Advanced integrated real-time monitoring for tailings storage facilities

HydroTerra is a trusted provider of comprehensive and innovative solutions for integrated real-time monitoring and management of tailings storage facilities (TSFs), including effluent ponds and tailings dam seepage, ensuring optimal water and tailings management, operational insights and environmental compliance.

Our services and products are designed to meet the unique challenges of tailings and wastewater management, and at the core of our service offering is DataStream™, a powerful platform purpose-built for managing the complex data needs of TSFs across their entire lifecycle and delivering end-to-end solutions, providing reliable and efficient monitoring, control systems, service support, data management and visualisation. We assist facility site operators to meet their auditable tailings dam monitoring and management requirements using a performance-based approach, as specified in the Global Industry Standard for Tailings Management (GISTM).
Our multi-discipline approach:

HydroTerra also specialises in the geochemical characterisation of tailings and substrates, aligning with the GISTM standard to assess ore variability and inform risk profiles.

Key services include:

• Total and leachable metal concentrations (static and kinetic leachability)
• Seepage and water quality analysis
• Salinity and acid generation potential
• Acid mine drainage (AMD) kinetic leach testing

Understanding water balance and phreatic surface dynamics, within and around the TSF, is vital, particularly in response to rainfall and seasonal variation. While TSF management often emphasises geotechnical aspects, geochemical processes are equally critical covering factors like weathering, contaminant load, leachability, oxygen diffusion, tracer studies and isotope analysis. Long-term monitoring, supported by sensors, telemetry, drones and autosamplers, captures essential data trends. Tailings and seepage characterisation and management demand a multidisciplinary approach. HydroTerra partners with the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute and other experts to deliver integrated, end-to-end solutions and data interpretation.

Please download a copy of our brochure for monitoring of TSF’s here