The heavy sulfide zone (HSZ) of the Grasberg deposit has the geometry of a funnel and is located at the contact of the mineralised intrusive and the relatively barren sedimentary rock types. The geometry and the rock properties associated with the HSZ plays a significant role in pushback design and sequencing. Most of the HSZ has relatively low strengths which must be considered in slope design and management. This paper presents the open pit mine geotechnical and planning design considerations associated with the HSZ._x000D_
FORMAL CITATION:Prawasono, A, Nicholas, D, Young, J, Belluz, N, Schmelter, S C and Widodo, S, 2007. The geometry of the heavy sulfide zone - a challenge for mine planning and geotech at Grasberg, in Proceedings Sixth Large Open Pit Mining Conference 2007, pp 99-106 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).