For the first time in 30 years, open pit mining is experiencing an overhall with a new set of guidelines released; the CSIRO’s Minerals Down Under National Research Flagship’s Large Open Pit research project was instrumental in developing the document.
The new guidelines for open pit slope design, called ‚Guidelines For Open Pit Slope Design’, aim to address many of the uncertainties surrounding the development of large open pit mines.
Open pit mining is an efficient way to mine many deposits, but there are complications, according to CSIRO.
“Make the slope of the pit too shallow and you have to move millions of additional tonnes of valueless overburden. But if it’s too steep, you risk failure with subsequent risk to people and property,” the organisation said.
Up until now, the only handbook of this type available to open pit mine slope design practitioners including engineering geologists, geotechnical engineers, mining engineers, civil engineers and mine managers has been the CANMET manual last published in 1977.
The new Guidelines For Open Pit Slope Design was officially released at the Slope Stability conference in Santiago, Chile, on 9 November .
It is a direct outcome of the CSIRO Minerals Down Under National Research Flagship’s Large Open Pit research project and comprises 14 chapters that follow the life of mine sequence from project development to closure, CSIRO said.