Application of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in the Mining Industry

Schedule:

Calgary Geotechnical Society, In-Person, Wednesday, April 24, 2024

5:30pm to 6:00pm    – Doors open, networking & registration (food provided and bar available)

6:00pm to 6:45 pm   – Technical presentation

6:45 pm to 7:00pm   – Q&A

Bio:

Mike O’Kane, P.Eng., M.Sc., MAusIMM, GCB.D, founded Okane Consultants (Okane) in 1996, a company providing integrated mine planning, closure, and relinquishment solutions to the mining industry internationally. Mike is the chair of Okane’s Board of Directors, and continues to work within Okane as a senior technical advisor using his wide-ranging technical expertise and knowledge on risk management best practices as tools for development and communication of integrated closure planning and project specific objectives and designs. He is a recognized subject matter expert in cover system and landform design, and application of unsaturated zone hydrology and geochemistry, for mine waste management. Mike is a director of the Landform Design Institute and chair of its Technical Advisory Panel. He holds a Global ESG Competence Boards Designation.

In 2014 Mike received the University of Saskatchewan Alumni Achievement Award for “Global Development of his Business and Corporation, and Philanthropy”

Presentation Title:

Application of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in the Mining Industry…
    …and other Gardening Tips

Presentation Abstract:

The mining industry, as a result of resource recovery, produces mine rock / overburden, mine tailings, and spent heap leach material.  Cover systems are often considered, amongst several technologies, for preventing, and mitigating potential adverse impact to surface water and groundwater resources, while also providing an interface between the landform containing these products and the atmosphere. Cover system functionality is intimately linked to the landform, and vice versa; as such, both are foundational to Land stewardship.

This presentation offers a perspective, gained from nearly 30 years of experience, to explore whether cover systems, and water treatment of mined landform effluent, are ‘proven technologies’ for managing source, pathway, and receptor water flow and quality risk arising from landforms created in the mining industry. Case study examples will be used to illustrate cost effective enhanced solutions for managing tomorrow’s water flow and water quality risk, today, while incorporating a Land stewardship perspective at all stages of the mine-life-cycle.