Applicability of Dump Slope Rating Systems in Indian Coal Mines

ABSTRACT The opencast mining method generates a large quantity of waste materials and imposes a challenge of handling them efficiently without causing any danger to the lives of the miners and economics of the mining company. This study primarily focuses on generating and comparing a Dump Slope Rating System introduced by the British Columbia Mine Waste Rock Pile Research Committee (BCMWRPRC, 1991) and a Dump Slope Rating System developed by Hawley and Cunning in 2017. These rating systems considered various regional settings, foundation conditions, stability analysis, material quality, construction method, geometry and performance of dump slope for assigning the rating system to the mine dump slopes. Mine field visits and numerical simulations were carried out to quantify different mining parameters. The rating system developed by Hawley and Cunning (2017) considered 22 parameters which are 11 more than the rating system developed by BCMWRPRC in 1991. A total of three mines were studied for assigning the rating system to the mine dump slopes. Mine A and Mine C are situated in Dhanbad District, Jharkhand, India and Mine B is situated in Nagpur District, Maharashtra, India. According to the rating system developed by BCMWRPRC (1991), Mine A and Mine B fall in the moderate hazard class, and Mine C fall in the low hazard class. According to the rating system developed by Mark Hawley and John Cunning in 2017, Mine A and Mine B fall in the high hazard class, and Mine C fall in the moderate hazard class. This change in hazard class is due to the intense number of factors considered by the rating system developed in 2017. A more detailed investigation of the dump slope is possible by encouraging the number of parameters essential for stabilizing the dump slope of the mine.