2. Dump Slope Stability

In order to mine out the valuable minerals from the depths of the earth’s surface, huge amounts overlying material must be removed first. This overlying material, which in most cases is of no economic value to the mining operation, is called overburden (a mine waste), and has to be stored in the mine vicinity in order to keep on mining the underlying mineral effectively. Limited space available in a mining project renders it necessary for the overburden to be stored in form of dumps, which can reach huge dimensions as mining moves on to higher and higher stripping ratios. It hence becomes a necessity to ensure that these dumps are safe in all conditions and stages of mine working. Understanding of the mechanics and dynamics of the dumps and dump slopes therefore, becomes a crucial requirement for a mining engineers that will help them design safer dumps, simultaneously considering the economic aspects of mining. With this consideration, this chapter deals with a broad overview of the dumps and dump design, covering various details of the dumping methodologies, dump characterisations, and mechanics and dynamics of dump slope failure. Stress of this chapter is specifically focused on proper understanding of the various factors that affect the stability of the dump slopes.