Slope Stability 2013 P.M.

Dight (ed)
2013 Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, ISBN 978-0-9870937-5-2
Slope Stability 2013, Brisbane, Australia 425
A. Dodman Schlumberger Water Services, Australia
G. Beale Schlumberger Water Services, UK
J. Rodriguez Schlumberger Water Services, Australia
A. Cottrell BHP Billiton, Australia
J. Youngs BHP Billiton, Australia

Iron ore mining operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia are currently undergoing
unprecedented growth. Expansion of active open cut mines and development of new deposits below the
pre-mining water table, present significant challenges in terms of general mine dewatering and pit slope
depressurisation. Studies to characterise pore pressure behaviour have become a key component of the
mining cycle. Pore pressure inputs to geotechnical slope stability assessments and timely implementation of
mine drainage is essential to optimise slope design, performance and safety.
This paper presents a case study of a staged hydrogeological study for a large highwall at an active iron ore
mine in the Pilbara. The primary objective was to characterise pore pressures, provide input to slope design
studies and support management of pit slope depressurisation, ahead of an aggressive pushback. The bulk
stratigraphy is structurally complex, defined by alternating banded iron formation (BIF) and shale macro-
band sequences. Key geotechnical issues include a number of fault structures identified behind the final pit
wall which may require a high level of advanced depressurisation, saturated low permeability footwall shale
units and potential hydraulic connectivity between the local orebody groundwater system and a regional
dolomite aquifer.
Installed vibrating wire piezometers (VWPs) show a strong response to pumping within the mineralised BIF.
In contrast, high pore pressures prevail within the deep shale units. The study demonstrates the importance
of integration between hydrogeological and geotechnical programs to provide adequate planning for the
design and implementation of dewatering and slope depressurisation systems, and presents key learning
outcomes for similar environments.
Groundwater and associated pore pressure have a detrimental effect on slope stability in open cut mining
operations. Fluid pressure acting within discontinuities and pore spaces in the rock mass reduces the
effective stress with a consequent reduction in shear strength. High groundwater pore pressures can
significantly reduce the Factor of Safety (FS) and increase the risk of slope failure (Read and Stacey, 2009).
Often the most cost-effective option to increase the slope FS is to reduce pit slope pore pressure via
effective depressurisation and dewatering activities.
Pore pressure characterisation and development of a slope scale conceptual hydrogeological model is a
critical step in the development of an effective depressurisation program. The authors present a
hydrogeological study of a high pit wall with low permeability units which may not drain freely in response
to normal mining and dewatering. Pit slope pore pressure monitoring has been implemented to enhance
the conceptual model and better understand recharge controls to the pit slope. The pore pressure data will
also provide key input to geotechnical slope stability assessments ahead of a planned aggressive south wall
pushback.
Pit slope depressurisation investigation for an open cut iron ore mine in the Pilbara A. Dodman et al.
426 Slope Stability 2013, Brisbane, Australia
The stratigraphy of the pit wall is defined by alternating BIF and shale macro-band sequences. Bedding is
predominantly sub-parallel to the slope and steeply dipping. The sedimentary sequence is structurally
complex and exhibits folding and cross-faulting. A number of major listric faults striking sub-parallel to the
slope and dipping pitwards have been identified. These structures approach the final pit wall to within a
few tens of metres and it is likely that they will need to be depressurised to a significant distance back from
the pit wall. Figure 1 shows a view of the south pit slope.

The orebody forms the main aquifer in the mine sequence and has significant secondary permeability,
associated with fractures and mineralisation. In contrast, the BIF and shale units of the pit wall are
generally of low permeability and show limited response to the in-pit dewatering program. However, the
stratigraphy of the wall includes a fractured BIF unit approximately 10 m thick, which presents good
permeability, with bore yields in the order of 20 to 40 l/s.
A regional dolomite aquifer system occurs to the south and west of the pit wall and there is potential
hydraulic connectivity between this aquifer and the local orebody groundwater system. Connections to the
dolomite are likely to increase the required dewatering rate.
The orebody is currently dewatered by 4 bores located in strategic areas of the pit-floor, with a combined
abstraction varying between 30 and 50 l/s. Abstraction targets on the pit wall include a discrete fractured
BIF unit and there are currently two active dewatering bores which pump from this unit.
The dewatering bores are operated on an intermittent basis due to incurred downtime for blasting and
active mining. The main issue with in-pit dewatering is the operational life-time of the bores within an
active mining area.
Dewatering of the pit has resulted in a steep hydraulic gradient between the pit walls and the orebody,
with steep pore pressure gradients observed behind the planned pit wall pushback.
Remediation
Slope Stability 2013, Brisbane, Australia 427
Initial monitoring of the dewatering system was carried out using a series of standpipe piezometers. The
groundwater conditions within the orebody aquifer are approximately captured with this network. Many of
the open standpipes exhibit a rise in water level following rainfall events and in-pit runoff that accumulates
on the pit floor. As the pit was progressively expanded and the walls were pushed back into lower
permeability materials, additional monitoring capacity was required to investigate more difficult to drain
and potentially problematic subsurface zones in terms of residual pore pressure.
A network of VWPs was constructed in 2009 to monitor pore pressures within the major stratigraphic units
forming the pit slope, and to delineate depressurisation responses to in-pit dewatering activities and
advance the pit slope conceptual model. Grouted VWP installations allow definition of vertical hydraulic
gradients and are ideal for monitoring in low permeability materials due to their fast equilibration response
time i.e. no well-bore storage effects. McKenna (1995) describes in detail the theory and efficacy of the
fully grouted VWP installation.
Investigation work focused on the instrumentation of a type section to catalogue system response. The
type section location was selected for:
The high level of geological control available.
The relatively low level of mining interaction anticipated for the medium term.
The potential to couple with ongoing dewatering activities and associated geotechnical
monitoring for pit slope movement.
Figure 2 shows a schematic hydrogeological section along which the VWPs are focused. In total five
vertical/inclined fully grouted VWP arrays (A, B, C, D and E) were installed comprising 24 individual sensors,
each in strings varying between four and seven sensors per array. Pore pressures are currently monitored
at six hourly intervals.

