Nowadays, the storage of material coming from the mining process is performed in stockpiles of great size, which might face failure if the retrieving is not done correctly and if the repose angle is exceeded. This study aims to analyze a stockpile failure that occurred in northwest Italy by the distinct element method (DEM), specifically investigate if this numerical method can reproduce the process of creating stockpile and its possible failure. In this context, the distinct element method is a numerical method developed by (Cundall & Strack, 1979)based on Newton's second law of motion and the basic law of particle interaction, allowing to model material as a realistic mechanical system consisting of particles bonded by interaction forces or contact models.