The result
is exposed in figure 6 and 7 below.

Fig 4 Exceptional good utilisation performed by a highly

automated Simba working in a large scale mine. The red
part of the bars covers transition to a new position. The
drops in July are due to vacation time. Month 25 represents
the average for the 24 months.

Other examples show less successful records and one is

exposed below. It should be stated that the mine on purpose
only uses some eighty percent of all available time. But even
so taking this reduced input of working time the utilisation is
extremely low. The mine management is aware of the fact
that they have too many Simbas employed (see figure 5).
Consequently the figures should be adjusted upwards on
average by some 2 to 3 percent. The drill rigs are also
employed for drilling cable bolting holes and that type of
drilling is not included in the bar-chart. By including this
activity the average utilisation will raise from 28 to 33
percent. To some extent there is a self-explanatory reason
for the low figures and that is that there are long distances Figure 6 a, b Case 1 Availability and utilisation monthly
between the extraction sites. The mine is fairly spread out results from mine production with Boomer plotted in the two
and fewer rigs would mean more transport of the drilling figures above.
units.
The availability of the rigs is in the magnitude of 95% on
a yearly basis. The monthly fluctuation is only marginal.
What conclusions can be drawn from these bar-chart
illustrations? The utilisation can be very high especially
when dealing with large orebodies where transports are
short. For production drilling using Simbas, the utilisation
can run as high as 85%. In mines with minor and scattered
ore bodies the utilisation will certainly be much lower.
Figures below 50% are rarely possible to explain by other
reasons than lack of focus from the mine management.
Being a supplier we are often faced with accusations that
low production is caused by unavailability of the drill-rigs
due to shortage of parts or poor maintenance. The mine

652 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 7 a, b Case 2 Availability and utilisation monthly
results from production drilling with Simba plotted in the two
figures above.
It is obvious that there is a very poor correlation between
availability and utilisation at least when utilisation is as high
as 90% or more. Possibly it can be said that the availability
goes up when the utilisation goes down but the correlation
is weak.
The conclusion from the presentation of the results above
is that generally the availability for drill rigs both for mine
production and mine preparation is in the range 90 to 95%.
These figures are valid also for older rigs being properly
maintained all the time from start up. Between 5 and 10% is
consumed by maintenance whereof roughly half is
preventive maintenance. It is difficult to cut this figure as it
represents only 8 hours. What is left is only 0 to 5% and this
time will be consumed by randomly occurring faults during
operation. Improvements can certainly be made, but there
are no major savings of time to be made by claiming a
higher availability.
In the exceptionally well run mines shown above it is not
possible to squeeze more production hours out of the rigs.
However there are a lot of mine cases where a better
planning discipline would bring more production hours to the
mine owner.
SUMMARY
A summing up of the discussion above will be done.
Analysis of a number randomly picked mine cases has been
made with respect to availability and utilisation based on
monthly recording. In almost all cases the availability was in
the range 90 to95%. In all the cases so called preventive
maintenance was practised. It consumes half of the 5 to
10% down time due to planned service and repair leaving
only some 3 to 5% of total for unpredicted repair. Certainly
the availability can be squeezed to a higher percentage but
this is judged to be very costly.
Considering the utilisation of the mine cases the issue is
more complex. Large ore bodies where the production calls
for multiple long hole drilling units makes it possible to reach
high utilisation figures like typically 80%. For smaller and
scattered orebodies it is much more difficult to reach high
utilisation figures which seems to be more difficult in face
drilling than in long hole drilling. The real low figures as
presented above seems difficult to explain. Figures below
50% are hard to defend unless special cultural habits on
working time make it difficult to maintain a 168 hour working
time per week. It is obvious that mine management that is
looking for better produc-tion output from his drilling units
should start to look for a better utilisation
Accuracy in drilling
Drilling for mine production and mine preparation is not
just a production issue. It is also a quality matter. The holes
are meant for explosives, used to excavate ore and leave
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
the side rock as untouched as possible. Therefore it is
important to locate the holes where they are meant to be.
The first question is then: "do I know where I want the holes
to be?" The answer to this question would in general be
"yes". However, if we give the ques-tion a second thought
the answer may instead be "not always".
Measure While Drilling
In many cases the boundaries of the ore body are not
established in detail. The available ore geometry
information is often limited and incomplete, based on sparse
diamond core drilling and/or available geological mapping.
It is a fact that the less information available, the simpler
and smother the ore geometry and ore boundaries appear
to be. From production and planning point-of-view,
uncomplicated ore maps are often very appreciated, and
therefore not often debated or questioned. However, the
major problem with such maps is that it does not coincide
with reality. This type of insufficient agree-ment between
reality and the maps used for mine- and production planning
is rarely identified or evaluated since production targets
(tons) as well as mining layout geometries still can be met.
Nevertheless, it still means that an undefined amount of
money is spent in absent incomes and higher costs.
One solution to this problem is of course better and more
detailed geological data as basis for ore maps and
production planning. This can be achieved only by denser
sampling of data, but the traditio-nal way to extract data, by
diamond core drilling, is expensive and will therefore hardly
be used for massive sampling of ore bodies. Methods to
extract information directly from production drilling would
exclude the cost, for drilling the hole, and reduce the sample
cost to a minimum. A technique to extract rock properties
while drilling is called MWD and it stands for "Measure
While Drilling".
This technique is a method for collecting data during
production drilling. All main parameters influencing the
drilling process, such as penetration rate, feed force,
percussive pressure, rotation speed, etc, is recorded at pre-
determined intervals along the bore hole. With an adequate
analyse rock mass quality parameters, such as rock
hardness and rock fracturing can be calculated, based on
monitored raw data. It has to be empha-sised that a
prerequisite for successful monitoring is that the waste rock
and ore have different drilling characteristics.
Major advantages using this technology are:
Very high data resolution since data is extracted with a
few cm interval in all production holes.
Very low cost since monitoring of data is conduc-ted
automatically during normal produc-tion drilling.
Very low data risk, since monitoring is performed during
the drilling of the hole, and no instruments have to be
inserted after drilling is completed.
Minimal disturbance of production. MWD will require very
limited extra work for the operator.
However, many may object that the lay-out of the mining
area, stops, drifts etc. is based on other things such as ore
flow, rock mechanics, transportations, machine dimensions
etc. and cannot be changed or modified based on last
minutes information, which is the case for MWD. This is of
cause true to some extent, but we must not forget that this
information, even if it arrives in the latest moment, provide
information on the economical outcome of the stope or even
a single round. The excavation cost must always be
exceeded by the ore value in order to make a profit. If the
ore value is low there is always an option not to blast a
stope, a round or even some holes in a round. The drilling
cost is always neglectible in relation to the total handling
cost of a blasted round. Also other changes can be made to
653
optimise the outcome of the mining operation, see figures
below.
Figure 8 The ore expires a few meters beyond the face, and
continues to the right. Would you still continue to reinforce
the drift according to the initial mine lay-out?.
Figure 9 A narrow vein type, complex copper-zinc ore,
defined by higher hardness than the side rock. Is the
thickness of the ore enough to cover the excavation cost? Is
it possible to reduce the size of the drift to reduce
development- and side rock handling cost?
Another possibility with MWD technique would be to stop
the drilling as soon as the boundaries of the ore-body have
been passed by the drill bit, without prior information on the
ore geometry. This, of course, means that the drill rig must
be equipped for on-line evaluation of rock properties and
immediate identification of the ore boundary when crossing
it.
Atlas Copco can offer MWD options for many rig types.
Monitored raw data is handled, analysed and presented in
one of our software packages; Tunnel Manager for Boomer
rigs, ROC Manager for the ROC product line and Ore
Manager for Simba rigs. In the softwares raw data can be
analysed and rock mass properties such as rock hardness
and rock fracturing can be calculated. It is also possible to
generate customised defined analyses based on monitored
raw data. In the figure above MWD data have been
analysed and presented in the software Tunnel Manager
Pro.
The MWD system has been on the market for a number
of years. The collection of drill data is easily done when
using modern drillrigs. The information is almost free of
charge once the investment in the rig is done. For sure the
654 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
interpretation is not always a strait forward process when
there is only a marginal geological deviation between ore
and not ore. There are though many cases where the ore
boundaries are more distinct and with relative good
accuracy can be detected by use of the MWD system.
It is surprising that so few mining companies have shown
such a limited interest in this technology when investing in
new drillrigs. No estimates have been made on what the
savings might be if the excavation is done to plus minus 0,2
m instead plus minus 1 meter. However it is believed that
the cost-savings should be in the range of 5% when
considering concentration process as well. This is also
money to go after.
Collaring errors and hole deviation
Above a discussion has been given on the correct hole-
depth in order to minimise losses due to over-break and
under-break of the ore along its boundary with the parent
rock. It is not just the length of the hole that is of interest but
also accurate the hole is drilled. There is nothing new in this
statement but it is worth repeating as there is loss of much
money due to poor drilling accuracy. This statement is valid
for both long hole production drilling and face drilling.
It is somewhat surprising to notice the little interest that is
paid by most mine management to upgrade their boomers
when old rigs shall be replaced. There are mines that go for
latest technology when they invest in new equipment and
one example will be given. In the Garpenberg mine in the
middle of Sweden two old face drilling rigs used in face
drilling and stoping. They were of the type called DCS which
means direct controlled system and the boom movement
are controlled by manual opening and closing of the
hydraulic valves. The new rigs that replaced the old one
were of RCS type with CAN bus ruled valve activity giving a
great advantages when guiding the drill steel to the correct
collaring position as well as alignment of the feed. The
achievement of the new rigs is exposed in the table below.
Drift size 5,5*5 m and drilled depth is 4,05 m
Pull used to be 3,4-3,5 m but has been increased to 3,9 m
Over-break reduced from 20% to 9% (which means 11 cm
on the radius or 3 m3/meter of tunnel)
Figure 10 Elements of hole deviation
Massmin 2004
 What is the explanation to this improvement? It is believed
that the whole explanation is in a much more correct
positioning of the holes. It is believed that most readers will
realise the profit from the new rigs.
In this mining case with short holes only 4 meters the
faulty drilling is mainly because of poor collaring faulty
alignment as already mentioned above. When holes are
longer like in long hole drilling with Simbas the in hole
deviation will play a much more important part for the total
fault of the hole location. What is meant by in hole deviation
is explained in the figure below, which actually refers to
bench drilling. The principals for hole deviation in the
different types of drilling are though the same.
Figure 11 In-hole deviations due geological foliation
It is obvious that for longer holes that the collaring offset
is playing a much smaller role than in the Garpenberg face
drilling case above.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Collaring misalignment and in-hole deviation for long
production holes play a major role for the blasting success.
By success is here meant proper fragmentation at a
reasonable input of drilling and explosives.
Certainly the drilling equipment can be improved but the
owners and operators using the drilling equipment can also
contribute to a better drilling accuracy. A number of reasons
contributing to poor accuracy have been observed but they
are difficult to quantify. A too high feed-force has clear
tendency to make the bit deviate. Some drillers still believe
that a high feed-force will give better penetration. If any
difference it is only marginal and what can gained is lost
several times due to the increased amount of drill meters
needed to compensate for poor precision. Bonus for the
drillers linked to drill meters per shift is a hazard from quality
point of view. In down drilling the feed-pressure is far from
always correctly compensated for the weight of the drill
string due to incorrect hold back force. This mostly results in
a too high pressure in the bit and consequently a large
deviation of the hole.
Geology will also contribute to the deviation. In picture 11
it is obvious that a systematic error has occurred as all the
drilled holes deviate in the same manner. The explanation is
here believed to be the foliation of the rock mass. It is known
that bedding planes, foliation and joint-sets will affect the
drilling direction as is shown in figure below.
Summing up; "accuracy of drilling"
As supplier of rock drilling equipment we are fully aware
of that the long hole drill rigs need improvement so that the
blast holes can be drilled more accurately. Every step
forward in the development of the rigs will mean savings on
total drill meters as well as savings of explosives. Dealing
with boulder is another problem that will be less costly for
the mine owner. Major savings can also be made from
reduction of over break which mostly will be run through the
concentrator and only generate costs. But there are means
and methods available today that can help the mine owner
to achieve better quality of the drilling. It is believed that it is
worthwhile to take a closer look at what is available offering
help.
655
656 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Chapter 18
Automation in
Mass Mining
658 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Supplier as solution provider
for the mining industry,
Sandvik Mining and Construction
vision of the future in mining
Arto Metsnen, President, Sandvik Tamrock, Finland

Abstract
The mining industry has been through several years of consolidation, which has lead to fewer and larger mining houses.
The competition continues to be hard and the long-tern sustainability is weighed against skills to survive through the
rapidly changing economic cycles. Several massive underground mines are in the pipeline for the coming years.
Investments made are carefully viewed for their lifetime rate of return. In many case this has changed the role of a mining
equipment and service supplier to that of a long-term partner with similar business views and working synergies with the
mining company. Sandvik Mining and Construction, SMC, sees its role in adding value and enhancing the profitability of
our customers business.

1 INTRODUCTION see a future large-scale block caving operation to

manage without comprehensive monitoring and process
We are experiencing an up-cycle in the need of control system and, at some level of automation.
commodities. The demand of various metals and minerals, This sets also new demands towards the suppliers of the
aggregates and building materials is high, by far thanks to technology and services for the operations. Sandvik Mining
the economical growth in the Asian and specifically Chinese and Construction business has lived by the industry upturn
markets. The mines expand their production and new and downturns. Much of our success has been born out of
projects are being opened and it is the high-life for all in the the needs and shared visions with the mining industry.
industry. The natural follow-up of the up-trend is down trend, Sandvik Mining and Construction sales in the year 2003 was
the length and level of the growth in China remains to be 2 billion USD, one third of the mother company Sandvik
seen. Even without China, an increasing need of coal, Corporation. Sandvik Tamrock, Sandvik Materials Handling
metals and minerals will continue in Asia and those new and Sandvik Rock Processing form the operational base for
renewing economies in other parts of the world. The SMC. The importance of service and support can be seen in
uncertainty of the political climate seems to be here to stay the distribution of sales where 67 % is coming from after
and it will keep on affecting the economics and how sales and services and 33% from equipment and project
business is done. sales.
The commodity prices and world demand continue going
through the rapid changes and sustainability with in-built 2 KNOW HOW -KNOW WHY
flexibility continues to be important. One of the
competencies in the game of survival is the level of rate of We define ourselves through the value we add to the
return of the capital invested, the efficiency in which the surface and underground mining industry. This signifies the
available resources are utilised. High resource utilisation is strong focus on ability to combine the understanding of
a starting platform when lower operational costs with higher
rate of return are the target.
The trends both in surface and underground mining
are towards optimised operation, lower costs and
maximised output. Surface mines will look for means of
optimising further the ore to waste stripping ratio and we
will see deeper pits in the future. Underground mines are
established for deeper deposits and increasingly
complex environment. The scale of underground
massive mining has grown to proportions that a few
decades ago would have been unthinkable. Managing
risk has a whole new level of meaning in setting up
massive caving operations and in ensuring that all
operational targets are met.
When the large-scale underground mining operations
are set to compete with the scale and cost of open pit
mining, there is a need to create an environment, which
has a high level of controllability. There is less room for
excess capacity built into the system. The capital
expenditures are carefully reviewed and suppliers Figure 1: Continuous competence building is part of the
selected in long-term partnership in mind. It is hard to SMC culture.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 659

Figure 2: Technical and project management knowledge is
needed for quality service and maintenance offering.
mining processes with the technology know how. Learning
and innovative thinking continue to be important factors in
making the mission of improving our customers business
real. The focus is in the care and development of human
resources by attracting professionals and supporting
learning.
Sandvik invests 4% back into research and development.
We need to continue to invest into research and
development to maintain our position at the leading edge of
the core business areas. Surface and underground mining
understanding is the key competency in SMC. We have a
large number of mining engineers in our company globally
today and we hope to attract even more mining
professionals in the future.
There is a continuously growing emphasis on training,
service and maintenance in the mines. The success in
service business is built in mastering the operating system.
The skills of the service provider need to be in technology,
logistics, scheduling and project management. The
outsourced service function continues to be a part of the
daily operation. It is a real test for working together and
showing the value added every day.
3 WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE INDUSTRY
To work together with the mining companies in a
partnership on a global level gives reassurance in matching
the mining company needs with solutions. The need of
creating sustainability in mining in the years ahead will see
further development of methods and technology. The
research done in the ICS group has demonstrated that joint
efforts and close relationships within the industry do support
quality solutions in difficult issues. Since the operation
eventually will demand technology and support systems, the
understanding of what the industry expectations are is of
utmost importance. We have been proud participants in the
ICS and HSBM projects and look forward to participating in
the MMT, Mass Mining Technology projects as well.
Technology is in a key role in maximising mine output and
the solution need to support the desired outcome.
Much of SMC offering has been initiated from in-depth
relationships with global mining companies. The work in
partnership is essential when supplying systems that are
integrated to the mining process. Mine automation system
AutoMine could not have evolved without partners like
LKAB, DeBeers and Codelco. Fragmentation management
and the issues round hang-ups, especially in underground
block cave mines are one example of partnershiping.
The work done together with Rio Tinto Palabora mine and
Freeport DOZ mine has set the scenes for developing
660 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 3: Surface mining at Freeport Grasberg mine in
Indonesia.
secondary breaking solutions which meet the challenging
operational and process needs.
Sandvik Mining and Construction offers a wide range of
underground mining technology. Our knowledge in surface
mining has much focused on drilling and loosening of rock.
The surface mining trends suggest that more emphasis will
be put on managing the mine to mill concept as a whole
process. Communition is a high energy and high cost part of
a mining process. On the other hand, the beginning part of
loosening rock, drilling and blasting, represents a fairly low
cost low energy need portion of the process. What is being
produced and where are the critical issues bear the notion
of optimisation of the full chain, but mastering the
fragmentation distribution at the beginning of the process
will save costs in the whole process. Sandvik Rock
Processing is a part of SMC and provides solutions for
comminution of rock to sizeable material for milling, and
thus completes the process from loosening rock to crushing.
4 SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT
The mine safety and environmental focus will become
even sharper in the coming years. Not only are the deeper
deposits setting rules for more demanding operational
conditions, there is a more social and public need to
continue to demonstrate the safety and environmental
security of mining. The rule both for mines and suppliers is
that safety can not be compromised. The legislation on
safety and ergonomics pushes the cost of operation higher
and new technologies and ways or working are established.
Added automation is one way of coping with increased
demands for safer and more controlled operations.
Ventilation and refrigeration is a high-cost element in deep
underground mines. The solutions lay in automation and
non-emission approach with fuel-cell technology. Mining
machinery both in surface and underground mining are
viewed as high safety risk areas. This is why suppliers must
have a strong role in ensuring that the right working
procedures are followed in operating and maintaining the
equipment. Close relationship between the supplier and
mining company also ensure the future development of
equipment safety and ergonomy.
5 CONCLUSIONS
SMC business lives strongly with the industry upturn and
downturn cycles. Like the mining industry itself, we also
are searching for means to master this cyclical business
environment. The consolidation within the mining
technology suppliers has not been as dramatical as within
Massmin 2004
the mining companies, merely because there has been
fever players to start with. The move has been from being
a supplier towards being a partner in value adding and risk
sharing. Here the process understanding within
comprehensive process offering and support presence
sets the rules for future survival. Our successes are born
out of the needs and shared visions with the mining
industry. SMC wants to be the value adding solution and
technology provider for the surface and underground
mining industry.
In massive mining the need is to be the lowest cost
operator by moving large amounts of material in a
continuous manner. The mining profitability is set to apply in
the changing world economics when, for example, the
copper price moves from 2400 USD to 1300 USD per ton.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
There is a need to create an operational environment that is
ruled by predictability and proactive way of working.
Machine data collection systems are available already
today, but the ability to utilise the collected data as
information for future decision making are becoming
available. More machines are manufactured with in-built
intelligence to cope with the new demands.
The decreasing human involvement in mines will
eventually lead to developing mining methods and
processes that will be more suitable for automation. The
future layout can be better fitted to suit the automated
mining needs. The discussions between mining companies
and machine suppliers will deepen as the new technology
penetrates deeper into the mining process. There is a need
to line up further according to our customers business.
661
 Mobile equipment resource
management and its optimisation
in an underground process
Tuula Puhakka, Senior Advisor, Mining Business and New Offering Development, Sandvik Tamrock, Finland

Abstract
The repeatability of work tasks and processes in an underground mine is traditionally low. In a study interview, mining
professionals felt that the repeatability of a mineral processing system is between 75 and 100% whereas the repeatability
in an underground process was considered to be 50 to 75%. There is a common understanding that too little attention
is paid to resource management. Mining companies are becoming aware of the improvement possibilities through
improved resource management, which looks at the mining processes in a holistic manner. The distinction of utilisation
is understood often in various ways, which easily leads to the misconception that all utilised time posses the same quality
of the use. Continuous improvement projects direct the change from reactive to proactive focusing on gaining more data
and understanding on what actually happens in the processes.
The current trend on operational optimisation and improved resource management also works towards improved ways
of working and higher rate of return. When the repeatability has been established, a process environment has been
created and outputs of automation are more reliable. This paper discusses the current status of the mobile resource use
and management and ways to obtain repeatability in their operational use.

1 INTRODUCTION with on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 equals strongly

disagree and 5 strongly agree. 20 returned answers (total of
The repeatability of work tasks and processes in an 24 returned) were used to generate these results. The mine
underground mine is traditionally low. The underground professionals indicated that too little attention is paid to
mines are the rock-ore harvesting sites for the mineral resource management (Figure 1, E and F).
processing plants. The large variations in a task outcome
have been explained by the harsh and uncontrollable
underground mine condition, challenging logistic
arrangements and desired individualism. In a mining
industry directed study interview, mining and supplier
professionals we presented with questions on repeatability
and output estimations of various mining processes and
automation.
The need of process understanding and reliable
operational knowledge, to be used for streamlining the
underground processes for automation purposes became
imminent through several mine automation projects during
90s. The Finnish IMI, Intelligent Mine Implementation
project and MAP, Mine Automation Project, both discuss the
need of added process visibility. It was understood that
successful automation of underground processes needed
well-described process descriptions, rethinking of current
mining processes and advanced decision making and
support systems.
The survey was done to add knowledge on how the
industry it self viewed the repeatability and out-put of Figure 1: One result of a survey directed to mining industry
underground mining process and the management of the representatives on resource management. 1=strongly
resources. The survey also had questions on mine disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neither disagree nor agree,
automation expectations and on KPIs for performance 4=agree and 5=strongly agree.
measuring.
The questions were as follows:
2 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT A. If the production lacks behind the first option is to add
resources
A resource management and mine work and process B. Mines optimize their material flow poorly before
repeatability related questions were presented to 30 people commencing mining
in the industry. The target group consisted of people on C. Mines pay too little attention to resource management
management level on operations, mine design and D. Mines understand what is the optimised number of
maintenance sectors. The questions were presented as resources needed
statements, which the person could either agree or disagree E. All the mine resources are well utilised

662 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

F. Low resource utilisation is the result of insufficient
management
The questions did not go deeper into the details of the
lower utilisation in resources. The practical knowledge of
operations indicate that many of the reasons are related to
mine logistics (preparation of the site and availability of
services), availability and compatibility of mining resources
and training to utilise them.
In the question on acceptable KPIs for operational
efficiency in an underground mine, the total resource cost
per utilised % or utilised hour, the resource utilisation % and
tones produced per time unit received of the highest marks
among the responses. The distinction of utilisation is
understood often in various ways, which easily leads to the
misconception that all utilised time posses the same quality
of the use. For example in a mismatch situation of loader
and truck operations neither of the resources are quality
utilised even if the utilisation rates are high. The tones
produced in given resource utilised time are different in
match and mismatch situation and the rate of return for
capital employed changes. Resource management dictates
that concept of right place, right time and right work
description are valid simultaneously for the given resource.
The acceptable loader utilisation was considered as 50 to
75% whereas the acceptable crusher utilisation was 75 to
100%. By accepting lower machine utilisation rate the mine
accepts the lower rate of return for invested resource
capital. The large variation in some utilisation rate
acceptance indicates that also the lower repeatability is
imminent.
3 SYSTEM REPEATABILITY
The development of equipment is ongoing with implanted
intelligence and readiness for improved communication
systems that withstand the underground environment are
setting the basis for on-line process monitoring. Massive
amounts of machine functional data can be collected
already today. The challenge is to find the relevant data to
be turned into information and further to knowledge, which
then could be used for value-added purposes.
There is a limited amount of software available to be used
for holistic resource management in an underground mining
operation. Such a system or systems software will have
relevant data turned to information on all process relevant
resources (people, machines, material, ore), the status of
the resources and the system (performance, condition,
location) the current and expected out-put of resources and
the system (related to planned).
Process flow-material flow and information flow
Sub-processes
Information flow
Tasks performed
D Information flow
D
Total UG-process
PL
RR
ore flow
50% 50-75%
Figure 2: Process information flow
Massmin 2004
The information turned into knowledge-system generates
plans for executing needed corrective actions in the process
or with the resources and suggests possible improvement
areas for optimised outcome.
The current mine information of tends to flow differently in
different parts of the underground process. The information
flows within a task, less between the tasks and less with the
total process flow. This supports better task optimisation
than the total process optimisation.
The interview of current system outputs stated that the
repeatability of a mineral processing and hoisting systems
was considered to be between 75% and 100% (Figure 3).
The output of an underground process of maximum
available was rated down to 50 to 75% with some answers
coming back as low as 5%. Repeatability of one individual
task, long-hole drilling, was estimated between 25 and
100%. The individual machine performance was considered
to be 50 to 75% of their capability.
Figure 3: Process output estimation. The questions:
A, The repeatability of mineral processing system is %
B, The repeatability of hoisting system is %
C, Underground mine out-put is today how many % of
possible maximum
D, The repeatability in total underground process is %
E, The repeatability of long-hole drilling out put is %
In a low repeatability-works or does not work situation-
system the system optimisation for best output becomes an
impossible task without a deeper look at the reasons behind
the non-repeatability. Typical challenges of this type are
related to mine maintenance and service process and ability
to tie them up with operations. The end result is a
continuous work rescheduling. A resource comes with a cost
and has more relevance when utilised to its fullest potential.
The high marks KPI, which is measuring resource cost per
utilised % or ton also indicates the desire to receive a higher
return for investment made.
4 WORKING TOWARDS HIGHER RATE
Mineral processing
OF RETUN IN INVESTED CAPITAL
The actual working procedures in mining have not
significantly changed since the onset of mechanisation.
Added cost deduction in mining
has rather been a result of increased power and more
material being moved than educated and calculated
75-100% methods of improving the rate of return of resources
invested.
Detailed description of working procedures and practices
are needed as well as linking them with one another in
Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 663
adjusting technologies together. Management level interest
in controlling the mining processes has increased with
improved information technology and developments in
systems engineering. Mining companies are now more
aware of the improvement possibilities through improved
resource management. The objectives include improved
quality, reduced cost, decreased cycle times, increased
flexibility and improved efficiency together with better social
image.
Figure 4: Mining process control approach; IMI, Intelligent
Mine Implementation project.
If in deed the repeatability of underground process is
between 50% and 75% the possibilities of improving output
of any existing mine are huge. Any random approach will not
meet the desired outcome of taking the remaining 25 to
50%.
There is a need to collect data systematically from the
resources and ways of working in the current process and
turn that into information, which can be used for actual
operational process description (Figure 4). The collected
data when turned into information reveals the realism in
current operation and helps to understand the reasons of
low repeatability. A system that has no acceptable
measurements can not be identified, controlled and further
optimised.
Figure 5. Inputs on automation in a mine. 1=strongly
disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neither disagree nor agree,
4=agree and 5= strongly agree.
The questions:
A, Repeatability is needed in underground mining before
automation can be applied fully
664 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
B, Mine automation needs a process environment to work
C, Mine automation will process mining
D, Automation allows for fewer mistakes in the system
E, Mobile equipment are the weakest link in mine
automation
There is an understanding that higher system
repeatability needs to be established to gain all of the
expected the benefits of automation (Figure 5). The
expectation is that underground mining will become a
process through automation
5 CONCLUSIONS
A system that at any given time can give any given result
has little possibilities for guidance and control. The
underground system has not kept up with the technology
change. The improvements in the output have been directly
related to individual machine efficiency increase and less to
improvements in processes. The technology has been in-
built on top of existing systems inheriting all the previous
methods and ways of working. Introduction of automation
underground has been an eye opener for possibility of
improving current out put through processing and systems
engineering. The simplest systems are easiest to automate.
The coming years will see more massive mining systems
with large mobile resource fleets and sophisticated process
solutions. A massive block cave operating with 50 loaders
will be based on automation and well-established mine-wide
process control and resource management system. The
smaller and bigger mines with cyclical operations will gain
major benefits through monitoring and improved resource
management systems.
The lower process repeatability in the underground
system and unused resource potential clearly describes the
opportunities for better rate of return. The current trend on
operational optimisation and improved resource
management works towards improved ways of working and
higher rate of return. When the repeatability has been
established, a process environment has been created and
outputs of automation are more reliable. Increased level of
repeatability has also a positive impact to mine safety. The
change from reactive to proactive focuses on gaining more
relevant data and creating a system understanding on what
actually happens and what needs to happen in the
processes. The resource management lack of reliable and
timely information for intelligent decision making purposes,
is seen as the main reason to inability to achieve higher
repeatability.
REFERENCES
Baiden GR., Strom RE., Preston CJ., 1997. Mining
automation program, CIM Bulletin 90: 71-77
Baiden GR., Future robotic mining at INCO limited-
1996.The next 25 years, CIM Bulletin 89:36-40
Sarkka, P., Liimatainen, J., Pukkila, J., 2000. Intelligent
mine implementation-realization of a vision, CIM Bulletin
93: 85-88
Puhakka, T., Srkk, P., 2003, 'Process and System
Improvements in Underground Mining', World Mining
Congress, New Delhi 1-5.11.2003
Puhakka,T., 2000, "Optimising Mobile Equipment
Resources in Massive Mining," MassMin 2000, Oct. 30-
Nov. 2 Brisbane
Raimonaho, J. 2001. Mine-wide communication system,
Proceedings of the 4th Symposium on Computer
Applications in Mineral Industries:181-189
Massmin 2004
 Rapid LHD advance using laser
guidance and 3D vision systems for
block-cave mining applications
Roy Jakola, President, Automated Mining Systems, a Division of MD Robotics
Robert Ward, PEng, Senior Research Engineer, Leif Bloomquist, Research Engineer,
Ken Martin, Manager, Mining Applications, MD Robotics

Abstract
Traditionally, LHDs have been operated by miners who are caught in a restrictive cycle which depends on availability
of work faces and on geological and survey guidance. This paper describes the capabilities that Automated Mining
Systems (AMS), www.automatedmining.ca, has developed in the fields of underground vehicle auto-guidance and 3D
imaging technologies. The use of laser guidance, and advanced driving and steering algorithms in a safety critical fault
tolerant architecture has resulted in a safe high-performance automation and guidance system for underground vehicles.
The evolution to autonomous systems utilizing a 3D vision system for real time control while simultaneously creating
photo-realistic 3D models of the geology and surveying of the advancing mining faces is introduced. This evolution
towards rapid advance and flexibility within the existing process will add a new level of value to the autonomous mucking
cycle in block cave applications.

