Techniques to assist in back analysis and assess open stope performance

P. Cepuritis Western Australian School of Mines, Australia

Abstract
Open stope performance is generally assessed by the ability to achieve maximum extraction with minimal
dilution. Hence, the success of the open stoping method relies on the stability of large (mainly un-reinforced)
stope walls and crowns as well as the stability of any exposed fill masses (Villaescusa, 2004). The
performance of an open stope can therefore be judged on the actual outcome versus the planned outcome, in
terms of the final volume, tonnage and grade of material extracted, and the timeliness of extraction,
compared to the planned design and schedule. Performance can be described in a number of ways, from
subjective qualitative terms to quantitative numbers, based on a number of parameters and/or physical
quantities. A number of quantitative measures of stope performance, such as ELOS (Clark and Pakalnis,
1997), have been used in the past, however some of these measures fail to adequately capture certain
geometrical aspects of over-break or under-break. Back analysis of open stope performance is essential in
the dilution control process, as an improved understanding of mechanisms allows one to check the validity of
any assumptions and refine geotechnical parameters used in the design process. A number of new shape
descriptors are introduced and, in conjunction with existing performance parameters, an improved method
for quantification of over-break and under-break will be presented. To illustrate the methodology, data from
two cases study will be presented.

Introduction

An analysis of the shape of a resulting excavation surface relative to its intended design can potentially
provide useful information about the factors influencing excavation performance. For example, final
excavation surfaces that are typified by extensive arcuate shaped over-break may indicate performance has
been affected by significant rock mass failure, whereas prismatic or polyhedral shaped over-break may
potentially indicate more structurally controlled rock mass failure modes. Some further examples of overbreak geometries and potential failure modes and factors affecting performance are presented in Table 1.
Table 1

Example geometrical characteristics of over-break

Areal extent

Depth

3-d Shape

Potential failure modes

isolated

deep

polyhedral

extensive

deep

arcuate

circular rock mass failure, or unravelling with subsequent selfstabilisation through arching

extensive

shallow

planar /
platy

slabbing or bedding plane failure in highly anisotropic rock masses,

where excavation surface is sub-parallel to anisotropy

isolated

shallow

irregular

potential blasthole deviation or toe-ing of holes into proposed surface

with subsequent blast damage in massive to moderately jointed rock
masses

discontinuity controlled rock block failure

Geometrical Assessment of Stope Performance

In an attempt to determine the relative performance of stopes, one generally compares certain geometrical
parameters of the over/under-break, such as volume, area or depth. Comparison of these parameters can be
made on individual stope wall surfaces to ascertain whether there is any differential performance between
walls. However, the use of such parameters alone does not necessarily provide an adequate characterisation
of the geometry of over/under-break. In evaluating the geometry of over/under-break one needs to consider
the following aspects:

location

orientation

size

shape

The first two aspects of geometry are relatively simple to ascertain. In this paper the size and shape aspects
of over-break are investigated with a number of quantitative measures proposed to describe these two
geometrical aspects.

2.1

Shape and Size

Shape is one of the most difficult parameters to measure, as it may be defined in a number of ways for
various purposes, each with various degrees of precision (Davis, 1973). The basic definition of shape is
provided by Kendall (1977); Shape is all the geometrical information that remains when location, scale and
rotation effects are filtered out from an object. Essentially this means that two geometrical objects will have
the same shape if, after being rotated, translated and rescaled, they match perfectly. Sometimes, it is also
necessary to see if geometrical objects of the same shape are of different sizes. In this case, the definition
of size-and-shape must be considered (Kendall, 1977); Size-and-shape is all the geometrical information
that remains when location and rotation effects are filtered out from an object. That is, two objects are of the
same size-and-shape if, after rotation and translation, they match perfectly.
There are a multitude of measures, or descriptors, of shape that have been developed to try to quantify the
various geometrical aspects describing the shape for a given object. The difficulty lies in finding a
measure or index of shape and/or size that adequately captures the required characteristics for the
geometrical comparison. When assessing shape only, it is necessary to devise a measure of shape that is
scale-independent, that is, this measure is unaffected by changes in the scale of an object. The measure
should therefore be represented by a non-dimensional or unit-less value.
2.1.1 Existing measures of shape and size in open stope performance
Clark and Pakalnis (1997) attempted to utilise the volume of over-break or under-break and the size of stope
surfaces as a measure of stope performance, deriving ELOS (equivalent linear over-break/slough) and ELLO
(equivalent linear lost ore), respectively:

