Assessment of the influence of the slope stability conditions of an inactive open-pit mine on the design of a nearby highway

Abstract

This paper presents a review of the literature on the design of public roads in the vicinity of open-pit mines, focusing on the latter's impact on slope stability. It then presents a case study on the design of a major new regional highway along the crest of an abandoned mine in the city of Thetford Mines, Québec, Canada. The first step involved a back analysis of a recent slope failure close to the location of the planned highway in order to derive rock mass properties at the slope scale. Analyses were conducted using the Shear Strength Reduction (SSR) method coupled with finite element (FE) modeling as well as the limit equilibrium analysis (LE) method. Airborne LiDAR surveying results were used in order to calibrate and validate the models. Forward modelling was then performed to assess future slope stability

    Similar works