Towards an integrated approach

to block cave planning

Enrique Rubio, PhD, Candidate, Cristin Cceres, Graduate Student,
Malcolm Scoble, Department Head, University of British Columbia

Abstract
Block cave planning is a challenging task that is dependent upon effective predictive modeling of the rock mass and the
mining system. In reviewing the planning methodology of several operations worldwide it seems evident that such
models are not fully integrated within the planning process. The lack of integration challenges realistic production plans
and potentially results in conservatively using more resources than needed to achieve desired production targets.
This paper presents a methodology to develop a mine planning process for block caving that integrates geomechanical
and fragmentation models within the production schedule algorithms. This aims to demonstrate a more robust and
reliable approach to block cave planning. Case studies are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed
approach compared to some current practice.

1 INTRODUCTION more resources than needed to achieve a desired

production target.
Current mine planning practices at block caving
operations tend to be based upon a set of heuristic rules
that have been learned throughout the life of the mine and
similar deposits.
It is well accepted by the underground mining
community that geotechnical-geomechanical aspects of
the rock mass and the mining method need to be
included as part of the planning process. Nevertheless,
only a few attempts have been made in order to actually
integrate ground-related problems into underground mine
planning (Kazakidis and Scoble 2002). In block caving
their influence affects the definition of the mining
sequence, draw rate and draw point failure rate among
others. This paper relates to ongoing research whose
main objective is to embed the fundamental
geotechnical-geomechanical models into the production
scheduling tools so that the algorithms can respond to
variation in the rock mass behaviour.

2 THE CONCEPT
Several decisions related to mine design and mine
planning in block caving are based upon initial modeling that
holds a high degree of uncertainty related to the behavior of
the rock mass. Consequently, a fair amount of modeling
has to take place in order to achieve a comprehensive view
of the rock mass and the mining system. The relationships
between these initial models is shown in figure 1. The
modeling is normally used to estimate parameters such as:
stress distribution at the front cave to decide upon the
mining sequence; stress re-distribution on the cave back to
estimate ultimate fragmentation; fragmentation models to
estimate draw point productivity. Even though there may be
a fair amount of modeling at the beginning of a block cave
project, very little ouput tends to be carried forward into the
ongoing mine planning activities. For example, how often
do we see a stress model supporting any changes to the
undercut sequence within a yearly plan? The same could be
asked about the angle of draw or draw rate. At the moment
these rock mass models are not fully integrated into the
mine planning systems. This challenges the ability to
generate realistic production plans and often leads to using
Figure 1: Rock mass interaction within the mine planning
process
There are four main models identified in this research as
that are needed in order to sustain the regular mine planning
activities. These models are fragmentation, geomechanical,
geological and reconciliation models. Figure 2 shows how
these fundamental models should be supporting the mine
planning parameters, such as draw rate, undercut
sequence, development rate, tonnage, draw method
(Diering, 2004) and production targets.
The fragmentation model estimates the ultimate
fragmentation that leads to the estimation of mine design,
mixing parameters, mining equipment and draw point
productivity. The geomechanical model inducts the mine
design into a three- dimensional stress analysis computer
program such as FLAC 3D, MAP3D that can simulate the
effect from a stresses point of view of different mining
strategies in conjunction with the mining plan. The main
output of this model will be the stress distribution on the
cave back, front cave (abutment stress zone), and induced
stresses due to differential draw across the active layout.

128 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

 The geological model links data relating to structure, ground support and draw point repair. Therefore the
lithology and mineralogy with the ultimate metallurgical important relationship to be used in production planning is
recovery. This model aims to build the information towards the production drift availability versus maximum draw rate
a geometallurgical model that can provide a reasonable per draw point. Figure 3 shows an example of maximum
estimate of the metallurgical recovery based on the draw rate per draw point as a function of the production drift
combination of the composite lithologies. availability based on a given layout configuration (ore pass
The reconciliation model is one of the most important spacing), equipment size, cycle time, and number of loaders
models supporting the mine planning system. It provides the per drift.
tools to analyze the historical behavior of the mine. It can
capture information on the underground mine and will
provide a set of reliability measures regarding the
compliance with different production plans. This model also
provides the information to feed the fragmentation and
geomechanical models to calibrate and reconcile the initial
estimates.

Figure 3: Maximum draw rate per draw point as a function

of production drift availability.

