SLOPE STABILITY MONITORING
Network (LoRaWAN) edge connectivity, before
transferring that data across Inmarsat’s L-band
network to a dashboard. This ensured that mining
companies were able to see the status of key
metrics in one place and in real-time, facilitating
more responsive decision-making and safer
mining operations. In order to create its new
solution Inmarsat has further developed aspects
of the original solution to build a new application
and a powerful new interoperable platform that
increases the solution’s versatility.
The Tailings Insight – Cloud is a Software-as-a-
Service (SaaS) application was developed in
response to the industry need for a way of
compiling tailings data from a multitude of
sources. “The application easily integrates with
existing on-site sensors and connectivity networks
to enable real-time monitoring, as well as
supporting historical data input for comparative
analysis. With a fully customisable interface,
multiple sensor map views, custom alarm
monitoring, data logging, journaling functionality,
sensor health reporting and easy data export, the
updated application provides the most
comprehensive set of features of any tailings
application. Formerly only available as part of the
fully managed solution, the application is now
available in its own right, allowing personnel
across mining companies and external bodies,
such as regulators, auditors and insurers,
complete visibility of TSF conditions on a site and
global-level in one place.”
Tailings Insight Plus – is a fully managed
solution that incorporates Tailings Insight – Cloud,
as well as featuring sensor integration, edge
connectivity, satellite connectivity, and ongoing
service monitoring and management. With
Inmarsat controlling the entire, end-to-end
process, it can offer service level agreements
(SLAs) ensuring the continuous gathering of data,
which best supports real-time monitoring. “The
proposition can be installed at any mine globally
and is ideal for TSFs without reliable connectivity,
TSFs that require special attention due to their risk
status and for mining companies looking to
demonstrate their commitment to safe tailings
management.”
Commenting on the update, Joe Carr, Director of
Mining Innovation at Inmarsat, said: “The
response to Inmarsat’s Tailings Dam Monitoring
Solution in the last year has been very positive. It
is clear that the industry wants to develop safer
tailings practices, though in the process we have
learnt this is not about a one size fits all approach.
Miners have explained that there are a myriad of
different approaches to tailings monitoring taking
place every day. Many miners lack the reliable
site-level connectivity required to enable real-time
monitoring and management, though on some
sites, some companies have this. The common
need that we found amongst all of our customers
and the miners we have spoken to was a platform
to help bring all of their data together.”
He adds: “This is why we have created two
propositions. With Tailings Insight – Cloud, we are
removing the challenge of combining data from
multiple sources and giving companies global
visibility across their global TSF portfolios in one
place, which supports faster, more informed
decision-making and better governance. We take
this a step further with our Tailings Insight – Plus
proposition, the gold standard in tailings governance.”
Carr concluded: “Both of these propositions
will be key in helping mining organisations
future-proof themselves and respond to the
upcoming changes to tailings regulation globally.
They can be used in conjunction with each other
at different sites across a global portfolio and
upgrading from Tailings Insight – Cloud to Tailings
Insight – Plus is easy. We will continue to listen to
the mining industry and work towards supporting
a safer, sustainable and accessible future for the
sector.”
SRK rolls out automated VWP
solution
Renewed global concern about the risks of tailings
dam failure is accelerating a revolution in the use
of automated sensors to generate big, real-time
data to better monitor and manage these facilities,
according to SRK Consulting.
“The need for knowing more about tailings dam
conditions – and in real time – has become a
major focus within the mining sector, demanding a
step change in the way we collect, process and
interpret data,” Lyzandra Boshoff, Principal
Engineering Geologist at SRK Consulting, said. “As
part of these efforts, SRK has been rolling out
initiatives using automated vibrating wire
piezometers (VWPs) on tailings facilities.”
Boshoff highlighted the particular significance
of seepage and the associated pore pressure
regime within a tailings facility as a vital aspect of
the integrity and stability of the structure. This has
conventionally been tracked by manual standpipe
piezometers whose
performance, while
accurate, depends on
the quality of
installation and
aftercare, she said.
And, of course,
manual data
collection is subject
to human error.
“This means
expending
considerable effort
for relatively little
data, which may often
not exactly reflect the current situation by the time
the information reaches the engineer for
analysis,” she said. “Even the automated sensors
using vibrating wire technology tended to rely on
manual data collection from the logging devices
connected to the sensors.”
This is now changing as many telemetry
hardware developers have improved their wireless
capability and cloud technology to upload and
store data, allowing data to be immediately
accessed by engineers and management.
“This has changed the landscape of data flow
and interpretation, as well as the potential size of
the datasets that can be generated,” she said.
“SRK has been at the forefront of rolling out
automated VWP networks, using logging systems
that can send data wirelessly to cloud-based
databases and can then be visualised and
analysed in real time.”
Among the technological innovations the
company is developing is a customised database
and visualisation platform specifically for VWP
data. This includes built-in, automated validation
and interpretive tools to automate some of the
routine engineering interpretive work. It builds
upon available software technologies to create a
solution that is customised to the field of tailings
dam management, while also presenting
opportunities for applying the principles in a range
of disciplines.
The datasets generated by VWP networks can
be significantly large, depending on the frequency
at which data is collected. Conditions on site
would determine the detail required for tracking
where potentially adverse circumstances may
develop, the company said.
“These VWP networks are also useful when
needing to confirm whether the mitigation
measures in place are having the desired effect,”
Boshoff said.
Applying these technologies, SRK says it has
been able to review the impact of construction
process and other site activities and incidents on
pore pressure responses, and analyse the impact
of depositional patterns on the seepage flow
regime within a facility.
SRK has been rolling out initiatives using
automated vibrating wire piezometers (VWPs)
on tailings facilities
72 International Mining | JULY/AUGUST 2020