~~~~~~-~~~~~~~
ROCK MECHANICS IN UNDERGROUND MINES
Design of ore pass systems
for underground mines
D.F. HAMBLEY
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, Illinois
ABSTRACT
In designing are passes f or underground m ines. specific con-
sideration should be given to unimpaired flow of broken rock,
the dump point, and typical practices f or o vercoming opera-
tional difficulties. Design f eatures such as branches, bends, and
knuckles should also be considered. This paper pro vides engi-
neering information and various criteria for designing are
passes, draw points. f eeders, and suppo rt systems, together with
several illustrative examples.
Introduction
Ore passes are the primary m ean s o f vertical tran sfer of m ined
ore to the ore bins and loading pocket fro m wh ich the o re is
hoisted to the surface (Fig. I) . Whil e the wo rd s " o re" and "ore
pass" are used here, such transfer sys te ms ca n be used for a ny
broken rock.
D. Hambley
Doug Hambley was raised in Montr eal,
Quebec. In 1972, he graduated from
Queen' s University, Kingston, with a
B.Sc. (Hon .) in mining engineering.
Between 1972and 1980, Mr. Hambley
was employed by severa l mining and
co ns u lti ng compan ies, in cluding
Falconbrid ge Nickel Mines Ltd. and
Denison Mines Ltd. In 1980, he immigrated to the United States and
joined Engineers International, Inc. (EI), a mining and tunneling con-
sulting firm. At EI, he served as project engineer for the design of
highway tunnels in Colorado, for the design and construction of
pumped storage hydroelectric scheme in Georgia, and on two Nuclear
Regulatory Commission contrac ts regarding disposal of high-level
nuclear waste. Since Februar y 1984, he has been a member o f the Geo-
science and Engineering Group (G&E) in the EES Division of Argonne
National Laboratory (ANL), and is responsible for mining engineering
on G&E's Peer Review o r the high-level waste disposal progra m in salt
for the Department o r Encrgy. He has also consulted to the Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory and to ANL's High Energy Ph ysics
Division regarding undergroun d construction or a Superconducring
Supercollider acclerator.
Mr. Hamb ley has authored or co-authored more than 15 technical
papers and reports regard ing disposal or nuclear waste, shaft and tunnel
design, computer modelling of undergrou nd openings and raise bor ing.
He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Illinois and Ontario, and is
active in several technical societies.
Keywords: Undergro und mining , Rock mechanic s, Ore pass design,
Arches, Cohesive arch , Interlo cking ar ch , Piping, Chutes.
Paper reviewed and approved for publication by the Rock Mechanics and Strata Control Committee of CIM.
elM Bulletin, January 1987
Th e mo st exte ns ive ore pass systems are found in caving and
sub level sto ping mines. Extensive ore pass systems are also
found in multilevel mines having steeply dipping orebodies. In
m ore flat-lying o rebod ies , ore pass systems are sometimes used
in co nj u nc tio n with co nv eyo r systems .
Two decades ha ve pa ssed since the principles of the flow of
bulk so lids were formulated (Jenike, 1961, 1964; Johanson and
Co lij n , 1964; Kvapil , 1965). However, few published papers are
av a ila b le that discu ss the design criteria for ore pa ss systems .
Therefore, the aim of thi s paper is to provide th e information
necessary for good o re pa ss desi gn .
Rock Flow in Ore Pass Systems
If an ore pa ss system is to fulfill its fun ction, the transfer o f
material must occur in an orderly fashion and in suc h a way that
the full size of the opening is emplo yed effecti vely. Apart fro m
un controlled flow at the drawpoint , or outlet , whose design will
be considered later in this paper, two occ ur renc es ma y imp ed e
flow in an ore pa ss, namely:
• Hangups due to interlocking ar ches.
• Hangups due to cohesive arche s.
Prevention of each of these problems will be di scu ssed in suc -
ceeding sections of this paper. A third problem , piping , is
related to the ratio of the drawpoint size to t he o re pass size a nd
will be discussed under drawpoint de sign.
Prevention of Interlocking Arches
Interlocking arches form as a result of lar ge-sized boulders
becoming wedged together to form an obstructi on . While suc h
arches generally occur when the relatively few larger fragments
form stable arrangements in the ore pass, th ey are a lso caused by
abrupt changes in ore pass geometry. Typical exa m p les a re
changes of direction at bends and knu ckles or co ns trictio n of th e
ore pass at drawpoints.
The probability of forming such arches depend s o n the per-
cen tage of large fragments in the mat erial handled, o n the size o f
the particles relative to the size of the o re pass a nd o utlet, on th e
sha pe of the rock fragments, and on the velocity pro file across
the flowing ore.
