The ability to monitor and predict slope failures in a surface mining setting is paramount for safely executing economically feasible open pit slope designs. Ground-based monitoring systems have proven to be effective for decades; however, with the geographical extensive nature of some mineral deposits, multiple open pit mining operations typically incur additional challenges of deploying and maintaining ground-based systems (compared with a single, large open pit). Monitoring strategies in the 2020s have significant opportunity to integrate satellite based InSAR (interferometric synthetic aperture radar) as part of the control measures depending on the expected failure mechanisms and risk profile. This paper uses case studies to explore the practical application of InSAR to ‘unveil unknowns’ for multiple open pit mining operations where ground monitoring capacity was previously constrained. Case studies include the retrospective analysis of historic slope failures, improving understanding of existing geotechnical hazards and improving engineering geological and slope stability models based on real slope performance data.

在露天采矿环境中监测和预测边坡故障的能力对于安全执行经济可行的露天矿边坡设计至关重要。几十年来，地面监测系统已被证明是有效的；然而，由于某些矿床的地理范围广泛，多个露天采矿作业通常会带来部署和维护地面系统的额外挑战（与单个大型露天矿相比）。2020 年代的监测策略有很大的机会将基于卫星的 InSAR（干涉合成孔径雷达）作为控制措施的一部分，这取决于预期的故障机制和风险状况。本文使用案例研究来探索 InSAR 的实际应用，以便在以前地面监测能力受到限制的多个露天采矿作业中“揭示未知数”。案例研究包括对历史边坡失效的回顾性分析、提高对现有岩土工程危害的理解以及基于真实边坡性能数据改进工程地质和边坡稳定性模型。