April 7, 2026, Perth, WA, Australia – Knight Piésold Australia, a proud sponsor of the Queensland Tailings Group (QTG), participated in the 2026 QTG Master Class on Slope Stability, held on 24 March 2026 at the Four Points by Sheraton Perth Hotel. The event brought together tailings professionals from across Australia and internationally for discussions on tailings behaviour and geotechnical performance.

Dr. Jim Luo, Principal Geotechnical Engineer, and Dr. Dhanalakshmi Padmaraj, Geotechnical Engineer, represented Knight Piésold at the master class, engaging with industry leaders including tailings specialists and geotechnical engineers from BHP, WSP, KCB, REC, and Red Earth Engineering.

The master class was co-chaired by Dr. Andy Fourie (Professor, University of Western Australia) and Andy Small (Senior Consultant, KCB Canada), and featured additional presentations by Riccardo Fanni (Principal Tailings Engineer, WSP Australia) and Caleb Rodriguez (Senior Tailings Engineer, WSP Australia).

Small highlighted the key aspects of ICOLD Mining Bulletin 194 and emphasised the importance of undrained and post-liquefaction analysis in tailings dams. He also discussed the key differences between ICOLD and ANCOLD guidelines for tailings dams.

Fourie examined the brittleness behaviour of foundations and proposed several methods to optimise embankment geometry by minimising the need for large buttresses through consideration of the brittleness factor. He also introduced a novel parameter—the susceptibility index—that effectively characterises material brittleness by incorporating strain considerations, unlike the traditional brittleness factor.

Fanni and Rodriguez discussed the critical role of sample preparation in triaxial and direct simple shear testing and its impact on the reliability of test results.

“The event sparked thoughtful discussions and provided an excellent opportunity for collaboration and shared insights,” said Dr. Padmaraj. “These discussions continue to strengthen our understanding of tailings behaviour and geotechnical performance—critical to safe and sustainable mining operations.”

Knight Piésold’s involvement with QTG extends beyond sponsorship. Regional Manager (Queensland) Tim Rowles serves on the Risk, Reward and Liability Working Group (Tailings Engineering Services), demonstrating the company’s ongoing commitment to advancing the tailings community and sharing technical knowledge across the industry.