4

MINE DESIGN CRITERIA

The proposed mining methods and applicable design criteria are described below.

4.1

Mining Method

A number of mining methods are proposed for different sections of the Correnso orebody based upon
orebody geometry, orebody thickness and proximity to surface. The orebody proximity to surface
affects blasting vibration restrictions, hence more conservative mining which uses small blasts is
proposed for the upper levels of Correnso. This more conservative mining method in the upper levels
of the proposed mine also has beneficial effects on geotechnical stability. No one single mining
method is applicable to the entire orebody when considering the factors mentioned above. The design
for Correnso demonstrates there are a range of mining methods available. Depending on the specific
nature of potential future orebodies, appropriate mining methods and management techniques will be
used to ensure ground surface stability.
The mine has been designed with 13m level spacings (13m from floor to floor), and the three mining
methods proposed are (see Figure 11):

Overhand Cut and Fill;

Transverse Open Stoping with Cemented Aggregate Fill;

Modified Avoca (Tight Fill Avoca).

Overhand Cut & Fill

Transverse Stoping with

Cemented Aggregate Fill

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Tight Fill Avoca

Figure 11. Long Section of Correnso looking East showing areas of different mining methods. Purple
zone denotes area to be mined via Cut and Fill; green/grey area denotes area to be mined via
Modified Avoca and grey/red denotes are to be mined via Transverse Open Stoping with
Primary/Secondary sequence. Ground surface is at ~1120RL.
In Figure 11, the Purple zone at the top indicates the portion of the orebody proposed to be mined via
Overhand Cut and Fill mining method. The central grey/red section indicates the portion of the
orebody proposed to be mined via primary/secondary Transverse Open Stoping with cemented
backfill in the primary stopes. The green and grey areas indicate sections of the orebody proposed to
be mined via the Modified Avoca mining method, the mining method predominantly used for the
Favona Underground Mine and that will be used for the Trio Underground Mine. At the base of the Cut
and Fill zone and at the base of the Transverse Open Stoping zone there will be two remnant pillars
left (shown in pink) which separate the different mining zones. These will be recovered towards the
end of the mine life, or the end of the mining zone mine life.

4.1.1 Overhand Cut and Fill

Overhand cut and fill (C&F) will be used above approximately the 900mRL (200m depth) utilising
principally loose rock as fill material. The method uses charge weights similar to those used in
development, and is required for those areas closer to the ground surface to ensure blast vibration is
minimised. This mining method has been used in Favona in areas near the top of the mine where
necessary to achieve compliance with the vibration limits (6mm/s). The Modified Avoca mining method
that has been typically used throughout the Favona Mine was not deemed suitable in this area of the
ore body due to the higher explosive charge weights and potential for increased blast vibrations and
the proposed compliance level of 5mm/s. This more conservative mining method in the upper levels of
the proposed mine also has beneficial effects on geotechnical stability.
C&F is a mining mechanised mining method where successive slices or lifts are mined in the orebody
(See Figure 12). Lifts are typically 4m high. This mining method is suitable to narrow orebodies where
good control of wall overbreak is required. It is typically applied to orebodies that have very poor
footwall and/or hangingwall conditions where large spans such as those in open stoping would lead to
unfavourable outcomes (excessive overbreak). This is not the case in Correnso. C&F has been
selected to minimise blasting vibrations which may affect residential areas on surface. The added
benefit of C&F in the upper areas in Correnso means greater control of stability, significantly reducing
the likelihood of instability of the rockmass being experienced.
Overhand cut and fillC&F is not an efficient mining method due to its slow rate of production. To
increase early production in the upper areas of the mine cemented aggregate fill (CAF) rather than
rock fill is recommended in the first two lifts (cuts). The CAF will result in engineered pillars that enable
the cut and fillC&F extraction to occur simultaneously with mining of lower levels without the need to

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Comment[M1]:Note I
have swapped the order
of this and the next
paragraph around (but
havent tracked the
moving of the
paragraphs)

leave in situ rock pillars between the mined areas. The use of CAF pillars overcomes the issue of
lower productivity without a loss of ore.

Figure 12. Schematic diagram showing C&F mining method.

4.1.2 Modified AVOCA (Tight Fill AVOCA)

Modified Avoca stoping, which is the method used through most of Favona mine (and will be used for
Trio), is planned below the 900mRL in consistently narrower (less than 10m width) areas of the ore
body. Modified AVOCA involves the extraction of bench stopes, from level to level, where each stope
is successively backfilled before the next one is mined (see Figure 13). This type of mining ensures
that all stoping voids are filled in a disciplined and regular manner, and allows flexibility in the length of
stope spans to be mined i.e. matching stope spans to ground conditions locally. The mining method
extracts stopes along the strike length of the orebody in a longitudinal extraction sequence. Stopes are
mined bottom up, and retreat back to the access points. AVOCA is suitable for orebody widths
generally up to 10m wide.
As already stated, the mine has been designed with a 13 metre level spacing, i.e. the distance
between the floor of an ore drive (or sill) and that of the drive above/below it will be 13m, which with
approximately 5m high drives means the depth of rock between the drives that is blasted and
excavated during stoping, is around 8 metres. This is a shorter level spacing than that used in Favona
(typically 15m) and has been selected to reduce blast vibration. The smaller level spacing will also
significantly improve stope stability by opening smaller wall spans.

