**1.2 Panel and extraction layout**

The layout of both the panel and the extraction level is one of the most critical tasks in the planning of caving mines. Panel layout design represents a balance between mitigating technical risks and maximizing project value. It aims to minimize surface subsidence risks, minimize abutment stress damage, avoid alignment with major geologic structures, maintain a manageable undercut face length and advance rate and maximize the project's net present value (NPV) Pascoe [4].

The extraction layout seeks to maximize the recovery, minimize the dilution, and increase the efficiency of the ore handling system. In designing the suitable extraction layout, gravitational flow and dilution should be taken into account. However, because of the uncertainty of the in situ rock mass, an accurate gravitational flow evaluation of material movements is not possible. In addition, dilution is a dynamic process and has a self-mixed property, which means that broken ore can easily mix with waste material or low-grade rock that is located in the upper portion of the columns. Since the fine particles move faster to the drawpoints, the percolation of waste material decreases the grade of the drawn material. A schematic sequential drawbell section showing the lateral dilution mechanism is presented in **Figure 2**.

**Figure 2.** *Lateral dilution mechanism [5].*
