Geotechnical Review of Waste Dumps at the Gamsberg Zinc Project in South Africa | LTMS
Project Title
Geotechnical Review of Waste Dumps at the Gamsberg Zinc Project in South Africa | LTMS
Location
Northern Cape, South Africa
Client
Vedanta Zinc International
Date
March 2018 – July 2018
Business Sectors
Mineral Resources
Services (Technical Disciplines)
- Technical Services Consulting
- Operations & Training – Mine, Technical & Maintenance
- Safety, Environmental and Mine Closure
- Metallurgy & Minerals Processing
Project Objectives/ Outcomes
The waste dumps at the new Gamsberg project had been experiencing tensile cracks on all four waste dumps. The cracks were occurring up to 20m back from the face and for 40-50m along the face. The waste dumps are currently between 150-210m high.
The purpose of the visit was to advise on dump stability and the impact of crest subsidence, review existing tipping procedures, assess the risk of dump failure and make recommendations.
Our Role
An LTMS Geotechnical Engineer reviewed the waste dumps, focusing on the following areas: Foundations, Rock Slope, Construction, Waste Rock Material, Hydrology, Seismicity, Failure Mechanism and Risk Assessment.
A very thorough risk assessment using the British Columbia Mine Waste Rock Pile Research Committee (BCMWRPRC) better known as DSR91 was used to rate the stability risk of the WRDs. This gave a moderate risk rating of 700 triggering some responses and actions.
A series of recommendations were made including guidelines for management and monitoring.
Geoscience Ireland Contact
Brendan Morris – b.morris@ltms.ie
