SRK Consulting is proud to announce that Franco Oboni and Cesar Oboni’s technical paper, "Optimizing Tailings Dam Safety: Integrating Human Factors and Evolving Hazards," was recognized as one of the five best technical-scientific papers at the Fifth International Dam World Conference (DW2025), held in Lisbon, Portugal, under the theme “Preserving life through dams.” The paper received further distinction with its publication in a special issue of the journal Dam Engineering, highlighting its significance to the engineering and mining industries.
Traditional approaches to assessing tailings dam risks often overlook the complexity of human factors and evolving hazards. Our methodology aims to provide a clearer understanding of failure causative processes and actionable strategies to reduce risk," said Franco Oboni.
Traditional tailings storage facility (TSF) risk analyses often rely on incomplete data, creating additional uncertainties. Franco and Cesar introduced a quantitative risk assessment model that incorporates human factors, maintenance variability, operational considerations, and climate impacts. Using a probabilistic causality analysis, their methodology emphasizes human factors as key drivers of dam failures and illustrates practical ways to mitigate risks.
Our work shows how integrating human factors and systematic assessments can improve risk management in TSF design, maintenance, and operations. The goal is to ensure reliability while making risk mitigation more effective and achievable," added Cesar Oboni.
Franco and Cesar Oboni bring over five decades of combined global experience to innovations in risk analysis and management. Franco specializes in decision-making support, logistical and operational risks, and natural and manmade risk analysis, with a consulting and teaching career spanning over 30 years. Cesar, co-chair of the Management and Economics Society (MES) of CIM, is a leading expert in risk quantification and has mine closure experience in strategic planning, closure project risk assessment, risk-adjusted cost evaluations, and water risk assessments.
SRK Consulting is proud to have Franco and Cesar on the team and congratulates them for their achievement. It further affirms their contributions and commitment to advancing safety and sustainability in the mining industry.
