Associated Event
27th International Conference on Paste, Thickened and Filtered Tailings
8–10 April 2025 | Swakopmund Hotel and Entertainment Centre, Namibia
Filtered Tailings Management – Planning, Design, Construction, and Operation Workshop
11 April 2025 | Swakopmund, Namibia
Preliminary Program*
- Program is subject to change.
Learning Objectives:
- Objective 1: Understand the opportunities of implementing non-conventional filtered tailings management.
- Objective 2: Develop awareness of thickening and separation technology including equipment design and sizing, feed, and ore variability and mechanical and process commissioning learning curve as they impact filtered tailings operations.
- Objective 3: Gain understanding of the challenges and learning curve associated with both planning and implementation of standard-of-practice filtered tailings operations.
- Objective 4: Recognize the pitfalls of assumptions and the potentials threats and risks represented by poor design and/or implementation decisions.
- Objective 5: Discuss geotechnical properties of stacked tailings, stacked tailings behaviour under load, considering both drained and undrained conditions, as related to construction of geotechnically stable filtered tailings landforms.
- Objective 6: Identify technical and economic feasibility considerations and constraints in planning, design transition, and operations of filtered tailings management at various scales.
- Objective 7: Understand the technical challenges of large-scale materials handling with a specific focus on filtered tailings material handling and stacking.
- Objective 8: Participate in discussion of the current (and developing) state of practice in non-conventional tailings.
This workshop will focus on the practical application of filtered tailings management, facility design, and operations. Current standard-of-practices in planning, design, fundamental geotechnics, construction concepts and approaches, and operations of filtered tailings storage facilities will be covered.
The morning session will provide an overview of technical challenges of filtered tailings from various angles, including process (dewatering) and filter cake properties, geotechnical properties, transport and stacking (deposition planning), and geotechnical design. Key operational factors will be addressed. The afternoon session will take a deeper dive into the technical and economic considerations of handling filtered tailings at large tonnages, including key factors in stacking system design and operations, bulk material handling challenges, and a holistic approach to stacking plans. The short course will dive into evaluating the requirements of aligning batch (filter) to continuous (conveying) material handling process, as well as provide a side-by-side technical comparison of available stacking technologies, current equipment capabilities, and the constraints and limitations of different stacking methodologies.
Participants will learn from experienced practitioners on the topic of filtered tailings facility and deposition planning, bulk materials handling, and challenges and solutions in filtered tailings stack design. Case studies and real-world examples from both small and larger scale (existing and planned) operations will be woven throughout the course. Above all, the short course will advance the discussion of challenges and practical solutions considered when the realities of field implementation do not really align with the original design intent, and how we can learn and continuously improve in this evolving area of practice.
Who should attend
This workshop is designed specifically for the practitioners, engineers, operators, and decision makers alike, and for all those who have interest in gaining practical knowledge in filtered tailings stacking system design and operations and willing to learn from success stories, and interested in learning the challenges the industry faces in the field of non-conventional tailings management.
Workshop Facilitator
Colleen Crystal
Practice Lead, Tailings and Geotechnical
SRK Consulting, Canada
Colleen is a principal geotechnical engineer with over 25 years’ experience in geotechnical engineering and seismic analysis and design for mine-waste tailings and waste rock facilities, filtered tailings facilities, earthen embankments, landfills and water retention dams. She previously served as engineer of record during planning, design, construction and implementation of several filter-pressed dry-stack tailings facilities. Colleen has broad-based experience in geotechnical engineering and mine-waste geotechnics including static and seismic design, ground motion studies, liquefaction evaluations, dam safety, and risk evaluations for both conventional and non-conventional (including filtered) tailings storage facilities. She is currently the technical lead on several large-scale non-conventional filtered tailings storage facility projects in IPS and SPS phases in Chile. She is also serving on a filtered tailings task force, steering committees and has (or is currently) serving as third party independent reviewer and ITRB panel member for several planned large-scale filtered tailings projects.
