Assessment of In-Pit Waste Rock Buttresses
During the closure planning, the Zone of Instability (ZOI) initially determined for the client’s pit intersected the existing waste rock dump adjacent to the pit crest. This indicated that it was necessary for some of the existing waste rock dump material to be relocated.
SRK carried out an assessment of in-pit dumping of waste rock to improve long-term slope stability and thereby reduce the outward extent of the ZOI. This was done to minimise the volumes of waste rock dump material requiring removal. As part of the assessment, SRK reviewed the geological conditions and geotechnical parameters at the pit and assessed the likely long-term behaviour of the pit slopes.
