ARMA 17-814

Development of new design tools for open stoping underground mines

J. A. Vallejos
Advance Mining Technology Center, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
R. Miranda
Advance Mining Technology Center, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
L. Burgos
Advance Mining Technology Center, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
E. Perez
Advance Mining Technology Center, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

Copyright 2017 ARMA, American Rock Mechanics Association

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 51st US Rock Mechanics / Geomechanics Symposium held in San Francisco, California, USA, 25-
28 June 2017. This paper was selected for presentation at the symposium by an ARMA Technical Program Committee based on a technical and
critical review of the paper by a minimum of two technical reviewers. The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of
ARMA, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the

ABSTRACT
The stability graph method has been used for more than three decades for the design of stopes in sublevel stoping mining
operations. This method estimates the stope size required to reduce operational hazards and achieve continuous production. Over
time several improvements have taken place, as well as the addition of new cases. These new cases are relevant and need to be
collected in order to update the stability graph, improving its reliability in predicting the stability state of open stopes.
The addition of new case studies involves two main stage, that systematically performed allow to update the graph and delineating
more reliable stability boundaries. The first stage required the collection of geotechnical data, and the second one, consider a back
analysis of stopes, performance parameters and the assignation of stability state to each case.
The main problems related to both stages have been identified by the authors in Chilean mining operations: The geotechnical data
is frequently collected and stored under different conditions and the calculations of performance parameters do not accurately
performed. For this purpose, several computational tools have been developed and integrated into a software, MineRoc. MineRoc
allows defining the optimal open stope size and the stability graph method can be adapted to a particular local mining context,
based on local case studies and own definitions of stability. The software includes four modules: Acquisition, Performance,
Database and Design.
In this work, an application of the software is performed and the main features of MineRoc are presented. New Chilean case studies
have been collected and used to establish new stability boundaries. Finally, it's possible to evaluate the benefits of the software, and
its positive impact on the mine planning a design process, since more accurate predictions of stopes stability and incorporation of
overbreak can be performed.