1 A BUSINESS CASE FOR CREATING
AUTONOMOUS CYCLES IN BLOCK-CAVE MINING
Underground mining brings with it unique challenges. It is
a materials handling exercise interrupted by series of
roadblocks and bottlenecks, in a dynamically changing
environment. Block-cave mining epitomizes these
challenges as loading patterns change often; there is
frequent inability to remove material from the loading points
to surface and often a lack of effective coordination of
services to support the process. In essence, underground
mining must succeed in an environment where challenges
are frequent, and significant improvements to process are
not easy to find.
One area where process improvement is still possible is
LHD utilization. Mine production reports continue to show
that an 8-hour operating shift turns into 4 1/2 hours of
effective LHD operation. There are many reasons for this,
but despite many efforts being made to increase this
number, it seems to defy significant improvement with
conventional mining techniques. Mines have experimented
with longer shifts, only to learn that the ratio of hours worked
to length of shift is not significantly increased. One
exception in favour of 10-12 hour shifts occurs when travel
time to and from work faces is excessive. Even in this case,
however, operators become fatigued and productivity tends
to falls away over time.
In a recent business case study of an underground
block-cave application, creating an autonomous muck
cycle for 3 LHDs showed a 50% improvement in
operating time per shift, and a corresponding increase in
material moved.
Autonomous LHD cycles allow machines to operate for
longer periods of the work shift than traditional methods with
operators in the work area. Recent advances in automation
technology by AMS also provide the flexibility necessary to
successfully automate LHD cycles within a block-cave mine.
Vehicle routes and mucking patterns can now be changed
quickly and as often as necessary to meet changing
mucking patterns. This level of flexibility was not possible
with the previous generation of automation systems relying
on fixed guidance media.
Further advances have been demonstrated using a new 3D
imaging technology to record the geology and take survey
volumes and direction while an LHD is at the work face. It will
soon be possible to record geology and survey data without
human intervention during an automated mucking cycle
because of advances AMS parent company, M D Robotics,
has made in the field of 3D imaging. When fully implemented,
geological and survey data will be integrated with mine
management databases to allow accurate data to be
presented in real-time to technical and management
personnel. This will represent an unprecedented degree of
flexibility and allow important process decisions to be made
faster and with better background data.
The underground mining industry is therefore at the
threshold of benefiting enormously from autonomous
mining/geology/survey work cycles that will improve the
safety of process, but more importantly, will allow a
significant breakthrough in productivity that all mines need
to remain successful.
2 INFRASTRUCTURELESS GUIDANCE
(IGS) MEANS FLEXIBLE AUTONOMOUS OPERATION
Autonomous tramming of production vehicles has been
available for a number of years and has demonstrated the
economic returns of increased production and efficiency.
Unfortunately, earlier generations of autonomous vehicles
have relied on installed infrastructure (light rope, reflective
tape, bar codes etc.) to guide the vehicle along
predetermined routes. This extra installed infrastructure
represents additional cost for installation and maintenance.
It is susceptible to damage from blasting activities and rock
falls. It is also extremely inflexible and places restrictions on
the routes an automated vehicle may follow because a
continuous guide-path must be established for the entire
vehicle route. This often means that work crews must move
or install new guidance cues before a route can be traveled
autonomously.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 665

 IGS, as the name suggests, does not require the
installation of a continuous guidance medium. Instead, it
uses 2D laser scanners to be its "eyes" to follow an
assigned route and avoid obstacles. IGS provides guidance
and control within a strict safety regime utilizing SICK laser
scanners (see Figure 1) mounted fore and aft on the vehicle
as the primary sensors. The on-board vehicle controller,
StrongBox, uses IGS to control the vehicle.
IGS operates on two distinct levels, guidance and
navigation. The RoboScan software module performs the
guidance function. The Route Profiling software module
performs the navigation function.
Figure 1: SICK Laser Scanner and AMS Equipment
Mounted on LHD
3 IGS SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
IGS is comprised of a number of major software modules.
This is illustrated by the system block diagram shown in
Figure 2.
Figure 1 - Infrastructureless Guidance System Block
Diagram
4 ROBOSCAN SOFTWARE MODULE,
THE GUIDANCE HEART OF IGS
RoboScan receives laser scanner data from both the
forward and reverse scanners. It analyzes the data in the
direction of motion to recognise obstacles such as walls and
other vehicles that could pose a collision risk. Scanner
points that are more than 25 meters away from the vehicle
666 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
are discarded, as data beyond that distance is not reliable
or useful enough to be used for guidance.
RoboScan employs a novel fast algorithm that results
from M D Robotics research into extra-terrestrial vehicle
navigation. This algorithm quickly determines where
viable paths exist in the direction of travel. Steering
commands are sent directly to the vehicle steering
controller to provide a fast response to changing path
conditions. These steering commands keep the vehicle on
a safe trajectory to avoid collisions with walls and
obstacles. RoboScan keeps the vehicle straight and
parallel to the drift walls when driving along straight drifts.
Intersections are safely negotiated by plotting trajectories
based on Bezier curves.
RoboScan plots Bezier curves using these four control
points:
Center of Scanner (or center of the front axle and center
axis of the vehicle)
Immediately ahead of the vehicle, along the vehicles
center axis, in the center of the desired crosscut.
The center of the desired crosscut.
A point projected to be in the center of the crosscut, 10
meters along the crosscut.
In the case when the desired crosscut is the one straight
ahead, the Bezier curve will essentially be a straight line.
Figure 2 shows a Bezier curve around a right-angle
intersection, but the algorithm handles more general
branching cases as well. There is no requirement for there
to be cross-cut openings on both sides of the drift, and the
cross-cut drift can meet the current drift at any angle within
45 of the perpendicular. Drifts meeting at shallower
angles are dealt with by wall following techniques.
RoboScan sends steering corrections to the Steering
Controller that interfaces directly to the vehicle steering.
These steering corrections ensure that the vehicle correctly
executes turns at intersections maintaining safe distances
from the drift walls.
When no paths are visible, RoboScan signals a controlled
stop. A configurable distance threshold of 10 metres is used
to make this determination. This is the normal mode of
stopping the vehicle at the end of route.
Figure 2 - Bezier Curve Path Planning
Massmin 2004
5 COLLISION AVOIDANCE MINIMIZES ACCIDENT RISK
RoboScan performs collision detection by counting the
number of scanner points within an adjustable distance
threshold. If this number exceeds a threshold value, the
potential for collision is reported for higher-level software to
take action. Because the drift roadbed is not flat nor the
back uniform, it is possible for the scanner to pick up points
from the roadbed or back, which could be incorrectly
interpreted as potential collisions. However, as the vehicle
moves down the drift these points quickly move off the scan
plane. If a viable path exists around an obstacle then
RoboScan avoids collision by following such a path. If no
safe path exists around an obstacle, RoboScan stops the
vehicle.
It is important to recognise that RoboScan can only avoid
obstacles it can see. It is possible for obstacles to exist that
do not show up in the plane of the laser scanners or which
present a small enough cross section that they could be
ignored. For this reason, all operating areas for autonomous
vehicles must be considered as total human exclusion
zones unless other measures are taken (technical or
procedural) to lower the risk of collision to an acceptable
level.
6 STEERING AND DRIVE CONTROLLERS
KEEP THE VEHICLE ON COURSE
The steering controller implements the steering
corrections it receives from RoboScan to follow the planned
path as closely as possible. The controller has been
designed to be parametric, so that different mining vehicles
can be handled simply by changing the control parameters.
The drive controller maintains the correct vehicle speed
by manipulating throttle, gears and brakes. This controller is
also parametric.
The control parameters required by the controllers are
determined from kinematic models (one for steering and
Figure 3 - Examples of Route Profile Segments
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
one for the drive train) of the particular vehicle; constructed
within a MatLab/Simulink modeling environment. A model of
any vehicle may be created based on the manufacturers
specifications. The steering model details every major
aspect of the steering mechanics, hydraulic valves,
hydraulic cylinders, linkage geometry and dynamic effects
due to friction. The drive model details the every major
aspect of the drive train, engine, throttle, transmission and
brakes. Once the models are created they may be validated
against telemetry data captured during actual vehicle runs in
a mine environment.
The validated vehicle models are used to create suitable
linear model approximations. This is done to simplify the
final steering and drive controllers. The model
approximations are then compared to the more accurate
non-linear models and adjusted until the errors are less than
a few percent over the expected working range of input
parameters.
The steering and drive controllers are based on the model
approximations. This means that both controllers are
optimized for the particular model of vehicle being
controlled.
7 ROUTE PROFILING FOLLOWS
THE CORRECT ROUTE
The IGS Route Profiling module interfaces to RoboScan
and the drive controller to determine the route followed by
the vehicle. It uses a previously recorded file called a "route
profile" to generate navigation information. The teleoperator
teaches a route to IGS simply by driving the vehicle along
that route. IGS generates a route profile as the teaching
phase progresses.
Route profiles are divided into a number of segments as
illustrated in Figure 3. Each segment contains a single
navigation instruction and is calibrated according to the
distance traveled. Route profiles therefore contain a series
of navigation instructions such as "drive straight for 150m
667
until a right intersection is detected, turn right and drive
straight for 20m etc".
The Route Profiling module reads and interprets a route
profile and sends appropriate navigation instructions to the
guidance module as the vehicle follows a route. When the
end of a route is reached, the navigation module instructs
the vehicle to stop.
Route profiles also record the vehicle speed during the
teaching phase. The Route Profiling module uses the
recorded vehicle speed as a target speed for the drive
controller. The drive controller manipulates the throttle,
gears and brake to make the vehicle match the recorded
speed at all points along the route.
The distance the vehicle has traveled is determined by
odometry and is subject to error as a result of the wheels
slipping. The Route Profiling module keeps this type of error
to a minimum by using landmark features along the route as
datum points. The distance traveled is continually corrected
as landmark features are encountered.
Route planning is integrated into the IGS system such that
an operator is able to select a route for the vehicle to follow.
An IGS equipped vehicle will autonomously travel the entire
route from the draw-point to the dump-point (and back),
following a previously recorded route profile. On leaving the
draw-point, the vehicle will automatically follow the selected
route towards the dump-point. The vehicle will stop at a
predetermined safe distance from the dump-point. When
returning to the draw-point, the vehicle will follow its return
route and stop a predetermined safe distance from the
draw-point.
From the above description, it can be seen that IGS differs
from competing systems because of the way it defines and
records routes. IGS does not rely on a global map and
requires no survey data to operate. It will operate in any
area that has suitable radio coverage. Routes can be taught
quickly and are easily changed by the teleoperator, all
without electronic access to maps and survey data. The
overall flexibility of IGS results in a system that requires less
processing and communications resources, is easier to
install and operate.
8 TEACHING PHASE
Route profiles are generated during the teaching phase of
IGS operation. Each route profile must be named by the
teleoperator before the teaching phase can begin. Route
profile names are made up of two parts, a location name
and a direction name. The location name is selected from
options previously set-up on the teleoperators control
station (see Figure 4). The direction name is selected from
two options depending on the direction of travel. The
direction is typically given as "dump" or "load". Route
profiles are usually generated in pairs. Each one of the pair
describes the route in one of the two possible directions of
travel between the same two points.
The Teleoperator teaches a new route to IGS by simply
driving the vehicle along the required route. He drives at the
appropriate speed for each part of the route; the Route
Profile module will use the vehicle speed as a target during
subsequent route profile playback.
The Teleoperator stops the vehicle at the end of the route,
by releasing the control joystick or applying the service
brake; thereby leaving the vehicle in the approximate
position it should be delivered to at the end of autonomous
operation (route profile playback).
After the teaching phase, the Route Profiling module
parses the new route profile and appends a checksum
before saving the profile to flash memory. During parsing,
the following values are calculated:
Overall length of route
Individual segment lengths
668 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 4 - Operator Control Station
Teleoperator action during each segment (whether a turn
was made and whether that turn was to the left or to the
right etc.)
Distance to next segment boundary
Distance to a Y-Switch (where the direction of the vehicle
is reversed)
9 AUTONOMOUS OPERATION
The teleoperator begins autonomous operation by
positioning the vehicle correctly and selecting the correct
route profile for playback. Selecting a route profile for
playback consists of selecting a location and direction in an
identical manner to the teaching phase. Playback begins
when the teleoperator holds over the control joystick for 2
seconds to select the correct direction of travel.
Intersections encountered during route profile playback
are used to synchronize the playback odometry to the
recorded route profile. This minimizes the effect of wheel
slip. If the actual odometry reading differs greatly from that
recorded in the route profile for the same intersection then
route profile playback is aborted. In this case, the vehicle is
safely stopped and an error message displayed to the
teleoperator. The vehicle stops automatically at the end of
the route after the last line of the route profile has been read.
The teleoperator interface includes a video overlay
inserted onto the normal vehicle camera view. This display
provides appropriate feedback to the operator on:
Current status of the playback or record run
Segment ID
Anticipated features along the route (segment type)
Distance to next feature
Action at next feature (turn right, turn left, straight ahead).
Distance to walls.
10 SAFETY REGIME
Safety was a major consideration during IGS
development. Safety experts reviewed the entire system
design ensuring that IGS is a robust system that is failsafe
and single fault tolerant.
Ensuring safety is based on these principles:
The exclusion of personnel from the autonomous
operating area while vehicles are operating under remote
or autonomous operation. Depending on a mines
particular topography and procedures, this requirement
may be met in a variety of ways:
Massmin 2004
 Physical barriers with or without verification means
(gates, doors, chains)
Signs, lights or other warning indicators
Procedural restrictions
Tagging systems (manual tagging, switch-board tagging)
Personnel detection systems (RF tags, light curtains, etc.)
Secondary safety shutdown devices (safety stop
switches, etc.)
A combination of the above
The restriction of the area of operation of the machine to
a known area of the mine. IGS will automatically stop the
vehicle if the route conditions do match those
encountered during the teaching phase. This means that
the vehicle will stop if an intersection is encountered too
early or too late (within the limits set for correction of
odometry), if the drift width is incorrect or if an intersection
is of the wrong type (left instead of right, for example).
Absolute localization is achieved by the use of small, self-
contained radio ID tags placed at strategic points along a
route. Because these tags have a unique ID number they
serve to "mark" their location in a unique way. IGS records
any tags encountered during the teaching phase and will
stop the vehicle if the tags are not encountered at the same
point along the route during autonomous operation. Missed
or incorrect tags will also cause the vehicle to stop.
Area limit RF-ID tags are a secondary method that will
cause an immediate stoppage of the vehicle if a limit tag is
detected. Two independent limit tags are placed at each
entrance/exit to the operational area in such a way that they
will not be detected if the vehicle follows its correct route.
Used in conjunction with odometry-limited travel, this
creates an outer limit to the operating area.
The vehicle will stop should it travel beyond the range of
reliable communications, or if the system fails to give
periodic, regular permissive control packets to the vehicle.
The vehicle will also stop due to failure or shutdown of the
fixed communication system or due to failure or shutdown of
the fixed automation components.
Designed-in features of the StrongBox hardware and
software, such as dual-processor architecture that is
internally self-checking, prevent unintended operation in
the event of single point faults.
11 COMMUNICATIONS
StrongBox requires a low speed Ethernet
communications link to the control station. Commands pass
from the operator to StrongBox and telemetry data passes
from StrongBox to the diagnostic display on the control
station. StrongBox will function well with a full duplex link of
19.2kb/s but faster telemetry updates will be achieved with
higher data rates.
StrongBox also requires a single video channel to convey
teleoperation camera video coupled with a diagnostic
overlay. The video stream is in analogue form and conforms
to NTSC or PAL video standards.
IGS places no additional demands on the
communications infrastructure as IGS related commands
and telemetry data are merged in with the conventional
StrongBox data transmissions. IGS requires continual radio
contact with the operator control station to allow
autonomous operation. The vehicle will stop safely if data
radio contact is lost.
StrongBox and IGS will function well in conjunction with
any communications system that meets the requirements
for real-time teleoperation.
12 3D Photo-Realistic Imaging System by LHD for Instant
Geology, Geotechnical and Surveying information
3D Imaging System (3D IS) is an exciting new technology
that is now being demonstrated in mines by AMS. This
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
technology is unique in its field and was developed from
work for the Canadian Space Agency to support Mars
Lander missions.
Figure 6: shows an LHD taking a 3D model of a mining face.
The image can be transported by RF or hard wire link and
integrated into mine management software to get a 3D as-
built rendering of face geology, and survey coordinates. To
be studied in real colour from any angle .
3D IS analyzes the signals from stereoscopic cameras to
construct a three-dimensional model of the scene being
surveyed. Details of the scene are built into the model by
mapping precise textures taken from the individual camera
images. This results in a truly photo-realistic three
dimensional VRML model that may be manipulated (pan,
zoom, rotate etc.) using conventional tools; including web
browser plug-ins. 3D IS captures the spatial arrangement of
the various components in the scene model so it is possible
to measure three dimensional distances between any two
such components. This allows the size and distance of rock
features to be quickly measured.
Presently, a geologist and other geotechnical or survey
personnel visit each fresh workface to assess where the ore
is, and as a result, make a decision about where to drill the
next round. From visually inspecting the face, the geologist
creates a hand sketch of the ore and features, and brings
the sketches to surface and ultimately logs the data into a
mine planning software. The geologist is able to extrapolate
where the ore is going, from an accumulation of consecutive
sketches.
3D IS has the potential to significantly improve the time to
collect information, and also the visual information that is
available at each work face. 3D IS scans the workface,
collecting a photo realistic colour picture from a sequence of
images. The system is portable and may operate either in
hand-held, automatic or mobile vehicle mode. The 3D
model is accurate and is created within a few minutes of
acquisition.
The images can also be integrated into a mine database
to facilitate mine planning. The data can be interpreted from
successive images to better determine the grade at the
face, and where the ore is migrating, thereby allowing for a
considerable opportunity for better controlling the amount of
dilution.
The collected images can be transported from
underground to surface via an RF or hard-wired link to be
viewed by the geologist in his office. A stitched image can
also be sent via the Internet to other locations for
assessment and to support decisions by the mining
companys most qualified personnel.
Without actually visiting the working faces, corporate
experts can easily visualize the features for a variety of
669
purposes including mineral content, unstable ground, and
many other re-occurring workplace issues.
The autonomous LHD mucking cycle could be enhanced
by incorporating 3D IS into the vehicle control system.
Analysis of images from the stereoscopic cameras would
provide estimates of the vehicle motion (visual odometry,
which would overcome inaccuracies of wheel odometry due
to wheel slippage). 3D IS would also allow for the
localization of the vehicle using natural features observed in
the environment.
3D data could be used to create 3D photo-realistic
models. These models could be applied to autonomous
bucket loading by giving the vehicle control system
independent knowledge of the instantaneous muck pile
shape and flow. Fragmentation and grade of the ore could
also be determined, which could then be sent from the
vehicle to a mine database.
Eventually, 3D IS could be used as the vehicle guidance
sensor itself, replacing the laser scanners in the current
version of IGS. Three dimension versions of the current
RoboScan algorithms would detect walls and other
obstructions and plot safe vehicle trajectories into
observable drifts and cross cuts. Currently, the processing
time of 3D IS will not support real-time guidance
applications; but with anticipated improvements in
algorithms and computing platforms this prospect is not very
far removed.
13 CONCLUSION
Infrastructure-less guidance techniques and real time
photo-realistic imaging of the advancing workface have the
potential to significantly advance the speed and flexibility
with which mining and drifting are performed. One worker
can operate two or more vehicles from a safe surface
location allowing for increased machine utilization, and
more tons moved. Also, geological, geotechnical and survey
data can be captured during the mucking process and
transferred seamlessly to surface databases to further
speed up the mining process, and also offer significantly
670 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
better information to the technical and management
personnel who can make decisions. The mining process is
proving to be at the threshold of evolution to a safer and
significantly more productive process, which will translate
directly to quick rates of return, and increases to the
financial bottom line of any mining company.
REFERENCES
Bloomquist, L. P.Eng., Law, J. And Arnoldi. C., 2004. The
Evolution of Advance guidance Techniques for
Autonomous Underground Vehicles, CIM Bulletin,
January 2004
Anderson, A et al, 1998. Mining Industry Roadmap for
Crosscutting Technologies. U.S. Department of Energy,
National Mining Association Technology Committee
meeting, Denver, Colorado October 1998.
M. Born and E. Wolf, Principles of Optics, Sixth Ed.
(Pergamon Press, Toronto, 1980) pp.38-41.
Baiden, G. and Henderson E. 1994. LHD Teleoperation
and Guidance Proven Productivity Improvement Tools.
CIM Toronto Conference 1994.
Bloomquist, L. and Hinton E., 2001. Towards an
infrastructureless guidance system - A Proposed
Guidance System for Autonomous Underground Vehicles.
CIM Bulletin January 2001.
M. Piotte, C. Coache, A. Drouin, P. Gaultier, and L.
Geoffroy, 1996. Automatic control of underground
vehicles at high speed. CIM Edmonton Conference 1996.
Wber, Koller, D, Luong, Q. and Malik, J. 1995. An
integrated stereo-based approach to automatic vehicle
guidance. International Conference on Computer Vision,
Boston June 1995.
Vagenas, Sjoberg, and Wikstrom, 1991. Application of
Remote-Controlled/ Automatic Load-Haul-Dump System
in Zinkgruvan, Sweden. Proceedings of 1st International
Symposium on Mine Mechanization and Automation, I p.
6/21-6/30.
Massmin 2004
 Telerobotic experiments for mining
Dr. Greg Baiden, School of Engineering, Laurentian University Sudbury, ON, Canada

Abstract
Telerobotics focused on mining is currently being introduced into production systems around the world. Mining
companies in Canada, Sweden, South Africa and Australia have tended to lead the international charge to this form of
technology for the mining of underground and open pit operations. While this introduction is taking place a few basic
questions have yet to be answered. How many machines can a single operator run? How many types of machines can
a single operator run?
A new Canadian Research Chair in Robotics and Mine Automation has been established at Laurentian University. This
chair will investigate these questions and many more through a series of experiments in a newly established telerobotics
laboratory that connects Laurentian teleoperation workstations to model mining machines at Cambrian colleges eDome.
The laboratory will support many experiments allowing researchers to physically run multiple robot scenarios differing
the numbers and types of machines at one/quarter scale. Further experiments are being designed to investigate the
potential for managing time delays in telerobotics. This paper reviews the state-of-art in the field and describes the
laboratory, experiments and some preliminary results achieved to date.

INTRODUCTION economically. Some expected results include enhance-

Telerobotics systems used for mining are currently being
introduced into production systems around the world.
Mining companies in Canada1,2, Sweden3, Finland4, South
Africa5 and Australia6 have tended to lead the international
charge to this technology for mining. NASA and the
Canadian Space Agency have begun to discuss the use of
telerobotics for rock drilling on other planets and large scale
space construction8. While organizations are looking
toward telerobotics for applications, a few basic questions
have yet to be answered. How many machines can a single
operator run? How many types of machines can a single
operator run?
A new Canadian Research Chair in Robotics and Mine
Automation9 has been established at Laurentian University
around this subject. This chair will investigate these
questions and many more through a series of experiments
in a newly established telerobotics laboratory that connects
Laurentian teleoperation workstations to model mining and
full scale machines at Cambrian colleges eDome. The
laboratory will support many experiments allowing the
researchers to physically run multiple robot scenarios
differing the numbers and types of machines at one/quarter
scale. The paper describes the laboratory, experiments and
some preliminary results.
Robotics as field of study is the creation of machines and
control systems that can perform the tasks of a human
operator. Within the robotics field is the subset of
telerobotics. Telerobotics allows the human operator to
remain in the control of a semi-robotic machine that
incorporates limited automation to provide the opportunity to
free time for the human operator. The free time allows the
operator to focus on other more productive work. For
example, one operator can run multiple semi-robotic
machines achieving a significant potential increase to the
output of a process.
Mining is a process where mineral is broken and treated
to extract the valuable portions for use by society. Mining
consists of the discovery, delineation, development,
extraction and closure of an ore body. Each process is
currently mechanized. In the future, teleoperation of robots
will become the norm for these processes altering the
performance of the mining industry physically and
ments in: safety, productivity, cycle time, quality, value and
costs.
REVIEW OF TELEROBOTICS
Telerobotics in the mining industry started to be used
in production in the early 1970s with the implementation
of line-of-sight radio remote controls underground and
truck dispatch systems in open pit mines. As the ideas
have progressed, line-of-sight remotes have been
extended to longer and longer distances underground.
Open pit mines leaned towards autonomous operation of
truck due to a lack of communications bandwidth. Today
many underground mining companies and suppliers are
developing true teleoperation systems where operators
sit as far as hundreds of kilometers from the units they
run. New research into a high bandwidth communication
system for open pit mining is underway at Laurentian
University.
Line-of-sight radio remote controls have been integrated
into mining methods over the last 30 years. In fact, some
methods such as Vertical Crater Retreat mining depend on
this technology on a day-to-day basis. For example,
companies such as Inco and Falconbridge could not
produce safely without the technology onboard LHDs and
some drills.
Long distance teleoperation while starting from line-of-
sight techniques has seen surface teleoperators run
multiple LHDs and drills from comfortable control rooms.
The safety benefits of this style of operation are obvious as
teleoperators are not exposed to the mine environment.
Moreover, the support staff for the teleoperator only enters
the mining area when no mining work is happening.
Therefore, safety is maximized for the operation. While
safety is an important benefit, teleoperation offers many
more. For example:
The ability for labour productivity gains as a result of
instantaneous connection to many machines at the flip of
a switch
Maintenance improvements through the operation of
machines within their capability
More intimate control of the mining process through direct
measurement and communication of real time information

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 671

 The combination of these benefits alters the traditional
economics of mining a deposit making it more profitable.
Given that these benefits have been achieved and mining
companies will gradually embrace this new method of
mining it is important to be building the human and
technological resource base to support the implementation.
MINING TELEROBOTICS LABORATORY
A Mining Telerobotics Laboratory is now commissioned
and operating at Laurentian University and Cambrian
College in Sudbury. This facility is unique in the world today.
The laboratory is a collaborative research site between the
two Sudbury educational institutions. It has been put in
place to build on the strengths of the two institutions and
with Penguin ASI fulfills the innovation cycle of research,
development and commercialization.
The Laurentian portion of the laboratory consists of a
teleoperation chair and a telecommunications control room
for research into teleoperation. At Cambrian College a
series of laboratories that includes the eDome, supports the
ability to design, build and teleoperate from 1/4th scale
model to full size mining machines and full mine simulations.
As this work progresses new control systems, machines
and processes will be developed building on the idea of
telerobotics. Since telerobotics will become an emerging
industry that has and will grow from the mining industry into
other fields such as manufacturing, underwater, space and
military, the building of this laboratory is and will be
important to the development of telerobotic applications.
Figure 1: Teleoperation Laboratory Layout
The laboratory is really the combination of two labs in
different geographical locations in Sudbury. Figure 1 shows
a map of the lab locations and the equipment in each.
Jointing the two locations is a dedicated "dark fibre" to
facilitate teleoperation experimentation.
This laboratory connection allows the study of a number
of telerobotic issues that include:
How many machines can a single operator teleoperate
given different levels of automation?
Is it possible to teleoperate the task of development using
cooperative robotics?
When the telerobotic systems are scaled up, what are the
implications for the safety, timing and economics of
multiple mine operation scenarios?
672 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
TELEOPERATION CHAIR TEST-BED -
LAURENTIAN LABORATORY
A teleoperation chair test-bed is located at Laurentian
University (figure 2). The chair consists of an ergonomically
designed seat that has joysticks and displays to allow an
operator to teleoperate a machine. The main idea behind
the teleoperation chair is to study the interface between
mining machines. As the research progresses it is working
toward the development of a universal interface to allow a
configurable computer interface for all types of machines
without the need to physically alter the chair.
The connection between Laurentian University and
Cambrian College is through a "dark fibre". The fibre is
connected to a head-end located in the laboratory and
networked to the computers on-board the teleoperation
chair.
Figure 2: Teleoperation Chair at Laurentian University
TELEROBOTICS TESTBEDS -
CAMBRIAN COLLEGE LABORATORY
The dark fibre is brought into Cambrian College at the
eDome (figure 3). It is connected to a second head-end
switch that supports mobile data communications and
mobile video. The wireless network established between
Laurentian University and Cambrian College will allow the
study of mobile machine operation and multi-machine
operation. As the research progresses full scale machines
developed for mining and various other industries will be
tested at the Cambrian facility.
Cambrian College through the instrumentation and
machine design classes are developing a 1/4th scale model
Load-Haul-Dump machine. The first unit is one of the most
sophisticated mining machine models that has been built to
date. A general schematic of the structure of the model LHD
is shown in figure 4.
Massmin 2004

Figure 3: Cambrian College eDome
Figure 4: 1/4th LHD Scale Model Desing
The base machine is a CANBUS compliant unit that is
electrically driven. Steering and bucket control are done
with electric screw actuators. The unit has an onboard AMS
Strongbox controller for machine control and
telecommunications connection. The first of these units is
complete and operational as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Actual 1/4th Scale Model
The unit is designed with exactly the electronic and
telecommunication systems that are on current production
robotic machines working in the field at Inco Limited. With
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
the electronics being an exact duplicate this allows
experimentation with new systems on scale models both at
the teleoperation lab and in real mine facilities. The model
LHD has the potential to operate at any mine in the world
with the correct telecommunications infrastructure.
Following the building of the first 1/4th scale model of an
LHD and the connection of the laboratory a fleet of models
will be built to answer the research questions outlined at the
beginning of the paper. First, five more telerobotic units will
be built to aid in chair and control system software
experimentation. Some of these new units will have fuel cell
power plants instead of batteries. The fuel cell offers the
same capability as batteries while increasing the range of
the unit. Eventually, a Honeywell Ore Retrieval and
Tunneling Aid (HORTA) will be incorporated onto new units.
The HORTA is a Ring Laser Gyroscope (RLG) combined
with accelerometers. This unit outputs azimuth and x, y, z
coordinates that a pair of laser scanners can be linked to
allowing the collection of tunnel or drift data and
experimentation with alternate guidance systems. This
makes the machine an experimental test-bed for
teleoperation and data collection.
TELEROBOTIC OPEN PIT OPERATION
While the bulk of the telerobotics work to date has been in
underground mining, open pit mines are in need of similar
opportunities. Open pit mining equipment suppliers have
tended to work towards autonomous mining equipment
because of limitations in communications bandwidth.
Given past experience in the implementation of
underground automation it is important to note that remote
control followed by telerobotic control leading to autonomy
is the logic path of implementation. Mine operators need to
be comfortable with the operation of their fleet of equipment.
Therefore, telerobotic operation of open pit mining
equipment is more than likely going to be the next logical
step as opposed to autonomous operation.
WHAT ABOUT TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FOR OPEN PIT?
High bandwidth communication for open pit mining is a
huge challenge if telerobotics is to be employed. Radio
frequency communications are inherently low bandwidth in
comparison to the need. Therefore how can we deal with
this? One solution is using optical communication systems.
As part of the expansion of the Telerobotic Laboratory at
Laurentian University we will begin experimenting with high
bandwidth optical communication systems. Our first
experiments will take place this summer using an
underwater optical system. Underwater was chosen as this
is the most difficult environment for high bandwidth
communication. Figure 6 is an artist concept of the
underwater optical communication system working for
telerobot control.
RESULTS
The Mining Telerobotics Laboratory is now completed
between Laurentian University and Cambrian College in
Sudbury. On May 25, 2003 we ran our first telerobotic
machine between Laurentian University and Cambrian
College. The completion of this marks the beginning of a
test facility to support the development of telrobotics for
mining.
The initial experiments are beginning to be laid out to
investigate the implications of telerobotics for underground
mining. At this time, a new agent based algorithm for
telerobotic dispatching of machines is being developed.
This will be initially targeted for block cave mines.
673
 Development work is now underway on an optical
communication system for open pit mining. This
development will initially start off in an underwater
environment although testing for surface applications will
happen early in the research program.
Figure 6: Underwater Telerobotics
SUMMARY
A great deal of work is yet to be done to hone the idea of
telerobotic applications for mining. This paper has
discussed a new Telerobotics Laboratory created through
the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Innovation
Trust Fund, Materials and Manufacturing Ontario, Inco
Limited and Penguin Automated Systems. The laboratory
has begun experimenting with telerobotics for mining,
cooperative telerobotics and multi-mine teleoperation. The
laboratory was completed in the Spring of 2003. This
laboratory was designed for studying telerobotics for mining
will have implications for manufacturing, space, underwater
and military applications.
In early 2004 a research program was brought together to
begin to experiment with high bandwidth telecommu-
nications for underwater and surface applications. This
work is just underway but is yielding promising results
already.
674 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
REFERENCES
[1] Baiden, G.R., "MAP - Mining Automation Programme
Results", Final Presentation, October 25, 2000, Copper
Cliff, Ontario, Canada.
[2] Piche, A., "LHD Automation at Noranda, 33rd Annual
Robotics Congress, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, April,
1999.
[3] Samskog,, P. and Wigden, I., "Process Automation in
Ore Mining", MineTime 99, Dusseldorf, June 8, 1999.
[4] Schweikart, V.S.,"Control and monitoring systems at the
Palabora Underground Mine", Proceedings from Telemin
1, June 1999, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
[5] Pukkila, J. and Kosonen, K., "The implementation of
Intelligent Mine Technology at Kemi Mine of Outokumpu
Crome OY", Proceedings of Telemin 1, June 1999,
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
[6] Penswick, D. and Gilliland, K., "The missing link: The
gap in mining automation hierarchy", Proceedings of the
2001 6th Symposium on Mine Mechanization and
Automation, pp 129-134.
[7] Dudley, j. and Ferrier, S.,"Tele-remote LHD
implementation and the progression to LHD automation
at Northparkes E26 Block Cave Mine", Proceeding of
Telemin 1, June 1999, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
[8] Mankins, J., "An Overview of the Space Solar Power
Exploratory Research and Technology Program"
Advanced Projects Office Office of Space Flight,
Spring 2000.
[9] Canadian Research Chairs Website, Government of
Canada, 2001.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to acknowledge the support of the
Laurentian University, Canadian Research Chairs (CRC)
program, Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Ontario
Innovation Trust Fund (OIT) and Materials, Manufacturing
Ontario (MMO), Communication and Information
Technology Ontario and FEDNOR. Further the generous
support of Penguin Automated Systems Inc. and Inco
Limited that made this work possible. The City of Sudbury
and Sudbury Hydro have made a significant contribution by
supplying the dark fibre link between the two facilities.
Massmin 2004
 Bringing underground mining
into the Wi-Fi revolution
Sergio Blacutt, CEO, Jigsaw Technologies Inc

Abstract
This paper addresses the advantages of reliable, high-speed data and voice networks in underground mining operations.
Jigsaw Technologies is combining proven technologies used extensively on aboveground applications and transforming
them into state of the art tools for underground operations. At the heart of these mobile applications are sophisticated
networking techniques with efficient software designed from the ground up for underground mining operations. Custom
applications are deployed on all mobile units in order to optimize their performance and reduce network traffic. This
technology allows engineers and other underground personnel to query and/or update critical information directly from
the field.
A key advantage of implementing this system is its ability to carry voice over the same data network (VoIP). Jigsaw
Technologies wireless network utilizes modified 802.11 access points that run custom routing software, providing a
robust and secure VoIP communications platform. Access points are interconnected via a fiber-optic or standard CAT-5
backbone that ultimately connects to the mine network allowing bi-directional data/voice communications between
authorized users.
In conclusion, the combination of powerful custom software for underground operations, plus the ability to carry crystal
clear full-duplex voice communications on one single mobile device, will enable a companys plan to lower costs and
achieve higher profits.

1 INTRODUCTION only predefined alarm conditions or unscheduled events.

Utilizing the latest wireless technological advances and
data-gathering devices along with standard and user
friendly information displays, Jigsaw Technologies is
developing easy to maintain reliable data and voice
networks for underground mining operations.
A major advantage of all Jigsaws applications is their
ability to integrate and support off the shelf hardware
components. Different operating systems are also
supported and field units can either run under embedded
Microsoft Windows or Linux.
2 CORE NETWORK TECHNOLOGY

To ensure reliable and continuous operation, the system

communications network is entirely based on mesh network
technology.
Unlike traditional tree or star network architectures, mesh
networks utilize intelligent access points that can
communicate with each other without the need of having to
go through a central switch.

Fig 1. Overall application diagram

This application will allow mining operations to coordinate

and monitor all field operation activities by providing mine
personnel with powerful wireless rugged portable computers
connected to a central application. Included in the central
application is a standard "Session Initiation Protocol" (SIP)
local service that allows for clear full duplex voice
communications over the standard 802.11 wireless network.
All mine equipment can also be fitted with field computers Fig 2. Tree type network. Failure at a top branch will render
that allow for real-time communications, and data gathering all units under it unusable.
providing significant on board intelligence to continuously
analyze and store data locally. Although field units can Mesh networks incorporate a grid type of network with
continuously send information to central, they can also be one of the major advantages being the elimination of a
configured to analyze trends locally and report to central single point of failure.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 675

 The Jigsaw Technologies physical network infrastructure
is deployed using embedded Linux based mesh access
points powered via Power Over Ethernet (POE) technology.
These rugged access points are capable of operating within
a wide range of temperatures and are able to withstand high
transient voltages.
Fig 3. Mesh type network. Without a central switch, mesh
networks provide self-healing and self-organization
characteristics.
Power Over Ethernet eliminates the need to deploy
additional cables between mesh access points requiring
only the use of power injectors at certain points.
As new mobile or stationary network devices are
deployed into the network, they are set to automatically
detect all neighboring nodes, configure themselves, and
based on factors such as signal strength, transmission
errors, and latency determine the best path to use when
communicating peer to peer or with the central computer.
Any changes or sudden faults on the network are
immediately detected by affected field devices, which
automatically recalculate the best communications path to
the rest of the network.
3 DATA AND VOICE COMMUNICATIONS
Having a robust and reliable network permits the Jigsaw
application to include voice over the same data network. A
SIP server application is deployed on the central computer
and all mesh access points, with all mobile devices
equipped with VoIP capabilities. This capability allows all
field devices on the network to talk to each other as well as
any user connected to the network.
All field units are deployed with custom software
applications, and have the ability to process data locally and
676 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
operate uninterrupted even without communications with
the central server.
Continuous mining operations data is collected and
analyzed locally on each device with only relevant
information sent in real-time to the central server. This
approach maximizes bandwidth utilization and ensures high
network availability for voice and video communications.
4 DATA ANALYSIS AND SYSTEM INTEGRATION
The Jigsaw application cleanly separates data access,
business logic, and user interface. User interfaces are
designed as XML files that instantiate interfaces on mobile
or stationary devices on request providing unique and
custom interaction screens for each different user.
Maintenance personnel for example can log into a mobile
unit and be greeted with the equipment engine parameters
and equipment-troubleshooting screen.
All system interaction and reports generation is done
through a web-based user-friendly interface that requires
minimum or no user training.
Real-time field data is automatically stored in powerful
SQL databases and can utilize a number of commercial
SQL database servers, such as Microsoft SQL, MySQL,
OpenBase, Oracle, Sybase ASE, and others. This allows for
easy data integration with most ERP applications.
In addition the main application can be deployed on
various operating systems including Mac OS X, Linux, and
Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP.
5 CONCLUSION
As companies increasingly focus their efforts on their core
business, it is becoming clear that state of the art open
technologies will play a major role in their competitiveness
and successful business execution.
Systems like the one described above, that utilize
advanced and standard hardware with powerful embedded
software applications designed for the underground mining
industry will help companies achieve their goals and
increase productivities.
Strong communication channels have always been the
backbone of any successful company. Adding reliable voice
capabilities to monitoring and control applications results in
higher productivity and most importantly safer underground
mining operations. Mine personnel will be able to
communicate freely with other underground personnel or
personnel on the surface without the need of dedicated
restrictive cables.
Massmin 2004
 Automation of mineral
extraction and handling
Fredy M. Varas, Civil Mining Engineer MBA,
Project Management, El Teniente Division, Codelco Chile

Abstract
Underground Mining, in order to maintain its competitiveness, need constant innovation thus it must make use of the
technological advance which allow it to face not only challenge of cost diminution and productivity increase, but that also
to give better works conditions to his workers which is translated in diminution on exposition to the risk and better
environment quality. Codelco and especially El Teniente Division, conscientious of these considerations, have
implemented strategic impulses to incorporate technology as an essential competitiveness requirement. For that reason
when Teniente Development Plan was formulated, these concepts were incorporated in his mining projects and they are
been materialized. So, we have that projects like Pipa Norte are pioneers incorporating semi-automated LHD equipment
and complementing this technology with an innovating material handling that get closer the size diminution issue toward
mineral extraction points, establishing a production line so that after reaching the scoops dumping point it allows to
reduce mineral, through a jaw crusher, to 7 inches size very appropriate for a belt conduction and improving the filling
factors for the railroad cars to its later hauling to the surface.