A probabilistic approach to interlocking arc h formation is not
yet well dev eloped. Therefore, em p irica l rules based o n the rat io
o f ore pass diameter to particle dim en sion (O ld) are used. Suc h
rules are based on field experience a nd sa nd model exp erim ents
in the laboratory. A survey of th e liter atu re indicat es that O ld
ratios bet ween 3 and 6 a re genera lly a de q uate to ens ure flow
(Peele, 1941; A ytaman , 1960; J en ike, 1961; P ar iseau, 1964; Li et
al., 1980). It seems prudent to reco gni ze, how ever , th at within
the se lim its, a range of beha viou r from alm os t ce rtai n inte rloc k-
25

Mill HO LE
0 .
D •
B A C KF ILL
FIGURE 1. Ore pass system terminology.
ing to a lmost certain flow will occur. Table I sum ma rizes the
empirical eviden ce for design ing to avoid interlocking arch for -
mation in terms o f the ratio of or e pass dimension to particle
dim en sion (0 I d) a nd the frequency of arch forma tion (Hambley
etal.,1983).
T o use Table I , o ne mu st decide whi ch ore pa ss and fragment
dim en sion s to use in the O ld ratio . In the case of circular or
squ are o re pa sses handlin g equ idimen sional ro ck frag ments , th e
situ at ion is un ambiguous. In the case of rectangular ore passes,
a rching is apt to occur acro ss the small er dimension; hence, the
sma ller dim ension sho uld be used for D. In the cas e of slab-
shaped rock fragm ent s, a co nserva tive a ppro ach would be to use
th e largest dimension for d. Although several investigator s have
tak en this approach, Jenike (1961) recommends the use of the
intermediate dim ension o f a sla b based on th e argumen t that
slablike particles tend to o rien t themselves so th at th e lon g
dim en sion is parallel to th e direction o f flow. Wh ile plau sible ,
thi s a rgu ment lacks exp erimental ju stification . Al so, in all ore
pa ss where th e mu ck level is kept high , it may not be possible for
thi s realignment to o ccur.
In characterizing par ticle size b y d imensio n, d, the d ist ribu-
tion o f the particle sizes as well as th e shape of the particles must
be co nsidered. If the mu ck is gen erall y well br o ken, it may not
be pr act ical to design for the largest fragm ent s that might be
encou ntered a nd de sign instead for the lar gest fragments nor-
m ally encountered. Fu rth ermore, use of a grizz ly at th e dump
po int will pr ovide a me asure of co ntro l over the larg est size
fragm ents th at enter an o re pa ss. Rock fra gm ent s too lar ge to
pass through th e grizzly bars ar e br ok en at the grizzly. Hence if
a gr izzly is used, the spaci ng between the grizzly bars becomes
the particle d imension used for d . If a griz zly is not used, the
dim ension , d , o f the lar ger rock fra gments can be estimated by
inspec ting the broken rock .
Prevention of Cohesive Arches
Co hesive ar ch es form as a result of sticky, fine particles ad her-
ing to each o ther. Because fine part icles have lar ge surface a reas
relative to th eir volumes, sur face for ces dominate the ir
beh aviour. Co nversely, large particles are d om inated by gravity.
The dist inction between large and small part icles is some what
26
TABLE 1. Interlocking arch formation
Ratio of Ore Pass Dimension Relative Frequency
to Particle Dimension of Interlocking
Did· > 5 Very low; almost certain flow
5 >D/d >3 Often; flow unc ertal n
D/d <3 Very highj almost certain no-flow
• D = ore pass diameter.
d = particle dimension.
Source: aft er Hambley at st. (1983) .
a rbitra ry. However , fo r ma terial handling purposes , J enik e
(1964) suggests that particles sma ller than 0.01 in. be co nsidered
as fine s. While coar se particles resist mot ion because of inter-
particle frictio n, fin e particles exhibit cohesive resistance in
addition to friction. Thi s co hesive resistance is enha nced if
moisture is pre sent. If the strength o f th e fines is sufficient, a
sta ble arc h may fo rm across the ore pass. Such a n arch is a
co hesive arc h , in contrast to an arch form ed by int erlocking.
