All India Seminar on “Slope Stability Issues in Opencast Mining and Civil Engineering(SSIOMCE-15)

National Institute of Technology-Rourkela : July 25-26, 2015

Dump Stability of Chromite Mines: A Case Study

Dr. Khanindra Pathak* Dr. K. U. M. Rao**

INTRODUCTION The chromite beneficiation plant upgrades the low grade

Stability of pit slopes and dump slopes directly affect
production operations and economics of surface mines.
Steep slopes are favourable for economic reasons; while
low slopes angles are favoured for stability reasons. Any
compromise between these two options may result in slope
failures during the life of the project. Designing and
constructing slopes to ensure stability requires
understanding of the phenomena of slope failure and the
role of the properties of soil/rock mass, geotechnical and
climatic conditions in selecting the height and angles of
the slopes. Based on the conditions specific slope
treatment and slope management could be necessary to
ensure slope safety with a factor of safety (the ratio of
resisting to driving force) at least between 1.2-1.4.
A primary objective of slope stability analysis is the
estimation of factor of safety for the given condition of the
soil/ rock strength and ground situations. A number of
analytical techniques are available to assess slope stability.
One of the most popular and simple method of slope
stability analysis in use today is based on limit equilibrium
principle.
This paper presents a case study of stability analysis of
dump slopes at Sukinda Chromite Mines of Tata steel. It
presents the results of experimental investigations of the
dumprock samples collected in February,2011.
ore of 30-40% to 55% enrichment. The upgraded ore is
sent to the ferrochrome enrichment plant located around
40 km from Sukinda at a place called Bamnipal. Tata Steel
consumes the finished product as well as exports to major
customers like JFE (China based company), Hitachi, SMI,
Posco, NSSC, and Yakin.
The pit is now planned to go for underground mining from
the pit floor due to the constraints of lease hold area. The
current problem is the need of high rise dumps to
accommodate the overburden, which has the inherent risk
of failure if proper precautions are not taken. At the same
time it is necessary that the natural water courses are not
adversely affected by the leachate and erosion of the dumps.
Special care is taken in designing and managing the OB
dump so that run off carrying silt and CR(VI) does not
pollute the water sources. Garland drain and settling pool
is an orthodoxly followed practice in the mine.
There are both active and passive overburden dump and
sincere attempt for re-vegetation of the passive dumps are
going on. Measures have been taken to stabilize the spoil
dumps with application of geotextiles, however, the sliding
and gully formation on the slopes are present at number of
sites. Figure 10shows the scenario of state of stability
condition during the study period.

MINING AT SUKINDA

Sukinda OCP follows drilling and blasting method of surface

mining where 150 mm blast holes are charged with site
mixed slurry and blasted. External dumping system is
followed for overburden disposal. Off highway trucks of 85T
capacities are deployed for transportation of blasted rock
mass to the dump yard and stock piles.

*Professor and Head **Professor

Department of Mining Engineering, IIT Kharagpur (a)
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 (b)

(c)
Figure 1 (a-d) Existing Situations in the mines
OVER BURDEN DUMP STABILITY

The stability of dump slopes is affected by numerous factors as shown in the Figure 2