ELOS =

V S OB
AS

(1)

ELLO =

V S UB
AS

(2)

where VSOB and VSUB are the volume of over-break and under-break, respectively, and AS is the surface area of
a particular stope surface. Clark and Pakalnis (1997) plot these measures on a stability graph, using modified
stability number, N', (Potvin 1988) versus Hydraulic Radius (HR), which is intended to account for the
size and shape of the opening (Mathews et al, 1981):

HR =

AS
PS

(3)

where AS and PS are the surface area and perimeter, respectively, of a particular stope surface. The premise of
this dilution approach is that, as the area of the stope surface is increased (i.e. an increase in Hydraulic
Radius) and the rock mass quality is decreased, there should be a corresponding increased in the observed
over-break, in this case represented by the ELOS parameter.

It must be noted that the shape and size measures used in existing empirical stope stability methodologies (as
described by equations 1, 2 and 3), all result in a dimensional parameters and therefore are termed scaledependent measures. ELOS and ELLO are a function of the geometry of over-break and under-break, as
well as the geometry of the stope surface. It is therefore difficult to determine whether a change in the ELOS
or ELLO parameter is due to a change in shape or a change in size of either the over-break/under-break
or the stope surface. In light of this, Hydraulic Radius, ELOS and ELLO can therefore be considered as poor
measures of Shape or Size, or both Size-and-shape. An alternative approach, it is proposed to compare
stope performance geometries firstly using shape and then size.

2.2

Two-dimensional Shape Measures

The over-break (or under-break) volume that intersects a planned stope surface usually leaves a line of
intersection. This line of intersection may be closed, or extend past the edges of the nominal design surface
boundary. In this paper, only the case where the line of intersection forms one or more closed polygonal
shapes within the confines of the nominal stope boundary will be discussed. Although there are a multitude
of 2-dimensional shape descriptors, it is proposed to utilise a simple circularity measure for describing the 2dimensional shape of these closed polygonal lines of intersection:

Circularity =

4A
P2

(4)

where A and P are the total area and total perimeter, respectively, of the closed polygonal line(s) of
intersection. The reason for this proposed measure is the relative ease at which areas and perimeters can be
established, compared to other measurements such as axial ratios, side or radial lengths. This especialy true
for irregularly shaped polygons. Alternatively, the shape of a polygon can be described by a circularity shape
factor:

ShapeFactorC =

A
AC AI

(5)

where AC is the area of the smallest enclosing circle, AI is the area of the largest inscribed circle and A is the
area of the object. Although this provides a measure of how compact and circular an object is, it can only be
applied on individual fully enclosed shapes. Some typical 2-dimensional geometric shapes are characterised
by the proposed circularity measure and compared to the number of individual side lengths making up the
polygons and their compactness (see Figure 1). Generally, as the number of sides of an object increases (i.e.
complexity and irregularity), the circularity decreases. Figure 1b highlights that as an object becomes more
compact (i.e. resembling a circle) the circularity measure increases, as expected. Where values of circularity
fall below approximately 0.4, shapes are typified by highly irregular and/or elongated shapes. Above this
value, shapes become more regular/polyhedral, with elliptical to circular shapes above 0.7.
It is proposed to utilise the circularity measure to characterise the 2-dimensional shape of the overbreak/under-break (as it intersects the stope surface), as well as the shape of the stope surface under
investigation. The ratio between the circularity of the over/under-break and the circularity of the stope
surface provides a measure for how similar these two shapes are to one another:

COB =
R

COB
CS

(6)

where COB is the circularity of over-break (CUB for under-break) and CS is the circularity of the stope surface.
Where the circularity ratio is near unity, indicates that the 2-dimensional shapes of both the over/under-break
and the stope surface are similar.

