Abstract: Due to rapidly growing energy needs and the resultant rise in the use of coal to meet them, exploration and exploitation of coal resources has seen exponential growth. Global concerns about the environmental impact of coal exploitation have led to an increasing shift to open-cast mining of coal, in place of the traditional deep-pit mining. This has led to search for a suitable method of handling the large quantity of soil – termed overburden – that is a by-product of open-cast coal mining. The most practical method of disposal of overburden has been to dump it in nearby open areas, which causes concern about the stability and mechanical behavior of the resultant hillocks.