Presenters Include
Sergio Calil
Senior Tailings Manager
Metso, Australia
Sergio is a mechanical engineer with over 15 years’ experience specialising in mineral processing, separation, and dewatering technologies. Sergio is currently serving as senior manager for tailings filtration. He has delivered numerous mineral processing projects globally, showcasing his expertise in both R&D and practical applications. Previously, Sergio was product manager for thickeners and clarifiers, where he successfully drove global product strategies, developed extensive technical and commercial knowledge, and collaborated on sales and proposal opportunities worldwide.
Andrew Copeland
Technical Director – South Africa
Knight Piésold, South Africa
Andrew is a director of Knight Piésold South Africa and the technical director of mining for Knight Piésold Southern Africa. He has had extensive exposure to the international mining industry and to the full chain of mining activities and project stages.
Andrew is a technical specialist in the area of mineral residue management and has a thorough understanding of the associated infrastructure, environmental, social, and economic aspects, including paste, filtered, and thickened tailings. He has substantial experience in civil geotechnics, heap leach facilities, and mine infrastructure. Andrew has also written guidelines and standards for mine residue facilities and carried out numerous audits around the world. Andrew is the engineer of record at several tailings facilities.
Véronique Daigle
Director
Knight Piésold, Namibia
Veronique Daigle is a Lead Civil Engineer based in Knight Piésold’s Windhoek office in Namibia. She has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering (cooperative program) from the Université de Sherbrooke, with a specialization in environmental geotechnics and hydraulics. She is a registered professional engineer in Quebec, Canada, and in Namibia.
She has worked in Knight Piésold’s North Bay and Vancouver offices, focusing on the mining and renewable energy industries. She has also worked in Knight Piésold’s Accra office, completing a two-year transfer as part of Knight Piésold’s Global Career Development Program. She joined the Windhoek office in 2013 and her work experience has been focused on project management, mine water and waste management concept development and design, dam inspection, environmental studies, heap leach facility design, construction and post-construction phase services, and geotechnical site investigations. Veronique is a certified Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) verifier with the Mining Association of Canada and a member of both the Canadian Dam Association (CDA) and South African Committee on Large Dams (SANCOLD).
Veronique’s experience includes projects in Canada, throughout North and South America, as well as in West Africa and Southern Africa. She is fluent in French, English, and Spanish, and she is learning German.
Paul Emerson
Director of Business Development
Tera Nova Technologies, USA
Paul is TNT’s director of business development. He has more than 33 years’ experience in business development, project management, and engineering in the mining conveying and bulk materials handling industry. He is an industry expert in the areas of heap leach stacking, waste stacking, dry tails stacking, high-tonnage and complex overland conveying, as well as in-pit crushing and conveying applications.
Corin Holmes
General Manager
Jenike & Johanson, Australia
Corin Holmes is the general manager of Jenike & Johanson.
In 2012, he moved to Perth, Australia helping to establish Jenike & Johanson’s Australian subsidiary. He has worked on a variety of projects, from 10 tonne totes to 50,000 tonne stockpiles, mainly in the mining industry, helping to ensure reliable flow.
Providing education through speaking engagements such as FeTech, ICBMH, various Engineers Australia conferences, and IOC 2015 and through various publications, he feels that one of the best parts of his job is being able improve or create a design and to validate it through flow property testing and physical models. The reward comes with the knowledge that his efforts and experience have helped to prevent or solve very real problems and provide customers with peace of mind.
Dr Francesco Kaswalder
Head of Laboratory Department
Diemme Filtration srl, Italy
Francesco joined Diemme Filtration in 2008 and worked in the laboratory as a process engineer until 2018. Since 2018, he’s been the head of the laboratory department. Dr Kaswalder manages and coordinates laboratory activities supporting the estimating and sales departments. He also manages research and development projects. His main research fields are solid–liquid separation, slurry characterisation, fluid dynamics and simulation.
