The paper describes an R& D programme carried out on Cempak, a proposed stope support system for deep, tabular, hard rock gold and platinum mines; which looks in particular into the issue of convergence after attainment of peak load. Cempak fundamentally comprises square or rectangular, low-strength grout packs, reinforced internally by sheets of successive, horizontal, parallel layers of ductile steel welded mesh. Laboratory and underground trials have checked and confirmed the design method and Cempak’s load-bearing and yielding properties. Grout pack systems have lost popularity in the South African gold-mining industry, and Cempak has failed to capture any share of this shrinking market. An  opportunity has however arisen at certain of the larger and deeper platinum mines. Cempak has been asked by the Lonmin Group to participate in a
comprehensive programme where Cempak’s claimed properties will again be checked and tested in the laboratory as well as undergroun.