ROOM-AND-PILLAR MINING AS IT RELATES TO CHANGING MARKET

CONDITIONS

An added advantage of room-and-pillar stoping in metal mining (or with any commodity that is
gradational in value) is related to changing market conditions. The flexible mining conditions of
room-and-pillar stoping can usually be adjusted to the elastic nature of markets if mine planners
are always aware of current market trends. The extreme flexibility of the room-and-pillar mining
method allows the mine operation to react to market needs faster than other mining systems.
Another of the advantages is that new faces are continuously being opened if the ore body is
continuous. Even if the stope is only four pillars wide (Figure 3.3), at any one time that stope may
have as many as 12 to 15 faces open for drilling and blasting. One can imagine if the stope were
10 pillars wide how many faces would be exposed to drilling and blasting. For metal mines, this
offers a lot of flexibility to mine the grade of ore most desirable for any current price of the metal
being mined. For short periods of time in each stope, it is usually possible to work only the higher-
or lower-grade faces, depending upon the market. This usually has a drastic effect on the grade
within a few days. Forexample, after the high-grade Fletcher Mine had been operating for about 3
or 4 yr, there were approximately 50 to 70 faces open for mining on any given day, but only 10 to
12 would actually be worked. It becomes a matter of face selectivity to maintain a grade of ore
that can best be handled by the concentrator and still optimize the financial objectives of the mine.
Similarly, spare equipment can be put into reserve stopes to increase production if the remaining
materials flow can take the added capacity. However, if these practices are carried on too long or
too often, mine development must also be accelerated. If maintained, old stopes can be reactivated
quickly to mine lowergrade minerals that become minable because of economic cycles. Another
aspect of the room-and-pillar mine is that often lower-grade resources are left in the floor or the
back of the stopes. When price rises, new reserves are readily available for quick mining. This
technique is often overlooked by individuals not accustomed to planning room-and-pillar metal
mines where the mineral values are gradational. There is the option of mining through the better
areas of the mineral reserve and maintaining a grade of ore that satisfies the economic objectives
at that time. At a later time, when mining economics may have changed, the lower-grade areas left
as remnant ore reserves can be mined However, in spite of the above, even in room-and-pillar
mines, drastic changes in the rate of mining (momentum) cannot be assumed to be free. It often
takes several months with an increased labor force to regain a production level that seemed easy
to maintain before a mine production cutback. If spare equipment is used to increase production,
maintenance probably will convert to a “breakdown” overtime schedule compared to the previous
preventive maintenance schedule on shift, at least until permanent additional equipment can be
obtained. Nevertheless, the necessary changes can be made. As discussed under the section on
“Pillar Robbing,” the other technique is that of slabbing or removing high-grade pillars. Thus, even
in the later years of the mining operation, some of the “sweetener” is left to blend with the lower
grade ore. Although not unique to room-and-pillar mining, this technique is certainly easier to
accomplish in a room-and-pillar operation than in other, more complex mining systems.