Geotechnical lessons learned

from the operation of Cerro

Verde’s Crush Leach Pad 4-A

The leaching process started in Cerro Verde in the late 1970s. At that time, the Helbert Galdos, Javier Guevara and
Arnaldo Saavedra. Sociedad Minera
leach pad operating criteria centered around metallurgical and production
Cerro Verde S.A .A ., Peru
parameters only. Little or no consideration was given to slope stability, phreatic
levels or permeability issues. Later on, when new leach pads were started up
in the early 1990s, unusual slope stability issues began to take place; however,
these did not pose risks to the operation because overall pad heights were
small compared to today’s permanent pads. In 1996, the Crush Leach Pad 4-A
was engineered and constructed using the best technology available at the
time. The design considered twenty 4-meter lifts, which quickly became 6-meter
and then 8-meter lifts with improvements in ore agglomeration technology,
forced air injection and larger and taller stacking equipment. Recently, Pad
4-A has reached its maximum capacity; twenty lifts have been stacked at an
average of 5.5 meters per lift. The metallurgical optimization, coupled with
changes in ore quality, entailed geotechnical challenges that led to modified
variable irrigation rate schemes, ore stacking, lift rinsing practices, dewatering
and phreatic level controls. Lessons learned at Pad 4-A, described in this paper,
have been taken into consideration in the engineering and construction of
the new Crush Leach Pad 4-B. This paper also describes the geotechnical best
practices and design considerations implemented at this new leach pad.

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INTRODUCTION
The main purpose of this paper is to describe the experience gained by Sociedad Minera Cerro
Verde S.A.A. (SMCV) in the geotechnical control of permanent leach pads of crushed and
agglomerated mineral. Proper control is critical to the slope stability of leach operations. The
phreatic levels inside the heaps must be controlled as they can seriously affect safety, the
environment, metallurgy and the operation. Nevertheless, they are not always given the attention
which they deserve.
On the other hand, the geotechnical control of leach heaps has been improving. It has become more
complex and elaborate as the leach heaps, “platforms” or “pads”, have grown in size. Furthermore,
governmental and internal mining company regulations have been changing as part of more
demanding risk management programs.
In general, it is clear that the geotechnical control of leach heaps has evolved in a simple, almost
always reactive manner, instead of in a more elaborate preventative way. Experience has taught
that it is much more convenient to incorporate geotechnical controls from the engineering stage
than when the leach platforms have already been started and have several layers of mineral being
treated.
The first part of this paper briefly describes the leach operation at SMCV, then the geotechnical and
operational problems encountered at the leach heap of crushed and agglomerated Pad 4-A will be
described, along with the corrective measures implemented. Next, the geotechnical controls
implemented at Pad 4-A as part of a preventative program will be discussed. Finally, the paper will
show the application of the experience obtained at Pad 4-A for the engineering, construction and
operation of the new leach platform, Pad 4-B, which began operations in December 2012. All of
which were intended to guarantee, from the initial design, the stability of the heap, and its
operational continuity to avoid having to implement much more expensive corrective measures
later.

The leach process at Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde S.A.A.

At Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde, secondary sulfide and transitional coppers are leached. The
leaching of low-grade (ROM) minerals is carried out at the leach heaps MegaPad ROM and Pad 1X.
On the other hand, the leaching of high grade mineral, previously crushed and agglomerated with
sulfuric acid, takes place at the heap Pad4-A and, more recently, at Pad 4-B.
Both processes involve multilayer permanent heaps of the “valley-leach” type, i.e. the mineral is
stacked up until it reaches the storage capacity of the pad. The heaps at Cerro Verde are unique in
that they are built in small ravines, that are filled until they reach the height of the platform and
then an upright pyramid is formed by continuing to stack the mineral until the maximum area of
the platform is reached. Thereafter, the pyramid is formed with ever decreasing stack area. The
total height of Pad 4-A is 110 meters with 20 layers of mineral and its slopes have global gradients
of 2.5H : 1V.