Figure 1

2.3

Plots of a) proposed measure of Circularity versus number of sides and b) Shape FactorC
versus proposed Circularity measure, for a variety of 2-dimensional shapes

Extensivity

It is proposed to introduce a measure for assessing how extensive the 2-dimensional intersectional area of
over-break or under-break is, relative to the stope surface under investigation, termed extensivity:

Extensivity =

AOB
AS

(7)

where AOB is the area of over-break (AUB for under-break). An extensivity value approaching unity indicates
that the over-break covers the majority of the stope surface. For similar shaped and sized stope surfaces, this
can provide a relative measure of the size of over-break. An example plot of circularity versus extensivity is
shown in Figure 2, for a variety of example over-break shapes. It must be noted that the total intersected
areas and perimeters are utilised to calculate the circularity measure. In addition, the circularity ratio can be
plotted against extensivity and can indicate where 2-dimensional over/under-break shapes have both similar
shapes and similar relative sizes, with a value of unity for both measures indicating a perfect match between
the over/under-break shape and the stope surface.

2.4

Three-dimensional Shape Measures

Instead of formally describing the size-and-shape of a rock block, Windsor and Thompson (1997) introduce
a representative linear dimension, termed Equivalent Spherical Radius (ESR), using the surface area or
volume of the rock block compared to the radius of a sphere. The ESR value can be determined by two
methods:
1

A 2
ESR = S
4

(8)

3V 3
ESR =

(9)

where AS is the total surface area of a rock block and V is the rock block volume. The ESR for a rock block
can be determined by either equation. The resulting values from either equation will only be identical in the
case of a sphere. In this case, by dividing ESR determined from the volume by that determined by the surface
area will provide a scale independent value, with a value of unity indicating a sphere. The ratios of the ESR

values derived from surface area and volume can therefore be used to provide a scale independent
assessment of rock block shape.

Figure 2

Plot of Circularity versus Extensivity for some example 2-dimensional shapes of overbreak shown with an example stope surface shape

It is proposed that a similar approach to the ESR rock block shape index be used to assess the shape of overbreak or under-break. Instead of using a sphere, a hemisphere can be substituted. Here, it may be more
appropriate to compare the flat basal area of the hemisphere or intersectional area (i.e. the area formed on a
plane bisecting a sphere) to the volume of the hemisphere, and denote this as Equivalent Hemispherical
Radius (EHR):
1

A 2
EHR = C

(10)

3V 3
EHR =

(11)

where AC is base area and V is volume of a hemisphere. Dividing the EHR derived by volume with the EHR
derived from basal area will result in unity for a hemisphere, with values higher indicating an elongated
semi-ellipsoid (with major or semi-major axis perpendicular to the base area) and values lower than unity
indicating flatter, platy shapes. It is proposed to define a simple scale independent measure to describe the
three-dimensional shape relative to a hemi-sphere, and term this hemi-sphericity:

3V S

Hemi sphericity =
3
A 2

(12)

where VS is the intersected volume of over/under-break and A is the intersected area with the stope surface
under consideration. When comparing geometries with the same intersected area, it must be noted that
relationship between hemi-sphericity and volume is not linear, as shown in Figure 3a. Indeed, a hemisphericity value below 0.2 represents a negligible volume compared to geometries with higher values. It can

also be shown that the 3-dimensional shape of over/under-break is dependent, to some extent, on the 2dimensional intersectional area of over/under-break. Figure 3b displays hemi-sphericity versus circularity for
a number of example 3-dimensional geometrical shapes. Here, the 2-dimensional shape, as well as the apex
heights (providing the third dimension), were varied to provide a large range of potential over-break
geometries. It can be seen that, as the 2-dimensional intersectional area becomes more elongated or irregular
(i.e. circularity decreases), the ability to generate deeper prismatic shapes decreases.

