Abstract: In No. 2 Mining Area of Jinchuan Nickel Mine, mining operation has been down to deeper position, and undercut-and-fill stoping method is used. In the original design, there were a series of separating pillars which werc 20m wide and spaced at 80m along the orebody's strike. Due to inefficlency and difficulty ofmining excavation according to this design, an alternative design without pillars is suggested. This paper usesnonlinear FEM modeling to study stability status of stoping areas. Through systcmatical comparison of stress,displacement and plastic zones in surrounding rock of the stoping areas, it is proved that the mining methodwithout pillars is reasonable and feasible. The analysis results provide a scientific basis for optimization of miningdesign.