Risk management in open cut coal mines

Abstract

There are a number of geotechnical systems used at open cut operations of Anglo American’s Metallurgical Coal business unit in Australia. These systems are mainly mine site specific, based on geological information and used as hazard plans. They are qualitative and reliant upon the experienced judgement of site based engineers and the general workforce. They are not suitable for calculating the associated risks of geological structures and mining responses. A uniform risk rating system that can be used to provide an unbiased, standard and quantifiable assessment of the risk from highwall and lowwall failures is therefore developed using the experience gained with such systems in Anglo American’s South African operations. This system is a semi-quantitative risk rating system and takes into account the relative differences in the importance of hazards as experienced at each mine site as a result of different combinations of geotechnical factors and mining conditions. It is based on critical geotechnical and other parameters that have been identified by site mining engineers, geologists and geotechnical engineers. The primary advantage of this risk rating system is that all open cut mines in the Anglo American’s Metallurgical Coal operations use a near identical system, which enables the user to compare the risk after each blast and with other mines. The system can be adjusted to meet local mine specific requirements. The implementation of this system, a computer program that automatically calculates the risks and recommends predetermined controls, has been made as practical and as easy to use as possible. This program can be used by personnel from other mining disciplines not directly related to geotechnical engineering.