Enhancing Geotechnical Monitoring in Tailing Dams: The Multisensor Solution for Efficiency, Cost Savings, and Risk Mitigation

Tailing dams play a pivotal role in the mining industry, serving as storage areas for mining waste. Ensuring their stability and integrity is crucial to prevent potential environmental and safety hazards. In this context, geotechnical monitoring stands out as a vital practice. This article delves into the critical aspects of drilling and sampling in earth embankment dams, focusing on tailing dams. It underscores the implications of Regulation No. 1110-1-1807, titled "Engineering and Design: DRILLING IN EARTH EMBANKMENT DAMS AND LEVEES," and the "Guidelines for Drilling and Sampling in Embankment Dams." By integrating these regulatory guidelines with best practices, engineers and geologists can address tailing dams' unique challenges, ensuring the safety and integrity of these essential structures and maintaining environmental safety. 

The safe and responsible execution of drilling and sampling activities in earth embankment dams, including levees and tailing dams, is a crucial aspect of engineering and geotechnical practices. This text explores the implications of Regulation No. 1110-1-1807, titled "Engineering and Design: DRILLING IN EARTH EMBANKMENT DAMS AND LEVEES," as well as the "Guidelines for Drilling and Sampling in Embankment Dams," in the context of geotechnical risk associated with boreholes in tailing dams. By integrating best practices and these regulatory guidelines, engineers and geologists can address the specific challenges posed by tailing dams while safeguarding the structural integrity of these critical facilities and preserving environmental safety. 

Regulation No. 1110-1-1807 serves as a comprehensive guide for drilling practices within earth embankment dams and levees. Its primary objective is to ensure the safety, stability, and long-term integrity of these vital structures. By strictly adhering to this regulation, engineers and geologists can implement drilling procedures that minimize risks while maintaining the quality and reliability of geotechnical data. 

The "Guidelines for Drilling and Sampling in Embankment Dams" are a companion document to Regulation No. 1110-1-1807, offering specific recommendations for the execution of drilling and sampling activities within embankment dams. These guidelines cover essential aspects, such as borehole location, spacing, orientation, sampling methods, quality control, and reporting, which play a pivotal role in understanding the condition of embankment dams and ensuring their long-term stability. 

Geotechnical issues on a tailing dam resulting from borehole drilling activities can pose significant risks to the dam's integrity and safety. To mitigate these geotechnical issues, it is crucial to conduct geotechnical investigations before drilling to understand the dam's specific characteristics, plan drilling activities with care, and implement real-time monitoring and risk management. Engineers should also develop and adhere to strict safety and environmental protocols to ensure responsible drilling practices in tailing dams and prevent potential hazards. These issues may include: 

• Liquefaction Risk: Boreholes in tailing dams can disturb the compacted tailings or create voids within the dam structure. If the tailings contain a high proportion of fine, water-saturated material, the drilling process can increase pore water pressure within the dam, potentially leading to liquefaction. This can result in a sudden loss of strength, causing dam instability and potential failure. 
• Seepage Pathways: Boreholes can create pathways for seepage through the dam. The introduction of drilling fluids, if not properly managed, can mobilize fines within the tailings, increasing the risk of seepage. Seepage can weaken the dam and lead to erosion of the downstream slope, posing stability concerns. 

• Material Disturbance: Borehole drilling can alter the distribution and compaction of tailings materials, potentially leading to variations in material properties within the dam. These variations can impact the dam's overall stability and bearing capacity, particularly if the dam is constructed in distinct layers. 
• Environmental Contamination: Tailing dams often contain residues from mining or mineral processing operations. Boreholes can create pathways for the release of potentially hazardous materials into the surrounding environment, resulting in environmental contamination and potential legal and regulatory issues. 

To mitigate geotechnical risks associated with drilling in tailing dams, a holistic approach is essential for engineers and geologists. This approach includes conducting site-specific assessments to thoroughly understand the unique characteristics of the tailings and foundation materials within the dam. It also involves using appropriate drilling techniques and equipment tailored to the specific conditions of the tailing dam, considering factors like material consistency, pore pressure, and potential seepage. Real-time monitoring of drilling-induced vibrations and pore pressures is crucial to prevent liquefaction and maintain the dam's integrity. Quality control and safety measures, such as regular checks on drilling parameters and equipment maintenance, are essential for the safe and effective execution of the drilling process. Environmental compliance is also vital, requiring the development and adherence to comprehensive environmental and safety protocols that align with regulatory requirements to minimize the risk of environmental contamination. Geotechnical monitoring of tailing dams, both during and after borehole drilling, can be challenging due to changing conditions within the dam, necessitating continuous monitoring to detect any adverse effects or movements. 

Encardio Multisensor System:  

The utilization of a single borehole equipped with the Encardio multisensor system presents a highly effective and efficient solution for geotechnical monitoring in tailing dams. This innovative approach empowers a 120mm diameter borehole to accommodate a single multisensor, enabling the simultaneous monitoring of pore pressure, lateral displacement, and settlement at various depths within the dam. This streamlined method not only reduces the number of boreholes required for monitoring but also provides comprehensive, real-time data from distinct levels of the tailing dam at the same point. This eliminates the need for assumptions in the theoretical model, ensuring the accuracy of the monitoring data. 

By harnessing the capabilities of this multisensor technology, we achieve a marked reduction in the number of required boreholes, which, in turn, greatly contributes to the efficiency of the drilling and installation program. Not only does this approach optimize the monitoring process, but it also empowers our clients to enhance their technical solutions. Moreover, it leads to a substantial reduction in the overall project cost, all while upholding a minimal risk level for the earth structure. This innovative strategy not only streamlines operations, resulting in cost savings and risk mitigation, but it ultimately delivers a more efficient and cost-effective solution to our clients. Beyond that, this technological advancement doesn't just streamline the monitoring process; it also plays a pivotal role in significantly bolstering the management and mitigation of geotechnical risks associated with tailing dams, thereby enhancing their safety and structural integrity. 

Encardio Rite Proqio #civilengineering #geotechnicalengineering #geotech #mines #tailingdams #safety #geotechnicalinstrumentationandmonitoring #monitoring #tunnels #earthdams #infrastructureinteligence