Using the Latest Advances in Geotechnical Analysis to Optimise

Design,ReduceMiningCosts,andImproveRevenue
Optimum geotechnical design is one of the key factors that can reduce mining costs and improve
profitability. The aim of a highquality geotechnical design is to reduce the costs and improve
production without any compromise on safety. Research and continuous improvement in the
geotechnicalengineeringfieldandaccesstomoreadvancedanalyticaltools,e.g.inelasticnumerical
modelling, has facilitated more accurate geotechnical predictions and therefore a more optimized
geotechnicaldesigncanbeachieved.
In openpit mines, slope design is a key factor that can impact the mines financials. In some
circumstancesafivedegreedifferenceinstackanglescanimproveNPVbyupto15%(Terbruggeet
al,2006).Slopeanglesaredominantlycontrolledbygeotechnicalconsiderations.
Forundergroundmines,oreloss,dilution,developmentandgroundsupportarekeyfactorsthatplay
acriticalroleinthefinancialviabilityofanyundergroundminingoperation.Allthesefactorscanbe
influencedtovariouslevelsbygeotechnicalaspects.
Higherthanexpectedwastedilutioncanpotentiallydecreaseoregradeandcausesignificantlossof
profit.Insomecircumstances,anadditionalonemetreofdilutioncanpotentiallyresultinupto15%
lossofprofit(forexampleassumingNPV=$140m,thisequatesto$21mloss).
Unexpectedorelosscanalsodecreaserevenuesubstantially.Byoptimizingdesigns,anincreasein
orerecoveryof1%couldincreaserevenueupto$3mperyearforsomeminingoperations.
Development and ground support can be optimized using most recent geotechnical analysis tools.
Coupledwithdetailedcostbenefitanalysis,therecanbesignificantimprovementstotheoperations
revenuestream.
Capital development (ramps, infrastructure, etc.) should be designed to sustain limited damage
given the critical nature of most capital development. Operating development (ore drives, draw
points, etc.) can normally sustain a degree of damage and rehabilitation compared to capital
development, but can be optimized in terms of design, ground support intensity, or rehabilitation
requirements. The cost benefit analysis, using recently developed analytical tools, assists with the
economicdecisionmakingprocesstoselectthepreferredoption(seefiguresbelow).

AMCsexperienceinvariousundergroundmineshasshownthatwastedilutionpredictionaccuracy
canbeimprovedbyupto50%,usingtheseadvancedanalyticalmethods(seefiguresbelow).These
methods could also facilitate ore loss predictions, which traditionally could not be assessed
quantitativelyusingthetraditionaldesignmethods.
Moreaccurateorelossanddilutionpredictionsresultinoptimumstopesizedesign,improvedmine
planning,realisticmineschedules,andtherefore,reducedminingcostswithimprovedrevenue.
Inopenpitenvironments,thenewanalyticalmethodscanprovideamorerealisticandpotentially
less conservative representation of rock mass stability state. Through numerous studies, AMC has
found in most circumstances, the use of advanced analytical tools can substantially reduce the
predictedprobabilityoffailureorimprovethepredictedfactorsofsafety.Thismeansthatwithout
anycompromisetosafety,theslopeanglescanbesteepenedandstillmeettheminesacceptability
criteria(seefiguresbelow).
Significant advantages of these new analytical methods include the ability to provide more
quantitativeinformation whencompared toempirical methods.Inmany cases,theseassessments
canprovidequantitativeanswerstogeotechnicalquestions,providingoperationsandmanagement
increasedconfidenceoftheoverallminedesignsandassessments.


One of the common mistakes often made by numerical modellers/geotechnical analysts, when
conductingtheseadvancedanalysis,istheirtendencytoincorporateasmuchdetailaspossibleinto
the numerical models (e.g. faults, detailed geometries, discontinuities, etc.) to come up with
deterministicanswers.
The problem with the above approach is that the resulting models become so complicated that it
willbevirtuallyimpossibletounderstandthemaingeotechnicalcontrollingfactors.Asaresult,these
modelscanprovidesatisfactoryanswersonlyifallinitialassumptionsarecorrect.
However,itiswellunderstoodthatminingandgeotechnicalparameterscanrapidlychangeduring
the life of mine and more information can become available, which may require a complete re
analysiswiththenewinputs.
Asuitablegeotechnicaldesignshouldbeflexibleenoughtoallowforreasonablevariationofinputs
and the ability to reanalyse quickly when new information is available. AMC has developed
modelling/analysisproceduresthatallowforthiskindofdesign(contactAMCformoreinformation).
The numerical models constructed for this design method are quite flexible and most parameters
like mine geometries, faults/discontinuities, etc. can be changed easily after the initial models are
constructed. This allows for sensitivity analysis to be conducted and geotechnical design
charts/equations to be derived for future mining. In addition, these models can later be used by
minepersonnelfordaytodaygeotechnicalassessments.
It is important to note that these design methods often require close collaboration between
technical specialists from different fields, and cannot be done only by numerical modellers or
geotechnical analysts.As aresult, the mosteffectivegeotechnicaldesignis theonethatiscarried
outinateamasshownbelow:

Geologistandengineeringgeologiststodefinegeotechnicaldomains.
Engineering geologists and structural geologists to characterize rock mass and identify key
structures.
Draftingengineerstocollategeotechnicalinformationandminegeometriesandconvertthem
into2Dor3Dgeometries.
Analytical geotechnical engineers and numerical modellers to analyse and evaluate the
currentsystemsandoptimizethefuturegeotechnicaldesign.
Softwareengineerstocontinuouslydeveloporimprovetheanalyticaltools.
Geotechnical engineers with a practical background to evaluate the practicality of new
designs.
Mining engineers and mine planners to assess the suitability of the optimized designs, the
economic implications and to modify mine design or propose alternative design for
geotechnicalreevaluation.

There is often a perception that the advanced analytical methods are more expensive and time
consuming than conventional methods. However, with continuous improvements in available
softwareprogramsandcurrentcomputingcapabilities,itcannowbeevencheaperandmoretime
effective than the traditional methods to conduct these new advanced analytical methods. For
example AMC can now conduct discontinuous inhomogeneous anisotropic nonelastic (DIANE)


analysistoasimilar(orlower)budgetandtimeframeasthosetraditionallyrequiredforcontinuous
homogenousisotropiclinearelastic(CHILE)analysis(clickhere).
IfyouwouldliketoknowmoreaboutthedetailsofthisarticlepleasecontactAbouzarVakiliorBen
Coombes(AMCSeniorGeotechnicalEngineers)atAMCsMelbourneoffice.