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Operational and geotechnical problems of leach heaps
The most common operational, metallurgical and geotechnical problems found at the permanent
heaps are as follows:

Operational problems
• The collapse of the leach solution collection pipes and/or their connections occurs due to lack of
quality control during installation, or while the protective geo-membrane material (overliner) is
being put in place, or by the uncontrolled movement of heavy equipment such as tractors or
conveyor belts. These collapses significantly reduce the drainage capacity of the system,
producing an increase in the phreatic level inside the pad, reducing the factor of safety and
increasing the risk of liquefaction of the saturated mineral and destabilization and collapse of
the slopes.
• Leakages from the pipes near the slopes affect the geometry of the slopes.
• Removing leached material from the bases of the slopes, for example, to open/maintain access
routes to the leach heaps, weakens the base of the slope.
• Increasing the rate of irrigation without bearing in mind the limit of permeability of the material,
or the settling of the underlying material with each layer placed on top.

Geotechnical problems
• Internal erosion and piping due to the concentration of fluid at the base of the slope. In some
cases, a cavern is developed which grows towards the interior of the heap.
• Localized instability of a side (bank) due to an increased phreatic level near the slope.
• Interruptions to vertical flow caused by the presence of layers of low permeability due to their
high clay contents, badly scarified interfaces (badly carried out drainage and ripping).
• The presence of craters (sink holes) in the surface produced by damaged collection pipes
followed by internal erosion.
• Surface channels caused by rain, flow from broken pipes, or the overflow of an area with
ponded solution resulting in superficial slipping on sides or banks.
• Internal canalization of the solution through high-permeability zones (due to the presence of
highly permeable or segregated material) and lateral discharge over the perimeter.

Metallurgical problems
• Excessive increase in clay content (montmorillonite and kaolinite) and high percentage of fines
(below mesh – 100) in the agglomerated mineral stacked on the leach heap.
• Low quality agglomerated mineral due to insufficient control during agglomeration and mineral
transportation to the leach platforms.
• Pooling (ponding) of the irrigation solution due to the presence of mineral with high-clay and
and content and ore fines, which generate areas of very low permeability.

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Solutions implemented
The operational, metallurgical and geotechnical solutions implemented were the following:

Operational solutions
• The localizing of segments of collapsed main drainage collection pipes with the help of infrared
cameras mounted on small remote-control vehicles moving inside the pipes, or by following the
behavior of craters or sink holes on the irrigated surface.
• Excavating until the collapsed main pipes are located, replacing the damaged sections and
replacing the removed material, increasing its permeability by mixing it with coarser material.
• Blending of minerals in the mine to reduce the concentration of clays and fines being fed to the
crushing and agglomeration plant.
• Inspection and periodic replacement of the main and auxiliary high-density polyethylene
(HDPE) pipes in the irrigation system, which show damage due to a reduction in their thickness
caused by handling or transportation, or excessive contraction and expansion due the daily
fluctuations in ambient temperature. The latter involves the use of ultrasound techniques to
evaluate the integrity of the fused unions of the HDPE pipes.

Geotechnical solutions
• The installation in the bases of the slopes of banks of horizontal drains of 38 and 102 milllimeters
of exterior diameter, 100 and 150 meter long, respectively. In the right number and length, these
horizontal drains help to reduce the phreatic levels near the slopes of the leach heaps.
• Reconstruction of slopes affected by the incorrect removal of material from the toe of the slope.
The latter can be aided by analysing the stability of the slope before and after the reshaping
work to ensure that the minimally acceptable geotechnical safety factors have been maintained
for static and post-seismic conditions.
• The construction of small rock buttresses or retaining walls at the base of unstable slopes. This
method stabilizes the slope and canalizes the solution so that it can be drained, which avoids a
localized increase in ore moisture and saturation.
• The installation of French drains to capture and evacuate the pools of solutions which can
accumulate on the surface near the base of the slope. These consist of ditches excavated in the
gravel, which are refilled with selected crushed stone (filter), which contains a perforated or
slotted pipe. The pipe must have a slope of at least 1% and operate at full flow. Before the end of
discharge, the slotted pipe will be replaced by a blind pipe and a low-permeable plug put in
place.
• The installation of banks or batteries of vertical dewatering wells with exterior diameters of
between 204 and 356 millimeters of perforated PVC pipe to lower the phreatic levels inside the
leach heap. These wells have submergible pumps, pressure sensors (transducers), and low-level
switches to optimize the recovery of the solution retained inside the heap due the loss of
permeability of the mineral.

