Study of the dynamic stability of mine waste dumps

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 82, No. 927, 1989

B. Stuckert and J. Balfour, Piteau Engineering Ltd., D. Fawcett and P. Sheehan, Smoky River Coal Ltd., B. (Manas) Das, CANMET, Coal Research Laboratories

With the growth of large scale surface mining operations, waste disposal and stability of waste dumps pose a challenging problem to engineers. Vibrations due to blasting operations proximal to these dumps further complicates dump design. Many dumps which are statically stable may become unstable due to the effects of blasting vibrations. A joint project between CANMET and Smoky River Coal Ltd. has been initiated to study the dynamic stability of waste dumps. The study involves development of an analytical algorithm combined with field monitoring to assess dump performance. Another objective of the study is to provide baseline data for a vibration attentuation relationships for sedimentary rock (coal) environments: most studies to date are for base metal mines. The effect of dump thickness on vibration response is also addressed. The key objective of the study is to present a methodology for assessing the dynamic stability of waste dumps. Implicit in this methodology are a number of assumptions concerning vibration attenuation in sedimentary rock environments, and response of the dump material to induced vibration. Where possible, these assumptions have been compared with monitoring data as a check on their validity.

Keywords: Rock mechanics, Waste dumps, Surface mining, Blasting, Slope stability