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Analysis of a Large Rock Slope Failure on the East Wall of the LAB Chrysotile Mine in Canada: LiDAR Monitoring and Displacement Analyses

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Abstract

A major mining slope failure occurred in July 2012 on the East wall of the LAB Chrysotile mine in Canada. The major consequence of this failure was the loss of the local highway (Road 112), the main economic link between the region and the Northeast USA. This paper is part of a proposed integrated remote sensing–numerical modelling methodology to analyze mining rock slope stability. This paper presents the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) monitoring of this slope failure. The main focus is the investigation of that rock slide using both terrestrial (TLS) and airborne (ALS) LiDAR scanning. Since 2010, four ALS and 14 TLS were performed to characterize and monitor the slide. First, laser scanning was used to investigate the geometry of the slide. The failure zone was 1100 m by 250 m in size with a mobilized volume of 25 hm3. Laser scanning was then used to investigate the rock slide’s 3D displacement, thereby enabling a better understanding of the sliding kinematics. The results clearly demonstrate the ability of the proposed approach to monitor and quantify large-scale rock mass failure. The slope was monitored for a period of 5 years, and the total displacement was measured at every survey. The maximum cumulative total displacement reached was 145 m. This paper clearly shows the ability of LiDAR scanning to provide valuable quantitative information on large rock mass failures involving very large displacements.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Transports Québec and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The authors would also like to thank Pierre Dorval and François Bossé (Service Géotechnique et Géologie-Transports Québec) for providing airborne LiDAR survey data, pictures and technical advice. Finally, the authors are grateful to Michel Vallée and Gilles Bonin for providing easy mine site access.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de génie des mines, de la métallurgie et des matériaux, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada

    Philippe Caudal & Martin Grenon

  2. Département de géologie et de génie Géologique, Faculté des Sciences et de Génie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada

    Dominique Turmel & Jacques Locat

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  1. Philippe Caudal
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  2. Martin Grenon
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  3. Dominique Turmel
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  4. Jacques Locat
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Correspondence to Martin Grenon.

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Caudal, P., Grenon, M., Turmel, D. et al. Analysis of a Large Rock Slope Failure on the East Wall of the LAB Chrysotile Mine in Canada: LiDAR Monitoring and Displacement Analyses. Rock Mech Rock Eng 50, 807–824 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-016-1145-3

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