amongst others, added new case histories to the original

1. INTRODUCTION
In sublevel stoping, the potential for instability in the
rock surrounding underground mine openings is an ever
present threat to the safety of both people and
equipment. To counteract these threats, several tools for
the design of open stopes have been developed through
years. Mathews et al.,1981 proposed the stability graph
method in which a qualitative stability state for each
stope wall is given based on visual evaluations and/or
reconciled data.
The first stability graph introduced by Mathews et al.,
1981, was based on the study of 26 case histories. This
graph became popular following the expansion of the
original database and the re-calibration of the stability
number factors by Potvin, 1988 (Suorineni, 2010). Later,
authors such as Nickson, 1992, Mawdesley et al., 2001,
method, proposing new qualitative stability boundaries.
However, qualitative description of stability is not useful
in the estimation of quantified dilution levels. Clark and
Pakalnis, 1997 introduced the concept of equivalent
linear overbreak/slough (ELOS) in the stability graph
that makes it possible to describe how much unplanned
dilution a stope surface plotted on the stability graph is
likely to generate (Suorineni, 2010).
One of the most comprehensive qualitative stability
graph in literature is the extended stability graph
developed by Mawdesley et al., 2001. It contains more
than 400 open stoping case studies from over 38 mines
in North America, Australia, and England. Whereas, the
ELOS stability graph developed by Clark and Pakalnis is
based on 47 stope surveys from 6 Canadian mines.
Despite the significant amount of data collected by both
Mawdesley et al., 2001 and Clark and Pakalnis, 1997,
Chilean open stoping case studies were not considered.
Therefore, particular geotechnical conditions and
operational standards in Chilean sublevel stoping mines,
are not being truly represented in both qualitative and
quantitative stability graphs.
In the case of the qualitative stability graph there is an
issue with the definition of the stability zones and the
delineation of the boundaries. Definitions of stability can
vary from mine to mine, and depend on operational
standards, mining method, acceptability of dilution and
type of mineral.
In order to improve the performance and the predictive
capability of the stability graph method in a particular
mine, the generation of a database of own case histories
and the delineation of new stability boundaries must be
performed. However, in this process several difficulties
can arise:
• The collected geotechnical data is stored in
different platforms.
• The calculation of performance parameters is not
accurately performed.
• The combination of databases is not consistently
performed.
To deal with these problems, several computational tools
aiming at improving the stability graph method in
Chilean open stopes mines have been developed by the
authors. These tools have been integrated into the
technological platform, MineRoc®. This software
provides an interactive environment where the updating
of the stability graph can be performed. In the first
version of MineRoc® four different modules have been
included:
• Acquisition module: It allows geotechnical data to
be stored in a single platform. This information is
available to be used in the performance and design
modules.
• Performance module: In this module the back
analysis of open stopes is performed. New case
studies of open stopes can be obtained.
• Database manager module: In this module new
stability boundaries can be delineated, based on
new case studies previously obtained.
• Design module: In this module the design of open
stopes can be performed, based on qualitative and
quantitative stability graphs. New stability
boundaries, previously delineated, can be used for
the analysis.
In this paper, quantitative and qualitative stability graph
are reviewed. Next, the different modules and key
features of MineRoc® are presented. Finally, the
application and benefits of MineRoc® are evaluated.
New case studies have been collected in Chilean
sublevel stoping mines. This has allowed new stability
boundaries to be delineated.
2. STABILITY GRAPH METHOD
In the stability graph method, the calculation of two
different factors is required: the shape factor, S, and the
stability number, N. The shape factor (Eq. (1)) is related
to the geometry of the wall. Whereas, the stability
number (Eq. (2)) represents the characteristics of the
rock mass.
S =
(1)
N = Q` · A · B · C (2)
In the Eq. (2):
• Q’, is an adaptation of the rock tunneling quality
index developed by Barton et al. (1974).
• A, is the rock stress factor obtained from the graph
presented in the Fig. 1(a). σ c is the intact rock
strength and σ 1 is the induced compressive stress
at the centre of the wall.
• B, is the joint orientation adjustment factor and
measure the relative difference in dip between the
stope surface and the critical joint set. Fig. 1(b).
• C, is the gravity adjustment factor and reflects the
effect of orientation of the stope surface on its
stability, under the influence of gravity. It can be
determined from Fig. 1(c).
2.1 Qualitative stability graph
The qualitative stability graph is the plot of the stability
number (N) against a shape factor (S). In this graph the
stability of each stope wall is evaluated independently.
One of the most comprehensive qualitative stability
graph in literature is the extended stability graph
developed by Mawdesley et al., 2001. In this graph,
three stability states are defined:
• Stable: Essentially self-supporting with minimal
dilution (< 10%).
• Failure: Localised failure occurs, but a stable
arch forms. Failures cover the range between
stable and major failure.
• Major failure: Excavation requiring extensive
support or having excessive failure and dilution
(> 30%).
Dilution is defined as low grade material which comes in
an ore stream, reducing its value:
Dilution % =
· 100 (3)
The extended Mathews stability graph proposed by
Mawdesley is presented in the Fig. 2. The collected
database contains more than 400 sublevel stoping case Where N is the Mathews stability number and S is the
studies. shape factor “a” and “b” are parameters obtained by
logistic regressions.

Fig. 1. Adjustment factors for determination of the stability number (after Mathews et al., 1981).
1000

Stable 2.2 Quantitative stability graph

Failure
100 The ELOS stability graph (Clark and Pakalnis, 1997)
was developed for narrow vein ore bodies, since the
qualitative stability graph takes into account case studies
Stability Number, N

10
from massive ore bodies. This quantitative stability
Major Failure
graph is based on the Equivalent Linear Over-break
1 Slough, ELOS:
Stable
STABLE# STABLE#

