To stope is to extract ore from an underground deposit, creating large voids or rooms. The process involves systematically drilling, blasting, and removing the rock in sequential slices, either working upward from a lower level or downward from an upper one. It is the primary production phase of underground hardrock mining, distinct from the initial development work used to access the orebody.
We plan to stope out the rest of the high-grade block before the end of the shift.
Never use this term for horizontal tunneling or shaft sinking; stoping strictly refers to the actual production extraction of the ore.
Related terms
Stoping
The process of extracting ore from an underground orebody, leaving behind an open void.
Stoper
A pneumatic rock drill designed to bore holes straight up into the roof of a mine.
Room and pillar
An underground mining method where material is extracted across a horizontal plane, leaving blocks of ore to support the roof.
Winze
An internal mine shaft excavated downward from one underground level to a lower one.