noun
- excavated chambers or cavities in underground mines where ore has been removed
Usage: mining
Examples
- The miners worked in the stopes deep underground.
- Safety inspectors examined the abandoned stopes for structural integrity.
- The gold mine contained several large stopes where ore had been extracted.
- Water had collected in the lower stopes after the mine closed.
- Engineers mapped the network of stopes throughout the mine.
- The stopes were carefully designed to prevent cave-ins.