0.1
Failure
FAILURE# FAILURE#
ELOS =
(5)
MajorFAILURE#
MAJOR# Failure MAJOR#FAILURE#

Stable - Failure boundary

0.01
Failure - Major Failure boundary
The calculation of the volume of over-break from a stope
wall
wall ( VOB ) is possible since the introduction of the
1 10 100
Shape Factor, S (in metres)
Fig. 2. Extended Mathews stability log-log graph based on cavity monitoring system (Miller et al. 1992) that allows
logistic regression (Mawdesley, 2002). wall
three dimensional cavity models to be obtained. VOB
For the delineation of the stability boundaries, logistic corresponds to the volume between a wall and the cavity
regressions were performed. These boundaries (stable- survey model. As an example, the over-break volume of
failure and failure-major failure) are represented by the a back is presented in the Fig. 3:
following general equation (Mawdesley, 2002):

N= · (4)

Fig. 3. Schematic showing definition of over-break volume of
a back (modified from Cepuritis, 2010).
The original ELOS stability graph was developed taking
into account the Modified stability number (N') proposed
by Potvin, 1988. However, in a recent update of the
graph (Castro, 2015), the stability number was
recalculated for each case study using the original
Mathews adjustment factors (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4. ELOS stability graph (Castro, 2015).
3. MINEROC ®
MineRoc is an underground mining software that allows
mine planers to define the optimal size of the stope. In
this software, the stability graph method can be adapted
to a particular mining context, based on local case
studies and own definitions of stability boundaries. This
is possible due to the interaction between different
modules. In the first version of MineRoc, four modules
have been included:
• Acquisition Module.
• Performance Module.
• Database Manager.
• Design Module.
Error! Reference source not found. presents the main
features of each module and the interaction between
them. The following sections briefly describe them,
specifying the information required and generated by
each of them.
3.1 Acquisition module
In this module the required geotechnical information for
the stability analysis can be stored. This information is
contained in form of Geotechnical units and In-situ
stresses and can be used in either the performance or the
design module. The Geotechnical units can be assigned
to each stope wall. Whereas, one estimation of in-situ
stresses is required to analyse stope.
Each geotechnical unit contains the following
information:
• Intact rock properties: Uniaxial Compressive
Strength ( UCS 50 ), Young’s modulus (E) and
Hoek & Brown failure criterion parameters ( Sc ,
mi ).
• Structural patterns: orientation and geotechnical
characteristics.
• Rock mass classification: rock quality designation
(Deere et al., 1967), rock mass rating (Bieniawski,
1976), the geological strength index (Hoek and
Brown, 1997), and the Barton classification
system, Q (Barton et al., 1974).
The In-situ stresses can be defined by:
• Measurements: when measurements of the
complete stress tensor are available.
• Overburden: If measurements of in-situ stress
have not been performed, a local stress gradients
can be defined. Regional models have been
calibrated using databases from Chile (Galarce,
2014) and Canada (Arjang and Herget, 1997) are
also available.
With this information the Mathews adjustment factors
can be calculated, allowing the back analysis and the
stability analysis of open stopes to be used in the
performance and design modules. It is important to be
aware that the quality of the information provided in
this module will directly impact on the accuracy of the
analyses performed in other modules.
3.2 Performance module
In this module the back analysis of open stopes can be
performed. This allows new open stoping case studies to
be obtained. One of the key features of this module is the
automatic calculation of the performance parameters and
Mathews adjustment factors per wall. This considerably
reduces the processing times when the back analysis of a
large amount of stopes is carried out.
In this module, the following information is required:
• Three dimensional model of the stope design.
 • Three dimensional model of the cavity survey.
• Geotechnical information per wall (from
acquisition module).
• In-situ stress (from acquisition module).
The following steps have been considered for the
calculation of performance parameters and Mathews
adjustment factors:
(i) First the three dimensional models of the stope
design and the cavity survey are provided by the
user. These models are displayed in a 3D
visualizer which allows users to check the
studied solids.
Fig. 5. Interaction between modules and information flow in MineRoc.
(ii) The wall recognition algorithm is performed.
With this algorithm, the different stope design
walls are identified.
(iii) Geotechnical units for each stope wall and in-
situ stress are imported from the acquisition
module.
