Conclusion
Water pressure due to groundwater presence has a great influence on the open pit slope stability and for that reason the risk of slope instability is dependent on water level in the slope. Factor of safety could be reduced from 1,3 to 1.0 if the water level increases. In all cases in open pit mining practice more than 40% of slope instability risks depend on groundwater conditions in the slope, To prevent slope failure, effective drainage system can be installed, and other factors can remain unchanged. The importance of controlling water surface in open pit slope is emphasized. In general, increasing the open pit slope angle and decreasing the failure risks, is directly proportional to effective drainage system.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hoek, E. and Bray, J.W., Rock Slope Engineering, IMM, London, (1981).
Huang, Y.H., Stability analysis of Earth Slopes, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, pp 48–50 (1983)
Mandzic, E H., Rainwater inflow influence on open pit rock slope activities, Proc. of 31st U.S. Symposium, Rock Mechanics Contribution and Challinges, Golden USA, pp 737–742 (1990)
Mandzic, E.H., Stability of unstable final slope in deep open iron mine, Proc. of 5th Int. Symp. on Landslides, Lausanne, pp 455–459 (1988)
Terasik, D.R. and McWilliams, P.C, Factor of Safety Charts for Estimating the Stability of Saturated and Unsaturated Tailings Pond Embankments, Bureau of Mines Report of Investigation/1981, RI 8564, US Department of the Interior
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mandzic, H. Mine water risk in open pit slope stability. Mine Water and The Environment 11, 35–42 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02918446
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02918446