Design of the second block cave at Northparkes E26 mine

The pressure of low commodity prices forced the design process for the second lift of Northparkes E26 Mine to adopt a continuous improvement philosophy. The emphasis was to minimise capital expenditure while still maintaining the excellent low operating costs achieved on Lift 1. Although the first block cave lift at Northparkes is the most productive underground mine in the world and is held up as a benchmark for the use of technology in mining, areas for improvement were identified. Every area was critically assessed and investigated for the possible application of new techniques and technologies. Key learnings from the construction and production phases of Lift 1 were captured, documented and used as the starting point for the Lift 2 design. This paper shows how and why the design parameters initially used on Lift 1 were changed to become the current E26 Lift 2 development proposal. The main differences between the two block caves are highlighted. The alternative techniques and equipment that were considered are also discussed.