Vertical Crater Retreat Mining ESRAEL HUNGWE AND TADIWA MKUMBI PRESENTATION

Vertical crater retreat mining
Is an open stoping, bottom-up mining method that involves vertically drilling large-diameter
holes into the orebody from the top, and then blasting horizontal slices of the orebody into
an undercut. VCR is a suitable mining method for orebodies that exhibit the following
characteristics:
Characteristics Requirements
 Steeply-dipping orebodies (>45º), with widths of no less than 12-

' 'Orebody Dimensions 15m.
 Very large both vertically and horizontally.
 The strength of the waste rock must be competent in order to blast
Ore and Rock Strength against it without having excessive amounts of dilution.
 The ore deposit is to be of medium to competent strength.
 VCR is not a selective mining method, therefore the ore grade should
Grade be low to medium, and it should be relatively uniform throughout
the entire orebody.
 VCR mining can occur at any depth. Work is carried out in reinforced,
small drifts; and given the nature of the mining method, no
Depth
personnel has to work directly within the drift. Therefore, safe
execution of VCR mining can be carried out in deep mines.
 Given the small, localized stope size in VCR mining, ore can be
recovered very soon after blasting occurs. Therefore, oxidizing and
Oxidizing Ores
self-cementing ores such as pyrrhotite can be mined using this
method.
Advantages
 Safety: Miners are working in drifts that are adequately ventilated and have fully
supported roofs. Furthermore, no workers are required to work inside the stope,
minimizing the risk of unexpected injuries. VCR mining also allows for the use of
automated machinery, in which case workers are not at risk of equipment-related
injuries.
 Good Recoveries: Continuous mucking from the drawpoints can take place after
blasting. Furthermore, VCR mining can be used with a high degree of mechanization,
generating a high level of productivity
 Cost: Once the pre-mining development is in place, mining has a low operating cost,
as it is a bulk mining technique and employees are not required to manually operate
the mucking machinery
 Wall Support: VCR stoping shares some great features with sublevel open and
shrinkage stoping. Good wall support is offered during the VCR stoping phase, using
shrinkage.
Disadvantages
 Dilution of the ore can result if waste rock is less than competent in strength, or
improper blasting techniques are carried out. In addition, sorting is not possible
 Risk of drawpoint blockage: If improper blasting techniques are carried out, large
rocks can get lodged in the drawpoint and arrest the movement of material through
them. This results in lost production.
 A Large capital investment is required to establish the essential drift infrastructure
required for proper VCR mining to take place. Furthermore, the acquisition of
equipment is necessary before mining can occur.
 Subsidence of overlying stope zones can be a problem as open stope expanses are
left after mucking. This can be avoided by using a backfill, which comes with
additional costs
Planning steps.
The first characteristics to evaluate are the size, dip and plunge of the orebody, which is
important because the installations of draw points are essential to the gravity flow of the
blasted ore for collection. The second element to assess is the shape and consistency of the
orebody. Two horizontal drifts are required before mining can take place, which are to have
a very large vertical separation. The distance between the two drifts depends on the
consistency of the ore, the drilling accuracy, accessibility.
Development of infrastructure
Once the essential planning is complete, development of the pre-mining infrastructure

begins. All working drifts are reinforced with the necessary ground support. The pre-mining
development for VCR mining includes: 1. Haulage drift along the orebody, at the draw point
level 2. Draw point loading arrangement below the stope 3. Undercut of the stope 4.
Overcut i.e., as access for drilling and blast charging
Mining process
 Vertical Long-holes are drilled from drives developed in the ore between two levels.
 Ore is then blasted using a charge that occupies a relatively short length of the hole,
some distance from the bottom face.
 The blast creates downward facing craters and the broken ore is drawn from the
stope at the lower level.
 The stope is then backfilled.
 The method has a low explosive consumption.
 It uses a different blasting technique breaking the rock with heavy, concentrated
charges placed in holes (“craters”) with very large diameter (~165 mm) about 3 m
away from a free rock surface.
 Blasting breaks a cone-shaped opening in the rock mass around the hole and allows
the blasted material to remain in the stope during the production phase so that the
rock fill can assist in supporting the stope walls.
 The need for rock stability is less than in sublevel stoping.
 VCR stoping is applicable to mineralization in steeply dipping strata.
 The development for VCR mining is requiring both over-cut and under-cut
excavations.
 The over-cut is needed in the first stage to accommodate the rig drilling the large-
diameter (~165 mm) blast holes and for access while charging the holes and blasting.
 The under-cut excavation provided the free surface necessary for VCR blasting.
 It may also provide access for a LHD vehicle (operated by remote control with the
operator remaining outside the stope) to recover the blasted ore from the draw-
points beneath the stope.
 The usual VCR blast uses holes in a 4 m x 4 m pattern directed vertically or steeply
inclined with charges carefully placed at calculated distances to free the surface
beneath.
 The charges cooperate to break off a horizontal ore slice ~3 m thick.
 The blasted rock falls into the stope underneath.
 By controlling the rate of mucking out, the stope remains partly filled so that the
rock fill assists in stabilizing the stope walls during the production phase.
 The last blast breaks the over-cut into the stope, after which the stope is mucked
clean and prepared for back filling.
 VCR mines often uses a system of primary and secondary stopes to the orebody.
 Primary stopes are mined in the first stage, then backfilled with cemented fill.
 The stope is left for the fill to consolidate.
 Miners then return and recover the ore in the pillars between the primary stopes,
the secondary stopes.
 This system, in combination with the cemented backfill, results in close to a 100%
recovery of the ore reserves.

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Vertical crater retreat mining

 Steeply-dipping orebodies (>45º), with widths of no less than 12-

Once the essential planning is complete, development of the pre-mining infrastructure

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