(iv) Finally, using built in algorithms, geometrical
parameters per wall (shape factor, orientation
and stope dimensions), performance parameters
per wall (dilution and ELOS) and Mathews
adjustment factors are automatically assessed.
When the back-analysis of open stopes is systematically
performed, a large amount of case studies can be
obtained.
The information generated in this module is then
relevant for the delineation of new stability boundaries
in the data manager module.
More details on this module are presented in Section 4.
3.3 Database Manager
In this module, new local databases of open stoping case
studies can be generated. New cases studies obtained in
the performance module can be combined with databases
from literature (included as consulting material for
mines without own case studies) allowing new stability
boundaries to be delineated. When a large amount of
own case studies is considered, the modified stability
graph accounts for local geotechnical and operational
conditions. This improves its reliability in predicting the
stability state of own open stopes.
For the generation of new qualitative databases there are
two options:
• For new mines, own case studies can be combined
with build-in databases, generating a first
approximation to the local stability criteria.
MineRoc includes 3 built-in databases: The
Canadian and Australian Qualitative Database
(Mawdesley, 2001), the Canadian Quantitative
Database collected by Clark and Pakalnis, 1997
recalibrated by Castro, 2015 and The Chilean
Quantitative Database developed by authors.
• For mines with enough local case studies, own
stability criteria, based on the performance
parameters (dilution and ELOS) can be developed.
When a new database is generated, new stability
boundaries can be delineated. In MineRoc, new
stability boundaries can be defined by varying the
parameters “a” and “b” of Eq. (4). To evaluate the
performance of the new curves, the Peirce Skill Score
(PSS) is used (Vallejos et al., 2016).
3.4 Design module
In this module the design of new open stopes is
performed. The stope dimensions are determined based
on qualitative and quantitative stability graphs. The
following information from others modules can be used
for the analysis:
• Geotechnical information per wall (from
acquisition module).
• In-situ stress (from acquisition module).
• New stability boundaries (from Database
manager). When new case studies have not been
obtained, stability boundaries from literature can
be used (Mawdesley, 2001 and Castro, 2015).
Having imported this information, the required stope
size can be assessed by trying different stope
dimensions and analysing their stability. Sensitive
analysis can also be performed. Geotechnical
information can be manually changed, observing their
impact on the Mathews stability factors and the
stability state of the walls.
In this module, the following parameters are
automatically calculated each time a geotechnical or a
geometrical parameter is modified:
• The Mathews adjustment factors:
(a) The rock stress factor, A. Induced stresses at
each wall are estimated using the charts
provided by Mathews et al., 1981.
(b) The joint orientation factor, B. The true solid
angle is calculated using the orientation of the
joints and the walls.
(c) The gravity factor, C.
• The stability number per wall, N.
• The shape factor per wall, S.
• The stability state of each wall and the ELOS of
the hangingwall and the footwall. The qualitative
stability state can be evaluated using the extended
stability graph (Mawdesley, 2002) or new stability
boundaries. The ELOS can be calculated by using
the ELOS stability graph (Castro, 2015) or a
modified graph obtained in the Data Manager
module.
4. KEY FEATURES OF THE PERFORMANCE
MODULE
In the process of collection of new case studies, the
calculation of performance parameters per wall: dilution
and ELOS, must be performed. For the assessment of
these parameters the volume of over-break per wall,
wall
VOB , is required. Currently, estimations of the over-
break per wall are manually performed in different
mining software. However, this procedure has
demonstrated to be time consuming, especially when a
large amount of stopes is analysed.
In the Performance module of MineRoc, a procedure for
the automatic calculation of performance parameters has
been integrated. This procedure is divided in three main
stages (Fig. 6).
Fig. 6. Stages involved in the automatic calculation of
performance parameters.
4.1 Wall recognition algorithm and calculation
of performance parameters
One of the key features of MineRoc is the wall
recognition algorithm. This algorithm allows the
different stope design walls to be identified.
In the wall recognition algorithm, the following steps are
considered:
(i) The stope design is translated to the origin and
then rotated according to its strike.
(ii) Both End-walls are identified as the opposite
surfaces along the strike.
(iii) The stope design is sliced along the strike and
the remaining walls are identified by the
