Stoping

This article is about the mining term. For the geological process, see Stoping (geology).
Sketch painting of miners stoping at the Burra Burra Mine, Burra, Australia, 1847.
Stoping with an air drill in an American iron mine in the 20th century (museum exhibit)

Stoping is the process of extracting the desired ore or other mineral from an underground mine, leaving behind an open space known as a stope.[1] Stoping is used when the country rock is sufficiently strong not to collapse into the stope, although in most cases artificial support is also provided.

The earliest forms of stoping were conducted with hand tools or by fire-setting; later gunpowder was introduced. From the 19th century onward, various other explosives, power-tools, and machines came into use. As mining progresses the stope is often backfilled with tailings, or when needed for strength, a mixture of tailings and cement. In old mines, stopes frequently collapse at a later time, leaving craters or flashes at the surface. They are an unexpected danger when records of underground mining have been lost with the passage of time.

Stoping is considered "productive work", and is contrasted with "deadwork", the work required merely to access the mineral deposit, such as sinking shafts and winzes, carving adits, tunnels, and levels, and establishing ventilation and transportation.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference corgloss was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Collins, J. H. (1874). Principles of Metal Mining. New York City: G.B. Putnam's Sons. p. 34.