Selection of Strength Parameters for Stability Analysis of Mining Earth Structures

Scott Martens, Director, Tailings Engineering at Teck Resources, presents his talk "Selection of Strength Parameters for Stability Analysis of Mining Earth Structures".

Abstract: One of the factors that has resulted in slope stability failures of mining earth structures has been the mischaracterization of the available shear strength. Dr. Morgenstern, in his 2018 De Mello lecture, reflected on the cause of tailings facility failures and noted that “inadequate understanding of undrained failure mechanisms leading to static liquefaction with extreme consequences is a factor in about 50% of the cases.” This lecture explains the reasons for the differences between effective stress and undrained strength parameters for soils and tailings, and considerations for selecting appropriate parameters for stability analyses of tailings dams and other mining earth structures such as mine waste dumps and heap leach pads.

Speaker Bio: Scott Martens is the Director, Tailings Engineering at Teck Resources, providing corporate oversight of tailings engineering atTeck’s operating mines, development projects and legacy facilities across North and South America. Scott has 29 years of geotechnical engineering experience, with 15 years in consulting and 14 in geotechnical mining operations. His focus has been on the design, construction and safety assessments of tailings, hydroelectric and irrigation dams. Prior to joining Teck, Scott worked extensively in the Alberta oil sands, leading a team of engineers and geologists responsible for the design and construction of mine tailings facilities, mine waste dumps, pit slopes, geology, and hydrogeology at a large oil sands mine. Scott has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree from the University of British Columbia and a Master’s degree in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Alberta. Scott is also an Adjunct Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Alberta, a member of the independent review board for the tailings facilities at a gold mine and is the Chair of the Mining Dams Committee for the Canadian Dam Association.