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Stope backfill will principally utilise previously excavated rock. CAF will be selectively utilised to create
cemented sill pillars to allow full extraction of the ore body and provide sufficient operating flexibility for
adequate productivity. The Modified Avoca method will not be used where the ore body is wide (over
10m width) due to geotechnical considerations. In these wider areas a method called Transverse
Stoping is proposed to ensure geotechnical stability in combination with more complete extraction of
the ore body and to minimise back spans. Fill material will be both CAF and rock fill.

Figure 13. Schematic diagram showing AVOCA mining method.

4.1.3 Transverse Stoping with Cemented Aggregate Fill (CAF)

Transverse Stoping is a mining method whereby open stopes are mined and extracted in a transverse
direction i.e. across the strike or perpendicular to the orebody (see Figure 14 and 15). It is typically
used where orebody widths become too wide for other mining methods (i.e. AVOCA). The use of a
CAF enables complete extraction of the orebody. If CAF is not used, then large pillars of ore must be
left in place to provide support and global stability to the rockmass. The mining will be sequenced in a
primary-secondary manner, meaning that primary stopes will be mined and filled with CAF first, then
secondary stopes will be mined between the filled primary stopes and backfilled with rock,. The CAF
fill will be engineered to be free standing and stable when exposed.

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Figure 14. Schematic diagram showing Transverse Stoping mining method.

Figure 15. Isometric view of Transverse Stoping showing Primary Stopes in brown.

4.2

Potvins Stability Graph Method

Mathews (1980) proposed a method for determining stable stope spans based on the modified
Bartons Tunnelling Quality Index Q. This was further refined by Potvin (1988) to include a further 175
case histories, and has since undergone further modifications. The Modified Stability Method (MSG) is

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a widely used method of stope span determination, and has previously been applied with acceptable
results at the Favona Underground Mine.
The method is principally based on the use of Q, and three other factors to account for stress (Factor
A), structural orientation (Factor B) and gravity effects (Factor C), giving the modified stability number
(N).
N

Q x A x B x C

Where:
Q = RQD/Jn x Jr/Ja
Factor A is a ratio of intact rock strength to induced mining stresses, degrading the overall N value
Factor B measures effect of least favourably oriented joint set affecting stope surface
Factor C measures effect of gravity on potential failure modes (slabbing, sliding failures)
The stability number is used in conjunction with the hydraulic radius (a factor relating shape and
dimensions) to assess stability on an empirical chart.

4.3

Probabilistic Determination of Q

A probabilistic approach was chosen to determine Q for use in designing stope spans based on the
expected stability/instability of Footwall, Hangingwall, Side walls (the north and south walls in the
central Transverse stoping area) and Back spans for a given Hydraulic Radius.
The 25th percentile (P25) level of confidence value of Q has been chosen as the design parameter for
maximum allowable unsupported stope spans. Using the P25 of Q values (Figure 16), we would
expect that 75% of stopes would sit on or above the Stable-Unsupported boundary on the Potvin
Stability Chart (Figure 17), and 25% would sit below. This is a more conservative approach in
comparison to previous studies at Favona and Trio (Parrott and Tucker, 2007 and Parrott, 2010)
where a P50 value was used. The conservative approach proposed here has been selected due to the
sensitive nature and location of the Correnso orebody.
Rock mass drill hole data was separated by orebody, and then by domains (Hanging Wall, Footwall
and Ore zones for each of the mining areas East Vein, West Vein and Transverse and their northern
and southern limits). The Data Analysis function in EXCEL was used to determine Q values for
frequency histograms of each Q dataset.
Average orebody dips are generally quite steep with some moderately dipping areas and are
summarised as follows:

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East Vein North

60

West Vein North

60

Bulk - North

60

Bulk Central

80

East Vein Central/South

80

West Vein Central/South

80

There are large sections of the orebody in the central and southern portion of the mining areas where
the orebody is vertical, however an orebody dip of 80 has been applied for conservatism.
The Hydraulic Radius was then determined for each mining area. Re-arranging the Hydraulic Radius
(HR) equation allows for the calculation of Maximum Allowable Stope Span (i.e. we know the HR
value and one of the span dimensions, therefore we can calculate the maximum allowable
unsupported strike span) as shown in Table 2.