In order to materialize these concepts, it has been
necessary to consider a series of edge conditions, some of
specific technical nature, being notorious by its importance
the subject of communication systems and production
control, and in the same way the production level designs
and layout and the incorporation of material handling
elements not used before at El Teniente Mine. They are also
notorious the incorporation of complementary technologies
like hydraulic fracturing and the utilization of plate feeders
for material handling.
Finally as case of study, this work shows the main
technical elements that has been considerate in the Pipa
Norte Project, being notorious the considerations of
productive nature, security and the standards that have
been established for project operation.
INTRODUCTION
The present tendency in underground mining is to give a
product of homogenous granule size, initiated by means of
a natural fracturing process, for then to incorporate
technology of downsizing in places near to mineral
extraction. Thus the mineral is transported to surface by
means of the best automated systems.
Associated to this the underground mining constantly
needs to improve his productivity, for which the new projects
must respond to needs of improvements in production costs
and so life and environmental quality of workers.
An effective way to obtain these results is making use of
the technology available on the modern world. Thus it is as
the new mining projects of the El Teniente Mine have looked
for to obtain important advances in the use of ultimate
generation technology. With this it looks for to assume the
strategic leadership of technological innovation, which is
being materialized in two relevant aspects in the operation
of productive sectors.
First one is related to using of semiautomatic equipment
of greater size for mineral extraction, because the greater
synchronization of their acceleration movements contribute
to wait for a lower maintenance cost per extracted ton.
The second aspect of this technological innovation talks
about to an approach of the downsizing and handling of
materials towards mineral extraction points.
Applicability of the Technological Strategy
To define applicability of available technology of mineral
extraction automation in underground mines is a decision
that dont should loose the orientation of give continuity to
the mining business, for which is very important to evaluate
its real utilization, therefore antecedent compiling related to
automation in the world on material extraction processes in
underground mining must response to the convenience of
operating a system that be compatible with strategic
objectives that delineate enterprise orientation in its long
term projection.
For the studied case this decision aims to fulfil with one of
the strategic objectives of Divisin el Teniente, that shows
the orientation and endorse decision in terms of incorporate
technological advances to mining activity, in addition to
increase productivity levels, improve security indicators for
the personnel and ensure a quality level that allows to obtain
the certification, in accord with standards fixed for ISO
norms that regulate quality in its widest concept, finally aims
to minimize the operational interference and guaranties a
greater continuity of productive activity.
Tendency of Materials Handling
In a traditional scheme, materials handling in
underground mining consist in mineral extraction by some
explode technique and, from there, guided it down through
a flux, which can be transported horizontally in intermediate
levels, and then, going up or down, without any processing
or selectivity on this path.
Today this situation begins to change, going to maintain
automated transport circuits and, therefore, material that is
handled and transported must be homologated to certain
granule size characteristics, allowing the minimum number
of stops and make easier the autonomous control systems,
that are operated from the surface.
Description of Pipa Norte Project
This is one of the three mining projects of Divisin El
Teniente and it is in construction from ends of 2002, and will
finish to ends of 2004, this project involve reserves for 27.1
Mtons, with average Cu law of 1,00%, and with an
infrastructure and with an infrastructure that will have a
nominal capacity of 10,000 tpd. and it will be started up with
the best technology, considers a high degree of automation.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 677

 Table N 1.- Comparative Table in classic format and current tendency on Material Handling

Characteristic Traditional Current Tendency

Caving Altitude High one taller than Down one equivalent to
10 meters caving gallery altitude
Type of Caving Simultaneously overture Pre-caving or Advanced Caving
of collector galleries
Verticals Mining Great quantity of meters Minimum Verticals Mining
Equipment Mechanicals Automated
Material Handling Transportation to surface in big granule size In situ Size Reduction
Communications Wired Wireless
Explode Method Panel Caving or Sub Level Big extraction nets or
extraction nets reduced macro galleries
Orientation of the Administration Of production One- Of Multi-variable business
variable Sensibility
Human Resources Expertise Competency

The project will integrate the management by competition,
gathering the best standards of competitive companies, the
best practices of work and a harmonic development of the
human resource during the life utility of the project. The
location of the sector in the deposit El Teniente can be
observed in the following figure..
The geologic and geotechnical antecedents, demonstrate
that more of 90% of the existing rock it corresponds to primary
and secondary andesite. Certain important intrusions of
hydrothermal Breach and Braden Breach are verified mainly
towards the Southern of the sector, adjacent with Pipa Braden,
which present predictions of heavy fragmentation.
Exploitation Method.
The exploitation method used in this sector is a panel
caving with a variant of low undermining of 4 m. and
advanced to the limit of abuttmen stress, this undermining is
obtained by means of the pillar blasting with a design of
parallel shots of 3.5"- 4.0" of diameter. This design has
considerable operational advantages in security and for
removal of the residual material, thus its application, with
the restrictions stipulated with respect to the out of phase
condition between the advance in undermining and the
advance in extraction, is confirmed. The mining design of
the project emphasizes the following general
characteristics:
Extraction Net of Teniente type, 300 m2, (30 m x 20 m), 30
m separation between streets and 20 m ditches.
Advanced Caving, by blasting of solid pillars of 13 meters
wide, 23 meters in length and 4 meters of high (4 m x 4 m
section).
Height of the Crown Pillar, 19 m between production and
caving levels floors and between extraction points and
rolling carpet.

Figure N 1: Location Pipa Norte Mine

678 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 2: Diagram of Material Handling in Pipa Norte ProjectFigure 2: Diagram of Material Handling in Pipa Norte Project
Material Handling
The mineral handling system has concluded with the
consolidation of designs already established in the
Conceptual Engineering, that is to say, with a pre-crushed
hopper system of 400 tons with a 70" x 70" grill, fed directly
by LHD equipment, and a plate feeder that feeds a jaw
crusher with a maximum gap opening of 84"x 66".
This unit unloads on a conveyor belt of 60", 20 m on
length, the one that as well feeds another conveyor belt of
48" and 330 m on length, which takes the mineral up to two
main resentments, that allow to transfer the mineral until
Teniente 8 Level, to be transported by the railroad towards
Coln Concentration Plant.
Description of LHD Semiautomatic System
The system is formed by a system operator located in
Control Room located in Coln Alto, approximately to 15 km
of the production area of Pipa Norte Mine. This operator is
the person in charge to control and to operate the SCL (LHD
Control System) and the handling of personnel and
equipment access to the Autonomous Operation Area that is
the area of work in production area around where LHD
equipment circulates. The SCL is structured by:
Mission Control System (MCS): It provides supervision
and control for operation, also planning for production and
functionality control. The MCS also provides interphases
to the external systems like the SCGP (Production Control
& Management System), SCGM (Maintenance Control
& Management System) and SCADA, that is a system
oriented to supervising control and data acquisition.
Operator Station: It is the physical place located in Coln
Alto, where System Operator is located. It provides
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
control and user interphases to the system operators.
Access Control System (ACS): It controls the access for
personnel and mobile equipment to the Autonomous
Operation Area. Its main function is to maintain the
confinement for production tasks of semiautonomous
LHD with respect to the personnel and equipment in the
production area.
Wireless Underground Communication System (WUCS):
It provides video, audio and data communication, like the
vital signs of semiautonomous LHD, between Control
Room and these equipment.
Semiautomatic LHD Equipment: They have a capacity of
13 yd3, and their production cycle begins with the load in
Extraction Point on tele-commanded mode, continuing
with the material hauling, material that is dumped directly
on grill, and finally LHD returns to the same point or
another one, according to production plan or availability of
extraction points at that moment, on autonomous mode.
Operation: There are two people directly located in the
Operator Station, controlling the SCL. To one of them
corresponds the function of control of LHD equipment and
the tele-commanded operation of these equipment in his
loading task; the other person is responsible for control
and supervision of the operation, work that is mainly
focused to the planning and coordination of the activities
during the turn.
Operation of the System
The LHD will load mineral at the extraction points on tele-
commanded mode, to go then on automatic mode to the
Dumping Station, point in which they will unload the
transported mineral. This point has three flanks for mineral
679
unloading. After this, the LHD will be destined, according to
the production program given by the Production Control &
Management System (SCGP) to the Mission Control
System (MCS), to the same extraction point or another one
where the system operator, from Control Room, will come to
load it again, completing the cycle.
An Access Control System (ACS) will maintain confined
the operational area of LHD equipment, in such way to
make production tasks a safe operation, maintaining an
adequate access control and monitoring of Autonomous
Operation Area. It must be mentioned that certain
production support tasks will have to be made in Pipa Norte
Mine, such as:
Secondary reduction in Extraction Points
Off-hook in Height in Extraction Points
Sampling in Extraction Points
Production Infrastructure Maintenance and Material
Handling.
Considering this, the entrance of mobile equipment
operated in manual mode and personnel to the production
area while the different operational works are being
executed, will mean that the Autonomous Operation Area
will be modified, through doors located in the production
galleries and in the accesses to the area, isolating, of this
form, the Autonomous Operation Area from the sector
where the support tasks are developed.
CONCLUSIONS
Of the exposed, it can be concluded that the Pipa Norte
Project incorporates the last standards in material handling
for Underground Mining, incorporating LHD equipment with
semiautomatic operation, secondary reduction with hydro-
fracturing system, material handling system with plate
feeders, primary crusher near to production levels, and
conveyor belts, all that are translated in simplification and
automation of the whole process.
Mineral Handling in systems like the observed one allows
to define strategies that assure with high level of
satisfaction for the client (quality, amount and opportunity),
the accomplishment of mining plans, under standards of first
cuartil of the underground mining sector, that position to
companies in an efficient and competitive way.
Application of these modern operation technologies, must
actually be reflected with high productivity standards, low
operation costs, and security, life quality, and environmental
conditions that assures the technical and economic viability
waited for the project.
680 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The system, as result of to have so advanced level of
technology never before applied in an integral form,
presents weaknesses that are fundamentally focused to:
Inexperience in production capacity for systems with
demanding production programs
Preparation of an equipment of maintenance for the
automation system that be efficient and a market that
supplies spare parts for the system.
The automation takes associated a change of practice in
complementary elements of the extraction operations like,
for example, secondary reduction.
Material handling through production line and a planning
of the made mining preparation in such a way that avoid
interferences to the zone in production, are necessaries.
Additionally with this system, the own difficulties of heavy
material handling originating of the primary rock exploitation
improve the effective operation time in their handling. The
automation produces an increase in the utilization and an
increase of the yield, because of operations can be made at
constant speeds and with equipment of a greater capacity;
also maintenance associated to the equipment is
diminished in costs fundamentally because the automatic
operation diminishes the premature wearing down of many
elements due to the better synchronization of component
functioning and also improves the information for preventive
maintenance of mobile units.
REFERENCES
1.- Pozo Rodrigo.- Operational Procedure for 13 yd3
automatic LHD, Thesis Work, University of Chile,
Santiago, Chile, 2003.
2.- Varas Fredy & Crorkan Paul.- Seminary of Automation,
Technical Visit, Rovaniemi, Finland, April 2001.
3.- Varas Fredy & Pozo Rodrigo.- Operation & Security
Procedure for 13 yd3 automatic LHD. Sernageomin.
Santiago, December 2003.
4.- Varas Fredy.- Automation of LHD Equipment, Internal
Presentation, CODELCO Chile Division El Teniente,
Rancagua, Chile, December 2002.
5.- Varas Fredy.- Material Handling Tendency in
Underground Mining. 21st Congress of Geologists and
Mining Engineers, Acapulco, Mexico, October 2001.
6.- Varas Fredy.- Mineral extraction with Semiautomatic
LHD Equipment in Block Caving Method. MININ 2004,
International Conference-Mining Innovation, Chile,
Santiago 2004.
Massmin 2004
 Mine technology and its
implementation and control
Reservas Norte Sub 6, El Teniente
Mauricio Barraza, Juan Francisco San Martn, Manuel Montecino,
El Teniente Division, Codelco, Chile

Abstract
Mining is commonly seen as a typical basic industry with rough and even dangerous working conditions, heavy
environmental load, and a low level of high-technology with much manual work and operations.
An underground mining operation is a very complex one consisting of many manual, physical, mechanical and logistical
operations with different human interfaces and decisions. For this reason it is a demanding and potential area for all
applications of information technology: controlling difficult non-linear, time varying multivariable processes and machines;
solving of ergonomic safety and environmental problems; automation of logistical systems, and information handling, etc.
In addition to that, big economic sums are involved with these operations.
On the other hand, technology has developed towards intelligent and adaptive systems including some from the above
mentioned fields. Connecting them with modern information and communication technologies makes the idea of an
intelligent and unmanned mine more and more feasible in the near future. This requires intensive co-operation and co-
ordination between the mining industry and manufacturers of mining machinery. This has been successfully
accomplished in the few-year Intelligent Mine research and development program as well as the last years of subsequent
implementation of its results in El Teniente Mine.
The basic elements of an Intelligent Mine are:
Mine-wide information and data acquisition system.
High-speed two-directional mine-wide communication network for real-time monitoring and control.
Computerized information management, mine planning, control and maintenance systems.
Machinery and equipment which are connected to the information system.
The degree of high-technology in mine depends on many technical and economical factors. The basic precondition for
such an approach is that it will improve the total economy of the mine.

1. INTRODUCTION was done in a real mining environment with the assistance

of the mine personnel.
The productivity of mines can be significantly improved
and the costs of the final product decreased by applying the The program was as follows (Table 1):
advanced mining technology and automation.
Today emphasis is given to automation of production
machinery and mine-wide information and communication
including maintenance and production control systems.
The objectives of the Implementation Technology
Programs were to increase the productivity and
profitability as well as improve the working conditions of
the miners, equipment, communication and data transfer
systems.
A mining process controlled and managed in real-time
most economically according to internal and outside
conditions. All machines and activities are integrated by bi-
directional high-speed mine-wide communication and data
networks to enable the real-time communication, monitoring
and equipment control. Mine planning, production planning
and equipment maintenance planning systems are
integrated by this network allowing all control and decision-
making of the mine to be centralized.

2. MINE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

The development program was formed in co-operation

between the mining and Modular Mining Systems
(DISPATCH - SISPAC) the emphasis is on the requirements
of the end user, the mines. The practical development work

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 681

 The technology development program is a beginning for
future development which will lead to a concept of the
Technology Mine _- an automated processes and tele-
operated machinery (Pick Hammer) which are controlled in
real-time to provide the best possible economical production
according to the internal and external conditions.

The basic elements of an Intelligent Mine for Teneinte

Sub 6 / Reservas Norte are:
Mine-Wide information and data acquisition systems.
A high-speed, two-directional, mine-wide communication
and information systems network for real-time monitoring
and control.
Computerized information management, mine planning,
control and maintenance systems.
Tele-operated machinery and equipment connected to the
mine-wide communication networks.
Communication and monitoring systems to other sector in
the mine. Figure 1: Development steps for automation and controlled
process in mine.
All these elements could not be implemented in the same
time. Therefore the development was done gradually
according to the priority requirements of the mines and step
by step to avoid bottlenecks in the total production process
(Figure 1).

The research and development work was divided into

main areas:
The real-time management of production.
Machine Tele-operated (Pick Hammer)
Production maintenance.
Safety, training and motivation.

Under the real-time management of resources and

production constituted information acquisition,
communication and information transfer as well as the
processing and utilization of this information for
management purposes. It also contained the major part of
the application of computers in mine-wide production
planning and control (Figure 2).

The projects included control of production machines in

such a way that it resulted in increased machine-working
hours, dependability and higher productivity. Included were
fault diagnostics and data acquisition systems incorporated
within the machines.

Navigation systems, modular type of production Figure 2: Real - Time Management

monitoring and fault diagnostics were developed in mines.
The production and condition control, fault diagnostics and
monitoring systems were tested in the mine-wide intelligent
condition control system (Figure 3).

Machines have become more reliable in operation. The

main goal is to increase effective time. Features of
technology machines and mine will include:
Remote operation (tele-operation).
Data communication.
Maintenance support.
Task planning and reporting.

The technology of production methods and production

maintenance covered a large area in the program. It
constituted such fields as machine maintenance, new
hoisting methods and mine profitability analysis. New
machine constructions such as a mobile underground
crusher, an automatic LHD machine, an automatic haulage
truck and charging equipment were also included in different
area of development in the mine.
Figure 3: Intelligent Production and Control System.

682 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Technology will bring new type hazards of accidents and
have an effect on work motivation. Although safety has been
taken into account within each development project, the
human role in the environment, especially in a mine, has not
yet been extensively studied. In this part of the program, the
methods and tools for introducing automation successfully
into the mine environment.
Research and Results
The period to develop the systems needed for try
organize the Intelligent Mine was made in steps: first to
investigate what was available and then develop the most
urgently needed systems and machines and make them
functional.
During that time, the testing was done in Sub 6 / Reservas
Norte an Esmeralda, the program was a success and a
good start for implementing the technology.
3. MINE IMPLEMENTATION
The Implementation Technology was development in the
major part of the machinery and systems with MODULAR
and Codelco El Teniente, the Technology Program were
being developed and tested to the stage in which they can
be implemented in the planned underground mine of
Teniente Sub 6 and Esmeralda (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Integrate Service Communication Network
The results of this program were: readiness to realize the
Intelligent Mine. The vision, have the machinery and systems
developed ready for application, and show the know-how of old
sector in the El Teniente called Teniente 4 SUR.
The technology program lasted three years (2000 - 2002)
and its estimated budget was KUSD 500. It contained 4
development projects, which were divided into four main
areas.
Implementation of advanced technology.
Data utilization.
Training and adaptation of mine personnel to the new
technology, systems and environment.
In addition the program contains two supporting projects:
Co-ordination of the program.
Project concerning with layout of advanced mining.
The objectives of the program were set according to the needs
and requirements of the Teniente Sub 6 / Reservas Norte and
Esmeralda mine. The contents comprises of the following:
Fast mine-wide communication and data networks (Figure
3).
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Systems integrated to the networks.
Machines and equipment integrated to the networks.
Mine infrastructure and personnel training.
The program was realized by the management of Codelco
EL Teniente, how contract Modular Mining System, and the
program consisted:
Further development and testing of the machinery
Developing and testing necessary additional systems and
computer programs:
Further developing and testing the compatibility of
systems in order to form one integrated system suitable
for the underground mine of Teniente Sub 6 / Reservas
Norte and Esmeralda.
Planning and carrying out a training program for the
operating personnel of the mine.
During the implementation, the mine was made ready to
apply the concept. The Teniente Sub 6 / Reserves Norte
Mine acted as the testing ground for integration of all partial
components into one functioning system and will be, in the
future, the first mine to fully utilize the concept.
4. TENIENTE SUB6 / RESERVAS NORTE
All of the projects were started in the beginning of 2000
(Table 2).
Table 2: Mine Technology Program.
During this implementation stage the new technology was
tested. Possible unknown faults or new requirements in
systems and applications were recognized and corrected.
The tasks, character of work, safety matters and
organization will change. This might cause opposition and if
not properly dealt with, can make the implementation of new
technology difficult
The mines organization has also been planned to suit the
applied new technology and best utilization of the systems
created (Figure 6).
The organization structure of the mine as described
cannot be very complex. The information is available to
everybody and the decision-making of day-to-day
production decisions is given to lower levels of organization.
The management of the mine will have more of a supporting
683
 Figure 6: Layout and Equipment distribution and control in real time.

and advising role. The lower management will deal more in
the safety issues and be ready to give advice whenever
necessary.
The operators of the different sections work as teams and
take responsibility of their own section. Different sections
assist each other and support their services when needed.
For example, the maintenance teams give services to the
production teams (Figure 7). This way the responsibility will
be shared.
The final results of the implementation are not yet seen,
but during 2004 many of the systems will be in practice. The
Teniente Sub 6 / Reservas Norte Mine will most probably
apply the technology that has been developed and has
developed it further for its own use. Some problems are yet
to be solved but as the mine development continues the
solutions for these problems will be found. It is too early to
say that all applications of the systems, machinery and
organizational changes will be a success but so far there
have been no impossible situations.
5. FUTURE
The future development at Reservas Norte mine will be in
the consolidation of the Handheld PC used by the shift boss.
PC that allows to have on line the information of the
production and machines running on the field.
This Handheld device makes possible the access to the
same information that is available at the UNIX or main
PCs.
To make this possible it was necessary to install a
wireless communication system (access point) so that
information can be captured and showed in real time for the

Figure 7: The Maintenance Products

684 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

users of this device, the configuration of the wireless system
is showing in figure 8.
Figure 8: Access communication for the real time
information
The signal makes possible to move around the room
offices at the Sub-6 level and through the main access, at
the production area. The figure 9 shows in green where this
wireless net is available.
Figure 9: Net layout in the production level for wireless
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Besides that efforts must be set in the integration of the
total production area (LHD, secondary reduction and pick
hammer) and haulage (Trucks) activities.
6. CONCLUSION
As a conclusion, it could be said that both of these
Technology Programs have given much to the Teniente
Sub 6 / reserves Norte mining and mining machinery
manufacturing industries.
The mining industry has had a chance to develop its mine
management systems, methods of increasing productivity
and safety.
The mining machinery manufacturers have had a good
opportunity to develop their machinery, technology and
systems integrated to the machines and so to increase
their competitiveness in the market.
The Company has had a good opportunity to increase
and develop its know-how and so to be able to produce
more confident mining engineers and workers.
7. REFERENCE
Barraza, M., and Zamora, A. (2001) "Automatizacin de la
Extraccin en Pannel Caving" IM2, Codelco Internal
report, Brisbane, Australia.
Barraza, M., San Martin, J., Bonani, A., and Alvial, J.
(2000) "Grupo de tarea planificacin mina Sub 6", PL-I-
200/2000, Internal report, Codelco Chile Divisin El
Teniente.
Baiden, G.R. (2001) "TeleminingTM System Applied to
Hard Rock Metal at Inco Limited" Underground Mining
Methods, ed. SME 2001, pp 671 712, USA.
Brunner, D.T. (2001) "Simulation of Underground Mining
Operations" Underground Mining Methods, ed. SME
2001, pp 705 679, USA.
San Martin, J., and Alvial, J. (2000) "Contrato con Modular
Mining System, Internal report, Superintendencia Mina
2000, Codelco Chile Divisin El Teniente.
Sturgul, J.R.(2000) " Using Animation of Mining
Operations as Presentation Models" Mine Planning and
Equipment Selection, Panagiotou & Michalakopoulos
(eds) 2000 Balkema, Rotterdam .
685
 Codelco El Teniente - Loading
automation in panel caving
using AutoMine
Vic Schweikart, Prof. Eng., M.Sc., MBA, Sandvik Chile
Timo Soikkeli, Lic.Sc., Sandvik Tamrock Corp., Finland

Abstract
In the world of commodities, copper is a highly competitive market that forces mining houses to continuously improve
and optimise production. El Tenientes objective is to use the best technologies to automate the production processes.
Following an extensive review of equipment and system suppliers available worldwide, Codelco selected Sandvik
Tamrock of Finland, industry leader in this field, to provide Sandvik Tamrocks AutoMine system, a proven
commercially technology, to automate the LHD fleets at the Pipa Norte and Diablo Regimiento mines.
Pipa Norte and Diablo Regimiento deposits will be mined with pre-undercut panel caving at 10 000 t/d and 28 000 t/d
respectively. Pipas fleet, the three Toro 0010C, is currently being commissioned. Delivery of the Toros for Diablo
Regimiento mine started in February 2004 and will continue until 2016. Fully automated Toro 0010C LHDs will be
operated from a single control room outside the mines. A powerful communication system transmits control and
operating data between each unit and the control room. This system connects to the mines production and maintenance
systems enabling high fleet utilization and quality draw control. The autonomous LHD fleet sets revolutionary standards
of performance cost cutting and safety for underground ore extraction and transportation processes.

1 INTRODUCTION
Monitoring, instrumentation and automation have become
attractive technological choices in massive mining
applications. Mining methods like block caving, where large
amounts of material are moved during steady state
production support a well automated operation. The higher
degree of automation in a mining application will be best
applied to a smooth and streamlined mining process and
operation. The challenge is then to master the effect of
process disturbances or discontinuities like secondary
breaking.
The obvious expected result of an automated system is
the increase in utilisation of equipment and decrease in
operative unit cost. To achieve this objective, several
optimisation steps must be followed.
The actual performance of the selected mobile equipment
technology will rely on the support
functions, infrastructure, and user interface and user
acceptance. Optimising the technology to match the
circumstances is an increasingly important phase in a mine
feasibility study.
The automated system must be functional in the given
mining process and the mine layout applicable to automated
operation. Only when the full system with machinery,
process control, communication and operator interface has
been identified, the final economical justification can be
made.
Careful evaluation of both technical and economical
aspects of different degrees of automation in given
circumstances should precede any automation
commitment. The approach that Sandvik Tamrock and El
Teniente mine have taken in evaluating automation for the
Pipa Norte panel block cave mine included a review of the
given processes and conditions and the suitability for
automation and the evaluation of risks and critical points in
the systems. Then, the actual automation feasibility by
using the AutoMine solution was reviewed against the
overall economy and rate of return of the given options and
in further detail analyses the proposed automated system.
Mines are moving towards real time process control and
resource monitoring systems. They combine the use of
simulation tools for production forecasting and evaluating
changing situations. This in turn means that processes are
well defined and the resources carefully thought of. The
resources will be increasingly more dedicated in
autonomous system where moving a unit from one area to
the other may not be possible at all.
An increasing desire for lower cost and more massive
operations moving to deeper deposits and decreasing
human involvement will eventually lead to developing
mining methods and processes more suitable for
automation.
2 EL TENIENTE PIPA NORTE MINE
Pipa Norte and Diablo Regimiento deposits will be
exploited by pre-undercut panel caving at 10 000 t/d and 28
000 t/d respectively. In the pre-undercut panel caving
operation planned for Pipa Norte and Diablo Regimiento,
fractured rock gravitates through to drawpoints on the
production level. Drilling and blasting or other secondary
breaking methods will break oversize boulders that block
the drawpoints. Pipa Nortes fleet uses three fully
automated Toro 0010C LHDs, each with a nominal capacity
of 17,5t currently being commissioned. Diablo Regimiento
mine will operate with ten Toro 0010C that will be
commissioned by June 2005.
Obviously, these two mines have their own
characteristics, but both of them will have the same
AutoMine solution, and for simplicity, this paper refers to
Pipa Norte mine only.
The Pipa Norte AutoMine system transports rock
directly to the one crusher. Crushed rock is conveyed to an
ore pass and then transported by train outside the mine for
processing. The secondary breaking and loading process
takes place 24 hours per day and 7 days per week.
Operational delays including shift change, lunch and tea
breaks constitute a major percentage of total LHD
downtime. These delays are reduced in both frequency and

686 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

duration by removing the local operator from the LHD.
Additionally, removal of personnel from operational areas
reduces the potential for accidents to occur. The local
operator on board of the LHD is replaced by tele-remote
control from a central control room located some 10km
outside the mine for functions, such as loading, which
require decision making. On-board computers control
routine functions, such as tramming and tipping.
Pipa Norte will operate a panel cave comprising 188
drawpoints arranged on 15 production tunnels (Figure 1).
Initially, the automatic LHDs operate in the seven most
northern tunnels of the mine (top of Figure 1), an area that
is both static and concentrated. As time goes pass,
production is taken from southern tunnels and the northern
tunnels are released once their drawpoints are exhausted.
Pipa Norte production area will be developed
progressively from north to south and so will be the
extraction of caved ore from drawpoints. There will
consequently be little interaction between development and
production crews, so that extraction operations will be of low
complexity and routine. All underground infrastructure is
new and designed for purpose.
The fifteen production tunnels and the main haulage
("zocavon") that comprises the production area will remain
discreetly static for the 10-year life of the operation. This
situation encourages the establishment of a rigid LHD
operating concept supported by the AutoMine system in
order to achieve higher than average availability and
utilisation factors.
Figure 1. Pipa Norte Mine Layout
To achieve this, the LHDs will not leave the production
area, except for planned maintenance events or major
breakdowns, when they will be removed to the Diablo
Regimiento workshop, some 500 meters away.
The process of refuelling, topping up oil and lubricating
the machines will be carried out at the south-east end of the
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
production area (refer to bottom of Figure 1) and scheduled
through the Mission Control of the AutoMine system. A
team of maintenance personnel will take the LHD out of the
autonomous area through the Transit Lock and the shift and
daily maintenance functions will be performed while the
machine is being serviced.
Fleet availability is based on planned downtime hours to
perform scheduled maintenance services and unplanned
downtime hours to perform unscheduled repairs or
breakdown work. There is no experience to accurately
predict unplanned downtime in an automatic operation.
However, with real time condition monitoring it should be
feasible to achieve a diagnostic capability so that at least
15% of potential failures of the manual operation are
diagnosed and rectified during existing planned downtime.
It is assumed that this improvement offsets any additional
downtime associated with the AutoMine system and the
downtime is therefore about the same as manually operated
LHDs.
As the operator is located in the surface Control Room,
the operator line-up time will be used to accomplish a 'hot-
seat change' with no time lost. During the shift, the
operators will change out for rest and lunch breaks as
required.
Only one operator per shift is scheduled for all three Pipa
LHDs. This same operator is responsible for the crusher
hammer. However, this situation will be reviewed during the
operations phase. Time lost during changes of operators
has been estimated at five minutes per shift.
From the cost point of view, the main advantage of
operating automatic LHDs is primarily related to labour and
maintenance costs. For example, Pipa Norte AutoMine
system requires (four) 4 operators; if these LHDs would
have been operated manually, it would have required 16
operators on the four shifts. On the maintenance side, the
number of full time fitters required to maintain a fleet of
automatic LHDs is similar to the requirements of a
conventional fleet however, the former require a full time
electrical/instrumentation technician per shift. It is also
correct to say that the autonomous fleet requires a higher
level of technical skills.
Some conclusions can be made about the maintenance
and operating costs of an autonomous LHD fleet from a
combination of first principal (Predictive Operating Cost
Model) and experience at Kiruna. Service and maintenance
spares costs will be less expensive for automatic LHDs due
to smoother operation and less frequent contact with the
walls of the haulage. Tyre life is significantly higher, about
33%, for automatically operated LHDs, as proved at Kiruna.
Bucket costs, fuel consumption per tonne of ore produced,
and oil and lubricant costs in an autonomous LHD are about
the same as the one for manually operated machines.
3 AUTOMINE OPERATIONS
The AutoMine system of three autonomous LHDs being
commissioned at Pipa Norte was developed by Sandvik
Tamrock to achieve the economic and safety objectives of
removing the operator from the machine. A schematic of the
major subsystems and interconnections between the
systems is presented in Figure 2.
When the autonomous LHD approaches the allocated
drawpoint, the Mission Control System (MCS) alerts the
operator that an LHD is about to require the bucket filled.
The operator takes command of the LHD. After the tele-
remote mode is selected, the control system switches data
and video signals so that direct communication is
established between the LHD and tele-remote operator
station.
The tele-remote operator fills the LHD bucket using
joysticks and pedals at the operator chair located in Colon.
687
The filled bucket is then trimmed to drop off excessive ore,
thus avoiding spillage on the road. After loading is finished
the operator gives the 'go to crusher' order, the specific
crusher tipping point having determined by the system.
When the bucket is emptied, the LHD alerts the MCS that
it is available for a new drawpoint assignment. The MCS
informs the system that the LHD has completed its dumping
mission and waits for a mission to tram to a drawpoint.
Upon receiving a new assignment, the LHD exits the
crusher tip and trams autonomously to the assigned
drawpoint. MCS also prepare the automatic LHDs for
routine re-fuelling and shift services as well as The LHD
trams autonomously from the drawpoint to the crusher and
back under the navigation system. The LHD is in Auto-
mode. The operator can, at any stage switch the LHD to
Remote Standby, Semi-Auto or Remote mode if required.
The switching takes effect on-line without stopping the LHD.
While tramming, the MCS controls the LHD path,
performs traffic control and communicates the LHD status,
location and heading to the system.
When an LHD approaches the dumping position at the
crusher tip, a water mist spray system is activated
automatically. In the event of the tip becoming unavailable
when a loader is on its way, the Mission Control System will
alert the LHD to avoid tipping. The LHD will not tip if the
hammer is in use or the crusher bin level is high.
In the event of an LHD breakdown the system informs the
workshop and the Control Room, then exclude the LHD from
the assignment logic and prepare the LHD for manual control.
Other LHDs will be excluded from the tunnel where the
breakdown has occurred. The Access Control System, ACS,
performs a shutdown procedure and a "Safe Path" so that
maintenance personnel can gain access to the machine.
The production area isolation is achieved with both
physical gates and optical barriers that are part of the
Figure 2. Semi-autonomous LHD Subsystems.
688 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Access Control System. The gates are constructed so that
they physically prevent human access into the isolated
production area. The optical barriers detect any entries into
the production area and will stop the LHD fleet if one of them
activates them. The Access Control System for the
production area safety barriers is an independent system
and operates as a supervisory system to the MCS.
The production tunnels isolation is done per unit by
using "Access Gates". An Access Gate includes a physical
steel gate with an electric lock that is engaged when the
gate is activated. The lock also detects that the gate is
closed and locked with feedback to the Access Control
user interface in the Control Room. Also, attached to the
gate are zone status lights and a horn that indicate the
status of the autonomous area and warns personnel,
respectively.
An Access Gate also includes one set of infrared barriers
to allow entry for service and maintenance personnel
without stopping the production in other tunnels. The main
haulage drive, "main zocavon" is the backbone for the
autonomous LHD traffic. It is therefore free of any isolation
device.
The Access Gates field cabinet and control box each have
a fast stop button that stops all autonomous machines in the
production zone when pressed. Pressing a fast stop button
also disengages the electric lock to permit evacuation of the
area in a mine emergency situation.
The field cabinet and control box also have a key switch
that is used to activate the gates. This ensures only
authorised personnel with a key can activate the ACS.
The whole production area isolation is achieved by means
of the "Transit Lock". A transit lock is a double gate
arrangement used to introduce and remove an autonomous
machine from the autonomous area whilst allowing other
autonomous machines to continue operating.
Massmin 2004
 The transit lock utilises two interlocked access gates. The
outer gate, on the manual zone side, is opened and closed
manually by authorised underground mine personnel. This
gate is kept closed during the automatic operation. The
inner gate, on the autonomous zone side, has electric
motors to enable the gate blades to be opened and closed
remotely from the field cabinets. The inner gate can also be
opened from the ACS user interface in the control room.
The Transit Lock uses the same components as an
Access Gate with the addition of an ultrasonic sensor for
detecting when a machine is in the transit lock.
Furthermore, a transit lock has an identification system used
to detect the ID of the machine so that the system knows
which machine is being introduced or removed to/from the
autonomous area.
Violation of the isolated production area by opening a
physical gate or crossing an infrared barrier stops the
automatic LHDs operating in the area and also creates an
alarm at the Control Room. The tele-operator at the Control
Room also has the option of reaching the production area
by radio or telephone (the latter at the Transit Lock only).
When a production tunnel is allocated for automatic
operation, it is isolated by opening the infrared barrier in the
main haulage end. The optical barriers are also disabled at
the main haulage end.
In the event of fire, all automatic LHDs go into emergency
stop status and all safety barriers are opened for free
evacuation.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
4 CONCLUSIONS
Sandvik Tamrock has developed the technology required
to implement automatic loading, and it is commercially
available under the name of AutoMine. AutoMine is
being commissioned at Pipa Norte mine at El Teniente in
Chile at the time of writing this paper. In parallel, another
AutoMine system is in its early installation phase at Diablo
Regimiento mine, also at El Teniente in Chile.
A major benefit is the removal of the operators from the
underground to a safe controlled working environment on
surface. A financial evaluation indicates significant potential
cost savings for automatic operation. The additional costs
of the system and the skilled labour to maintain it are offset
by a reduction in the number of operators, greater LHD
utilisation and a reduction in spares consumption.
REFERENCES
Internal Report Sandvik-Tamrock, Document Number
62100-2, 2003. Automated Hauling System, Technical
Description.
Schweikart, V., Control and Monitoring Systems at the
Palabora Underground Mine, Telemine 1, June 1999,
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
689
 PCRB-Surface control
centre for mine automation
Fredrik Kangas, Technical Development Sub-level Caving and Transportation Level, LKAB
Carl-Erik Emmoth, Superintendent Sublevel Caving and Transportation Level, LKAB
Pr Lindahl, Vice President of Ifa Production Development AB

Abstract
The development and implementation during the last years of advanced technology such as remote control and
automation within the Kiruna mine has changed the character of mining. Mine operation is now becoming more and more
alike any advanced process industry.
In a development project carried out jointly by LKAB and Ifa Production Development AB these new pre-requisites have
been full. Exploited, A new concept of production control, process management and organisation has been developed
where all production units will be linked together in a joint Production Centre Kiruna, placed at surface level.
The corner stones of the concept are using the benefits of modern technique in combination with taking advantage of
human skills for key tasks. In a production centre the personnel that control and co-ordinate the operations are placed.
The Production Centre is in turn linked to Operation Stations at key areas in the mine for specific tasks such as loading
and haulage. The concept gives room for a constant development off skills and offer opportunities for continuance
improvements off the mining process
The mining operators in the production centre will control and supervise the load to hoisting process by remote control
and be in charge of planning and delivering of ton and quality from the ore factory on a weekly basis to the refining plant
above surface.

