Slope Stability Evaluation of Gneiss Rock Slopes Using SMR and QSlope
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/Abstract
One of the biggest problems in open pit mining is slope stability. In order to eliminate stability problems such as geology, climate and production activities should be known, and slope geometries should be selected properly to eliminate those. In this research, the slope stability of rock slopes in a mine opened in gneiss geological unit has been studied. Production activities were stopped in 2019 due to the slope movements in the eastern part of the quarry. In order to continue the production safely, field works have been carried out primarily. Discontinuity measurements were taken at the bench slopes and slope geometries that could remain stable according to geological and environmental conditions were determined by performing kinematic analyzes and numerical analyzes. Engineering geological studies such as scanline measurements in steps and investigation of potential failure mechanisms by kinematic analysis technique were carried out. SMR and Qslope, rock mass classification systems were used to evaluate slope stability. Based on these classification systems potential unstable rock slopes were determined and thematic maps were created using geographic information systems (GIS). The most suitable slope geometries are suggested for these slopes. In addition, the improvement methods suggested by the rock mass classification systems were proposed for these slopes.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 ENES KALHAN, Cem
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
THE INSTITUTE, AS A BODY, IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STATEMENTS AND OPINIONS ADVANCED IN ANY OF ITS PUBLICATIONS.
Copyright© 1978 by The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. All rights reserved. Multiple copying of the contents of this publication or parts thereof without permission is in breach of copyright, but permission is hereby given for the copying of titles and abstracts of papers and names of authors. Permission to copy illustrations and short extracts from the text of individual contributions is usually given upon written application to the Institute, provided that the source (and where appropriate, the copyright) is acknowledged. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of review or criticism under The Copyright Act no. 98, 1978, Section 12, of the Republic of South Africa, a single copy of an article may be supplied by a library for the purposes of research or private study. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publishers. Multiple copying of the contents of the publication without permission is always illegal.
U.S. Copyright Law applicable to users In the U.S.A.
The appearance of the statement of copyright at the bottom of the first page of an article appearing in this journal indicates that the copyright holder consents to the making of copies of the article for personal or internal use. This consent is given on condition that the copier pays the stated fee for each copy of a paper beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. The fee is to be paid through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., Operations Center, P.O. Box 765, Schenectady, New York 12301, U.S.A. This consent does not extend to other kinds of copying, such as copying for general distribution, for advertising or promotional purposes, for creating new collective works, or for resale.
