Approaches to Waste Rock Disposal - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 773

Place Bench 2 by
End-dumping

Ground Surface

Remove Topsoil from
Bench 1 Foundation Plant Vegetation

1 5

Flatten Slope of
Bench 2

Place Bench 1 by
End-dumping

2 6

Remove Top Soil from
Bench 2 Foundation

Place on Slope of
Bench 1

Flatten Slope of
Bench 1

3 7

Place Bench 3 by
End-dumping

Remove Top Soil from
Bench 2 Foundation

Plant Vegetation

Place on Slope of
Bench 1

4 8

FIGURE 19.5
Stages in Construction of Top-down
Waste Rock Dump

based on the characteristics of the natural local landscape, so that the waste rock storage
will ultimately blend in to its surrounds. In strip mining situations, where large contiguous
areas are mined and partially back-filled, there is the opportunity to create an extensive
landscape incorporating a range of landforms, including undulating hills, broad val-
leys and ponds or wetlands of varying character and dimensions. Again, the final surface
configuration should be congruent with surrounding areas, and should meet the needs of
future land uses.
Once the site and proposed landform(s) have been selected, a geotechnical investiga-
tion should be carried out to assess foundation characteristics and the need for foundation
treatment prior to dumping. Typically, foundation treatment involves the removal of soft,
weak or highly compressible materials from the foundation area, particularly near the toe