Estimation of Rock Stresses at Oyu Tolgoi, Mongolia

P. Voulgaris
Senior Geotechnical Engineer, c/o Ivanhoe Mines Mongolia Inc
M.F. Lee & L.J. Mollison
AMC Consultants Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

ABSTRACT: The proposed development of the large Oyu Tolgoi porphyry Cu-Au deposit in the south Gobi
desert, Mongolia, involves several large open pits and two large block caves. A good understanding of the
local stress field and its controls is required for confident engineering design.
This paper is a case study of the methodology used to estimate the most likely stress regime at Oyu Tolgoi.
The following elements were considered; tectonic setting, deposit geology, regional indictors of the most
likely stress direction and stress regime, observations of stress-induced damage in deep exploration boreholes
and average principal stress relationships. Checks of required shear stress on known Oyu Tolgoi structures
implied that a Thrust regime (σ1 ≈ σ2 > σ3) at depths of about 1000m.
Results from two shallow AE measurements are compared against the three stress regimes that are considered
to possible at Oyu Tolgoi.
Construction of a 1240m deep exploration shaft has commenced, from which at least five in situ rock stress
measurements are planned by overcoring CSIRO HI cells.

1 INTRODUCTION The project currently involves exploration and

Oyu Tolgoi (Turquoise Hill) is a world-class por-
phyry copper gold project in the south Gobi desert
(latitude 43.0°N, longitude 106.8°E), in the Aimag
of Omnogobi, Mongolia (Figure1). The property is
about 600km south of the national capital of Ulaan
Baatar and 80km north of the Chinese border. The
region is covered by sparse semi-desert vegetation
and is used by nomadic herders who tend camels,
goats and sheep.
geotechnical site investigation drilling, with concur-
rent mining, processing and financial studies. An
exploration shaft is also being sunk to 1240m.
Given the proposed production rate of 40 million
tonnes / annum and the large capital investment re-
quired, the mine plan must have a high degree of
confidence. Increased confidence in the resource
and geotechnical data is required to up-grade some
of the underground resource to reserves.

1.1 Proposed Mine Plan

The presently known mineralisation at Oyu Tol-
goi occurs in five deposits over a NNE-SSW strike
length of 5km (see Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5). The south-
ernmost ore bodies (South West, South and Central
Oyu) outcrop and will be mined by three open pits,
which are planned to be up to 550m deep. The
northern orebodies (Hugo South and North) plunge
shallowly north. Three block caves are planned be-
tween 750 and 1500m below surface, for a mine life
of over 55 years. Ore resources and reserves are
summarised in Table 1. Figure 1: Location of Oyu Tolgoi
1.2 Caveability
The success of the proposed block caving of the
large Hugo South and Hugo North deposits will de-
pend on the caveability of the rock mass, specifically
the ease and rate of caving. Caveability, the mining-
induced fragmentation of the ore, is largely a func-
tion of the size and shape of the deposit, along with
the interaction between the faulted, jointed and
veined rock mass with mining-induced stresses.
Like most undeveloped block caves, geotechnical
data for the initial caveability assessments is only
available from diamond drill cores. Analysis also
relies heavily on experience at similar mines. An
early and best-possible estimate of the Oyu Tolgoi
stress field is one critical input to the assessment of
caveability.
2.2 Stress Measurements
As it is not possible to predict stresses to the level of
confidence required by engineering design, rock
stresses must be measured:
Two AE measurements have been done at Oyu
Tolgoi in mineralised rocks (Table 2).
In situ measurements by overcoring CSIRO HI
cells are planned as an exploration shaft is sunk to
1240m. It will be the earliest and closest vertical de-
velopment to the underground orebodies, and will
therefore provide the only opportunity to measure
the vertical stress gradient prior to detailed mine de-
sign.
Table 2: Oyu Tolgoi AE Measurements - corrected (after Vil-
laescusa et al 2004)

Hole / Magn Dip Brg

Table 1: Oyu Tolgoi Reserves and Resources (January 2006) Rock Type Stress
Depth (MPa) (°) (°)
Tonnes Cu Au σ1 23.2 09 099
(1,000,000) (%) (g/t) OTD552 Biotite
σ2 21.7 05 008
Southern Oyu Deposits (cut-off 0.3% Cu equivalents) 337m Granodiorite
Measured & Indicated 1,119 0.48 0.35 σ3 9.1 80 248

