Behind the Scenes with Bryan

Juan is a Senior Geotechnical Engineer at KCB Australia Pty Ltd. in Perth, Australia. Juan and I once again get together to hear about what he's been up to with tailings and geotechnical engineering.

Chelsea is the President of Elevate Civil Engineering, where she leads civil and geotechnical projects, such as tailings, dams, and mining infrastructure, with a focus on ethical practice and meaningful collaboration with Indigenous communities. Her work supports sustainable, culturally aligned outcomes that reflect both technical expertise and community priorities. Chelsea is also the founder of Co-Creation, a personal and professional development practice offering alignment-based courses and spiritual growth experiences designed to help individuals and organizations connect with intuition, purpose, and values-driven leadership.

In this episode I test Chat GPT on its knowledge of the current state of tailings management.

Mike is the Founder and Senior Technical Advisor of Okane Consultants. Okane helps mining companies return the land responsibly and safely at the end of a mine’s lifecycle. In this episode Mike and I discuss practical lessons learned from work in mine closure projects.

Caius is a specialist civil geotechnical engineer with over 30 years of experience in dams, embankments and earthworks, from concept studies to detailed engineering to construction management, operation and surveillance, closure and rehabilitation. He is also an adjunct professor at the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering. Caius and I chat about his wonderful career and what he has learned along the way.

Scott has 30 years of technical and leadership experience in geotechnical engineering, with a focus on mining and dam safety. Scott has led multi-disciplinary design teams for complex structures, and served as senior reviewer for high profile, high consequence designs. Scott has managed an engineering group comprising multiple teams and up to 100 total staff, with direct responsibility for annual budgets more than $50 million. Scott led the implementation of the Mining Association of Canada’s Tailings Management Protocol within a large mining organization.

Jason is the Managing Director of Powerhouse Renewables in Perth, Australia. Powerhouse is seeing good results from some work they've completed with Rio Tinto. Powerhouse is unlike most renewables companies, they not only deliver renewable solutions but they also ensure that the energy transition is optimized through energy efficient technologies.

This is a lengthier episode, so buckle in for a long ride.

Mike is the Founder and now a Senior Technical Advisor to O'Kane Consultants. Mike is a fellow geotechnical engineer.

Okane helps mining companies return the land responsibly and safely at the end of a mine’s lifecycle. They believe in challenging the status quo and advocating for meaningful partnerships and positive outcomes for community stakeholders and Indigenous rightsholders. Their solutions help their clients achieve positive financial, environmental, and social outcomes from feasibility to relinquishment.

Debbie is a hardrock mining policy expert with over 30 years of hands-on expertise with the environmental and public land laws and regulations pertaining to mineral exploration and mine development.
She provides environmental permitting and government relations consulting services to mineral exploration and mining clients. She has a proven track record of successfully representing clients in legislative and administrative issues on the state and federal levels and in securing project permits for exploration and mining projects.
Since 1993, she has been an active participant in the legislative dialogue to change the U.S. Mining Law. She has provided testimonies...

Satish is the Managing Director, Clareo, a think tank that is involved in many industrial sectors. As their website says, Clareo is a leading global strategy consulting firm focused on solving complex challenges for the mining, energy, and food sectors. With over 20 years of experience, Clareo collaborates with Fortune 500 clients to develop innovative strategies that drive business transformation and growth.Satish and I discuss the panel discussion he took part in at the MIT Global Summit on Mine Tailings Innovation.

Sina is a geomechanics product manager at Rocscience. He led the development and improvement of Slide2 and Slide3, two of the most advanced software tools for LEM slope stability analysis as well as probabilistic and reliability-based approaches to geotechnical design. 

Chad is an internationally recognized, experienced and competent geotechnical engineer, project and operations manager, executive and technical principal. His nearly 34 working years have benefited from a suite of various experiences and learnings, culminating in a career focused on geoenvironmental engineering, tailings engineering and tailings management. Chad and I speak current trends in the tailings world and provide some advice to engineering students and to those just coming out of school.

Allison has had a pretty amazing career, and now specializes in ESG, Sustainability, Community Engagement, Social Impact, Holistic Investments in Natural Resources & Energy, and DEI. Amongst other things, Allison and I discuss DEI and how it can improve our workplace.

Alastair leads Insight Terra, a company at the forefront of developing real-time monitoring solutions for tailings storage facilities. Based in South Africa, he brings a unique perspective on the evolution of tailings management, particularly in the African mining context. He is involved with SAIMM and recently collaborated with the newly announced Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI) in South Africa. Alastair and I discuss the future of tailings monitoring and management.

Insight Terra's work in implementing cutting-edge technology for real-time monitoring of tailings facilities aligns perfectly with the technical discussions your podcast is known for. I b...

Hanna is Geohazard & Ground Engineer at Geovert, a world leader in natural hazard mitigation solutions. She is a self-proclaimed rock and dirt nerd working in the world of geohazards and ground improvement.

David Reid is a Principal Tailings Engineer with Red Earth Engineering, A Geosyntec Company in Perth, Western Australia, but more importantly he runs their lab which offers many advanced testing methods.

Chad is an internationally recognized, experienced and competent geotechnical engineer, project and operations manager, executive and technical principal. His nearly 34 working years have benefited from a suite of various experiences and learnings, culminating in a career focused on geoenvironmental engineering, tailings engineering and tailings management. Chad and I speak about his impressive career and his current direction in his career and life.

