Part II How to Build a Twenty-First-Century Comprehensive Risk
Management Program
7 Let’s Start with Some Serious “Do Nots”! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7.1
Do Not Declare a Dam “Safe” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7.2
Do Not Accept Incremental Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
7.3
Do Not Call Unforeseeable What Indeed Is Foreseeable . . . . . 84
7.4
Do Not Forget Uncertainties and Latencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
7.5
Do Not Jump to Risks: Hazards Come First! . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
7.5.1
Dynamics Within the Tailings Responsibility
Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
7.5.2
Inadequate Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
7.5.3
Closing Notes on Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
7.6
Do Not Consider Consequences of Failures
as One-Dimensional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
7.7
Do Not Forget to Define Performance, Success and Failure
Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
7.8
Do Not Use Common Practice Matrix Approaches,
PIGs, FMEAs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
7.8.1
“Classic” Risk Matrices Deficiencies . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
7.8.2
“Newly Recognized” Risk Matrices Deficiencies . . . 100
7.8.3
Can We Solve the Problem of Risk Matrices
Deficiencies? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
7.8.4
Bad News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
8 System Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
8.1
Definition of the System of Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
8.1.1
Mining Company Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
8.1.2
Governments Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
8.1.3
Professional Geotechnical Engineers
Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
8.2
Physical System Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
8.2.1
Quick History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
8.2.2
How to Dissect Your Tailings Dam System . . . . . . . 108
8.3
A Note on Inter-Dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
8.3.1
Pipe-Dam Inter-Dependency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
8.3.2
Internal Dam Inter-Dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
9 Hazard Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
9.1
Standard Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
9.1.1
Workshops, Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
9.1.2
Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Contents
xiii