Inferred, or 267 0.34 0.23 σ1 36.3 07 113

OTD513
Proven & Probable 930 0.50 0.36 Dacitic Tuff σ2 30.1 05 022
532m
Hugo South & Hugo North (cut-off 0.6% Cu equivalents) σ3 14.8 81 256
Indicated 581 1.91 0.41 D = depth below surface
Dips below the horizontal
Inferred 1,160 1.08 0.23 Bearings relative Oyu Tolgoi Grid North = True North
Ivanhoe / Entrée Gold JV
Inferred 190 1.57 0.53

2 STRESS ESTIMATION PROCESS

2.1 Estimation Process

The process used to estimate possible Oyu Tolgoi
stresses was similar to the Best Estimate Rock Stress
Model (BERSM) proposed by Stephansson (2003).
It involved the following elements:
− An appreciation of the local geology and tectonic
setting of the deposit; especially faulting, nearby
earthquakes and plate boundaries.
− A review of indicators of rock stresses and in situ
rock stress measurements from the immediate re-
gional area; from the World Stress Map (WSM) Figure 2: Regional Geology of the Oyu Tolgoi project area.
database and published data, particularly Chinese Location and recent geologic shear on Tavan Takhil Fault
data.
− Average relationships between principal stresses.
− Observations of stress-induced damage in Oyu 3 OYU TOLGOI GEOLOGY
Tolgoi boreholes (breakout and discing).
− Checks of predicted shear stresses versus likely Perello et al (2001), Kirwin et al (2003) and
shear strengths on known Oyu Tolgoi structures Forster et al (2003) have previously described the
for three possible stress regimes. geology of the Oyu Tolgoi deposit.

Figure 3: Sub-surface Geology of the Oyu Tolgoi deposit,
showing the main rock types and faults
3.1 Rock Types
The mine sequence is made up of folded Late Devo-
nian units, which are unconformably overlain by
Carboniferous units.
The Devonian sequence includes laminated silt-
stones, augite basalts and andesitic to dacitic ash
flow tuffs. Multiple phases of large Devonian quartz
monzodiorite (QMD) batholiths intruded the Devo-
nian sequence. Copper-gold mineralisation is spa-
tially and temporally related to the QMD intrusions.
Mineralisation is present in quartz stock work vein-
ing and disseminations, hosted mainly in augite ba-
salt, dacitic tuffs and QMD (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Oyu Tolgoi Cross-section 4767 650N, showing the
main rock types and faults, plus core discing
Figure 5: Oyu Tolgoi Longitudinal Section (looking west)
The overlying Carboniferous sequence dips shal-
lowly NE. It comprises andesitic ignimbrites, silt-
stones, conglomerates, andesitic and basaltic lava
flows.
Numerous post mineralisation dykes of variable
thickness and orientation intersect the area. They
are mostly Carboniferous and have sheared, clayey
contacts.
Carboniferous granodiorite to granite plutons
have intruded the area surrounding the mining lease.
A large Early Permian granite lopolith, the Khan-
bogd Complex was intruded to the east (Figure 2).
3.2 Faults and Shears 4 TECTONIC SETTING
There are three different fault styles at Oyu Tolgoi;
The regional tectonic setting of the Oyu Tolgoi de-
steep deposit parallel, transverse and bedding / layer
posit is complex (Figures 2 and 6):
parallel (see Figures 3, 4 and 5).
− It lies near the SW boundary of the “relatively
Four thick, sub-vertical, NNE-SSW striking
quiet” Amur tectonic plate and the very extensive
bounding faults (East and West Boundary Fault, and
and active Himalayan - Tibetan zone to the south
the East and West Bat Faults) confine the mineral-
and west, through China to northern India (Bird
ized intrusives to an up-thrown block.
2003).
Three transverse fault orientation sets are recog-
− In northern Mongolia, rifting is occurring around
nised:
Lake Baikal between the Eurasian and Amurian
− One set strikes WNW-ESE and dips steep to
tectonic plates.
moderately north; Central and the 110 Faults.
− To the west, the Pacific and Philippine oceanic
− Another strikes approximately ENE-WSW and is
plates are sub-ducting beneath the Japanese sec-
near vertical; Solongo and the East-West Faults.
tion of the Amurian plate.
− At the northern end of the Hugo North deposit,
the North Boundary Fault system initially strikes
NE-SW, but further to the north it follows the 4.1 Left-lateral Strike-slip Faulting
Carboniferous granodiorite contact. It is a series
To the south and SW of Oyu Tolgoi, very large, left-
of steep NW dipping clay-filled faults.
lateral, strike-slip earthquakes are relatively com-
Mineralisation at the northern end of Hugo North
mon on WNW-ESE to WSW-ENE striking faults.
appears to change strike to be parallel to the North
Significant left-lateral, strike-slip faulting are pre-
Boundary Fault system.
sent in western, north-central and eastern China (He
Bedding or layer parallel faults are common
et al, 2003). In particular, E-W faulting occurs
along the contact of the Devonian units. Their orien-
around the northern boundary of the stable Ordos
tations therefore depend on the local bedding orien-
Archaean block in north-central China (see Figures 6
tation, which generally dips moderate to steeply east.
and 8), just to the south of Oyu Tolgoi.
The largest of these is the Contact Fault, which oc-
Perhaps the most famous fault, however, is the
curs at the base of dacitic ash flow tuffs. Others,
Bogd Fault, which was the epicenter of the M8.3
which have only been found in Hugo North, include
Gobi-Altay earthquake in 1957 (Ritz et al 2003). Its
the Lower and East Hugo Faults.
eastern end is only 250km to the NNE of Oyu Tol-
Given the variable orientations of the above faults
goi (Figure 7).
and shears, and their common thick clayey infill, it is
difficult to imagine that the Oyu Tolgoi rock mass Similar strike-slip faults have been found near
could sustain high or very deviatoric stresses. Oyu Tolgoi. The closest, Tavan Takhil Fault, is only
20km to the south (Figure 2). It strikes E-W, has a
mapped offset of about 1km and an estimated return
period of approximately 10,000 years (Bazariin
2005).
There is therefore strong evidence for a sub-
horizontal and WSW-ENE oriented major horizontal
stress direction in the Oyu Tolgoi area. It would sub-
Rifting parallel one of the transverse fault sets at Oyu Tolgoi
(Solongo and East West Faults). Then the other sub-
Left-Lateral horizontal stress (oriented NNW-SSE) must have
Strike-slip sufficient magnitude to inhibit shearing on the other
Oyu Tolgoi set of transverse faults at Oyu Tolgoi (Central and
110 Faults).
Subduction

