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WSP offers comprehensive slope stability and rock engineering services focused on safety, reliability, and cost-effectiveness, supporting mining operations globally through advanced techniques and expert consultation. We actively participate in industry conferences, provide training, and contribute to mining guidelines and innovations.

   

    WSP at
    Slope Stability in Mining 2026

Slope WSP logo updated

   

Workshops

  1. Pedro Ojeda and Steve Rogers “DFN Analysis for slope stability in open-pit mining”

Invited Speaker

  1. John Cunning, “Applying Leps 2.0 To Rockfill And Mine Waste Rock Materials: Workflow And Mine Waste Dump Stability Examples”

Presentations

  1. Pedro Ojeda "Improved Reliability in Bench-Scale Slope Stability Analysis through Stochastic Discrete Fracture Network Modeling"
  2. Nick Gorski "Identification and Evaluation of Hydromechanical Coupling Events in Pore Pressure Data as Hydrogeological Precursors to Slope Failure"
  3. Luiz Castro "Rockfall Risk Assessment for Open Pits Slopes"
  4. Eric Jaczkowski "Pit Slope Design Optimization in Very Strong Rock Masses Using Ground Support and Discrete Fracture Network Modeling"
  5. Milton Teran "An Empirical Framework for Open Pit Slope Design in Hydrothermally Altered Rocks: Case Studies from the Peruvian Andes"
  6. Cristian Guajardo "A Case Study on the Structural Controls of a Slope Instability Applying Coupled Discrete Fracture Network and Limit Equilibrium Analysis"
  7. Santiago Marambio "Reducing Bias in Macro-Wedge Identification Through Complementary Vector-Based Kinematic Analysis"
  8. Jean Louis Azorin "Geotechnical Stability Assessment and Risk Management Framework for In-Pit Waste Platform at Los Bronces Mine"
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Explore more of our expertise in mine rock engineering

With over 250 professionals globally in our rock engineering practice we offer clients reliable, efficient and innovative approaches. 

Open pit

WSP delivers reliable and efficient solutions to clients seeking to optimize their open pit assets through the application of inter-disciplinary design approaches, advanced modelling, monitoring, and risk management practices.

Engineering support

  • Conceptual, pre-feasibility and bankable feasibility studies
  • Empirical, analytical and numerical stability analyses of open pit walls
  • DFN-3DPOF slope design
  • Rockfall modelling, hazard assessment and mitigation design
  • Steepening/deepening
  • Drill and blast engineering, audits, optimization studies
  • Pit slope design optimization
  • Artificial slope support design
  • Slope remediation

Operational and planning support

  • Pit slope monitoring
  • Mine design, planning, sequencing and schedule
  • Business disruption analysis and mitigation planning
  • Staff upskilling, training, and custom short course delivery
  • Technical on-site and off-site secondments
  • Closure planning
  • Economic evaluation
  • Trade-off studies, cash flow analyses, Monte Carlo simulations, third-party and due diligence reviews
  • Pit slope depressurization and mine water management

Underground

WSP integrates rock engineering theory with underground mining methods. Working closely with our clients' mine design and operating teams to develop reliable, cost-effective, and risk-balanced underground mine designs and solutions from front-end studies, to operations, to closure.

Engineering support

  • Stope stability
  • Shaft design
  • Mass excavation design
  • Mine design and sequencing
  • Backfill design
  • Operational support
  • Ground support design
  • Pillar stability assessments
  • Deep and high stress mining evaluations
  • Pit-to–underground interactions and transitions
  • Conceptual, pre-feasibility and bankable feasibility studies

Operational and planning support

  • Cave propagation and fragmentation forecasting
  • Subsidence predictions
  • Business disruption analysis and mitigation planning
  • Staff upskilling and custom short course delivery
  • Technical on-site and off-site secondments
  • Ground control management plan (GCMP) development and reviews
  • Closure planning
  • Audits/inspections
  • Trade-off studies, cash flow analyses, Monte Carlo simulations, third-party and due diligence reviews

Characterization

We apply industry-leading tools and approaches to data collection, laboratory testing, and the interpretation of geologic, structural, geotechnical, and hydrogeologic conditions to minimize uncertainty in the understanding of the character of the rock masses at our clients' sites.

