Heap leaching structure is the primary unit of the hydrometallurgy process in heap leaching method. In this method, copper oxide soil with a stepped height ranging from 5 m to15 m with a total height of 80 m to 100 m are placed on the sloped gravelly drainage layer. Potential instability of these structures may induce heavy economical and environmental damage. Thus, in order to prevent heap instability, steeply sloping sections are leveled out prior to placing the permeable layer of sand, compacted cushion and geo-membrane along the base of the structure. Given that the overall area of the structure is around 1 km2, an attempt at reducing the overall slope will prove to be a costly procedure. Therefore it is of great importance to carefully study the area to be leached and determine exactly which blocks in the structure require slope reduction as well as the amount of slope reduction necessary. The methods used to date for slope stability analysis in soil only provide that mass stability safety factor. However, the data neither allows the determination of the amount of slope to be reduced in each block of the structure nor potential failure location can be detected.
In this paper, a new approach entitled: “Block- to- Block Stability Analysis” is presented. The method is based on a combined effect of passive, active and inert processes. In this method it is assumed that there is an upward force which acts between sliding block masses. The relations obtained and used were derived from the heap leaching structure, and the results obtained were studied. Using these results in practical scenarios it is possible to determine exactly which block in the structure requires slope reduction as well as the amount of slope reduction necessary, easily and efficiently. The second advantage to this approach in comparison to already existing methods is that one can determine the admissible acid levels for each block in the structure as well as regions of heap leaching tension cracks within the leaching structure
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