Tailings Dams & Tailings Impoundments

Safe, economical designs adaptive to performance

BGC provides comprehensive geoscience-based engineering services for tailings impoundments for the entire mining life cycle from conceptual design through closure that includes site selection and characterization; all stages of design; issued for construction documents; construction monitoring; operation and maintenance manuals, surveillance and inspection; and reclamation plans.  

BGC provides comprehensive geoscience-based engineering services for tailings impoundments for the entire mining lifecycle from conceptual design through closure. These services include:
  • Site selection, characterization, geohazard assessment, borrow studies, risk assessments, alternatives studies
  • Design for:
    • All stages of mining including conceptual, feasibility, capital/operational, and closure
    • Different tailings technologies including conventional slurry, thickened, filtered 
    • Optimized economics using the available borrow 
    • Different site conditions including climate (e.g., cold, temperate, arid, tropical climates and their potential for future changes “climate change”), and high seismicity 
    • Structures to manage stormwater and seepage (including projected future climate change) 
  • Engineer of record (EOR) duties with issued for construction documents (drawings specification, records reporting), construction monitoring (QA and QC), contract bid evaluation support 
  • Operational support including water balances, dam breach studies, operation and maintenance manuals, surveillance and inspection, instrumentation and remote sensing systems for monitoring, and depositional planning
  • Risk assessments
  • Support for engagement with regulators or members (e.g., for permits). 

Related Projects

Key Contacts

Tailings Dams & Tailings Impoundments

Chris McKane

Principal Geological/Geotechnical Engineer, Mining Team Lead

Tailings Dams & Tailings Impoundments

Ed Carey

Principal Geotechnical Engineer

Tailings Dams & Tailings Impoundments

Andre Zerwer

Principal Geotechnical Engineer

Tailings Dams & Tailings Impoundments

Simon Dickinson

Principal Geotechnical Engineer, Chief Technical Officer

Tailings Dams & Tailings Impoundments

Roy Mayfield

Principal Geotechnical Engineer

Tailings Dams & Tailings Impoundments

Daryl Dufault

Principal Geotechnical Engineer

Tailings Dams & Tailings Impoundments

Brian Nachtigal

Principal Geotechnical/Geological Engineer

Tailings Dams & Tailings Impoundments

Angela Küpper

Principal Geotechnical Engineer

Tailings Dams & Tailings Impoundments

Bill Burton

Principal Geotechnical/Geological Engineer, Horizon 3 R&D Lead