NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, RAIPUR

DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING

SHRINKAGE STOPING
Shivani Choudhary
5th Semester, 19121066
NIT Raipur, Chhattisgarh

ABSTRACT
Mining industry is the backbone of all other industries. It supplies the raw material to all other sectors.
And for extraction of all this deposits different methods are adopted depending on the type of deposit,
nature of orebody and country rock and many other factors. Metal mining differs from coal mining in
many aspects and hence is important topic to be taken into account. There are many ways and
methods for extraction of stopes in metal mines and in this paper we will see about “Shrinkage Stoping”
Keywords: stoping, safety, mining, productivity

1.INTRODUCTION
One of the type of vertical over hand stoping is Shrinkage stoping in which the situation of the face
is over the driller and stoping operation proceeds from lower main level towards the upper main
level. In this method most of the broken ore remains in the stope instead of drawing them out
there it serves as a working floor for the workers. And broken ore also helps in supporting the
wall until the stope is extracted completely.
Previously, shrinkage stoping was not classified under a proper category instead
some classified as supported method and some as unsupported method. And each classification is
justified at its place, because the ore in stope is unsupported during mining whereas the walls are
supported by the broken ore.
In 1996, Rossouw and Fourie, classified Shrinkage stoping as an non-caving steep-stope-specific
method. Shrinkage stoping was earlier very popular method adopted in underground metal mines.
But due to modern mechanization this method is now not in much use as it was previously. Rising
costs, requirement of skilled labour and the trend towards bulk mining has displaced shrinkage
stoping. Also nature of orebody is not known completely until it has substantially mined this is due to
geological disturbances. Shrinkage stoping is a mining method used for steeply dipping, narrower ore
bodies with self supporting walls and ore, in which broken ore is temporarily retained in the stope.

Since ore “swells” as when broken, it is necessary to shrink the muck pile which is equal to the swell
factor of in-situ ore to broken and it is done by drawing out 30-35% of the blasted ore outside the stope
and hence is the name. When mining of stope is completed, broken ore which was retained during
stoping is drawn out. And the void form may be filled with waste rocks from development or may be
left open.

2. Design criteria for optimum ore body characteristics-

The selection of a mining method for narrow vein deposits depends upon orebody geometry and its
physical characteristics. This method is best suited to orebody having dip>600. Ore body should be
fairly continuous along the strike of the vein of orebody and it must be free flowing without any
obstruction to the flow of broken ore downward through the stope. As vein dip controls stop
drawdown, it is a major to consider about the strike and dip of vein. For dip below 450, broken ore does
not move down the footwall and here scrapers become necessary, the ore will draw down from the
hanging wall thus leaving a poor working platform or conventional overhand work. This is particularly
true in relatively wide stopes. Dips below (45 to 500) are generally not shrinkable except by open stope.
The support afforded to the hanging wall also diminishes with decreasing dip, reaching nil as the dip
approaches the repose angle of broken ore. Minimum mining width is fixed by working space
requirements in the stope and is generally about 1m. This width of 1m represents the most safest thin
opening with respect to safety. If the width of ore body is narrower than 1m, then low grade material
gets included resulting in high planned dilution. This method can also be used for widths exceeding
20m depending upon the competency of the ore and its ability to stand unsupported across the stope
back by using multiple draw points from footwall to hanging wall or by levelling the muck with
mechanical devices. Transverse Vertical Shrinkage panels separated by transverse vertical pillars are
used for stoping wide veins and massive ore bodies. Shrinkage in narrower veins requires that waste
rock from one or both walls be broken with the ore and the attendant dilution accepted to achieve the
minimum width. Larger spans may require ground support and the muck will inherently have a larger
size distribution. Because the broken ore serves as a working floor, larger pieces tend to hang up,
potentially causing a sudden and dangerous collapse of muck. If the width is erratic, mining this ore
leads to creating benches or unstable walls. These benches will hold the muck and prevent an even
draw down, creating a ledge where the ore will remain when the stope is pulled empty. The wall rock
should be strong enough so that it can stand with minimal support which is produced by the broken
ore. During active mining condition, the local sloughing from walls is restrained, but the broken ore
here affords little. Squeezing of rocks may cause loss of ore by binding up the stope. Walls may be
reinforced by bolting after each stope.
 Also the ore content is considerable in this method. As here in the stope, ore is captive for longer
periods in a moist environment all kind of ore is not recommended as for ore containing sulphide can
result in heating and possible spontaneous combustion.

