- SEPTEMBER DINNER MEETING
Join us for our next SME Tucson Dinner Meeting! Make sure to select your meal when making your reservation. Reservation deadline is Friday, September 6th.
Program:
In recent times, the issue of tailings storage facility (TSF) failures has gained increasing attention and has resulted in public scrutiny of the mining industry in general. As a result of these failures, the mining industry has been updating TSF construction and operation guidelines and best-practices, and significant steps in the right direction have been taken. However, two recent heap leach pad failures have been reported—one in Canada and another in Turkey. These incidents highlight significant challenges in the field of mine waste management, with excess pore pressure buildup within the heap often cited as a likely cause. The question arises: could these failures have been prevented? While concerns about facility design and operational management are recurrent, the complexity of these systems means that a one-size-fits-all approach is insufficient. Specifically, can a facility be comprehensively designed to handle all aspects of its lifecycle before mining even begins, or does the ongoing nature of construction and operation necessitate continuous, active management under the guidance of the design engineer? Understanding the balance between the approved facility design and adaptive management is crucial for improving the safety of our leach pads, preventing future failures, and preventing leach pads from becoming the next “hot item” in the mining industry.
Venue and Beverage Sponsor:
Meeting Sponsors:
One spot AVAILABLE! Reach out to Omar Smith if you are interested!
Speaker: Mr. Michael Grass, PE, Sr. Vice President of WSP USA Inc.
Mr. Michael Grass, PE, is an Arizona-registered civil engineer with more than 25 years of professional experience in mining and geological engineering. Mr. Grass’ primary expertise is in heap leach facility design and operation with a particular emphasis on sulfuric acid leaching of base metals. His responsibilities include program and project management for geotechnical, geological, hydrologic, hydraulic evaluations and heap leach pad design for civil engineering and mining projects. He is currently an Engineer of Record for several copper heap leach facilities currently in operation.
Agenda:
- 6:00pm - 7:00pm Social Hour
- 7:00pm - 7:45pm Dinner
- 7:45pm - 8:00pm Announcements
- 8:00pm - 8:30pm Program
- 8:30pm - 8:45pm Q&A
Location: HEXAGON, 40 E Congress St #300, Tucson, AZ 85701. CLICK FOR MAP.
Costs:
- $55 for SME Tucson members
- $65 for non-members
- Free for UA SME Student Chapter members
Payable at the door by cash, credit card, or check payable to SME Tucson.
Cancellations and No Shows:
Please call or email by the registration deadline to cancel. If you do not cancel your reservation by the deadline, SME is still required to pay for your dinner and you will in turn be billed. Thank you.
The 2024 scholarship application period is open!
Thank you to all our 2023 Scholarship Fundraiser Sponsors:
| Mother Lode |
Hexagon Mining, AMES Construction, ASARCO |
| Bonanza |
Freeport-McMoRan Sierrita Operations, Stantec, Epiroc |
| Big Nugget |
WSP, Granite, M3 Engineering |
| Pay Dirt |
Ausenco, Florence Copper, Call & Nicholas, McCraren Compliance, GroundProbe, Independent Geomechanics, Patrick Gorman,
Montgomery & Associates, Piteau Associates, Ruen Drillling, Tetra Tech |
| Prospect |
Darling Geomatics |
| Supporters |
SRK Consulting, Cori Hoag, Mayes Consulting |