Catalogue of real-time instrumentation and monitoring techniques for tailings dams

ABSTRACT

With ongoing catastrophic mine tailings dam failures, the hindsight revelation of poor safety records, and an increasing prevalence of public scrutiny and attention of mining operations, there is an immediate call for enhanced safety of tailings dams. Today, challenges arise in identifying and utilising the ability of monitoring systems to understand the complex performance and behaviours of these dams, reflecting on the system’s ability to predict deterioration before failure occurs. New literature, mining regulators, insurance firms, and mining practitioners are calling for increased diligence in the form of real-time monitoring: but what can the industry offer in response? This research establishes a centralisation of real-time monitoring instruments suitable for tailings dams, discussing the specifications, advantages, and disadvantages of each. An understanding of traditional instrumentation, online monitoring systems, and the value of centralised monitoring was detailed. Collaboration with suppliers discovered innovative systems which enable monitoring of different failure modes and mechanisms.

KEYWORDS:

• Dams
• monitoring
• field instrumentation
• risk management
• safety
• tailings dam
• geotechnical
• stability

Acknowledgements

The author would like to recognise the ‘Contributors’ listed in Appendix A for their willingness and collaborative nature in developing the catalogue of real-time instrumentation and monitoring techniques for tailings dams.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Some or all data, models, or code used during the study were provided by a third party. (Appendix A presents an adaptation of third party inputs. The third parties are acknowledged in the ‘Contributors’ sheet.) Direct request for these materials may be made to the provider as indicated in the Acknowledgments.