Often called a tailings dam, a tailing storage facility is a structure designed to hold mine waste (tailings) or runoff from mining that surface water systems are unable to treat. Tailing dam leaks can cause devastating harm to the environment, infrastructure, pollution, and loss of life in the nearby communities since mining waste can contain radioactive and hazardous materials.
A tailings storage facility’s failure is frequently brought on by heavy precipitation, poor water management, and shoddy tailings facility construction. Early warning systems can be installed to stop such disasters and increase the sustainability of mining operations by regularly monitoring tailings dams(Kruger, 2022).
- Cloud-Based, Fully Automated Wireless Monitoring Systems
Monitoring tailings stability and pore pressure is crucial for preventing facility failures. Advances in technology have made it possible to deploy cost-effective, out-of-the-box wireless systems for this purpose. Solutions like those from Move Solutions use LoRa WAN technology to provide long-range (up to 15 km) connectivity between sensors and monitoring stations, with multi-year battery life, enabling continuous, automated data collection and real-time alerts.
- Monitoring with Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS)
DFOS technology enables precise monitoring of slope movements over large areas by embedding fiber optic cables into the slope face. It can measure strain and temperature with high accuracy (2 μm/m and <1°C) over distances up to 50 km, with less than 1 m spacing between measurement points. DFOS has proven effective in detecting liner leaks, ground movement, creep, and long-term slope erosion in tailings facilities.
Consistent and continuous monitoring of tailings dams is essential not just for regulatory compliance, but to provide early warnings and prevent costly or catastrophic failures.
what advanced technologies are being deployed to monitor these massive structures and transform them from potential hazards into models of safety and sustainability?
Reference:
Kruger, M. (2022, September 13). Onsite testing of a liner design system. TANDM. https://tandm.co.za/news/tsf/
