The CSIR: Mining Technology has defined a methodology by which a stope support system may be designed, and then evaluated in order to determine how efficiently it would behave under either rockfall or rockburst conditions. The database used contains 12,000 fatalities and, because it is so big, for the first time reef specific criteria can be stated. This technique will eventually lead to a computer program enabling mines to design stope support. As most people are in the stope (s), this will lead to increased safety in the stope (s), as well as cost savings for the mines through the design of the optimal support system for that particular stope. In South African mines with tabular ore bodies, the design of stope support systems has in most cases been based on experience, past practices and cost considerations. Approximately 130 support systems have been identified in current use in industry. These include various support unit types with variations in spacing and support dimensions. Clearly, only a number of these systems are optimised with the rest being either over- or under-designed.
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