It is well recognized that software tools for strategic underground mine planning are lacking, and that the demand for these tools will increase as deeper deposits amenable to underground mining continue to grow in value. While a number of optimization techniques have been developed for stope layout design and progress continues to be made in the area of production scheduling, both of these min...

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the application of a combined finite-discrete element program, such as ELFEN, for the simulation and prediction of backfill stope failure risks due to blast loading effects in underground mines. A real size of a backfilled stope blasted in the nearby rock of the paste fill is modelled. The dynamic fracture propagation and fragmentation in rock and the...

In mining projects, all uncertainties associated with a project must be considered to determine the feasibility study. Grade uncertainty is one of the major components of technical uncertainty that affects the variability of the project. Geostatistical simulation, as a reliable approach, is the most widely used method to quantify risk analysis to overcome the drawbacks of the estimation methods...

Shaft sinking is one of the main parts in underground mine planning. Shaft has various applications in underground mines e.g. minerals exiting flow, gases entrance or exit way, stope developments for exploitation etc. Considering that this section requires an abundance of expenses, management always following the election is the way that both terms have the technical considerations, economic co...

Historically, the design of the in-stope pillar in underground excavations has been based on empirical formulae and numerical modelling. Although these design methods have been extensively applied in several gold mines in South Africa, rockburst, in-stope pillar burst/failure are continuously reported as the major problem faced by mines. Therefore, this study attempts to compare the performance...

Optimisation tools which determine the best layout for access and haulage in an underground mine address an important and difficult mine design problem. The complexity of the problem can be compared to the task of optimising the final pit design in an open pit, together with the pit haul roads required. The strategic design of an underground mine layout must address the location of haulage shaf...

We present an algorithm aimed at optimizing stope design accounting for drift development. The approach is typically suitable for the sublevel stope mining method with a vertical parallel drilling pattern. The algorithm consists of two parts. In the first part, a graph theory based stope optimizer is adapted to integrate the drift. In the stope optimizer, the raise initiates a stope and provide...

The impact of blast-driven shocks on the safety and stability of the underground coal mines has been well established. The seismic imperfections resulting from blasting depend on the total explosive energy released during blasting and the closeness of the development tunnel face to the stope face. Also, the quality of the rock mass wherein the whole stope face is located might pose considerable...

Stope design optimisation defines three-dimensional extraction volumes aiming to maximise cashflows, subject geotechnical and operational constraints. Available stope layout methods are deterministic, failing account for grade uncertainty variability that affect locations sizes, as well value. A two-stage stochastic integer programming model is proposed, integrating quantified through geostatis...