Indonesian Journal of Innovation and Applied Sciences (IJIAS)
Vol. 6 No. 2 (2026): June-September

Life of mine pit design optimization in anticline coal deposits based on break- even stripping ratio and slope stability analysis

Sylvia Della (Department of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Sriwijaya, Indonesia)
Eddy Ibrahim (Department of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Sriwijaya, Indonesia)
Taufik Toha (Department of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Sriwijaya, Indonesia)
Maulana Yusuf (Department of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Sriwijaya, Indonesia)
Syamsul Komar (Department of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Sriwijaya, Indonesia)
Rahmat Wahyudi Putra (Department of Environmental Science, Postgraduate, Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
18 Jun 2026

Abstract

This study investigates how geological structure, economic limits, and slope stability can be integrated to optimize a Life of Mine (LoM) pit design in an anticline coal deposit. The objective is to determine an economically viable and technically safe pit design by evaluating pit shell alternatives using the Break-Even Stripping Ratio (BESR) and slope stability considerations. The study utilized secondary technical data from an existing mining project, including geological models, pit shell optimization results, mining cost parameters, geotechnical evaluations, mining constraints, and reserve estimates. No additional field investigation, numerical modeling, or recalculation of pit optimization and slope stability was performed. The anticline structure significantly influences seam geometry, overburden distribution, and stripping ratio characteristics. Pit shell evaluation was conducted using a BESR threshold of 5.8 bcm/ton. Among the evaluated alternatives, pit shell 4 was selected as the optimum design, generating approximately 61.51 million bcm of waste and 17.16 million tons of mineable coal, with an incremental stripping ratio of 5.04 and an accumulated stripping ratio of 3.58. Slope stability assessment indicated that several pit wall sections required geometry adjustments to meet safety requirements. The optimized LoM pit design resulted in a mineable coal reserve of 16.12 million tons. The findings demonstrate that integrating geological structure, BESR analysis, slope stability, and mining constraints is essential for producing a pit design that maximizes coal recovery while maintaining economic feasibility and operational safety in structurally complex coal deposits.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

ijias

Publisher

Subject

Decision Sciences, Operations Research & Management Economics, Econometrics & Finance Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Mathematics Social Sciences

Description

AIM Indonesian Journal of Innovation and Applied Sciences (IJIAS) is an International Journal, Peer-Reviewed, and Open Access which is devoted to disseminating the results of community service, innovation research, and research results in applied sciences. IJIAS does not accept a critical review ...