Probabilistic stope design

The Challenge

Despite representing an important influence on the profitability of safe modern underground mining methods, measurement of stope volume and its reconciliation against mine planning are generally poorly quantified at an operational level.

This limitation restricts understanding of the factors influencing stoping outcomes and their effective management in the mine planning process.

Key Findings

The octree analysis system developed in this research provides an innovative technique for reconciliation, subdividing stope volumes into blocks small enough to accurately resolve the relationship between stope geometry and mine infrastructure.

This enables new types of investigation to deliver understanding of the effects of multiple factors on the outcome of stope development, including blasting, planned stope geometry, and geology.

Analysis on a per-octree basis allows the root causes of overbreak and underbreak to be identified and corrected.

Benefit to WA

The octree analysis system will allow optimisation of stope design, reducing overbreak and underbreak and delivering more efficient development in Western Australian mines.

The economic benefits from this increased efficiency can be easily implemented via the existing mXrap geotechnical software developed by the ACG in WA.

Keywords: dilution, overbreak, stope design, stope reconciliation, underbreak