Research on the Shape and Particle Size Distribution of Caved Ore Mass in Sublevel Caving

The shape and particle size distribution of caved ore mass in sublevel caving were investigated in this study. The paper first reviews the main factors affecting the shape and characteristic of caved ore mass in sublevel caving and then through the experimental blast testing with cement-sand concrete models, the shape and particle size distribution of caved ore mass were found out. The experimental results indicated that the shape and particle size distribution of caved ore mass was similar to that of the drawn loose body. This finding presented a new perspective for the future study on the ore drawing theory and on the optimisation of structural parameters of sublevel caving. The structural parameters must meet the principle that the shape of the drawn body is in consistency to the shape of caved ore mass.