SLOPE STABILITY
Scanning the horizon
Slope stability monitoring technology continues to evolve, ensuring that open pit mines and tailings dams are as safe as possible, reports Paul Moore
In the past, slope stability radar technology was something primarily associated with large open pit mines – but increasingly this state-of-the-art technology is being used to monitor tailings dams as well. This is driven by initiatives like the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management( GISTM) which has accelerated the industry’ s focus on geotechnical risk management and increased expectations around continuous, reliable monitoring.
Harold Forsyth – Vice President- Remote Monitoring, Orica Digital Solutions told IM:“ We’ re seeing stronger demand for solutions that provide actionable insights and support more informed operational decisions, including our Slope Stability Radar( SSR) portfolio and RGR-Velox. Beyond radar monitoring, customers are increasingly looking for integrated tailings monitoring ecosystems that bring together multiple data sources into a single view of asset health. Also, mining customers are looking for greater confidence in managing both slope and tailings risks.”
David Armstrong- Vice President – Integrated In-place Monitoring, Orica Digital Solutions added that across the Geosolutions portfolio, Orica can deploy a comprehensive suite of technologies to monitor tailings storage facilities, measuring everything from large-scale ground deformation with 3vGeomatics InSAR to displacement, settlement, pore pressure and water levels with its range of sensors from
RST Instruments, Measurand and Navstar, to vibration and motion through its Syscom offerings.
In addition, he said that Orica Digital Solutions’ Geotechnical Support Services( GSS) now provides expert monitoring and reporting as a value-added service across the entire portfolio, helping customers transform data into actionable insights and strengthen governance and compliance.
Moving to data analytics and software, what role does Orica’ s MonitorIQ Next play in ensuring data is interpreted correctly including removing any noise or false positives? Forsyth:“ The challenge today isn’ t collecting data; it’ s turning data into confident decisions. MonitorIQ ® Next
WSP offers Large Open Pit training
MonitorIQ ® Next is the latest release of GroundProbe’ s geotechnical analysis software- GroundProbe is part of Orica’ s Digital Solutions portfolio
helps geotechnical teams quickly identify meaningful deformation trends while reducing the impact of noise and operational variability. By integrating advanced atmospheric correction capabilities from Precision Atmospherics, the platform helps distinguish real ground movement from environmental effects that can distort monitoring data. This helps reduce false alarms and improves confidence in data integrity. Its customisable interface and streamlined workflows also make monitoring information easier to interpret and act on. The result is faster, more informed decisionmaking and better risk management.”
Armstrong also pointed out that mining customers increasingly recognise that no single monitoring technology can provide a complete view of ground behaviour.“ We’ re seeing growing demand for integrated approaches that combine radar with a host of geotechnical instrumentation. Our Geosolutions portfolio is a one-stop shop in that sense, with a fleet of products from InSAR and ground-based radars to tilt loggers, pressure cells, extensometers and more, together with connectivity options to bring it all together. Through our visualisation and data aggregation platforms, we’ re helping customers bring these data sources together to improve risk management and operational confidence.”
Does Orica’ s broad range of solutions not mean there is a lot of potential for consolidation or synergies between the software package used for each of the major technologies? Armstrong:“ That’ s certainly the direction we see the industry moving. Customers want fewer platforms and a more unified way of understanding geotechnical risk across their operations. While MonitorIQ ® Next provides a connected environment for GroundProbe monitoring technologies, the broader vision is enabled
The Large Open Pit( LOP) project is an international research and technology transfer project focused on the engineering of large slopes associated with open pit mines. It is an industry-sponsored and funded project that was initiated in 2005. Among the initiatives mandated by the LOP sponsors was the development of a series of guidelines on the state-of-practice related to the design and stability of large slopes associated with open pit mines. The dissemination of the knowledge that has been created through LOP Guidelines and supporting research initiatives, and the education and training of the professionals who work in open pit mining, are also mandates of the LOP. To facilitate this dissemination, and education and training, the LOP Sponsors recently agreed to allocate a separate budget for Education and Training under LOP III. In collaborating with WSP Mining, training webinars on Guidelines for Sampling and Laboratory Testing of Strong Rock for Open Pit Operations as well as Guidelines for Weak Rock Characterisation have been developed in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French.
38 International Mining | AUGUST 2026