3. Shrinkage Mining Development

As it is a vertical stoping method, several levels are required at development stage. The main task
is to prepare a means of ore-drawing point in which muck flows by gravity and an undercut where
the blasted ore will initially fall. The ore block is prepared by excavating a series of chute raises
about 3.5m above the lower level. These chutes are approximately 8 to 10 m apart centre to centre.
Size of chute is nearly 1.8m x 1.2m. Chutes are funnelled out to provide an early passage for the
broken ore to pass through chute without undue blockage.
In lateral development ore has a track or trackless drift which is done using conventional drill and
blast method having dimension as required by the equipment used. For access beyond the stope,
a by-pass drift is driven on the footwall side. Once the advancement of drift is done at the
determined dimension to the extents of the ore, vertical raise is driven at the centre or at the ends
of the block to provide ventilation and also to act as a cut-off slot. When nearing the level, the raise
is turned to breakout on the side of the drift above so that breakthrough does not interfere with
activity on the level. The raise is then equipped with a ladder way, service pipes, cables and
material handling. In some cases the raises are not developed, and access is only from the sill level
below the stope. Raising may be done conventionally with platform type raise climbers or
mechanically with raise boring equipment. The footwall drift is normally situated above 7 to 15m
from the orebody. Then draw-hole extraction crosscuts are driven from the footwall drift into the
sill drift. Then the back of the orebody is blasted and swell is extracted via the draw holes either
with rail mounted mucking machines or with Load-haul-dump(LHD) units. In all draw systems
the spacing of boxholes and drawpoints ranges from 5-15m. Close spacing requires more
development, but minimises the tonnage of ore stranded in stope after emptying and aintains a
more even work platform in the stope. Another method is also used for preparing a stope in which
first we blast down at least two cuts from the ore zone then clean up the area and install stull
timbers in the sill drift below the stope.
After development of raises, drilling of holes is performed, back stoping is the preferred mode of
operation but also the holes are drilled horizontally on a breast face and holes can vary from a
length of 2.5m to 5m. Drilling in Shrinkage stoping is normally not difficult. For production drilling
and rock bolting purpose jacklegs or handheld stoper are used, although mechanized drill wagons
or jumbos have been used in wide (>5.0) stopes. Drill holes are loaded with ANFO (ammonium
nitrate and fuel oil) products, water gels, and slurry blasting agents. Primer used in this are usually
water gel sticks or dynamite and holes are initiated using nonelectric, electric, or fuse blasting
systems. As drilling of holes in orebody is not much time consuming process for a cycle so, number
of holes drilled should be sufficient so that good fragmented rock can be there after blasting and
this will also help in easy movement of ore through chutes and will prevent blockage of chutes.
 Figure 1. Block Diagram showing design of SHRINKAGE STOPING
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrzej_Kotyrba/publication/267098161/figure/download/fig12/AS:670044296081427@1536762417341/Shrinkage-stoping-
in-a-large-vertical-body-Atlas-Copco-1997.ppm

When the broken ore cannot be drawn evenly in a stope, slushers are used to muck to an area
where the stope is drawing down. Muck is then extracted upto 30-35% depending on the swell
factor of the in-situ rock. Levelling of the muck pile is required to provide a work platform and
facilitate drilling the next vertical or horizontal cut.
Support is required in stopes and rock bolting of stope backs and ribs with mechanical or grouted
rock bolts is preferred method for ground support in this method. Stulling of ribs and back is also
practiced in some mines. Sometimes pillars of low grade ore are also left for support.
The greatest hazard in shrinkage stopes is when the stope has advanced to an elevation where the
muck does not move at the working floor of the stope as it should be free flowing.