Ben is a Senior Principal Geotechnical Engineer with WSP in British Canada. Ben and I discuss the many merits and challenges associated with comingled tailings and waste rock.

Kim literally needs no introduction. She has worked for many years in the consulting world (both with large companies and on her own). She was also the head of tailings for Newmont, one of the largest mining companies in the world. Kim is now back to consulting on her own and in on the teaching staff at CSM. Kim is incredibly accomplished and has more energy than anyone I've ever known. Kim and I discuss numerous activities she has been associated with.

Kim literally needs no introduction. She has worked for many years in the consulting world (both with large companies and on her own). She was also the head of tailings for Newmont, one of the largest mining companies in the world. Kim is now back to consulting on her own and in on the teaching staff at CSM. Kim is incredibly accomplished and has more energy than anyone I've ever known. Kim and I discuss numerous activities she has been associated with.

Siamak is a tailings and landfill specialist, and the overseer of TNA, Tailings News Alerts.

Julie is the Executive Director of Mining Minnesota. Julie leads a coalition of community and industry leaders who advocate for responsible production of mineral resources in Minnesota. Julie previously served as the Environmental Manager of Cleveland-Cliffs' Hibbing Taconite operation, shepherding Minnesota’s second largest iron mining and processing facility through environmental permitting and operational compliance. She then guided the water resources program for Twin Metals Minnesota as the Director of Water Resources, including oversight of surface water, groundwater, and wetlands baseline studies and project modeling.

Kim is the Global Director of Mine Closure at WSP. She has over 25 years of experience in resource projects in most states of Australia and internationally including across Africa and South America, ranging from greenfields exploration to active mine expansions to closure planning and implementation. She has worked in operational, project and consulting roles covering environmental and social impact assessment, mine closure planning and environmental management roles, including regulator and stakeholder engagement. She is a qualified environmental management auditor and has been involved in a number of audits, including due diligence and international audits.

Omar is with WSP where he is an Assistant Vice President -Civil Engineer. He is also Vice Chair of the SME Environmental Division Board as well as Vice Chair, SME Tucson Section. Omar and I discuss the role of civil engineering in the design of mine waste management systems and the value of being active in a professional society.

Assheton is the CEO of TDi Sustainability. TDi Sustainability is a global consulting firm that enables business to thrive while living in harmony with people and planet. From responsible sourcing, auditing, and impact investments at the heart of the mining industry, to risk management, ESG standards, compliance, management systems and bespoke digital tools… their global team is at the coal face (literally) to help turn ideas into solutions.

Marco is the Head of the Geotechnical Department at Line Creek Operation of Elk Valley Resource. He is a geotechnical engineer with over 15 years of experience in open pit mining. He is passionate about nurturing the next wave of geotechnical talent and delights in the playful intricacies of granular materials.

Ryan is the Executive Director at Better In Our Back Yard. We discuss the many challenges regarding permitting a mine in the US.

Terry is President (North America) at SRK Consulting. Terry and I discuss his impressive career and provide advice to the next generation of engineers and scientists.

Marcelo is a geotechnical engineer with Red Earth Engineering Pty Ltd, now a part of Geosyntec. In this episode Marcelo discusses a recent paper on compaction.

Benjamin Neville is the Managing Director of the Saligna Management Group. He is Australian based, and a standout in project management and leadership. With engineering credentials from Queensland University of Technology and a commitment to continuous improvement, he's led pivotal projects like the CIMIC One HSE Culture Program at UGL/Gryphon Psychology (2023) and the Mental Health for Leaders initiative at Hitachi (2021-2022).

His global talent development efforts were acknowledged in a partnership with Hitachi/Lloyd’s Register (2021), and he maintained rigorous standards in management commitment to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018 at Rio Tinto. Benjamin's leadership earned him the...

Catherine is an experienced mining engineer with 12+ years in the mining industry, specializing in both underground and open pit operations, and a proven track record of demonstrating strong, effective leadership and team development.
Amongst other things, we discuss Catherine's book, " The mine that fell asleep in the Goldfields".

Don't blame this on Snoop. It’s parody.

Joe is an Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University. Amongst other things Joe and I discuss cover design and longevity and the need to get more engineering students interested in tailings.

Ashok is an Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Adjunct Faculty, Civil Engineering , New Mexico Tech at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Ashok and I discuss his involvement in green desalination using forward osmosis.

Rens is a Technical Fellow with WSP and a geochemist with more than 30 years of experience in the mining industry.

Carlo is a director at Minebridge Software, the developers of Muk3D. Carlo and I chat about the capabilities of is software and how it's making TSF design simpler and better.

Carlos is the RTFE at the Cobre Panama mine which is owned by First Quantum Minerals. The mine is currently under shutdown orders by the Panamanian government. Carlos and I discuss the challenges of maintaining a tailings facility that is in hiatus.

Lindsay is an expert in risk management and Executive Director at World Mine Tailings Failures. We discuss here amazing career, and her involvement in tailings which came to her later in life.

Justin is an Associate Partner and Principal Civil Engineer at SRK in Johannesburg, South Africa, specializing in mine closure. Justin and I discuss his approach to closure projects.

Tim Fitton is an independent tailings/geotechnical engineer in Australia, running Fitton Tailings Consultants. Amongst other things Tim and I discuss tailings beach slope prediction.