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Wells Fargo judgement and Tailings risks

We thought of Wells Fargo judgement and Tailings risks in follow-up to the recent judgement against a number of bank’s officers. The judgement cites widespread failure to: “identify the root cause of …misconduct”, “provide credible challenges to risk controls managers”, “timely evaluate the effectiveness of risk controls” and finally, “timely identify, address and escalate the risk management controls failures that threatened the safety, soundness and reputation…”. At first sight one may be tempted to dismiss this “banking-legal” stuff as not…

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Prefeasibility hazard adjusted NPV

A mining company asked us to perform a Prefeasibility hazard adjusted NPV evaluation. Our action first focused on bringing clarity in their risk register which presented numerous classic mistakes. Among these the usual confusion in terminology, confusing risks and hazards, uncertainties vs risks, etc. Once the risk register was corrected it was possible to perform the requested hazard adjusted NPV and to draw valuable conclusions. Among these, we highlighted potential fatal flaws of the project which warranted in depth analyses…

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Tailings risks correlations

Tailings risk correlations or lack thereof refers to a phenomenon we oftentimes encounter in ORE ERMs deployments in various industries. The risk bubble in the p-C graph The figure below shows a classic simplified result from a ERM. The quadrant is the probability (p), Consequence (C) quadrant with the addition of the risk tolerance band. The band has a width corresponding to the divergent opinion between optimistic and pessimistic key stakeholders on tolerance. A given hazard has uncertainties on both…

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Hunger stones refresh our short memory

Hunger stones refresh our short memory, they are indeed messages straight from the past. Those who endured droughts and resulting famine left them for their successors. Indeed, the hunger stones tell stories of severe hardship due to droughts. Of course they become visible when it is too late, as they are normally lying below water level (Hungersteine in the Rhine – Memory of great need – Experience Worms (worms-erleben.de). Today we will discuss if these events actually constitute divergence from…

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Zero to 300 in thirty

Zero to 300 in thirty is not the performance of a new sensational sport car. And we are talking about thirty years, not seconds! Actually, zero to 300 in thirty years is the cumulative experience Riskope and its founders have dealing with tailings dams risk assessments all over the world.  You should not understand it as an “average” evaluation either, as the evolution has been trending towards exponential. Let’s discover together what we are talking about. Zero to 300 in…

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FUV vs RIDM friends or foes at CIMBC22

FUV vs RIDM friends or foes at CIMBC22 sounds like a riddle, right? But it is not! Please, note FUV was actually never written as an acronym. Actually FUV stands for firmitas, utilitas, et venustas in Latin language.  Today we freely translate the terms into English as reliability, serviceability and beauty, straying a tad away from the original meaning. However, Henry Wotton, a seventeenth century translator, coined “firmness, commodity, and delight” as essential components of all successful architectural design. Wotton remained faithful…

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The five laws of stupidity and risk management

The five laws of stupidity and risk management are deeply interconnected. As a matter of fact, stupidity is often the root cause of many accidents, in any industry or human endeavor. Haven’t we all heard phrases like: “… it was a stupid accident”, “it was a stupid mistake…”? Like usual, we will ensure that the glossary is crystal clear before we discuss the subject. And like usual, you will see that a clear glossary is absolutely vital. The classic definition…

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Recent failure at Pau Branco Mine, MG, Brazil

The recent failure at Pau Branco Mine, MG, Brazil is a classic example of cascading events. At this Vallourec Mineração (VMN) iron ore mine the failure of an uphill structure/slope led to overtopping of a downstream retention structure. As a result a flood reached a highway and the environment. Photograph provided by: Adolfo Tribst Corrêa A bit of Pau Branco innovation history Back in 2015 this mine was touted as a technological success when a new filter press module was installed.…

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