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Stope identification and geology

An underground excavation from which ore has been extracted, leaving a void in the rock. Stoping is the process of removing ore from around a mine's development openings shafts, drifts, raises using various methods: shrinkage stoping, cut-and-fill, sublevel open stoping, longwall, and others. The method chosen depends on the geometry, grade, and rock mechanics of the ore body. Field: economic geology. Example: The massive open stopes in the Kidd Creek copper-zinc mine in Timmins, Ontario, reach dimensions of 50 m wide and over 100 m tall, requiring careful rock mechanics analysis to prevent collapse.. Related terms: Adit, Shaft, Drift, Ore body.

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Sources, scope & corrections

These authoritative resources support category-level nomenclature, terminology, identification methods, and safety. When a specimen-specific safety warning appears, the public-health source listed here directly supports that precaution. They are not line-by-line citations for every other property on this entry, and natural specimens vary.

Editorial owner
GeoMiner
Last updated
2026-03-30T15:19:42.127987+00:00
Review status
Published; not independently peer-reviewed
  • USGS Thesaurus — U.S. Geological Survey. Controlled earth-science terminology used to describe USGS information resources.
  • Glossary of Geologic Terms — U.S. National Park Service. Geologic definitions prepared by the NPS Geologic Resources Inventory.

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Common questions

What does Stope mean in geology?
An underground excavation from which ore has been extracted, leaving a void in the rock. Stoping is the process of removing ore from around a mine's development openings shafts, drifts, raises using various methods: shrinkage stoping, cut-and-fill, sublevel open stoping, longwall, and others. The method chosen depends on the geometry, grade, and rock mechanics of the ore body.
What is an example of Stope?
The massive open stopes in the Kidd Creek copper-zinc mine in Timmins, Ontario, reach dimensions of 50 m wide and over 100 m tall, requiring careful rock mechanics analysis to prevent collapse.
Which earth-science field uses the term Stope?
Stope is used in economic geology.
Which terms are related to Stope?
Related terms in this reference are Adit, Shaft, Drift, Ore body.

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