By applying the VWP network, SRK has been able to observe construction and other site activities and analyze the effects of deposition patterns, pore pressures, seepage conditions, etc. on tailings dams, thus providing a reliable basis for tailings dam management and control..
-On January 26, 2019, 270 people were killed when the tailings pond of the do Feijao mine in Corrego, Minas Gerais, Brazil, broke.
According to a report by the Mining Network on May 15, the consulting company of SRK Group recently issued a briefing that pointed out that in response to the recent tailings dam break events (such as the Brumadinho dam break event), the company is looking for ways to integrate automated sensors to generate Large amounts of, real-time data, so as to better monitor and manage the tailings pond.
"Real-time knowledge of the condition of tailings dams has become a major concern for the mining industry, requiring us to gradually change the way we collect, process and interpret data," said Lyzandra Boshoff, SRK's chief engineering geologist."
"As part of these efforts, SRK has begun to use automatic vibrating wire pressure gauges (VWPs) on the tailings facility."
Boshoff believe that the logging system used by the VWP network can wirelessly send data to a cloud-based database, and then perform real-time visualization and analysis, which can better monitor the pressure conditions of the pores in the tailings dam. These are important aspects in maintaining the structural integrity and stability of tailings dams.
Generally speaking, before the advent of cloud-based technology, leakage and pore pressure were tracked by manual riser pressure meters. Although its performance is accurate, it depends on the quality of installation and after-sales service, and manual data collection is prone to human error.
"This means that a considerable amount of effort is spent on relatively little data. When the information reaches the engineers and is analyzed, the data often does not accurately reflect the current situation," the geologist said. "Even automatic sensors that use automatic vibrating wire technology often rely on manually collected data from logging equipment connected to the sensor."
According to Boshoff, although the data sets (dataset) generated by the VWP network can be very large, depending on the frequency of data collection, the available visualization tools make the data easier to process.
"For the first time, we can see in real time what we have been predicting using models and assumptions," she said."
"Using the power of big data, we can now test our hypotheses and greatly boost our confidence in observation. With the exponential growth in the use of technology in this area, more data is being generated that can be used and interpreted." Boshoff said.
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SRK Group: Founded in South Africa in 1974, SRK Group is an internationally renowned mining consulting organization with more than 45 offices and more than 1,400 employees in 20 countries around the world. Its core staff are professional consultants recognized by international professional institutions. In 2005, SRK Group set up a branch in China-Beijing Srocco Resources Technology Co., Ltd. (SRK China). Zijin, Minmetals, Jiangxi Copper, China Nonferrous Metals, China Gold, Hanwang, Hengshi Mining, etc. are all its customers.
Website Editor: Gong Li
