Full List of Accepted Short Courses:
Course descriptions and fees are posted below.
Please be aware that the purchase of a general conference pass does not include registration for the short courses. Separate registration and fees are required to attend any of the short courses, and this does not grant access to the general conference. To attend both the general conference and the short courses, registrations for both must be purchased.
Please note that courses may be cancelled if there are insufficient registrations. A full refund or transfer to another short course can be offered based on availability.
Short Course Descriptions:
Stability and Deformation Modelling for Tailings Storage Facilities
Time & Location
Saturday, November 1, 2025 – Full Day
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Room TBD
Cost: $700.00 CAD plus 5% GST
Course Description
This short course is focused on the development, analysis, and interpretation of stability and deformation models (static and seismic) for tailings storage facilities (TSFs) for use in design and risk evaluation. Presenters will provide insights into how stability and deformation analyses could be applied to decision making from the perspective of owners, consulting engineers, and engineers of record. This course is meant to be a practical discussion of key concepts in TSF design and operation and will be explained through discussion of case histories and examples from the presenters’ involvement in tailings projects from around the world.
– Selection of design criteria
– Material characterization, including parameter selection and calibration
– Understanding Uncertainty
– Methodology for deformation modelling
– Review of stability and deformation analyses for decision making
– Evaluation of static and seismic liquefaction potential
Presenters
Andy Small, Klohn Crippen Berger, Canada
Daniel Klassen, Klohn Crippen Berger, Canada
Scott Martens, Teck Resources, Canada
Vicki Nguyen, Klohn Crippen Berger, Canada
Developing effective closure success criteria for tailings facilities: A hands-on workshop
Time & Location
Sunday, November 2, 2024 – Full Day
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Room TBD
Cost: $700.00 CAD plus 5% GST
Course Description
Through a series of hands-on exercises and group discussions, this workshop will take participants on a journey through the process of generating, applying, and adapting success criteria for tailings facility closure considering factors such as site-specific post-closure land use targets, and the types of landforms involved. The workshop will be framed around: (1) Harnessing end land-use planning to inform success criteria; (2) Creating pragmatic success criteria; and (3) Using robust monitoring to inform adaptive management in closure. Success criteria are a key component of closure planning and essential to determining when land (and financial assurance/bonds) can be returned (where a mechanism for this exists). Tailings facilities are often desirable for human-centric adaptive re-use by communities where they exhibit flat topography; however, there can be associated risks in doing so. This workshop aims to untangle the intricacies involved in developing useful and effective success criteria for tailings facility closure and the often human-centric post-closure activities that feed into them.
Presenters
Lisa May, Senior Principal, Mine Closure and Reclamation Specialist, WSP Canada
Neeltje Slingerland, Mine Closure Focus Area Lead (Canada), WSP Canada
Barbara Wernick, Technical Fellow, Environmental Scientist, WSP Canada
Ingrid Martinez, Senior Principal Mine Waste Engineer & Mine Closure Specialist, WSP Canada
Are Human Factors impacting Design, Operation, Governance and Safe Management of Tailings Facilities?
Time & Location
Sunday, November 2, 2024 – Full Day
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Room TBD
Cost: $700.00 CAD plus 5% GST
Course Description
The GISTM Good Practice Guide indicates that the human element and safety culture are important considerations in safe tailings management, however, it gives sparse details on how to recognise these elements, or consider these within design, operations and management, including risk assessments, or the creation of systems-level resilience against these elements. By embedding human factors into management systems, organizations can better understand and mitigate risks associated with human error. This course provides a background and considers human factors throughout the life cycle of a tailings facility. This course will be integrated delivery, not just a series of standalone lectures by individuals and will encourage participation and critical thought through development of practical help. Case studies will be embedded in the course.
• Background and Intro, including bias, confidence and learning from other industries
• Developing organizational cultures via governance and management systems
• Characterisation and Design
• Third-Party Review
• Risk assessment
• Operation, Inspections and Emergencies
Presenters
Lucy Philip, Senior Principal and Geotechnical Engineer, Stantec
Matt Balven, AZ/NM/SoCAL Dam Risk Lead, HDR
Justin Willis, Global Tailings Practice Lead, BHP
Johan du Toit, Datariders
Performance-Based Design: Practical Applications in Tailings Storage Facility Design
Time & Location
Sunday, November 2, 2024 – Full Day
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Room TBD
Cost: $700.00 CAD plus 5% GST
Course Description
This workshop aims to provide participants with the knowledge and tools to implement PBD principles for TSFs. Attendees will learn how to evaluate a broader spectrum of potential failure modes through numerical modeling and real-time performance monitoring. The workshop will cover practical applications, emphasizing the evolution from traditional precautionary design to predictive, performance-focused methodologies that consider geotechnical and loading uncertainties throughout the TSF lifecycle. Practical case studies under operational and extreme events (e.g., earthquakes) will be presented during the workshop and will be used as a group exercise.