1. INTRODUCTION

Kirunavaara iron ore mine is the third biggest under-

ground mine in the world and is located in the north of
Sweden about 200 km north of the polar circle.
The mine daily produce between 60 to 75 kton raw
material iron ore in three qualities containing more or less
Phosphor, Potassium and waste rock.
The mine started to produce about 1902 in an open pit mine
and went underground in 1962 and is today a highly automated
mine. The production technique is sub-level cave mining with
draw points mainly at the 820 meter level, loading to ore passes
down to the 1045 meter main level for haulage by train to
crushers and then hoisted in two steps before surface.
Every year the automated machines drill 70% of our
production drilling, load 30% of our raw material iron ore and Figure 1: An ilustratation of the Kiruna mine ore body with
remote controlled boulder breaker treats 30% of our boulder infrastructure for transport of personnel, ore and air.
on grizzlies. We remote control all chutes when we load our
trains on the fully automated main level and hoist it to our
refining plants above surface. Kiruna iron ore mine is a few From that observation the curiosity made us look over our
years from fully automated production and taking the step total process from mine to harbour and we found out that the
over from traditional mining to general process industry. operator in most cases worked in a similar way. Every
We are in this very minute operating the automated operator optimised his own process with little regard of the
process from above surface and preparing the organisation process before and the process after. Several examples
to work in a new way. The organisation is based on the were found that showed weaknesses in communication
concept of providing power of decision and skills night and between the process steps with production losses as result.
day through process focused organisation. The investigation lead to a project with the goal to give an
alternative solution to monitor and steer the process from
2. PROJECT HISTORY mine to harbour. In 2001 the project delivered a case model
of how the process could be controlled from a production
At 1999 the first semi automated and remote con-trolled centre. And the same year the project group was asked to
LHD was tried out in the Kiruna mine. About one year later realise the idea in a first step were the mine should be
we first observed how little influence the automation had on operated from a production centre above surface.
the operators. The only difference was that the operator did The development of the practical solution took about two
not sit in the machine. In every other way he was still years and involved more than sixty people, mainly workers. To
working like he was sitting in the LHD far from the process succeed with the idea we had to create a will of change in the
information that now was available. organisation so we could take full benefits of motivated

690 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 2: Over view picture that describes remote controlled
loading system from navigation to control.
employees who are qualified to take fast and accurate
decisions. Employees who supervise and operate the process
and maintain the facilities to achieve right quality in the raw
material ore and high reliability in the facility.
3. PRODUCTION CENTRE CONCEPT
The Production Centre Concept introduce enrapture to
traditional mining technique where every operator or driver
is working with a well-defined part of the process and is an
owner of his specific facility or machine.
The traditional solution creates constant sub
optimisations and depends strongly on high accuracy in
over all planing. Every day things happen for a single
operation that makes it impossible to produce according to
the original production plan. The overall process is thus
often disturbed. The process becomes dependent on a
strong staffs and special functions that supervise the
process and takes the decision on how to operate every part
of the process. The solution has long lead times and poor
motivation, and does not support own initiatives from the
mining personnel. In the same way the strong relation
between op-erator and machine affects in a negative way
the contact between operator and maintenance personnel.
The Production Centre Concept in a way separates
production and maintenance in teams that have a clear focus
Figure 3: Production Centre Concept in Kiruma mine. New
York places that are tools for the self-learning organisation
described in the right corner.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
and high knowledge of its own area. The daily production relies
on those teams. To overcome the distance between the teams
we support communication with regular meetings and the
same process information in real time solutions.
The production team that has its home in the Production
Centre is working with a strong focus to optimise the
process. The Production Centre is the heart of the
production assignment. The process is supported by high
quality maintenance that keeps the facilities and machines
in full production. That service is given by Operation Centres
that perform mainly scheduled maintenance but has a
central function in teams that perform supervision and
emergency maintenance on the facilities. This Operation
Team is a link between process and facilities and is in con-
stant communication with both the Production Team and
Supporting functions as scheduled maintenance, production
system maintenance, technicians, etc.
If you can take a decision, take it! The key is to give as
many as possible the information and knowledge to take it.
4. CONCLUSIONS
The conclusion of the project is that automation of a
process is far more than expensive investments in
sophisticated technique. Often companies have long time
plans fore technical development and investments but
ignore the fact that we need qualified staff to operate and
maintain the production system.
When the production speed increases and the quality
expectations accelerate many companies stand without the
personnel to match the expectations. The result is long payoff
times on investments and higher risk to deliver low quality
products during the rebuilding and adaptation of the
organisation to the new production system. You will never
regain the losses, and in most cases never reach the optimised
solution you will get when you have an organisation that asks
for automation and better technical solutions. Only a thoroughly
designed organisation with high degrees of decision making
power on the right level can give you that benefit.
Figure 4: Mining industry has the possibility ta take huge
steps in automation level but it takes big effors to succeed.
That hardest struggle will be organisation related.
If you get the right organisation around the produc-tion
assignment a good guess is that you can reduce the time to
gain full production on a new facility with 30 to 50 percent
and increase the full capacity on a new or old facility with 5
to 20 percent.
691
 Introduction of autonomous loaders
to Olympic dam operations, Australia
Charles McHugh, Group Manager Mining Technologies, WMC Resources Ltd.

Abstract
WMC Resources Ltd has been involved the development and trialling of an automated load haul dump vehicle system
since 1997. This paper describes the introduction of the system into the Olympic Dam Operation and its performance
compared with existing manual loaders. In certain situations the autotram loader will outperform the manual operation,
particularly on the longer distances. There were no personnel injuries associated with the operation of the system during
the testing period. The major operational issues with the system are discussed and the direction for future improvements
outlined.

1 INTRODUCTION The DAS system was transported back to ODO for

The Olympic Dam Operation (ODO) is owned by a
subsidury of WMC Resources Ltd (WMCR). ODO is
Australias largest underground mine located some 550km
north of Adelaide in South Australia. The orebody was
discovered in 1975 and had undergone several expansions
with the last one completed in 2002. The mine is
polymetallic and produces 200,000 copper tonnes per year
along with uranium, gold and silver. The mine produces
approximately 10 million tonnes of run of mine ore per
annum from open stoping methods and backfilling with
cemented aggregate fill. The mine has highly automated
transportation systems that includes an automated
underground train and shaft.
The mine has been involved in the development and
testing of an automated load dump vehicle system for four
years.
2 HISTORY OF PROTO-TYPE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
WMCR had sponsored two automated loader projects
from as early as 1997. One was with the Company, Lateral
Dynamics (LD) and the other was the Australian Mineral
Industry Research Association (AMIRA) Project P517. LD
had tested a proto-type at the WMCR Perseverance Mine
on an Elphinstone R1600 and it had proven to have greater
productivity than tele-remote systems in retreat longhole
stopes by at least 40%. LD formed a joint venture company
with Caterpillar.
The company was called Dynamic Automation Systems
(DAS). DAS under licence combined parts of the AMIRA
P517 into their system. The system is now marketed as
MINEGEM.
The DAS system was taken to ODO for testing in 1999
and fitted to an Elphinstone R2900 loader. The control
centre was set up underground near the production area.
The loader had 18,000 hours of service and was very old.
There were problems of control when speeds were
increased over 5km/hour. In March 2001 WMCR decided
take the DAS system to the Queensland Centre for
Advanced Technologies (QCAT) to determine the cause of
the speed problem. It was determined to be a combination
of latency from an internal remote control modem and
hydraulic pilot valve. By April 2001 the DAS system had
demonstrated that a R2900 loader was capable of speeds
over 15km/hr in third gear at the QCAT test track.
production testing. The control centre was set up on surface
and communication to the production area was via optic
fibre and microwave radio network. The cable transmission
was 100 Mb/s between radio cells and 11Mb/s for the
wireless ethernet between the autotram vehicle using
802.11b standard. The small latency in the on board
cameras did not affect tele-remote bogging performance.
One week after re-commissioning at ODO, the loader was
involved in an uncontrolled movement.
The loader drove 25 metres out of the production control
area, through the safety barrier gate, colliding with a Volvo
service loader and running over a light vehicle. The loader
came to rest in a stockpile and shutdown before any
analysis could be performed.
All automation testing was immediately suspended and a
thorough investigation was performed. Ironically this was
one of the most computer monitored mining accidents at the
mine but it remains unclear as to the exact cause.
The investigation concluded the most likely cause of the
accident was a severe shock in the lowering of the bucket
during loading causing the on board computer to crash. The
computer continue to output the final control signal of first
gear reverse. The continual collision with the wall as the
loader was moving prevented the computer from doing a
complete reboot. When the loader stopped in the stockpile
it was able to reboot and immediately shutdown as it had
lost communications.
The system was redesigned based on the investigation
with the following important safety features.
A completely independent safety system (ISS) that shuts
down the fuel solenoid.
The ISS is a Category 3 European rated and Australian
Standard rated electrical safety system complying with
EN 954-1 and AS4024.1 respectively.
The onboard computer is a PC104 industrial computer.
An independent onboard mission recorder similar to an
aircraft "black box".
Software re-written using real time operating systems.
The system was then tested on a new R2900 loader at the
Caterpillar mine simulation facility in Burnie, Tasmania for
200 hours. It was dismantled and sent to ODO for further
testing in July 2002. A new R2900 was hired for the duration
of the first trial in the 42 Orange 20 Stope. The display of the
unit from the ODO autotram control room is displayed in
Figure 1.

692 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 1: Autotram control room showing orepass grizzly,
vehicle health, cameras, map route layout, independent
safety system status and control stick.
3 PRODUCTION TRIAL AT THE 42 ORANGE 20 STOPE
The loader was setup in the 42 Orange 20 stope with 24
hour coverage using 2 x 12 hour shifts. The route included
a 100m section with a 1:8 gradient. It was necessary to
make two, three point turns during a full cycle due to the
position of the safety barrier gate. The stope had two active
draw points. The results are displayed in Table 1. Initial
results using a 15 tonne per bucket assumption were very
encouraging. The average over 18 days or 36 shifts was just
over 80 buckets or 1160 tonnes per shift.
Table 1:Summary of Automated Production Trial
42 Orange 20 Stope Average of Cycle Time
Operating Hours 266
Total Cycles 2,786
Average Cycle Time (min) 3.75
Tonnes 41,790
One Way Distance (m) 220
The 42 Orange 20 stope contained a low amount of
oversize rocks. The operators achieved very good
productivity even during on the job training. Within four shifts
operators were generally very comfortable with the system.
The tramming and dumping were automated so the
variation in terms of buckets per hour was very low. The
tele-remote bogging took an average of 45 seconds. The
system was influenced more by factors other than the skill
of the operator.
The Caterpillar Autodig was used in conjunction with
the automated tramming but was discontinued after three
shifts because of the following reasons.
The large variation in rock sizes which seemed to pulse
between large and small made correct manual setting of
the Autodig difficult.
The Autodig managed to fill buckets in one pass
approximately 30% of the time.
The Autodig would try to straighten out the machine
while bogging on left full lock causing the rear end to
swing into adjacent wall during reversing.
The use of Autodig was discontinued as tele-remote
bogging is more efficient even until this time.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
The speed of the loader was tested up to 20km/hr in 3rd
gear but this speed was limited by second gear during
production due to concerns about road conditions. The
speeds were determined by the operators based on manual
operation experience. The maximum speed obtained in 2nd
gear reverse was 14km/hr. It was observed that if the
machine was programmed to attempt a corner too fast in
reverse then it would have a "rear bucket swipe" collision.
This would cause the bucket teeth to touch the wall. The
major collision damage was caused during tele-remote
operation with operators breaking off bucket teeth adaptor
plates. This would take approximately five hours to repair.
Collisions with the wall under automated mode were very
minor. This indicates that the major collision damage occurs
in the 5m approach to the muckpile during tele-remote
operation.
The autotram system was shown to operate between shift
breaks and even during major stope firings. Shift handover
took just a few minutes on surface. The system was able to
work through major dust episodes in which normal manual
operation would have ceased. Dust was generally caused
when there was major rock pile movement of an open
drawpoint.
Re-fuelling was performed at mid shift at the mine central
refuelling point by the underground maintenance crew.
This allowed operation between shifts. The fuel capacity
was for 14 hours continuous production and the operators
adjusted re-fuelling schedule according the maintenance
schedule. Road maintenance was scheduled during re-
fuelling. The guidance lasers were cleaned during servicing
with a clean rag.
The maintenance personnel commented that in some
places the road was so badly damaged it was not possible
to drive manually faster than first gear at 5km/hr without
causing injury to oneself, whereas the autotram loader had
been travelling at 12km/hr.
Towards the end of the testing the stope was almost
empty. Normally this would require tele-remote bogging
then manual tramming to the grizzly. In this case it was
decided to continue using the autotram loader reducing the
need for double handling.
An early comparison was performed when road
conditions were good between a manual loader and the
automated loader for 15 cycles for instantaneous production
rate and results are displayed in Table 2. Even with
variations in rock sizes it can be said that manual loader
was quicker however the following observations were made.
The operator could not sustain the rate of production due
to operator fatigue.
The operator was allowed to use third gear.
The operator used a sightly quicker path because of no
path restriction on the safety barricade gate.
Autotram dump was set at 30 seconds (this was reduced
later to 12 seconds).
Table 2: Average Instantaneous Cycle Time
42 Orange 20 Stope Average of Cycle Time
Automated Loader 3.75 minutes
Manual Loader 2.83 minutes
A high level comparison of the autotram at the 42 Orange
20 stope and the average of the manual loaders across the
whole mine at that time was performed.
It was found that the autotram loader was 67% productive
in terms of tonnes per shift per loader but 175% in terms of
tonnes per shift per loader per stope. The results are
displayed in Table 3.
693
 Table 3: Comparison of Manual With Automated
42 Orange 20 Stope Manual Automated
Tonnes/Shift/Loader 1740 1160
Stopes 2.7 1 becoming bored and had taken to reading between bogging.
Number of Drawpoints 6.75 2
Tonnes/Shift/Loader/Stope 660 1160
One Way Distance (m) 220 220
The automated loader was not able to move to other
available areas when oversize rocks were encountered or
roads degraded as there were no other communication
network setups. All situations had to be dealt with
immediately. Manual loaders were able to move to other
stopes when they could not deal with the problems.
The large amount of oversize rocks in all stopes required
a mobile rockbreaker operator to work as a team with the
manual loader operator. The automated loader operator had
no rockbreaker because the rockbreaker at the time was not
remote controlled. Large rocks were broken by repeat
dumping on the grizzly. If this was unsuccessful then rocks
would be transported to a popping bay. Estimation of loader
productivity lost due to absence of rockbreaker by
production personnel was approximately 400 tonnes per
shift.
The autotram has demonstrated by ensuring that the
loader stays in one stope it is more likely that operators will
follow the correct sequence of mining
The loader was taken to a new stope to commence work.
The loader was involved in a collision with the wall during
some routine testing that resulted in severe damage to the
unit including twisting of the chassis. An investigation
revealed the unit was not in automated mode. The loader
was removed from service and the MINEGEM system
installed on an older production loader.
4 PRODUCTION TRIALS AT THE PURPLE STOPES
A four month production trial was performed from 10th of
October 2002 to 17th of January 2003. A summary of the
key performance indicators are given below in Table 4 by
Bryan (2003).
Table 4: Summary of Automated Production Trial
Purple 21 Purple 71
Operating Hours 363 134
Cycles 5,723 748
Average Cycle Time (min) 3.8 10.7
Tonnes 71,556 11,489
One Way Distance (m) 178 349
After initial testing the total system demonstrated
availabilities over 90% with the main cause of down time
being the radio cell reliability. The biggest cause of utilisation
downtime was breakdown maintenance and oversize rocks.
A comparison between average manual stope loaders and
single unit automation was made, allowing for factors such
as large rocks, hang-ups and full passes. Over the four
month trial it was shown that the average manual loader
worked approximately 4.8 hours per shift and the autotram
worked 6.7 hours per shift. The instantaneous production
rate of the manual loaders was up to 30% higher but the
autotram cycle time had significant room for improvement in
the same order of magnitude. The computer monitoring and
694 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
operator free time between tramming cycles allowed for
very accurate recording of the causes of production
downtime. There were no reported injuries associated with
the autotram loader during the production trial.
In the longer haul distances, operators reported of
A subtle but important change had occurred, the operators
had become supervisors.
5 MULTIPLE AUTOTRAM TRIAL
AT THE 56 AMBER 25 STOPE
In August 2003 in the 56 Amber 24 stope, a second unit
was fitted with MINEGEM and two loaders were
demonstrated to be operating in the same area, controlled
from surface by one operator. The map route is displayed in
Figure 2.
The traffic control system while about 50% reliable
showed that operator intervention provided almost no lost
time in productivity.
Over 430m it was demonstrated that the productivity was
approximately 1.8 times the estimated time for one autotram
loader due to queing. Queing generally occurred if the cycle
was delayed due to difficult bogging. The cycle time average
was 9.5 minutes.
The traffic control system calculated the most appropriate
place for passing to optimise cycle times of both units. The
barrier gate was replaced with a laser system and warning
sign. This significantly reduced setup time. Manual
tramming to the orepass was considered too fatiguing for
the operators.
During this trial the Co-operative Research Centre for
Mining based in Brisbane, Australia, had developed an
underground haul road duty meter with a road severity
index. This unit was fitted to one of the loaders and was able
to map the roughness of the road during each cycle. It could
be seen there was greater roughness at the drawpoints and
turning points as the road deteriorated.
Future work will focus on productivity versus road quality
and maintenance regimes. The trial was suspended after
one week and 10,000 ore tonnes removal due to a major
misfire in the stope.
Figure 2: 56 Amber 24 multiple autotram loaders with haul
road duty meter fitted.
After this trial it became imperative that a form of remote
rock breaking at the grizzly was required to ensure
clearance of large rocks.
A project was formed in November 2003 to remote control
a Caterpillar 325 excavator with a rock breaker attachment.
Massmin 2004
It was successfully controlled from the surface using
existing communication infrastructure. It is now possible for
one person to control two loaders and one rock breaker at
the same time. Without automated digging it was felt three
machines would be the maximum number to be operated by
one person efficiently.
6 COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
A single MINEGEM system would cost approximately
40% of the capital for a new 20 tonne capacity load haul
dump vehicle. This would reduce to 25% for multiple units.
This assumes three radio cells per area. The training time
for new operators with some computer experience is a few
days compared with manual loader system of several
months. When one operator begins to operate several units
the advantages become very apparent. Tele-remote
systems are cheaper in capital however the MINEGEM
offers productivities at least 40% greater.
The support for the system requires a set of modular
hardwared spares kept at the mine site. DAS provide 24
hour coverage via the internet for system trouble shooting
which reduces the need for a permanent on site technician.
Important achievements during autotram loader trialling
include:
The unit has performed up to 235 cycles in a 12 hour shift
over a 70m haul distance.
The unit has performed up to 155 cycles in a 12 hours
shift over a 220m haul distance.
The unit has performed up to 70 cycles in a 12 hour shift
over 430m haul distance.
The system has been used on 8 different loaders of
different sizes and manufacturers.
The system has been used in 7 different stoping areas.
The system can installed in one week if the optic fibre is
available in the area.
The integration of the autotram system into the mine must
be considered carefully as initially there will be large
production penalties as manual system interactions place
restrictions on the automated systems.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
7 CONCLUSION
The MINEGEM automated loader system at ODO can
be considered very successful although not fully integrated
into the mine. It cannot yet be said that the automated
system will outperform manual system in every situation all
the time. The anecdotal evidence suggests that the
autotram will outperform manual operation in distances over
200m. There is no comparison with tele-remote systems in
terms of productivity.
The system has shown to be reliable and accepted by
operators. The training time to learn the system and get to
full productivity is less than 10% of manual systems. The
additional 25% cost in capital for multiple automated
systems must be clearly considered in terms of mine
integration to ensure maximum productivity is achieved. The
change to the automated system requires full management
and operator support if it is to become the new business
process.
The following issues in order of importance must be
addressed in the future to increase the productivity of the
system.
Methods for remotely removing large rocks at drawpoints.
Road construction and maintenance.
Bigger fuel and grease capacity.
Smart automated digging.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thank DAS, QCAT and ODO
mine personnel, especially J.Lachmund, J.Lever, J.Kerr and
D.Leonard for having the positive attitude to make the vision
work. A special thanks to I. Bryan for mentoring everyone
during the trials.
REFERENCES
Bryan, I, 2003. Auto-tram Loader Transfer Project Close
Out Report. STEM Partnership Consultant Report 25p.
695
 Use of the modular dispatch system
to control production operations
at the DOZ block cave mine
Rudy Prasetyo, Superintendent Cave Management, David C. Flint, Technical Expert Cave Management,
Tarsisus B. Setyoko, Chief Dispatch EngineerP. T. Freeport Indonesia
Eddy Samosir, Project Engineer, Strategic Planning, Freeport McMoRan Inc.

Abstract
The Modular Mining Dispatch software and hardware systems have been installed at the DOZ Block Cave Mine to aid
production operations. The system is being utilized to implement the daily detailed production plan, prioritize the location
of production for each individual loader, collect actual drawpoint production data, provide real-time drawpoint status data
and to measure loader productivity. Discussion is provided as to how use of the system benefits each of these points.
This paper also describes the software and hardware configurations, as installed to control extraction and haulage operations of
the mine. The Intelimine Dispatch software logic has been customized for DOZ conditions and production control requirements.
The hardware system consists of a central computer, a micro-cell network and field computerswhich are installed on each mobile
equipment piece. Communication between the mobile equipment and the network micro-cells is by UHF radio transmissions.
Hubs manage the communications between the equipment and the systems central computer, and monitor vehicle vital signs.
Dispatch operations are monitored by Dispatch Engineers from a central underground location.
Use of the Dispatch software has increased the reliability of production data and compliance to the production plan, and
allows for a higher degree of management of the block cave.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) block cave mine, operated by

P. T. Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), is located in the Ertsberg
District, West Papua Indonesia (Figure 1). Development of
the mine was initiated in 1997, production commenced in
2000 (Barber et. al, 2000), and currently produces at 40,000
tonnes per day.
DOZ is the third level of block caving to exploit the copper-
gold Ertsberg East Skarn System (EESS). The Gunung
Bijih Timur mine (GBT) exploited upper levels of the deposit
(Owen, 1992), from which 68.7 million tonnes at a grade of
1.93 % copper was extracted. The Intermediate Ore Zone
(IOZ) mine produced from the deposit between the 3456
meter and 3706 elevations, with 43 million tonnes of ore on
an average grade of 1.21 % copper and 0.43 g/t gold
extracted.
Figure 1: Ertsberg Mining District Location Map.
The Intellimine Dispatch system, of Modular Mining Inc.,
has been installed at DOZ to control block cave extraction
and haulage operations.
herringbone layout, are spaced at 18 meters along the
panel drifts (Barber, et. al. 2001) (Figure 2). Currently,
2 THE DOZ BLOCK CAVE MINE DOZ produces from 240 drawpoints, accessed from 15
panel drifts.
The DOZ mine exploits the Ertsberg East Skarn System The undercut level is developed 20 meters above the
(EESS) deposit between the 3470 and 3120 meter (base of extraction level. The advanced undercut method is utilized
the IOZ mine) elevations. Draw column heights are 350 for caving. Caving has been completed for the eastern
meters where below the IOZ, and a maximum of 500 meters portion of the mine, and will be initiated for the western
elsewhere. The DOZ block cave mineable zone extends portion in the 4th quarter of 2004.
approximately 900 meters along strike and varies between Block cave ore is delivered from drawpoints to orepasses
200 to 350 meters wide. The mine is an advanced undercut, by load-haul-dump (LHD) equipment. A four (4)-meter
mechanized block cave, utilizing truck haulage and a diameter orepass is located in the center of each panel drift,
gyratory crusher. as ground conditions allow (Barber et. al, 2001). In addition,
The extraction level has been developed at the 3120 three (3) orepasses, two (2) fitted with rock breakers, have
meter elevation. Panel drifts are oriented perpendicular been constructed along the extraction level fringe. All
to the strike of the deposit and are developed on a orepasses bottom at truck-loading chutes at the haulage
spacing of 30 meters. Drawpoints, developed with the level.

696 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Figure 2: Eastern DOZ Extraction Level Showing Dispatch Hardware Installations

Figure 3: DOZ Haulage Level Showing Dispatch Hardware Installations

The haulage level is located at the 3076 meter elevation.
Truck haulage is through a limited access, one-way traffic,
racetrack-type loop system between the orepass loading
chutes and the crusher (Figure 3). The haul trucks dump
directly, at one (1) of three (3) dump positions, into the
Fuller-Taylor 1,372 x 1,956mm gyratory crusher (Barber et.
al., 2001).
The production equipment fleet is comprised of
Elphinstone LHDs, and Elphinstone and Toro haul trucks.
Typically, 15 production loaders and six (6) haul trucks at
active at any time.
3 DOZ DISPATCH SYSTEM
DOZ employs the Intellimine Dispatch software system of
Modular Mining. Intellimine is a large scale, computer based
mine management system that allows PTFI to monitor and
control production loaders, trucks and secondary sizing drills.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 697

 Figure 4: Schematic of the DOZ Dispatch hardware network
The hardware system consists of a central computer, a
network of micro-cells, equipment field computer systems
(FCS) and fixed radio frequency (RF) tags. Communication
between the FCS and the micro-cell network and the RF
tags is by UHF radio transmissions. Hubs manage
communication between the equipment and the central
computer system. Dispatch operations are monitored by
Dispatchers, from a central underground location (Figure 4).
3.1 Computer System
The Intelimine (version 5.1) Dispatch software operates
on two (2) Sun Ultra30 workstations, running on the Solaris
2.7 operating system. These servers, one as a backup, are
situated six kilometers from the mine. Fiber-optic cable links
the server to the mine Dispatch hardware network.
Dispatchers monitor operations on two (2) emulator
monitors located in the mine.
The Intelimine software has been highly modified to suit
the block cave environment and the DOZ mine
configuration. It has also been customized to include
communications in the Indonesian language.
3.2 Master Hub
Two (2) master hubs manage and distribute
communications between the mine equipment and the
central computer. The master hub reads the data packages
sent from the server and routes each to the correct micro-
cell loop. Likewise, the hub organizes data generated from
the field computers and forwards it to the central computer.
The master hubs are connected to the micro-cell networks
and the PTFI network by fiber-optic cable.
3.3 Micro-cell Radio Network
The micro-cell radio network consists of a series of low-
power radio modems that run on a simplex radio channel
operating at 451 MHz.
As information is received from the system (via the master
hub), the micro-cells read the data packages to determine
the intended recipient of the communication. If for
equipment with which a particular micro-cell is in radio
contact, the data package is translated to radio frequency
and relayed to the accompanying antenna. The antenna
then transmits the radio message to the equipment FCS.
698 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
For data packages transmitted by the equipment, the
process works in reverse.
Micro-cells, with dipole antennae, have been installed at
strategic locations throughout the extraction and haulage
levels (Figures 2 and 3). The micro-cells are internally
connected by token-ring cable, and networked to the master
hub by fiber-optic cable.
3.4 Field Computer System
A field computer system has been installed on each
mobile production equipment piece. The FCS receives and
displays instructions from the central computer system and
also accepts input from the equipment operator.
The FCS is comprised of a:
UHF data radio (inside the hub) and antenna, to transmit
and receive signals.
Hub, which manages communication between the micro-
cells and RF tags.
Touch-screen graphics console (GOIC).
Tag reader, integral to the hub, and antenna, to
communicate with the RF tags.
The function of the FCS hub, like that of the master hub,
is to manage and distribute data between the equipment
FCS components and the micro-cells. The hub is
comprised of a processor, interface card, data radio and tag-
reader. The interface card translates data between the
digital and radio format. The tag-reader, and associated
antenna, transmits radio signals that interrogate fixed tags
to determine location. The data radio communicates radio
signals with the micro-cells.
The GOIC is a 640 x 480, VGA compatible, touch-
sensitive screen that displays instructions from the central
computer and allows for the operator to transmit data to the
central computer and messages to the Dispatcher. The unit
is sealed, has no moving parts, and is physically robust. It
can be easily configured for truck LHD, or auxiliary
equipment operation, and can display messages in either
text or icon mode.
3.5 RF Tags
Passive radio frequency tags have been installed at
drawpoints, orepass collars, orepass chutes and at each of
Massmin 2004
the three crusher dump positions. These tags have been
programmed with a unique identification that is cross-
referenced to the physical map location. The RF tags are
read by tag readers, which are a component of the FCS, to
determine location in the mine.
Tags installed at drawpoints are covered by rubber to
protect from secondary blast damage.
The performance of the RF tags is fundamental to
determining the specific location of production, so tag
integrity is monitored by the Dispatch Engineers on a
regular basis.
3.6 Extraction Level Network
Three micro-cell loops, connected to the master hub by
fiber-optic, have been installed at the DOZ extraction level.
Micro-cells are located along the north and south perimeter
of the level. A dipole antenna, connected to the micro-cells,
has been installed at the north and south of each panel drift
(Figure 2). Passive RF tags have been installed at each
drawpoint and orepass collar.
3.7 Truck Haulage Level Network
A network of twelve (12) strategically located micro-cells
with antennae, also connected to the master hub by fiber-
optic cable, has been installed though out the truck haulage
level. Passive RF tags have been installed at each loading
chute and crusher dump point (Figure 3).
4 DISPATCH CONTROL OF PRODUCTION
The DOZ Dispatch system is utilized to communicate the
production plan to the equipment operators and to collect
data on the details of actual production.
A production control system was chosen for DOZ due to
challenges experienced at the GBT and IOZ mines, where
production plans and actual performance data were
transferred between engineering and operations by paper
copy. The integrity of some of this information was suspect,
and therefore resulted in inaccurate reporting of daily mine
tonnage and grade, and calculation of remaining drawpoint
reserves. The quality of long-term production planning and
overall cave management suffered, accordingly.
4.1 LHD Dispatching
At the beginning of a production shift, the Dispatcher
uploads the detailed production plan generated by the Cave
Management System (CMS) production planning tool
(Samosir et. al., 2004). This plan includes the number of
desired buckets of production for each drawpoint, plus the
order of production priority for drawpoints within a panel.
The LHD operator travels to the desired panel and logs-in
on the GOIC to the Dispatch system. Based on the pre-
determined order of production for that particular panel, the
central computer directs the LHD to produce from the initial
drawpoint. The operator either accepts this order or actively
logs-in to an alternate drawpoint. The operator then
commences production from that drawpoint. When at the
drawpoint, the tag-reader component of the FCS
interrogates the RF tag installed at the drawpoint to
determine the drawpoint identification. The operator also
pushes the "load" icon on the GOIC. The LHDs FCS then
relays the RF tag and the LHDs FCS identification numbers
to the central computer via the micro-cell radio network. This
informs the system that the LHD has produced a load from
the specific drawpoint.
The system then directs the loader to the assigned
orepass for tipping. En route, the LHD passes beneath other
RF tags (known as call points) strategically located in the
tunnel which inform the system of the LHDs progress.
At the orepass, the FCS reads the RF tag to determine
the tip location. Once the load is tipped, the operator
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
pushes the "dump" icon on the GOIC to register the load to
the orepass. The system records the dump and then
automatically directs the LHD to the point of next
production. If an LHD is late to complete the next expected
action, such as "arriving at the assigned rock breaker," the
system alerts the dispatcher by an exception message.
The Intelimine software has been customized to calculate
the height of material in the orepass, based on LHD bucket
factors. When the "dump" button is pushed, the orepass
material level is recalculated.
The LHD operator then returns to the drawpoint and
continues to produce according to the draw order. Once the
planned number of buckets has been produced from the
initial drawpoint, the LHD is automatically dispatched to the
next priority drawpoint.
As a drawpoint becomes unavailable for production, the
LHD operator has the capability to change the status of the
drawpoint within the database. The system will then
dispatch the loader to the next priority drawpoint.
If the operator desires to produce from a drawpoint out of
sequence, he may do so by actively selecting the particular
drawpoint off the GOIC icons list. The FCS tag reader
continues to communicate with the RF tags installed at the
drawpoints to confirm the production location.
Should the operator key-in a drawpoint that is in conflict
with the drawpoint RF tag, an exception report is
automatically submitted to the operator and Dispatcher by
the central computer.
Once the available draw order for a panel has been
completed, the LHD operator sends a message to the
Dispatcher for further instructions.
The customized system has codes for various classes of
equipment delay. The operator actively selects the
appropriate category off the icon list on the GOIC. The
central computer and Dispatcher are thereby notified of the
current operating condition for the equipment.
At the end of shift, the Dispatcher makes whatever
manual adjustments to the recorded data that are
necessary.
Once daily, Dispatch production information is
downloaded to the central production-planning database.
This information is then utilized within CMS to calculate
daily production, draw order compliance, and remaining
drawpoint reserves, and to analyze potential sources of
induced stress in the production area. The production
strategy for the subsequent day and the balance of the
month is then re-established based on analysis of this daily
information.
On a monthly basis, the Dispatch data is utilized to
analyze LHD equipment and manpower efficiency and
productivity.
4.2 Truck Dispatching
Trucks at the DOZ haulage level are generally
automatically dispatched to orepass chutes according to
rules established by the Dispatch Engineer. These rules
consider the following:
Distance between the truck and an available loading
point.
Dispatching of other trucks.
Orepass material inventory.
Time since the loading point has last produced.
The Dispatcher is able to also actively direct trucks to
particular loading points, as operational conditions dictate.
At the beginning of a shift, the truck operator logs-in to the
Dispatch system and the central computer automatically
directs the truck to the initial chute for loading. When the
truck arrives at the chute, the FCS reads the tag installed at
the chute and the operator pushes the "arrive at LP" icon.
Once the truck is loaded, the operator pushes the "load"
699
icon on the GOIC. The system then registers the equipment
as loaded, and directs the truck to travel to the crusher. The
material inventory in the orepass is also adjusted for the
load, based on the factor for that truck type. At the crusher,
the FCS reads the tag for the particular crusher dump point
and the operator pushes the "arrive at crusher" icon on the
GOIC. Once dumping has been completed, the truck
operator pushes the "dump" icon on the GOIC. At this point,
the system records the load as dumped and adds the
tonnage to the shift total. The central computer then
dispatches the truck to a chute for the next load.
Dispatchers have the capability to classify as a chute as
"Down" or on "Standby", based on operational conditions,
and thereby remove the unit from the dispatching logic.
A utility screen has been created which provides orepass
information to the dispatcher for:
Tonnes remaining,
Last time it was drawn from,
Dispatch priority level,
Truck identification number, if one is currently assigned to
it; plus the expected arrival time,
Status of the loading chute.

