Configure Stope Merging Settings

Stope Merging is a post-processing function in MSO, used to simplify the stope design output by combining nearby or adjacent shapes into a single larger stope when certain geometric conditions are met.

It helps reduce over-fragmentation from previous steps (such as splitting and annealing), making the final output more practical and operationally efficient. Merging takes place after the initial optimization and any post-processing steps like smoothing or splitting.

The merging is directional and guided by defined tolerances and overlap rules to ensure that only suitably aligned stopes are considered.

Stope Merging is useful when:

You want to reduce the number of stope shapes after aggressive splitting (such as transverse splits).
You need to generate more mineable and accessible shapes from smaller sub-shapes.
You want to improve continuity in mining operations by grouping adjacent stopes.

For example, in a narrow vein deposit, applying transverse splitting may generate many small stopes that individually satisfy minimum width requirements. However, merging adjacent stopes in the U direction (along strike) helps form longer continuous stopes that are easier to access and extract, reducing development costs.

Activity steps

Create an MSO scenario and define a block model.
Configure other settings as required.
Display the Post Processing screen.
Ensure Use Stope Splitting is unchecked.
Check Use Stope Merging.
Select a Merge Direction to choose the axis or orientation along which stopes are considered for merging.
- U Direction – Merges stopes along the U axis (horizontal). Essentially, merging along strike.
- V Direction – Merges stopes along the V axis (vertical).
- U Direction on Grid – Same as U Direction, but applies grid-based offsets to align stopes better before checking overlap.
- V Direction on Grid – Vertical grid-based merging; typically used for vertical stopes when working with grid-based frameworks.
Set the maximum Interval distance between stopes to be considered for merging. Larger intervals allow merging of more widely spaced shapes.
Set a Corner Tolerance. This is the maximum distance that corners can be misaligned and still be considered for merging. This setting can help to absorb small inaccuracies in adjacent shape alignment.
Define an Area Overlap (%), which is the minimum percentage of overlapping area required for stopes to qualify for merging. This setting can prevent unrelated or disjointed shapes from merging.
Define Min Range and Max Range. These optional constraints limit merging based on the stope width at the merging point. If defined, only stopes within the width range are merged.

Note: These options are not available when using Grid-based directions.
Save your settings and continue defining other post-processing options.