TIME SERIES INSAR ANALYSIS FOR SLOPE STABILITY MONITORING USING SENTINEL-1 IN OPEN PIT MINING

Abstract

Surface mining is an important economic activity in many regions where mineral resources are located close to the surface. The process of ore extraction is characterised by high pit walls with steep slopes. The mining process introduces significant stress and strain changes that could lead to movement on the slope face. Slope failure on the pit walls can occur without warning and can lead to loss of life and disruptions to the mining process. The monitoring of slopes remains the most reliable way to detect movement on unstable slopes. Therefore, slope monitoring programmes have been established to monitor and measure slope movement to help mine management with the stability status of open pit slopes. Conventional monitoring techniques include visual inspections and in situ instrumentation that are point-based, time-consuming, and costly. Open-source remote sensing techniques such as Synthetic Aperture Radar interferometry have been used to monitor slope movements on open-pit mine walls. Time series interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) can be used to overcome limitations of in-situ monitoring for monitoring slope movements in open-pit mines.