GUIDELINES FOR

OPEN PIT SLOPE DESIGN

EDITORS: JOHN

#
CSIRO
PUBLISHING

READ, PETER STACEY

&
J

Contents

Preface
1

and

xiii

acknowledgments

Fundamentals of

slope design

Peter Stacey
1.1

Introduction

1.2

Pit

1
1

slope designs
Safety/social

factors

1.2.1

1.3

1.2.2

Economic factors

1.2.3

Environmental and

1.3.3

Rockfall

Formulation of

slope designs

1.4.1

Introduction

1.4.2

Geotechnical model

1.4.3

Data

uncertainty (Chapter 8)
Acceptance criteria (Chapter 9)
Slope design methods (Chapter 10)
Design implementation (Chapter 11)

1.4.7
1.4.8
1.4.9

4
4

1.4.6

1.7

1.3.2

1.4.5

1.6

regulatory factors

Slope configurations
Instability

1.4.4

1.5

Terminology of slope design

1.3.1

1.4

Slope evaluation and monitoring (Chapter 12)

Risk management (Chapter 13)
Closure (Chapter 14)

Design requirements by project

1.5.1
Project development
1.5.2
Study requirements

level

Review

8
9
10
10
11
11

11
11

12
12

1.6.1

Overview

12

1.6.2

Review levels

14

1.6.3

Geotechnically competent

person

Conclusion

14
14

Field data collection

15

John Read, Jarek Jakubec and GeoffBeale

2.1

Introduction

2.2

Outcrop mapping

logging

15

Introduction

15

2.2.2

General

17

2.2.4

2.4

and

2.2.1

2.2.3

2.3

15

geotechnical logging
Mapping for structural analyses
Surface geophysical techniques