4. Advantages of Shrinkage Stoping

Shrinkage stoping has many advantages as it is easily applicable to narrow veins or mass having
a greater degree of irregularities. Also it allows the geologist for having constant access to the vein
during progress of work and they have flexibility to leave behind low grade ore and extract the
rich ore, which is that this method provides more degree of selectivity. It is a cheaper method of
stoping, requires smaller capital outlay and does not require much development work. The broken
ore in the stope works as a support system to wall rocks and to some extent eliminates the use of
timber stulls. Continuous ore production is possible in this method once the orebody is developed
by drifting on the vein hence stope drawdown provides a steady, consistent supply of ore. Gravity
aids drawdown of stopes. In this method recovery of ore is good (75% to 100%).

Image source:
https://www.911metallurgist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Metal-Mining-Method-Shrinkage-
Stoping.png
5. Disadvantages of Shrinkage Stoping
Shrinkage stoping is one of the hazardous method because in this method worker has to stand and
move on the broken ore which is not levelled properly. The greatest hazard is the risk of a sudden
movement of muck underfoot caused by the ore extraction. Dilution of ore is a major disadvantage
in this method, usually horizontal breasts are taken as common method for drilling and blasting
of stopes which creates more chances of dilution. This method is not very selective and leaving
waste pillars is difficult except at the extreme ends of the stope. This method requires strong ore
and wall. If wallrocks are weak substantial additional dilution may occur during drawdown.
Treatment of hang-ups ore and rock is hazardous and requires the presence of worker in the stope
and the need of secondary blasting this may lead to burial of ore in stope without any extraction.
Sometimes larger blocks are there which may block the draw point. Shrinkage mining requires
skilled jackleg miners. These labours have to do manual works as mechanisation is not possible.
Mining over a long strike can be dangerous and the stressed pillars may result in squeezing for
softer ground and rock bursting can occur if rock is hard and brittle. Levels of productivity is highly
dependent on the width of the orebody, drilling pattern, number of shifts per day and muck
extracted. Productivity in this method is usually 3 to 10 tons/ employee shift in stopes. Wider
stopes allow for more tonnes per shift but may result in larger size of muck. For stopes less than
2m in width, drilling breast longer breast holes make it difficult to keep wall straight and only one
drill is used at a time. Also for ore containing sulphur this can lead to spontaneous combustion.
For these reasons, the popularity of Shrinkage stoping has decreased over years.

6. Safety and Economics

The main reason behind discontinuing this method worldwide is the safety hazards associated
with it. It is very labour intensive and is generally expensive. Wall rocks can here lead to
unexpected collapse Wall rock failure during drawdown cannot be easily remediated, resulting in
additional dilution and packing of stope. The greatest risk to life of labours working there is the
continuous removal of muck pile and working on that unsupported ground. Along with safety
concerns this method has also failed in terms of economy. A typical distribution of cost of mining:
Development 45%
Labour 33%
Drilling/blasting 13%
Ground support 2%
In-stope evaluation 4%
Services 3%, this can vary depending on the mine conditions.
7.Conclusions

The economic and safety parameters have surely made this method unapplicable in the mines, but
this can be applied to mine in which the orebody is narrow and cannot be extracted by other
means. It is of particular use to stope width which is below 2m and to the orebody which is
irregular in nature. The footwall drives introduction and use of small single or twin boom drill rigs
for development purpose can reduce cost of mining and improve efficiency.

REFERENCES

Deshmukh D.J.(2008); Elements of Mining Technology, Vol.II; Denett & Co., Nagpur, India

Mike Neumann(2010); Shrinkage Stoping, Neumann Engineering and Mining Services Inc. (NEMS)

Simon C.Dominy, Roland F.G. Phelps, Christopher J.S. Sangster , G.Simon Camm (1998),Shrinkage
Stoping of Narrow Veins-Problem or profit?, Mine Planning and Equipment Selection 1998. A.A.
Balkema, Rotterdam

Darling Peter, 1956-II. Shrinkage Stoping, Mining Engineering Handbook, 3rd Edition. Society for
Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (U.S.) III , 1347-1354