38
• Stabilization of the craters (sink holes) by refilling with gravel or highly permeable mineral with
particle sizes of from 102 to 204 millimeters; the repaired area is then covered with layers of non-
woven geotextil and geonet to stop the sink hole from affecting underlaying layers.
• Repairing of channels in the slopes of the leach heaps, caused by rain or by the spillage of
solution, which result in erosion. The loose material is removed (as it has a high content of fines)
and is replaced by material of an appropriate size distribution, which is wetted and compacted
layer by layer to avoid further erosion.
• Stability buttresses are constructed at the base of the principal slopes of the leach heaps, which
due to the high phreatic levels or deterioration in the angle of design of the slope, do not meet
the minimum factors of safety. The main purpose of a buttress is to increase vertical pressure
and to keep the base of the slope in place (only a localized effect). Likewise, as a side-effect, it
strengthens shear resistance when potential faulty zones pass through it. Buttresses are made
from leached material, rubble or waste material from the mine. The material is checked, wetted
and compacted in horizontal layers. Its weight is crucial. These buttresses contain filter zones or
drains of highly permeable gravel to lower or eliminate the phreatic level to ensure their long
term slope stability.

Metallurgical solutions
• Optimization of the quality of the agglomerated mineral, ensuring the correct level of humidity,
dosage of sulphuric acid during the agglomeration, transportation and stacking stages of high-
grade mineral. For the above, an instrument has been designed, which by measuring the
conductivity of the agglomerated mineral can optimize both the dosage of leach solution and
acid for curing of the mineral. It should be mentioned that an excessive dosage of acid
deteriorates the matrix of the rock of the mineral.
• A widening (coarsening) of the size distribution curve of crushed mineral to reduce the level of
fines in the crushing circuit. This method is adopted after ensuring that an increase in ore size
would not reduce copper recovery any more than that caused by the presence of clays and fines
due to damage to or compaction (settling) of the mineral with every new layer stacked on the
permanent pad.

Implementation of geotechnical controls

The geotechnical controls of a leach heap are by nature almost always preventative, focused on
monitoring the phreatic levels, the surface and depth movements of key slopes, the vertical
pressure on the base of the slope and the settling of the mineral. Alternatively, the settling which
takes place between the layers can be monitored which would allow changes to the dry density and
porosity of the material to be controlled.
If the global hydraulic conductivity of the leached material is to be evaluated, a large-scale
pumping test should be carried out, which would obtain much more realistic results than localized
testing, an example is provided by the Lefranc tests which are made inside perforations. Another
alternative to measure hydraulic conductivity, but only locally, are the water addition (slug) tests
which take place inside an open-tube piezometer. These tests can also determine whether the
instrument can detect, over time, losses in permeability of the surrounding material due to
deterioration (decrepitation) or aging of the mineral.

39
If the leach heap contains gravel which is likely to suffer from liquefaction, seismographs should be
installed to register important seismic events and to correlate these to any resulting damage to the
heaps. A fixed seismograph should be installed on solid rock and a mobile one set up on the crest of
the heap to analyze signal amplification and the filtration of frequencies.
The geotechnical controls used at SMCV are as follows:

a) Periodical evaluations of slope stability

The periodical evaluations of stability analyze the stability of the heap slopes using the limit
equilibrium method. This analysis is bi-dimensional and as part of the hypothesis, the surface is
considered to act like a rigid solid. This method does not measure movements, only the resulting
safety factor. For a given surface, which is likely to suffer a fault, this method divides the block
into vertical slices, calculates and compares the resistance forces with the destabilization forces.
If the forces which are available to withstand movement are greater than the forces which
destabilize the slope (FS≥1), then the slope is considered to be stable.

FS = (Resistance Forces / Destabilizing Forces) ≥ 1

In general, the following conditions can be analyzed in heaps: static (short and long-term),
pseudo-static, post-seismic with reduced shear resistance, and post-seismic with liquefaction.
Given the large size of the slope, local, intermediate and global faults are investigated. The
potential fault surfaces are circular, blocks or random. Each type of analysis has its
corresponding minimum recommended factor of safety, established by the industry and by
technical literature. Normally, several control sections are established and for each one, the
factors of safety are calculated, which are compared with the required minimum values. Table 1
shows the required minimum safety factors for the leach platform Pad 4-A.

Table 1 Factors of Safety – Leach Heap Slope Stability

Condition Safety Factor (FOS) Notes

Short-Term Static 1.3 Only for temporary slope cut work

Long-Term Static 1.5 For all important slopes

Pseudo-Static 1.0 Not applicable as the mineral of Pad 4A below the

phreatic level will undergo liquefaction in the event of
a high magnitude seism.