4.2 Late Mesozoic Rift Basins

A series of Mesozoic rift basins (Badarch 2002)
strike NE–SW across the southern Gobi (Figure 8).
They overlay the older Paleozoic sequence that hosts
the Oyu Tolgoi deposit.

Figure 6: External Loads on the Amurian Plate (after Davis

1996)
Figure 7: Left-lateral Strike-slip shearing on Bogd Fault (after Ritz et al 2003

Their bounding normal faults of the rifts imply

that the present-day major principal stress (σ1) is
likely to be horizontal and sub-parallel to the basins.
Also, the intermediate and minor principal stresses
are likely to be similar (σ2 ≈ σ3).

5 REGIONAL STRESSES

5.1 World Stress Map

Very little specific data is available from the
World Stress Map database (WSM; www.world-stress-
map.org) for the Oyu Tolgoi area (Figure 9). How-
ever, the available data suggests a possible WSW-
ENE orientation for the maximum horizontal stress
direction.

5.2 Chinese Stresses

Xie et al (2003) characterised and regionalised
China’s stress field. They concluded the following,
which presumably also apply to southern Mongolia:
− The major principal stress is horizontal and it
dominates recent tectonic activity.
− While different tectonic regions in China have
different stress regimes, there is good consistency
between deep and shallow stresses.
− Stresses are higher in western China compared to
eastern China. Oyu Tolgoi is just above the junc-
tion of these two areas.
− For any region and in order of importance, the
main controls on stresses are considered to be:
o Plate tectonics (ie boundary conditions and
loads).
o Regional block interaction within and between
plates (eg shearing on major structures).
o Local shearing on faults, block interactions
and rock mass characteristics.
Figure 8: Mesozoic Basins in Northern China and Southeastern
Mongolia (after Meng et al 2003)
Li et al (2003) found the following shear stress
versus depth (D) relationship for North China, which
might also apply at Oyu Tolgoi:
σ1 − σ2
τ= = 0.3 + 0.007D (MPa)
2
They also mention that there is a tendency for
stress fields near active faults to be different after
movement (ie earthquakes). Stresses tend to be
more aligned with the structure and lower shear
stresses apply for up to 80 km away. But presumably
this distance depends on the sheared length and the
displacement on the fault segment.
 At the southern end of Hugo North, the shallowest
observation of discing is at 902m. Deeper boreholes
drilled below the 2% grade envelope have not
disced. At the northern end of the Hugo North ore-
body, the shallowest observation is at 1078m.
Deeper boreholes have an increased frequency and
intensity of discing compared to the southern end.
Core discing is often considered to be an indica-
tor of high stress, but some rock types are more
Oyu Togoi prone to this behaviour, especially siliceous rocks.
Certainly, highly stressed ground behaviour should
be anticipated around openings where core discing
has been observed.