6 DISPATCHER MONITOR AND CONTROL

Dispatchers monitor and control DOZ production
activities, on each shift, from emulator monitors in a control
room located within the mine. The Intellimine software Figure 6: Dispatch Utility Screen
system has been customized to provide a number of real-
time informational screens that allow the Dispatchers to
determine critical operating parameters and to interact with and the current draw compliance.
equipment operators. A daily summary report is automatically generated by
The Transaction Screen displays real-time tonnage Dispatch and emailed to DOZ Management. The email
summaries (last hour, this hour, shift-to-date) for extraction, includes data, by shift, for production tonnage; equipment
orepass inventory and haulage to the crusher. operating hours, delay hours, availability and utilization, and
The Exception Screen displays messages generated from orepass material inventory. An hourly summary of the same
the central computer for operator actions that are information, plus cycle time data (Figure 7), may be
unexpected (Figure 5). Examples include: 1) locking-in to accessed from the Report Utility Screen.
a drawpoint that is different than the drawpoint tag
identification, 2) producing from a drawpoint above the draw
plan, 3) loss of radio contact with the micro-cell network, and
4) equipment operating without the operator actively
logging-in to the system. The Exception Screen demands
that the Dispatcher either "accept" or "reject" these operator
actions. If "rejected", the central computer automatically
sends a message to the equipment FCS to request remedial
action from the operator.

Figure 7: Truck Cycle Time Report

5 CONCLUSION

Use of the Dispatch system provides many benefits to

Figure 5: Exception Screen
A range of equipment status information is displayed on
the Dispatch Utility Screen. The utility also provides a
means for the Dispatcher to send text messages to the
equipment field computer system (Figure 6).
The Draw Card Screen provides the Dispatcher real-time
information on the drawpoint production plan, drawpoint
status and buckets of ore produced shift-to-date. The
screen also tabulates the percent drawn for each drawpoint
controlling production activities at the DOZ Block Cave
Mine.
For extraction, the system provides an effective means: 1) to
communicate the details of the production plan to the
equipment operators, 2) to collect accurate actual production
data, 3) to calculate compliance to the production plan, 4) to
summarize daily actual production for transfer to other
production planning tools, 5) to identify circumstances when
equipment operators produce in an unexpected fashion, and 6)
for the loader operator to effectively communicate with the
Dispatcher. All these benefits allow for precise compliance of
actual production to the long-term plan and aids PTFI to
effectively manage the DOZ cave.

700 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The Intelimine system allows haulage operations to be
conducted and optimized with only minor active input from
the Dispatchers or supervisors. Custom features of the
system also provide real-time information on the material
inventory in each orepass.
Use of the system, in general, provides a continuous
monitor of all production activity. Information stored to the
database provides the basis for calculating equipment
productivity and efficiency. Since allocation of equipment to
a particular task is automated, supervision is able to instead
focus on resolving mine issues.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to all their colleagues working at
the DOZ Mine. Also, the authors acknowledge the
permission given by P. T. Freeport Indonesia to publish this
paper.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
REFERENCES
Barber, J., Thomas, L., and Casten, T., Freeport
Indonesias Deep Ore Zone Mine, Proceedings from
MassMin 2000, pp. 286-294.
Barber, J., Ganesia, B., and Casten, T., 2001, Developing
the DOZ Mine at PT Freeport Indonesia, Mining
Engineering, vol. 35, no. 11, pp. 19-24.
Owen, T., 1992, Ertsberg East Mine Freeport Indonesia
Inc. Papua Indonesia, SME Mining Engineering
Handbook, vol. 2, p. 1830-1835.
Samosir, E., Brannon, C., and Diering, T., Implementation
of Cave Management System (CMS) Tools at the
Freeport DOZ Mine, Proceedings from MassMin 2004, in
press.
701
 Large diameter vertical raise drilling
and shaft boring techniques as an
alternative to conventional vertical
shaft sinking techniques
Pete H Ferreira, Manager Marketing and Business Development
BSc. Eng (Mining) Pr.Eng , FSAIMM Murray and Roberts RUC Limited

Abstract
Raise drilling in South Africa started in 1968 with machines capable of drilling 1.2 metre diameter raises up to a length
of 90 metres. Todays raise drilling machines are capable of drilling vertical shafts to a diameter of 6.1 metres to depths
in excess of a 1 000 metres and 7.1 metres to 200 metres in depth. That is an immense improvement from its humble
beginnings.
In 1971 the first shaft boring machine was designed and manufactured in the Federal Republic of Germany and bored
a 4.88 metre diameter, 231 metre deep shaft.
In the quest for mechanical shaft sinking technology it is now possible to sink vertical shafts mechanically up to 8.5 metre
in diameter to 2 000 metres in depth. Fewer personnel are required with mechanisation, and due to the methodology
used, safety aspects are improved with overall risk drastically reduced.
Conventional shaft sinking is briefly discussed and compared to large diameter raise drilling and shaft boring.
The technological improvements in shaft boring machines (raise drilling and V-mole) have progressed at an accelerated
rate. Under certain geological conditions, with the increase in diameter of raise drilled holes, however, comes greater
potential for instability of the exposed sidewalls of the drilled hole.
A systematic flowchart developed by Stacey & McCracken, is discussed to quantify the risks associated with raise drilling
and shaft boring and thereby quantifying the risk attached to drilling a relatively large shaft prior to commencement of
the excavation in order to assess the stability of the bored hole. Managing this risk now becomes the engineers
challenge.
The capabilities of these machines and associated risks are explained with reference to specific drilling projects.

1. INTRODUCTION Conventional pilot drilling

Murray & Roberts RUC has been involved in raise drilling
contracting since 1978. Murray & Roberts RUC has become
the worlds largest raise drilling contractor and is considered
a leader in the field of large diameter raise drilling. The
Company operates a total of 23 raise drills, which includes
four Wirth HG 330 SP and one Robbins 123R machines,
these being some of the largest raise drills ever
manufactured in the world.
Since 1989 RUC has also gained operational experience
in shaft boring using the V-mole shaft boring technique. To
date, four major shaft projects, have been completed
utilizing the V-mole technique, these being:-
Oryx No 1B Ventilation Shaft in South Africa
Pasmincos Broken Hill No. 5 Airway in Australia
Anglogolds Western Deep Levels South Mine sub vertical
ventilation shaft and
AlpTransit St Gotthard project in Sedrun in Switzerland.
Conventional up reaming of vertical and inclined holes
Down boring with a pre-drilled pilot hole
Blind up boring
Directional piloting and raise drilling used in conjunction
with a shaft boring machine (V-mole), for the boring of a
large diameter shaft.
2.1.1 Conventional Pilot Drilling
A tri-cone pilot bit is normally used varying from 9 inches
(229mm) to 15 inches (381mm). The 15 inch (381mm) bit is
normally used on long holes with a 12 7/8 inches (327mm)
integral drillsteel string with 10 1/8-inch DI 42 tool joints.
During drilling, a fluid is pumped through the center of the
drillstring to the cutting face, where the rock cuttings are
flushed and raised from the bottom of the hole through the
annulus around the drillstring to the collar of the hole. The
drilling fluid is settled in a closed loop via a series of settling
dams so that the drilling fluid can be re-used.

These projects were undertaken in joint venture with
Thyssen Schachtbau GmbH of Germany using a Wirth
SBVII rodless shaft boring machine, better known as a V-
mole.
2. RAISE DRILLING TECHNIQUES AND HISTORY
2.1 Modes of Operation
Raise borers can be used in various modes of operation
and the modes most often used are:
2.1.2 Conventional Up-reaming of Pilot Holes
On completion of pilot drilling and at such time that the
pilot hole breaks through into the lower excavation, a
reaming head is attached to the end of the drillstring. The
size of the reaming heads range between 1.2 metres and
7.1 metres in diameter. The head is rotated by the machine
and is pulled back against the rock face at the same time.
Cutters with tungsten carbide inserts are fitted to the head
and these cut grooves in the rock in a rotary crushing mode.
The kerfs of rock in between the grooves spall out and

702 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

rock failure occurs in a tensile mode. The rock cuttings fall
to the bottom of the hole where they are mucked out by a
mechanical loader.
It is a safe, efficient and cost-effective method of making
holes through different geological formations with the use of
powerful machines, high strength drillstring and reliable
reamer heads. The maximum loading capacity of the
drillstring limits the diameter as well as the length of the
shaft. The loading is dynamic and only approximately
calculateable as tensile, torsional and bending stresses are
overlapping. (See Figure 1)

Figure 3

2.1.6 Recent Achievements (Breaking New Ground)

Murray & Roberts RUC currently holds world records and
has had the following achievements:
Largest diameter shaft raise drilled to 7.1 metres in
diameter and 178 metres of vertical depth at Sasol Coals
Secunda Collieries Bosjespruit Mine.(See Figure 4)

Figure 1

2.1.3 Down Boring with a Pre-drilled Pilot Hole

In this case an oversize pilot hole is drilled. The cutting
head is installed at the top of the pilot hole and drilling takes
place in the downward mode. Rock cuttings are flushed
down the oversize pilot hole to the bottom of the hole where
it is removed. In the case of smaller holes, the machine
provides cutter thrust and in the case of large diameter
shafts the cutter head is weighted through the addition of
steel collars. The down boring method is not used often as
the risk of blocking the pilot hole and creating mud rushes at
the bottom of the hole is high. (See Figure 2)

Figure 4

Longest vertical hole reamed to 1.83 metres in diameter

Figure 2
2.1.4 Blind Up Boring
In this case the machine is placed at the bottom of the
planned hole position and the cutting head drills upwards.
Rock cuttings fall to the bottom of the hole where they are
deflected into muck cars or an alternative mucking
arrangement. This application is widely practiced in South
African deep tabular orebody mines with hole lengths
ranging from 30 to 90 metres under normal circumstances
and up to 190 metres in special applications. (See Figure 3)
2.1.5 Directional Pilot Drilling
Directional pilot drilling is costly and is therefore only used
in applications where a high degree of accuracy is required.
The accuracy of a vertical pilot hole can be guaranteed to
depths within the capability of the raise drill machine and
accuracies of 0,036% have recently regularly been
achieved. Refer to paragraph 4.1.
and 1260 metres deep at the Primsmulde Project,
Germany.
At Kloof Gold Mine South Africa a 1100 metre deep 4.1
metre diameter hole was drilled through the hardest rock
formation being Lava with an UCS between 600 and
750Mpa .
Longest inclined raise drilled hole to 3.5 metres in
diameter and 755 metres deep at BCL in Botswana ( See
Figure 5 )
Deepest shaft V-mole bored in South Africa to 6.5 metres
in diameter and 972 metres deep at Oryx Gold Mine
Deepest shaft V-mole bored at Prismulde Germany to 7.8
metres in diameter and 1260 metres deep by Thyssen
Schachtbau of Germany
Largest diameter V-mole shaft bored in hard rock to 7.1
metres in diameter and 752 metres deep at Western Deep
Levels South Mine, South Africa
At Impala Platinum Mine South Africa drilled a 1 050
metre long 5.1 metre diameter raise drill hole through
norites with RVDS with 0.05 % accuracy
At Sedrun in Switzerland drilled a 785 metre long 1.83
metre diameter hole with RVDS with 0.035 % accuracy
i.e. 280 mm deviation
At Moab Khotsong in South Africa drilled a 360 metre long
3.8 metre diameter hole with RVDS with 0.063 %
accuracy i.e. 223 mm deviation
At Prismulde in Germany drilled the 1 260 metre long 1.83
metre diameter hole with down-the-hole motor with 0.04
% accuracy i.e. 450 mm deviation

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 703

 At Impala Platinum Mine South Africa drilled a 1 090
metre long 5.1 metre diameter hole through norites
has been done before. The next challenge will be to drill a
1.83 metre diameter hole over a continuous length of more
than 1 300 metres. The shaft depth is therefore unlimited as
long as a center core pilot hole is available.
A V-mole shaft construction is carried out in various
stages:
the raise drilling of the pilot hole and center core to serve
as a rock pass
the construction of a pre-sunk foreshaft to facilitate the
installation of the V-mole machine
the installation of the necessary and required hoisting
facilities
V-mole boring, shaft support and equipping
the final removal of the V-mole at shaft bottom
and commissioning of the permanent shaft system

The raise boring of the pilot shaft:

The pilot shaft is raise bored using a Wirth HG330 raise
drill (See Figure 6). The verticality is ensured by using
directional drilling tools, i.e. the Navi-Drill or the preferred
Figure 5 RVDS.

3. SHAFT BORING (V-MOLE METHOD)

3.1 Background
In the late sixties, following the successful application of
tunnel boring machines in tunnels, thought was given to
use this new excavation technique to underground coal
mines with a view to fully mechanise tunneling and shaft
sinking.
In 1971 the first shaft boring machine was put into service
in the coal mines in Germany by a consortium of specialist
mining contractors namely Deilmann-Haniel GmbH
(Dortmund) and Thyssen Schachtbau GmbH (Mulheim).
The shaft boring machine used was a Wirth GSB-V-450/500
capable of reaming shafts with a diameter of up to 5m from
a center core pilot hole.
Numerous improvements have been made to this
machine since 1971, which is reflected in the three machine Figure 6
generations with the latest model in use being the Wirth
SBVII.

3.2 Mode of Operation

The rodless shaft boring machines (V-mole) can be
applied to sink deep vertical shafts with a diameter of up to
8.5 m. The requirements for this method are:
relatively competent rock as determined through the study
techniques mentioned above (unsupported center core to
stand up)
and a reamed pilot hole between shaft head and shaft
bottom of approximately 1.83 to 2.4 metres in diameter
with sufficient verticality to serve as a center core. During
the boring operation this center core pilot hole is used to
drop the reamed cuttings to the bottom of the new shaft
and is also used for ventilation purposes.

The shaft boring machine constructed similarly to a tunnel Figure 6 (a)

boring machine, (TBM), widens the center core pilot hole to
the final shaft diameter by reaming downwards. Reaming,
muck disposal, shaft support and permanent shaft
equipping are performed continuously and concurrently.
The steering system of the machine guarantees the
verticality of the bored shaft with the aid of a laser beam
through the centreline of the shaft. The boring diameter can
be varied within a range of 5.0 to 8.5m. The depth to be
bored is not restricted by the shaft boring machine
parameters, but becomes a factor of the ability to drill and
ream a pilot hole to 1.83 metre in diameter. We know that
the drilling of holes of 1 300 metres in length is possible and
Construction of the pre-sunk shaft (foreshaft) and the
installation of the hoisting facilities
On completion of the reaming of the center core pilot hole,
the foreshaft is sliped and lined to a depth of 11 metres for
the assembly of the V-mole.
The foreshaft can be sunk before the pilot hole is drilled
with the raise borer. The installation of the hoisting facilities
are done concurrently with the pre-sink. The hoisting
facilities are required to transport the men and material to
the shaft borer (V-mole).

704 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

V-mole boring and the installation of the
permanent rock support
The shaft borer then reams the center core pilot hole to
the required size with the rock chips being loaded at the
bottom. The shaft can be concrete lined or shotcreted by
means of a robotic arm mounted on the stage. The
"drilling" and "lining" is co-ordinated in an innovative
construction unit. The shaft boring machine SB VII is
mainly built with a stable frame outer kelly which is
hydraulically clamped against the shaft wall by means of
12 gripper pads, arranged symmetrically in 2 levels of six
pads. The rotating inner kelly includes the main drive
shaft, bearings and gears. The upper non-rotating end is
square shaped and accommodated in an articulated frame
of the outer kelly. The lower end is carrying the rotating
cutterhead, which is powered by six electrical motors of
132kW each.
3.3 Track record
Some fifty-five vertical shafts around the world have been
successfully bored with V-mole machines. Four shafts were
constructed by the Joint Venture between Thyssen
Schachtbau GmbH and Murray & Roberts RUC. The Wirth
SB VII shaft borer in South Africa is jointly owned by these
two companies.
Joint Venture first
The joint venture started its first project in 1989 in South
Africa, constructing the 972 metres deep, No 1 B ventilation
shaft at Oryx Gold Mine, to a diameter of 6.5 metres, with
the shaft boring machine SB VII. Prior to this operation in
South Africa the machine was thoroughly overhauled and
prepared for the application in hard rock formations. Six
electrical motors with 132kW each were installed.
The penetration rates achieved on this project were
satisfactory, considering hard quartzite rock formations with
compressive strengths ranging from 220 to 280 Mpa were
penetrated.
the shaft will be used as a return air ventilation shaft and
will pass through the stoped out reef horizon between 84
and 109 level
the exposed shaft sidewall is to be supported by means of
"splitset" anchors, providing the primary support followed
by steel fibre reinforced shotcrete (SFRS) using the
shotcrete method in place of conventional concrete lining
the support of the sidewalls must occur concurrent with
the sinking operation of the shaft
on various levels throughout the depth of the shaft, return
air way (RAW) holings must be provided for into the
ventilation shaft
Competitive tenders were submitted for the above
consisting of conventional blind sink, slipe & line operations
and the shaft boring option. The decision was made in
favour of the shaft boring technique after considering the
cost and time advantages of this method. The shaft had to
be drilled in extremely hard conditions.
The geological profile showed that approximately 40% of
the formations had a uni-axial compressive strength of more
than 300Mpa. In the Alberton Lavas the compressive
strength was as high as 550Mpa. The achieved drilling
rates of 0,4 m/hour were very satisfactory.
The experience gained from the two preceding projects
"Oryx" and "Pasminco" and the knowledge of the geological
profile caused the joint venture to design a new cutter head
for the project (See Figure 7). This cutter head has a closed
design in order to achieve better stabilization and to provide
the head with back loaded cutters (See Figure 8).

Joint Venture second

Upon completion of the Oryx project, the joint venture
could start a second project namely the ventilation shaft No.
5 in the south field of Pasminco Mining in Broken Hill,
Australia. In the course of the sinking of the 810 metre deep
shaft with a diameter of 6.5 metres, steep rock formations of
amphibolites with a compressive strength of 350Mpa and
gneiss with approximately 150 Mpa were penetrated. After
these two remarkable projects the following conclusions Figure 7
could be made:
both shafts were be completed on schedule
performances of up to 18 m/day (Oryx project) and 12
m/day (Pasminco) concrete lined shaft could be achieved
with an average performance of 7.6 m/day
the concurrent support drilling and installation as well as
concrete lining, could be done undisturbed
during the course of shaft boring, the necessary injections
could be performed to seal off the fissure water inflows
a number of intermediate stations were excavated during
the sinking process

Joint Venture third V- mole at depth, the ultimate

challenge
Anglogold awarded the 752 metre, 7.1 metre diameter
Sub Ventilation Shaft construction project at the then
Western Deep levels South Mine to the joint partners
Murray & Roberts RUC and Thyssen Schachtbau GmbH. Figure 8
The design brief read as follows:-
the new SSV (Sub Shaft Ventilation) is to be sunk from 84
level to 109 level (3312 metres below datum) The new cutter head of 7.1 metre diameter can be
the SSV shaft must have a 7.0 metre diameter and a equipped with disc-cutters as well as with tungsten carbide
depth of 752 metres cutters.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 705

 The shaft sinking activities commenced in May 1995 with
the drilling of the pilot hole and center core to a diameter of
3.5 metres. This was carried out with Murray & Roberts
RUCs Wirth HG 330 raise borer. The assembly of the shaft
boring machine took approximately 6 weeks. The 752
metre deep ventilation shaft was completed under
extremely difficult geological conditions. The highest
performance attained under these conditions was a monthly
advance rate of 137 metres in the Alberton Lava formation.
After drilling through the lava formations, scaling occurred in
the quartzite formations at 104 level (+-3 200 metres below
surface), which made increased temporary support density
necessary.
The center core pilot hole "dog-eared" excessively from
the original 3.5m diameter size due to stresses at this great
depth underground.
The shaft sidewall bolting with a rock bolt density of one
bolt per m2 was done fully automatically and concurrently
with boring by using two Atlas Copco drill rigs mounted on
the rotating and telescoping top deck of the shaft boring
machine. (See Figure 9)
Figure 9
The application of the steel fibre micro silica wet shotcrete
with 50Mpa strength was also fully automated by means of
a robotic nozzle, which was situated on an independent
operating sinking stage with three decks above the shaft
boring machine. (See Figure 10).
Figure 10
The project construction was remarkable for its successful
penetration of one of the hardest rock formations with
compressive strengths of up to 550Mpa.
706 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Joint Venture fourth, the St Gotthard Base Tunnel -
Sedrun Ventilation Shaft
The latest venture between the joint venture partners
Murray & Roberts RUC and Thyssen Schachtbau is a 785
metre deep 7.1 metre diameter ventilation shaft in Sedrun,
Switzerland.
The Sedrun shaft is part of the AlpTransit Gotthard project
which could well be the construction project of the new
century. The 57km long base tunnel under the St Gotthard
massif is the core project of a new railway link through the
Alps, with future passenger trains travelling at speeds of up
to 250km/h through the longest railway tunnel in the world.
The shaft construction works commenced mid May 2002.
The raise bore machine Wirth HG 330 SP was installed at
the shaft collar for both directional pilot drilling to 381mm
diameter and the subsequent reaming of the center core
pilot hole to 1.83 metre in diameter. The vertical drilling
system, RVDS, of Micon was applied for the directional
drilling. Despite the unfavourable geology with numerous
vertical joints, the deviation from the vertical was only
280mm (0,036% accuracy). The reaming of the pilot hole
from 381mm to 1.83 metre diameter was conducted without
problems and completed by mid November 2002.
After the completion of the pilot shaft the installation of the
shaft sinking equipment and the shaft boring machine
commenced. The V-mole, type Wirth VSB VI with a 7.1m
borehead was dressed with a combination of disc and
tungsten carbide cutters and a total installed power of
520kW. The shaft boring operation started in February 2003
and was completed by the end of
June 2003 with an average boring performance of
approximately 7m/day.
The continuous drilling and shotcrete lining system, which
was perfected at Western Deep Levels Gold Mine, was
used. (See Figure 11).
Figure 11
4.0 RAISE DRILLING RISKS
AND RISK MANAGEMENT
4.1 Deviation of the pilot hole Accuracy of pilot drilled
holes has been a concern almost since the invention of
mechanized rotary drilling. This problem became much
more apparent as operators required the drilling of longer
holes with lengths of 1 100 metres, this not being
uncommon anymore and competing with blind sunk vertical
shafts.
Massmin 2004
 The deviation of a borehole from its intended path can be Drill is fitted with an adjustable bent-sub. The motor angle
attributed to both geological and technical factors, which is set to a suitable angle and is lowered down the hole. The
can be divided into three categories:- motor is then orientated, 180 degrees opposite to the
direction of deviation, using the steering tool. The steering
Controllable factors tool is fitted with a series of magnetometers and
Set-up accuracy of a machine accelerometers that relay information via the wireline
Equipment condition conductor to the equipment at the machine. All data is
Machine processed by computer at the collar of the hole and the
Starter pieces operator can monitor the motor toolface, as well as the hole
Correct boring tool (bit) direction, on the drillers display unit. A high viscosity mud is
Bit sub then pumped through the drill string, which causes the mud-
Stabilizers motor to rotate at a speed of roughly 120rpm.
Bit contact pressure (force) The drill string is now moved downward to provide
Rotation speed sufficient thrust to the bit, no rotation of the drill string takes
Flushing rate place during the correction-run, and rotation is provided
Starting procedure through the mud-motor directly to the bit.
On completion of the correction-run the directional drilling
Semi-controllable factors gear is removed from the hole and conventional pilot drilling
Build rate is resumed.
Stiffness (design) of the drill string The biggest disadvantage of the Navi-Drill system is that
Bit walk rate it is used re-actively. To rectify the hole deflection the
drillrods must be removed from the hole, the Navi-Drill
Non-controllable factors attached and lowered to the bottom of the hole being a very
Variations in rock hardness levels tedious process. The Navi-Drill must be removed when the
Strata dip hole direction has been rectified. To remove the Navi-Drill,
Ground conditions jointing, fractures, partings, etc. the drillrods must be removed again. The drill bit must again
Geological features faults, dykes, bedding planes, etc be attached and lowered before piloting can commence. To
overcome this problem the self-steering drilling system was
The graph, refer figure 12, shows a typical deviation with developed. (See Figure 13).
a constant build rate of 0,25 degrees per 100 metres of
drilling. The build rate represents the increase in inclination
of the hole and is measured from the vertical axis. It can be
seen that due to the compounding effect, the deviation
becomes exponential and increases drastically with
increased depth.

Figure 13

Rotary Vertical Drilling System (RVDS)

Figure 12
Highly sophisticated survey tools are used to monitor the
inclination and direction of a hole. The instruments are
capable of detecting movement off the vertical through
angles as low as 0,05 degrees in inclination and 0,5
degrees in Azimuth.
There are two ways in which the direction of the pilot hole
can be steered and these being:
Using navigational drilling equipment
The downhole motor such as the Navi-Drill is used re-
actively, i.e. when the hole deviates it is rectified. The Navi-
The ZBE3000 (DMT GmbH) self-steering directional drill
has been in use since the mid 1980s. High maintenance
costs and occasional problems necessitated the further
development of this type of equipment. New models were
developed, namely the Well Director, the ZBE4000 and the
ZBE5000.
Micon developed a rotary vertical drilling system, ( RVDS
), and this has been available since the mid 1990s. This
equipment is particularly suitable for directional drilling in
conjunction with raise drilling. This system uses a pair of
incline sensors to measure the borehole inclination and
transmit the data to an electronic unit. If the pre-
programmed directional limits are exceeded, the steering
function is initiated by the hydraulic steering system, which
extends or retracts the four external, independently
operated control ribs.
The extendable stabilizer ribs generate radial forces and
work against the angle build-up.
The RVDS is supplied to the rig as a complete system
consisting of the downhole tool and an independent PC-
based management system. The downhole tool can be
divided into two parts, each of approximately 1.5m in length,
being the pulser sub & the steering sub. In order to monitor
the self-steering drilling process, data signals are
transmitted to the surface via positive water pulses and are
received, decoded and visualised by an information unit.
(See Figure 14).

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 707

 The upper part of the RVDS, called the tank-sub, rotates
with the drill string. The outer steerable stabiliser is a part
of the lower steering-sub. It is non-rotating and runs on
bearings on the drive shaft. The drive shaft transmits the
torque of the drill string to the bit.
The non-rotating lower part contains the sensors, the data
processing electronics and steering unit. This sub is fitted
with radically extendable ribs. The required steering force is
generated hydraulically by an oil pump inside the pulser-sub
and is transmitted to the borehole wall by pistons and
steerable ribs.
The directional data signals are also transmitted to the
mud pulser for further communication to the surface. Both
the water pulser for data transmission and alternator for the
electrical power supply as well as the pump for hydraulic
power supply are housed within the pulser/generator sub. A
water turbine drives the alternator and pump.
A fully digital electronic unit located in the steering sub,
supplies the two accelerometers with the required voltage.
Inclination data is then compared to predetermined data
and, if necessary, transformed into steering signals.
Subsequently, one or two of the four control valves are
being supplied with current. The valves control the cylinder
oil pressure, which in turn generates the compensating
forces necessary to achieve vertical drilling.
The directional data signals are also transformed into a Figure 15
pulse pattern by the digital electronics and they are
transmitted to the surface.
The system for large pilot holes, between 15 17_", has
been jointly developed by Murray & Roberts RUC and Boreability is determined by the hardness and
Micon. The improvements are reflected in the new design abrasiveness of the rock material and the structure of the
(See Figure 15). Various holes have been drilled with rock mass, that is, its jointing and then also by the raise
accuracies of 0,04% using the RVDS. Hoisting shafts can drilling machine factors.
now be raise drilled by using the Rotary Vertical Drilling Stability is determined by the rock mass structure, which
System (RVDS) to drill the pilot from there the final hole. defines the potential freedom of movement of the rock
blocks and by the stresses acting, which provide
confinement to the rock mass, but may also be of such a
magnitude as to induce failure in the rock material and rock
mass.
A detailed geotechnical evaluation or raise bore rock
quality assessment based on the Stacey and McCracken
method is recommended in the case of deep and/or large
diameter shafts and is briefly discussed. The risk attached
to any raise bore project is dependant on the confidence
with which the rock mass conditions are known. The level
of confidence in, or reliability of, information depends on
the amount of information available, the variation of
individual parameters, the impact of this variability on the
probable quality and the required minimum rock quality for
compatibility with the proposed raise drilled shaft
specifications. The important aspect is to assess the rock
conditions with respect to the required minimum quality
for stability.
A flow chart, developed by Prof. Dick Stacey, that sets
out the activities to be followed for a systematic
assessment of the risk related to the geotechnical aspects
of any raise drill project is presented in Figure 16 atta-
ched.

Initial risk assessment

Figure 14
4.2 Geotechnical risks associated with large diameter
raise drill shafts
The two biggest geotechnical risks are boreability and
stability.
Prof. T R Stacey and A McCracken have written numerous
papers on risk analysis and some aspects are briefly
discussed in this section.
The preliminary geotechnical assessment should be
aimed at determining average and lower bound
conditions in terms of "raiseability" and "stability". The
range and distribution of the rock quality, QR and the
important parameters RQD/Jn and Jr/Ja, must be compared
with the required minima for stability at the proposed shaft
diameter.
The Q value for the rockmass is obtained from the relation
Q = RQD x Jr x Jw
Jn Ja SRF

708 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 where RQD is rock quality designation
Jn is joint set number
Jr is joint roughness number
Ja is joint alteration number
Jw is joint water reduction factor, and
SRF is stress reduction factor.
RQD/Jn gives an estimate of rock block size, Jr/Ja
provides an indication of discontinuity shear strength and
Jw/SRF indicates the conditions of active stress
surrounding the excavation.
To obtain the raise drilled hole quality index, QR from Q,
the following adjustment factors, which are cumulative, must
be applied.
Wall adjustment
Discontinuity orientation adjustment factor
Weathering adjustment
At the preliminary evaluation stage the risk should only be
deemed "acceptable" if the quality consistently exceeds the
requirement throughout its entire length. This presupposes
the availability of sufficient information for this conclusion to
be drawn.
Figure 16
Final risk assessment
The assessment of risk will depend ultimately on the
acceptability of failures within the raise drilled shaft and on
the incidence and volume of failures that can be tolerated.
In general, an acceptable probability of failure of a raise
drilled shaft, given its function, is considered to be 0,05 i.e.
5%. This is commensurate with an RSR value of 1,3. Given
a proposed raise drill diameter and a rock mass of a certain
range of QR values, the range of probability of failure can be
obtained. If the length of the raise is known, the likely length
of raise liable to be affected by failures can be calculated
and the volumes of failure determined from stability
analyses.
A chart showing the probabilities of failure, P(f), or
alternatively the reliability, R, of a shaft (where R = 1 P(f)
x 100%), for the range of raise bore diameters and rock
mass qualities is presented as Figure 17.
Suggested levels of reliability, R, and probabilities of
failure P(f), that are considered acceptable for the raise wall
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 17
stability of different types of excavations are presented in
Table 1. These provide guidelines for other raise drill shafts.
Table 1: Suggested acceptability of risk
for various raise drill shafts
Excavation Type Service Reliability Probability
Life (Years) R (%) of Failure P(f)
Unlined hoisting
Shaft >15 0,01
Ventilation Shaft 10 0,05
Ore Pass >2 0,15
Ore Pass 1 0,25
Conclusion
A method of quantifying the geotechnical risk associated with
a raisedrill or shaft bore shaft, is presented above, and based on
shaft diameter and a raise drill rock quality index, QR.
The approach outlined provides an indication of
overall geotechnical feasibility. All excavations must,
however, be considered individually and the potential
problems should be addressed on merit. The chart
presented in Figure 16 does not replace classical
analysis as a means of evaluating the incidence and
stability of potential failure wedges, but does allow the
probability of failure to be predicted in a simple manner.
Comparison of the probability so obtained with the
required reliability, permits assessment of the overall
feasibility and the risk associated with a proposed raise
or shaft.
In many cases adverse ground conditions can be treated
by cement grouting prior to raise drilling, or alternatively,
advanced planning can be done to carry out support works
directly after raise drilling.
4.3 Risks and the control thereof
One of the bigger risks in the shaft boring method is the
potential scaling and deterioration of the center core pilot
hole and the other to ensure the center core pilot hole
remains open during the shaft boring.
To manage these factors the risks need to be managed
and engineered to ensure success.
5. CONVENTIONAL VERTICAL BLIND SHAFT SINKING
Conventional blind shaft sinking using drill and blast
techniques has been practiced for as long as underground
mining has taken place.
Various shaft sinking methods are being used and these
being:
Hand held drilling of the bottom with nominally 2.0 metre
advance per blast
Jumbo drilling of the bottom with either pneumatic or
electro-hydraulic drifters with advance per blast of up to
6.0 metres
709
 Mucking with an Eimco 630 type loader into a kibble
Mucking with a cryderman type clam system into a kibble
Mucking with a cactus type lashing unit into a kibble
Concurrent shaft concrete lining from the sinking stage
above.
Rock is hoisted to surface or the bank elevation therefore
not interfering with other rock hoisting operations. Bottom
access is therefore not necessary and this is the method to
follow where a shaft is sunk in green fields operations.
Large winding facilities are generally required to hoist the
rock from the shaft bottom as well as a relatively large stage
winder installation as a large stage has to be supported from
such a winder, especially with the cactus grab cleaning
method.
Shafts are generally equipped on completion of a sink to
shaft bottom unless a cryderman type cleaning method is
used, which supports concurrent equipping of a shaft with
the sinking. A smaller stage winder is required with this
cleaning method.
Blind sink operations are generally done with shafts of
diameters of 4.5 metres and more. Advance per blasts will
vary and advances per day will generally average around
3.5 metres to 4.5 metres depending on the depth of shaft
and diameter.
The deepest one lift blind vertical shaft sunk to date has
been the South Deep shaft in South Africa to a depth of
some 2 963 metres below collar.
Blind sink shafts can be sunk from very shallow to very
deep depending on needs as well as to any diameters.
6. PROS AND CONS OF CONVENTIONAL VERTICAL
BLIND SINK SHAFTS COMPARED TO SHAFT
BORED SHAFTS
Raise drilling fills the gap between a very small shaft and
a larger shaft and is the fastest means of sinking a shaft
provided bottom access is available.
Every technique has its place in the business and the
pros and cons must be weighed up against each other
before a final decision is made as to the required method of
sinking.
7. CONCLUSION
The mining industrys requirement for safe, rapid and
economical mine development is met by the mechanical
large diameter raise drilling and shaft boring methods
described. The technique has provided an economically
sound solution for a large variety of different requirements,
especially in those projects executed in recent years
involving deep, large diameter holes. Raise drilling to
depths exceeding 1 000 metres and at diameters of up to 6
metres, is no longer uncommon. The method continues to
be developed to cover an increasingly wide range of
circumstances. The improvement made in directional
drilling now enables hoisting shafts to be raise drilled, either
in one pass or in combination with the V-mole.
By using the systematic risk assessment developed by A
McCracken and TR Stacey, a quantitative assessment of
the risk attached to any shaft prior to commencement can
be done.
The capabilities and effectiveness of the raise drilling and
shaft boring techniques have been proven in the execution
of more than 50 projects throughout the world, with an
accumulated depth of 21 000 metres and in a wide variety
of rock types.
"Using alternative scenarios, the future literally becomes a
matter of choice, not chance" - (Wolfgang Grukke)

Shaft boring becomes an economical option from depths 8. REFERENCE

of around 600 metres and deeper and at that point becomes
cheaper and faster and can be bored to great depths. Geotechnical Risk Assessment for Large Diameter
Raisebored Shafts TR Stacey, a MC Cracken Rock
Comparison Items Conventional Shaft Bore Mechanics Considerations in Raiseboring TR Stacey,
Blind Sink Steffen, Robertson and Kirsten
Fully Mechanished Sinking of Deep Shafts Dr Ing. B.
1 Depth Restrictions None Competitively Schmucker and Dr Ing. C. Cetindis Thyssen Schachtbau
economical from 600 m GMBH Germany
Directional Drilling in the Mining Industry Industry E.
2 Diameter None 4.5m to 8.5m in Berger, Thyssen Schachtbau GMBH
restrictions diameter

3 Speed of sink Faster up Faster from 600m

to 600m onwards

4 Blasting All sinking None

5 Need bottom No Yes

access

6 Lining thickness Thicker Thinner

7 Safety aspects Poorer Best

8 Stage requirement Large Small

9 Kibble hoist Large hoist Small hoist for men

requirement for rock & material & material only

10 Stage hoist Large Smaller

11 Sinking crew size Larger Smaller

710 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Lower cost and higher productivity
through deepened partnership but
separated responsibilities
Sverker Hartwig, Vice President Technology, Atlas Copco CMT Business Area

Abstract
In 1986 Atlas Copco introduced its first fully automated drill jumbo at Las Vegas. Miners were talking about the
automated mine but in reality such advanced equipment had limited sales success throughout the past century.
Remotely controlled loaders and trucks were introduced but have largely been abandoned and replaced by manually
operated vehicles. One of the major drawbacks related to the success of mine automation has been the safety issue. As
high speed tramming vehicles operate in confined, dark places it is of utmost importance to incorporate fail-proof devices
detecting all personnel being in close proximity to the equipment. The author discusses the reasons for recent trends in
mine automation. As Atlas Copco at the Sudbury ISMMA conference in 1999 took the initiative to IREDES, a common
communication platform now exists to go one step further to get unified systems for navigation and other safety features.

