Agent-Based Numerical Modelling of Mine Dumps and Estimation of Potential Failure in Dump Slope: A Study Considering Ground Vibration and Rainfall Precipitation

The stability of mine dumps is an important issue for open-pit mining in India. This paper discusses an open-pit mine case study in the Damodar Valley Coalfields, West Bengal, India. The mine has been operating for over thirty years, and handling the overburden is becoming tedious for mine management. In particular, the mining operation and management of the mine dumps are challenging in the rainy season due to the susceptibility of dumps to failure and waterlogging on the mining floor. The composition of various sizes of rock fragments and loose soil from different layers and its random mixing in the mine dumps make the task more challenging for the geotechnical engineers to handle the same. The mine dumps’ shapes and sizes were assessed for stability analysis using numerical methods under various controlled virtual conditions. The mine dumps undergo large deformation and exhibit high displacements in the slope surface; therefore, to accommodate the same in the modelling, the finite difference-based numerical tool FLAC^2D is used to simulate the mine dump’s behaviour in this investigation. Some external parameters influencing the mine dump’s stability were considered in this study: vibration load and rainfall. The magnitude and intensity of the deformation in the mine dumps were analysed to understand the stability conditions of the slope. The possible hazards were assessed near the dump slope toe areas for possible remediation measures.