Bench Toe

The lower edge of a mining bench face, forming the junction between the bench face and the floor of the bench below. The bench toe represents the deepest point of excavation on a bench and is a critical reference for grade control, survey measurement, and geotechnical assessment. In open pit mining, the toe position determines the effective width of the working bench and influences the stability of the bench above. Blast designs aim to achieve effective fragmentation to the toe level for efficient loading and ore recovery.