Rock slope stability of the quarries of Estremoz marble zone

Abstract

The Estremoz Marble Zone is one of the most important dimension stone production centre in the World. In these quarries located in the Alentejo Region (Southern Portugal), rock slopes, some of them with more than one hundred meters high, has been mined. This work emphasizes structural control in the marble quarrying and presents a case study, in which the analysis of the stability of a slope was based on a geological and structural data. The analysis was carried out in order to evaluate a possible failure of the slope due to the quarrying progress which could affect a surrounding quarry and a road close to the slope quarry.