Arizona Paper - The Block Method of Top Slicing of the Miami Copper Co. (with Discussion)

A method of top slicing has been devised at the Miami Copper Co.'s mine at Miami, Aria., which differs radically in some ways from the customary methods of top slicing. The area of that section of the orebody in which top slicing is used is about 800 ft. square. The ore, while for the most part soft, is, nevertheless, considerably harder than the capping. The latter is siliceous, seldom containing any clay or other binding material, and breaks into fine particles so that it runs like sand if given the opportunity. Because of these facts, and because the ore is above the average grade of the mine ore, it has been mined by top slicing. Haulage levels are opened up 150 ft. apart, vertically, with two sub-levels between at 50-ft. intervals, to facilitate the putting up of ore chutes. These sublevels are used during slicing for distributing air in the ventilation system. On the haulage level the drifts are spaced on 50-ft. centers, and raises along these drifts are also spaced on 50-ft. centers, except the incline raises as hereafter noted. The raises are cribbed where necessary. Where the wear will be excessive, 1/4-in. iron plates are spiked to the top of every third set of cribbing, for its protection. When top slicing was first used, an attempt was made to carry a slicing face from fifty to several hundred feet long. Timber and other supplies were brought in through long drifts from an auxiliary shaft. Great difficulty was experienced in keeping these drifts open, the side pressure breaking the posts and the top weight breaking both caps and posts. Furthermore, the men could not work efficiently while these drifts were being repaired. The slicing faces advanced irregularly, due to varying conditions, and in many ways the results were not all that could be desired. It was then decided to divide the slicing area into blocks 200 ft. square and this was later changed to 250 ft. square. At the center of each block a two-compartment raise is put up as a supply raise, the compartments being 2 ft. 6 in. and 4 ft. by 4 ft. 4 in., the smaller being used as a manway. Station sets of 12 by 12 timber with