Whether a coh esive arch forms depen ds o n th e spa n of the
opening. If the opening is sufficien tly la rge, gravi ty forces will
exceed the cohesive a nd fric tional for ces, a nd an ar c h will not
form. Thus, to prevent cohesive arches, it is neces sary to know
th e co hesive and fricti onal prop erties of th e fine particles. Th ese
p ropert ies can be de termined fro m sta nda rd laborat or y tests. As
briefly mentioned above, moi sture content a lso a ffec ts the a bil-
ity of th e particles to cohere . However, a su ff icient ly large qu an-
tity o f wa ter will im ped e fo rm atio n of co hesive ar ches . Hence,
when testing to determine co hesive and friction al pr o pertie s, it is
advi sabl e to test over th e ran ge of mo isture co nte nts to be
exp ected . The minimum dimension of an ore pass to prevent
co hesive arc hing is determin ed from:
D > (2k i-y) (I + l / r) (I + sin <1» (I )
whe re:
D = the ore pa ss d imension
k = co hesion of fines, psf
'Y = density o f fines, pcf
r = length lw idth ratio of the opening
<I> = a ng le o f int erna l friction of fines , degrees
As was discussed under interlocki ng arches , th e char ac ter istic
ore pass dimension, 0, of a rectangul ar ore pass is the sma ller
dim ension. The angle of int ernal frict io n will generally lie within
a ran ge o f ¢ = 20 degre es to 55 degrees.
Drawpoint Design
The design of the dr aw point, or out let , is cruc ial to smooth
ope ra tio n o f the mu ck-handling system, becau se the dr aw point
tr ansfers th e muck from th e are pass to a no the r co m po nent o f
th e muck-handling system, which could consist of (I) a ski p in a
ho istin g shaft , (2) a tr uck o r rail car on a ga the ring or haulage
level, (3) a belt co nveyor, or (4) a crusher. If th e ore pa ss is to
o pera te succ ess fully, th e throughpu t and live sto rage requi re-
ments mu st be met. To do so, the drawpoint mu st be designed
to minimize the po ssibility of han gups and piping (ra th oling).
M inimi zation o f han gups has been discussed p rev iously. In the
case of inter lock ing han gups at a drawpoin t, th e criterio n for
th eir avoidance is:
Do ~ 3d (2)
where:
Do = wid th of the o ut let, ft
d = maximum dimension o f largest bloc k, ft
The reductio n in th e coefficient of "d " is ad missible becau se
interlocking hangups at the drawpoint can be readily removed.
Sim ilarly, co hesive arch es at a drawpoin t ca n be easily under-
mined by flooding the dra wpoint with wat er. In mo st min es , D o
falls in th e range o f 3 ft to 8ft, so the max imum block dim en-
sion should therefore fall in th e ra nge fro m 12 in. to 32 in.
Volume 80 , No. 897
Piping
Pip ing (rath olin g) manifests itself by flo w o f material through a
small opening surrounded by sta tio na ry mu ck . This situa tio n
severely reduces live sto rage capacity. Piping ca n be prevented
if:
D ?: (M /-yR ' )(C o tan 1>' + k ' )
where:
Co = compressive strength of fines, psf
"! = density of fines, pel'
k' = adhesion of fines to wall, psf
1>' = angle of friction of fines on wall
D = are pass diamet er, ft
M = 11(1 + 2tan 2 1> ' )
R' = a factor related to the ratio o f pipe diameter to are pass
diameter (D ol D)
The formula s for th e R ' factor for circ ular , square, and rec-
tangula r ore pa sses ar e given in T able 2. The diameter of the
pipe is assumed to be t he sa me as th e width of the drawpoint, or
outlet, Do.
If th e (Do/D) rat io is small, the thi ckness of the dead zone will
be relati vely large. In thi s case, the pr operti es of th e muck rather
than the mu ck /w all interface will go vern. Substituting </> ' = </>
and k ' = k [C o(l - sin</»/ (2 cosc) ] into Eq . (3), we obtain:
D ?: (M Co lan q,1 2"!R ' )( t + csc1»
For th e ran ge o f ¢ from 25 degre es to 50 de gree s , we find that
Mtane is approxi mately equal to 0 .34 .
Inserting Mt ane = 0.34 into Eq. (4) and sim p lifying, we then
have:
D ?: (0.17 C o/-yR ' ) (1 + csc<!»
Given th at the widths of chutes and feeders will range from
about 3 ft to a maximum of about 8 ft, Do I 0 ratios will exceed
0.6 only for ore passes having diameters less than about 13ft.
With such small o re pa sses, piping is unlikely to occur. In prac-
tice , piping is seen mainly in large-diameter storage bins. Since
ore passes with dim en sion s larger than 13 ft are generally cir-
cular or square, we ca n then take R' = 0.16 (the value for a
circle having 0 0 /0 = 0.6) and substitute into Eq. (5) to give:
D ?: (1.06 Col ,,!) (l + csco )
As 0 0 /0 goes to zero , the value for R ' for cir cular or square
openings approach es a maximum o f 0 .25. Therefore, Eq. (6) is
conservative and can se rve as a crite rio n for the prevention of
piping.
Chutes
Having en sured that the mu ck will llow , we no w need to con-
sider the actual tran sfer mechanism . C hu tes or feeders can be
used, chutes being the predominant type of transfer used in
underground mines . Chutes a re genera lly installed in the walls
and perpendicular to the opening, but oc casionally are parallel
to and centred in the op ening . In either case, the chute width
must be co m pa tible with the dimension s of the truck s or rail cars
into which the muck is being dumped.