Overburden soils

logging

19
22
23

2.3.1

Classification

23

2.3.2

Strength and relative density

26

Core

drilling

and

logging

26

vi

Guidelines for Open Pit Slope Design

Introduction

2.4.2

Planning

2.4.3

Drill hole location and collar surveying

27

2.4.4

Core barrels

27

2.4.5

Downhole surveying

27

2.4.6

Core orientation

28

2.4.7

Core

2.4.8

Core

sampling,

2.4.9

Core

logging

2.4.10
2.5

26

2.4.1

and

26

scoping

Downhole

storage and

32
39

geophysical techniques

40

Groundwater data collection

groundwater

Approach

2.5.2

Tests conducted

2.5.3

Piezometer installation

2.5.4

Guidance notes: installation of test wells for

to

during

RC

Data

42

drilling

Hydraulic
Setting up pilot depressurisation trials
tests

2.5.6

40

data collection

2.5.1

2.5.5

44

pit slope
47
49
51

52

management

52

Endnotes

31

preservation

depressurisation

2.6

29

handling and documentation

Geological

model

53

John Read and Luke Keeney

3.1

Introduction

53

3.2

Physical setting

53

3.3

Ore

environments

55

3.3.2
3.3.3

Porphyry deposits
Epithermal deposits

56

3.3.4

Kimberlites

56

3.3.5

VMS

57

3.3.7

deposits
Skarn deposits
Stratabound deposits

3.4

Geotechnical

3.5

Regional seismicity

3.6

55

Introduction

3.3.6

body

3.3.1

requirements

57
57

59
62

3.5.1

Distribution of

3.5.2

Seismic risk data

Regional

55

earthquakes

stress

Structural model

62
65
66

69

John Read
4.1

Introduction

69

4.2

Model

4.3

components
Major structures

69

4.2.1
4.2.2

Fabric

75

69

Geological environments

76

4.3.1

Introduction

76

4.3.2

Intrusive

76

Contents

4.3.3

Sedimentary
Metamorphic

4.3.4
4.4

Structural
4.4.2

modelling tools
modelling
Stereographic projection

4.4.3

Discrete fracture network

4.5

77
77

modelling

79

Structural domain definition

General

4.5.2

Example application

Rock

4.5.1

80

guidelines

80
80

model

mass

Antonio Karzulovic and

83
John Read

5.1

Introduction

83

5.2

Intact rock

83

5.3

5.4

5.5

77

Solid

4.4.1

76
77

strength

5.2.1

Introduction

83

5.2.2

Index properties

85

5.2.3

Mechanical

88

5.2.4

Special conditions

Strength

properties

92

of structural defects

5.3.1

Terminology

5.3.2

Defect

94

and classification

94

strength

94

Rock mass classification

117

5.4.1

Introduction

117

5.4.2

RMR, Bieniawski

117

5.4.3

Laubscher IRMR and MRMR

119

5.4.4

Hoek-Brown GSI

123

Rock

mass

strength

127

5.5.1

Introduction

127

5.5.2

Laubscher

127

5.5.3

strength criteria
Hoek-Brown strength criterion

5.5.4

CNI criterion

130

5.5.5

Directional rock

5.5.6

Synthetic rock mass

Hydrogeological

mass

128

strength

132

model

138

model

141

Geoff Beak
6.1

Hydrogeology

slope engineering

Introduction

6.1.2

Porosity

6.1.3

General mine

6.1.4

Making the
Developing a slope depressurisation program

6.1.5

6.2

and

6.1.1

141

and pore pressure

141

dewatering and localised pore pressure

decision to depressurise

Background

to

141

groundwater hydraulics

control

146
148
151

151

6.2.1

Groundwater flow

151

6.2.2

Porous-medium (intergranular) groundwater settings

Fracture-flow groundwater settings

154

6.2.3
6.2.4

Influences

6.2.5

Mechanisms

fracturing
controlling

on

and

groundwater

pore pressure reduction

156
161
163

vii

viii

Guidelines for Open

Pit

Slope Design

6.3

6.4

6.5

Developing a conceptual hydrogeological model of pit slopes

6.3.1
Integrating the pit slope model into the regional model
6.3.2
Conceptual mine scale hydrogeological model
Detailed hydrogeological model of pit slopes
6.3.3
Numerical

Introduction

6.4.2

Numerical

6.4.3
6.4.4

applications
Pit slope scale numerical modelling
Numerical modelling for pit slope pore

6.4.5

Coupling pore pressure and geotechnical

167

dewatering
169
173

pressures

175

models

179
180

slope depressurisation program

6.5.2

Specific programs for control of

180

dewatering

181
192

6.5.4

pit slope pressures

Selecting a slope depressurisation method
Use of blasting to open up drainage pathways

6.5.5

Water

and control

192

management

192

195

Areas for future research

195

6.6.1

Introduction

6.6.2

Relative pore pressure behaviour between

order fractures

6.6.4
6.6.5

high-order

and low195

the interaction between pore pressure and

Standardising
geotechnical models
Investigation of transient pore pressures
Coupled pore pressure and geotechnical modelling

John

196

197
197

201

Geotechnical model
Alan Guest and

Read

7.1

Introduction

201

7.2

Constructing the geotechnical model

201

Required output
Model development
Building the model
Block modelling approach

201

7.2.1

7.2.2
7.2.3
7.2.4

7.3

models for mine scale

General mine

6.6.3

hydrogeological

6.5.1

6.5.3

6.6

166

168

6.4.1

166

168

hydrogeological models

Implementing

166

Applying

the

geotechnical

202

205

206

model

7.3.1

Scale effects

7.3.2
7.3.3

Classification systems
Hoek-Brown rock mass

7.3.4

Pore pressure considerations

Data

202

206
210

strength

criterion

210
211

213

uncertainty

John Read
213

8.1

Introduction

8.2

Causes of data

uncertainty

213

8.3

Impact of data uncertainty

213

8.4

Quantifying data uncertainty

215

8.4.1

Overview

8.4.2

Subjective

215
assessment

215

Contents

8.4.3
8.5

8.5.2

Summary and conclusions

Wesseloo and

Introduction

9.2

Factor of

Tolerable factors of safety

criterion

of failure

design criterion
Acceptable levels of PoF
as a

10.1

224

225

Cost-benefit

9.4.3

Risk model process

228

9.4.4

Formulating acceptance criteria

Slope angles and levels of confidence

232

analysis

Summary

Lorig,

Peter

226

234
235

237

Stacey and John Read

Introduction

237

Design steps
Design analyses

Kinematic

analyses

237
238
239

10.2.1

Benches

239

10.2.2

Inter-ramp slopes

244

Rock

mass

analyses

246

10.3.1

Overview

246

10.3.2

246

10.3.3

Empirical methods
Limit equilibrium methods

10.3.4

Numerical methods

253

10.3.5

Summary recommendations

263

Peter Williams,

11.2

223

9.4.2

Design implementation
11.1

223

225

10.1.2

10.3

223

Introduction

10.1.1

10.2

221

9.4.1

Slope design methods

Loren

219

Risk model

9.4.5
9.5

219

221

9.2.2

9.3.2
9.4

safety
as a design

PoF

216

221

FoS

9.3.1

216

221

9.2.1

Probability

216

John Read

9.1

9.3

11

Geotechnical reporting system

Assessment criteria checklist

Acceptance criteria
]ohan

10

frequency concepts

Reporting data uncertainty

8.5.1

8.6

Relative

John Floyd,

248

265

Gideon Chitombo and Trevor Maton

Introduction

265

Mine

265

planning aspects of slope design

11.2.1

Introduction

265

11.2.2

Open pit design philosophy

Open pit design process
Application of slope design criteria in mine design
Summary and conclusions

