Evaluation of Tailings Storage Facilities monitoring technologies

Project Number: P1217
Status: Active
Amira Program Manager: Silvia Black

Part of Amira’s Future Tailings Program

Overview:

In the aftermath of the recent spate of Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF) failures, there has been a significant increase in activity relating to the monitoring of TSFs. A focus of this project is to provide an independent evaluation of a range of monitoring technologies and their suitability for the application of providing advance warning of potential instabilities of TSFs. This will be achieved through an integrated programme of laboratory and field testing as well as physical and numerical modeling of sponsor selected sites. Monitoring equipment vendors will be able to contribute to the project through provision of their technologies for site testing.

The benefits from sponsoring this project include:

• Access to a report detailing the suitability of all available instrumentation for monitoring TSFs
• Having an opportunity to be a test site for detailed sampling and testing of tailings and foundation soils, provision of a calibrated numerical model for the site, selection of suitable instrumentation and receipt of an individual report of the results
• Access to a Dashboard providing an integrated display of information derived from the monitoring programme
• Access to a final guidance Monograph detailing approaches to choosing suitable instrumentation for monitoring the potential development (and onset) of specific failure modes