Geotechnical Investigations
of Coal Mine Waste Dump Material
Pudari Harish and Karra Ram Chandar
Disaster Advances; Vol. 18(5); 10-17;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/185da10017; (2025)
Abstract
Mining is an essential activity for obtaining the raw materials required for infrastructure
and energy needs. During the extraction of coal, a significant amount of overburden
(OB) material is generated. Managing the overburden produced by mining activities
demands a substantial land for disposal which can be quite challenging in limited
spaces. Consequently, it becomes imperative to design safe coal mine OB dumps, optimizing
the use of available ground space. The challenge of ensuring the stability of overburden
dumps is directly linked to the geotechnical properties of these materials.
Therefore, it is crucial to characterize the properties of the dump material accurately
to assess its engineering properties reliably. The focus of this study is to outline
the various testing procedures necessary for the proper characterization of dump
materials to ensure the stability of the dumps. Additionally, the study provides
an analysis of laboratory test data and presents typical results from a case study.