Figure 2 Factors affecting Slope Stability

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However, no model exists to combine all these parameters
to give a measureable index for stability of the slope. The
conventional method is to determine the factor of safety
based on the established methods. The stability analysis
requires geotechnical investigation andlaboratorytestsof
samples, limit equilibrium analysis for slope stability and
development of slope management scheme. Following
sections gives the results of such a study.
STUDY AREA AND INVESTIGATIONS
Sukinda mine of Tatasteel is working on the chromiferous
ultramafic rocks of Sukinda Valley (21 °0'-21 ° 5’N: 85 °4Y-
86°0’E, Figure 3) of Odisha are intrusive into the Iron-Ore
Supergroup (2,950-3,200 Ma) at the eastern periphery of
the Indian Precambrian shield. Both laterally and vertically,
chromite occurs as persistent layers, lenses or pockets
in the serpentinized and silicified dunite-peridotite extending
over a strike length of 25 km. The ultramafic rocks and the
chromitite layers are co-folded with the Iron-Ore Supergroup
into a plunging syncline. Primary layering, ball and pillow
structures, cross laminations, graded bedding etc. can also
be detected. The different varieties of chromite ore present
in the area are massive, banded and spotted, laminated
and friable. The grain size of chromite varies between 0.25
and 4 mm, and the fineness of the grain increases from
the bottom to the top layers ( Chakrabarty and Chakrabarty,
19841).
Figure 3 Location of Sukinda Chromite mine
The cell dimension of chromite (8.23-8.32 A) decreases
with the increase of Al203. Cr203 in pure chromite varies
between 48 to 61 wt. percent, Al203 is 7.10-15.09 wt.
percent, whereas Fe203 is very low (0.03-3.20 wt. percent).
The amount of CrO to Cr203 varies within a narrow limit of
0.98-1.13, indicating that the chromite is chemically
balanced.
The FeO to MgO ratio is intermediate between the stratiform
and alpine type. FeS+ and AI3+ increase with respect to
Cr3+ and Mg2+ in the upper chromitite layers. TiO2 lacks
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significant correlation with the major element composition
of chromite.
The satellite view of the study area and pits are shown in
Figure 3. Lithology of the area has been determined by
several boreholes drilled. The site had been under mining
operation for several years. Initially there were a massive
slope failure problem; however, there is no major problem
in the recent years. However, the height of the slopes has
gone higherthan the safe limits and warranting adequate
measures and closed monitoring at regular intervals.
GEOLOGICAL SETTING
The stability of pit slopes as well as the dump slope is
highly affected by the geological setting of the area and
mineralogical properties of the associated rock mass. For
the dump slopes, the stability depends on the nature of
the blasted products and the method of dump formation.
Geologists have established that the chromitites of Sukinda
Valley of Orissa are predominantly stratiform in nature and
were presumably formed in situ by crystal settling, the
layering having been accentuated by the fluctuation of FeO2.
The geological features suggest a single magmatic cycle.
The Sukinda ultramafic complex is part of the
metamorphosed Pre-Cambrian of Peninsular India, which
covers some 420km2, and is the largest of a luster of
chromiferous ultramafic bodies within the region. A thick
(1m - 12m) mantle of soil and laterite overlies the majority
of the Sukinda ultramafic field, with outcrops being scarce,
i.e. less than 10% of the total surface area.
The Chromite ore is highly friable because of the presence
of trans-crystalline shear surfaces in the chromitite layers
of the central and upper levels that manifest as
microscopically separated bundles of shear surfaces that
cross-cut the chromitite layers. These shear surfaces are
present parallel to layering, parallel to the strike but normal
to the dip of layering and also as a series of sub-vertical
surfaces. There are non-penetrative curvilinear joints
developed in the basal grey chromitite that cut across and
offset the trans-crystalline shear surfaces.
There are also abundant erratically distributed slickensides
in both the chromitite and hydrothermal assemblages,
which might have formed in response to a regional stress
field. Associated crush or shear zones are generally
between 0.05cm to 1cm thick and comprise very fine
chromite splinters. Given that no individual slickensided
surface can be traced in any direction over a distance of
greater than 3m, they are considered to be characteristic
of brittle - ductile transition.
The CMRI (March, 2000) studied and identified three joint
sets (joint sets J1, J2 and J3), with J1 representing a
systematic joint set and sets J2 and J3 representing sub-
systematic sets. Joint spacing was noted to be between
0,2m and 1,0m, while the micro joint condition was noted
to be smooth planar to slightly undulating. The mean
persistence of the jointing was noted to be 6m, with a
minimum and maximum persistence of 1m and 10m
respectively.

Three principal shear zones are present in pit OBII, one on

the northern slope and two on the southern slope, together
with a number of less persistent shears. The northern, south
dipping shear zone (orientated approximately 080/170N)
is situated in close proximity to the ore body and is in the
process of being mined out. The orientation of the two shear
zones on the southern slope is in excess of 80° to the
south. Consequently, they are not expected to contribute
towards large-scale instability problems (CMRI, 2000).
Similarly, the less persistent shears present on the
southern slope dip at an angle in excess of 75° and are
also not expected to contribute to instability in the pit
(CMRI, 2000)2.

A single shear zone, orientated approximately 040/N140,

is present on the southern slope of pit OBX. Large-scale
failure associated with this feature is not anticipated (CMRI,
2000).

Obliquely orientated dolerite dykes are present at various

locations on the northern slope of pit OBII, with highly
weathered dykes confined to the upper levels of the pit on
the southern slope. These features are competent and
massive at depth. The orientation of the dykes is such
that they are not expected to contribute to large-scale
instability (CMRI, 2000).
Similarly, a number of dolerite dykes are also present in
pit OBX. As in pit OBII, the orientation of these features is
not expected to contribute to large-scale instability (CMRI,
2000).
Figure 4 View of the pit and dumps
INVESTIGATIONS OF ROCK SAMPLES
The rock strength parameters that are used in slope design
are primarily the shear strength of soil/ rock forming the
slopes, and the weathering characteristics of the rocks.
The shear characteristics of soil and rock are determined
in a direct shearing apparatus. One of the standard tests
for the measure of susceptibility of rocks to weathering is
slake durability test.