A more comprehensive simulation model is under

construction to model the relationships shown in figure 3,
including draw point oversize and hang ups versus different
secondary blasting strategies.
In an attempt to model the effect of fragmentation on a
production schedule, an initial fragmentation model was
built for different lithological settings, that were categorized
Figure 2: Block caving fundamental models according to the quantity of rock over 2m3. This estimation
decreased in height in taking into account the effect of
This paper concentrates mainly on the fragmentation and secondary fragmentation. A block model was then
geomechanical models. constructed using as an attribute the percentage of the
block over 2m3. This attribute was built into the draw
column and depleted using PC-BC software (Diering, 2000)
3 FRAGMENTATION MODELS and average of the attribute >2m3 per draw column is
shown in figure 4.
Fragmentation models are essential to the estimation
of the productivity of a draw point. They consist of an
estimation of the primary and secondary fragmentation
based on initial rock mass jointing, joint conditions and
an estimation of the stress behaviour on the cave back
(Esterhuizen, 1994). This model should also estimate the
amount of rock over 2m3 in volume which seems to be a
good indicator of the medium height hang up frequency.
Stress behaviour plays an important role in the
estimation of the ultimate fragmentation. Therefore the
fragmentation models need to be linked to the
geomechanical model. Using a recently developed
algorithm the fragmentation models could eventually
integrate estimates of erosion as part of the secondary
fragmentation process (Jensen, 1999). There are a few
models that have succeeded in representing this
fragmentation models such as Joints (Villaescusa, 1991),
BCF (Esterhuizen, 1994). Further analysis and
calibration need to be done to assess the quality of these
models.
Little information has been found on the relationships
supporting draw point productivity as a function of Figure 4: Plan of the percentage of rock >2m3
fragmentation. In fact, individual draw point productivity as
a function of fragmentation alone is meaningless, since the The next step consisted of simulating a long term
productivity ultimately will be determined by the availability production schedule and reporting the amount of rock over
of the production drift. The drift availability is also a function >2m3. Within the production schedule the draw rate was
of the secondary breakage and other activities related to modified depending on the amount of rock over >2m3.

Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 129

Figure 5 shows the typical adjustment factor used based on
the amount of rock over >2m3. In this model there was no
consideration regarding production drift availability.
effect of the stresses on the front cave. In this paper the
abutment stress has been the starting point to build a full
scale model. The initial modeling was performed using the
MAP3D boundary element method (MAP 3D, 2003). The
rock mass parameters used in the modeling are shown in
table 1 (Karzulovic ,1999). The stress state is also shown in
table 2.

Table 1: Rock mass parameters

Parameter Value

Young Modulus [GPa] 40.0

Poissons ratio 0.2
Cohesion [MPa] 6.2
Friction angle [o] 43.0
Tensile Strength [MPa] 1.0
Figure 5: Draw rate adjustment as a function of percentage
UCS [MPa] 30.0
of rock >2m3

Finally the production plan and the forecast of the

tonnage of coarse fragmentation are shown in figure 6. Table 2: Far field stress state
The fragmentation forecast needs to be calibrated
against field observations. This step is considered to be
crucial in order to understand and modify several Stress component Value (MPa)
assumptions that are made at the beginning of the
modeling process.
O1 80

O2 50

O3 30

The stress state showed in table 2 represents the pre-

mining stress conditions at 1000 m depth. The orientation of
the principal stress is East West due to tectonics. The
spacing of undercut drifts is 15m. The initial model is shown
in figure 7. At this stage it was interesting to measure the
change in the stress conditions in the center of the pillars
supporting the undercut level. Points spaced 5m apart were
placed along the undercut pillars to measure the change in
the stress conditions, see figure 8.

Figure 6: Long term production plan including the

fragmentation forecast.

4 GEOMECHANICS ASPECTS OF
BLOCK CAVING MINE PLANNING

In this research the main aspects of rock mechanics

under study are as follows:
Stress distribution at the cave back which affects primary
fragmentation and alters the risk associated with air gaps
Seismic activity induced at the cave back by mining
activity
Stress re-distribution at the draw points induced by
uneven draw
Abutment stress acting on the front cave as a result of
stress re-distribution, causing early damage to production
and undercut drifts and other related production areas.

