What is KATS?

KATS stands for “Kinematic Analysis Tools for Slopes” and is a service aimed at assessing geotechnical instabilities caused by day-lighting wedges and planar failures formed when different structural sets interact with the orientation of a given slope. KATS´ main application is bench scale analysis, which is understood as a first step in the slope design process for moderate and competent rock masses. It is also possible to perform a kinematic analysis at inter-ramp scale in the case of mining open pits.

Unlike other tools currently available in the market of geotechnical analysis, through a single automated process, KATS performs a probabilistic or deterministic assessment of the behavior of a large number of slope configurations defined by many structural domains and many orientations and geometries of the slope.

The results from the analysis can be obtained through a variety of parameters, such as crest loss (or back-break), spill lengths, bench face angle distribution, etc. All these results allow a geometric definition of the inter-ramp angles (IRA) which achieve the acceptability criteria defined by the operation from the point of view of stability and safety of personnel and equipment.

Advantages of KATS

• Very quick analyses (a few minutes of computer time for a full open pit)

• Simple and easy to learn

• Most inputs are readily available at operating sites

• Parameters can be calibrated given a known performance of the slopes

• Provides estimates of the spill length associated to the failure mode

• Can apply a probabilistic approach to produce cumulative frequency analysis (CFA) charts, which is a typical methodology for bench scale design in rock slopes.