Copper mining began at Palabora in 1965, and by 1967 the open-pit mine was fully operational. The hole reached 800 meters down into the Earth before the depletion of resources made it uneconomical to continue mining in the pit. Operations moved underground (below the pit) and mostly out of sight in the early 2000s. The new mining method, known as block caving, involves extracting rock below an ore body, letting the ore break under its own weight, and then hauling the ore back to the surface.
Palabora Mining Company operates a successful underground block-cave mine, producing 50,000 tonnes of copper ore per annum.
Palabora's block-cave mine is a benchmark for integrated design. No other block-cave mine has been put into as competent an ore-body. The block height of the cave reaches a record 450 meters in the centre, increasing up to 700 meters on the periphery, rendering Palabora a world-class mine.
Geographically, the production footprint is very small, measuring 650 meters in length and 200 meters wide, with 20 production cross-cuts and 320 draw-points. With the coarse fragmentation of the ore body, a high degree of secondary breaking activities is required to treat hang-ups and oversize; and to keep ore flowing through the draw-points for the loaders to haul.
The Lift 2 footprint is approximately 550m long x 250m wide for a hydraulic radius of approximately 85m. Cave propagation is commenced by advanced undercutting and the extrac ........