As stated pr eviously, the width of the chute opening, Do,
should exceed three times the maximum muck fragment dimen-
sion, d. No em pirical values are given in the literature for the
vertical height of a chute opening at the headblock. However,
examination of chute drawings in Tillson (1938) indicates that
the followin g relati onship is used in practice:
H == 0.8 Do
where:
H = chute height, ft
Do = chute widt h, ft
elM Bullet in, January 1987
TABLE 2. R' values
Circular ore pass: (1 14) [ 1 - (D~I D)2]
'If
Square ore pass: (1/4) [1 - - (Do/D)2]
4
1
(3) Rectangular ore pass: (1/2 [1 + -]) [1 - ('lf/4r) (Do/D)2 ]
r
Where: D = orepass diameter, side of square section,
least dimension of rectangular cross section
L = long dimens ion of rectangle
Do = pipe diameter
r = LID
Source: after Hambley et al . (1983).
From the same examination, it was also found that the slope of
the chute slide generally varied from 30 degrees to 45 degrees.
However, because many of those chutes were hand operated,
the slopes were necessarily rather flat. In more modern practice,
inclinations of 40 degrees to 45 degrees or greater are probably
more common.
An important consideration in chute design is the type of
gate. A number of different types of gates have been used,
including: (1) undercut arc gates with control chains, (2) under-
hand guillotine gates , (3) finger gates, (4) bar and chain gates,
and (5) sto plogs. Stoplogs, wh ich are found only on very small
chutes, are more or less ob solete. The other types are opened
(4) and clo sed by co m pressed air cylinders and can be used for even
the lar gest chutes . Ea ch type has advantages and disadvantages
as follow s:
• Undercut ar c gates with co ntro l chai ns are excellent for
controlling fine s and are also good for blocks. However, they
will open and discharge the co n tents of th e ore pa ss if the co m-
pressed air is inadvertently shut off or cu t off.
(5) • Underhand guillotine gates a re also excellent for fine s but
can be ha rd to clo se if blocks are present. They will also dis-
charge if the compressed air is cut off or shu t off.
• Fin ger gate s are excellent for blocks but will not hold ba ck
fines. They are not affected by a lack of compressed air.
• Bar and cha in gat es hold back blocks very well but do not
work well with fine s . They would probably not be heavy enough
to prev ent a run of muck if the compressed air supply were sh ut
off or cut off.
The best system would probably be to combine a finger gate
with an undercut arc gate , although thi s option would be more
(6)
expensive than those previously mentioned. In most cases,
choosing a gate for a given situatio n will basically depend on the
size distribution of the muck, pa rticularly on the amount of
fines. The choice sho u ld be made o n the basis of the advantages
and disadvantages of the different ga tes as noted above. Obvi-
ously , it is of paramount im po rta nce that the size distribution of
the muck be known.
Feeders
Feeders are genera lly used to remove bulk materials from
storage units such as bin s, bunkers, silos , and hoppers. For
coarse materials, suc h as run-of-mine ore, the best feeders are
apron feeders and bar-flight feed ers (Rei sner a nd Eisenhart-
Rothe , 1971). These type s of feeders can handle the highest
muck flow rates th at might be en countered in underground
mine s.
The capacit y fo r a n apron feeder is found as follows :
Sv w-h,
C = -- (8)
33.3
whe re:
(7)
C = feed er ca pacity, tph
S = feede r speed , fpm
"! = mat erial unit weight, pcf
wf = width of feeder, ft
hf = depth of Dow o f material on feeder, ft
27
TABLE 3. Support requirements based on rock and troubles a rise when wet fines are dumped . Actually, inclina-
quality tion s grea ter than 70 degrees ma y be required if the material
handled co ntai ns a large percent age o f wet fines. Finally, in the
Rock Quality Rock Bolts Shotcrete Cast Concrete
case of lar ge-diameter ( > 15ft) bins, the inclinatio n of the hop -
Excellent Spot bolting l ocal No per sho uld exceed 65 degrees to achieve mass flow.
RODs > 90
Good Pattern balling; local No Branches, Bends, and Knuckles
90 .s ROD < 75 wide spac ing
Bran ches permit a sing le ore pass o r transfer raise to serve
Fair Pattern ball ing; 4 in. (or more No
75 ~ ROD < 50 medium as required) several levels or several adj acent stopes. With traverse cut-and-
spacing fill sto pes in shallow dipp ing o rebodies, bran ches permit the
Poor Patt ern ball ing; 6 in. (or more Perhaps sa me transfer raise to be used , altho ugh mill holes co nnected to
50 -s ROD < 25 c lose spacing as required) with it by finger raises ma y be " lost" as sto ping progresses up ward.
pattern bolts T he junction point generally becom es worn because of impa ct
Very poor Pattern balling 6 in. (or more Yes on th e foo twall of muck fro m the " back-over" finger raise.