application of a convex-hull algorithm.
Having identified the different stope walls, the automatic
calculation of the performance parameters (Dilution and
ELOS) and the Mathews adjustment factors per wall (A,
B, C) can be performed. This key feature of MineRoc
considerably reduces back analysis times, allowing the
collection of a large amount of case studies in short
processing times.
5. APPLICATIONS
In this section, an application of MineRoc is presented.
Twenty stopes mined in the north region of Chile are
back analyzed and new boundaries are delineated. Next,
the differences between the stability-failure boundary
proposed by Mawdesley, 2001 and the new boundary
delineated using MineRoc are evaluated.
In this study, the following procedure has been
performed:
(i) The required geotechnical data is collected and
stored into de acquisition module.
(ii) In the Performance module, by using the face
recognition algorithm, the calculation of the
performance parameters per wall (dilution,
ELOS) and the assessment of the stope
geometrical features is performed. This allowed
a database of fifty open stoping case studies to
be generated.
Fig. 7. (a) Stability graph proposed by Mawdesley. (b) Local stability graph developed for a mine in Chile.
(iii) In the Database Manager module, own stability
states based on the amount of dilution are
generated. Next, a new stability-failure boundary
is delineated based on the PSS.
Fig. 7 (a) presents the Mawdesley stability boundary
with the collected database. The new stability graph is
presented in the Fig. 7 (b). A PSS value of 0.5 has been
obtained with the Mawdesley stability boundary.
Whereas a PSS value of 0.7 has been obtained with the
new stability boundary. The results indicate that the new
stability boundary has a better predictive capability and
the boundaries proposed in literature may require
recalibration when new stability states are defined.
The impact of the new stability boundary on the design
is evaluated by calculating the maximum admissible
width of a stope, when the required length is 70 meters.
Given the geotechnical information of the
mine, =15, the maximum admissible width of the
stope is calculated by using the two stability graphs.
With the stability graph proposed by Mawdesley, 2002,
the permissible maximum width is 20 m, whereas an
admissible width of 40 m is obtained using the local
stability graph.
6. DISCUSSION
In sublevel stoping mines there is a need to maximize
mining cycle while maximizing production and
controlling dilution. This can be partially achieved by
adapting the design tools from literature to the specific
site conditions of the mine. MineRoc has been
developed to deal with these requirements, allowing:
• The collection of own case studies
• The delineation of boundaries based on own
criteria.
• The accurate prediction of the stability state and
the over-break of stope walls.
When MineRoc is systematically used in different
sublevel stoping mines, new databases and stability
graphs can be generated. For example, new qualitative
stability graphs can be generated for narrow open stopes.
Likewise, ELOS stability graphs can be developed for
massive open stopes.
MineRoc can also positively impact on the accurate
stope size selection. In the example presented in the
section 5, a completely different stope size is obtained,
when own definition of the stability states and new
delineation of the stability boundary have been
considered.
7. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, the software MineRoc and its key features
have been presented. This software has been developed
for the design of open stopes in underground mines.
Currently, stopes are designed mainly based on
empirical stability graphs developed by Mathews, 1981
and Clark and Pakalnis, 1997. These two stability graphs
are mainly based on Canadian and Australian operational
experiences, which do not reflect the Chilean operational
and geotechnical conditions.
In MineRoc, the geotechnical data can be stored in a
single platform, new case studies can be rapidly obtained
and new stability boundaries can be delineated. These
key features allow the stability prediction of the stability
graphs from literature to be continuously improved,
increasing the safety and the productivity of the mine.
By using MineRoc, a Chilean open stoping database has
been obtained. The results have demonstrated that when
Chilean case studies are considered, different stability
boundaries can be delineated. This positively impact on
the mine design and planning processes, since more
accurate predictions of stopes stability and incorporation
of dilution can be performed.
8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors acknowledge the financial support of the
Chilean government through the project CORFO
11IDL2 10,630 entitled ‘Development of Design Tools
for Selective Underground Mining in Chile’, carried out
at the University of Chile.
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