Experimental investigation of stress redistribution in high draw columns for deep caving operations

Authors: Gómez, R; Castro, R; Segovia, C Download Paper Open access courtesy of:

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2645_101

Cite As:
Gómez, R, Castro, R & Segovia, C 2026, 'Experimental investigation of stress redistribution in high draw columns for deep caving operations', in A van As, D Cumming-Potvin & J Wesseloo (eds), Caving 2026: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Block and Sublevel Caving, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 1-9, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2645_101



Abstract:
The deepening of mining deposits, particularly those exploiting block/panel caving methods, requires an improved understanding of stress conditions and gravity flow dynamics, which remain relatively understudied when compared to shallower caving environments. Therefore, dedicated efforts are needed to investigate gravity flow behaviour in deep mining to design viable operations with reduced uncertainty. This study presents large-scale physical model experiments designed to investigate stress redistribution during gravity flow in a 600 m equivalent draw column under different extraction strategies. Two extraction configurations were evaluated: isolated draw from a single drawpoint and multiple draw under a near-uniform extraction scheme. Vertical stresses acting on the crown pillar were monitored using load cells installed at the base of the model. The results show that stresses decrease significantly within active movement zones, reaching values as low as 40% of the initial vertical stress near isolated drawpoints. In contrast, stresses increase in adjacent lowextraction or stagnant regions due to stress transfer from active flow zones. Under multiple-draw conditions, relatively small differences in extraction between neighbouring drawpoints produced substantial stress variations, with local stresses reaching up to 1.6 times the initial stress. These findings demonstrate the strong influence of draw control on stress redistribution and highlight the importance of maintaining extraction uniformity to support production-level stability in deep caving operations.

Keywords: block caving, gravity flow, high column, deep mining

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