265

11.2.3
11.2.4
11.2.5

267
268
276

Guidelines for Open Pit Slope Design

11.3

Controlled

276

11.3.2

Design terminology
Blast damage mechanisms
Influence of geology on blast-induced damage
Controlled blasting techniques
Delay configuration
Design implementation
Performance monitoring and analysis
Design refinement
Design platform
Planning and optimisation cycle

277

11.3.4
11.3.5
11.3.6
11.3.7
11.3.8
11.3.9
11.3.10
11.3.11

Excavation and

Risk

299
305
306

310

Artificial support
Basic approaches

313

313
313

11.5.2

Stabilisation, repair and support methods

314

11.5.3

Design considerations

315

11.5.4

Economic considerations

316

11.5.5

Safety considerations
Specific situations

317

11.5.7

Reinforcement

318

11.5.8

Rockfall protection

Hawley,

317

measures

Scott Marisett,

325

measures

monitoring

327

Geoff Beale and Peter Stacey

Assessing slope performance

327

12.1.1

Introduction

327

12.1.2

Geotechnical model validation and refinement

327

12.1.3

Bench

329

12.1.6

13

296

312

12.1.5

12.3

294

Scaling and bench cleanup

Evaluation of bench design achievement

12.1.4

12.2

292

310

scaling

Performance assessment and

12.1

282

11.4.2

11.5.6

Mark

279

Excavation

11.5.1

12

278

11.4.1

11.4.3

11.5

276

Introduction

11.3.3

11.4

blasting

11.3.1

performance
Inter-ramp slope performance
Overall slope performance
Summary and conclusions

337
339
342

Slope monitoring

342

12.2.1

Introduction

12.2.2

Movement

monitoring systems

12.2.3

Guidelines

on

Ground control

342
the execution of

343

monitoring programs

management plans

12.3.1

Introduction

12.3.2

Hazard management

363
370
370

plan

371

management

381

Ted Brown and Alison Booth

13.1

Introduction
13.1.1

381

13.1.2

Background
Purpose and

13.1.3

Sources of information

381
content of this

chapter

381
382

Contents

13.2

Overview of risk management

Definitions

13.2.2

General risk management process

383

13.2.3

Risk management in the minerals industry

384

383

Geotechnical risk management for open

13.3

13.4

Risk assessment

13.5

14

383

13.2.1

pit slopes

methodologies

385
389

13.4.1

Approaches

to risk assessment

13.4.2

Risk identification

389

13.4.3

Risk analysis

391

13.4.4

Risk evaluation

395

389

Risk

mitigation

396

13.5.1

Overview

396

13.5.2

Hierarchy of controls

13.5.3

Geotechnical control

13.5.4

Mitigation plans

13.5.5

Monitoring,

398
measures

398

399

review and feedback

Open pit closure

400

401

Dirk van Zyl

Introduction

14.1
14.2

Mine closure

14.3

401

planning for

open

pits

Introduction

14.2.2

Closure planning for new mines

403

14.2.3

Closure

403

14.2.4

Risk assessment and

403

planning

for

existing

mines

management

Open pit closure planning

Closure goals and criteria

405
405

14.3.1

405

14.3.2

Site characterisation

14.3.3

Ore

14.3.4

Surface water diversion

409

14.3.5

Pit water balance

409

14.3.6

Pit lake

409

14.3.7

14.3.8
14.3.9

14.3.10
14.4

403

14.2.1

body

characteristics and

water

407

mining approach

quality

risk

408

Ecological
Pit wall stability

410

Pit

412

assessment

410

access

Reality of open pit

closure

412

Open pit closure activities and post-closure monitoring

412

14.4.1

Closure activities

412

14.4.2

Post-closure

412

14.5

monitoring

Conclusions

412

Endnotes

Appendix

413

415

Groundwater data collection

Appendix

Essential statistical and

431

probability theory

xi

xii

Guidelines for Open Pit Slope Design

Appendix

437

Influence of in situ stresses

Evert Hoek, Jean

Appendix
Risk

on

open

447

management: geotechnical

Appendix

pit design

Hutchinson, Kathy Kalenchuk and Mark Diederichs

hazard checklists

459

Example regulations
Terminology

and

for open

definitions

pit closure
462

References

467

Index

487