Fig. 2. A: Schematic sketch showing the extraction procedure in the top ten benches. Numbers (1) to (5) reflect the successive steps. (1) Drilling a vertical hole, matching the height of the bench, at the intended position of the bench crest. (2) Drilling two perpendicular horizontal holes from the bench toe towards the main vertical hole. (3) First cut by a wire saw made beneath the block and then from the two other sides. (4) Drilling of additional horizontal holes at distances of 1.8 m. (5) Cutting of block into smaller sections. B: Schematic sketch showing the extraction procedure in the lower benches. Numbers (1) to (4) reflect the successive steps. (1) Vertical cut along the length of the bench with a chainsaw machine. (2) Drilling of horizontal holes at a distance of 1.8 m into the cut. (3) Every fifth hole is used to cut horizontally beneath the block. (4) Once the block is separated from the bottom, all remaining holes are used to further divide it into smaller blocks. Source: B. Koshabadi