ROD ~ 25 with mesh; very as required) As with the main sectio n of the o re pass, the inclination of
clos e spacing followed by cast
concrete line r br an ches sho uld exceed 60 degrees. Th e cross sections o f the
SRock quality designation.
bran ches sho uld be selected as follows:
• If both branches at a j unctio n are used co ncur rent ly, the y
Ran ges for th ese va ria bles ar e as fo llo ws: sho uld be the sa me size but each o ne sho uld be smaller than the
o re pass belo w the ir junctio n and of su fficient size to prevent
2 -s w r s 10
han gup s.
o -s h r ~ 5
• If o nly one bran ch at a junction is used at a given time , it
sho uld be the same size as the ore pass below the junction.
10 ~ S ~ 50
Bend s a nd knuckles are o ften used at th e bottom o f ore pa sses
T he ho rsepower requi red for a n a pro n feed er is estimated as to provide imp act prot ection and flow co ntro l. Bend s can also
foll ows if a circ ular o r sq ua re hopper is used : be used to byp ass a zo ne o f weak rock o r to intersect it at a more
favourable angle. Th e inclination of the bend s sho uld exceed 60
, Do3S degrees. In th e case of knuc kles, an inclina tio n of 45 degrees is
hp = 22 000 (9)
co mmo nly used for both parts. However, to enha nce flow, the
angle sho uld exceed 60 degrees.
where:
Supports and Linings
Do = hopper o utlet width , ft Su ppo rt requ irem ent s are determ ined using roc k mechanics.
The first step is to collect info rma tion on the structural geo logy
[I' a slo t opening is used for the hopper o utlet, the horsepower at and near the proposed ore pass loca tion. Mine plans and cro ss
req uired can be estimated by: sectio ns sho uld be scrutinized for fault s, fo lds, a nd zones of
weakness. Such zon es of adve rse struc tura l feat ures sh o uld be
'YDo 2LoS
hp = 11 000 ( 10) avo ided; ho wever, if avo ida nce is not possib le, rock reinfo rce-
ment a nd lining systems can be designed to sta bilize them. In
o ne Ca nadia n min ing co mpa ny, ore passes sited in heavily
where :
joi nted o r fault ed roc k ha ve been sta bilized using lon g gro uted
Lo = length of the hopper ou tlet , f t ca bles to reinforc e the rock (Singh , 1973; Pak alni s, 1980).
Detailed geo logic information is needed along the axis of the
Feeder len gth sho uld be at least 1.5 to 2 times its width and projected ore pass. It ca n be obtained by dr illing a diam ond dr ill
sh ould also be grea ter than twice the length o f the hopper. To hole to full length alo ng the o re pass ax is. Co res from the d rill
ensure uniform flow from a hopper with a slot op ening , the slot hole should be logged as soo n as possible af ter they a re removed
sho uld be tapered outward by abo ut 5010 in the direction of from the co re barr el. This requirement is especially im po rtan t in
flow . The inclinat ion o f the walls o f the hopper sho uld generally formations susceptible to weathering. Th e drill log sho uld
exceed 65 degrees. includ e th e followin g information:
• Lith olog y.
Other Design Features • Pe r cent recove ry .
Co nsiderat ion ha s already bee n given in this pa per to size o f th e • Rock quality designati on (RQD), or the ra tio of the total
o re pass for efficient muck flow and to design o f dump po ints. leng th of co re frag me nts greater tha n 4 in. in len gth to the total
Several ot her co nsidera tio ns a re important in designin g o re length of the co re run .
passes, na mely: • Jointing.
• Inclina tio n . • An gle between joints and cor e axis.
• Bran ches, bend s, and knuckles. • T ype of joint sur face (smooth , rou gh o r slickensided).
• Supports and linings. • Am o un t of joint ope ning, if any .
• T ype of joint filling, if any.
Inclination • Loca tions of disked core (i.e. co re broken into small disks
Ob viou sly, the inclinat ion o f the o re pass mu st be su fficiently with leng ths less than or eq ual to core diameter).
grea t for the material to flo w. Scrutiny of a large number of case • Locat io ns of drill water gains o r losses.
histo ries indicat es th at ore passes are either vert ica l or inclined at With this informa tio n, geo log ic co nd itio ns can be inferred and
an angle of 30 degrees to 40 degrees fro m vertical. Th e the rock reinforcem ent or suppo rt requ irem ents ca n be
prevelan ce of inclin ed ore passes is due in par t to the belief, held estima ted . Unl ess the rock is very so ft so th at wear o n the walls
by man y engineers, th at han gu ps are less likely in inclined as wo uld be excessive, steel or co nc rete linings sho uld be avo ided.
