With renewable energy and technology driving increased demand for ore and minerals at a time when extensive orebodies have become harder to access – block caving is more frequently hyped as the future of mining. But is this technique as efficient, safe, or as well understood as it should be?

Cave mining techniques, including block caving and sublevel caving, are being employed in various mines around the world. Below is a summary of projects and the status the mine was at when the list was first compiled.