Monitoring the geotechnical stability of quarry rubble mines of the Kurdistan province

In this research, 13 different quarry rubble mines in Kurdistan province are selected as the case study for geotechnical stability monitoring. For this purpose, felid surveys are done and lithological, structural and geometrical properties of mines bench evaluated and recorded. Also, representative block samples are collected form working face of these mines to perform the experimental studies. Then, coring operation is performed over the above-mentioned blocks and cylindrical cores are provided for conducting the unconfined compressive strength and point load testes and preparing input data for slope stability analysis. Finally, the geometrical characteristics, boundary conditions and geo-mechanical properties of mines are designed using AutoCAD software. Then, the actual conditions of the available layers are simulated using Slide software and slope stability analyses are conducted. According to the numerical modeling results, the safety factor of Boghdeh Kkandi mine bench is obtained equal to 0.784. This proved that its bench is unstable and unsafe and slope decreasing and modification of the mine blasting pattern are required immediately. Also, the benches of Halozhan, Khoshkin, Sernjyaneh Olya 2, Babariz 3, Babariz 4, Sman, Kani Pahn and Abbas Abad are stable and the probability of their benches failure and collapse is low in the short term condition. At last, the benches of Zekkryan, Darrebagh, Bilo Arandan and Askaran mines are stable in the current state but they may reach the failure/collapse phase in the near future. Therefore, these mines will need the periodical regular monitoring and control the occurred deformations to ensure the required safety.