Post-seismic with 1.3 Not applicable as the mineral of Pad 4A below the
degraded resistance phreatic level will undergo liquefaction in the event of
a high magnitude seism.

Post-seismic with 1.1 Normal value to control slope stability. This is the most
Liquefaction critical parameter to be complied.

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b) Maximum permissible phreatic levels
The maximum permissible phreatic levels are limits or threshold values beyond which it is not
safe to operate the leach heap. Below these thresholds, all the applicable safety factors are met
(static, pseudo-static and/or pseudo-seismic with liquefaction). These are established using slope
stability analysis (by the limit equilibrium method); they depend on the properties of shear
resistance of the terrain, the geometry of the slope and the phreatic level. Figure 1 shows an
example of the control of phreatic levels with respect to the maximum permissible values.

Figure 1 Comparison of Phreatic Levels with Maximum Permissible Values

c) Manual of operations
The Manual of Operations is a field document which attempts to standardize criteria, provide
instructions, procedures and recommendations to monitor and control the phreatic level inside
the leach heap by setting a series of maximum permissible operational levels. The manual
indicates the actions to be taken if these permissible limits are exceeded.

d) Prisms
These are optical instruments which facilitate the monitoring of the surface movements of the
slope in three directions; they are fixed to the terrain by a metallic tube which is embedded in a
concrete base. They can detect settling and/or bulging on the face of the slope, and are read
using electronic surveying equipment with accuracies of a few millimeters.

Geotechnical controls incorporated in the design of Pad 4B leach heap

Based on geotechnical experience acquired during the operation of the leach heap of high-grade
mineral, Pad 4-A; it was decided to include, from the engineering stage, the following elements of

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geotechnical control in the design of the new high grade ore leach platform, Pad 4-B, which was
successfully started-up in December 2012.

a) Vibrating-wire settlement sensors

This type of sensor allows continuous monitoring of the vertical deformation of the foundations
of the leach heap, due to the vertical pressure of the stacked mineral and the phreatic level. This
sensor is especially useful when the terrain of the foundations has compressible layers or there
are thick refills. Furthermore, they allow indirect measurement of geomembrane stretching or
elongation. They are normally placed under the membrane (underliner layer), either on the mass
or on the structure of the refill. They are accurate to a few millimeters.

b) Inclinometers
Inclinometers are used to measure lateral deformation of the terrain of the foundations of the
heap which are caused by deep breaches (shear surfaces). They are installed outside the heap,
either on the containment berm or on the containment wall. An inclinometer consists of a plastic
tube with special grooves in two perpendicular directions which is installed and connected to
the terrain with grout or with slurry of cement and bentonite. Readings are taken with a biaxis
electronic probe (torpedo) which registers, over 50 centimeter sections, vertical deviations of the
tube in two perpendicular directions. They are accurate to a few millimeters.

c) Vibrating-Wire piezometers
Piezometers measure the pore pressure of the fluid contained in the void spaces of the leached
material (ripios) or in gravel when they are completely full of liquid, that is, saturated (100%
degree of saturation). They are based on the vibrating-wire principle and are very accurate.
Knowing the specific density of the fluid, it is possible to calculate the equivalent height of
column of liquid (piezometric height).

d) Vibrating-wire pressure cells

Vibrating-wire pressure cells measure the total vertical pressure increase at the base of the heap
over its useful lifetime. This pressure is that of the weight of the mineral and the solution.
Knowing the height of the heap, it is possible to estimate the average wet density if required,
which is important operational information. The pressure measurements and those taken from
the foundations allow the plotting of the settling curve of the pad against vertical pressure and
hence calculate the rigidity of the foundation terrain, which is important information for future
designs.

e) The main solution collection system

The system of collection of copper pregnant leach solution (PLS) at Pad 4-B has undergone the
following improvements:
• A system to collect the main solution has been installed on a cut zone of bedrock material at
the bottom of the ravine to prevent differential settlement (uneven settling), which can
decouple the pipe joints. In other words, by installation of the main collection drains on

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 bedrock, and not on structural fill, the possibility of future differential settlement is
eliminated.
• The principal collection pipes are interconnected which prevents the retention of solution
inside the heap due to obstruction of the collection system.
• Together with the system of corrugated and perforated pipes, a system of solid perforated
HDPE collection pipes has been installed in order to ensure continued drainage if a collapse
occurs in the corrugated collection pipes.
• Collection pipes have been installed inside trapezoidal ditches (canals) to generate an arc
effect in the mineral located above them and thus transfer the vertical loads of the heap
towards the sides and so reduce deformation.

