And we went north, to the north of Chile where there is no vegetation and the geology is clear and the beauty is in the rocks and sediment nakedly exposed to the intense blue sky and our curious gaze. Words cannot describe the power of this landscape which is not on any tourist’s map, for [...]
Archive for the ‘Geotechnical’ Category
Calama, Chile Mining the Beauty of the Land
Posted in consulting, Geotechnical, Latin America, mining, tagged calama, Chile, landscape, mining on May 6, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Beach Boys and Girls – Mine Tailings Beach Pioneers and Innovators
Posted in Geology, Geotechnical, mining, Mining history, People, Tailings, Uncategorized, tagged beach slope prediction, Kupper, Melent'ev, mining, Tailings on April 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Beaches have a way of attracting attention. Hoards of curvy North Americans flock each year to ocean-side resorts just to sit in pools and stare at beaches. Early explorers travelling by sea sought coves with protected sandy beaches to land their parties and fly their flag. Even whales and sharks, distracted by the bounty of [...]
Mine and Hazardous Waste Cells in the Desert
Posted in Geotechnical, Mining history, Tailings, tagged desert, hazardous waste, mine on March 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
This week I have read and debated about tailings disposal in the desert. That set me in mind of a paper I wrote more than twenty years ago. It is fun to go back and see what was in issue then as compared to now. Here is the link to the paper with the long [...]
Stacked Against All Odds – Mine Tailings Stacks
Posted in environmental, Geotechnical, mining, Open Pit, Tailings, Underground, tagged mining, paste, stacks, Tailings, thickened on March 20, 2012 | 1 Comment »
The night is waning into dawn, and the air is thick with smoke and desperate moves. The mine mill is still churning off in the distance. The odds are against you – what to do?
Bomvu Ridge and Groundwater Modelling in Mining
Posted in Africa, consulting, Geology, Geotechnical, Mining history, Open Pit, Software, tagged bomvu ridge, groundwater model, rock, slope stability on March 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
This is a story of a time before computers; before groundwater conceptual models, numerical models, baseline models, and predictive models; before groundwater model calibration, verification, or sensitivity analysis. This is a story of a time when there was no such thing as a professional geohydrologist, hydrogeologists, or groundwater modeller.
The Observational Method for Groundwater Modeling & Practicality
Posted in Geotechnical, Uncategorized, tagged groundwater, modeling, Observational Method on February 29, 2012 | 3 Comments »
One of the enduring mysteries of professional practice is why groundwater experts never apply the Observational Method in their ever-more sophisticated groundwater modeling and monitoring work.
Groundwater Modeling in Decision Making About Mine Tailings, Waste Rock, and Heap Leach Facilities
Posted in acid mine drainage, brandy, consulting, environmental, Geotechnical, Heap leach, Software, Tailings, Waste Rock, tagged decision making, groundwater, Heap leach, modelling, Tailings, Waste Rock on February 27, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Introduction Today I went to HR Block and had my taxes calculated. It is a disaster: I owe lots and the total taxes I paid is more than the average Canadian salary. I am seriously considering selling up and moving to Las Vegas. And stopping working. Why work to merely pay great sums to the government [...]
The Basic Principles of Mine Tailings Management
Posted in Geotechnical, Software, Tailings, Uncategorized, tagged failure, FLAC, mine, Tailings on June 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The story of tailings management is the story of application of a few basic principles. All involve control of the forces of nature. Once we worked on the basis of observation and judgment. Today we have computer codes for almost all and the work is done in back rooms by the junior engineers who feed [...]
Long-Term Stability of Closed Mine Tailings Piles: How So At Pebble?
Posted in consulting, environmental, Geotechnical, North America, Reclamation, safety, Tailings, Waste Rock, tagged Alaska, closure, EPA, failure, mine, pebble, Tailings on February 25, 2011 | 7 Comments »
A slow morning and an even slower computer that took its sweet time downloading files. During the enforced no-compute period, I pulled out the proceedings of the Mine Closure 2010 Conference held in Chile in November 2010. I read a paper that had not previously caught my attention. I could not but stop to [...]
Continue as a mining engineer? But run and blog along the way to professional satisfaction, prosperity, and community benefit.
Posted in blogs, Community relations, Geotechnical, Investing & Finance, tagged career, community development, investing, mining engineer, Sandia on February 1, 2011 | 7 Comments »
Here is an edited e-mail I recently received: I am young mining engineer with three years experience. I am at that point where I should really commit myself to the trade or back off and go a different direction. I am thinking about an advanced degree/further education but I am not sure on what: Mining engineering, geotechnical engineering [...]
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