Transberg Method. From Drone Flight to Hazard Map – adding value to Open Pit Geotechnical Assessments

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-900-1_15How to use a DOI?

Keywords

UAV drones; kinematic assessment; hazard mapping; rock fall; slope hazard mitigation

Abstract

Throughout parts of the Australian mining industry, the adoption of new slope assessment technology has been largely stagnant with the default methodology of 2D Limit Equilibrium analysis with generic rockmass parameters producing a factor of safety, being accepted as representing slope stability. This is a simplistic and conservative assumption for a low to moderate stress, but often structurally affected, environment where kinematic instability is an inherently more dominant failure mechanism. The question is often posed by technical and production personnel as “where are the hazards likely to be?” and “How do we control them?”.

To address this Encompass Mining have developed a method, initially in open pit quarries, utilising commercially available software, to provide a rapid 3D assessment of excavated hard walls for potential kinematic or rockfall hazards. This method utilises high resolution images obtained from UAV of a subject slope and processes them through evaluation software in three-dimensional space to produce a slope hazard map which can in turn identify areas with high potential rock fall hazards. Results are then used to refine mitigation measures, such as separation, hard bunding or further engineering controls that may need to be employed to reduce the risk to personnel and equipment.

This paper presents a case study of the assessment, analysis and ongoing monitoring of a structurally complex slope at a mining operation in Australia. The employment of this method allowed quick identification of hazard zones in the operating pit and the integration of slope stability monitoring tools provided focused monitoring and predictive analysis. By undertaking a rapid kinematic hazard assessment and identifying areas that require additional controls, the mine operations were able to optimise the mining process, minimise the downtime of equipment and keep production on schedule at a significant cost saving for the operation. This process is now routine at this mine-site as development occurs in and around the area of unstable ground and can be completed on site or remotely with the current technology.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Glen Guy
AU  - Mark Sjoberg
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/07
TI  - Transberg Method. From Drone Flight to Hazard Map – adding value to Open Pit Geotechnical Assessments
BT  - Proceedings of the Rocscience International Conference 2025 (RIC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 153
EP  - 163
SN  - 2589-4943
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-900-1_15
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-900-1_15
ID  - Guy2025
ER  -