o pposed to vert ical o re pa sses (Pfleider a nd Dufresne, 1961). A Support requ irem ent s ca n be estima ted fro m the RQD values
furth er co nsideratio n in favour of inclined o re passes is t hat given in the core logs (Table 3).
th ere is less damage to the walls from the ricochet o f blocks th an Bolt len gth ca n be determined from the foll o wing relat ion -
in a vertica l o re pass. Material in inclined o re pa sses tends to ship (Ale xand er a nd Ho sking, 1971):
slide down th e footw all. Inclined ore passes so metimes have
inclin at ion s less than 60 degrees, but th is is not common practice L 2: 6.0 + O.004W 2 (II)

28 Volume 80, No. 897

where:
L = bolt length, ft
W = span of opening, fl
Bolt s pacing can then be es tim ated from the following rules
of thumb:
Excellent rock - spot bolting only
Good rock - (1 /2 to 3/4) X L
Fair rock - (3 /8 to 1/2) xL
Poor rock - (1/4 to 3/8) x L
Very poor rock - s 1/4 x L
where L = bolt length , ft.
For close ly jointed material, wire mesh should be installed
to keep the rock between the bolts from spalling . In horizon-
tally bedded formations, pattern bolts in sha fts and rai ses are
often inclined a bo u t 45 degrees downward to reinforce across
the bedding planes. The bolting pattern se lec ted sho uld also be
adequate to help prevent slidi ng on joints .
For ro ck classified as "very poor" (RQD s 25), a cast-in-
place concret e liner is requ ired. To provid e abrasion
resistance, thi s liner should be fac ed with steel. To minimize
stresses, ore pa sses in such ro ck sho u ld be circular in cross sec-
tion. Unless condit ions are particularl y severe, a s judged by a
mine geologist, a nominal thickness of 12 in. will probably be
adequate for ore passes less th an 15 ft in diamet er. The more
rigorous ca lcula tio ns necessary for larger openings a re beyond
the scope of thi s paper.
Operating Problems
Hangup Removal
Even if ore passes a re well de signed, hangups ma y still occur. If
hangups occur at the drawpoint, it is relatively easy to dislodge
them, whether they are composed of interlocking blocks or
cohesive fine s. If hangups occur away from the drawpoint,
removal is more complicated .
First, the location of the hangup mu st be determined by send -
ing a helium balloon up from the drawpoint. Second, it must be
determined whether a block ar ch or a cohesive ar ch is involved.
Blasting will dislod ge a block ar ch but may compact a cohesive
arch if the blast is not laid out properly. The most dependable
technique for rem oving a cohesive arch is to undermine it using
a high-pressure strea m of air and wat er.
Block arches relatively near the drawpoint are normally dis-
lodged by pa ssing one or more lengths of bla sting stick (I in . by
2 in. plank) , to which explo sives are attached, up the ore pass to
the hangup and detonating the explosives electrically. For more
remote hang ups, the explosives could be attached to an
aluminum fram e mounted on bicycle wheels. Alternatively,
explosives could be placed in long dr ill holes that in tersect the
hangup. Finally, the U.S . Bureau of Mines has developed a
"Hang Up Clea ra nce Module" that fires an explosive charge
toward a hangup.
Wear
Wear of ore pa ss walls is highly site specific and will depend on
the physical properties of the broken rock, especially abrasive-
ness, and the hardness of the walls. At the Craigmont Mine, a
total of 200 000 tons per lifetime could be pas sed through a raw
raise . If the or e pass was lined with concrete and armored with
Y2-in. steel plates, several times this volume could be handled
(Co kayne, 1969). Some operators have found that wear is reduc-
ed by keeping the muck level high, whereas others have found
the reverse to be true. If the material is sticky, it will tend to
hang up if left in the ore pas s for more than a few hours.
Therefore, the level of sticky mu ck sho uld be kept " lo w" so
that any hangups will occur near the drawpoint. T o protect the
drawpoint and head block, there will be a minimum below
which the mu ck level must not faJJ :
H = 1/2(D - Do) tan (45 + ",12) (12)
elM Bulletin, January 1987
where:
H = minimum height of muck to be left in the or e pass, ft.
Illustrative Examples
Several examples a re provided in this section to illustrate the use
of the formulas. Some of the data used were collected from
o perating underground mines . H owever, no crit icism of
o pera tors is implied or intended in cases where the size relation-
ships are nonoptimal.
