Block caving is a mass underground mining method in which a block of ore is artificially undercut and, following the drawing of broken ore, caves progressively. The subsequent upward progression is either due to failure along natural discontinuities (gravity caving) or stresses induced in the back of the cave (stress caving). The research hypothesis in this study is that naturally caved systems may provide analogues to the subsidence mechanisms associated with gravity-induced caving. Solution collapse breccia pipes (SCBP), which form mainly under the influence of gravity when a rock mass progressively collapses into a developing void due to water flow and material dissolution, are one such system.Brown (2003) identifies four different zones in a typical block cave mine: undercut/extraction level (bottom of mining block), caving zone (draw column), stand-off zone (affected by deformation associated with caving zone), and subsidence zone (crater on the surface). Each zone represents an important component of the mining-induced subsidence structure and has its own characteristic geological features.SCBP exposed in natural outcrops and mining areas in Arizona, USA, have been analysed to identify preserved evidence of mechanisms that produced the final geometry of the collapse structures. Where feasible, the internal clast characteristics of the mobilised material (now lithified; considered as analogous to caving zone) have also been mapped. Preliminary results show that the SCBP examined can also be divided into zones that have features in common with those defined by Brown. Although these two systems are not directly analogous, the findings of this study suggest correlations between natural- and mining-induced caving and will significantly increase the understanding of cave mining processes.CITATION:Klawitter, M, 2016. Natural caving systems as potential analogues to mining-induced caving, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), p 890 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).