Considerations on stability of open stopes in 'Jama Bor' underground mine

Abstract

Dominant ore bodies in 'Jama Bor' underground mine in last few years, from the aspect of production and engaged resources, have a common characteristic that after being mined out, excavated areas remained open. These are following ore bodies: T, T1 and T2. Mining in ore body T had been ended two years ago and the stope was supposed to be backfilled after the end of excavation. However, process of backfilling did not start yet. Applied mining method in currently active ore bodies, T1 and T2, is pillar mining in horizontal slices, with leaving open voids after the end of extraction. Existence of voids in underground mines is always a challenge, regarding stability and safety. In considerations of stability of open stopes in 'Jama Bor', there are several key factors: rock mass properties, stope geometry, support properties and interaction between installed support and surrounding rock. Contemporary approach applied in each phase of the process, including determination of rock properties, mine design, mining operations, support installation and monitoring of stope stability during and after the excavation, enables accurate and reliable defining of stope stability. Also, such approach enables early detection of possible endangerments in stope stability, thus providing possibility for prevention and securing of endangered zones. Since the future of underground mining in RTB Bor is related deep lying ore deposits, bellow current operations, importance of their stability is even bigger.