Copy of workshop presentation. Ridlen presents the difference between tailings and water dams and the challenges of both. He then presents his client experiences and an example of a client policy and project.
Geoprofessional Business Associations (GBA) Tailings Engineer-of-Record (EOR) Task Force published a Business Brief to inform and educate Member-Firms of the ever-increasing levels of risk associated with tailings dams.
Copy of workshop presentation. McLeod presents his personal perspective on EoR, Canadian Dam Association initiation of EoR guidance, Mount Polley case study, and BC Ministry of Energy and Mines', Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia's, and Canadian Dam Association's Code and Guidance Documents
Engineer of Record (EoR) is a simple and resolute concept that is applied throughout the western world for civil works construction. But how can the EoR concept be applied to a transient design one that implements the observational approach with a construction life that covers decades, often exceeding a design engineers career or lifetime, and one that is directly impacted by changes in the state of practice? Tailings storage facilities (TSFs) are the necessary result of successful mining, milling and/or power production. However, unlike conventional water storage dams that are viewed as an asset by their owners, TSFs and the dams that retain them are an ever-expanding and undesirable yet necessary and ongoing liability throughout the life of operations and into perpetuity. In the wake of the Mount Polley (Canada) tailings dam failure in August 2014 and the Samarco (Brazil) tailings dam failure in November 2015, the efficacy of the EoR for TSFs has been brought into question globally. GBAs Tailings EoR Task Force is leading this important initiative in the United States.
BC Chief Inspector of Mines - The Mount Polley tailings dam, owned by Imperial Metals, breached 4 August 2014, releasing its free pond water and a portion of the tailings into Polley Lake. The spill flooded Polley Lake, creating a plug at Hazeltine Creek, and continued into nearby Quesnel Lake and Cariboo River. The cause of the dam breach and subsequent tailings spill has been investigated with a final report published 31 January 2015, the Independent Expert Engineering Investigation and Review Panel assessment of the Mount Polley Tailings Storage Facility Breach.
Independent Expert Panel - The Mount Polley tailings dam, owned by Imperial Metals, breached 4 August 2014, releasing its free pond water and a portion of the tailings into Polley Lake. The spill flooded Polley Lake, creating a plug at Hazeltine Creek, and continued into nearby Quesnel Lake and Cariboo River. The cause of the dam breach and subsequent tailings spill has been investigated with a final report published 31 January 2015, the Independent Expert Engineering Investigation and Review Panel assessment of the Mount Polley Tailings Storage Facility Breach