A major mining slope failure occurred in July 2012 on the East wall of the LAB Chrysotile mine in Canada. The major consequence of this failure was the loss of the local highway (Road 112), the main commercial link between the region and the Northeast USA. LiDAR scanning and subsequent analyses were performed and enabled quantifying the geometry and kinematics of the failure area. Using this information, this paper presents the back analysis of the July 2012 failure. The analyses are performed using deterministic and probabilistic limit equilibrium analysis and finite-element shear strength reduction analysis modelling. The impact of pit water infilling on the slope stability is investigated. The impact of the mining activity in 2011 in the lower part of the slope is also investigated through a parametric analysis.
In recent years, several large open-pit mines have started operating in the province of Quebec in Canada, and some of the largest planned pits are located close to public infrastructure. Historically, large open-pit mining has seldom been done in many mining regions, such as the Abitibi region, where underground mines are the norm. As an integral part of achieving social acceptability of openpit mining, the stability of mining slopes must be carefully analyzed during the design process and the presence of public infrastructure near the slopes must be adequately considered. The province of Quebec does not have specific guidelines regarding such design considerations. This paper provides a short overview of the literature on some current practices regarding mining slope design close to public infrastructure. To demonstrate its applicability in the Quebec provincial context, the paper then investigates the stability of the west wall of the LAB Chrysotile open-pit mine in Thetford Mines (Quebec) near the new Road 112. Deterministic and probabilistic analyses were conducted using finite element shear strength reduction and limit equilibrium methods to investigate slope stability. The impact of pit infilling and rapid dewatering as well as long-term stability of the slope were investigated. The results of all analyses reveal that the current mining slopes at LAB Chrysotile are within acceptable design criteria limits. KEYWORDS open-pit mining, slope stability, public infrastructure, deterministic and probabilistic analysis, case study.
CITATIONAmoushahi S, Grenon M, Locat J, & Turmel D. Deterministic and probabilistic stability analysis of a mining rock slope in the vicinity of a major public road-case study of the LAB Chrysotile mine in Canada.
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