Statement of Qualifications

Mankind lives on the earth. Everything built, either originated from, is built on, or interacts with, the earth. Geology is the science of the earth. Geotechnical Engineering is the application of geology and mathematics to use Earth’s natural resources to build infrastructure. Tierra Group International, Ltd. applies its geotechnical expertise to the conception, design, construction, and operations of physical structures for the mining industry, including:

  • Foundations
  • Tailings Dams
  • Water Dams
  • Heap Leach Pads
  • Mine Pits
  • Waste Rock Dumps
  • Hydraulic Structures (Canals, Channels, Pipelines, etc.)
  • Civil Infrastructure (Plants, Buildings, Roads, Bridges, etc.)

Tierra Group has applied its 100+ years combined professional geological and engineering expertise consulting on, or designing and constructing, dozens of these structures on six continents. This geographic variety has allowed Tierra Group’s Team to develop expertise designing facilities under challenging geotechnical conditions such as:

  • Laterites
  • Saprolites
  • Swelling or Collapsible Soils
  • Karst
  • Variable Geology
  • Highly and Active Seismicity (Earthquakes)
  • High Altitudes (4,000-m amsl)
  • Tropics

Tierra Group has innovatively adapted to these challenging environments using highly-trained professionals and state-of-the-art techniques and software to perform the following tasks and analyses:

  • Site Characterization
  • Soil/Rock Mechanics
  • Geologic Hazards - Landslide, Rock Fall, Avalanches, Seismic (Earthquakes)
  • Geotechnical Analyses - Slope, Stability, Seepage, Settlement, Consolidation, Deformation, Liquefaction
  • Civil Design and Specifications
  • Construction Documents
  • Resident Engineering
  • Quality Assurance
  • Operations Support
  • Forensics and Mitigation
  • Peer Reviews

Regardless of the geotechnical challenges posed, Tierra Group’s broad experience, intimate attention to site-specific conditions, and keen focus on developing innovative solutions, has earned us a respected reputation and loyal clients around the world.


Select Geotechnical 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…

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Marlin Mine

Tierra Group provides Tailings Stewardship Services for the Marlin Mine Tailings Storage Facility. Tierra Group performed a 5-year Dam Safety Review consistent with the Canadian Dam Association protocols, a Facilitated Risk Assessment, site training and in depth inspections of management…

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Peñasquito

Tierra Group was selected to assist Goldcorp with global Tailings Stewardship Strategy (TSS) implementation at all of Goldcorp’s active tailings sites in Latin America (Mexico, Argentina, and Guatemala). Tierra Group worked in conjunction with Goldcorp and another global engineering consulting…

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Amulsar Gold Project

Tierra Group completed a technical review of the heap leach pad for the Amulsar Mine property owned by Lydian Armenia located near the town of Jermuk to the southeast of Armenia. The heap leach pad consists of four phases with…

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Jaguar Mines

Jaguar's gold operations, Turmalina, Paciência and Caeté, are located in the Iron Quadrangle region, a prolific greenstone belt near the city of Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Jaguar controls 27,357 hectares of mineral concessions in this…

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Pirquitas Tailings Review

Tierra Group prepared a civil engineering design for SSR Mining’s Mina Pirquitas in Jujuy Province, Argentina and developed current and future water-mass balance through hydrological/hydraulics calculations and modeling. Tierra Group developed the ultimate tailings surface, deposition plan, spillway relocation analysis,…

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Goldstrike Mine

Engineer of Record Barrick’s Goldstrike Mine processes 30,000 tons of gold ore per day from its combined open-pit/underground operations located in the historic Carlin Trend in Nevada, U.S.A. Goldstrike’s tailings are stored in the North Block Tailings Disposal Facility (NBTDF).…

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Empire State Mine

Dam Breach Analyses Tierra Group prepared a DBA to evaluate potential downstream impacts due to a hypothetical failure (breach) in three components of Empire State Mines (ESM) tailings storage facility (TSF): North Dam (ND), South Dam (SD), and West Perimeter…

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El Limón Mine

Tailings Storage Facility & Engineer of Record (2012-present) Tierra Group engineers provided engineering consultancy, design, and construction services for three Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF) (Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa West, and San José) to facilitate 20 years of uninterrupted mine operations. Tierra…

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La Libertad Mine

Tierra Group engineers designed La Esperanza TSF, a 2.1-km long, 35-m high, earthfill tailings dam with an HDPE lined impoundment footprint of 840,000 m2. Tierra Group designed and provided Construction Quality Assurance (CQA) for all subsequent downstream dam stages. Stage…

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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…

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Contonga Mine

Contonga, a 990 tpd underground Zinc mine located in Perú’s Ancash Region, has been in operation for more than 25 years. Tierra Group team members assisted Nyrstar’s acquisition due diligence team by performing a fatal flaw analysis of Contonga’s Tucush…

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