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The significance of tailings dam breach analysis in the mining industry cannot be overstated. Dam breaches pose a significant risk to the environment, local communities, and the reputation of mining operations. Conducting thorough dam breach analysis allows mining companies to identify potential failure scenarios, assess the likelihood and consequences of such events, and implement robust mitigation measures to prevent or minimize their impact.

Breach analysis involves a comprehensive assessment that factors in a range of aspects. On the modeling side, there are two major facets involved:

-Failure Modes Analysis: Identifying potential failure modes of dams, such as overtopping, piping, foundation instability, or structural failure, and assessing the likelihood and consequences of each scenario.
-Hydraulic Modeling: Simulating potential breach scenarios to understand the dynamics of flood wave propagation downstream. This involves considering factors such as dam geometry, breach dimensions, reservoir characteristics, and downstream topography.

Historically, different methods of modeling have been used, ranging from statistical correlations based on historical dam failure data, semi-physical models that use simple fluid dynamics equations and correlations, and physical models that couple more complex physics—geotechnical, structural, and fluid dynamics—for modeling.

With technological advancements physical models have become more prevalent as they can be completely customized to a specific dam. Even with the improvement in physical models, good inputs to the models are still critical to obtain good outputs. A thorough understanding of material properties such as geotechnical characteristics and rheology of the stored tailings are essential. Coanda’s geotechnical and rheological expertise allow us to evaluate different samples and determine the most appropriate measurements and methods to accurately characterize the tailings materials being retained by these dams.