Abstract:
Due to their size and often their remoteness,
large geotechnical structures such
as tailings dams are ideally suited to
be observed using smart monitoring
technologies. With the arrival of the 4th
Industrial Revolution – and in a year characterised
by unprecedented disruption
and uncertainty impacting physical access
for monitoring purposes – adoption of
state-of-the-art Internet of Things (IoT)
solutions for remote monitoring applications
provides a unique, real-time view
into the behaviour of these structures.
To improve understanding of the long-term
pore pressure behaviour associated
with the operation of a tailings dam, the
Department of Civil Engineering at the
University of Pretoria (UP), in collaboration
with SRK Consulting and Marula
Platinum, is conducting an instrumentation
project to observe pore pressure (both
positive and negative), moisture content
and temperature at nine monitoring
locations on a platinum tailings dam. The
Marula Platinum Mine is situated approximately
30 km northwest of the town
of Burgersfort. The mine operates a tailings
dam with a footprint of 48 Ha on which
deposition occurs by means of spigotting.
