Enhancing Stope Design: Managing Geotechnical Complexity

Stope design is a core element of underground mine planning. It requires balancing ore recovery, ground stability, and operational efficiency. Geotechnical engineers must integrate complex datasets and structural interpretations to make informed decisions, often under time pressure and with limited data.

RockMass Eon supports this process by delivering high-resolution structural data directly from the field to the design environment. It empowers geotechnical teams to produce safer, more optimized stope designs with accurate, real-time information.

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Industry Challenge

Traditional stope design workflows often rely on incomplete and inconsistent structural datasets derived from core logging or manual face mapping. These methods are time-consuming and may fail to capture the variability of in situ rock mass conditions. This can lead to designs that are either too conservative, increasing cost, or too risky, compromising safety.

Without comprehensive structural inputs, engineers face challenges such as:

• Identifying dominant structural features
• Assessing kinematic risks
• Validating empirical and numerical models

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GroundedAI Approach

RockMass Eon automates and streamlines the collection of structural data using LiDAR and advanced algorithms. The system captures key parameters such as in situ discontinuity orientations, spacing, and trace lengths in active headings and stopes.

The result is a spatially rich structural dataset that integrates directly into:

• Stability assessments
• Kinematic analysis
• Numerical modeling workflows

This improves both the accuracy and speed of stope design development.

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Workflow Example

• Capture high-resolution point cloud and structural data underground
• Georeference datasets accurately within mine plans
• Digitally map structural and geological details
• Integrate data into numerical models for kinematic analysis (DIPS, Unwedge) and stress modeling (RS2, FLAC)
• Refine stope geometries and visualize designs in 3D (Deswik, Leapfrog)

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Key Benefits

• Accurate capture of discontinuities reduces uncertainty compared to manual mapping
• Minimized human bias in orientation measurements
• Fast turnaround from field data to design-ready inputs
• Site-specific data enhances kinematic and numerical analysis
• Fully compatible with industry-standard geotechnical tools and mine planning software

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Request a demo to see how GroundedAI can improve the precision and safety of your stope designs.

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