Trigger action response plan development and optimisation at the Bingham Canyon Mine

Abstract

Slope movements are expected at the Bingham Canyon Mine due to the challenging slope angles mined to minimise strip ratios and maximise ore recovery. Trigger action response plans (TARPs) are a critical aspect of managing these movements in a mining operation. An effective TARP must balance production while safely managing the risk of mining in areas of slope movement. The challenges when developing efficient TARPs are defining appropriate triggers, trigger thresholds, and responses for specific areas of movement. At the Bingham Canyon Mine, TARPs are developed by reviewing all available monitoring data and observations of slope behaviour. Trigger thresholds are developed specific to failure mechanism, previous experience, operational response time and monitoring capability. Responses are planned around potential runout scenarios and failure impacts to personnel, infrastructure, and equipment. Once in place, TARPs are continually optimised as the understanding of each failure improves and more information becomes available, or the mine layout changes. This paper presents three examples of how TARPs were developed for different failure mechanisms at the Bingham Canyon Mine.