Design optimisation of Jwaneng mine cut 9 waste dumps
At a Glance
Section titled âAt a Glanceâ| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2025-04-30 |
| Journal | Disaster Advances |
| Authors | Rahul Verma, Angeline R.N. Nyamuzihwa, Thabo Lesetlhe, John Blick, Malsawmtluanga |
Abstract
Section titled âAbstractâThis study includes a detailed review of the Jwaneng Diamond Mine waste dumps using a recent comprehensive rock waste, stockpiles and tailings stability assessment method called Waste Dump Stability Rating and Hazard Classification System (WSRHC), a finite element method-based program called RS2 and a limit equilibrium program called SLIDE both from Rocscience Inc. They prove to be more hazardous as the dumps are growing in size and are getting affected by major mine developments like Cut 9 pushback which is advancing to the place where most of the old waste dumps are located. The stability status of these Jwaneng Diamond Mine waste dumps has not been studied at large convincingly. As with the open pit, monitoring of the current waste dumps should be an integral part of Jwaneng mine operations. Visual inspections are recommended to be done around the dumps and on-top to check for failed material and newly formed tension cracks. Intense tracking/monitoring of displacements/failures within the dumps, is a must practice specially a day after significant blasting in the Cut 9 walls and about 3 days after heavy rainfalls of the magnitude like the one of Cyclone Dineo. For such visual inspection, several recommendations are proposed. These are installation of different Radar systems such as Time Domain Reflectometers (TDR) and inclinometers, to detect movements of deep-seated slip surfaces, installation of Piezometers to monitor water table levels and seasonal ground moisture variations, installation of interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radars and comparison of weekly Digital Terrain Models (DTM), installation of Frequent field tests to obtain bearing capacities of the foundation material in the Jwaneng mine dumps, monitoring of saturated unit weights for the individual rock units (and sand), designing a systematic drainage or relief plan and construction of complete hydrogeological model considering regional water flow patterns of the study area.