Tishkov, M 2018, 'Evaluation of caving as a mining method for the Udachnaya underground diamond mine project', in Y Potvin & J Jakubec (eds), Caving 2018: Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Block and Sublevel Caving, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 835-846, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1815_66_Tishkov
(https://papers.acg.uwa.edu.au/p/1815_66_Tishkov/)
Abstract: Hydraulic radius is calculated to assess the size of undercut to ensure the caveability of an orebody. There are two options for undercutting the kimberlite pipe of Udachny. Both options have a variety of configurations and design elements to create an area to initiate and propagate the cave. The first option has a single undercut horizon, while the second employs two undercut horizons. In the latter case, in addition to the primary horizon, there is another undercutting horizon to cave an upper block. The order of mining (eastern and western), the placement and spacing of drawpoints , the specific volume of infrastructure development mining, and the volume of mined ore columns are then determined.