Figure 9: World Stress Map data in the Vicinity of Oyu Tolgoi;

www.world-stress-map.org

6 OYU TOLGOI OBSERVATIONS

6.1 Borehole Breakout

Four deep Hugo North boreholes have been sur-
veyed with an acoustic televiewer. No evidence of
breakout was found in three boreholes, which inter-
sected siltstone-sandstone, biotite granodiorite, dac-
itic tuffs and augite basalt. Breakout was, however,
found in OTD572; within the strong brittle QMD be-
low the thick moderately dipping Contact Fault, at a
depth of 600 m.
The azimuth of the breakout varied with depth
(Figure 10). From 600 to 900m, and average implied
direction for the major horizontal stress is N85E. Be-
low 900m, which is the zone of particular interest to
the caving studies, the breakout implies a maximum
horizontal stress direction of N60E (or ENE). Figure 10: Major Horizontal Stress Direction in Borehole
OTD572, implied from Breakout in QMD
This observation is considered to be the best indi-
cation of the major horizontal stress direction at Oyu
Tolgoi. 7 PRINCIPAL STRESS RELATIONSHIPS
Breakout in the borehole also correlated with the
more competent and brittle sections of the QMD. Plots of principal stresses versus depth for large ar-
The onset of breakout just below the thick moder- eas (eg Terranes) often show a wide scatter and it is
ately dipping Contact Fault may suggest locally difficult to confidently predict trends. Useful rela-
higher and more deviatoric stresses below the fault; tionships between principal stresses are, however,
as has been well documented at AECL’s URL in evident from a plot of principal stresses versus the
Manitoba, Canada (Thompson & Chandler 2004). 1st stress invariant (σ1 + σ2 + σ3); see Lee et al
2006).
6.2 Core Discing
Core discing has only been noted in Hugo North ex- 7.1 Principal Stresses vs 1st Stress Invariant
ploration cores; 188 observations, in 35 separate Figure 11 includes in situ rock stress measurements
drill holes, over a strike length of about 2km. by overcoring from two sources:
A three dimensional inspection of the data sug- − Checked and rated in situ rock stress measure-
gests that the discing follows the shallow plunge of ments from a database maintained by AMC Con-
the ore body to the north. Discing correlates strongly sultants Pty Ltd (AMC).
with QMD hosted, high-grade core of the orebody − World Stress Map data, that is not in the AMC
(>2% Cu equivalent). These zones have strong silici- database.
fication and quartz veining.
 Both data sets suggest the same average principal The next challenge is to choose appropriate pairs of
stress relationships: σ1 and σ2. The obvious end members are σ1 = σ2
and σ2 = σ3
For the following reasons, it is often difficult to
σ1 σ2 σ1 confidently make the initial assumption:
= 1.5; = 1.5; = 2.3
σ2 σ3 σ3 − The minor principal stress is not always sub-
vertical. It is sub-horizontal in Normal stress re-
gimes.
− In situ rock stress measurements often show that
the vertical component is not always equal to the
weight of overburden rocks (Lee et al 2006), at
least not at shallow depth, say above 1000m.