Presenters
Masood Kafash, AECOM
Jason Hilgers, AECOM
Tailings Dams Engineer of Record – Terms of Reference Development and Use
Time & Location
Sunday, November 2, 2024 – Full Day
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Room TBD
Cost: $700.00 CAD plus 5% GST
Course Description
The CDA/USSD Tailings Dams Joint Working Group on Engineer of Record (EOR) will present a full day short course on developments related to the Terms of Reference (TOR) for EOR services for tailings dams. The TOR details the requirements, responsibilities, and obligations of the EoR and the mine owner (Owner) that engages the EoR. It is essential to the EoR/Owner relationship to clearly define the roles and expectations to set the team up for success. The short course will provide general guidance on what should be included in a TOR for EOR services, and the session will break down examples of how the TOR provides benefits for both owners and consultants.
Example benefits include clearly defined lines of communication, appropriate battery limits, responsibilities during emergency response and planning for conflict resolution. The TOR framework can be applied to all EOR models (internal owner EOR and external consultant EOR) and all styles of facilities (active, inactive and closed).
Participants will leave the short course with tools and examples to help them develop a new TOR, or review and evaluate how robust an existing TOR is.
Presenters
Andy Small, Klohn Crippen Berger
Amanda Adams, Stantec
Chris Hatton, WSP
The Role of Water Quality in the Pursuit of Responsible TSF Closure
Time & Location
Sunday, November 2, 2024 – Half Day (AM)
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Room TBD
Cost: $400.00 CAD plus 5% GST
Course Description
Intended Audience: All levels of engineers, geoscientists, and management involved in the design, operation, management, or closure of TSFs.
Course Outline:
– Introduction to the guidance behind TSF closure including that provided by ICMM, GISTM, MAC, and CDA.
– The role of the Closure Plan at all stages of TSF design.
– The Influence of Tailings Management on Water Quality.
– Options for Water Quality Management at Closure
– Illustrative Scenarios for Pre-construction, Operations, Closure ,and Post-Closure opportunities to facilitate the mitigation of both physical and chemical risks.
Learning Outcomes:
– Understand the key factors related to water quality management that influence responsible closure.
– Understand the value of multidisciplinary team input into closure design options at all stages of TSF development.
– Recognition of tools and approaches to integrate water quality management with TSF closure needs.
Presenters
Lindsay Robertson, Principal Environmental Geochemist, Geoscience Inc.
Sarah Barabash, Director of Mining Services, Ecometrix
2nd Developing Mine Waste Professionals Symposium
Time & Location
Sunday, November 2, 2024 – Half Day (PM)
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Room TBD
Cost: $225.00 CAD plus 5% GST
Course Description
This symposium is specifically tailored to those with between 0.5 and 10-years of mine waste experience.
This course has been developed for professionals from across the mine waste industry sectors (i.e. those working for owners, designers, academics, regulators, etc.). The content will be interactive, with a focus on discussions and topics related to career development, soft-skills development and key mine waste concepts to understand as a developing professional.
Key outcomes for attendees include:
– Understanding of the skills and attributes required for tailings industry professionals, with guidance on how to develop them
– Awareness and influence of current trends in the mine waste industry
– Appreciation of career opportunities within the mine waste industry
– Relationship/network development
Topics and course outline to come.
Presenters/Organizing Team
David Barsi, Research Associate and PhD Student, University of Alberta
Caius Priscu, Adjunt Professor, University of British Columbia
Joseph Scalia, Associate Professor, Colorado State University
Martyn Willan, Principal Geotechnical Engineer, WSP Canada
Jean Kugel, Senior Geotechnical Engineer, BGC Engineering
Parnian Azhdari, Chief Civil Engineer, Freeport-McMoRan
Jennifer Brash, Manager, Tailings Governance, Teck Resources
Sam Abbaszadeh, Stantec
Heather Kaminsky, Applied Research Chair in Sustainable Mining, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)
GISTM Safe Closure: Engaging in Dialogue on Realities and Misconceptions
Time & Location
Sunday, November 2, 2024 – Half Day (AM)
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Room TBD
Cost: $400.00 CAD plus 5% GST
Course Description
This workshop will be a platform for the stakeholders across the industry to come together for the first time and discuss their journeys to safe closure and share interpretations, misconceptions, challenges, good practices, and practical implementation strategies. Real-world safe closure case studies will be presented, highlighting the challenges, strategies, and lessons learned, followed by open discussion opportunity for participants to ask questions and share their insights related to the case studies discussed.
Target Audience:
– Tailings and environmental engineers, EoR, DEoR, AEs, RTFE, and site engineers and managers
– Regulatory and compliance officers
– Researchers and academics
– Community relations and corporate social responsibility professionals
Presenters
Cassandra Hall (co-chair) – Freeport McMoRan
Sam Abbaszadeh (co-chair) – Stantec
Steven Siemoneit – Freeport McMoRan
Mohammad Rashidi – Stantec
Matt Pauly – Stantec
Josh Rogers – Rio Tinto
Chris Sonntag – BHP
Rheology in mining and tailings management: Challenges and solutions
Time & Location
Sunday, November 2, 2024 – Half Day (PM)
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Room TBD
Cost: $400.00 CAD plus 5% GST
Course Description
This short course will begin with foundational principles of rheology and rheometry, before delving into the specifics of slurry rheology and its significance in tailings handling and management. Designed for engineers, scientists, and technologists at all levels, the course aims to enhance participants’ understanding of slurry rheology and its impact on various processes. It will provide a comprehensive introduction to rheology and various measurement techniques, equipping participants with the knowledge to identify potential challenges associated with non-Newtonian slurries and to interpret rheological data relevant for tailings operations.
