Description : Open stope mining exposes large rock faces which can become unstable with time. Failures of these faces can create unexpected dilution which can increase mining costs, and potentially, these failures may present problems for mine safety. In response to open stope instabilities at Birchtree Mine, Vale Inc. is supporting this study on the effect of time on stope stability at this operation. A time factor is introduced to better classify stand-up time for Birchtree open stopes. An empirical approach is used as it can be tailored to mine specific data, and can be updated with future case histories.
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