The strike length under Tata Steel is 2.2 km. In the mine
there are three chromite bands, the deposit is being mined
at 70m depth currently while the ore is present up to a
depth of around 200m. The host rock is hard ultra
basicperidotite which hosts the chromite ore. It is a
stratiform deposit with dip of 85o. The total lease area under
Tata steel is 402 hectare of which around 60% is the ore
bearing area. Figure 4shows views of the mining site at
Sukinda.
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Soil/ Rock samples collected from designated locations
in each mine site were prepared following the International
Society of Rock Mechanics (ISRM) specifications and all
the related laboratory testing for strength were conducted
in the Department of Mining Engineering IIT Kharagpur.
Thetests conducted are:
w Specific gravity
w Slake durability test: Slake durability test is intended
to assess the resistance offered by a rock sample to
weakening and disintegration when subjected to two
standard cycle of drying and wetting.
w Grain size distribution analysis factor of safety values within a few percent of the “correct”
w Proctor’s Compaction test. To determine the moisture values. The equation 13 represents the safety factor the
content at which the maximum dry unit weight is slope based Bishop’s Method.
attained is generally referred to as the optimum
moisture content.
w Permeability (1)
w Direct simple shear tests for Cohesion and angle of
internal friction

The mean permeability value obtained was 0.0018 cm/ Where,

s. the cohesion of limonite was determined as 26.61
and that of mix HUB was 6.9890. The angle of internal SF is the safety factor
friction for limonite is 29.25 degree and that of mix HUB
41.95. Thus depending on the material layers in the dump
the stability scenario will be varying. The slake durability
c’ is the effective cohesion
test showed that the light green serpenitinite has very low
ö’ is the effective internal angle of internal friction
durability with Slake Duribility index of 12.54%, where as
mix HUB has SDI of 99.24. bi is the width of each slice, assuming that all slices have
the same width
From the studieson the variation of resisting shear stress
with shear displacement, it is revealed that : Wi is the weight of each slice
1. The resisting shear stress increases with shear
displacement until a failure shear stress is reached. rui is the water pressure at the base of each slice
After that, the shear resistance remains approximately Solution of SF is obtained by iterative method. An initial
constant for any further increase in the shear value of SF is assumed and then Newton-Raphson or other
displacement. iterative techniques are applied to estimate the final SF
2. The peak shear strength is different for different sample until difference between SFs for two consecutive iteration
tested. After failure stress is attained, the resisting is minimal.
shear stress gradually decreases as shear
displacement increases until it finally reaches the
ultimate shear strength or the residual shear strength.
3. There is a marked reduction in the shear strength of
Ore, laterite and Mn-clay with the increase in the
moisture percentage. A reduction of 3% strength was
noticed in the ore with the increase in moisture from
4% to 12%, similarly in Mn-clay 16% reduction is
noticed for moisture increase from 16% to 36% while
the reduction is very high in laterite at 47% for the
increase of moisture from 6% to 18%.

ANALYSIS OF SLOPE STABILITY

The Modified (or Simplified) Bishop’s Method is a method
for calculating the stability of slopes. It is an extension of
the Method of Slices as shown in Figure 5. It is assumed
that weight of ith slice ( Wi ) acts vertically downward. The
resistive force ( Ti ) and normal force ( N i ) act at the base
of the slice. By making simplifying assumptions that forces
on the sides of each slice are horizontal and no shear
force exists at the vertical sides of the slice, the problem
becomes statically determinate and suitable for hand
calculations. The method has been shown to produce
Figure5: Bishop’s Simplified Method of Slices
Geo Studio has been used to analyse the stability of spoil
dumps at the Sukinda Mines. The analysis is based on
Bishop’s theory discussed in Chapter 1. The failure criteria
considered are Mohr-Coulomb’s criteria. The analysis has
been carried out assuming dump material is uniform. At
this stage no consideration of stacking of different materials
in layers could be taken as the details are not available.
Similarly, the rain water effects are being considered and
will be incorporated in the final report. The assessment of
factor of safety of the existing dumps was carried out along
the sections considered during the discussion with the

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mine officials. These sections were marked on the plan conditins. Three dump locations were selected for analysis
and were named as AA’, BB’, CC’, PP’, RR’. The material to determine the FoSat different cross sections. Figure 9
distributions and dumping sequence information were not shows the cross sections and the FoS values determined
available. The FoS is therefore calculated for limonite and by obtained using GeoStudio 2007 (Students Version).For
mixed HUB conditions considering most unfavourable the cross section, the variations of shear resistance and
conditions with assumed pore pressure as well as for dry pore pressure along the X axis were determined and shown
in Table 1 along with the calculated factor of safety values
Table 1 Variations of shear resistance and pore pressures in the dumps
Slope Conditions FoS Cross Section of Slope Variation of FoS and Pore
pressure
250

