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Slope Stability in a Mining Environment M'haoudatt-Zouerate Site, Mauritania

Received: 12 August 2021    Accepted: 25 August 2021    Published: 6 September 2021
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Abstract

The instability of the M'HAOUDATT pit is a major problem often encountered on the wall composed of a network of fractures located in unfavorable conditions for a very soft geological formation. Therefore, the trend in large open-pit mines is to use high-energy blasting to increase conveying performance and crusher throughput. The increase in blasting energy concentration can threaten the integrity of the pit wall. In this paper, we aim to find a suitable plan to stabilize the pit deposit, through analyses of structural and lithological data on the pit walls, with an interpretation of the lateral and depth extensions according to the geological complexity of the deposit. Followed by an analytical treatment of the current pit parameters. Data processing included core classification, kinematic assessment of failure mechanisms based on visual observations on the exposed faces of the expected pit. The results of the laboratory tests were also used to define the rock mass parameters used to establish a stable slope design. The analyses showed the need for an effective strategy to ensure that the slopes won’t be damaged by blasting. This wall control strategy aims to produce a fragmented bulk ore pile and a slope as designed and in good condition. A good understanding of the failure mechanisms is necessary to ensure better monitoring of the rock slopes of the M'HAOUDATT pit.

Published in American Journal of Energy Engineering (Volume 9, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajee.20210903.13
Page(s) 85-90
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

M'haoudatt, Tiris Zemmour, Pit Slope, Hematite

References
[1] Bieniawski, Z. T. 1976. Rock mass classifications in rock engineering; In Exploration of Rock Engineering, Z. T. Bieniawski (ed.) A. A. Balkema, Cape Town.
[2] Bishop A. W., The use of the slip circle in the stability analysis of slopes. Geotechnics, V5.
[3] Roc science Inc. (1989-2002), Dips, Plotting, Analysis and Presentation of Structural Data.
[4] AFILAKA J. O., 1988, Analyse de la stabilité des talus en mines à ciel ouvert, approche probabiliste, application à la mine de Carmaux. Thèse Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris.
[5] ROMANA M., SERON J. B. and MONTALAR E. (2003), SMR Geomechanics classification: Application, experience and validation, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain.
[6] GENEVIEVE A. (2000), Étude et programmation de l'algorithme du flot maximum appliqué aux problèmes de contours ultimes dans une mine à ciel ouvert, Mémoire Maitrise es Sciences appliqués, École Polytechnique de Montréal, CANADA.
[7] BONNART J. M., FEUGA B. et ROCHE J., 1981 Carmaux - Stabilité des talus réalisés dans les formations tertiaires, BRGM, 81 SGN 355 MPY, Mars 1981.
[8] Atchison, T. C. and Puglies, J. M, Comparative studies of explosives in granite. II series of tesis, U.S. bureau of mines, R. I. 6434, 1964.
[9] CROQUET P., WOJTKOWIAK F., 1990 Boulonnage par câbles d'ancrage des excavations minières en massif rocheux fracturé. Ind. Minérale - Mines et Carrières.
[10] Hino K, Fragmentation of Rock Through Blasting. J. Ind. Exp. Soc, (1956), Japan.
[11] HADADOU R., 1988 Etude de la stabilité de la découverte des Fouthiaux- Houillères de Blanzy. Application du programme SARMA. Mémoire de DEA. Laboratoire de Mécanique des Terrains. Ecole des Mines de Nancy, 1988.
[12] Philipponat G. (1979). Fondations et ouvrages en terre. Ed. Eyrolles. Paris. 402 p.
[13] Campy M., Macaire J. J., (2003). Géologie de la surface. Erosion, transfert et stockage dans les environnements continentaux. Dunod. Paris. 488 p.
[14] Simakine V. (1986). Projet d’exploitation du gisement calcaire Medjounès pour une période de cinq années de 1985 à 1990. Notice explicative. Rapport inédit. U.R.E.G. 35 P.
[15] Dawson, E. M., Roth, W. H., and Drescher, A. 1999. Slope Stability Analysis by Strength Reduction, Geotechnique, vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 835-840.
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  • APA Style