Example 1-Block Arching
A room-and-pillar uranium mine uses 7 ft by 7 ft ore pa sses to
connect mining areas with conveyor systems located under the
ore horizon. The dump points are equipped with gri zzlies hav-
ing 12 in. by 24 in . openings . The particle dimension (d) is
therefore 2 ft (24 in.), and the DId ratio for block ar c hing is:
D id = 7 ft 72ft
= 3.5
The low DId ratio su ggests that hangups would be expected as
is the case. Howe ver, 700/0 of the muck is smaller than 4 in.,
a nd a co nsid era ble portion consist s of fines" . Although qu an-
titative information co ncern ing the properties of the fine s is
unavailable; experience indicates that fines tend to fo rm
cohesive masses wh en wet. Combining wet fines and oversized
chunks often results in hangups that a re difficult to dislodge.
Example 2-Block Arching
A bl ock caving copper mine uses 4 ft by 4 ft cribbed transfer
raises to connect the grizzly level with the haulage level below.
The grizzly openings are 14 in. square. As suming that the par-
ticle dimension is 14 in., the DId ratio becomes:
D id = 48 in. 7 14 in.
= 3.43
A s was true in the previous example, this low ratio suggests
that hangups would be expected. However, because of the soft
nature of the ore, most of the material is co nsidera bly smaller.
Hence, while hangups do occur, they do not constitute a sig-
nificant problem.
Example 3-Cohesive Arching
A copper mine usin g vertical crater retreat stoping ha s ore
transfer raises between 6 ft and 8 ft in diameter for material
with maximum particle sizes ranging from 1.5 ft to 2 ft.
Because a large percentage of the material handled is sticky
fine s, cohesive arching is common. Although the properties of
the fines are not known for certain, vis ua l inspectio n of piles
of fine s and material buildup on the bottom of ch ute slides
ind ica tes that the frict ion angle (¢) is at least 45 degrees. If the
following properties are assumed to be characteristic of the
material:
density - 130 pcf
cohesion - 300 pcf
frict ion angle - 45 degrees
su bstitu tio n into the criterion for avoiding cohesive ar ching
yields (r = I):
D "" (4')'lr)(l + sin "')
"" 15.75 ft
As the actual diameters fall between 6 ft and 8 ft (considerably
less than the 15.75-ft requirement), cohesive arching can be
expected to occur frequently. In this particular mine, engineer-
ing personnel were aware that they needed larger ore passes to
• As a result , block arching is not as common as the low Did ratio
would suggest.
29
reduce the incidence of cohesive hangups, However, the cost
was considered unjustifiable, especially in light of the low
market price for copper that has prevailed for the past several
years.
Example 4-lntegrated Design of
an Ore Pass
A hypothetical mine with a massive ore deposit plans to use
Jarvis-Clark JDT-426 trucks to haul ore from the transfer raise
drawpoints to the main storage bin above the loading pocket.
The drawpoints are to consist of chutes mounted on horizontal
cross-beams that are centred in the haulageway aligned with the
haulageway axis. The 9-ft width of the JDT-426 truck dictates
that the width of the chute should not exceed 8 ft, thereby allow-
ing for bin clearance on either side. For a Do/d ratio of 3, the
maximum allowable block dimension (d) cannot exceed 2.67 ft.
For a D I d ratio of 5 in the ore pass proper, however, an ore pass
with a minimum dimension of 13.5 ft would be required . The
mine planners wish, however, to use an 8 ft by 8 ft transfer raise.
Therefore, for a Did ratio of 5, the maximum block dimension
(d) must not exceed 19 in. Since the broken muck is expected to
be chunky, it is decided to install a grizzly having 18 in. by 18 in.
openings on the dump point. To ensure that muck does not
accumulate on the lower side of the raise, the raise inclination is
to be 60 degrees from the horizontal.
It is decided to construct the drawpoint chutes of steel plate.
An inclination of 40 degrees is selected for the chute slide. Using
the relation:
H = 0.8 Do
the vertical distance from the block to the chute slide is specified
as 6.5 ft. As the broken muck will contain both chunks and
fine s, chains and an undercut gate are selected for the chute
feed-control mechanism .
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank Dr. Wyman Harrison of the Energy
and Environmental Systems Division (EES) of Argonne Na-
tional Laboratory for encouraging publication of this paper.
Ms . Mary Warren, also of EES, edited the manuscript. The
author is also grateful to Dr. Thiann R. Yu of Kidd Creek Mines
Ltd . who reviewed the manuscript.
REFERENCES
ALEXANDER, L., and HOSKING, A .D ., Principles of rock bolting-
Formation of a support medium; Proceedings, Symposium on
Rock Bolting, Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, llla-
warra Branch, pp. 1-26, 1971.
AYTAMAN, V., Cau ses of "hanging" in ore chutes and its solution;
Canadian Mining Jour. , Vol. 81, pp. 77-81, 1960.