Dr Liam MacNamara
Mineral Processing Engineer
SRK Consulting, UK
Liam is a principal consultant (metallurgy & minerals processing) with over 25 years’ international experience. His work involves the evaluation of process metallurgy and the design, construction, commissioning and operation of minerals processing plants. At SRK Liam applies his expertise in technical reviews, audits and due diligence commissions. He has worldwide experience with coal, base metal concentrators, gold plants, potash and phosphate processing, thickened tailings disposal, mine backfill and water treatment.
Herman Marx
Lead Mechanical Specialist
Lycopodium Limited
Murray McGregor
Consultant, (Geotechnical Engineer, Tailings)
SRK Consulting, UK
Murray is a senior consultant (tailings engineer) with over 14 years’ experience in geotechnical engineering, with over 10 years focused on tailings and mine waste management. His main areas of expertise are in design and management of earthen structures including tailings dams, waste dumps, and cut slopes. Murray’s background is in geological engineering, and has experience in site selection, geotechnical investigation, slope stability, monitoring, and maintenance. He has scoped, executed, and managed several geotechnical investigations and design packages for both existing and greenfield sites. Murray has completed slope stability assessments, prepared operational guidance, and provided closure recommendations for waste dumps and tailings facilities. Murray has experience with projects in various areas around the world including North America, South America, Europe, and Africa.
Raul Norambuena Mardones
Principal Consultant
SRK Consulting, Canada
Raul has more than 10 years’ experience in the design of tailings and waste rock handling facilities, seismic geotechnical engineering, dam engineering, dam failure assessments, safety reviews and audits, engineering design, construction supervision and operation, and engineer of record services. He is currently the principal design engineer for several planned and operational filtered tailings facilities in both Mexico and Chile. Raul’s main area of expertise is geotechnics and geotechnical design of mining waste management facilities.
He has a master’s degree in soil mechanics and earthquake engineering from Imperial College London, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Chile. He is a member of the British Columbia Association of Engineers and Geoscientists, EIT, and a member of the Chilean Society of Geotechnical Engineers (SOCHIGE).
Andrea Pezzi
Director of Marketing and Communications
Diemme Filtration SRL, Italy
Andrea is a chemical engineer who graduated from Bologna University in 1999. He is currently the director of marketing and communications at Deimme Filtration, working on developing strategies and launching new products/services. Since 2022, Andrea has been coordinating the path to sustainability for the company. He has served as regional sales director for North America, UK, Ireland and India. During his earlier career within Diemme Filtration, Andrea gained experience in the research and development department and the cost estimation department. Andrea has authored numerous technical papers presented at countless workshops and congresses around the world.
Joe Rola
Principal Consultant (Mine Waste)
SRK Consulting, Australia
Joe Rola is a civil/geotechnical engineer with over 18 years’ experience working on mine and power generation wastes, heap leach and land/infrastructure development projects across Australia, Southeast Asia and North America. Joe has extensive experience in design, analysis, reporting, construction support/quality assurance, field and laboratory investigations, project management, and geotechnical instrumentation design/installation. Joe specialises in tailings and mine waste related projects, providing review, project direction and/or lead engineering from concept stage through to detailed design, construction, operations and closure.
Amin Safari
Principal Backfill Engineer
Quattro Engineering Group, Australia
Amin is a highly qualified and professional mining engineer with experience in the design, planning and implementation of large-scale mining projects in Australia and overseas who has been involved with backfill design since 2015.
Katie Wilkinson
Project Engineer (Chemical)
Paterson & Cooke, South Africa
Katie is a project engineer (chemical) at Paterson & Cooke in Cape Town. She has worked in the mining industry since 2018 and has experience in metallurgical process modelling, optimisation and design – from concept study to detailed engineering. Prior to joining the industry, she completed a master’s degree in chemical engineering that focused on waste valorisation using biomining microbes. She is part of the Paterson & Cooke tailings group and has most recently been working on Southern African projects on tailings transportation, the consideration of alternative tailings technology, and solid–liquid separation for underground mine dewatering.