Richard
Underhand stoping means mining the orebody out from an upper level down to a
lower level. It was still ocasionally used here in Cornwall until the early
1960's. It has severe safety, sampling and ventilation limitations.
Back stoping is the more common way of mining narrow orebodies - this is
done from the bottom upwards. The 'back' being the 'roof' or top of the
stope. Similarly the 'back' of a level is the roof. There are a number of
'back' stoping methods eg mining off platforms(stulls), shrinkage stoping
etc.
A good description can be found in Bryan Earl's book which is still in
print:
Cornish Mining, 188pp, Cornish Hillside Publications, ISBN 0 9519419 3 3
Cheers
Tony Brooks
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