Don Mario Gold Mine

Project Highlights:

  • Tailings Storage Facility
  • Engineer of Record
  • Construction Quality Assurance
  • Tailings Storage Design

Don Mario Mine is an open pit gold/copper mine located in the Chiquitos Province, Santa Cruz, Bolivia that has been operating since 2002 and currently produces 2700 tpd mill throughput. Conventional tailings are transported and deposited in a high-density polyethylene lined geomembrane valley -fill tailings storage facility (TSF) created by constructing a conventional downstream-staged, earth fill dam. Since 2002 Don Mario has constructed 7 phases of the conventional downstream tailings dam design.

Due to ever-increasing dam construction costs, in 2015 Don Mario engaged Tierra Group to develop an innovative means to reduce construction costs for their tailings dam design, without compromising dam integrity. Tierra Group developed a unique and innovative dam raise design that incorporated a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) dam-crest raise combined with using sterile waste rock to increase tailings storage capacity while reducing construction volumes, construction time and costs. After developing the design, Tierra Group provided construction quality assurance (CQA) and construction project management support, which was finalized in April 2016. Tierra Group also designed future dam raises for construction which commenced in July 2016.

Project Highlights:

  • Tailings Storage Facility
  • Engineer of Record
  • Construction Quality Assurance
  • Tailings Storage Design

Similar projects

Palmarejo Mine

Tierra Group performed an initial site visit to Coeur Mining’s Palmarejo Mine to conduct dam safety inspections of the tailings storage facility, environmental control dam, water diversion dam, and water diversion channel. Prior to the site visit, Tierra Group reviewed…

VIEW PROJECT

La Trinidad

Tierra Group began work at La Trinidad providing heap leach pad construction recommendations and a water balance. Tierra Group continued support with a heap leach pad expansion design, slope stability analyses, hydrologic analyses, diversion design, liner design, and leach solution…

VIEW PROJECT

Rosario Mine

Tierra Group performed a Dam Safety Review (DSR) including geotechnical investigations and seepage and slope stability analyses for a 20-m high TSF at this 300‑tpd underground polymetallic mine. The audit was prepared following the Mt. Polley tailings dam failure in…

VIEW PROJECT

Mascota Mine

Creston Mascota Mine is located in Chihuahua, Mexico and is owned and operated by Agnico Eagle Mexico. Tierra Group designed the Phase 4 heap leach pad, buttress, which included geotechnical investigations, slope stability analyses and a water balance for Agnico…

VIEW PROJECT

El Gallo Mine

El Gallo is a 3,000 tpd open-pit gold/silver mine located in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range in Mexico’s Sinaloa State. Gold is recovered through heap leaching and adsorption/desorption/recovery (ADR). Production commenced at El Gallo with the first gold pour in September…

VIEW PROJECT

Morelos Mine

Tierra Group designed and implemented a stability and safety monitoring plan for Torex Gold’s Morelos Mine dry stack tailings storage facility (TSF). The monitoring plan includes installing inclinometers and vibrating wire piezometers, and training operations staff to download instrumentation readings.…

VIEW PROJECT

San Francisco Mine

Tierra Group conducted geo-electrical testing to locate leaks present in the geomembrane liners underlying a Solution Conveyance Canal, Sumps 1 and 2, and the Intermediate Pond at Timmins Gold Corp’s San Francisco Mine in Sonora, Mexico. Leak detection testing procedures…

VIEW PROJECT

El Mochito Mine

El Mochito is an underground zinc/silver mine located in the Santa Barbara Mountains in north-central Honduras. Tierra Group’s Team has been providing Tailings Stewardship Services at El Mochito continuously for the past 26 years. Since 1989, Tierra Group engineers have provided…

VIEW PROJECT

North Mara Mine | Tailings Assurance Audit

Tierra Group completed a TAA for the North Mara Tailings Storage Facility (TSF). The TAA was completed to ensure the TSF and site operations complied with Barrick’s Tailings Management Standard, which closely mirrors the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM)…

VIEW PROJECT

Mexican Hat PEA Update

Tierra Group conducted an update of the Mexican Hat Project’s Preliminary Economic Assessment. Tierra Group’s update included the heap leach facility design and preliminary stacking plan, waste rock storage pad, and crushed rock storage pad design.

VIEW PROJECT

Midas Mine

The Midas Mine is located in northern Nevada, and is owned and operated by Hecla Mining Company.  The mine is an underground mine with an operating mill. The mine’s existing tailings facilities are nearing their end of operating life and…

VIEW PROJECT

Antapaccay

Glencore’s Antapaccay mine is located in the Espinar province, Cuzco, Perú. Tierra Group logged geotechnical, geological and geo-mechanical properties of drill core advanced in Antapaccay's Northern Pit. Approximately 6,000 meters of core were logged. Specific samples were selected for geotechnical…

VIEW PROJECT