Abstract: The deformation and failure of the orepass wall worldwide has become a significant problem affecting the efficiency of underground mining in metal mine. Impact and wear are the two main factors that cause deformation and failure of pass shaft wall. Through study on the relationship between energy and deformation in the process of ore or rock impact on orepass lining， the mechanism of impact and shear failure caused by ore or rock block "colliding" with the orepass wall is obtained. The formulas for calculating the friction force on the lining of the ore storage section in vertical orepass and on the footwall of inclined orepass are derived. It is found that the deformation and failure caused by the movement of ore blocks in the vertical orepass contains two forms including impact and shear. The more dominant factor of determining the two forms is the angle between the direction of the ore or rock block movement and the normal direction of orepass wall when impinging on the orepass wall. Wear failure mainly occurs in the ore storage section of the orepass well and the footwall of the inclined and the branched orepass. The degree of wear failure depends on the friction coefficient between the ore or rock block and the orepass lining material and the force of the ore or rock acting on the orepass wall.

Key words: Orepass wall, Impact and wear, Deformation and failure, Mechanism