{"id":29910,"date":"2019-01-30T08:23:43","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T08:23:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.agu.org\/landslideblog\/?p=29910"},"modified":"2019-01-31T07:56:48","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T07:56:48","slug":"brumadinho-tailings-dam-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.agu.org\/landslideblog\/2019\/01\/30\/brumadinho-tailings-dam-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"Planet Labs image of the Brumadinho tailings dam failure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Planet Labs image of the Brumadinho tailings dam failure<\/h4>\n

Planet Labs<\/a> have captured a high resolution image of the aftermath of the Brumadinho tailings dam failure at the C\u00f3rrego do Feij\u00e3o Mine in Brazil<\/a>.\u00a0 This image, which is copyright Planet Labs<\/a> and used with permission, shows the tailings pond and failed dam:-<\/p>\n

\"Brumadinho

Planet Labs high resolution image of the aftermath of the Brumadinho tailings dam failure in Brazil, captured 28 January 2019. Copyright Planet Labs, used with permission. Please note that the label has now been corrected.<\/p><\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n

It is worth comparing that image with the Google Earth image of the same site:-<\/p>\n

\"Brumadinho

Google Earth image of the site of the Brumadinho tailings dam failure. Image dates 22 July 2018.<\/p><\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n

There are a few points to note here.\u00a0 First, the central portion of the dam has failed catastrophically, creating a high mobility flow.\u00a0 In fact, very little of the dam itself is intact.\u00a0 Second, the compromised smaller dam to the west of the main failure can also be seen.\u00a0 The toe has scoured out; clearly this needs careful monitoring but the retained volume is not very large.\u00a0 Third, there is a substantial volume of tailings left within the pond that now has not retention in place.\u00a0 These tailings can mobilise in heavy rainfall, so careful management is needed.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the number of fatalities from the Brumadinho tailings dam failure has now reached 84 confirmed losses, of whom 42 have been identified, with a further 276 people reported missing. This would mean that the minimum final total will be 318 fatalities, making this one of the worst mining landslides in recent history.\u00a0 No-one was rescued alive yesterday.<\/p>\n

Five people from Vale and from a contractor,\u00a0T\u00dcV S\u00dcD, were arrested yesterday in relation to the accident.<\/p>\n

Finally, a comment by\u00a0Caner Zanbak from my earlier post on the Brumadinho tailings dam failure<\/a> noted that there is an article online about the behaviour of the tailings at Dam 1 of the C\u00f3rrego do Feij\u00e3o Mine<\/a>.\u00a0 This presents a detailed analysis of the liquefaction potential of the tailings.\u00a0 It concludes:<\/p>\n

“Considering a rapid rise of the phreatic line through the tailings deposit reaching the toes of the intermediate rising dykes, with complete saturation of tailings layers susceptible to liquefied, a post-triggering analysis indicated <\/em>that the flow failure susceptibility of the Dam I is low even under a such critical loading event”<\/em><\/p>\n

and<\/p>\n

“The conclusions of these analyses, in addition to laboratory testing program results and based on rigid management procedures adopted in field, demonstrate that Dam I constitutes a safety structure against mechanisms from <\/em>liquefaction-induced failures”.<\/em><\/p>\n

Clearly these analyses did not properly characterise the behaviour of the tailings (which is not necessarily a criticism of the authors).\u00a0 I wonder if we know why?<\/p>\n

Reference<\/h4>\n

Planet Team (2018)<\/a>. Planet Application Program Interface: In Space for Life on Earth. San Francisco, CA. https:\/\/www.planet.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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