How the Mining Cycle is done

The miner’s job is to break ore and rock and get it from underground to surface. The first step in the mining cycle is to drill holes in the rock and ore. These holes are loaded with explosives which are detonated to break the rock. In modern-day mining, electric-hydraulic drill jumbos drill the pattern of short holes required to break the rock or round and advance the development heading. A drift round or breast round will normally advance the drift face about 3 to 4 m (10 to 13 feet).

Older pneumatic jumbos, and hand-held jack leg drills and stopers, are still used for certain specialized drilling jobs and in stopes where the work space is confined.

Large-diameter (10 to 15 cm) blasthole drills, and two-boom, small-diameter (5 to 10 cm) long- hole drills are in common use for production in stopes.

Backfilling: Once a stope has been mined out, it is often necessary to backfill it with some waste material so that the ore adjacent to the stope can be mined without affecting the structural integrity of the underground workings. Backfill can be waste rock from underground, sand brought down from the surface, or mill tailings that have been processed so that all the fine fraction has been removed. This material is often mixed with a bonding agent like cement so that it stands up once the ore adjacent to it is mined out. Backfill may be placed immediately during the mining cycle, or it may be placed once the stope is completely mined out.