Methodology proposals for the monitoring of activation levels and response plans for tailings deposits in Mexico
Author: Andrew Rudy1, Luis Morales1
Conference: XXXI National Meeting of Geotechnical Engineering
Date: November 16-19, 2022
1 Knight Piésold Consulting S.A. de C.V., Mexico City, Mexico
ABSTRACT
This article presents a methodology proposed by Knight Piésold for the preparation of trigger action response plans or TARPs and is intended to serve as a technical guide for the global mining industry. A TARP provides a set of predefined indicators of failure of a tailings dam, which can be monitored through geotechnical instrumentation, each indicator triggers a set of actions that must be taken into account to prevent the failure or mitigate its impacts. Fault indicators are developed based on the results of geotechnical, geological and hydrological analyses. A TARP provides a method for detecting early warning signs and preventing dam failure, being considered one of the most important documents in tailings dam safety. Although a TARP has become an internationally required document for the safe management of tailings dams and water dams, there is little universally accepted guidance on what these documents should contain and how they should create them.
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