A-A' With 1.267 240

230

220

Maximum 210

200

190

Pore 180

170

Pressure
El e va tio n

160

150

140

Limonite 130

120

110
1.267
100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20
25
0
10
24
0

0 23
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 14 0 160 18 0 200 22 0 240 2 60 280 3 00 320 3 40
22
0
Di st an ce
21
0

20
0

19
0

18
0

17
0

No Pore 1.974
El eva ti on

16
0

15
0

14
0

13
0

Pressure 12
0

11
0

10
0
1.974

0
9

0
8

0
7

0
6

0
5

0
4

0
3

0
2

0
1

0
0 20 40 60 80 10
0 12
0 140 160 180 200 20 24
0 26
0 280 300 320 340

Distance

250

240

230

220

210

200

190

180

With 1.791 170

160
Ele vat i on

150

Maximum 140

130

120

1. 791

Pore 110

100

90

Pressure 80

70

60

Mixed HUB 50

40

30

20

10

0
0 20 0
4 60 80 100 12
0 140 6
10 18
0 200 20 24
0 6
20 28
0 300 2
30 34
0

Di stanc e

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 B-B' Without 2.8
pore
pressure

Max Pore 2.365

2.365
Pressure,
100

90
Elevation

80

Mixed HUB 70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 14 0 160 1 80 200 220 24 0 260 2 80 30 0 320

Distance

C-C' No Pore 2.67

2.671
Pressure,
100
Elevation

Mixed HUB 90

80
70
60
50
40
30

20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 1 40 150 1

Distance

14 Material 2.604
SSIOMCE 2015 Mixed HUB 2.604
100
With
Elevation

90
80

maximum 70
60

pore 50

40

pressure 30
20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170
 Max Pore 2.5
Pressure
Limonite 1.775
1.7

El eva ti on
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Dist a

96P- Mix HUB, 4.996

Elevation

80

P' with 70

maximum 60

50

pore 40

pressure 30

20

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1

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Limonite 3.336
Ele
 ELEVATION
R-R' Mix HUB 6.527
100
80

60
6.527
40
20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360 380 400 420 440

DISTANCE

ELEV ATION

limonite 4.483
100

80
60
4.483
40

20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360 380 400 420 440

DISTANCE

The analysis of various sections indicates that the average
FOS of the slopes of the spoil dumps range from 1.2 to
4.26. However, it should be noted that these values are
based on the given information of the stacked materials.
The records of materials stacked and their characteristics
are not maintained as a record and the characteristics of
the layers and materials stacked are assumed in the
analysis based on the best information available.
CONCLUSIONS
soil units; in other cases,failure may occur through the
spoil material itself. While placing limonite in a spoil dump
care must be taken.
Limit equilibrium analysis shows that the zone of
instabilityof spoil pile may be alongthe interface between
spoil materials and the underlying limonite layers, if any,
as it has higher potential to flow. Excessive moisture in
the spoil pile, dueto rainfall or wet overburden material in
the rainy season, may trigger slopefailure.

Situation of spoil instability under high rainfall conditions Failure in the spoil dumps may be initiated by weakening
cannot be ruled out in the slopes of Sukinda mines. ofmoisture-sensitive material at the base of the spoil
Causes of spoil instabilityare related to weak underlying
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piles,particularly because of infiltration of surface water
afterheavy rainfall. Settlement in the spoil dump may
produce surface (tension) cracks that may provide
preferentialpathways for the rain to infiltrate into the spoils,
raisingthe piezometric surface and increasing the pore
pressures. Such situation will result in instable slope and
failure.Therefore, strictly followed vigilance checklist must
be maintained.
In the present analysis, maximum pore pressure has
considered based on the past rainfall data. Detailed
seepage analysis was not within the scope of this work as
the layer information of the spoil dumps is not available. It
is expected that there may be heterogeneously placed
materials with different size of boulders which may facilitate
to formation of flow channels and seepage as well as
undercut, galleys and failure. Instrumentation and
monitoring of spoil movement and settlements should be
practiced for the dumps.
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The run off prevention through garland drains and check
damsdeveloped in the mine are in order. The geo textile
has been practiced for slope stabilization. However, due
to heavy rainfall, gully formation and circular failures are
visible. Toe stabilization using alternative of gabions e.g.
big boulders or waste filled gunny bags will be necessary.
Drought resistant varities of plants e.g. vetiver grass could
be experimented along with presently practiced plants e.g.
Sirsa, Karanja, jammun, Mahanim, Nim, Acasia, Chakunda
etc. It is recommended that the final dumps must be
brought under effective frequent monitoring system
incorporating fixed low cost slope monitoring station.
REFERENCE
1. Chakraborty, K. L. and Chakraborty , T. L., 1984
Geological Features and Origin of the Chromite
Deposits of Sukinda Valley, Orissa, India, Mineral.
Deposita 19,256-265