    Ahmed Hemed, Latifa Ouadif. (2021). Slope Stability in a Mining Environment M'haoudatt-Zouerate Site, Mauritania. American Journal of Energy Engineering, 9(3), 85-90. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajee.20210903.13

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    ACS Style

    Ahmed Hemed; Latifa Ouadif. Slope Stability in a Mining Environment M'haoudatt-Zouerate Site, Mauritania. Am. J. Energy Eng. 2021, 9(3), 85-90. doi: 10.11648/j.ajee.20210903.13

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    AMA Style

    Ahmed Hemed, Latifa Ouadif. Slope Stability in a Mining Environment M'haoudatt-Zouerate Site, Mauritania. Am J Energy Eng. 2021;9(3):85-90. doi: 10.11648/j.ajee.20210903.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajee.20210903.13,
      author = {Ahmed Hemed and Latifa Ouadif},
      title = {Slope Stability in a Mining Environment M'haoudatt-Zouerate Site, Mauritania},
      journal = {American Journal of Energy Engineering},
      volume = {9},
      number = {3},
      pages = {85-90},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajee.20210903.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajee.20210903.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajee.20210903.13},
      abstract = {The instability of the M'HAOUDATT pit is a major problem often encountered on the wall composed of a network of fractures located in unfavorable conditions for a very soft geological formation. Therefore, the trend in large open-pit mines is to use high-energy blasting to increase conveying performance and crusher throughput. The increase in blasting energy concentration can threaten the integrity of the pit wall. In this paper, we aim to find a suitable plan to stabilize the pit deposit, through analyses of structural and lithological data on the pit walls, with an interpretation of the lateral and depth extensions according to the geological complexity of the deposit. Followed by an analytical treatment of the current pit parameters. Data processing included core classification, kinematic assessment of failure mechanisms based on visual observations on the exposed faces of the expected pit. The results of the laboratory tests were also used to define the rock mass parameters used to establish a stable slope design. The analyses showed the need for an effective strategy to ensure that the slopes won’t be damaged by blasting. This wall control strategy aims to produce a fragmented bulk ore pile and a slope as designed and in good condition. A good understanding of the failure mechanisms is necessary to ensure better monitoring of the rock slopes of the M'HAOUDATT pit.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    AU  - Ahmed Hemed
    AU  - Latifa Ouadif
    Y1  - 2021/09/06
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajee.20210903.13
    T2  - American Journal of Energy Engineering
    JF  - American Journal of Energy Engineering
    JO  - American Journal of Energy Engineering
    SP  - 85
    EP  - 90
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2329-163X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajee.20210903.13
    AB  - The instability of the M'HAOUDATT pit is a major problem often encountered on the wall composed of a network of fractures located in unfavorable conditions for a very soft geological formation. Therefore, the trend in large open-pit mines is to use high-energy blasting to increase conveying performance and crusher throughput. The increase in blasting energy concentration can threaten the integrity of the pit wall. In this paper, we aim to find a suitable plan to stabilize the pit deposit, through analyses of structural and lithological data on the pit walls, with an interpretation of the lateral and depth extensions according to the geological complexity of the deposit. Followed by an analytical treatment of the current pit parameters. Data processing included core classification, kinematic assessment of failure mechanisms based on visual observations on the exposed faces of the expected pit. The results of the laboratory tests were also used to define the rock mass parameters used to establish a stable slope design. The analyses showed the need for an effective strategy to ensure that the slopes won’t be damaged by blasting. This wall control strategy aims to produce a fragmented bulk ore pile and a slope as designed and in good condition. A good understanding of the failure mechanisms is necessary to ensure better monitoring of the rock slopes of the M'HAOUDATT pit.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • 3GIE Laboratory, Mohammedia School of Engineering, Med V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco

  • 3GIE Laboratory, Mohammedia School of Engineering, Med V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco

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