Improving Tailings Dam Safety with Near Real-time Piezometer Monitoring

Dam safety monitoring and quick interpretation of instrumentation is vital for early detection of dam instability. This paper provides a case study of the development of an automated tailings pile stability monitoring system at a remote mine site. Integrating Stantec’s customizable Mosaic instrument monitoring software, open-source programming, real-time remote sensors, with tailings pile cross-sectional visualizations provides owners, operators and engineers fast and reliable information to detect trends and small changes in the tailing pile behavior. This allows early warning of potential instability for mitigation improving safety. Custom scripts ingest sensor data and manage large datasets efficiently. The integration of 2D cross-sectional visualizations provides a clearer understanding of groundwater pressure distribution and flow behavior within the structure. The tailings pile monitoring is customized for anomaly detection, enabling the identification of emerging risks through pattern recognition. The paper provides a case study of establishing an automated monitoring system for the Holden Mine tailings piles including the data management framework for processing instrumentation datasets in real-time and facilitating automated risk alerts. This system is applicable to all geotechnical monitoring applications. The paper highlights key trends observed in the data, emphasizing the role of advanced monitoring technologies in improving early detection and predictive risk management. Ultimately, the integration of these technologies enhances operational reliability and decision-making, providing more effective risk mitigation for tailings dams.