Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has predicted an impending collapse of a portion of its Nchanga open-pit copper mine in Zambia after a series of geotechnical assessments found some slope instability.
Preliminary indications have shown that the slough, or caving in of ground, will be confined to a stretch of around 350 meters, the Zambian copper producer said, putting the estimated area and volume of the failure at 8 million cubic meters, or 20 million tonnes.The anticipated slough is manifesting through a series of multiple tension cracks, which have continued to open up almost parallel to the strike of the open-pit east perimeter road, the company...