8 CONCLUSIONS

8.1 Possible Stress Regimes at Oyu Tolgoi

Figure 11: Principal Stresses versus 1st Stress Invariant. In situ
rock stress measurements data from the AMC & WSM data-
bases; all by overcoring
7.2 Estimating In situ Stresses
The relationships in Figure 11, between the 1st stress
invariant and the principal stresses allows pre-
mining stresses to be estimated, so long as a reason-
able assumptions can be made about the local pre-
mining stresses.
For example, if the minor principal stress is verti-
cal and it can be assumed to equal the weight of
overburden rocks (=ρgD), then the sum of the major
and intermediate principal stresses can only have a
small range of values defined by the spread of the
measured data. From Figure 11:
σ3 = ρgD = 27MPa, at approximately 1000m,
σ1 + σ2 + σ3 = 130MPa, and
σ1 + σ2 = 103MPa
Given the previous discussion about left-lateral
strike-slip faulting and stresses in the southern Gobi
and north-central China, it seems reasonable to as-
sume that the vertical stress component at Oyu Tol-
goi is the minimum principal stress.
Then using the procedure outlined above, the fol-
lowing three stress regimes (Table 3) are considered
possible at Oyu Tolgoi, especially at about 1000m
below surface:
1 Thrust Regime (σ1 ≈ σ2 > σ3); 2.1 : 1.7 : 1.0;
most likely (see below), generally applicable at
Oyu Tolgoi.
2 Transitional Regime (σ1 > σ2 > σ3); 2.3 : 1.5 :
1.0; possible in some areas, such as away from
controlling faults and in more competent rock
masses.
3 Strike-slip Regime (σ1 > σ2 ≈ σ3); 2.6 : 1.2 : 1.0;
unlikely (see below), but it may apply locally be-
low shallow dipping faults, such as Contact Fault.
The shear stress relationship suggested by Li et al
(2003) lies between the Thrust and Transitional re-
gimes.
While the tectonics of the southern Gobi and
north-central China strongly suggests a strike-slip
stress regime, this really only applies to the crust.
The stress regimes in the first 1 to 2km below the
surface, which is the main zone of interest for min-
ing operations, could be quite different.
8.2 Shear Stress Checks on Structures
The estimated stress regimes must predict realistic
shear stresses on the known Oyu Tolgoi geologic
structures.
For each regime and at two depths (500 and
1000m), shear and normal stresses were calculated
for all the known thick weak and often clay-filled
faults, shears and bedding planes at Oyu Tolgoi.
These are shown in Figure 12 and compared against
the following assumed range of in situ (large scale)
 shear strengths for the Oyu Tolgoi structures: cohe- “most likely” Thrust regime stresses. They also im-
sion = 0 to 2MPa, φ = 18 to 23°. ply that most of the shallow dipping structures at
By inspection, it is apparent that the Thrust regime Oyu Tolgoi must have higher large-scale shear
is the most likely at Oyu Tolgoi. The other regimes strengths than is likely for thick, clay-filled struc-
require some of the clayey faults to have high, per- tures.
haps unrealistic, in situ shear strengths. The AE measurements are, however, consistent
with overcore data in Figure 11 data. Further com-
ment and comparison is not warranted until in situ
30 measurements are done at Oyu Tolgoi.
Joints
THRUST: σ1 ≈ σ2 > σ3 c=2MPa φ=23°
25
Shear Stress (MPa)

20
Faults
Faults
Table 3: Possible Oyu Tolgoi Stress Regimes
Joints
c=0MPa φ=23°
15
Thrust Regime (σ1 ≈ σ2 > σ3)
10

Magnitude Bearing
5 Principal Stress Dip (°)
(MPa) (°)
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 σ1 0.057D 00 060
Normal Stress (MPa)
σ2 0.046D 00 150
30

TRANSITIONAL: σ1 > σ2 > σ3

Joints
c=2MPa φ=23°
σ3 0.027D 90 060
25

Transitional Regime (σ1 > σ2 > σ3)

Shear Stress (MPa)

20
Faults
Faults
Joints c=0MPa φ=23°
15 σ1 0.063D 00 060
10 σ2 0.040D 00 150
5 σ3 0.027D 90 060

Strike-slip Regime (σ1 > σ2 ≈ σ3)

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Normal Stress (MPa)

30
σ1 0.070D 00 060
STRIKE-SLIP: σ1 > σ2 ≈ σ3
Joints
c=2MPa φ=23° σ2 0.033D 00 150
25

σ3 0.027D 90 060
Shear Stress (MPa)

20
Faults
Joints D = depth below surface
15
Faults Dips below the horizontal
10
c=0MPa φ=23°
Bearings relative Oyu Tolgoi Grid North = True North

9.2 Planned in situ Measurements

0
0 10 20 30 40
Normal Stress (MPa)
50 60 70
In situ rock stress measurements are planned on five
Figure 12: Shear versus Normal Stresses on Oyu Tolgoi Struc- levels as the exploration shaft is sunk to 1240m, and
tures, at 500 and 1000m, for the three possible Stress regimes from access development to Hugo North orebody.
in Table 3. The first measurements are scheduled for August
2006. It will be interesting to compare them with the
above estimates.
9 DISCUSSION

9.1 AE versus Estimated Oyu Tolgoi Stresses 10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Two relatively shallow AE measurements have This work would not have been possible without
been done at Oyu Tolgoi (Table 2) from two bore- the support of Ivanhoe Mines Mongolia Inc, the
holes. Following a recent check-survey of the two AMC and WSM databases of rock stress measure-
boeholes using a gyroscope, it was necessary to cor- ments and extensive research into earthquakes,
rect the previously reported results by Villaescusa et stresses and structures in China and Mongolia. The
al (2004). Accurate core orientations and down-hole Oyu Tolgoi deposit is world class and it will very
surveys are essential for AE measurements. likely be the center of a major mining area through-
There is a difference of 46° between the esti- out the 21st Century.
mated and average AE major horizontal stress direc-
tions. The AE major and intermediate principal
stress magnitudes are also higher than the estimated
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