Intro to Tailings Dam and Coal Ash Impoundment Design, Construction and Monitoring: What Can Go Wrong and Right?: Download

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A large difference between water storage dams versus tailings dams and coal ash impoundments is that these industrial structures are always under construction. This provides the opportunity to optimize design and construction but places an emphasis on ongoing evaluation and monitoring. This course provides an overview of the unique construction and design components of these facilities. This course will examine a number of recent failures that have plagued the industry but provide valuable lessons for the future.

Richard R. Davidson, P.E.

Senior Principal, AECOM

Richard R. Davidson, P.E. is a Senior Principal and Vice President of AECOM. He has concentrated on the mining industry over the last 30 years, specializing in design of tailings dams, gypsum stacks, pit slope design and stabilization, seepage control, mine closure, and design of mine facilities such as water conveyance structures, waste dumps, crushed leach, haul roads, ore loading facilities, and milling-crushing-processing structures. He has utilized innovative methods to build some of the largest (2.5 B tons, 290,000 tpd) and highest (210 m) tailings dams in seismically active regions of the world such as Chile, Peru, New Zealand, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Australia, Colorado and the Philippines. He has also pioneered the use of risk-based approaches to tailings dam design and stabilization and management of pit slopes. Mr. Davidson has also served on a number of design review boards for major dams and mining projects.

Christina J. Winckler, P.E.

Senior Geotechnical Engineer

Christina Winckler, PE is a senior geotechnical engineer at AECOM. She has 13 years of experience in engineering consulting and design. The majority of her technical work is focused on material characterization, stability, seepage, and deformation analyses for earth embankment and tailings dams. She provides engineering, investigation, analysis, design, and construction services to commercial and public clients on water resources, mining, and environmental projects.