Slope failures are an inevitable aspect of economic pit slope designs in the mining industry. Large open pit guidelines and industry standards accept up to 30% of benches in open pits to collapse provided that they are controlled and that no personnel are at risk. Rigorous ground control measures including real time monitoring systems at TARP (trigger-action-response-plan) protocols are widely utilized to prevent personnel from being exposed to slope failure risks. Technology and computing capability are rapidly evolving. Aerial photogrammetry techniques using UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) enable geotechnical engineers and engineering geologists to work faster and more safely by removing themselves from potential line-of-fire near unstable slopes. Slope stability modelling software using limit equilibrium (LE) and finite element (FE) methods in three dimensions (3D) is also becoming more accessible, user-friendly and faster to operate. These key components enable geotechnical engineers to undertake site investigations, develop geotechnical models and assess slope stability faster and in more detail with less exposure to fall of ground hazards in the field. This paper describes the rapid and robust process utilized at BHP Limited for appraising a slope failure at an iron ore mine site in the Pilbara region of Western Australia using a combination of UAV photogrammetry and 3D slope stability models in less than a shift (i.e. less than 12 h).

边坡破坏是采矿业经济井边坡设计的必然方面。大型露天矿准则和行业标准允许露天矿中多达30％的长凳塌陷，只要这些长凳受到控制且没有人员受到威胁即可。严格的地面控制措施，包括采用TARP（触发－响应－反应计划）协议的实时监控系统，被广泛用来防止人员面临边坡破坏的风险。技术和计算能力正在迅速发展。使用无人机（UAV）的航空摄影测量技术使岩土工程师和工程地质学家能够将自己从不稳定的斜坡附近避开潜在的火线，从而更快，更安全地工作。在三个维度（3D）中使用极限平衡（LE）和有限元（FE）方法的边坡稳定性建模软件也变得更加易于使用，用户友好并且操作更快。这些关键组成部分使岩土工程师能够进行现场调查，开发岩土模型并更快，更详细地评估边坡稳定性，同时减少在现场遭受地面灾害的风险。本文描述了必和必拓有限公司使用UAV摄影测量法和3D边坡稳定性模型在不到一班次（即少于一班）的情况下用于评估澳大利亚西部Pilbara地区铁矿石矿场的边坡破坏的快速，稳健过程。 12小时）。这些关键组成部分使岩土工程师能够进行现场调查，开发岩土模型并更快，更详细地评估边坡稳定性，同时减少在现场遭受地面灾害的风险。本文描述了必和必拓有限公司使用UAV摄影测量法和3D边坡稳定性模型在不到一班次（即少于一班）的情况下用于评估澳大利亚西部Pilbara地区铁矿石矿场的边坡破坏的快速，稳健过程。 12小时）。这些关键组成部分使岩土工程师能够进行现场调查，开发岩土模型并更快，更详细地评估边坡稳定性，同时减少在现场遭受地面灾害的风险。本文描述了必和必拓有限公司使用UAV摄影测量法和3D边坡稳定性模型在不到一班次（即少于一班）的情况下用于评估澳大利亚西部Pilbara地区铁矿石矿场的边坡破坏的快速，稳健过程。 12小时）。