Abstract: The paper discusses the optimization of the stope structural parameters for deposits with instability tendency. With average energy release rate as the optimization target, a general method for optimizing the stope structural parameters for deposits with instability tendency is proposed based on the combination of numerical modeling and orthogonal design. By using the optimization method and procedure modified by the authors, the stope structural parameters of a deposit with instability tendency are optimized for the mining design of this deposit. Its stability is also studied by adopting energy release theory, providing a reliable basis for the practical mining.

Key words: Stope, Optimization, Energy release ratio, Orthogonal designs, Eergy catastrophic theory