The primary extraction void in room-and-pillar mining, where the mineral has been mined out, leaving adjacent pillars for roof support. The stall is the active or abandoned face where the actual cutting, drilling, and loading takes place. The size of the stall depends heavily on the strength of the roof rock and the depth of the mine.
The continuous miner just finished cutting the third stall on the right side of the main heading.
Also heard as
- chamber
Do not mix it up with
- Room: Room and stall mean the same thing, but stall is more common in British coal mining while room is preferred in North America.
Related terms
Room
An excavated cavity or chamber in an underground mine where material is extracted.
Bord
An underground working place or tunnel driven at right angles to the natural cleavage of the coal seam.
Stallman
A contractor or lead miner responsible for working a specific stall in a coal mine.
Room and pillar
An underground mining method where material is extracted across a horizontal plane, leaving blocks of ore to support the roof.