Data collection and analysis

  • Integrated geotechnical, structural, and hydrogeological site investigations
  • Data collection training (geotechnical, geophysical and hydrogeological)
  • Geotechnical mapping, logging and reconnaissance surveys
  • Laboratory testing
  • In situ stress measurements and interpretation
  • Geospatial database development and management
  • Instrumentation and monitoring system design, implementation, and data processing

Modelling and domaining

  • Rock mass strength estimation
  • Rock mass classification
  • Fault characterization
  • Mine-scale structural model development
  • Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) models
  • Geospatial (block) model development
  • Geotechnical domaining
  • Integration of hydrogeological models

Watch our recorded webinars and training sessions

 

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Large Open Pit Project Guidelines for sampling and laboratory testing of weak rock for open pit operations.

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Large Open Pit Project Guidelines for sampling and laboratory testing of strong rock for open pit operations (2024). Available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French

  • Module 1: Sample collection
  • Module 2: Point load testing
  • Module 3: UCS testing
  • Module 4: Triaxial testing
  • Module 5: Direct shear testing
  • Module 6: Failure envelopes

Fracture school series

We've provided these on-demand introductory short courses to demonstrate how to get the most out of your FracMan® license. FracMan® software provides unrivalled power to solve practical geological and engineering related issues in mining, oil and gas, and many other sectors. It helps you visualise fracture systems, test conceptual understanding, determine the best strategies, and quantify risks and uncertainties.

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Webinars and podcasts of interest

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With over 30 years of experience in analysis and modelling of fractured rock systems, Dr. Steve Rogers explains the combined Discrete Fracture-Network Limit Equilibrium (DFN-LE) approach, outlining the required data and the results it produces. He presents examples from large open pit operations and discusses how this approach has contributed to developments in inter-ramp analysis and design.

"I don't take one single result from a model as gospel. I'm skeptical, until I verify."

With over 30 years of experience in rock mechanics,
Dr Joe Carvalho shares on the RSTalks podcast how advances in computing and AI must be paired with expert understanding for accurate results and solutions that work. Whether it's 3D, 2D or even 1D modelling, using the right tool for the job, and understanding the limitations, is critical to good decision making.

A person with grey hair and glasses AI-generated content may be incorrect.

    WSP at

    Slope Stability in Mining 2025

Slope WSP logo updated

 

Presentations

  1. Alannah Gray Hubbard "Copper Mountain Mine North Pit Stabilization: Observational Approach"
  2. Blake Easby "Long-term Instability of the East Archimedes Slope Failure Headscarp: A Case History"
  3. Lesley Sandve "Development of a Ground Control Management Plan and Framework for Safe Access for a Legacy Open Pit Mine in the Northwest Territories, Canada"
  4. Luca Zorzi "3D Geological Models: A Reliable Depiction of Nature or a Sketch of our Biases?"
  5. Steve Rogers "Bench Design Optimization in a Sparsely Structured Rock Mass"
  6. Yogendran Arunachellan "Geotechnical Risk Assessment for the Orapa Mine Cut 3 Feasibility Study Pit Slope Design"
  7. Sean Warren “Preliminary Expansion of the Modified Ritchie Criterion: An Empirical Approach to Determining Minimum Bench Widths for Rockfall Catchment”
  8. Leo Basáez-Barrios Lafferte "Impacts of Geotechnical Characterisation on Stability Analyses: A Case Study in a Chilean Open Pit Mine"
  9. Steve Rogers "Derisking a Pilbara Iron Ore Pit Design Through a Stochastic Structural Stability Assessment"
  10. Tina Darakjian "Advantages of Geotechnical Data Collection During Pit Wall Construction for Open Pit Slope Design Optimisation"
  11. Adriana Sánchez Morán “Mine Water Management: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to be Effective in Geotechnical Risk Management and Production Compliance”

View the full conference program or contact our team to learn more.

