Caving Mining Methods

Generally, caving methods extract ore, using the principle of

fracturing the ore body and the rocks around it, inducing
breaks in the whole strata and hence drawing the manageable
ore, under more or less controlled conditions. There should
therefore be no drilling and blasting, cutting or ploughing
required.

Sublevel Caving

In this method, the stope is divided into sublevels, fairly close to

each other, normally with 8-15m vertical interval between each
two adjacent ones. These sublevels are called sublevel drifts or
production drifts.

Production is carried out from the sublevel drifts by means of long

holes above the end of the production drifts. Drilling can be done
independently of blasting and loading. Several sublevels can
therefore be drilled at the same time and before production starts.

Blasting in each sublevel starts at the hanging wall side and retreats
towards the footwall. Large ore bodies can be divided into panels,
each of which containing a number of stopes. The inter-
relationship between both developments and ore production from
different stopes and even between panels is more important than
most other methods. Hence a high degree of pre-production design
work is an integral requirement of the method.

Blasting the holes breaks the ore and the surrounding area and
causes the mineral to fall into the production drift. The broken ore
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is loaded from the end of the production drift and dumped into the
ore pass.

The rock in the hanging wall also breaks and fills the voids created
in the ore body in a continuous cave. In the production drift, this is
only realized as the dilution of the loaded mineral gradually
increases.

At some point, the dilution becomes economically too high and

loading stops. Next holes (between 1-3 rounds) are then blasted.

Some of the ore therefore inevitably remains in the caved area (ore
loss) and cannot be recovered. Since the ore is brought down into
the production drift by some waste rock, dilution becomes another
inevitable occurrence in the method.

In a typical stope given the total mineral loaded, dilution is 15-35%

and ore loss is 15-25%.

Application

- The method is applicable in steeply dipping ore bodies, or in

other types of reserves with a large vertical dimension.

- Minimum ore competence level required for the method is that it

can stand mainly unsupported in the production drifts. Occasional
supports can be used in the drifts.

- The hanging wall must follow the ore extraction in a continuous

cave.

- The surface must allow subsidence.

- Dilution and ore loss are the main factors that influence the use or
otherwise of sublevel caving.

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- The method is preferred for ores that can be easily separated from
the waste.

Developments

1) The major part of the development work is the drivage of the

production drifts. But up to 20% o the ore can be won from
these.
2) A system of ore passes must be driven to connect the drifts to
the main level.

If the preparation of the drifts is considered as development, then

the amount of development required by the method is substantial.
However, this is a repetitive operation and can be done efficiently
with modern equipment.

The rest of developments are simple and straightforward.

Production

Production is accomplished by drilling and blasting, using long

upward holes from one sublevel to the one above.

Due to repetitive operation, it can use mechanization to a high

degree.

Mineral Transport

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In the drifts, mineral transport consists of loading the ore,
transporting and dumping it down the ore passes. These
conditions favor the use of LHD. Different sizes of these suit
different circumstances. Slushers are also occasionally used.

The size (mainly length) of the drift is often decided by the

optimum distance for a particular type of a loader. The
efficiency of this operation can be high since loaders can be
kept in continuous operation by transferring them from one
sublevel to another.

Conclusions

Sublevel caving is a systematic method and uses regular layouts

and working procedures.

Development, production drilling and loading are carried out on

separate levels, all independent of each other. Also, a number of
faces are always available for production.

These factors make the method highly mechanizable throughout

and “really” the method resembles an industrial process. The
secret is regularity.

Waste dilution and ore loss are the disadvantages that cannot
always be accepted. A lot of research work has been done to
minimize these.

Advanced Sublevel Caving

General Description

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The original application of the method started where the ground
was too weak even to stand around a narrow heading without
support. Heavily timbered headings were therefore driven in
the ore body and when the timber was removed at the end of
the heading, the mineral would cave in and then slushed out.

When the ore was too diluted, the loading would stop and the next
round of supports removed. This method gave high dilution,
low recovery and it was slow; but it was the only way to mine
such ore bodies at that time.

As an advancement of the method, it has in more recent years,

been applied to stronger ore bodies that need drilling and
blasting. So the method is not really caving as regards the ore
itself but since it relies upon the hanging wall rock to be
caved, it is named sublevel caving.

Sublevels are established between 8-15m or even more commonly

8-12m interval. These are accessed by a ramp system. A
haulage drift is also established below the stopes to serve
several stopes.

The sublevels are accessed from the haulage drift through a raise,
near the contact between ore and the footwall rock. When a
sufficient number of sublevels are driven, production starts.

In the beginning when only a small area is mined, caving does not
occur continuously but it soon starts after blasting.

Sequence of working, accurate planning and its implementation are

important.

Application

1) Rock Characteristics
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The most important problem in sublevel caving is to control and
minimize dilution. The ore is surrounded by dilution on 3 sides,
therefore strong brows and good fragmentation is required to gain
control of dilution.

The ore should be strong enough:

- To stand without much support (or any support at all),
remembering the somewhat large amount of developments.
- To provide strong enough brows.
- For the holes to stay open until loaded with explosive.