Intended audience
The course is intended for engineers, scientists, and technologists of any level who want to deepen their understanding of slurry rheology, rheological measurement techniques, and the impacts rheology can have on different aspects of material handling, processing, transport, and deposition.
Presenters
Tanja Tomkovic, Coanda Research & Development Corp.
Neville Dubash, Senior Research Scientist, Coanda Research & Development Corp.
Everything you wanted to know about geotechnical, tailings, and reclamation review boards
Time & Location
Sunday, November 2, 2024 – Half Day (AM)
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Room TBD
Cost: $400.00 CAD plus 5% GST
Course Description
Many mines and heavy civil projects employ long-term review boards to help them manage geotechnical, tailings, dam safety, and closure / reclamation risks. Review board practices grew slowly and organically over the last two hundred years, then became become more formal in recent decades, mainly owing to adoption of a formal charter for each board. Practices continue to evolve.
Now is an excellent time to highlight leading review board practices from around the world to help all meeting participants and review board members get the most of every board and every board meeting. This course provides insights and training regarding setting up review boards, choosing members and forging a charter, running efficient meetings, presenting to review boards, review board debriefing and reporting, and sustaining review boards. Many people are familiar with tailings review boards, and the course will also feature geotechnical review boards, and the recent trend to form review boards for mine closure and reclamation.
Who is this course for? This course is aimed at people who:
want to set up a review board
want to make their review boards more successful
present to review boards
are members of a review board
are aiming to become a review board member someday
want to contribute to the success of review boards more generally.
Presenters
Gord McKenna, Geotechnical Engineer and Landform Designer, McKenna Geotechnical Inc
Application of large deformation modelling to failure and runout analysis of tailings impoundments
Time & Location
Sunday, November 2, 2024 – Half Day (PM)
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Room TBD
Cost: $400.00 CAD plus 5% GST
Course Description
Course Outline:
Introduction to large deformation modelling, what is it, what kinds exist, what is can and cannot currently do with application to tailings impoundment analysis – 30 minutes
Introduction to material point method, – 15 minutes
Stacked analysis of a published tailings case history ~ 1 hour
i) Using spreadsheet solutions (made available to attendees),
ii) Mohr-Coulomb to higher level constitutive models (e.g. Norsand),
iii) Dry analysis vs undrained,
iv) 2D vs 3D
v) Role of non-tailings elements (e.g. starter dyke, cover material)
How to get the required material parameters (Laboratory / CPT) – 30 minutes
An example workflow of how to apply large deformation model to risk analysis at an existing tailings impoundment; interface of large deformation model output with conventional post-breach flow analyses (e.g. generation or calibration of outflow hydrograph) – 1 hour
In the work flow, attendees may follow along using the freeware MPM software Anura 3D; we will also compare results with spreadsheet-based solutions (provided to attendees)
Limitations, discussion on reconciliation of rheology with geotechnical characterization. – 30 minutes
Intended Audience
Consultants and mine operator engineers involved in tailingsimpoundment stability and post-failure runout assessments; interested academics and students
Presenters
Mario Martinelli, Senior Geotechnical Engineer, Deltares, NL
Paul Simms, Professor, Carleton University
Armin Saeedi Javadi, PhD Student, Carleton University
Foundations of Environmental Management for Tailings Storage Facilities
Time & Location
Sunday, November 2, 2024 – Half Day (PM)
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Room TBD
Cost: $400.00 CAD plus 5% GST
Course Description
Tailings engineers increasingly work in the area of environmental management, which typically is not covered in university engineering courses. While there are also environmental professionals working in tailings across the mining industry, the ability to effectively bridge this interface can require climbing a steep learning curve and is often take years of experience to develop. This course aims to assist in filling this gap by revisiting the fundamentals of specialist disciplines (hydrogeology, geochemistry etc) and how they are applied to tailings storage facilities. It will be facilitated by an experienced tailings engineer, but with content presented by several highly experienced speakers that are each specialists in their field. Some real-world case studies will be provided at the conclusion to demonstrate the learning outcomes in practice. The exact format and content of the course will be tailored to the audience and we endeavour to make this as interactive as possible to hopefully enable each attendee to leave the event with some new knowledge they can apply in their practice.
Presenters
Jarrad Coffee (facilitator), Senior Principal, Red Earth Engineering
Karen Bechard, Senior Scientist, Geosyntec
Liz van Warmerdam, Senior Principal, Geosyntec
Dan LaPorte, Senior Principal Geochemist, Geosyntec
Kristin Salzsauler, Senior Principal Geochemist, Geosyntec
John Plunkett, Head of Tailings, MMG