Lucas de Melo, Ph.D., PE (Maryland) will present in a United States Society on Dams (USSD) online workshop at 10:00 AM MDT on July 21, 2022. The workshop will discuss the investigation of the 2019 Feijão Tailings Dam Failure.

Lucas de Melo’s co-presenter is Dr. Peter K. Robertson of PK Robertson Inc.

Lucas de Melo is a Senior Principal Engineer based in Maryland with more than 20 years of experience in dams and mining related projects, geotechnical design and field studies, risk quantification, and hazardous materials remediation. He helps design coal ash disposal sites, solid waste management facilities, and capping systems for site closures.

USSD is dedicated to advancing the benefits of dam and levee systems and building the community of practice. As the United States member of the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), USSD provides a forum for the exchange of knowledge and experiences and is charged with leading the profession of dam and levee engineering.

Description

At approximately 12:28pm local time on January 25, 2019, tailings dam B-1 at Vale S.A.’s Corrego do Feijão Iron Ore Mine, located 9 kilometers north-east of Brumadinho, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, suffered a sudden failure resulting in a catastrophic mudflow that travelled rapidly downstream and caused significant damage and over 250 deaths. This failure was unique in that there are high quality video images of the event that provide insight into the failure mechanism.

To determine what triggered the failure of this dam and why the failure occurred when it did, an expert panel carried out an investigation into the technical causes of the failure. The investigation included (i) evaluating the nature and properties of the materials in the dam, (ii) assessing the dam construction and operation methods and their impact on the dam and tailings material properties, (iii) assessing the condition of the dam before and during the failure using analyses of available images, such as video, ground-based radar, LiDAR, satellite (InSAR and photographs), drone videos, and (iv) numerically modelling the conditions just prior to failure.

This presentation will summarize the expert panel’s investigation into the technical causes of the failure.  

More Information

About the event: U.S. Society on Dams – Investigation of the Feijão Tailings Dam Failure near Brumadinho, Brazil
Register for the event: USSD Learning Center: Investigation of the Feijão Tailings Dam Failure near Brumadinho, Brazil (ussdams.org)
About USSD: USSD | United States Society on Dams (ussdams.org)
For consultation regarding Dam Tailings, contact Lucas de Melo at ldemelo@geosyntec.com.
Learn more about Lucas de Melo: Lucas de Melo (geosyntec.com)