Official: Block cave mining method set for Wafi-Golpu

BLOCK cave mining is the method to be undertaken for the Wafi-Golpu project, according to the
Mineral Resource Authority (MRA).
Managing director Jerry Garry said block cave mining was a traditional mining method and totally different from the other methods in the country.
“It basically involves blasting the bottom of the ore body and allowing the body to collapse on itself,” he said.
“They will be mining on a platform over a period of 10 years at one level, go down the platform and mine for another 10 years or so.
“On the third level of category, we don’t have confidence in the resource. As they go in they will start to do more drilling and more development work to understand what’s deep below the two blocks.”
Garry said it was huge and sophisticated methods of mining.
But because the developers Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture had a team of people who had delivered block cave mines around the world, they had the experience and the expertise to deliver Wafi-Golpu.