Fm 3
Fm 5
Unknown
Fm 7
Fm 6
Fm 4
Fm 2
Fm 1
Pit slope depressurisation investigation for an open cut iron ore mine in the Pilbara A. Dodman et al.
428 Slope Stability 2013, Brisbane, Australia
Selected VWP hydrographs showing pit wall and orebody aquifer response to pumping are presented in
Figures 3(a) and 3(b). Also included in the charts are the depth settings of the upper VWP sensors for each
array, to allow identification of fully depressurised conditions. Note, VWP1 is always the deepest sensor
setting in each array, with higher VWP numbers designating increasingly shallower sensor settings. The
timeseries data in each chart is colour coded to represent stratigraphic units.




VWP1
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VWP Array C
Remediation
Slope Stability 2013, Brisbane, Australia 429


In all piezometer sensors, an initial rapid pressure change is evident following installation as the grout cures
and pore pressures in the formation equilibrate following drilling. The main points that can be drawn from
interpretation of the VWP data are discussed below:
Orebody aquifer:
A strong response to pumping is observed within the orebody and there is a relatively slow
rebound in pore pressure when the pit-floor pumping rate declines (Array E and D).
South wall:
A good pumping response is observed in the fractured BIF unit of the pit wall (Array C, sensors 2
to 5), but a low specific drawdown indicates that active recharge to the fracture zones is
occurring. Recharge in this sector is most likely to come from outside of the slope domain, along a
flow direction parallel to the strike of the formation layering.
A good hydraulic connection is evident along strike of the fractured BIF unit, and therefore for a
reasonable distance along the strike of the pit wall. VWP sensors monitoring pore pressures
within this unit show the highest depressurisation rates of the pit wall.
VWP1
VWP2
VWP3
VWP4
VWP3
VWP4
1-Jul-09 1-Jan-10 1-Jul-10 1-Jan-11 1-Jul-11 1-Jan-12
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VWP Array D
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VWP Array E
Pit slope depressurisation investigation for an open cut iron ore mine in the Pilbara A. Dodman et al.
430 Slope Stability 2013, Brisbane, Australia
The influence of pumping from the fractured BIF also extends across strike and into the
interbedded shale units in the wall (Array A and Array B). The response within the adjacent units
is lagged but a significant amount of drawdown occurs. The cause of the cross connection is
uncertain but may be related to crosscutting structures or possibly to cross connection through
old drill holes.
Short term recovery periods are observed in the VWP hydrographs which can be correlated to
periods of flow cessation/reduction in pit wall dewatering bores.
High pore pressures occur within the deeper shale units of the pit wall, and little depressurisation
has been achieved to date. Several sensors (Array B sensors 1 and 2, Array C sensor 1) record a
net increase in pore pressure over the monitoring period with average pore pressure recovery
rates in the order of ~5 - 10 m/yr. However, some response to pumping is observed which
suggests that a full connection to the regional dolomite aquifer is not present.
Figure 4 presents an example of the interpolated pore pressure distributions along the type section. An
equivalent pre-mining hydrostatic gradient is factored to provide representative control on the base of the
distributions. Gridding was undertaken using a Kriging interpolator on a 5 5 m grid cell, reduced to
equivalent pressure head (m) contours. Steep pore pressure gradients are observed behind the planned
pushback, consistent with deeper units retaining or showing a constant pore pressure increase, as exhibited
in the VWP time-series data.

The case study highlights the importance of pore pressure characterisation in stratabound deposits that are
mined below the pre-mine water table. Pore pressure data is a key input to geotechnical slope stability
analyses. Hydrogeological and geotechnical investigative programs need to be integrated to establish pore
pressure monitoring in critical areas of geotechnical concern. This will facilitate development of robust
slope scale hydrogeological conceptual models and forward assessment of an effective depressurisation
plan.
Fm 3
Fm 5
Unknown
Fm 7
Fm 6
Fm 4
Fm 2
Fm 1
Remediation
Slope Stability 2013, Brisbane, Australia 431
The main factor controlling the depressurisation of the pit wall is the potential sustained groundwater
recharge moving along the strike of the fractured BIF unit, from outside of the slope domain. Pore pressure
data for the pit wall exhibit a significant recovery rate when pumping rates are reduced, indicating a
significant recharge component moving sub-parallel to the strike of the bedding. The degree of hydraulic
connection between the pit wall units and the regional dolomite aquifer, to the west and south, requires
further investigation. Available hydrogeological data is concentrated in the immediate pit area and an
expanded monitoring network is required to define recharge from outside of the slope domain. This
program could also assess the opportunity for suitable future ex-pit dewatering targets.
Recorded pore pressure decreases in the pit wall are generally low and depending on geotechnical slope
criteria, it may be necessary to supplement dewatering bores with horizontal drains in the pit wall to
achieve depressurisation targets. Infill pore pressure monitoring is recommended to capture pore pressure
responses of deeper units and target major fault structures.
McKenna, G.T. (1995) Grouted-in installation of piezometers in boreholes, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 32, NRC Research
Press, pp. 355363.
Read, J.R.L. and Stacey, P.F. (2009) Guide for open pit slope design, 1st edition, CSIRO, Collingwood, Australia.

Pit slope depressurisation investigation for an open cut iron ore mine in the Pilbara A. Dodman et al.
432 Slope Stability 2013, Brisbane, Australia