Slope Stability Analysis of the Overburden Dump of Meghahatuburu Iron Ore Mines in Singhbhum Region of India

Abstract

Failure of overburden dumps is a common problem among major opencast mines across the world. In recent years, as technology advanced, the production capacity of opencast mines increased exponentially, resulting in large overburden dumps prone to hazardous mishaps. Meghahatuburu Iron Ore Mines (MIOM), with an annual capacity of 6.5 million tonnes, is currently facing similar issues with its waste dump. Slope failure in the overburden dump threatens the mine as it can bring the mining activities to a standstill. In this context, the digital surface model of the overburden dump is generated using Total Station and Differential Global Positioning Systems survey data. Further, 22 cross sections are drawn, each 50 meters (m) apart, using Global Mapper v.20 software. The factor of safety of each cross-section is calculated using GeoStudio 2019 Student Version by implementing the Morgenstern-Price method. According to the results, the calculated factor of safety ranges from 1.45 to 6.577 with cross section 7, 8, 11 and 12 showing high vulnerability to slope failure. For the prevention of spoil dump failure, these cross sections were simulated after application of nailing and anchoring. The renewed FoS was calculated and a cost-effective, optimised recommendation plan is suggested.