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DAMSAT: An Eye in the Sky for Monitoring Tailings Dams

DAMSAT: Ein Instrument zur Überwachung von Tailingdämmen

DAMSAT: Un ojo en el cielo para monitorear los diques de colas

DAMSAT: 尾矿坝监测之“天眼”

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Abstract

During the past decade, there have been a number of catastrophic tailings dam failures. Affordable monitoring systems, as well as methods to assess the risk posed to communities living downstream of these structures, are needed. In recent years the availability and accuracy of remote sensing information has increased, whilst its cost has decreased. This paper provides an overview of DAMSAT, a web-based system that brings together Earth observation and other data to help governments and mining companies monitor tailing dams, and estimate the downstream risks they pose. The methods developed are being piloted in Peru at a number of tailings dams, with the overall goal of improving the decision making process and sharing of information with respect to managing these structures. Engagement with Peruvian stakeholders has shown that DAMSAT provides tools that can help government authorities both reduce the risks and increase the sustainability of mining.

Zusammenfassung

In den letzten zehn Jahren kam es zu einer Reihe von katastrophalen Tailingdammbrüchen. Es werden erschwingliche Überwachungssysteme sowie Methoden benötigt, die das Risiko für die stromabwärts von diesen Strukturen befindlichen Unterlieger bewerten. In den letzten Jahren hat die Verfügbarkeit und Genauigkeit von Fernerkundungsinformationen zugenommen, während ihre Kosten gesunken sind. Diese Studie gibt einen Überblick über ein webbasiertes System (DAMSAT), das Erdbeobachtungsdaten und weitere Informationen zusammenführt, um öffentliche Verwaltungen und Bergbauunternehmen bei der Überwachung von Bergbaudämmen zu unterstützen und die vorhandenen Risiken abzuschätzen. Die Methoden wurden an einer Reihe von Tailingdämmen in Peru mit der Zielstellung erprobt, Entscheidungsfindungsprozesse und den Informationsaustausch im Überwachungsmanagement zu verbessern. Die Zusammenarbeit mit peruanischen Interessenvertretern hat gezeigt, dass die Instrumente, welche DAMSAT bereitstellt, für Verwaltungsbehörden hilfreich sein können und sowohl Risiken reduziert als auch die Zukunftsfähigkeit des Bergbaus erhöht.

Resumen

Durante la última década se han producido varias fallas catastróficas de diques de colas. Son necesarios sistemas de vigilancia asequibles, así como métodos para evaluar el riesgo que corren las comunidades que viven aguas abajo de esas estructuras. En los últimos años, ha aumentado la disponibilidad y la precisión de la información de la teledetección y, además, su costo ha disminuido. En este trabajo se ofrece un panorama general de DAMSAT, un sistema basado en la web que reúne datos de observación de la Tierra y otros datos para ayudar a los gobiernos y a las empresas mineras a vigilar los diques de cola y a estimar los riesgos que plantean aguas abajo. Los métodos desarrollados se están probando en Perú en varios diques de colas, con el objetivo general de mejorar el proceso de adopción de decisiones y el intercambio de información con respecto a la gestión de esas estructuras. El compromiso con los interesados peruanos ha demostrado que DAMSAT proporciona instrumentos que pueden ayudar a las autoridades gubernamentales a reducir los riesgos y aumentar la sostenibilidad de la minería.

抽象

在过去的几十年里, 曾发生多起灾难性尾矿溃坝事故。有必要建立可负担的尾矿坝监测系统及库坝下游社区风险评估体系。近些年, 遥感信息的可获取性和信息精度都在提高, 但信息费用却在降低。文章概述了一种基于网络的DAMSAT系统, 它能够综合Earth Observation信息和其它数据, 帮助政府和采矿公司监测尾矿库, 评估库坝下游风险。该系统正在秘鲁很多尾矿库坝试用, 总体目标是从库坝管理角度提升决策过程和信息分享的水平。与秘鲁相关利益方的接触表明, DAMSAT提供了有助于政府降低风险和提高采矿可持续性的工具。

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Fig. 1

(Adapted from Vick 1990)

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(Adapted from Martin and Davies 2000)

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Notes

  1. The inverse velocity method is used to calculate the rate of deformation of the slope of the dam (velocity) and to plot the inverse of the rate of deformation against time (i.e. the inverse velocity against time). As the velocity or rate of deformation increases, the inverse will tend towards zero, which is when failure occurs. For more details of this method, see Carlà et al. (2017).

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the work of Dr. Eleanor Ainscoe who did the analysis of the InSAR data for tailings dams in Peru. This work was made possible as part of the DAMSAT project, which was funded by a grant from the UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme. The team working on the project was led by HR Wallingford and comprises Telespazio VEGA UK, Siemens Corporate Technology, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford, Satellite Application Catapult, Oxford Policy Management, Ciemam SAC, Peruvian National Foundation for Hydraulics Engineering, and School of Hydraulic Engineering at the National University of Cajamarca. More information on this work is available from https://www.damsat.org.

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  1. HR Wallingford, Howbery Park, Oxfordshire, Wallingford, OX10 8BA, UK

    Darren Lumbroso, Marta Roca Collell, Gregor Petkovsek, Mark Davison, Ye Liu, Craig Goff & Mark Wetton

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  1. Darren Lumbroso
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  2. Marta Roca Collell
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  3. Gregor Petkovsek
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Correspondence to Darren Lumbroso.

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Lumbroso, D., Collell, M.R., Petkovsek, G. et al. DAMSAT: An Eye in the Sky for Monitoring Tailings Dams. Mine Water Environ 40, 113–127 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-020-00727-1

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