4.1. Abutment stress and angle of draw

The abutment stress zones have been examined closely
in the literature Lorig et al (1995) and McKinnon and Lorig Figure 7: Conceptual model to verify abutment stress
(1999). The abutment stress area is the result of the stress condition at the front cave.
re-distribution at the front cave due to the large extension of
the cave. Usually linear models are sufficient to capture the

130 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004


Figure 8: Abutment stress zone using an elastic rock mass
model.
Figure 8 shows that the abutment stress zone extends up
to 30 m ahead of the front cave. The magnitude of the
vertical stress increases up to two times the initial pre-
mining stress.
It is generally accepted that the geometry of the cave
back controls the stress re-distribution on the front cave.
The angle of draw is a function of the amount of new
production area incorporated in a given period and the
draw performance in the area of old draw points. A low
new opened area and incremental height of draw ratio
leads to a steeper angle of draw than a higher ratio. An
example of the evolution of the angle of draw is shown
in figure 9. Usually this angle is measured in the
direction of the undercut sequence. Even though the
angle of draw is not the same as the angle of the cave
Figure 9: Evolution of the angle of draw throughout the
mine life.
Figure 10: Full scale model to assess angle of draw on the
stress configuration at the front cave area using MAP3D
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
back these two are coupled together through the caving
rate.
A full scaled model shown in figure 10 was constructed in
order to determine the relationship between the angle of
draw and the changes in geometry and magnitude of the
abutment stress zone.
For the model in figure 10 the deviatoric stress (1 2)
pre- and post-mining were computed and compared for
different angles of draw. There are two main results derived
from figure 11. The first is that as the angle of draw
becomes shallower then the deviatoric stress decreases.
The second is that the extent of the abutment stress area
increases as the angle of draw becomes steeper.
Figure 11: Change of deviatoric stress as a function of the
angle of draw.
A relationship similar to that shown in figure 11 is
useful to quantify the potential damage and loss of
undercut area as a result of a given production strategy.
Several mines around the world will mature and face the
question as to whether to keep drawing from old
"theoretically exhausted" draw points or to keep
undercutting. It is clear that the decision to stop
undercutting is economically correct since it leads to
capital cost savings. However, the geomechanical
implications of this decision may perhaps end up
jeopardizing the mines operational life.
4.2. Frictional forces as a result of uneven draw
The second aspect of the geomechanical model
supporting mine planning is related to the induced stresses
due to uneven draw. It is well known among the mining
community that isolated draw produces two effects: early
dilution and induced stresses on the production drifts.
Recently, Freeport has conducted extensive convergence
monitoring, Febrian et al (2004), that raises the issue of
induced stresses due to differential draw.
The flow of broken rock surrounded by compacted or
semi-compacted, broken rock induces frictional forces that
will develop on the flow boundary impacting the overall load
of the pillars sustaining the production tunnels (Jenike,
1962). Also Kvapil (1965) developed a gravity flow model in
which the components are illustrated in figure 13. The
components of the gravity flow model developed by Kvapil
are as follows:
1 Ellipsoid of motion
2 Funnel of loose material produced by the flow
3 Boundary of motion zone
4 Zone without motion
d deviation angle due to frictional properties of boundary
wall
Kvapil also recognized the fact that the flow is altered by
an angle due to the existence of a frictional force acting on
131
the wall. Angle will increase as the friction of the granular
material and the wall increases.
resolution of the stresses on the area under study. There
were 8 columns modeled using interfaces to enable the
differential movement of them. Vertical right and left
boundaries were fixed to prevent horizontal movement. The
bottom boundary was fixed to prevent vertical movement.
Gravity was applied with large strain coordinate update to
show the deformation of the elements.
The bottom boundary of the size of a column was freed in
the middle of the caved zone to represent extraction of
material. The properties used in the model are as follows

Density = 2.3 t/m

Cohesion = 0.0 MPa
Friction Angle = 40.0 deg
Dilation = 0.0 deg
Tensile Strength = 0.0 MPa
Youngs Modulus = 500 MPa
Poissons ratio = 0.3
Cohesion = 0.0 MPa
Friction Angle = 40.0 deg
Dilation = 0.0 deg
Figure 12: Induced stress as a result of uneven draw Tensile Strength = 0.0 MPa
Stiffness = 500 MPa/m

In order to prevent free falling material, a velocity was

assigned at the bottom nodes to represent the extraction
rate. In this case, 0.0001 meters per time step was
modeled. The model was cycle for 60000 cycles until the
vertical stress histories converged to a stable situation. Six
history points were located 15 m from the edge of the
opening to measure the evolution of the vertical stress.
Figure 14 shows the location of the history points and
velocity vectors.
Figure 15 shows the vertical stress history of points
located 15m from the edge of the opening. Vertical stress
increased from 18 to 28 MPa due to frictional forces
between the drawing and static columns.
A profile of the vertical stress across the production
level is shown in figure 16. It is possible to see that the
induced stress area due to frictional forces extends up
to 25 m from the edge of the opening. Beyond this point
the vertical stress stays at the same pre mining
condition.

