November 28, 2024, Denver, CO, USA – Knight Piésold demonstrated its industry leadership at the Tailings and Mine Waste 2024 conference, with mining specialists from five global offices contributing valuable insights and fostering dialogue on innovative approaches to tailings and mine waste management.

The conference, held from November 10 to 13 at the Westin Westminster in Westminster, Colorado, was hosted by the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department of Colorado State University. It brought together mining professionals from around the world to address geotechnical, environmental, and regulatory challenges facing the tailings and mine waste field.

Knight Piésold’s participation included serving as a sponsor and having representation on the conference committee, underscoring the company's commitment to shaping discourse in the field. The team also contributed valuable insights that were presented at four technical sessions.

On November 11, during Technical Session 1.2B, a paper co-authored by Wilson Muir, a senior engineer from Knight Piésold's North Bay office, was presented by Patrick Williamson of INTERA. Titled "Design of a Co-Disposal Facility for Thickened Tailings and Potentially Acid Generating Waste Rock," the paper provided an overview of a proposed co-disposal strategy for the Alacrán Cu-Au-Ag Mine Project in northwestern Colombia, involving layered co-mingling as the best balance between effectiveness and feasibility to manage potentially acid-generating waste rock during mining.

On the same day, Zach Fox, a senior engineer from Knight Piésold’s Denver office and a member of the conference's organizing committee, moderated Technical Session 1.3A, facilitating engaging presentations on methods of tailings dam design.

On November 13, Letícia Garcia, a junior civil engineer from Knight Piésold’s Belo Horizonte office, delivered a presentation during Technical Session 3.2B on "Compaction Sensitivity in Tailings Stack Infiltration Modeling: Unsaturated Properties Uncertainty Analysis,” a paper co-authored by Marcos Lemos of Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM) and Dr. Guilherme Gomes of the Federal University of Ouro Preto. The paper proposed addressing calibration uncertainties using a Bayesian approach and discussed their implications for the results of numerical infiltration modeling in tailings stacks based on sensitivity analyses of void ratio compaction.

Later that day, in Technical Session 3.3B, Daniel Adria, a project engineer from Knight Piésold’s Vancouver office, spoke about the paper "Volumes of Dam Material Mobilized by Erosion During Tailings Dam Failure Events." The paper, co-authored by Violeta Martin and Heleman Wong of Knight Piésold Canada, presented two empirical equations for calculating an eroded dam volume and dam erosion rate. These equations and approaches were specifically developed for tailings dam breach assessments and can help address some of the difficulties and uncertainties with such assessments.

“Our contributions to this conference reflect our ongoing efforts to advance this dynamic, evolving field,” said Fox. “By engaging in discussions with our clients and the industry, we continue to work together to drive innovation and promote sustainable practices across the mining industry."

Knight Piésold's team was further strengthened by participation from the Denver office, including Paul Ridlen, Jordan Scheremeta, Nick Sianta, and Stefan Pauley; the Belo Horizonte office’s Gustavo Vianna and Octavio Vilas; and the Lima office, including Rubén Vargas, Solange Paihua, Pilar Paihua, and Fanny Herrera.

Vargas, the engineering manager at Knight Piésold Peru added, “This conference not only provided a platform for knowledge exchange but also an opportunity to connect with clients and the industry and explore advanced solutions in responsible mining.”

“Our participation reinforces Knight Piésold's position as an industry leader. We are at the forefront committed to delivering technical excellence and driving sustainable development in the mineral exploration projects and mining operations we support, contributing to progress in both our local communities and the global mining industry,” Vargas concluded.