Preventing tailings dam failures through surveillance

Engineers from Stantec to present on reducing risk of tailing dam failures

The use of dam surveillance to reduce the risk of tailings dam failure is the topic of an upcoming presentation at Tailings 2018, to be held July 11-13 in Santiago, Chile. The presentation will look at aspects of dam safety risk management: dam surveillance, emergency response plans, technology, and interpretation of data – what data from the tailings operation means and how the data can and should be used.

The presentation is based on on-going work by ICOLD, the International Commission on Large Dams, an organization that sets standards and guidelines to ensure dams are built and operated safely. Gabriel Troncoso, chairperson of the ICOLD Chilean national committee and tailings practice leader at Stantec, will lead the presentation that is based on work done by Carlos Iturralde and Andrew Bayliss, also of Stantec. ICOLD Chile has four active sub-committees: seismic aspects, water management, tailings dams, and dam safety. Other ICOLD tailings dam topics include how climate change could affect tailings dams – namely, the risk of floods.

Nowhere is the topic of tailings management more pertinent than in Chile where mining companies manage roughly 600 tailings dams in operation. As the world’s largest copper miner, the country hosts some of the largest tailings storage facilities in seismically active areas. As these facilities are always under construction, they require active monitoring and adaptive management to ensure that the required safety factors are maintained. Modern surveillance techniques are a great aid to the operators and managers of these facilities.

Tailings 2018 will be held July 11-13 in Santiago, Chile. The fifth international seminar on tailings will feature over 50 presentations by authors from 14 countries.