Figure 13: Gravity flow model (Kvapil 1964)

Differential draw develops a frictional force that works

against the motion of the flowing rock mass. As result of this
behavior, a surface of contact between rock in motion and
static is developed. This frictional force is proportional to the
friction angle of the surface of contact, horizontal stress and
the length of the surface of contact.
A model using FLAC 2D (Board, 1989) was constructed to
analyze the behaviour of the frictional forces and the impact
of this frictional force on the stresses acting on the major
apex pillar. The number of grid elements was 50 x 50,
representing a 100m wide by 600m height muck pile. The
grid density increases with depth to achieve a better Figure 14: Velocity vectors and position of the history points.

132 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004 Massmin 2004

Figure 15: Vertical stress measured at the history points
Figure 16: Profile of vertical stress across the production
level.
A second model was developed using PFC 2D to test
the effect of the frictional forces on the behaviour of the
gravity flow process. The rock mass was modeled using
an assembly of 1000 particles of a radius varying
between 1.8 and 2.2 m, a multiplier factor of 1.5 was
used to reach the desired initial stress condition. The
block dimensions were 200 height and 150 m wide. The
initial stress state was 6 MPa vertical stress at top of the
undercut level. The initial stress equilibrium was reached
after 8000 cycles. The friction coefficient assigned to the
particles was 0.5 according to the friction angle under
study.
There were two models in order to simulate even draw
and isolated draw condition. The even draw condition
was simulated by creating two opening at the bottom wall
and leave the model running for 25000 cycles. The
second model consisted of running 10000 cycles as the
first model, in which both opening were drawing particles,
and after one of the openings was closed simulating idle
draw point condition for 15000 cycles. Figures 17 and 18
are showing both of the models described above, being
17 the even draw simulation and 18 the isolated draw
simulation
Massmin 2004 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
Figure 17: PFC model simulating even draw
Figure 18: PRC model simulating isolated draw
From figure 18 is seeing that as a result of performing
isolated draw there was formed an stable arc. This is
consistent with the theory that a higher frictional forces
acting on the edges will tend to produce stable arcs; Egger
(1983), Morgan (1999), have presented similar behaviour in
soil mechanics. Therefore it is possible to conclude that
isolated draw does increase the frictional forces which
induce the rotation of the principal stresses tensor
approaching a state of equilibrium. The even draw scenario
shows that the pillar of rock overlying on the major apex
pillar continuously fails without allowing the frictional forces
to induce a consistent rotation of the principal stress tensor.
There were several measurement points defined above
the major apex pillar at 5, 30 and 60 meters above the top
of the pillar. Figure 19 shows the change of porosity at 5
meters above the major apex pillar. It is possible to see
from figure 19 that porosity consistently decreases as a
result of performing even draw. Figure 20 shows the
evolution of porosity using the isolated draw model. It is
seeing that by performing isolated draw the major apex
becomes fully loaded of body forces that make the muck
pile sited on top of the major apex to compact and
consequently failure.
133

constitutive relationship between stress and primary
fragmentation, as well as dilution behavior. Thus the
stresses will not only be linked to the undercutting sequence
but also to the entire production system.
REFERENCES
Figure 19: Porosity above major apex pillar measuring on
the even draw model
Figure 20: Porosity above major apex pillar measuring on
the isolated draw model
There is on going research to construct a more
comprehensive model to correlate the differential draw
versus the activity of body forces on the crown pillar
supporting the production level of a block cave operation.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Integrating geomechanical rock mass behavior into
underground production scheduling provides a more robust
mine planning model that will lead to a more realistic
financial plan. This should avoid hidden costs that may
impact the economics of the project and improve safety in
the workplace.
The integration of stress behavior into production
planning aims to better understand the behaviour of the
caving back, enabling mine planners to anticipate eventual
air gaps and rock bursting at the caving back.
It has been demonstrated throughout numerical modeling
that differential draw induces frictional forces that affect the
orientation of the principal stress tensor. This change on the
stresses configuration leads to higher probability of
experiencing of hang ups and compaction of the material
located above the major apex pillar inducing higher vertical
stress.
134 Santiago Chile, 22-25 August 2004
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