This interview ” Answering risk questions that cannot be answered with common practice approaches ” was recently published by Mind the Gap! We have added the red titlesto this version. The original questions are numbered Q1 to Q10. How large is the gap between companies following common practices vs. Best practices? Q1: After we first met, Franco, I realized how much proforma is the kind of Risk Management we do in our endeavors. How large is the gap between companies…
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We recently read that Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) temporarily underwent a operation suspension spill response at Veladero mine (Argentina). That was in compliance with a government request. Veladero is the only Barrick’s operational mine in the country. In 2015 Veladero produced approximately 10% of total Barrick’s gold production, a percentage forecasted to grow following the company’s last annual report. Management reportedly identified “better operational management of the leach pad” as a contributing factor to the growth in production. Operation suspension spill…
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INTECH published The long shadow of Human Generated Geohazards: Risks and Crises, our chapter in the book entitled Geohazards Caused by Human Activity! The wait is over! You can freely download the text here . We sincerely hope you will enjoy it. Please drop us a note and let us know your comments on the chapter. Geohazards Caused by Human Activity Our chapter in geohazards caused by human activity is geared toward focusing attention on the “damage and risk” side…
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At R&R Conference we heard the representative of a major mutual insurance company talking about Resilience, sustainability and insurance. Resilience, sustainability and insurance Resilience was defined as the ability to recover after an accident, the ability to withstand disruption and rebound quickly. The talk also discussed sustainability as it was defined by the UN in 1987. The UN Brundtland Commission was officially dissolved in December 1987 after releasing Our Common Future. The text, also known as the Brundtland Report, coined…
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Resilience cannot be based on instinctual decision-making. Instead it should rely on forward looking risk assessments to avoid squandering private and public money in useless Capex. Do we need resilience enhancements? The Canadian government pledged a budget of 40M$ over five years to integrate climate resilience into building design, guides and codes. It’s certainly a wise move as codes customarily rely on statistics, business like usual, and experience. None of those approaches is robust enough to cope with climate changes…
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Did we learn more about resilience at the Conference on Risk and Resilience? Over forty papers and keynote lectures covered many aspects of hazards, risks. However, only a few taught about resilience. By the way, one of the key lecturer asked the audience if there were any CEOs or CxOs from any mining company in the room. A long silence was the answer. Nobody…it’s remarkable, isn’t it? It seems that even in the aftermath of the two last tailings dams…
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We recently read an article stating that more automation will reduce the number of workers needed in the mining industry, like in many other industries. The advent of self-driving vehicles is calling for a societal paradigm shift comparable to last century’s industrial revolution. Of course we are referring to Elon Musk’s Tesla, Google self-driving cars and Mercedes Benz self-driving trucks. More automation will reduce the number of workers needed in the mining industry The advent, for example, of Komatsu’s Autonomous…
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Resilience, the old way was often the result of “simple over-design”. As a matter of fact especially when invasions provided very cheap labour, as slaves and, in modern times, war or political prisoners of some kind. Souvenirs about Resilience, the old way I remember my first job as a civil engineer, in North Africa, at the end of the seventies. The mission was to check over 200km of single track railroad for foundation stability and bridges integrity. Someone high-up in…
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