Stoping

Stoping is the process of extracting the desired <a href="/facts/Ore/kgc9DssX">ore</a> or other mineral from an underground <a href="/facts/Mining/g6uDIFab">mine</a>, leaving behind an open space known as a stope. Stoping is used when the <a href="/facts/Country_rock_(geology)/e1kxFDsH">country rock</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Fire-setting/8YprnAkv">fire-setting</a>; later <a href="/facts/Gunpowder/AEcB6HCR">gunpowder</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Tailings/g7TtDIJR">tailings</a>, or when needed for strength, a mixture of tailings and cement. In old mines, stopes frequently collapse at a later time, leaving craters or <a href="/facts/Flash_(lake)/Dot5akbn">flashes</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Shaft_mining/Lfh67JTB">shafts</a> and <a href="/facts/Winze/TySNeP3h">winzes</a>, carving <a href="/facts/Adit/vR9xCNpb">adits</a>, tunnels, and levels, and establishing ventilation and transportation.

Stoping open-in-new

Stoping