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Catching Lightning in a Bottle—The Future of Tailings
Christopher N. Hatton
WSP USA Inc.
ABSTRACT: The days are long, but the years are short (Rubin 2009). In a flash, last year is gone, and the
uncertainty of what lies ahead stares us down. The future of the tailings designer is equally unsure as our past
practices converge with future aspirations in a field of uncertainty. This paper reviews three relevant changes
facing the industry and their efficacy in an attempt to search for what the future will hold for this triumvirate
of change.
New technologies in tailings management continue to emerge and become refined, but the age-old questions
remain… Why can’t we always put all the tailings back from where they came? Why do we feel compelled
to “change” and improve deposition practices? Are filtered tailings a panacea or doomed to mediocrity? Two
examples of emerging technologies and their practical applications and limitations are explored.
The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) (ICMM et al. 2020) and the application of
environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles significantly impacted our industry. Since its inception,
GISTM and other initiatives have improved industry governance. However, we continue to be challenged by
technical issues. So we have to ask a question whether GISTM truly provides value in solving our problems?
In its present form is it sustainable? And is its application practical and provides value from the standpoint of
industry survivability?
Finally, and of most concern, is the industry’s lack of qualified resources. GISTM and other changes in the
state of the practice have added more technical and administrative ‘load’—such as GISTM issues outside of
facility safety tasks—to the already limited qualified resources, making the situation progressively more critical.
Our industry continues to lack critical resources and has insufficient capacity to place a qualified engineer of
record (EOR) at each mine site, a responsible tailings facility engineer (RTFE) in critical leadership positions,
and independent technical review boards to protect the industry from costly mistakes. What does a sustainable
future look like?
INTRODUCTION
Society romantically pursues manufactured constructs
seeking perfection or nirvana and ignoring the simplicity
of fundamentals, failing to comprehend, or even unwill-
ing to acknowledge the practical, sidestepping the ability to
function in reality. As engineers and purveyors of applied
sciences, we are limited to the truth and thus constrained
by Newtonian physics placed in the unenviable position of
grounding dogmatic idealism in reality.
Jim Collins skillfully notes in “Beyond Entrepreneurship
2” that the most recent generation has experienced persis-
tent uncertainty:
Catching Lightning in a Bottle—The Future of Tailings
Christopher N. Hatton
WSP USA Inc.
ABSTRACT: The days are long, but the years are short (Rubin 2009). In a flash, last year is gone, and the
uncertainty of what lies ahead stares us down. The future of the tailings designer is equally unsure as our past
practices converge with future aspirations in a field of uncertainty. This paper reviews three relevant changes
facing the industry and their efficacy in an attempt to search for what the future will hold for this triumvirate
of change.
New technologies in tailings management continue to emerge and become refined, but the age-old questions
remain… Why can’t we always put all the tailings back from where they came? Why do we feel compelled
to “change” and improve deposition practices? Are filtered tailings a panacea or doomed to mediocrity? Two
examples of emerging technologies and their practical applications and limitations are explored.
The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) (ICMM et al. 2020) and the application of
environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles significantly impacted our industry. Since its inception,
GISTM and other initiatives have improved industry governance. However, we continue to be challenged by
technical issues. So we have to ask a question whether GISTM truly provides value in solving our problems?
In its present form is it sustainable? And is its application practical and provides value from the standpoint of
industry survivability?
Finally, and of most concern, is the industry’s lack of qualified resources. GISTM and other changes in the
state of the practice have added more technical and administrative ‘load’—such as GISTM issues outside of
facility safety tasks—to the already limited qualified resources, making the situation progressively more critical.
Our industry continues to lack critical resources and has insufficient capacity to place a qualified engineer of
record (EOR) at each mine site, a responsible tailings facility engineer (RTFE) in critical leadership positions,
and independent technical review boards to protect the industry from costly mistakes. What does a sustainable
future look like?
INTRODUCTION
Society romantically pursues manufactured constructs
seeking perfection or nirvana and ignoring the simplicity
of fundamentals, failing to comprehend, or even unwill-
ing to acknowledge the practical, sidestepping the ability to
function in reality. As engineers and purveyors of applied
sciences, we are limited to the truth and thus constrained
by Newtonian physics placed in the unenviable position of
grounding dogmatic idealism in reality.
Jim Collins skillfully notes in “Beyond Entrepreneurship
2” that the most recent generation has experienced persis-
tent uncertainty: