SLOPE STABILITY ASSESSMENT OF SOME WASTE ROCK DUMPS AT A TYPICAL GOLD MINE IN GHANA

Authors

  • Solomon Obeng Sarpong University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana
  • Boluwaji Muriana Olaleye The Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria
  • Festus Kunkyin-Saadaari University of Mines and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8202-2021
  • George Agyei University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4314/njt.v42i1.10

Keywords:

Factor of Safety, Janbu Generalised Method, Waste Rock Dumps, Slope Stability, Pseudo-Static

Abstract

Mining results in both economic and uneconomic materials being generated. The uneconomic materials (wastes) are stacked in a convenient place for further use or stored permanently as a slope or embankment. In Ghana, a typical gold mine set up dumping sites to accommodate the waste generated from its operations. Samples were collected from three waste dumps and tested in the laboratory, and the parameters obtained were used as input for 2D model development. The Factor of Safety (FS) of the three waste dumps were determined using the Janbu Generalised slope stability analysis method. Path and slope surface (circular and non-circular) search methods were used for the three cases. The FS for the waste dumps were determined and ranged from 1.61-2.74, 1.49-2.50 and 1.32-2.10 under dry, static and pseudo-static loading conditions, respectively. These values exceed the minimum requirements of 1.1-1.5 for stability conditions. The geometry of the waste dumps, Suraw Waste Dump (SWD), is within the standard and hence, does not require reshaping, while the slope angles for the remaining waste dumps, Tano Waste Dump (TWD) and Akoti Waste Dump (AWD) need to be reshaped to achieve the proposed slope angle of 3H:1V (18.40 degrees) as stipulated in the mine’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Author Biographies

  • Solomon Obeng Sarpong, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana

    S. O. Sarpong is the Chief Geotechnical Engineer and head of the Geotechnical Section at Chirano Gold Mines, a subsidiary of Kinross Gold Mines. He holds a BSc in Geological Engineering from the University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana, and currently reading for a Postgraduate Diploma in Mining Engineering at the same University. He is a certified mine shift boss by the Minerals Commission (Ghana). Solomon has been in the mining industry as a geotechnical engineer for open pit and underground mines for over a decade.

  • Boluwaji Muriana Olaleye, The Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

    B. M. Olaleye is a Professor of Mining Engineering and former Head of the Department of Mining Engineering at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. He holds the degrees of M. Eng. and PhD in Mining Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. He is a Registered Engineer with the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and the Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG). He is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Mining Engineers. His research and consultancy work covers Rock Mechanic and Rock Engineering, Rock Characterization and Rock Slope Stability Investigation.

  • Festus Kunkyin-Saadaari, University of Mines and Technology

    F. Kunkyin-Saadaari is a Lecturer at the Mining Engineering Department of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa. He obtained his PhD and BSc degrees in Mining Engineering at UMaT. He is also a member of professional societies such as the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM), the American Rock Mechanic Association (ARMA), and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM). His research interests include Mine Reclamation and Rehabilitation, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Intelligent Rock Mechanics and Excavation Stability, Rock Mass Characterisation, Slope Stability, and Underground and Surface Mining.

  • George Agyei, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana

    G. Agyei is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Mining Engineering in the University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa. He holds a BEng in Mining Engineering from Moa Higher Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Cuba, an MBA in General Management from Educatis University, Altdorf, Switzerland and a PhD in Minerals Beneficiation from the Moa Higher Institute of Mining and Metallofurgy. His main research interests are Process Mineralogy, Minerals Beneficiation and Sustainable Development.

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Published

2023-05-07

Issue

Section

Building, Civil & Geotechnical Engineering

How to Cite

SLOPE STABILITY ASSESSMENT OF SOME WASTE ROCK DUMPS AT A TYPICAL GOLD MINE IN GHANA. (2023). Nigerian Journal of Technology, 42(1), 83-91. https://doi.org/10.4314/njt.v42i1.10