Tailings: From Vulnerability to Strategic Management

Why Risk Assessment is Important

The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate, using a case study, how a risk-based approach to dam safety assessment can help dam or mine owners prioritize their upgrade options. Risk-based assessment is a powerful tool for assessing the safety of tailings/dams by focusing on plausible failure scenarios. This approach helps identify and prioritize risks, determine necessary actions, and implement effective and cost-effective mitigation measures. A key advantage of this method over traditional standards-based assessments is its ability to prioritize mitigation options based on the risks associated with different failure modes.

Workshop location: Almaty, Satbayev University, Auditorium 113 GUK.

Tailings Facility Assessment Case Study

This presentation presents a risk-based safety assessment conducted for an existing tailings facility (TSF). The objective of the study was to ensure that risks to society remained within acceptable limits and to identify practical measures to reduce the risks. The estimated risks associated with all load cases and potential failure modes were quantified and presented using FN plots that illustrate the level of societal risk. Although the overall risk profile of the TSF was found to be within the tolerable risk range, a number of effective risk mitigation options were assessed. These could have reduced the risk further; however, due to the marginal initial risk level, it was concluded that the design currently satisfies the ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable) principle at this stage of construction.