. COKAYNE, E.W ., Excavating and equipping a steel-lined ore pass and
pocket at Craigmont Mines Ltd. ; presented at District 6 CIM
Meeting, Kimberley, B.C., Canada, 1969.
HAMBLEY, D.F ., PARISEAU, W.G., and SINGH, M.M ., Guide-
lines for op en-pit ore pass design; Vol. I : Final report, submitted
to U.S . Bureau of Mines by Engineers International, Inc., 1983.
JENlKE, A.W ., Gravity flow of bulk solids; Utah Engineering Experi-
ment Station Bulletin No. 108, 1961.
JENlKE, A .W., Storage and flow of solid s; Utah Engineering Experi-
ment Statio II Bulletin No . 123, 1964.
JOHANSON, J .R ., a nd COLIJN, H., New design criteria for hoppers
and bins; Iron and Steel Engineer, pp . 85-104, Oct. 1964.
KVAPIL, R., Gravit y flow of granular materials in hoppers and bins
in mine s, II : Coarse material; Intnl. Jour. of Rock Mechanics
and Mining Science, Vol. 2, pp , 277-304, 1965.
LI, D., ZHANG, Z ., and GUO, B., The design and practice of tunnel-
ore pass system in open pit; First Intnl. Mine Planning and
Development Symp., Beidaihe, Ch in a , Sept. 18-27, 1980.
PAKALNIS, V.A ., Ontario Ministry of Labour, Mining Health and
Safety Bran ch, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, private comm .,
1980.
PARISEAU , W .G ., Lateral pre ssures on ore passe s; Intradepart -
mental Report, School of Mine s a nd Metallurgical En gineering,
Uni versity of Minnesota, 1964.
PEELE, R. , ed ., Mining engineers' handbook; John Wiley & Son s,
New York, 3rd ed., Vol. I, 1941.
PFLEIDER , E.P., and DUFRESNE, C .A., Transporting open pit
production by surface-underground haulage; Mining Engineer-
ing, Vol. 13, pp. 592-598, 1961.
REISNER , W., and EISENHART-ROTHE, M.V., Bins and bunkers
for handling bulk materials; Trans Tech Publications, Clau sthal,
West German y, 1971.
SINGH , K.H ., Reinforcement o f an ore pas s system-A case history;
Proceedings, 8th Canadian Rock Mechanics Syrnp ., Mines
Branch, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, Ott awa,
Ont . , Canada, pp. 231-249, 1973.
TILLSON , B.J ., Mine plant; Society o f Mining Engineers o f AIME,
New York, reprinted 1976.

Annual Meeting of AIME, SME and TMS

The Annual Meeting of AIME, SME,
including programming by the Society of
Economic Geologists, TMS, and by Process
Technology DivisionlISS and Material
Science Divisionl ASM and the Annual
Meeting of the Women's Auxiliary to
AIME will be held at the Radisson Hotel in
Denver, Colorado, from February 23-27,
1987.
The Society of Mining Engineers will
feature four speciality symposia, including:
-Chemical Reagents in the Mineral Proc-
essing Industry Symposium
-Construction Aggregate Materials Sym-
posium
-Geotechnical Aspects of Heap Leach
Design Symposium
-Mineral Resource Management by Per-
sonal Computers Symposium
The technical program will include ses-
sions on Coal, Industrial Minerals, Mining
& Exploration, Mineral & Metallurgical
Processing. Advance registration is
available until Friday, February 6, 1987.
For further information, contact: Society
of Mining Engineers, Meetings Dept .•
Caller No . D, Littleton, CO 80127 . [1M

Third International Geostatistics Congress

The Third International Geostatistics con-
gress will be held at the Papal Palace,
Avignon in southern France from
September 5-9, 1988. It is intended as a
forum for researchers and practitioners of
geostatistics.
The Congress aims at establishing the
state-of-the-art including major new
theoretical results obtained since the last
Congress at Lake Tahoe in 1983, new
avenues of research essential to expand
both the theory and the scope applications
and the range of proven applications and
their limitations inside and outside the
fields of mining, geology and petroleum .
The proceedings of the Congress will be
published in a bound volume . Each ses-
sion will be chaired by an eminent expert
who will organize discussions on the topic
after presentation of all the papers . The
official languages for the Congress are
English and French. The number of par-
ticipants will be limited to 240 .
The Organizing Committee are calling
for papers on the theoretical and the
practical aspects of geostatistics, practical
applications and case-studies in the fields
of agriculture. pollution, environmental
science, oceanography, etc. will be par-
ticularly welcome.
Please send abstracts (deadline; October 1,
1987) to: Geostat Congress 1988, Centre de
Geostatistique, 35, rue Saint-Honore, 77305
Fontainebleau, France; Tel.: (I) 64.22.48.21,
Telex: MINEFON 600736 F.

30 Volume80, No. 897