The story starts over 20 years ago when a mining company commissioned an engineering study to develop a small, open-pit gold mine in Latin America. Stalled due to market conditions, the project changed hands a few years later and the new owner assembled a new technical team. The development concept remained essentially unchanged as the new owner funded new field work and engineering updates. After another hiatus and ownership change, the project moved forward with final engineering and construction, including a mine waste stockpile and heap leach facility. About three years later, the waste rock and heap leach facilities failed. No lives were lost however the event triggered the immediate and ultimately, permanent shutdown of the mine. Two years later, the project owner sued the external consultants involved in the investigation and engineering design of both facilities for breach of contract. All litigation is settled after years of legal activity. This presentation explores the “duty of care” obligation associated with siting, design, construction, assessment, and monitoring of mine waste and heap leach facilities. This obligation was complicated by multiple changes in ownership and external consulting teams which resulted in a tangled thread of reliance on predecessors and missed opportunities for technical disciplines to share information. A rumble in the jungle that reverberated for years and now offers insight to the next generation of practitioners.
Originally Presented at Colorado School of Mines on October 21, 2020
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