Figure 3

2.5

a) Relationship between hemi-sphericity and relative volume (given the same intersected
area) and b) plot of hemi-sphericity versus circularity for some example 3-dimensional
geometrical shapes of over-break together with a generalised shape classification

Relative Volume

In order to ascertain whether the over-break from one stope surface represents more favourable performance
to the over-break from another stope surface, irrespective of the size of the two surfaces, one needs to
compare the relative shapes and coverage of over-break across the respective stope surfaces. Intuitively,
over-break that is deep and arcuate in shape and covers the entire stope surface represents more severe stope
performance conditions than that represented by over-break that is thin and platy in shape and covers only a
small portion of the stope surface. It is proposed to utilise the measures of extensivity and hemi-sphericity to
evaluate the relative severity of over/under-break between two stope surfaces. In this regard, hemi-sphericity
and extensivity of over/under-break for a stope surface can be evaluated relative to the volume of a
hemisphere with 100% extensivity;
3

Extensivity 2
Relative Volume = 2 * Hemi sphericity

(12)

2.5.1 Relative Volume and Stope Performance Classification

The relative volume can be used to quantify and subsequently classify relative stope performance,
irrespective of scale. A simple stope performance classification, based on relative volume, is shown in Table
2. It must be noted that this classification has not been optimised for the economic and production constraints
for any particular mine and is for illustration purposes only.

Table 2

3
3.1

Stope Performance Classification based on Relative Volume

Relative Volume

Stope Performance Classification

< 0.02

Very Good

0.02 0.05

Good

0.05 0.1

Fair

0.1 0.2

Poor

0.2 0.5

Very Poor

>0.5

Exceptionally Poor

Classifying Stope Performance based on Shape Measures

BHP-Billiton Cannington Mine

The geometrical measures defined above have been applied to stope performance data from a recent
geometrical back analysis study of open stopes at BHP Billitons Cannington mine (Coles, 2007). A total of
76 stope surfaces were analysed. It must be noted that the stope surfaces analysed came from a variety of
mining blocks across the mine, each with differing rock mass conditions, cable reinforcing intensities,
extraction ratios and degrees of local rock mass damage. However, the emphasis of this exercise was to
verify that the proposed shape measures could provide a useful scale independent assessment of stope
performance.
Figure 4 displays the results of the various shape measures applied to the back analysed stope surfaces. A
number of example cavity monitoring survey (CMS) geometries and design surfaces have been highlighted,
labelled A to F and represented graphically in Figure 4c. It must be noted that these shapes have been rescaled to similar sizes. A summary of the shape measures for the labelled example stope surfaces, together
with a brief description based on the simple classifications provided for in Figures 2 and 3, is shown in Table
2. From Table 2 and Figure 4c, it can be seen that the classifications based on the proposed shape measures
are in good agreement with the observable geometries of over-break.

3.2

Barrick Kanowna Belle Gold Mine

The proposed shape measures and stope performance classification have also been applied to stope
performance data collected at Barrick Australias Kanowna Belle Gold Mine (Magee 2005, Malatesta 2006).
Stoping activity at Kanowna Belle has been divided into a number of mining blocks with depth. A
comparison of stope performance between a number of mining blocks has been undertaken, namely; Block
A, Block C and Block D.
Block A typically contains large, multi-lift primary-secondary stopes (approximately 120m in height),
ranging from 20 to 30m in length and up to 35m wide. Primary stopes were typically filled with cemented
rock fill, with secondaries filled with uncemented rock fill.
Block C stopes are generally much smaller than Block A stopes, with stopes heights ranging from 40m to
100m, lengths from 15m to 20m with stope widths generally around 20m. These stopes were initially mined
in a 1-3-5 sequence, wth the sequence subsequently switched to a centre-out pyramidal sequence to control
stress-related production issues and dilution.
Block D stopes typically are smaller than both Block C and Block A stopes, with sizes ranging from 30m to
65m in height, with stope widths around 20m. Block D stopes are mined in a bottom-up centre-out pyramidal
sequence, with stopes filled with cemented pastefill. In addition, in thicker sections of the orebody, stopes
are mined in panels (up to 3), from the hangingwall to the footwall.