f) Gravel screens
To prevent phreatic levels from exceeding those considered in the geotechnical design of the
leach, Pad 4-B has permeable gravel screens installed in the space formed by the union of toe of
the slopes of two adjacent cells. These gravel screens are installed in two sectors near the front
slope by the PLS weir upstream the PLS ponds. These gravel screens will also be installed in the
upper levels up to Lift 4, so that, they form a permeable front, perpendicular to the flow of leach
solution on its way to the PLS weir. These screens allow the removal of the leach solution from
the leach zones most adjacent to the front slope, avoiding solution build-up and abating high
phreatic levels affecting the factor of safety of the front slope. This area is the most critical area of
the pad from a geotechnical perspective.

Figure 2 Gravel Screen – Pad 4B

g) Large diameter wells for the recovery of solution from the phreatic level
The purpose of these large size wells (nominal diameter of 2.50 meters) is to limit the phreatic
levels inside the heap from the beginning of the operation by providing the opportunity of
installing and operating pumps when the phreatic level starts to increase. The idea is to avoid
costly drilling for dewatering purposes. They have the advantage that they are built in stages
with each new lift being stacked on top of the previous. These well rest on the base of the heap,

43
 taking advantage of the entire saturated height of mineral; their size ensures that they have the
required capacity. Solid, perforated pipes of 457 millimeters in diameter have been installed.
They have a gravel band of around 1m thick around them. Due to their large diameter, the pipes
remain upright until agglomerated mineral is stacked around them. Before being put into
operation, the wells should be cleaned and developed to remove fines from the filter and the
surrounding gravel to maximize solution collection and recovery pumping.

h) Wick drains
In the future, to eliminate serious permeability problems due to the presence of perched solution
(pockets of solution), “wick drains” will be installed; these are vertical drains made from a
corrugated plastic center wrapped in a nonwoven geotextile. They are used to manage complex
hydrogeological processes and to hydraulically connect the pad vertically. They allow the
drainage of perched phreatic levels, the crossing of areas of low hydraulic conductivity and the
reduction of pressure in artesian zones. A metallic lance (pole) is used to sink them into the
terrain. They can reach depths from 30 to 35 meters in leach ripios, with a maximum diameter
size of from 19 to 25 millimeters.

i) Horizontal internal drains

In the future, to eliminate serious permeability issues of the mineral and thanks to the presence
of bedrock banks located to the east and south-east of Pad 4-B, a design for the installation
(while stacking) of horizontal internal drains has been developed. It is much more practical to
proactively install drains than to try to perforate horizontal drains once the heap exhibits poor
permeability; these drains will be made from corrugated perforated pipe, 102 millimeters in
diameter, which will be connected to the PLS collection secondary drain pipes located on top of
the bedrock banks.

CONCLUSIONS
The process metallurgists and leach operators should be aware of the geotechnical concepts
involved in heap leaching practice in order to understand the mechanical, physical and hydraulic
phenomena, which occur inside heaps, their affect on process performance and the physical
stability of the slopes.
In light of the concepts described above, it is possible to avoid future slope stability problems, both
in dynamic and permanent multilayer leach pads by developing solutions that integrate
geotechnical, operational and metallurgical concepts to protect personnel from safety incidents,
meet environmental requirements and achieve production targets.

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper describes the development of solutions for the geotechnical and operational problems
which occurred at the permanent leach heaps of Cerro Verde. These ideas generally came from all
the members of the Hydrometallurgical Processes Area and the consultancy firms with which they
work. We would like to thank all of the people involved for their creativity and effort.

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REFERENCES
Memorándum Técnico: Preliminary Extraction Well Design, North Face, Pad 4A, SMCV, Arequipa, Peru, URS,
Febrero 2009

Evaluación Geotécnica Integral del Pad 4A, Vector S.A.C., Octubre 2009

Leach Pad N° 4A – Buttress and Slope Regrading, URS, Noviembre 2009

Memorándum Técnico: Final Cerro Verde Pad 4A - Liquefaction Analysis, Summary of Runout Estimate, URS,
Julio 2010

Memorándum Técnico 002 - Análisis de Estabilidad Adicional Sección C-C’ – Pad 4A, Ausenco vector,
Septiembre 2011.

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