Abstract
The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) requires credible failure scenario assessments and consequence zoning. Current practice, guided by the Canadian Dam Association (2021), prioritises water-laden tailings with hydraulic entrainment (Cases 1A and 1B) leaving solids-dominated releases (Cases 2A and 2B) less explored. This work extends routine assessment to such cases using the material point method (MPM) – a large-deformation numerical technique suited to solid-dominated failures where interparticle friction and shear strength control post-failure and runout.
The methodology is illustrated through 3 case studies: a conventional tailings storage facility (TSF) with a pond located at the toe of the dam, a compacted filtered TSF placed over a waste rock dump, and a compacted filtered TSF located in a valley. The results provide estimated runout distances under these conditions, highlighting MPM’s capability to support GISTM compliance and comprehensive risk evaluations.
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