Accident investigation and lessons not learned: AcciMap analysis of successive tailings dam collapses in Brazil

Rose, Rodrigo L.; Mugi, Sohan R.; Saleh, Joseph H.

doi:10.1016/j.ress.2023.109308

Cited by 15 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…According to a review of relevant information 1 , the failure of a tailings dam seriously threatened the safety, life, and property of downstream inhabitants, as well as polluted and damaged the ecological environment. For example, in 2019, the Córrego do Feijão tailings dam I in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, broke and released a large amount of tailings, resulting in the deaths of 660 people and polluting downstream rivers 2 . In 1985, a dam failure in a tailings pond in Stava, northern Italy, resulted in 268 deaths and significant economic losses 3 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seepage stability analysis of geogrid reinforced tailings dam

Du,

Tao,

2024

Sci Rep

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To investigate the influence of a geogrid-reinforced tailings dam on the seepage stability of the dam body, this paper was based on the field test of a reinforced tailings accumulation dam. The study utilized the finite element strength reduction method to simulate the stability of the main dam of the Fengshuigou tailings reservoir under different seepage conditions using ABAQUS software. Additionally, the paper discussed the impact of conventional heightening, dry beach length, and geogrid reinforcement on the position and safety factor of the saturation line of the dam body. The results showed that when the dam body was raised, the saturation line rose by 2.8–5.3 m, resulting in a decrease in the safety factor. The geogrid effectively reduced the height of the saturation line in the tailings dam. In comparison to the unreinforced condition (dam heightening), the saturation line of the tailings dam decreased by 0.9–2.8 m under the local reinforcement condition and by 3.2–12.5 m under the overall reinforcement condition. The geogrid significantly improved the stability of the tailings dam. Furthermore, under the local reinforcement condition, the safety factor of the dam increased by 3.8–5.5%, and under the overall reinforcement condition, it increased by 35.9–42.9%, when compared to the unreinforced condition. Increasing the dry beach length improved the stability of the tailings dam, and under normal working conditions, the safety of the tailings dam was much higher than under the minimum dry beach condition. These results served as a reference for the design of the dam and the new tailings reservoir, laying a foundation for the sustainable development and environmental protection of the tailings pond.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seepage stability analysis of geogrid reinforced tailings dam

Du,

Tao,

2024

Sci Rep

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“…The development of mineral resources at the same time was accompanied by the generation of a large number of tailings [3]. A significant accumulation of stockpiled tailings occupies valuable land resources, resulting not only in pollution of the surrounding surface environment [4], but also posing risks of landslides, dam failures, and other accidents [5,6]. Furthermore, prolonged and intensive mining of mineral resources has led to the creation of voids within the layers of the underground ore body, resulting in the formation of mined-out areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Multi-Size Basalt Fiber on Cemented Paste Backfill Mechanical Properties and Meso-Structure Characteristics

Chen,

Jiao,

Liu

et al. 2023

Minerals

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As the mine enters the deep mining stage, there is a need to enhance the compressive strength and toughness of the backfill. The objective of this study is to examine the mechanical properties of cemented tailings backfill after the incorporation of multi-size fibers and to validate the toughening mechanism of basalt fibers (BFs). To achieve this, a series of basic mechanical property tests for multi-size BFs mixing were devised, accompanied by industrial computerized tomography (CT) scanning and discrete element simulation. This study shows that the compressive strength increases and then decreases with the increase of BF dosage at a certain percentage of each size, and the splitting tensile strength gradually increases with the increase of BF dosage. The compressive strength tends to decrease and then increase, and the splitting tensile strength increases and then decreases as the fiber size ratio changes. The distribution of cemented tailings backfill and BF within the discrete element model is random. A few BF cannot play a bridging role; however, a moderate amount of BF is relatively uniformly distributed in the model to form a network structure, which generates a bond between the particles and the matrix and can effectively limit the expansion path of cracks and enhance the toughness.

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The Risk of Land Degradation in Areas Impacted by Tailings Mudflows: A Legal and Economic Assessment

de Carvalho Medeiros,

de Moura,

Navarro

et al. 2024

Land Degrad Dev

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Accidents involving tailings dams are threatening because of their potential impacts. In many countries, despite the existence of legislation the population lives with the insecurity of potential dam breaks. Using Minas Gerais state in Brazil as an example, the aforementioned insecurity applies to hundreds of tailings dams, specifically the Vargem Grande dam of Vale mining company. The area affected by a dam failure is set through legal‐administrative instruments called “flood patches.” The purpose of this study was to analyze these patches, using the Vargem Grande dam as example, and assess the possible land degradation impacts of a failure, focused on the flooded native vegetation. The assessment resorted to the VERA—Economic Valuation of Environmental Resources method. The results exposed the potential destruction of 200 ha of Atlantic Forest and 55 ha of Cerrado vegetation within the flood patches. However, the simulated outcomes also reveal a significant decline in the flood patches in a short period (from 4.60 km2 in 2022 to 3.05 km2 in 2023), related with dam‐decommissioning risk‐reduction works allegedly implemented or to be implemented by the mining company. This reduction can be misleading because decommissioning works are legal‐administrative issues frequently used by the mining companies to minimize their responsibilities in the case of tailings dam breakup. It is worth mentioning that the patch reduction led to a convenient drop in the VERA results, from nearly 74 to 53 million dollars. Therefore, the official protocol used to delineate the flood patches must be improved to allow a more realistic evaluation. In that regard, the changes to flood patches overtime must be better defined in the legislation, namely through inclusion of potentially affected soil‐ and water‐bearing ecosystem services. Effective monitoring of dam‐decommissioning works is also paramount for a true evaluation of land degradation in the impacted areas.

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Accident investigation and lessons not learned: AcciMap analysis of successive tailings dam collapses in Brazil

Cited by 15 publications

References 48 publications

Seepage stability analysis of geogrid reinforced tailings dam

Seepage stability analysis of geogrid reinforced tailings dam

The Influence of Multi-Size Basalt Fiber on Cemented Paste Backfill Mechanical Properties and Meso-Structure Characteristics

The Risk of Land Degradation in Areas Impacted by Tailings Mudflows: A Legal and Economic Assessment

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