Figure 4

Stope surface over-break at Cannington mine plotted by a) hemi-sphericity, circularity and

extensivity, b) hemi-sphericity versus extensivity (classified by Relative Volume), and c) rescaled example stope surfaces (labelled A-F) shown in elevation and cross-section with
CMS and design profiles

Table 2

Summary of over-break shape measures and performance classification for example stope
surfaces shown in Figure 3

Example

Extensivity

Circularity

Hemisphericity

Relative
Volume

Shape and Performance Classification

0.06

0.66

0.09

0.001

Sparse, polyhedral, platy to shallow Very

good performance

0.51

0.56

0.58

0.239

Moderately extensive, irregular to

polyhedral, very deep Very poor
performance

0.44

0.22

0.20

0.068

Sparse, highly irregular/ discontinuous,

moderately deep Fair performance

0.30

0.26

0.47

0.087

Sparse to moderately extensive,

elongated/irregular, very deep Fair
performance

0.61

0.58

0.21

0.116

Moderately extensive, irregular, moderately

deep Poor performance

0.18

0.09

0.05

0.005

Sparse, highly irregular/ discontinuous,

shallow Very good performance

Figure 5

Frequency-probability plots for over-break on stope surfaces by mining block at Kanowna

Belle Gold Mine for a) circularity, b) extensivity, c) sphericity and d) relative volume

Figure 5 shows a comparison of the shape descriptor statistics for stope surfaces from the three mining
blocks investigated. Qualitative/descriptive observations of over-break in Block A indicate that over-break is
typically manifested as irregular, patchy and discontinuous zones, typically of very shallow depths. These
zones, however, can be quite extensive over the stope surface. On rare occasion, over-break is manifested by
irregular elongated zones of over-break, corresponding to over-break along large-scale geological structures
where local rock mass quality is poor. The top row of Figure 5 shows reflects this qualitative assessment,
with Block A stope surfaces generally exhibiting low circularity, moderate to high extensivity, and generally
very low hemi-sphericity.
The performance statistics indicate that, despite Block A stopes being much larger than Block C and Block D
stopes, the stopes performed much better, with a probability of at least 80% classified as Good and at least
90% as Fair. This compares to Block C and D stopes which both display similar performance, with at least
80% Fair and at least 90% as Poor.
Figure 5 also shows that Block D stopes, although having very similar performance (in terms of relative
volume) to Block C stopes, over-break is generally more circular or rounded and less extensive than Block
C. The tail of the relative volume distribution also shows that there are more outlier stopes that exhibit much
deeper over-break than other mining blocks.

Conclusions

Traditional stope performance measures that rely on dimensional parameters, such as ELOS, are unable to
accurately make performance comparisons for stope surfaces of vastly differing sizes. In addition, these
measures do not describe certain geometrical aspects of over/under-break, such as shape. Indeed, it is
difficult to determine whether a change in ELOS is due to a change in shape or a change in size of either
the over-break/under-break or the stope surface.
By measuring a number of quanitfiable parameters of over/under-break, such as intersectional area,
perimeter and volume, a number of scale independent shape descriptors can be derived and utilised to
provide quantification of the relative performance of stope surfaces, irrespective of their size. Statistical
analysis of these data can provide shape characteristics of over/under-break which can possibly be used to
provide useful insights into the mechanisms involved. For example, high circularity - high extensivity - high
hemisphericity stope surfaces may indicate stope surfaces affected by significant rock mass failure, whereas
low circularity low extensivity high hemispericity may indicate localised block instability. Further
research in this area is currently being undertaken.

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Barrick Australia and BHP Billiton for allowing me to publish this work. I would also
like to thank WASM fourth year mining engineering students; Denise Magee, Luke Malatesta and Dylan
Coles, for assisting with the preparation of the case history data presented.

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