This paper presents a numerical analysis for the unsaturated flow throughout a copper ore heap leach as well as static and dynamic slope stability analyses since the structure is planned to be built in a highly seismic region in the South of Peru. The heap will be constructed with non-treated copper ore (run of mine) on an impermeable pad specially devised to avoid the possibility of ground contamination by the flow of the acid solution. The numerical results obtained in the stability analyses indicate that the heap leach presents satisfactory safety factors even when considering earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 with maximum acceleration of 0.30g. It has been also observed that the phreatic line formed by the lixiviation solution does not reach the layers devised to protect the drainage pipes of the lixiviation system.
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