Date/Time
Date(s) - 02/10/2016
8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Location
Keystone Conference Center
Categories
A path to zero failures in tailings facility: what are the success criteria and what is achievable?
The course will examine recent findings from the Mount Polley tailings facility failure and outline the risk assessment methods that can be used to prevent future tailings disasters. While many methodologies exist, the public is asking for a path to zero failures in tailings facility; mining companies are more and more sensitive to the multi-dimensional consequence of tailings failures and want to reduce risks with economically viable solutions.
We have to ask ourselves, beyond demagogical statements and arbitrary truths, what has a chance to work, what are the success criteria, what is achievable and what can be asked to a responsible miner today. During this course:
- Practical risk assessment method techniques for the management of mine geowaste facilities will be role-played using past and recent case histories. Various methods used for undertaking risk assessment and decision making, including FMEAs, Fault Trees and Event Trees will be used (properly, as they were originally stated) and misused (as often done) to show common pitfalls and how misleading results can be generated. Easy corrective measures will be developed, so that delegates can start reviewing extant risk assessments of their facilities.
- In the era of IoT (Internet of Things) and professional civilian drones new capabilities are becoming available and risk assessments can benefit from those disruptive technologies. Solutions to problems such as baby- boomers retirements and related loss of knowledge, real time information updates, management overwhelming syndrome and lack of focused prioritization (non respect of the 80-20 (Pareto) rule) are now within reach with reasonable efforts. We will show what exist on the market and what you should expect and ask from such systems in order to:
- Be ready to deliver at any given time (produce 7/24, 365 days).
- Ensure operational sustainability (asset, maintenance, and stewardship).
- Maintain confidentiality and security (of intelligence, prospection, outputs, etc.).
- Satisfy public opinion while being notoriously prone to be opposed and criticized.
Upon completion
participants will be better equipped to manage mine geowaste facilities, in accordance with current best management practices, including comprehensive consideration of hazards, probabilities of failure, consequence quantification, and most importantly, implementation of mitigation measures to reduce cost and ensure safety.
Instructors:
Dr. F. Oboni, Oboni Riskope Associates, Inc., Vancouver, B.C.
C. Oboni, Oboni Riskope Associates Inc., Vancouver, B.C.
J. Caldwell, Robertson GeoConsultants, Inc., Vancouver, B.C.
