Stability Analysis of a Mine Waste Dump over an Existing Dump

Abstract

Dump slope stability is an important activity in the life of an opencast mine. This is because of the safety to mine, machine and personnel as well as economic impact on production. In this paper, stability of heightening of an existing dump is analyzed using analytical method. The waste dump material properties are determined in the laboratory like the cohesion, angle of internal friction, permeability, bulk density, grain density, particle size distribution and in-situ moisture content. The stability of the dump slope is simulated for two extreme conditions of very dry and a wet environmental conditions. Analysis shows that the effects of water on dump stability is more prominent than its bulk density. In these situations, it is pertinent to use the slope stability measures or change the dump profile for better dump stability. In this paper, methodology is developed to ascertain the stability of the existing dump as well as stability analysis by heightening over the older dumps.