PROLOGUE always went wrong or there were holes which were

This paper is not written by an old grumpy man who never
believed in technological breakthrough and thinks still,
nothing can beat pusher legs. This paper is presented by a
man even if old and grumpy, who his whole life has worked
with technological development and still thinks we have
seen nothing yet.
But this old man has with time realized that we have to
give the technique its own chance based upon its own
merits and not try to make it copies of mankind. He has also
realized that we no longer can afford being proud miners
doing everything by ourselves. We have so much to learn
from other industries! Finally, he has also understood that
the mining business is too small for a lot of parallel
developments. We need to work together and think long-
term profit before short-term greediness. If we do so, we will
be greatly rewarded.
BACKGROUND
Atlas Copcos first attempt to develop an automatic drifter
drill rig was made in the early seventies, using technique
from military anti air guns. For the computer freaks I can
mention that we based the electronics upon ECL circuits,
since the first microprocessor Intel 4004 was not yet born.
Never before or later was there a faster positioning rig, it
could almost chase a fly with the tip of the drill rod, but the
amount of printed boards was scaring not to say horrifying
and the power consumption for the electronics was close to
consumption of the rock drills.
Later in 1986 Atlas Copco introduced the first commercial
fully automatic 2 booms drifter rig at Las Vegas The Robot
Boomer. Think about it, this is already now very close to 20
years ago. Of course we thought at the time that in a couple
of years almost all rigs would be automatic. Yes there were
also others, a Norwegian contractor, Furuholmen, had
developed a rig of their own, of which traces are found with
AMW or Bever Control, if you wish. Also Montabert came
with their Robofore.
Nevertheless, I guess that from 1986 until 1998 fewer
than 10-20 rigs all brands were actually sold, and maybe
none really operated in the automatic mode. In practice
none of the rigs could really finish a whole round, something
impossible to drill etc. As a consequence the customers
always kept an operator aboard to solve problems, and our
main argument for the added cost of the automation in those
days, saving on personnel, fell flat.
Now today at least a double-digit percentage of Atlas
Copos rigs are sold in the full ABC version, as we call them,
but still today, they very seldom operate unmanned.
However, two things have been changed since then. Firstly,
the rock drills are much faster so its difficult, if not
impossible, for one man to keep up with three booms.
Secondly, we know today that electronics provide other
important qualities than manpower savings such as hole
quality and repeatability. These arguments were only
vaguely understood or mentioned in 1986. I would like you
to keep the following sentence in mind for the rest of my
presentation.
After more than 30 years of development we have not yet
reached a level of automation were rigs could be run
autonomous. But the automation added features that were
not foreseen at all when we started. These features may
very well give a better payback than the "possibility" to run
the rig unmanned, and at least have they greatly improved
the working conditions for the remaining operators.
Productivity measured in brutal tons per hour, meters per
day etc. are still difficult to match when you compare with an
all out manual operation! Is this just because we are stupid
miners?
Some of you may have heard about the one million dollar
NASA contest in the USA recently. Mission: Have a vehicle
of your choice with whatever electronics sensors and
whatever gadgets onboard, to go from A to B passing C, D,
E. and F in dessert type terrain, but with no interference
from man.
The winner, sorry there was no winner, managed only a
few percent of the track before it collapsed.
Those rocket science guys cannot do it either!
How far away arent we from the long reaching ambitions
from various Auto(mated)mine etc concepts.
I also remember one project that strived for an
unventilated and maybe not even drained mine, where
unmanned rigs with close to 100% availability, were doing
an everlasting high productivity job.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 711

 Nothing wrong with the ambition, but maybe by the time
we have made this possible, we also have found new ways
of excavation with bacteria or other means.
So far I have only discussed drill rigs, or better drifter rigs.
It is true that the level of automation has gone further in
production drilling such as Atlas Copcos BK Simbas at
LKAB, every rig are now producing an impressive 100 000
meter per annum in partly remote and partly autonomous
operation. How come? A part of the explanation is obviously
that these rigs are close to standstill in their drifts, but
maybe more important. LKAB has fine-tuned the operation
baered upon the pros and cons of such rigs, not doing
absolutely the same thing in the same way as in previous
manned rigs.
So, what about the other unit operations underground.
I, the undersigned, Atlas Copco and our dear colleague
machine suppliers, and dear miner customers have all
burned our fingers here too! Not to mention anyone in
particular, we all know of automated loading and/or
hauling projects, initially promising, which have been
abandoned due to lack of productivity in a wide sense. In
cases of the operation itself and in other cases, due to
the look up in a mine having critical areas blocked. I will
not put my head into the fight between truck haulers and
conveyor friends, but the safety measures around for
instance an automated wheel haulage system
sometimes makes it less flexible than a conveyor
system. A sad part here is that at the same time we learn
that in many a case did the machines perform better
than an operator regarding tire wear, breakdowns etc.
But still the whole thing did not perform!
An other interesting observation is that in some projects
the actual loading was made automatic but hauling manned
and in some applications the opposite, loading was
supervised but hauling left to automation. What conclusion
can we draw from that?
In a way these above applications represented an
unnecessary exercise. In the manufacturing industry self-
moving pallet movers became out of fashion at same time
as we started to move them underground and even worse,
they became out of fashion due to the same limitations we
now see underground.
There are two problems; one is in our own mind and the
other in the machine.
Most systems of this type use magnetical guidance from
a cable in the floor. The pallet mover can move along this
wire at a low speed for safety reasons (much lower than a
regular fork lift truck with driver) Whatever obstacle along
route will stop the pallet mover including an empty paper
box. How difficult it would be, to make this mover advanced
enough to understand type of obstacle, move around if
possible, or take another way to target, we all know from the
NASA experience. And if, would we ever allow this vehicle
to move around with forklift speed? And again horrible
thought, even though we unfortunately face multiple
accidents with manned vehicles inside factories, would
above unmanned system survive one single lethal
accident?
The other problem with the pallet movers is in our minds.
The concept was intended to give freedom and flexibility.
Without effort we could move goods around in the shop
irrespective where the different machines were placed. But
we got almost the opposite and the transparency of the
system was only visible for the few planners who really
understood how the control computer behaved or
misbehaved. For all others things just moved around, in and
out of pallet storage in a magic way, and we had no chance
to realize if we would get parts needed at our place, now or
never.
In a shop designed around the flow concept is really not a
need for pallet movers, cruising around in the factory.
712 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
In the flow concept in the best of worlds, the output from
one machine centre is the intake of the next. No material is
in transit or even worse in storage. From the factory comes
a continuous steady flow of products. Isnt that what we
always wanted from a mine? Or do we prefer mining
equipment moving around by itself in a magic dance for
minutes but standing for hours waiting for a human to sort
out problems, obstacles or just the fact that somebody
rattles the protective fence.
Where are we today in the mining industry? What to do
and what should not be done?
COMMUNICATION UNDERGROUND
The IREDES Initiative
I would lie if I did not admit being proud of taking the
IREDES Initiative at the Sudbury ISMMA conference in
1999, a common communication protocol platform, which
now exists. But I am equally honest when stating that I am
proud of our industry, fellow machine manufacturers and
users joining in, unselfishly forgetting short term
considerations for long term profit for us all.
The progress of The IREDES has been presented
elsewhere but please, if you are still not a member - sign up!
Now I will repeat something I said in Sudbury, maybe it
was wrong then, maybe also today, but it could very well be
true. The stock value of Microsoft is higher than the market
value of all publicly listed mining companies. My estimate is,
that the global mining industry (machine suppliers and
users) employ less than 1000 professional "computer"
engineers, hard and software, working with automation and
control. This can be compared to an estimated 170 000 ditto
working with cellular phones and networks.
Who gave us the idea that we should develop our own
communication systems?
Mind you IREDES deals so far only with the protocols
"The language" not with what type of systems we use for
transmitting it.
Its easy today to be ironic about the performance of
"leaky feeder systems etc." Its also unfair because in those
days, it was not much that could be used.
BUT now there is WLAN. What lovely automation
network, or Wireless local area network as some old-timers
still call WLAN. Yes, some of these components need to be
mine ruggedized and some works remains on roaming, but
it can still do a lot (and very much more than present mining
systems in terms of video channels etc) and at unbeatable
cost levels.
Will it change over time? Yes! Will the old WLAN work in
future WLAN? Yes to most parts! Will it continue to offer
better communication at lower cost? Yes!
I say, lets go for WLAN (and TCP/IP) Using IREDES
Protocol and I say, lets together sort out the few remaining
question marks about mining applications. Maybe we could
use the IREDES organization tofacilitate it over company
borders. Give me a call! I will happily host a kick off meeting.
Think about it. All mining personnel and vehicles in South
America or Russia of make A, B, or C are using
communication system and same digital language. Plug and
play as they say. And fixed installation in mines at a fraction
of todays cost. And finally, the system transfer capacity will
grow with future needs.
NAVIGATION AND OBJECT
(LIVING) DETECTION UNDERGROUND
In view of the NASA competition I fear that this is an area
where the mining industry is going to pump a lot of good
money into a large black deep hole.
Massmin 2004
 We, LHD manufacturers, think that we have come a long
way with our different scanning laser systems. But I am not
sure that we are right. Will they ever work with drill rig
accuracy? And what about living object detection? If we
cannot solve that we are stuck with locked up areas in our
mines and that we know how far it takes us!
I would have loved to suggest an all out cooperation in
this field but I fear that there may be too much pride about
the scanning lasers systems. BUT what about living object
detection?
How much work has already been done by for instance
the automotive industry?
Is not this an area where we all need to work together;
manufacturers, mines, unions and safety regulation
authorities? Things can and will go wrong and we need to
stand up as one man to fix the problems. Without a
99.999999% functionality here, I am sure that we will never
reach commercial autonomous operation underground. On
the other hand I am sure that we, with a combination of
different systems such as detectors on vehicles,
transponders on living objects and mine staff mapping
systems, can reach there.
Again I say, Give me a call. Atlas Copco is willing to host
a starting session that would lead to an independent
organization like IREDES with some money at least to find
out what has already been done by others.
MINE PLANNING
This is an area, which I always treat with respect and
prefer to stay out from.
I am a designer of mine machines and not a designer of
mines. Nevertheless, I have been involved in a few lucky
projects where the mining company could start out all fresh
in a new found deposit. On occasion these plans were made
for different types of "mobile miners" i.e. mechanical rock
cutting machines. Having worked a number of years with
these "monsters" I still have the dream, but will it come true
in my life? Close your eyes and dream with me!
One machine with few, if any, operators are doing all the
operations, pumping out ore in the rear end onto a conveyor
or in a pipe. No logistic problems whatsoever. Nothing of all
preparation works, minimum ventilation and so on and so
on. The underground flow concept!
THE MINERS DREAM!
As we all know few of these magnificent plans came
true. Nobody dared the risk even though calculations
looked fine. Only in coal potash and the like is ore
excavated this way.
But also for drill and blast a new deposit opens up
possibilities not obtainable in an old operation. It is my
understanding that the way to fortune and happiness here is
in split-level operations. If all haulage could be done on one
level, loading other one etc we have much bigger chances
to design a mine where different machines running or at
standstill do not interfere. Maybe we could even have areas
which are more conveniently sealed off for people. I dont
hesitate saying that separate mini-drifts for people leading
to the "few" points where man is inevitable should be
considered.
In communication between supplier and user we have a
problem. With all rights, the users are chasing us suppliers
for faster, cheaper, and more reliable machines.
But are we chased in the right directions? Is there a
common understanding - when we are discussing
automation - what is state of the art - what is the future?
Let me give a simple example. Mines of today are
designed for manned machines. Therefore we have rigs
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
with cabins, lots of lights, ventilation and so on and so forth.
An unmanned rig does not necessarily need all that and
some of it is both costly and cumbersome.
A manned rig has all the possibilities in the world to solve
or work around an unexpected problem. The unmanned has
only little or nothing of that.
We can cut out a lot of gadgets needed for manned
operations yes, but instead we need to create an
environment suitable for the autonomous rig where things
are alike and stay that way.
I am sorry to conclude that we started all wrong. We have
tried to design computerized mine-machines that act like
manned machines. Suppliers and users are to blame alike,
because then at least, we know what we are talking about.
I dont like to admit it, but I think many of us deep inside
understood, that it would never work. In all we have made
great progress in designing systems that help and unload an
operator and are doing many of the details equally well, or
even better than the operator. But to take him away, forget
it!
We need a restart, starting from a theoretical viewpoint
and we should stop making funny machines.
We need an autonomous mine research think tank
with advanced researchers who are not stuck in the old
way. Many of these, certainly more than 50%, have to
be miners.
The approach should be to, theoretically quality- and
quantitywise analyze what the unmanned machines can
really do with reasonable availability and productivity, and to
start designing the mine around it to help them out. Yes I
understand that these were harsh words for some miners.
We suppliers should design equipment that fit the mine not
the other way around.
Let me offer a compromise. We do our best along that
way on the manned side and you give my idea at least a
thought on the unmanned.
Also here I say, Give me a call. Atlas Copco is both willing
to help this process going and also to support it on its way
inviting all makers and users alike!
SUMMARY
I have from my experience tried to understand why we are
so far from autonomous mines today as we in fact are (there
could be papers from Atlas Copco and others saying
something different)
The main reasons seem to be that we started all wrong
trying to design human like "robot" operated machines
assuming that these "robots" could think.
To speed up the process we didnt bother to learn from
other industries nor did we cooperate. We followed instead
the multiple path system and this in an industry with very
limited resources.
But there is light in the tunnel.
There may very well be other ideas and concepts than
those I presented here, which are equally important but
those I would like to suggest are important to maintain
momentum in our efforts
Lets together develop WLAN and HUMAN DETECTORS
so that we at least have a chance to talk to our machines in
a global way and so that we protect the future of
autonomous mines not being stopped by causing injuries to
our workers.
And finally lets take a step back from the route we are
following and sit down and think. What can we really expect
from machines with their pros and cons and how do we
design our mines to maximize the output thereof?
In all these cases Atlas Copco is also willing to invite you
to a starting session to form an independent approach. Atlas
Copco is also willing to support the work and safeguard a
positive outcome. Give me a call!
713
 Sverker Hartwig is Vice President Technology in the
Business Area Construction and Mining Technique at
Atlas Copco AB in Stockholm, Sweden. In this position he
coordinates all development and design in Atlas
construction and mining divisions.
Sverker Hartwig joined Atlas Copco 1975 and has then
had numerous technical and commercial positions within
the Atlas Copco group working for Atlas Copco companies
in Sweden, USA, and Switzerland. Sverker Hartwig
graduated as an M.Sc.EE from the Royal Institute of
Technology in Stockholm 1974.

714 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Chapter 19
Miscelaneous
716 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004
 Air inrush risk assessment
for caving mines
Andrew Logan, Business Improvement Manager, Newcrest Mining Limited, Melbourne, Australia
Duncan Tyler, Geotechnical Manager, WMC Resources Ltd, WA. Australia

Abstract
Hazardous air inrush events occur in underground mines using caving methods or large roof spans. This paper outlines
a simple, practical methodology to assess potential wind gust velocities in mine tunnels associated with collapse of roof
material into a void and diffused through a broken rock pile. It also outlines tolerances based established meteorological
wind classes. These guidelines and associated control measures were developed by Newcrest Mining Limited for safe
sublevel caving at Ridgeway Gold Mine.

INTRODUCTION

The Ridgeway Gold Mine (Ridgeway) is located near

Orange in Australia. Ridgeway and its neighbouring open pit
mine, Cadia Hill, are part of Newcrest Mining Limiteds
Cadia Valley Operations.
The Ridgeway ore body is well suited to the sublevel
caving (SLC) mining method adopted. Mining starts at the
top of the ore body, 550 m below surface with ore extraction
progressing downwards and cave propagation upwards.
The porphyry gold-copper ore is broken by drilling and
blasting and is extracted incrementally in 25 m horizontal
slices over the ore body footprint.
Ore is extracted at 5.5Mt per year from the SLC, tipped to
an underground primary gyratory crusher and transported
via a 4km inclined conveyor system to surface.
There are several principal geological and geotechnical
domains (Figure 1). The North Fault also represents a
significant weakening structure considered important for
caving initiation and propagation. The major principal stress
is sub-horizontal, oriented east-west.
The production layout has been designed to allow effective
draw control by including transverse extraction; sublevel
intervals of 25 m; 6 m wide x 4 m high ore drives; and 14 m ore
drive centres. Caving of the overlying strata is induced as it is
undercut by ore extraction. Broken rock created by caving of
the overlying strata fills the void created by ore extraction. Ore
dilution by waste rock from above is controlled by optimising
the design of the mining layout, by disciplined production
mining practices and draw management. Figure 1: Schematic cross section through Ridgeway
At Ridgeways Feasibility stage, the recognized standard deposit (2001)
method for predicting caving initiation was the Laubscher
(1999) method. It predicted Ridgeway caving initiation was (550m:180m or approximately 3:1) was believed to be
likely. The effect of the North Fault on Ridgeways caving greater than any successfully attempted. The Ridgeway
assessments was unknown. cave was therefore beyond previous precedent, leading to
Caving occurs as a result of two mechanisms: gravity some uncertainty about cave propagation.
collapse of well structured rock masses and induced stress
fracturing of less structured rock masses. With its good rock INDUSTRY AIR INRUSH EVENTS
quality, induced stress fracturing was the primary
mechanism anticipated at Ridgeway. The conceptual cave An air inrush, wind gust, or air blast event can be defined as "a
model presented by Duplancic and Brady (1999) describes sudden movement of air, displaced by a collapse of rock into an
the cave front behaviour in this case (Figure 2). underground void, which causes the air to move through the
As shown in Figure 2, the cave roof necks as it adjacent openings", Fowler et al (1996). A wind blast can be also
propagates upwards. The better the rock quality, the more described as an event resulting in air movement underground
quickly the necking with occur. The larger the ratio between that causes injury and / or seriously disrupts ventilation.
height (distance from cave initiation to free surface) and There needs to be a void for an air blast to occur. In
initial minimum caving width, the higher the risk this necking caving operations an appropriate expansion void is an
will cause the cave to stall. essential part of the mining process. Geometric factors such
Confidence in cave initiation at Ridgeway was high. as volume; plan area; height; shape and hydraulic radius
However the height to minimum width ratio of the cave must also be considered.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 717


Figure 2: Conceptual model of caving (After Duplancic &
Brady, 1999)
Rock or other material (water or fill) above a void provides
a potential energy source if a void is allowed to grow beyond
tolerable levels and the progressive roof collapse slows
relative to void growth. This potential is converted to high
air pressures if the roof becomes rapidly unstable and
collapses into the void. Factors that impact on this
instability include span, shape, mass, proximity to the
surface, rock fabric, major structures, stress levels, mode of
failure and trigger mechanisms.
The high air pressures are converted to wind gusts when
they find an escape pathway to areas of lower pressure
(e.g. surface). In caving operations, the broken rock pile in
the caved zone, provides a buffering effect to dissipate
some of the high air pressures. Considerations include:
broken rock pile thickness and permeability; the number of
openings; location of openings size of openings; path of
least resistance; ventilation controls; access to openings;
and connection to surface.
High wind gusts become hazardous when the paths of
rapid air flow concide with working location of people and/or
infrastructure. Considerations for assessment of potential
hazard to people and infrastructure include: location of
manned work areas with respect to the escape pathways;
and the provision of pressure relief pathways and restricted
access.
Air inrush events have been recorded in both the
underground metalliferous and coal mining industries. Both
rely on caving and progressive roof collapse to enable safe
production. Air displacement from falling rock is, therefore a
common event in such mines, which require an appropriate
expansion void or air gap to allow progressive collapse
and/or cave propagation to occur (Figure 2). Most of these
events remain unnoticed due to their very small magnitude.
Although there are numerous accounts of air blasts in
general and technical literature, very little detailed work has
been done on understanding the phenomena and providing
practical prediction tools.
In November 1999, a catastrophic event occurred at
Northparkes Mine where the cave back collapsed into the
mines air gap. The cave back had formed a stable arch
and an air gap of some 180m was allowed to develop, with
nominal muck pile height of 60m. The force of the blast
was such that roof bolts and mesh were bent, motor
vehicles destroyed and 4 workers in the vicinity were
killed. The following salient findings and
recommendations have been extracted from the resulting
coronial report, Bailey (2003):
"Any mine operator intending to employ the process of
block cave mining is to identify and analyse the elements of
all the risks associated with its block cave operations and
718 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
develop and maintain hazard management procedures for
the management of:
The void above the muckpile;
The height of the muckpile above the extraction horizon,
and
The air blast hazard and shall include all the appropriate
controls for the air blast at all openings or potential
openings into the cave zone
Management of the major hazards in a block cave mine
must include recognition of the facts that these issues are
interrelated and cannot be managed as discrete
elements".
Fowler and Hebblewhite (2003) also discuss in detail
issues associated with Australian coal mine wind blasts.
The most recent fatality to wind blast in the Australian coal
industry was in 1976 at the Eastern Main Colliery, NSW.
They report that, air blasts resulting in serious injuries have
occurred in the following NSW coal mines Cooranbong
(1983), Wallarah (1989), Myuna (1990), Newstan (1995-96),
Newvale No 2 (1995), Gunnedah (1998) and Moonie (1998-
99). Air blasts in Australian coal mines since 1895 have
resulted in the deaths of nine workers.
A potentially disruptive air inrush was thus considered to
be one of Ridgeways major hazards that required
systematic assessment and effective controls. This
required research, development and innovation.
RIDGEWAY INNOVATIONS
New processes were developed by Newcrest to manage
the air inrush risk at Ridgeway. These were incorporated
into an inrush hazard management plan with preventative
controls, monitoring, triggers and responses to proactively
manage air inrush, NML (2002):
1. Blasted ore was left in the cave as a blanket,
predominantly on 5330 & 5305 levels, and as a guard to
dissipate potential air inrushes.
2. An integrated cave monitoring system was developed,
using the data from a number of sources allowing cross
validation of data, and the effective tracking of the cave
through to the surface: This included successful use of
500m deep holes for
surface seismic system;
open-hole depth plumbing; and
extensometers.
3. A wind gust model was developed specifically for
Ridgeway in order to reduce the technical risk
associated with air blasts. This model predicts air inrush
velocities resulting from a massive cave back failure,
and is fed into triggers and responses built into the
hazard management plan.
4. Air inrush triggers and responses were developed to
match existing wind force standards using the Saffir
Simpson Hurricane Scale as no guidelines were
available in the mining industry.
5. Response plans were specifically developed and
implemented (Table 2).
6. Access drives were stood further out than common
practice to allow for cave footprint and width extension
responses.
7. Hydro-fracturing to stimulate caving was researched and
trialled as a response.
From systematic measurement, new knowledge was
acquired regarding initiation and propagation of caving in
strong rock masses where mine scale discrete structures
are predominant. Under these circumstances initiation and
propagation of the cave appear to be controlled more by the
discrete structures rather than the general rock mass rating.
Massmin 2004
This suggests that major structures should be explicitly
taken into account in predictive methods.
The Ridgeway cave was designed and developed at a
height to minimum width ratio outside current worldwide
experience - greater than height to width of 2:1. Flores and
Karzulovic (2002). This significant extension of existing
mining practices was made achievable by the beneficial
effect of North Fault as a weakening structure.
WIND VELOCITY ASSESSMENT
A credible peak wind velocity due to an air inrush event is
a function of several key variables:
Wind gust potential (m/s) = f (expansion void, muckpile
thickness, permeability of the broken rock pile, nature of
collapse, number of exit paths, measurement error) (1)
Ridgeway first developed a simple, practical model to
assess the instantaneous compression pressure generated
in the broken rock pile due to cave roof collapse in a void,
using Boyles Law. Conservative assumptions were made
regarding the nature of the collapse as a piston. Wind
velocities where then subsequently assessed from these
overpressures by air flow principles. Buffering effects were
considered and measurement accuracy and uncertainties
were included in the analysis.
The model can be used to assess the overpressure
developed over a range of broken rock pile heights, air gap
heights and broken rock pile fragmentation types following
the instantaneous collapse of the cave back, using a leaky
piston model. The potential compression pressure (P1)
from atmospheric pressure (Pa) generated by the collapsing
cave roof was estimated from the formula:
Boyles Law P1 = Pa [(Vag + Vrp) / Vrp ] (2)
where is 1.4 for air, Vag is the volume of the air gap and
Vrp is the volume of the broken rock pile.
The principal unknowns regarding the prediction of
pressures are the rate at which the back falls; the degree to
which it breaks up (thus permitting leakage and pressure
loss); vertical height of the fall (the rate of pressure build up
must relate to the rate at which the back falls up until
terminal velocity is reached); plan area of the fall and the air
flow resistance of the connected openings.
The conservative assumptions that were made to permit
the simplistic estimation of the void pressure which could be
generated during a caving event were: i) pressure rise is
very rapid (in reality peak pressure may take several
seconds or more to be reached); ii) compression of air
below the fall is uniform; iii) the complete cave back
collapses as a single slug, with no friction on the sidewalls;
iv) all of the air below the collapse is compressed and a
vacuum is created above the fall (there is no leakage); and
v) the air below the collapse is compressed into the voids in
the broken rock pile which is in the base of the cave and
there is no overall change in the volume of air contained in
the system. The assumptions identified represent a "worst
case air pressure model, and in reality the generated
pressures will be lower than those predicted.
Using the peak over pressures calculated above and
applying them to different muck pile resistances it is
possible to assess the corresponding flow rate through the
broken rock using the ventilation equation:
Pressure = resistance x flow2 (3)
Velocity = Flow / Cross Sectional Area (4)
Volume Air = Porosity x Total Volume (5)
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Different muck pile porosities and resistances were
assumed for the different density broken rock piles. The
assessment is sensitive to the permeability assumption.
Permeability of the large scale muckpile is difficult to directly
measure and requires interpretative assessment from
qualitative muckpile fragmentation interpretation and back
calculations. For example, an extrapolated broken rock
resistance for a finely fragmented material could be in the
order of 0.11 Ns2m-8. Significantly more work is required to
establish working guidelines for fine, medium and coarse
material.
The theoretical peak velocity (TPV) is thus a combination
of the previous formulae and site specific measurements
and variable assessments.
TPV = from (2), (3), (4), (5) (6)
The Ridgeway formula and parameters are intentionally
not shown here, as they are site specific. The intent here is
rather to explain a method whereby individual locations
might develop their own site specific formula. Further formal
research along these lines may also lead to more widely
applicable guidelines, which would be beneficial to the
mining industry in general. Mine ventilation assessment
tools such as VENTSIM, can also analyse multiple flow
paths as they have many of these concepts embedded in
their methodology.
Fowler and Sharmas (2000) measurements of wind
velocities from coal mine goaf collapses showed that there
were buffering effects that limit the TPV through relatively
small underground development drives. The TPV is thus
reduced by a buffer reduction factor (BRF) to give a practical
peak velocity (PPV):
PPV = BRF x TPV (7)
When substituting the variables back into formula (7)
developed from formula (1), the following points were
considered.
The expansion void value is assessed by direct and
indirect measurements, and draw control records. The
muckpile thickness is the thickness of broken rock overlying
the first extraction horizon. This value is also assessed from
direct and indirect measurements and draw control records.
Measurement error needs to be considered and a
conservative view taken.
The large scale permeability of the broken rock pile is
assessed from a site specific fragmentation interpretation
and estimated from back calculation of inrush records from
mines with similar characteristics.
The nature of collapse was considered as a plug failure as
previously discussed. This is the most efficient failure
mechanism for driving the air out of the air gap and through
the muck pile. This is a considered a conservative failure
mechanism, but it has been interpreted to have occurred at
both Northparkes and Salvador mines. The duration of the
failure can be conservatively assumed to be 1 second for a
first pass assessment.
The number of exit points relates to the pathways
available for any potential air blast to exit the uppermost
extraction horizon and vent to surface, and
Measurement error is related to errors associated with the
above measurements, interpretations and estimations.
This assessment can be entered into a spreadsheet
coupled with a probability tool such as @Risk to aid the
assessment of input variability. Wind velocity values can be
assessed for a series of expansion gap and broken rock pile
heights for different broken rock porosities. Upper quartile
values can be used to increase the conservatism of the
assessment. A series of charts can be developed into a
nomogram (Figure 3) that links the expansion void height
719
(first x axis) to variable broken rock heights to give a wind
velocity assessment through a single exit tunnel (y axis).
The nomogram also shows the reduced wind velocities for
multiple exit paths (second x axis). Separate nomograms
are required for different broken rock fragmentation and
permeability.
WIND TOLERANCES
Limited international mining guidelines are available for
definition of tolerable wind velocities. Meteorological
classifications of tropical storm wind velocities are well
established however. These scales provide estimates of the
possible impact of winds of the same magnitude as those
that might be generated by a significant cave failure. Using
this information, estimates of potential damage over a range
of possible wind gust magnitudes can be made. Wind
velocities from these scales are linked to injury / damage.
The following wind velocity models can be used:
The Beaufort Wind Force Scale ;
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale;
The Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale; and
The Fujita Tornado Intensity Scale.
It was interpreted that the most applicable meteorological
scale to use is the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane scale; because
wind gust velocity is measured at ground level in this scale.
All of the other scales measure wind gust velocity 10m
above ground level. Based on the above, five maximal wind
gust potential classes were identified and are presented in
Table 1. This classification is support by Australian Coal
Association Research Program (ACARP) work which
indicates that laceration injuries of uncovered skin would
occur for wind velocities exceeding 15m/s for projectiles
weighing 10 grams or less.
CONTROLS
The primary preventative control for major air inrush
events is to inhibit the development of an inappropriate void
or air gap above the broken rock pile. This can be achieved
by adopting strict draw control strategies in conjunction
with cave back monitoring. Systematic measurement,
ongoing assessment processes, well defined action
triggers and management agreed responses are important
process controls. Responses target void reduction,
dissipation of potential energy, securing of escape pathways
and tightening of working controls. Actions may include
increased monitoring intensity; cave inducement (hydro-
fracturing or blasting); deferred draw; level closure;
extension of cave footprint; and surface access exclusion of
the potential subsidence zone (Table 3).
SUMMARY
The Ridgeway sublevel cave was implemented with the
understanding that air inrush events have historically
occurred and needed to be proactively managed.
Preventative, monitoring and responsive risk management
strategies were implemented to effectively manage this air
inrush risk. A new methodology to assess potential wind
gust velocities associated with cave roof collapse was also
developed, along with wind velocity tolerances from
meteorological wind classes. These controls significantly
contributed to successful cave propagation and continuing
safe production at Ridgeway.
720 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 3: Ridgeway wind blast nomogram
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author is grateful to all of the people at Cadia Valley
Operations who helped produce information and
methodology presented here. In particular Professor Ted
Brown for his review of the airblast hazard management
systems reported here. The author also wishes to
acknowledge the permission given by Newcrest Mining
Limited for publication of this technical paper.
REFERENCES
Australian Mining Consultants, 2000. Ridgeway Gold
Mine Ventilation Bulkhead Design. Derrington A.S., AMC
Job Number 300029. September 2000.
Bailey J. 2003. Findings and recommendations: Inquest
into the deaths of R Bodkin; M House; S Osman and C
Lloyd-Jones on the 24th November 1999 at the E29 Lift 1
Mine. NSW Coroners Court, 18 March 2003.
Duplancic P. and Brady B. H., 1999. Characterisation of
caving mechanisms by analysis of seismicity and rock
stress. In Proceedings 9th International Congress on
Rock Mechanics, Paris, Eds Vouille G and Berest P, 2:
1049-1053. Balkema: Rotterdam.
Flores G. and Karzulovic A., 2002. Geotechnical
Guidelines for the transition from open pit to underground
mining, ICSII task 4. Report to the International Caving
Study
Fowler J.C.W. and Hebblewhite B.K., 2003. Managing the
hazard of wind blast/air blast in caving operations in
Australian underground mines, In Ground Control in
Mining: Technology & Practice. Ed Hebblewhite B.K.,
ISBN 0 7334 2085 0, UNSW School of Mine Engineering,
Sydney.
Fowler J.C.W. and Sharma P., Jan 2000. The dynamics of
wind blasts in underground coal mines, Final Project
report (No 4), Project No C6030. ISBN 0 7334 0700 5,
UNSW School of Mine Engineering, Sydney.
Fowler J., Torabi S. and Daly C., 1996. Field Investigation
into Windblasts Resulting from Large Falls of Roof in
Australian Underground Coal Mines, In Mining Science
and Technology. Eds Guo and Golosinski. AA Balkema.
Laubscher D.H., 1999. Block and panel caving, Internal
report to the International Caving Study.
Newcrest Mining Ltd., 2002. Ridgeway Gold Mine Inrush
Major Hazard Management Plan, Internal report to
Newcrest Mining Pty. Ltd.
Massmin 2004
 1: Wind gust damage classes
Wind gust potentials Classification & reference
Up to 15m/s, Moderate gale (Beaufort scale no. 7).
(55 kph) Wind gust class = green;
15 to 33m/s Cyclone / hurricane Category 1,
(55 to 125 kph) (F0) tornado. Wind gust class = yellow
35 - 45m/s Cyclone / hurricane Category 2,
(125 - 170kph) Moderate (F1) tornado.
Wind gust class = orange;
45 - 60m/s Cyclone / hurricane Category 3,
(170 - 225kph) Significant (F2) tornado.
Wind gust class = red
>60m/s (225kph) Cyclone Categories 4 and 5,
Severe to Inconceivable (F3-F6)
tornado. Wind gust class = red
Table 2: Wind gust speed, trigger and response plan
Measurements Trigger or key decision point
Estimated expansion void. Condition Yellow Level 1.
Broken material including Potential velocity 15 35m/s;
ore above uppermost active (55 125 kph) OR Cave back
production level. has not moved for 3 6
Time since last cave movement months & little/no recorded
seismicity
Condition Yellow Level 2. Potential
velocity 15 35m/s; (55 125 kph)
AND Cave back has not moved for
3 6 months & little/no
recorded seismicity
Condition Orange. Potential
velocity 35 45m/s; (125 170 kph)
OR Cave back has not moved for
6 9 months & little/no
recorded seismicity
Condition Red. Potential velocity
>45m/s; (>170 kph) OR Cave back
has not moved for over 9 months
& little/no recorded seismicity
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Potential impact
Difficulty walking into wind.
Some damage to windows, signs, vent
bag, air and water pipes.
Unprepared person may be knocked over.
Significant damage to signs vent bag
and pipes. Some automobiles overturned,
small projectiles (sand).
Major damage some de-mountable
offices pushed over or destroyed.
Light object missiles generated.
Severe Damage Heavy cars lifted off
ground and thrown. Metal buildings
collapsed or severely damaged
Planned response
Increase monitoring intensity;
review draw records; prepare
for level closure
As above; implement underground
hydro-fracturing cave inducement
strategies
Deferred draw; full level closure;
extend cave footprint; plan to
evacuate mine if there is a
marked increase in the seismicity
in a 4 hour period; exclude
surface access to subsidence zone
if cave could collapse through to surface
Immediate and full mine evacuation;
remote hydro-fracturing if safe to
do so; exclude surface access to
subsidence zone if cave could
collapse to surface
721
 Cavity monitoring
system and stope analysis
John D. Lupton, B.Sc., Arts, AscT Optech Incorporated, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Abstract
This paper will discuss the benefits and advantages of using 3D survey data in stope analysis. Obtaining detailed 3D
survey data of underground mine progress and production is a challenge. It is almost impossible to "see" around
corners, underneath overhangs, or deep into dark, dusty, humid underground voids. Thus, valuable ore can remain
permanently encased in backfill. Without the benefit of 3D survey data, underground mines have the difficult task of
meeting grade quotas without the benefit of knowing exactly what has been mined. Lack of this data usually results in
unfavorable month-end reconciliation factors, where grades must be adjusted to match grades assessed by the Mill.