The waste rock must be weak enough to cave.

2) Size, Shape, Dip

These all have a strong effect on the application and the layout of
the method. A vertical dip is the best.

A medium dip of 60 degrees is satisfactory though not ideal at all.

A flat dip is most unsatisfactory unless the ore body is wide.

If the vertical dimension is not much, then the amount of

development work required per ton of ore mined is higher, since a
limited number of sublevels can be attempted.

On the top sublevel, about half of the ore cannot be recovered

because it reaches the angle of repose and cannot be reached since
the waste from the top dilutes it.

In the case of a vertical dip there is always another level below to

recover what was left above. Therefore in the more highly inclined
ore bodies the recovery is higher, but for a flat dip recovery can be
very low unless of course there is a substantial vertical distance.

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For the medium dip although some ore is lost when loading, but
recovery is relatively good.

So, best conditions for sublevel caving are fairly compact ore,
weak walls and steep dip.

Advantages

The advantages of sublevel caving are claimed to be that:

1) It can be applied to variety of rock condition - Quite flexible.

2) It is flexible as regards irregularity of the ore and low width,

down to about 3.5 - 4m.

3) Good safety records since all operations take place in a drift

size heading that can be well supported.

4) High mechanizability.

5) Activities can be specialized, hence simplifying training of

personnel and reducing their number.

6) Much less pillars are left – it is even sometimes called

“pillarless mining”. The method has been used to recover
pillars left by other methods.

Disadvantages

The major disadvantage of the method is dilution and its control.

Dilution control includes:

- Support of the broken zone
- Good drilling and blasting practices
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 - An organization for strict draw control.

Relatively high development cost can be considered a

disadvantage.

Design and Dimensions

Sublevel Height

In theory the more the distance between sublevels, the better. In

practice some factors influence this.

1) Dip of the ore body- If dip is vertical there is almost no

constraint. As the dip becomes less, the height has to be
reduced in order not to draw rock from the hanging wall.

2) Drilling- Factors influencing or limiting the sublevel height

are:
- Hole deviation increases with hole length i.e with sublevel
height.
- Drilling costs increase with hole length.
- If the ore is weak then it may be difficult to keep long holes
open until charging is completed.
- Long holes often decrease fragmentation. This decreases
recovery and increases dilution. They also increase the risk of
blockage occurring in the broken area with its potentially
disastrous consequences.

Sublevel heights of 9-11m are most common. Maximum hole

lengths of 15-18m also apply.

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Attempts have been made to increase sublevel height, but they
usually have been reduced later.

3) Production drifts and pillars- There is a relationship

between sublevel height and optimum pillar width (i.e
spacing between production drifts). The higher the sublevel
distance the larger the pillars. If these pillars are large, the
chance of obtaining a continuous flow decreases.

Also the production drifts width is a factor. The wider the

production drift, the less the vertical distance between
sublevels should be, in order to limit energy release.

Ideal situation, for stability, is equal width of production

drifts and pillars. But this is usually uneconomical and in
practice pillar should be less.

As regards height, a 9m high sublevel usually means 6m

wide pillar. Or it can be increased to 7.5m, if the stability of
the area is not maintained.

4) Size and Shape of Production Drifts

This has an important bearing on the draw. The drift should be as

wide as possible while giving good support to the brow.

For optimum draw, the back should be flat. In this case ore will be
drawn evenly across the width of the drift’s ceiling. If the roof is
arched, then ore may be moved to the centre instead of the sides
and waste may come in before ore is finished.

If the drift has to be arched for support reasons, then the production
drifts have to be closer.

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When loading is being done, some ore inevitably remains in the
end of the drift because loaders cannot reach them. The quantity of
this increases as the height of the drift increases. Therefore the drift
height should be as low as possible, usually limited by the size of
drilling equipment and ventilation considerations. Drifts of 3-3.5m
high are not uncommon.

Brow Support

This is a critical factor in the performance of sublevel caving. If the

brows are strong and intact, recovery can be good and if not,
loading can be affected seriously.

If the brow collapses, ore floods the drift and covers the next row
or rows of holes to be blasted. The holes can sometimes be dug out
but are mostly lost.

The brow may over-break by blasting, as a result of which ore is

dropped further back into the drift than planned. Loaders will
therefore have difficulty in reaching the ore, since waste covers
them from the front. In these cases, it may be necessary to use
single ring blasts.

Technical Requirements

1) Mining Sequence- A well ordered mining sequence is

essential to the method in order to avoid occurrences such as:

- Undermining areas still in production

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- Drilling holes where there are unblasted holes present (i.e.
loaded with explosives)

But the most important reason remains to be to maintain

the regular and continuous down flow of the mined
mineral and the strata above and around the ore body.

2) Development and Support- The method involves driving a

lot of development headings, with 15% or more of the ore
being won from these. Also, one or more ramps are required
to provide access for men and machines to the sublevels.
These machines include drilling machines and loaders such
as LHD or any other trackless equipment.