    WSP at 
    Slope Stability 2024

Slope WSP logo updated

 

Workshops

  1. Pedro Ojeda and Santiago Marambio “DFN Analysis for Open Pit Slope Stability (Part 1 and Part 2)”
  2. Luiz Castro, Marisol Valerio, Marc Rougier, Sharon Ross “Weak Rock Sampling and Laboratory Testing for Open Pit Operations”

Conference Keynote Panelist

  1. Marisol Valerio “Women in Open Pit Mining: Highlighting the Technical Expertise of Women in Pit Slope Stability”

Presentations

  1. Luiz Castro “Optimization of Pit Slopes in Altered and Structurally Controlled Rock Masses with Weak, Large-Scale Structures”
  2. Marisol Valerio “Adapting to Unexpected Conditions: Mitigation of a Highly Altered Zone Encountered During Mining of the A21 Pit”
  3. Pedro Ojeda “Using Coupled Discrete Fracture Network and Limit Equilibrium Analysis to Improve Slope Design Reliability”
  4. Rodrigo Ortiz “Pre-Empting and Mitigating Risk: Development of a Semi-Quantitative Rockfall Hazard Rating Map for the Los Bronces Road System”

    WSP at
    Slope Stability in Mining 2023

Slope WSP logo updated

 

Workshops

  1. Marisol Valerio, Sarah Cox, Tina Darakjian, Casey Morrell, Kate Condon “Sampling and Laboratory Testing for Open Pit Slope Design”
  2. Steve Rogers and Ciara Byrne “Discrete Fracture Network Analysis for Open Pit Slope Stability”

Presentations

  1. Jennifer Levenick "Integrated Hydrogeological and Geotechnical Studies at the Diavik Diamond Mine in Support of Pit Slope Design Optimization"
  2. Tina Darakjian "Challenges of Characterising a Highly Altered and Variable Rock Mass for Open Pit Slope Design Optimization"
  3. Tina Darakjian "Development of a Fully Constrained Structural Model in a Volcano Caldera and its Influence on Open Pit Slope Design"
  4. Kate Condon "Considerations for Developing Intact Rock Strength Parameters for Open Pit Applications"
  5. Ciara Byrne "Structural Data Collection as a Key Input for Discrete Fracture Network Analysis"
  6. Casey Morrell "The Value of Senior-Level Practitioners Logging Core"
  7. Peter Edmondson "A Hybrid Deterministic-Stochastic Discrete Fracture Network to Evaluate Potential Inter-Ramp Instabilities"
  8. Steven Rogers "Evaluation of Inter-Ramp Scale Non-Daylighting Wedges Using a Discrete Fracture Network Based Method"

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Frequently asked questions

What is slope stability in mining?

It is the engineering and science involved in designing slopes in rock or soil, and forecasting whether slope failure will occur, as well as determining the nature of the failure (e.g., velocity of failure and failure mechanism).

Why is slope stability in mining important?

Implementing effective slope stability measures can help safeguard workers, maintain operational productivity, support adherence to industry standards and sustainability frameworks, and improve the financial aspects of mines.

What are the challenges involved in slope stability in mining?

Maintaining slope stability is a complex challenge, influenced by varying geological conditions, weather events, earthquakes, mining methods, and excavation technology. Some of the ongoing challenges include complex geology and unexpected subsurface conditions; managing water infiltration from rainfall or dewatering processes; addressing seismic risks in earthquake-prone regions; and adapting to larger and deeper open-pit designs as demand for resources grows. The engineers must also consider the capabilities and capacities of the teams and equipment excavating the slopes, the level of instrumentation, and the scale and time to identify and respond to slope stability hazards.

What advantages do mining companies gain from investing in slope stability engineering?

By investing in robust slope stability measures, mining companies protect their workforce, improve productivity, maximize ore recovery, and demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development. Robust stability measures include evaluating conformance and compliance to slope designs as the slopes develop and comparing slope performance relative to forecasts.

Meet our experts

Marisol Valerio - 563 x 563
Marisol Valerio
Senior Principal Rock Mechanics Engineer
Canada
Marc Rougier - 563x563
Marc Rougier
Senior Principal Rock Mechanics Engineer
Canada
Sarah Cox - 563 x 563
Sarah Cox
Assistant VP, Geotechnical Engineering
United States
Felipe Duran 563x563 Red
Felipe Duran
Mine Engineering and Stability Manager
Chile
Ciara Byrne 563x563 Red
Ciara Byrne
Senior Geological Consultant
United Kingdom
Adriana Snchez Morn 563x563 Red
Adriana Sánchez Morán
Technical Director, Hydrogeology
Spain
Khangwe Ramaano 563x563 Red
Khangwe Ramaano
Director, Mine Engineering & Stability
South Africa
Peter EdmondsonTemp 563x563 Red
Peter Edmondson
Principal Rock Mechanics Engineer
Australia
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