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Q' Histogram - East Wall West Vein

35

120.00%

30

100.00%

25

Frequency

80.00%
20
60.00%
15
40.00%
10
20.00%

0.00%
1

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100
More
Frequency

Cumulative %

Q' Bin

Q' Cumulative Frequency Plot - East Wall West Vein

100.00%

90.00%

80.00%

Cumulative Frequency %

70.00%

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00%

20.00%

10.00%
Q' Cum %

0.00%
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Q' Bin

110

25th Percentile
50th Percentile
75th Percentile

Figure 16. Cumulative Frequency Histogram and Plot of Q for calculation of Percentile values
P25, P50 and P75 for the East Wall of the West Vein.

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Figure 17. Potvin Stability Graph for Stable Unsupported Stope Spans. The red line indicates
the Stable Unsupported Limit for which stope spans have been designed upon.

Table 2. Tabulated Q Percentile values for P25, P50 and P75 and their corresponding N, HR
and Maximum Allowable Unsupported Span values for the Northern section of the West Vein
P25
P50
P75

4.4

Q'
4.5
10.0
23.5

A
0.1
0.1
0.1

B
0.8
0.8
0.8

ORE - BACK
C
N'
2
0.80
2
1.60
2
3.80

HR
2.1
2.5
3.7

SPAN
17.8
55
Infinite

Q'
5
12.5
28.2

A
0.5
0.5
0.5

B
0.30
0.30
0.30

EW
C
5
5
5

N'
3.8
9.4
21.2

HR
3.7
5.3
7

SPAN
12.6
25.8
63.0

Maximum Allowable Unsupported Spans

Allowable stope spans have been calculated for the Footwall (West), Hangingwall (East), Backs and
End (north and south) wall exposures for the collective stoping areas in Correnso, and are
summarised in Tables 3 and 4. Figure 18 plots P25 Q values for each of the Hangingwall exposures
of the different veins. In this case, the east wall is selected as being the Hangingwall, given the nearvertical nature of the Correnso veins.

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Table 3. Summary of calculated maximum allowable strike lengths for the Correnso Proposal

North West Vein North - East Vein

mineralised veins.
ORE (Back)

East Wall

West Wall

Q P25

10.2

15

22

HR P25
Known Dimension (m)

2.5
5m wide

5.5
18m down dip

6.5
18m down dip

Allowable

28m

46m

Strike

4.5

HR P25
Known Dimension (m)

2.1
5m wide

3.7
18m down dip

4.3
18m down dip

Allowable

18m

13m

16m

Q P25

HR P25

3.7

South North - Bulk

Known Dimension (m)

12.5m wide

18m down dip

18m down dip

Allowable

6m

14.4m

12.6m

Q P25

10.2

15

22

HR P25

2.5

6.5

Known Dimension (m)

5m wide

18m down dip

18m down dip

Allowable

55m

47m

63

Q P25

4.5

HR P25

2.1

4.3

4.9

Known Dimension (m)

5m wide

18m down dip

18m down dip

Allowable

18m

17m

22m

Q P25

HR P25

4.7m

4.3m

Known Dimension (m)

18m down dip

18m down dip

Allowable

19m

16m

82.0m

Central / South Bulk

Strike

Length

Strike

East Vein

Length

West Vein

Central

South Central

Q P25

Length

Strike

Length

Strike

Length

Strike

Length
Allowable

Strike

Length

Note: Transverse (Bulk) stopes have maximum east and west wall strike lengths of 12.5m only.

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Table 4. Summary of calculated maximum allowable stope dimensions for the Correnso
Transverse Stoping area North and South End Walls.
ORE (North End-

Bulk Stoping

Q P25

ORE

Wall)

Wall)

(South

HR P25

5.3

5.3

Known Dimension (m)

13m high

13m high

Allowable Strike Length

57m

57m

End-

NOTE: Walls are vertical, and will not exceed 25m in length due to maximum orebody width in this
area.

Stability Graph - P25

1000

Stability Number - N'

100

10

0
0

10

15

20

Hydraulic Radius
North - East Vein
Central / South East Vein

North West Vein

Central / South West Vein

North - Bulk
Central / South Bulk

Figure 18. Plot of east wall stoping conditions for stable unsupported conditions.
Some important points and observations to note regarding Allowable Strike Spans in Table 3:

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While Infinite spans have been returned for some stope exposures, it must be stressed that
the Potvin Modified Stability Graph Method does not allow for discrete structures.

The east wall in the north section of the East Vein is affected by generally poorer ground
conditions and a flatter Hangingwall (east wall) limits stope spans significantly and accordingly
it is proposed to mine shorter spans appropriate to those conditions.

Ground conditions will vary locally and this should be given consideration when planning
stoping on a level by level basis. It is expected that geotechnical mapping of ore drives will
take place once development is in place to enable proper characterisation of the rock mass.
This will allow optimisation of stoping design dimensions.

Work by Stewart (2005) has indicated limited applicability of the Potvin Modified Stability
Graph Method when used in assessing narrow vein orebodies. However, this approach has
been used with reasonable success at Favona as an initial guideline.

Main failure mode is considered to be slabbing failure, however sliding failures may be a
possibility and need to be assessed once the rock has been exposed through development
mining.

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