1 INTRODUCTION to determine the over/under breaks. A simple formula is

Any new technology adopted by an underground mine
requires a learning curve. However, laser survey
technology is the quickest way to move a 2D mine into a 3D
world. 3D survey data is much easier to comprehend and
communicate. This data makes it easier to make and back
up difficult decisions. Combined with one of the many
powerful 3D mining software packages available, a mine
can improve grades by building a CMS database, as seen
in Figure 1.
used to calculate dilutions:
Dilution (%) = CMS Survey Data
Reserves
Building a CMS database begins with surveys of primary
stopes. Planning will then design secondary stopes based
on actual mined data of primary stopes, thus maximizing
recovery and minimizing dilution. This will improve month-
end reconciliation and overall grade control, resulting in a
more efficient mine.

Figure 1: CMS Data. Figure 2: Blast Ring Comparison.

The value of 3D survey data is to provide a safe
benchmark that will be used for production data. This actual
accurate 3D survey production data will be compared to
blast design and mine reserves. For example, a set of blast
rings will be designed to maximize recovery and minimize
dilution. Once these new rings have been blasted,
excavated and surveyed, the results will be compared with
ore reserves and the original blast designs. The results will
be analyzed for tonnage of lost ore (underbreak), tonnage of
waste rock (overbreak), and accurate grades sent to the mill
(reconciliation). Ultimately the results will be analyzed for
the success, or lack of success, of drilling and blasting.
2 STRATEGIC BLASTING IN 2D
Working with 2D data, planning would simply slice the 3D
survey data at the desired coordinates, azimuth and dip.
This 2D "slice" would then be draped over the 2D ore body
For example in Figure 2 the secondary stope was
designed based upon the survey results from the primary
stope (which is now backfilled). The secondary stope is
then blasted, mucked and surveyed with a CMS (dark line).
CMS scan results are sliced at the same coordinates as the
blast rings and draped over the ore body (dotted line) and
blast rings. The first blast ring (left) shows unsuccessful
blasting and the second blast ring (right) appears to be
marginal. A close examination reveals a substantial amount
of material left in the lower hanging wall. However, when
the grade is draped over, the remaining material actually
contains very low-grade ore (0.90). Strategic blasting in this
stope, that left low-grade material in the stope, saved the
mine almost $9,000 (CDN). Further analysis will reveal
exact tonnage of ore/waste left in the stope, and ore/waste
hauled, or not hauled to the mill. Plans to recover any
remaining ore will be implemented when designing the
tertiary stope.

722 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

3 STRATEGIC BLASTING IN 3D
With one of the many powerful mining software programs
such as Gemcom, calculating overbreak/underbreak is
painless. Users can overlay CMS polygons with the block
model and a simple "clipping" routine provides the tonnage of
overbreak/underbreak such as below. In the event of
unsuccessful blasting, new bast rings must be designed to
remove remaining pillars. In Figure 3, the image on the left
illustrates unsuccessful blasting potentially leaving behind
thousands of dollars in ore. Since the stopes on both sides
have already been backfilled, a new set of rings must be
designed, blasted and cleared quickly without disrupting
production. The recovered pillars seen on the right contributed
several thousand extra dollars in ore.
Figure 3: Blast Success Comparison.
Sloughing rock usually goes undetected. By monitoring
rock behavior with a 3D laser survey instrument, specifically
hangingwall stability, the 3D survey data can be used to
predict unplanned dilution (overbreak) in future stopes.
Rock mechanics use CMS data to determine parameters
surrounding hangingwall stability. Using this data along with
the known amount of undercut, dip, strike length, and
mucking time, a model is developed to predict dilution in
future stopes. This new model will provide the information
to reduce future dilution, thus creating a more efficient mine.
4 MINE SAFETY
Since sloughing rock usually goes undetected,
monitoring unsafe areas prevents injury. By monitoring
inaccessible areas potential problems, including injuries,
can be avoided.
Figure 4: Sloughing Ore Pass.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
For example, an underground mine in Ontario was
experiencing difficulty mounting a sloughing ore pass, most
of which went undetected. With the use of a reflectorless
automatic laser scanner, the mine engineer was able to
obtain an accurate image of sloughing ore pass as seen in
Figure 4. Immediately the chief engineer justified the
closing of the drift above the pass. Almost two weeks later
the closed drift completely failed into the ore pass below
without injury to any employees or equipment.
Sloughing ore passes and hanging walls are perilous
areas to send miners. With a CMS it is possible to obtain
detailed information without unnecessarily risking injury to
mine employees.
Figure 5: Stope Comparison
In Figure 5, the original stope design included mining 19%
backfill, 22% air, and left 33% additional available ore in the
stope. The grade would have been 0.277. The redesign
increased the grade to 0.344, an increase of 20%. The
redesign included blasting under part of a backfilled stope.
After blasting, mucking and surveying, the final grade was
0.337, which were still 18% better than originally designed.
5 CONCLUSIONS
CMS data cannot be accepted blindly. Errors, including
those caused by water in the stope, are always possible and
should keep the processor awake. Laser beams reflect off
water and can be detected immediately as unusually long
distances. Also any hanging cable bolts will interfere with
the laser contacting the rock. All these errors must be
edited before processing.
It is important to build a CMS database that can be
consulted constantly when developing adjacent drifts or
stopes. If a stope is backfilled without being surveyed, then
your database is not complete. Ultimately a more efficient
mine means better grades, increased production, and less
month-end reconciliation. CMS continues to enhance
efficiency and safety in over 100 underground mines around
the world.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank Optech Incorporated for
permission to present this work and for the many CMS
customers over the years without whose assistance this
paper would not be possible.
REFERENCES
Yao, X. (Mike); Allen, Gary; and Willett, Mike, Dilution
Evaluation Using Cavity Monitoring System at HBMS -
Trout Lake Mine, 1999.
Knight, Adam, The Use of the Cavity Monitoring System
and VULCAN at the Jerritt Canyon Joint Venture,
Northeastern Nevada, 2001.
Duke, Cliff, Cavity Monitoring System as a tool for
Reserve Reconciliation, 1999.
723
 Preliminary ventilation design
for the Grasberg block cave mine
Ian Duckworth, Technical Expert Ventilation, Ketut Karmawan, Superintendent Ventilation,
P.T. Freeport Indonesia, West Papua, Indonesia
Timothy Casten, Senior Manager of Underground Planning, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.

Abstract
P.T. Freeport Indonesia operates a mining complex located in the highlands of Papua, Indonesia. This complex consists
of both underground and surface operations. By approximately 2014 the existing Grasberg open pit will be exhausted,
and a new underground mine will have been brought into production to cave the deposit below the pit. This paper
describes pre-feasibility ventilation planning for the Grasberg Block Cave Mine. The mine is being designed based on a
nominal production rate of 115,000 tonnes/day with a panel caving footprint of approximately 1 km by 1 km. The
proposed ventilation design allows for the long production panels to be broken into five discrete ventilation zones, and
ensure the economic delivery of large volumes of air to the working regions. Discussion is provided on ventilation criteria,
network modeling, examination of shaft versus drifting options, proposed infrastructure requirements, and
recommendations for future study.

1 BACKGROUND ON PTFI mine support services will utilize diesel-powered mobile

P.T. Freeport Indonesias (PTFI) project site is located in
the Sudirman Mountain range of Papua (formerly Irian
Jaya). West Papua is the Eastern-most province of
Indonesia, which occupies the Western half of the island of
New Guinea.
PTFI acquired and have been developing the Ertsberg
district since 1967. The presently known ore reserves are
located approximately 100 km North of the Southwest coast
of Papua, between elevations of 2,800 m and 4,000 m
above sea level.
Total ore tonnage has increased from 15,000 tonnes/day
(tpd) in 1978, to 60,000 tpd in 1992, to the present tonnage
of about 230,000 tpd. At the time of writing this paper
approximately 45,000 tpd is being produced from the DOZ
Block Cave Mine. Present reserves consist of six copper-
gold-silver orebodies and several other resources located
within a 15-kilometer square area.
The Grasberg porphyry copper-gold deposit possesses
the worlds largest gold deposit and is among the five largest
copper deposits in an operating mine. The present reserves
for the Grasberg ore body are about 1.7 billion tons.
2 GRASBERG BLOCK CAVE MINE
equipment. Due to relatively cool virgin rock and ambient air
temperatures, mechanical cooling or heating of the air will
not be required. The main access for men and materials will
be via the AB Tunnels and a Service Winze.
The GRS BC operation will include the following
components:
An 8 km long light rail passenger/freight system connecting
a surface station with an underground terminus. This supply
tunnel will also provide for three other proposed mines,
called the MLZ Block Cave Mine, Kucing Liar Block Cave
Mine and the Big Gossan Sublevel Stope Mine. It is likely
that all these operations will be developed during the period
of the GRS BC mine life.
An underground crushing system with twin conveyor drifts
linking the crusher bins/feeders to the surface milling
facilities.
A concrete-lined Service Winze with man cage providing
access between the rail terminus and block cave
operation. The length will be approximately 300 m.
Single ramp linking the GRS BC rail terminus with the
orebins/conveyors and the production levels.
Block cave operation consisting of 2840 m Undercut,
2820 m Extraction and 2790 m Service Levels (elevations
above sea level).

The Grasberg open pit is scheduled to cease production
in 2014. Since the orebody continues at depth below the
economic limits of surface mining, the reserve that is left
behind will be extracted using block-caving methods.
Development of the Grasberg Block Cave Mine (GRS BC)
is scheduled to commence during 2008 and will be
accessed via the Ali Budiardjo (AB) Tunnel system. The
mine will be a mechanized block caving operation with a
nominal production rate of 115,000 tpd. The option for an
increased production rate of 160,000 tpd was also
considered in the planning and design.
The GRS BC will be a high-tonnage mine utilizing electric
ore handling equipment on both the Extraction and Rail
Haulage Levels. Caving, development, pre-production and
2.1 GRS BC Design Overview
The mine design for the GRS BC utilized the VulcanTM
mine planning package. Output from VulcanTM was
imported to the VnetPCTM 2000 ventilation simulation
program to develop a three dimensional network
representation. Figure 1 shows a general isometric view of
the proposed GRS BC. This network includes all
components such as the tunnel access, ramp, Service
Winze and conveyors. Figure 2 shows a plan view of the
Extraction Level for the GRS BC. For 115,000 tpd there will
be approximately 870 active drawpoints that will be brought
online as the cave moves from the Northeast towards the
Southwest. The ventilation and track drifts comprise the
underlying Service Level. The Undercut Level overlies the

724 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 1. Schematic showing the layout of the GRS BC.
Extraction with the same general footprint. A schematic
layout of the proposed ventilation system for the Extraction,
Undercut and Service Levels is shown in Figure 3. The
airflow is delivered and exhausted via the ventilation service
drifts on the 2790 m Service Level. There will be four groups
of three service drifts, with each group comprising two
parallel ventilation drifts (intake or exhaust) and one-track
drift. Each group of service drifts will be connected to every
Extraction panel by two 4 m diameter smooth raises. One
raise will serve as a chute, and the other for ventilation. The
ventilation service drifts and connection raises allow the full
width of the Extraction Level to be segmented into five
separately ventilated zones.
The Undercut Level will be discretely ventilated. To avoid
the requirement for many ventilation raises interconnecting
the Undercut and Extraction Levels, two ventilation drifts will
be driven across the Undercut Level ahead of caving. These
drifts will be connected down to the Service Level exhaust
at the West end. As caving progresses, intake air will be
brought around the cave using temporary fringe drifts and
Figure 2. Plan view of 115,000 tpd Extraction Level with
underlying rail loops.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
advance Drill Drifts (DDs). Auxiliary ventilation will be used
to supply air to the active DD headings from the perimeter.
The air will be exhausted via the advance Undercut
ventilation drifts as shown in the sketch. The Service Level
track drifts will be ventilated in the opposite direction to the
Undercut, which will help balance the air velocity through
the intake and exhaust service drifts.
The GRS BC area will be supplied and exhausted with air
via primary intake and exhaust drifts. To facilitate the large
quantity of air required, there will be four main intake drifts
and four exhaust drifts as shown in Figure 1.
2.2 Ventilation Design Criteria
PTFI adopt certain ventilation criteria to assist with
underground mine planning. Tables 1 and 3 present some of
the criteria that have been established based on Indonesian
Mining Regulations (Decree of the Minister of Mines and
Energy 1995), US Mine Safety and Health Administration
Figure 3. Sketch showing the proposed GRS BC ventilation
system.
725
(MSHA), and good engineering practice. Although the
Table 2. Atkinson friction factors.
design criteria do not specifically address diesel
particulates, PTFI has a comprehensive program in place to
Description Friction Factor (kg/m3)
monitor and minimize diesel particulates in all underground
Actual* Stnd
areas. This program integrates baseline monitoring of
worker exposures with reduction initiatives, including fuel
9 m2 to 15 m2 XSA - Drifting 0.0102 0.0132
changes, upgrade of equipment to tier-rated engines, and
15 m2 to 20 m2 - Drifting 0.0093 0.0120
increased ventilation. Table 2 provides a list of the Atkinson
20 m2 to 30 m2 - Drifting 0.0083 0.0107
friction factors used for the ventilation design. These values
30 m2 and Up - Drifting 0.0074 0.0095
have been obtained from detailed friction factor tests
conducted in PTFIs existing underground operations, and Conveyor Drift (with 2.1 m Belt) 0.0093 0.0120
hence there is a good level of confidence in the data. Primary Raise 6.0 m f+ 0.0074 0.0095
2.3 Airflow Requirements Typical ALIMAK Rse 3.0 m f+ 0.0111 0.0143
Table 4 provides an estimate of the airflow requirements Drop Ventilation Rse+ 0.0148 0.0191
for the GRS BC operating at 115,000 tpd. This includes a
comprehensive list of all mobile equipment, with actual * At average mine air density = 0.93 kg/m3
engine power and estimated operating factors. To provide + Does not include shaft/raise entry and exit losses
for an economic ventilation design, every attempt has been
made to reduce the amount of diesel equipment operating in
the mine, and a significant component of the production Table 3. Other ventilation design criteria.
operation will be run remotely using automation techniques.
Major contaminant producing areas of the mine such as the Criterion Value*
crusher stations and shops will be established on separate
air splits direct to exhaust. The rail haulage and chute Min. Airflow per 100 Workers 7.1 m3/s
loading systems will be fully automated from a remote Design Airflow per 100 kW Diesel 7.9 m3/s
control station. The nature of the Extraction Level lends
itself to automation of the loader fleet although at this level Shops and Facilities Exhaust
of the study it has been assumed that all mobile equipment Diesel Equipment Shop 40.1 m3/s
on the level will have an operator. Lube/Fueling Shop 28.3 m3/s
The total airflow estimate for the mobile equipment is "Hot" Shop or Rock Breaker Stn 23.6 m3/s
about 627 m3/s. The requirement for the active Extraction Explosives Magazine 9.4 m3/s
and Service Levels is 736 m3/s. Other fixed allowances Common Gas TLVs
include four shops, with a total airflow of 161 m3/s Oxygen > 19.5%
exhausting directly to return ventilation drifts. There is an Carbon Dioxide TWA=5,000 ppm
additional 189 m3/s intaking the AB Tunnels which is Carbon Monoxide TWA=50 ppm
exhausted via the GRS BC conveyors. This ventilation split STEL=400 ppm
requires an underground booster fan. Based on this list, the Hydrogen Sulfide TWA=10 ppm
total airflow provision for the mine, excluding leakage and Nitrogen Dioxide STEL=5 ppm
balancing, is about 1,755 m3/s. Sulfur Dioxide TWA = 2 ppm

2.4 Ventilation Modeling and Infrastructure *TWA = Time Weighted Average for 8-hr working shift
Ventilation analyses were conducted which included STEL = Short Term Exposure Limit for 15 minutes
modeling the GRS BC during two different phases in the
proposed mine life. The analyses took into account all
anticipated air leakage paths (doors, bulkheads, old panels, The basic ventilation model was established as shown in
etc.) to provide a realistic representation of the mine. The Figure 1. The model was adapted to simulate two different
modeling incorporated the AB Tunnel system and made scenarios:
allowance for interconnection with the proposed Big Gossan Production from the first 12 panels, with a further 4 panels
and Kucing Liar Mines. The analyses assume primary under development or construction.
underground exhaust fan installations close to the main portals. Final (most Westerly) 4 panels are under development or
construction, with the 12 adjacent panels in production.
The center of mining has shifted to the West, and leakage
Table 1. Air velocity design criteria. in the system has increased (termed Mature Mine.)
The predicted fan requirements for these two scenarios
Airway Air Velocity (m/s) are given in Table 5. For the early mine the total airflow is
Min Opt Max predicted to be 1,813 m3/s. Based on a nominal daily
tonnage of 115,000 tpd this equates to 0.0158 m3/s/tpd. The
Conveyor Drifts total installed fan motor power requirement is about 7,200
- Homotropal 0.8 2.0 4.0 kW with a predicted annual power cost of US$2,836,000.
- Antitropal 0.8 1.0 2.0 These values assume 75% efficiency for the main fan and
Truck Haulage Drifts 0.8 4.1 6.1 motor installation. For the mature mine the total airflow
quantity increases to 1,888 m3/s, or about 0.0164 m3/s/tpd.
Primary Ventilation Drifts 0.8 8.1 10.2
This is higher than the value shown in Table 4 due to the
Rough Large Raises (+4 m) - 14.2 19.8 system leakage. As a result of the efficient layout for the
Typical ALIMAK Raise - 12.7 19.8 ventilation system, with few connections between intake
and exhaust, the predicted leakage is less than 10%.
Drop Ventilation Raise - 6.6 19.8 The installed fan motor requirement for the mature mine
increases to 8,660 kW, with a projected annual operating
- Optimum values are used for design purposes. cost of about US$3,414,000. Both of these operating
- Velocity criteria are based on an economic assessment characteristics (Early and Mature cases) will be achievable
factoring in power and development costs. with the same fan installations.

726 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Table 4. Airflow Required - 115,000 tpd. Table 5. Predicted fan requirements
for 115,000 tpd operation.
N Op. Unit airflow Total
Factor Pow. per Unit Airflow Scenario/ Total Pres Quantity Input Pow Op. Cost.
(%) (kW) (m/s) (m/s) Location (Pa)* (m3/s) (kW)* (US$/yr)+
Mobile Equipment
Early Mine
LHD 6.0 m3 (Dev.) - Dsl 8 70% 186 14.7 82.6
Main Exhaust 2,990 1.624 6.474 $ 2,552,000
Truck 40 t (Dev.) - Dsl 3 80% 354 28.0 67.3
Booster Installation 2,860 189 721 $ 284,000
Drill Jumbo (Dev.) 5 30% 58 4.6 6.9
Totals For Mine - 1,813 7,195 $ 2,836,000
Production Drills 6 30% 113 9.0 16.1
Rock Breaker 13 30% 123 9.7 38.0
Mature Mine
LHD 6.0 m3 - Electric 45 80% - - -
Main Exhaust 3,490 1,699 7,906 $ 3,117,000
Truck 30 t (Dev.) - Dsl 8 70% 224 17.7 99.1
Booster Installation 2,990 189 753 $ 297,000
Drill Jumbo (Sec. Breaking) 16 60% 43 3.4 32.3
Totals For Mine - 1,888 8,659 $ 3,414,000
Commando Sec. Breaking) 26 60% 36 2.8 44.2
Drill Jumbo (Rockboting) 2 30% 42 3.3 2.0
* Systems pressure to be met by fan. Does not incluide fan llosses.
LHD 2.7 m3 (Clean-up) - Dsl 2 50% 138 10.9 10.9
* Assumes 75% efficiency for fans and motors
Scissor Lift 12 30% 61 4.8 17.4
+ Assumes 0.045 US$/kWh
Explosives Truck 4 70% 123 9.7 27.3
U/G Road Grader 3 30% 112 8.8 8.0
Shotcrete Jumbo 5 30% 58 4.6 6.9
Shotcrete Truck 10 30% 57 4.5 13.6
U/G Lube Trucks 6 30% 115 9.1 16.4
U/G Boom Truck 4 75% 115 9.1 27.3
U/G Flatbed 7 75% 115 9.1 47.7
U/G Service Truck 4 30% 115 9.1 10.9
U/G Electrical Truck 6 30% 115 9.1 16.4
U/G Fork Lift 4 15% 32 2.5 1.5
u/G Personmel Carrier 10 30% 115 9.1 27.3
U/G Tractor (General) 10 30% 24 1.9 5.7
U6G Tractor (Engineering) 2 30% 24 1.9 1.1
Rail Haulage Locomotives 8 80% - - -
Subtotal Mobil Equipment 626.7
Fixed Allowances
Development Panel Segment 45 100% - 14.2 637.2
Rail Haulage Drives 3 100% - 33.0 99.1
Personnel 600 100% - 0.1 42.5
Maintenance Shop 4 100% - 40.1 160.5
Crusher Bins and Belt Drifts 2 100% - 94.4 188.8
Subtotal 1.128.1
Figure 4. Relative pressure profile for the 115,000 tpd
Total Airflow Required 1.755 mature mine case.

The following drift sizes have been determined for the
115,000 tpd design (all ventilation drifts will be fully
shotcreted):
Primary Ventilation Drifts from Portals to Service Level =
6.8 6.8 m
Ventilation Service Drifts below Extraction = 5.5 5.5 m
Ramp and Access Drifts = 4.5 5.0 m
Conveyor Drifts = 4.5 5.0 m
Extraction panels = 4.5 4.5 m
Undercut DDs = 3.6 4.2 m
Panel Raises = Raise-bored at 4 m diameter
Service Winze = Smooth 8.5 m diameter
Figure 4 shows a graph of the relative pressure profile for
the mature mine case.
The relative pressure for this case is the difference
between ambient (surface) and locations underground. For
the profile a typical circuit has been chosen through the
mine, and the trend line plotted against linear distance
covered, including ventilation raises. The circuit chosen
was: intake portals primary intake drifts service intake
drifts far Western panel region service exhaust drifts
primary exhaust drifts underground primary exhaust
fans exhaust portal. The trend is considered excellent,
remaining generally linear and averaging about 333
Pa/1,000 m. The one short steep section represents the
"open-split" in the ventilation circuit where the air exhausts
from the development panel region to the service exhaust
drifts. A linear profile is indicative of balanced air velocities
and frictional pressure losses, suggesting that drift and raise
sizes and numbers are correct for the system.
2.5 Adits Versus Shafts Design Comparison
A ventilation study was conducted comparing adits versus
shafts for the primary mine infrastructure. An initial shaft
layout was developed in which the intake air is brought
down two concrete-lined 7.5 m diameter shafts into the
orebody area and back out two similar 7.5 m diameter
exhaust shafts to surface. Due to the mountainous
topography, the shafts would be approximately 1.0 km long.
In order to place the shafts far enough away from the cave
influence, primary intake and exhaust drifts would still be
required, with each drift about 1,500 m long. It was assumed
that two sets of four drifts will be developed at 6.8 6.8 m
connecting the shafts to the production area.
The maximum velocities for the 7.5 m diameter shafts
would be 18 m/s, which is 25% higher than the economic
optimum velocities used as the current basis of mine design
(see Table 1). However, it is noted that the economic
velocity given in the table is for a rough shaft (2.1 m bored
then slashed to size), not a fully concrete lined shaft, which
will be considerably more costly to construct per meter, and
have a higher optimum velocity.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 727

 The shaft study showed approximately US$69 million in
Table 7. Fan comparison
capital allocated to sink the intake and exhaust shafts and
115,000 tpd versus 160,000 tpd (mature mine).
develop the shorter drifts. The adit option required
approximately US$46 million in capital.
Scenario/ Total Pres Quantity Input Pow Op. Cost.
The mature mine 115,000 tpd scenario was used for a fan
Location (Pa)* (m3/s) (kW)* (US$/yr)+
power cost comparison. The results are provided in Table 6.
These results indicate that there is a significant power
115 ktpd Case
savings (approximately US$580,000/yr) associated with
Main Exhaust* 3,490 1,699 7,906 $ 3,117,000
drifting compared to shafts.
Booster Installation 2,990 189 753 $ 297,000
Totals For Mine - 1,888 8,659 $ 3,414,000

Table 6. Power cost comparison 160 ktpd Case

drifting versus shafts. Main Exhaust 3,240 2,124 9,176 $ 3,617,000
Booster Installation 2,620 189 660 $ 260,000
Scenario/ Total Pres Quantity Input Pow Op. Cost. Totals For Mine - 2,313 9,836 $ 3,877,000
Location (Pa)* (m3/s) (kW)* (US$/yr)+

Shafts 3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

Main Exhaust* 4,110 1,699 9,311
Booster Installation 3,240 189 816
Totals For Mine - 1,888 10,127
Drifts and Portals
Main Exhaust 3,490 1,699 7,906
Booster Installation 2,990 189 753
Totals For Mine - 1,888 8,659
* Atk. friction factor = 0.0037 kg/m3 (o.0048 kg/m3 stnd) for shafts
In addition to the economic benefits, the drifting option
was considered to have certain other advantages, including:
Shafts require specialized equipment and crews to sink.
Drift development will be spread over the mine ramp-up
years with multiple headings.
Shafts require specialized maintenance equipment and
trained crews. Repairs typically require a long time frame.
Historically PTFI has encountered water in long vertical
shafts. In an exhaust shaft this counter-current water flow
acts as a permanent drag and increases resistance. In
such a long shaft it may also result in "blanketing" and
cyclic loading (even potential fatigue) of the fans.
The fan installations will be more accessible for
construction, maintenance, inspections and power
delivery if placed near the proposed portals. Longer-term,
access to the shaft collars would be difficult being close to
the final cave line and remote from other mine facilities.
In the case of an emergency, personnel can quickly
egress to a fresh air intake and if required walk completely
out of the mine using that primary escapeway.
The drifts provide large tunnel diameter access to the
mine for occasional oversize pieces of equipment that
could potentially disrupt the tunnel rail system.
2.6 160,000 tpd Comparison
Ventilation analyses were also conducted assuming an
expanded production rate of 160,000 tpd. The simulation
incorporated an updated equipment list, and the number of
panel segments in production increased from 45 to 62. This
change resulted in an increase in the main fan airflow to
2,124 m3/s, with a total mine airflow of 2,313 m3/s (when
including the GRS BC oreflow ventilation system). Certain
infrastructure sizes were increased as follows:
Primary Vent. Drifts = 6.5 9.5 m
2790 m Vent, Service Drifts = 5.5 6.5 m
Table 7 provides a comparison of the main fan operating
requirements for both the 115,000 tpd and 160,000 tpd
cases. Although the total airflow increases, there is an
actual reduction of about 0.002 m3/s/tpd. The fan pressures
are reduced slightly due to the increased drift sizes.
$ 3,670,000
$ 322,000 The work contained in this publication supports a pre-
$ 3,992,000 feasibility design of the GRS BC operation. As the study
progresses to feasibility level a more detailed analysis will
be conducted. Certain ventilation issues have been
$ 3,117,000 identified for special consideration.
$ 297,000
$ 3,414,000 3.1 Mine Total Airflow
The total predicted airflow in the mine is 1,888 m3/s,
which corresponds to approximately 0.016 m3/s/tpd.
This compares to about 0.028 m3/s/tpd for the existing
DOZ Mine ventilation system. The value for the GRS BC
Mine is significantly lower than this, however the
contaminants in the mine are expected to be less than
those presently encountered. The GRS BC will
incorporate electric panel loaders, electric oreflow
handling, low emission diesel development equipment
operating on underground mine fuel, and significantly
reduced Undercut drilling (room-and-pillar undercutting
methods). When combined it is anticipated that these
changes will allow compliance with gas and diesel
particulate criteria, however it will be important to
continue to revisit and revise airflow requirements as
the design progresses.
3.2 Airflow Control
One of the main ventilation challenges faced by
operators of large mines is control of airflow. This can be
particularly difficult in caving operations where there are
multiple open parallel splits. On Extraction Levels the
problem is compounded in longer panels, which often
have more than one ventilation zone. Experience at
PTFI suggests that automated regulation of the panel
raises on the Extraction Level will be difficult due to
damage from equipment and drawbell blasting activities.
Hence it is likely that remotely controlled heavy-duty
regulators will be designed and installed on the Service
Level.
3.3 Dust and Diesel Particulates
Control of dust in block cave mines can be extremely
challenging. Approximately 230,000 tpd of ore are presently
moved through PTFIs site operations via loaders, trucks,
crushers, belts and orepasses. In certain areas, such as
panel drifts, belt transfers, orepass head chutes and
stockpiles particular attention must be given at the design
stage to ensure compliance with dust Threshold Limit
Values (TLVs). This may consist of a comprehensive plan
incorporating weather station data, belt moisture sensors,
foggers and sprays tied to the mine PLC network. The mine
design will also have to ensure compliance with MSHAs
diesel particulate TLV, and as such the fuels, equipment,
and ventilation will factor this in.