Ramps should be made at a maximum inclination of 20%

although 18% is preferred. They should be flattened off at
turnoffs to the sublevels. Minimum practical inside radius on
spiral ramps is about is about 12m.

Sublevel headings should be supported adequately for their

relatively short life. The areas of intersection between
haulage drifts and production drifts need particular care.

The most critical areas for support are the brows. If the
ground is strong, extra support may not be required. But if it
is medium, then rockbolts, shotcrete, grouting, timber or steel
bars may be needed. However, the brow must be held up.

3) Drilling and Blasting- Holes should be carefully aligned and

drilled accurately.

The charging and blasting of the ore must be done with much
care. It is essential that holes are loaded right to the top.

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 If holes are not carefully drilled, loaded and blasted, a solid
bridge may be left of the ore above and only the lower part of
the area above may be caved down.

Usually several rings are required before the formation of a

bridge becomes apparent. This may cause great problems,
such as considerable loss of ore, coarse fragmentation etc.

The consequence of these could be:

- High dilution
- Total blockage

4) Loading- It is necessary to use a loader that can positively

dig into the pile. The depth to which the loaders can dig into
the pile determines the number of rings that drilling and
blasting can be done in any round.

Perhaps diesel powered LHD’s are best since their weight

and power allows them to dig into the ore well. The most
common LHD used is the 4m^3 type.

When loading, it is important to alternate from one side of

the heading to the other side, in order to keep an even draw.

Good floor is essential for the trackless equipment to operate

efficiently, but since
the life of heading is short, it is not justified to concrete the
floor. Prepared (crushed and screened) rock (waste) from the
surface, spread on the floor and compacted, makes a good
enough floor surface.

It is important to blast hang-ups in the strata above as soon as

they occur, to ensure continuous flow of the broken ore.

5) Ventilation- In this method through ventilation in the active

mining area is not possible.
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 On a conventional sublevel, an auxiliary fan is installed at the
entrance of the production drift. Ducting is used to take clean
(or relatively clean) air to the end of the drift, where mining
operations are carried out.

6) Drainage- Good drainage is required in the production drifts

(and haulage roadways) in order that the floor stays even and
equipment can operate efficiently. Headings should be driven
at, for example, 3% to the rise to facilitate this.

Equipment may be large, comparing to the size of the

heading. Hence ditches on the sides may not stay open.
Instead, the floor of the heading should be made so that the
center forms a ditch.

Considerable water can be generated by drilling machines,

plus natural water that can present delays in production
operations. If needed, holes can be drilled to the lower
sublevel for water to be transferred there for handling.

Draw Control

Perhaps the most important control in this and other caving

methods, is to decide when to cease loading.

The point at which loading stops and the next round of holes is
blasted is call the cut-off point.

If loading stops before the true cut-off point then the achieved
recovery is below the maximum figure.

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If, on the other hand, loading stops later than the cut-off-point, then
the achieved dilution is higher than the minimum achievable.

The first parameter to be established is the theoretical grade (cut-

off grade) at which the loading should be stopped. This is an
economic calculation and depends on all types of costs, price of the
ore etc.

Cut-off point is derived from the cut-off grade and given to the
loading personnel. But even having an accurate cut-off point in
hand, it is not easy to decide when the loading operation should
cease. There are two possible methods to do this:
- Visual
- Sampling and assaying

Visual Method

In this case it must be possible to visually distinguish between the

ore and waste. It is more usual to give the operator the percentage
of ore in a given piece of sample required, as opposed to the cut-
off grade.

The ore blasted in any round is calculated. Then if, for example,
the grade of the ore in place is 2% and the cut-off grade is 0.5%,
loading ceases when the pile loaded contains 25% ore and 75%
rock. The total number of loads (for example LHD buckets) to
approximately achieve this percentage is given to the operator.

Sometimes the cut-off point may appear before the required

number of bucket loads are taken. In these cases, a few more
bucket loads are taken in the hope that conditions will improve and
if not, loading is ceased. If the opposite occurs, loading continues
until the cut-off point is reached.

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Sample and Assay Method

In this case many samples are taken and assayed underground in

order to determine the percentage of ore in any particular bucket
load.

Points to note are:

- It I difficult to collect a truly representative sample from the
broken pile, especially that statistically a great number of
samples are required.
- The loading must be idle while sampling and assaying is
done, and when loading is started, the pile may be quite
different from the one sampled anyway.
- If visual method is possible, regular sampling can be done
without delays, and bias between sampling results and
loading are kept to a minimum.

Conclusion: Sampling and assaying method is expensive and may

give more accurate results. This is why sublevel caving should
ideally only be used where the ore and waste can easily be
differentiated.

Performance

Every operation is different but some guidelines are given here.

These guidelines can be used to calculate the performance of any
operation.

With a diesel powered two-boom jumbo drill, typically 200m of

holes can be drilled per shift. Drillability is of course an important
factor.

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For an LHD, in good working conditions and about 200m run, with
bucket capacity of 4m^3, approximately 450 tons of ore per shift
can be loaded.

A typical OMS has been recorded to be 30-40 tons/man-shift for all

those working underground.

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