728 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

3.4 Fans
The predicted main fan operating requirement is 1,699
m3/s at 3.5 kPa fan total pressure, which corresponds to 425
m3/s per exhaust drift. This assumes a single primary
exhaust fan installation. Further work will evaluate the
potential advantages of primary forcing fans and a push-pull
system with both primary forcing and exhausting fans. The
characteristic of 425 m3/s per drift can be achieved with
either centrifugal fans (portal structure) or underground axial
fans (vane or mixed-flow). The power demand will be high,
but it is anticipated that losses can be kept to a minimum
through careful design of the fans, layout, and electrical
supply. The underground booster fan for the conveyor drifts
is sized at 189 m3/s at 3.0 kPa fan total pressure. A similar
sized fan would also be required to handle the airflow
exhausting from the proposed Kucing Liar Mine oreflow
area.
3.5 Air Velocity
The airflow quantity in the twin exhaust conveyor drifts is
about 378 m3/s, corresponding to an air velocity of
approximately 6 m/s. This exceeds the maximum design
velocity of 4 m/s for a homotropal conveyor system. During
further study the GRS BC oreflow ventilation system will be
examined. It may be possible to significantly reduce the
airflow exhausting the belts, or even intake the belts with a
dedicated exhaust to the primary mine fans.
Depending on the active segment layout, the air velocity
at the East end of the service ventilation drifts may become
high (exceed 10 m/s). However, when considering the entire
length of these collection drifts the pressure losses are not
excessive. It is planned that the two ventilation drifts in each
set of three service drifts will be aerodynamically connected
with equalizing cross-cuts.
3.6 Upcast Air
In the ventilation design airflow upcasts both the lower
ramp and Service Winze. Based on experience at PTFI it is
likely that condensation will occur with the upcast air
(Calizaya et al. 2002). In the ramp this can result in fogging
and poor visibility. In the shaft this can cause fogging, water
collection, and in some cases more rapid deterioration of the
fixed facilities. For the shaft it would be possible to downcast
intake air. Further study will be devoted to the determination
of shaft resistances and the dynamic effects of cage
movement, and the optimization of airflow in the shaft. For
the lower ramp fixed fan-heaters may be required to dry the
air and maintain good visibility. Heaters have been used to
good effect in existing PTFI underground ramp systems.
3.7 AB Tunnels and Mine Fire
Approximately 189 m3/s is predicted to intake the lower
mine section from the AB Tunnels. This air then either enters
the ramp, Service Winze, and shop facilities (dedicated
exhaust). This represents a significant volume of air, with a
tunnel air velocity of about 5.7 m/s. During future study the
airflow requirements for the tunnels will be more accurately
determined, incorporating fire simulation to determine
contaminant spread in the event of a tunnel vehicle fire. Fire
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
analysis is an essential component of an overall mine
design. For the pre-feasibility design fire mitigation and
control philosophies were incorporated into the mine plan.
More detailed "hot-flow" fire analyses will be conducted as
the design progresses. For the preliminary design PTFI has:
Made provision for all shops and hot-work areas to be
directly ventilated to an exhaust airway and to be
equipped with isolation fire doors.
All conveyor belts will have independent airflow splits
directed to the belt portals, and will be equipped with
smoke sensors and fire-suppression deluge systems.
The air from the AB Tunnels will be used for the lower
ramps, and will exhaust via the conveyor drifts. This air
will not enter any of the production areas.
The air from the upper ramps will be used for ventilating
the conveyor drifts, and will not enter the block cave
working areas.
Air critical velocity values (per Froude number analysis)
will be sufficiently high throughout the ramps as to prevent
backlayering of smoke against the direction of airflow in
the event of equipment fire. This is necessary to ensure
predictable smoke spread and provide a non-
compromised fresh air base for fire fighting.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The GRS BC will be a very large mine that will provide
many unique engineering challenges. It is anticipated that
like most block cave operations, there will be issues
associated with the balancing of the air, especially through
the production panels. Particular attention will also need to
be given to the integration of dust and diesel particulate
control strategies and systems within the ventilation design.
However, it can be stated that for a pre-feasibility study, the
proposed GRS BC Mine layout integrates good ventilation
design. The predicted pressure losses and air velocities
generally agree with PTFI optimum design criteria, and peak
values are within acceptable economic and operational
levels. When considering operating cost, there is a definite
benefit in developing the mine with portals, rather than
intake and exhaust shafts, and the drifting option has been
selected as the base case.
5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank PTFI Management for
allowing publication of this paper.
REFERENCES
Calizaya, F., Karmawan, K. & Wallace, K.G. 2002.
Utilization of Heater Fans to Control Mine Atmospheric
Fogging. In Euler De Souza (ed), Proceedings of the 9th
NA/US Mine Ventilation Symposium. The Netherlands:
A.A. Balkema Publishers.
Decree of the Minister of Mines and Energy Indonesia,
1995. Number 555.K/26/M.PE/1995, General Mining
Occupational Safety and Health.
MSHA, Code of Federal Regulations 30, Part 75.
729
 Fluidized-bed biofilms for process
and environmental applications
in mining and metallurgy
Jaakko A. Puhakka, Anna H. Kaksonen and Pivi H.-M. Kinnunen,
Institute of Environmental Engineereing and Biotechnology
Tampere University of Technology, Finland

Abstract
Biofilm based fluidized-bed processes were developed for ferric sulphate production and regeneration in
biohydrometallurgy and for treatment of acidic metal-containing wastewaters. High-rate ferric sulphate generation with
iron oxidation rate of up to 26.4 g Fe2+ L-1 h-1 and a hydraulic retention time of 0.2 h were obtained and long-term
maintained in Leptospirillum ferriphilum-dominated biofilm systems. The treatment of acidic wastewater (pH 2.5 to 5)
containing sulphate, and high-concentrations of zinc and iron was studied in a sulphate-reducing fluidized-bed reactor.
The FBR feed was supplemented with lactate or ethanol to support biological sulphate reduction. During long-term
operation, this system achieved the following metal precipitation rates: 360 mgL-1d-1 for Zn and 86 mgL-1d-1 for Fe with
over 99.8% Zn and Fe removal. The alkalinity produced from ethanol and lactate oxidation increased the wastewater pH
from 2.5 to 7.5-8.5. In summary, the fluidized-bed biofilm process can be used for high-rate ferric solvent production in
biohydrometallurgical applications and the sulphate-reducing and metal precipitating biofilm process has potential for
wastewater treatment applications producing a good quality effluent with metal concentrations below 0.1 mgL-1.

1 INTRODUCTION In this work, fluidized-bed biofilm processes were

developed for the following: 1) ferric sulphate generation,
The use of biotechnology in mining and metallurgy is and 2) for treating acidic metal- and sulphate-containing
continuously increasing and includes both production wastewater. The process performance of these FBRs was
process and environmental engineering applications. evaluated under various operational conditions with
New biohydrometallurgical methods as compared to continuous flow experiments.
traditional pyrometallurgical techniques have many
advantages, including no emission to air, simplicity, low 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
cost, and applicability to low-value ores and mineral
resources that have not been feasible by conventional The ferrous sulphate oxidation experiments were
mining (e.g., Bosecker 1997; Hsu and Harrison 1995). The performed in laboratory-scale FBRs (Kinnunen et al. 2003,
economical value of the global bioleaching processes in
recent years has been over 10x109 US dollars (for reviews,
see Brandl 2001; Johnson 2001). The leaching of sulphidic
ore is performed by noncontact, contact, or cooperative
leaching mechanisms, in which iron and sulphur
compounds are oxidized to ferric iron and sulphuric acid,
respectively (for a review, see Rawlings 2002).
The exploitation of sulphide minerals results in the
oxidation of iron and sulphur, and thus in the production of
acidic metal-containing wastewaters (Foucher et al. 2001).
Recently, the interest in the application of sulphate reduction
as the dominant step of wastewater treatment has been
growing (for a review, see Hulshoff Pol et al. 2001). The
process is based on biological hydrogen sulphide
production (equation 1) by sulphate-reducing bacteria
(SRB), metal sulphide precipitation (equation 2) and
neutralization of the water with the alkalinity produced by the
microbial metabolism (equation 3) (Dvorak et al. 1992;
Christensen et al. 1996):

SO42- + 2CH2O H2S + 2HCO3- (1)

where CH2O = an electron donor

HCO3- + H+ CO2 (g) + H2O (2)

H2S + M2+ MS(s) + H+ (3) Figure 1. Schematic diagram of a fluidized-bed

where M2+ = metal, such as Zn2+ reactor used for iron oxidation

730 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The FBR systems used for sulphate reduction and metal
precipitation were as shown in Figure 2 and the
experimental designs and feed solutions as earlier
described (Kaksonen et al. 2003a; 2003b; 2004).
The analysis methods used were as summarized in Table 1.

3 FERRIC SULPHATE GENERATION

Iron oxidation was studied in FBRs at different

temperatures and with microorganisms enriched from
various mine environments. At 37C with a Leptospirillum
ferriphilum dominated biofilm (Figure 3) and with pure
oxygen aeration and HRT of 0.2 h the iron oxidation rate
was 26.4 Fe2+ L-1 h-1 (Table 2). With moderately
thermophilic acidophilic enrichment cultures and dominated
by Sulphobacillus spp. enriched from an open-pit mine in
Collie, Western Australia, the iron oxidation rates always
remain significantly lower than at 37oC.

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the configuration of the

sulphidogenic fluidized-bed reactor

Kinnunen and Puhakka 2004) (Figure 1). The aeration

system was connected to the recycle flow line, and the
aerated liquor was pumped to the bottom of the FBRs.
Activated carbon was used as the biomass carrier. The
FBRs were operated at 37, 50, 60 and 70oC. The
composition of the feed and sources of microorganisms
were as previously described (Kinnunen et al. 2003,
Kinnunen and Puhakka 2004).
Figure 3. Scanning electron micrograph of the iron-oxidizing
Table 1. Summary of the analyses culture (Kinnunen and Puhakka 2004).
employed in this study.
Table 2. Biological iron oxidation rates in FBRs operated at
Analysis Instrument(s) Ref. different temperatures and with different enrichment cultures
Sulphate HPLC, IC a,b,c (Kinnunen et al. 2003; Kinnunen and Puhakka 2004).
Dissolved organic TOC analyzer a,b
carbon (DOC) T (C) Aeration HRT (h) Aeration-% Iron oxid.
(g Fe2+/lh)
Acetate, Ethanol GC-FID a,c
Soluble metals AAS d,e 37 Air 0.6 91 8.1
Dissolved sulphide Spectrophotometer f,g 37 95.5% O2 0.2 82 26.3
50 Air 9.8 71 0.7
Ferrous iron Spectrophotometer h
60 Air 4.0 85 0.5
pH pH electrode a,b,c
70 air 3.1 11 0.1
Oxygen Oxygen meter
Total alkalinity Potentiometric titration h The iron oxidation rates obtained in the 37oC FBRs
Total suspended Oven, balance b compared favourably with iron oxidation rates obtained in
solids (TSS) other studies published earlier.

Volatile suspended Furnace, balance a,b,c

solids (VSS) 4 WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Total solids (TS) Oven, balance a,b,c
The FBR process performance was evaluated under various
Volatile solids (VS) Furnace, balance i operational conditions with continuous flow experiments. In
Minerology of the X-ray diffractometer b terms of sulphate reduction, sulphide production and effluent
metal precipitates alkalinity, the start-up of the FBR with 10 % fluidization rate was
superior to the FBRs with 20-30 % fluidization rates. However,
Elemental SEM with energy b the FBRs with 20-30 % recycling rates performed better at the
composition of the dispersive x-ray highest loading rates. The substrate feed of the FBR could be
metal precipitates spectrometer changed from lactate to ethanol without significant change in the
FBR performance.
References: aKaksonen et al 2003a, bKaksonen et al. 2003b, cKaksonen et al.
2004, dSFS 3044, eSFS 3047, fTrper and Schlegel 1964, gCord-Ruwish 1985, The robustness of the sulphidogenic FBR was studied by
hSFS-EN ISO 9963-1, iSFS 3008 hAnon. 1992. increasing stepwise the zinc, sulphate and substrate feed

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 731

concentrations and decreasing the feed pH, as well as REFERENCES
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precipitated 350-360 mg Zn l-1 d-1 and 86 mg Fe l-1 d-1 water and wastewater. 18th ed. In: Greenberg AE, Clesceri
from acidic wastewater containing 230 mg Zn l-1 and 57 mg LS, Eaton AD, editors. American Public Health Association.
Fe l-1 at a HRT of 16 h (Table 3). Percentual metal Bosecker K. 1997. Bioleaching: metal solubilization by
precipitation was over 99.8 % resulting in effluent soluble Zn microbes. FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 20: 591-604.
and Fe concentrations below 0.1 mg l-1. The alkalinity Brandl H. 2001. Microbial leaching of metals. In:
produced in the sulphidogenic lactate and ethanol oxidation Biotechnology, Vol. 10, Rehm H-J (ed.), Wiley-VCH,
increased the wastewater pH from 2.5 to 7.5-8.5. Weinheim, pp. 191-224.
Maximum metal precipitation rates were obtained with Christensen B, Laake M and Lien T. 1996 Treatment of acid
ethanol-fed FBR at a HRT of 6.5 h from acidic wastewater mine water by sulfate-reducing bacteria: Results from a bench
containing 176 mg Zn l-1 and 87 mg Fe l-1(Table 3). The rates scale experiment. Water Res 30: 1617-1624.
were over 600 mg Zn l-1 d-1 and 300 mg Fe l-1 d-1, percentual Dvorak DH, Hedin RS, Edenborn HM and McIntire PE.
metal precipitation over 99.9% and effluent metal 1992. Treatment of metal-contaminated water using
concentrations below 0.08 mg l-1. The alkalinity produced in bacterial sulfate-reduction: Results from pilot-scale
ethanol oxidation increased the initial pH of 3, resulting in reactors. Biotech Bioeng 40: 609-616.
effluent pH of 7.5-8.5. At the HRT of 6.5 h, ethanol oxidation was Foucher S, Battaglia-Brunet F, Ignatiadis I and Morin D.
incomplete and acetate accumulated in the FBR. The operation 2001. Treatment by sulfate-reducing bacteria of Chessy
of the FBR at HRTs below 6.5 h was limited by partial acetate acid-mine drainage and metals recovery. Chem Eng Sci
oxidation, since alkalinity production by acetate oxidation is 56: 1639-1645.
necessary for wastewater neutralization. Zinc and iron Hsu C-H and Harrison RG. 1995. Bacterial leaching of zinc
precipitated predominantly as ZnS, FeS2 and FeS. The metal and copper from mining wastes. Hydrometallurgy 37: 169-179.
precipitates did not cause clogging of the reactors during the Hulshoff Pol LW, Lens PNL, Weijma J and Stams AJM. 2001.
continuous operation of over 1200 days. New developments in reactor and process technology for
sulfate reduction. Water Sci Technol 44(8): 67-76.
Table 3. Summary of the process performance Johnson DB. 2001. Importantce of microbial ecology in
of the sulphidogenic FBR. the development of new mineral technologies.
Hydrometallurgy 59: 147-157.
Electron donor Lactate Ethanol Ethanol Kaksonen, AH, Franzmann, PD and Puhakka, JA. 2004.
Effects of hydraulic retention time and sulfide toxicity on
HRT (h) 16 16 6.5 ethanol and acetate utilization in sulfate-reducing
pH change Fa 2.50.1 2.50.1 3.00.1 fluidized-bed reactor. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 86: 332-343.
Eb 7.80.2 7.70.2 7.90.1 Kaksonen, AH, Franzmann, PD and Puhakka, JA. 2003a.
Performance and ethanol utilization kinetics of a sulfate-
Feed Zn 2334 24010 1766 reducing fluidized-bed reactor treating acidic metal-
(mg l-1) Fe 583 571 875 containing wastewater. Biodegradation 14: 207-217.
Kaksonen, AH, Riekkola-Vanhanen, M-L and Puhakka, JA.
Effluent Zn 0.07004 0.090.06 0.020.02 2003b. Optimization of metal sulphide precipitation in fluidized-
(mg l-1) Fe 0.050.04 0.040.04 0.040.03 bed treatment of acidic wastewater. Water Res. 37: 255-266.
Kinnunen PH-M, Robertson WJ, Plumb JJ, Gibson JAE,
Precipitation Zn 99.970.02 99.960.02 99.990.01
Nichols PD, Franzmann PD and Puhakka JA. 2003. The
(%) Fe 99.920.07 99.930.07 99.960.04 isolation and use of iron oxidizing moderately thermophilic
Precipitation Zn 3506 36015 63550 acidophiles from the Collie coal mine for the generation of ferric
(g m-3d-1) Fe 865 861 31522 iron leaching solution. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 60: 748-753.
Kinnunen PH-M and Puhakka JA. 2004. High-rate ferric
Reference Kaksonen Kaksonen Kaksonen sulfate generation by a Leptospirillum ferriphilum-dominated
et al. 2003b et al. 2003a et al. 2004 biofilm and the role of jarosite in biomass retainment in a
fluidized-bed reactor. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 85:697-705.
aF = Feed, bE = Effluent Rawlings DE 2002. Heavy metal mining using microbes.
Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 56: 65-91.
5 CONCLUSIONS SFS. 1980a. SFS 3044: Metal content of water, sludge
and sediment determined by atomic adsorption
This study demonstrates a high-rate fluidized-bed bioprocess for spectroscopy, atomisation in flame. General principles
ferric sulphate production by an enrichment culture dominated by and guidelines. Finnish Standards Association, SFS. 8 p.
L. ferriphilum. Further, this study also demonstrated the feasibility SFS. 1980b. SFS 3047: Metal content of water, sludge and
of a sulphidogenic FBR for concomitant removal of acidity, metals sediment determined by atomic adsorption spectroscopy,
and sulphate from wastewaters. Both FBR processes offer viable atomisation in flame. Special guidelines for lead, iron,
alternatives for existing processes. cadmium, cobalt, copper, nickel and zinc. Finnish Standards
Association, SFS. 6 p
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SFS. 1990. SFS 3008: Determination of total residue and
total fixed residue in water, sludge and sediment. Finnish
National Technology Agency of Finland, Outokumpu Oyj, Standards Association, SFS. 3 p.
Finnish Graduate School of Environmental Science and SFS. 1996. SFS-EN ISO 9963-1: Water quality. Determination
Technology and the Academy of Finland are gratefully of alkalinity. Part 1: Determination of total and composite
acknowledged for their financial support. alkalinity. Finnish Standards Association, SFS. 16 p.

732 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 An audit methodology used to assess
the current and future capabilities
of the backfill system at Konkola No 3#
Nic James, Mine Manager, Konkola Division
Alan Naismith, Group Geotechnical Engineer, KCM, Zambia

Abstract
Mining with backfill was introduced to Konkola as part of the Konkola Deep Mine Project (KDMP). A temporary pilot plant
was commissioned in November 2002 to produce cyclone classified tailings fill to be used with the Overcut and Bench
Mining method (OCB) being practiced. At that time mining between 1850 level and 1660 level was suffering from
deteriorating ground conditions and planned recoveries and production rates were not being achieved. In addition to
providing fill for concurrent operations, the plant was required to produce fill for previously unfilled areas. Backfill has
been incorporated as a concurrent part of the mining cycle in areas below 1850 level.
An audit was carried implemented during July and August of 2003 to critically assess the current status of backfilling
practice at Konkola and to determine the ability of the system to supply future operations. An unusual aspect of this audit
was that it was mine staff, under the guidance of an external consultant, that carried it out, and not an independent
external team. A valuable outcome of this approach was to internalize the understanding of the backfilling process and
create a more team based approach to achieving filling objectives.
Three essential areas were identified. These were; - System Objectives and Design; Fill Preparation, Transportation and
Placement and System Management. Thirteen key elements within these areas were identified that defined the
backfilling process. Within each element, the status quo was critically assessed and compared to a perceived "best
practice" standard. Potential risks associated with failure of the system to meet the "best practice" guidelines were
highlighted and action plans developed to address shortcomings.
Completion of the audit necessitated collation of information from a number of sources together with additional
information obtained from testing. The mine is now in a good position to finalise a Code of Practice for Backfilling.
This paper describes the audit format and its application to the Konkola backfilling system. It then summarises the most
important findings and describes action being taken to meet the "best practice" standard.

LOCATION OF KONKOLA COPPER MINES
The operation at Konkola is one of three copper
production operations owned by KCM and lies in the rich
Copperbelt province located in the North Eastern portion of
Zambia. The three divisions of KCM all lie between 12 and
13 South and 27 30 and 28 30 West. in the world. Significant aquifers occur in both hanging-wall
Two operating Konkola shafts are located next to the town
of Chililabombwe, just 12 km from the DRC (Democratic
Republic of the Congo) border, about 450 kilometers
northwest of Lusaka. Konkola is the most northerly of the
Zambian Copperbelt mines.
There are three main ore-bodies at Konkola Division;
these are the Kirila Bombwe South (No. 1 shaft), the Kirila
Bombwe North (No. 3 shaft) and the Konkola (No. 2 shaft).
These lie on a north west, south east trending Kirila
Bombwe anticlinal structure that plunges towards north
east. The South ore-body forms the southwestern flank of
the anticline, while the north ore-body lies in the nose of the
fold.
The ore-bodies range greatly in thickness from as little as
3m to as great as 15m. The dip also varies greatly from a
low of 10 in the nose area to a high exceeding 75 on the
fold limbs.
In-situ copper grades of about 3 to 4% total copper are
typical. There is also cobalt mineralisation averaging
between 0.1 0.2 % total cobalt. No other significant
mineralisation exists.
Production is from Nos.1 and 3 shafts. No.2 shaft,
accessing the Konkola ore-body, has been closed since
1958. Sub level open stoping is practiced extensively at
No 1 shaft with ore flow being assisted by scrapers in areas
of decreasing dip. In - ore body mining has been practiced
in the wide, flat dipping areas of No 3 shaft since 2000
initially using post pillar cut and fill and, more recently, over
cut and benching methods
The Konkola mines are reputed to be amongst the wettest
and foot-wall sequences and are amply recharged by an
annual rainfall generally exceeding 1500mm and a network
of surface streams and rivers. Dewatering is achieved
through a comprehensive system of drainage holes,
crosscuts and drives. The mine is currently discharging
approximately 280 000m_ of water per day.
THE OVER-CUT AND BENCH (OCB) MINING
METHOD PRACTICED AT KONKOLA NO 3 SHAFT
Access to the ore body is achieved from foot wall
infrastructure via twin inclines on an apparent dip of
approximately 7 developed at 150m intervals along strike.
Both inclines lie within the ore body. One incline is
developed against the assay hanging wall (AHW) to give
access to the over-cut. The other lies on the assay footwall
(AFW) and provides access for ore extraction during the
benching phase. These inclines lie 10m apart and are
protected by 10m wide pillars on either side.
The initial OCB mining was confined to an area between
the 1660 foot level and 1850 foot level.
Over-cuts, 7m wide, are mined along strike against the
AHW. Strike pillars, 9m wide, separate adjacent over-cuts.
Cross cuts, 7m wide, are developed through the strike

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 733

pillars. Once an over-cut is complete it is benched down to
the footwall contact to leave 9m x 9 m square pillars over the
full ore body width.
Hydraulically placed backfill was not incorporated into the
initial OCB mining plan as it was thought that pillars would
remain stable over the working life of the block. It was believed,
however, that backfill would be required at deeper levels and a
pilot plant was constructed. This was commissioned in
November 2002 when deteriorating ground conditions in the
upper block necessitated introduction of fill immediately the
benching phase had been completed. Backfill was also
introduced to benched areas in which deteriorating conditions
posed the threat of pillar collapse.
AUDIT OBJECTIVE
During July 2003, KCM invited Steffen, Robertson and
Kirsten Inc (SRK) to conduct a technical audit of the Konkola
operations as part of their "Buyantanshi" (way forward")
initiative. This initiative has the objective of increasing KCM
production to 250 000 tonnes of finished copper per annum
at a cost of $0.65/lb. Key elements of the mining value chain
were to be considered. These were Development, Stoping,
Logistics, Hydrology, Geotechnics, Dilution, Backfilling,
Costing and Human Resources.
The objective of the audit was to establish the status of
each element as it is currently practiced at Konkola and to
determine its ability to service current and future operations.
This would have the joint advantages of providing
management with confidence in the ability of Konkola to
deliver the copper called and to identify possible threats to
the achievement of targets. Mindset changes introduced
during the audit and followed up with subsequent actions
would also instill confidence in Konkola personnel that they
were capable of meeting targets.
AUDIT STRUCTURE AND MODUS OPERANDI
The audit was structured in three main phases as
illustrated in Figure 1. The first part involved defining all
elements in the process to be audited and identifying the
status quo, best practice and risk associated with each
element of the process. Key performance indicators were
also identified to indicate the level of performance required
in each element. Status quo is defined as reflecting the
current state of understanding or practice. Best practice
reflects the requirements needed to meet Konkola
objectives in the short term (12 to 18 months) and, where
appropriate, requirements dictated by industry experience.
Risk reflects an assessment of the nature of potential loss
that could be faced by KCM should performance in any
process element not meet the required standard. The
findings from this phase are indicated for the Backfilling
process in Table 1.
The second phase involved creating and implementing
action plans to address any shortcomings between
perceived best, and current, practices. A template used to
prioritise action is shown in Figure 2 and uses the
dimensions of "Importance" and "Urgency" as a prioritization
guideline. An example of this approach as applied to
Element 9: Design and Construction of Bulkheads is shown
in Table 2.
Measurement of progress towards completing required
actions is achieved using the Action Plan Monitor. Table 3
illustrates an application of this monitor to Element 4: Fill
Volume Requirements. Key factors in ensuring that action is
taken include clearly defining the expected output,
nominating a responsible person whos role it is to report
back by a specified time and identifying resources required.
Although convened and managed by an external
consultant, the audit was implemented by KCM staff. A team
734 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
comprising metallurgical, engineering, planning, production
and geotechnics personnel met on a regular basis to
achieve consensus which was reported to the consultant
and KCM Executive management.
AUDIT FINDINGS AND BENEFITS
The audit was able to settle a number of misperceptions
held about backfill and the backfill system and was able to
identify areas where additional focus was required.
The more important findings included: -
1. To create fill with a percolation rate of 100mm/hour, the
preparation system is such that only 40% of tailings
material is suitable. Despite this constraint, adequate
hydraulic fill is available to meet current and future
demands providing tailings capture remains above 33%.
Utilisation of waste fill will reduce the hydraulic fill
demand.
2. Even at a placed specific gravity of 1.45, the backfill
provides sufficient lateral reinforcement to stabilize pillars
and to enhance regional stability.
3. Although there is a risk associated with single stream
systems incorporated into the pilot plant design, it is
adequate to meet existing and future demands. Ongoing
maintenance will be necessary to retain plant reliability.
4. Demands on the system should be simulated to assess
the probability of its being unable to supply when
required and to confirm (or otherwise) design
parameters.
5. Underground reticulation should be located where
practicable in secure and stable excavations. HDPE
piping should be used in working areas to improve
flexibility.
6. Bulkhead design and construction is critical to safety,
meeting production schedules and minimizing fines
contamination. Although no significant bulkhead failures
have occurred to date, a more rigorous design and
construction process will be needed in modified layouts
where hydraulic heads in excess of 25m are possible.
7. The decentralized management system has proved
adequate to date but may need to be reviewed once
filling is fully incorporated into the mining cycle.
8. Participation in the audit resulted in a collation of, and
sharing of, knowledge of system operation. It further
engendered a belief in mine personnel that the system is
capable of meeting both current and future requirements.
This belief was reinforced when examination of January
to June placement figures indicated a general improving
trend (Table 4).
POSTSCRIPT
Due to an extreme deterioration in ground conditions
towards the middle of 2003, mining of OCB stopes in the
Northern section was suspended. Limited production came
from OCB stoping in other areas while Sub-Level Open
Stopes continued to produce. The need for concurrent
backfilling reduced and the backfill system continued at a
very low production rate.
The phase of mining that is now taking place in the
underlying block has incorporated several modifications but
remains essentially Over Cut and Bench. Backfill has been
included as an essential and concurrent part of the mining
cycle. It is expected that the first fill will be placed in June
2004.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge the assistance provided by all
members of the Buyantanshi team in both participating in
the audit and implementing its recommendations. Further,
Massmin 2004
the authors acknowledge and thank KCM management for
their assistance in facilitating audit recommendations and
their permission to publish this paper.
REFERENCES
Carvill P.G. "A review of the use of backfill in the OCB
stoping method for the 1660 1850 mining block" Anglo
American Report to Konkola Copper Mines, September
2000.
Covey S.R. "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People"
Simon & Schuster, 1992.
Figure 1: Buyantanshi Audit: Implementation Process.
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Leach A.R. "Assessment of mining in the nose and west
limb area at Konkola 3 shaft" ITASCA Report, November
2003.
Harr M.E. "Reliability Based Design in Civil Engineering"
McGraw Hill, 1987.
Techpro M & M "Konkola Deep Mining Project" Report to
ZCCM, November 1994.
Thomas E.G et al "Fill Technology in Underground
Metalliferous Mines" International Academic Services Ltd,
Kingston, Ontario, Canada, 1979.
735
 BUYANTANSHI AUDIT: ACTION PLAN DEVELOPMENT TEMPLATE

Audit Element:

Date of this plan: - Date of next update:

Urgent Not Urgent

Important Item Action Item Action

NOW! 0 3 Months!
Middle term
Short term and Reactive! Some planning

Not Important Item Action Item Action

+ 3 Months! DONT
WASTE
Longer term VALUABLE
RESOURCES!
Plan to utilize resources
effectively!

Urgent = requires immediate attention because if it is not done now there will be an impact on safety, cost or
production in this measurement period (day, week or month)
Important influences safety, cost or performance in the longer term (month, quarter)
Not Urgent = the influence of this action will only be felt outside this measurement period (day, week or month)
Not Important = the influence of this action will only be felt in the very long term (quarter or longer)

Figure 2: Buyantanshi Audit: Action Plan Development Template.

Table 1 Buyantanshi Audit: Backfilling Elements and initial findings

ELEMENT STATUS QUO BEST PRACTICE RISK ACTION KEY PERFORMANCE

INDICATOR

1. Fill Benefits Stated, but not Economic analysis 1.Loss of reserves Preparation of mining NPV or IRR figures
(to meet mining quantified, that fill that compares best 2. Additional mining plans for best for alternative
objectives will improve recovery recoveries and costs alternatives and approaches.
of ore resource profitability with economic analysis
and without fill.

2. Fill Performance Must drain sufficiently Support given to 1.Unsafe working 1. Revisit equipment Performance
requirements to support the pillar sides is conditions requirements. specification
(to achieve benefits) operation of quantified 2. Loss of reserves 2. In-situ testing. for the fill.
trackless equipment 3. Low productivity 3. numerical modeling
within 72 hours rates to quantify support
performance

3. Fill material Percolation rate Mechanical 1. Reduction in 1. In-situ and Test reports on
properties (to specified at properties mass recovery. laboratory testing fill performance.
meet performance 100mm/hr of fill are 2. Inefficient system of fills (including
requirements) determined. design. cemented fills)
Percolation rates 3. Pipeline wear
optimised

4. Fill Volume Based on measured Fill demand-supply 1. Ground deteriorates Short and long Ongoing specific
Requirements in-situ specific balance is known. if stopes are not term fill demand gravity checks.
gravity = 1.45, Alternative sources filled timeously. and supply Up dated filling
1.2m_ of wet fill of fill are identified 2. Production is schedules created plans and schedules
is required to and quantified compromised
fill 1m_ in situ
.i.e. 1.1 tonnes
of solids/m_

5. Fill Pilot plant rated Plant design 1. Delays in feed Fill preparation in Delivery of
Preparation at 2000 tonne meets production from concentrator accordance with fill on demand
/day of solids. requirements mining demand.
This is equivalent Mechanical
to 90m_ of agitation to be
fill/hour introduced

736 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Table 1 Buyantanshi Audit: Backfilling Elements and initial findings

ELEMENT STATUS QUO BEST PRACTICE RISK ACTION KEY PERFORMANCE

INDICATOR

6. Fill Transfer from Minimise 1.Pipeline pressures Quantify reliability Delivery of

Transportation plant to shaft is transportation estimated at of transportation fill on demand
(surface) 3.54km using distance or 4,5MPa. 2. system. Establish
single 125mm provide back Single stream procedures to
pipeline. Delays up system system deal with
due to pre- surface spillage.
and post-
flushing

7. Fill Storage 720m_ live System incorporates 1. Agitation in Tanks rubber Delivery of fill
(surface only) storage at optimum storage storage tanks lined to on demand
plant + 360m3 volume causes reduce wear.
at shaft. degredation. Install mass
2. Fluctuation of flowmeter at
air pressure shaft discharge
during agitation

8. Fill Reticulation Full flow condition Reticulation system 1. Pipeline blockages. Place pipelines in Delivery of fill
(underground) in 150mm vertical is appropriate for the 2. Damage due secure areas. on demand
pipeline. Flow rate filling environment to falls of ground. Replace steel
estimated at 110m3 3. Lack of flexibility with HDPE piping.
to 116m3/hour. with steel pipe Simulate the
Steel pipelines complete reticulation
to working faces system to
determine flow
pressures and
velocities.

9. Bulkhead Initially waste Minimise excavation 1. Bulkhead failure Suite of designs Construction time
Design and rock with Geofabric. size at bulkhead and fill inrush in to be completed. per installation.
Construction Revised to gumplanks locations. Designs to working areas. Examination and Cost per installation
with wiremesh. meet specific 2. Leakage of solids approval procedures
Cable based design engineering criteria. into the drainage to be developed.
under trial Construction is system. 3. Delays Monitor hydrostatic
approved before to production pressure acting on
filling commences cycle bulkheads during
and after filling.

10. Fill Placement Fill volumes estimated, System utilization is 1. Production delays. Develop short and Volume filled daily
not measured. Fill such that required 2. Deterioration in medium term filling is according
rise per pour volumes are placed ground conditions. schedules to maximize to schedule.
restricted to 3m. to schedule. system utilization. Utilisation %
Contingency fill Estimate volumes to
areas are available be filled using CMS
technology.

11. Drainage Decant and drainage Water and solids 1. Solids block Establish drainage Drainage rates
and Fines Loss systems facilitate balance system drainage systems. and fines loss during and after
in-stope dewatering employed. Drainage 2. Fines cause profiles. Establish filling. Fines loss/m3
(0.45m3 of water controlled to wear in pumps. impact of additional of fill placed
liberated per 1m3 minimize impact 3. Fill does not water on other
of fill placed (excluding on other mining drain and bulkhead mining activities
flushing water). No activities stability decreases.
formal monitoring of
water or fines loss.
Reports that drains are
becoming blocked
with fines.

12. System Responsibility is Written procedures Low system Establish radio links Sufficient competent
Management shared between for all aspects of efficiency. as back up to personnel are
concentrator, system operation. land lines. available. Costs
plant and underground Personnel involved Review cost remain within
personnel. There in system operation reporting procedures. budget.
is no single responsible are deemed Establish training
person. Communication competent. and competency
occurs daily between assessment
plant and underground programmes.
personnel. One
communication meeting
is held weekly during
which short term
demand and supply
schedules are agreed.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 737

 Table 1 Buyantanshi Audit: Backfilling Elements and initial findings

ELEMENT STATUS QUO BEST PRACTICE RISK ACTION KEY PERFORMANCE

INDICATOR

13. Quality Assurance Specific gravity and Control systems are Sub standard Establish quality Parameters measured
percolation rate is in place to measure system assurance according to a
checked regularly at key parameters performance. programme. schedule and
plant and shaft Mass such as Void ratio; comply with
flowmeter records Moisture content; specifications.
receipts at shaft PSD; Specific gravity;
(but not delivery to Pump output;
underground). No Pipeline wear;
survey reconciliation Volumes pumped;
of demand and supply. Rate of rise;
Few in-situ tests. Drainage rate;
Fines loss.

Table 2: Buyantanshi Audit: Action Plan Development Example applied to Bulkhead design.

Audit Element: Backfill: - (9) Bulkhead Design and Construction

Date of this plan: -10-09-2003 Date of next update:

Urgent Not Urgent

Important Item Action Item Action

Monitor pressure Establish cost

acting on selected of bulkhead
(critical) bulkheads construction.

Examination and
sign off procedure
to be developed
for completed
bulkheads

Risk management
plan developed
to deal with
bulkhead failure
and fill inrush.

Not Important Item Action Item Action

Suite of designs to
be completed and
signed off by
"specialist"

Examination and
sign off procedure
to be developed
for mined out
stopes to pass
them for filling.

738 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 Table 3: BUYANTANSHI AUDIT: ACTION PLAN MONITOR Example
applied to Fill Volume Requirement Estimation.

(4) Fill volume requirements

Action Expected Responsible Milestones Resources Status

Output Person Required (%complete)

Confirm volume Short and medium Senior Geotech Early October Planning to
requirements and term backfill schedule Engineer reviewed provide
schedule for future with contingency plans by Group proposed
mining areas Geotech Engineer mining schedule
above 1850

Define alternative
fill areas for
contingency
disposal
(backlog areas)

N.B. Add 5% to
demand schedule
to allow for fill loss
into unplanned
areas, through
bulkheads and
with flushing

Filled areas Accurate plans Group Geotech End of October Survey

to be depicted Engineer to
on plans liaise with
Senior Surveyor

Table 4: Fill volumes placed. January to June 2003

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June Total (m3)

Tailings Fill (m3) 18 676 20 505 28 835 24 853 21 975 34 179 149 023

Development Waste (m3) 6 112 5 968 8 833 3 023 1 303 1 452 26 691

Total fill placed (m3) 24 788 26 473 37 668 27 876 23 278 35 631 175 714

149 000m3 of tailings fill placed equates to 124 000m3 of void filled from which 333 000 tonnes was mined.
26 000m3 of development waste fill equates to at least 22 000m3 of void filled from which 60 000 tonnes of ore was mined

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 739

740 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004