In today’s episode we interview Bryan Ulrich, the Vice President of the Geotechnical Division at Stantec, a company providing a wide array of services (engineering, design, project management etc) that begin at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships across a range of sectors including mining.
Bryan specialises in tailing, and in this podcast we talk about tailings and why it has become big news in recent times, as well as the lessons that can be learned. We also discuss how tailings management has changed over the years, and talk about some of the challenges faced by companies in tailing management.
 
Are you going to the upcoming Indaba Mining Conference 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa from the 3rd – 6th February?
 
The event is one of the world’s biggest mining events where professionals in the mining industry where you can meet like minded people and peers to connect with. There will be special key note speakers from some the top CEO’s of the biggest mining companies in the world so it’s a great environment to learn new technologies, make connections and develop your overall mining knowledge and awareness of the industry.
 
I have a special offer for all listeners to the podcast because as a media partner to the Mining Indaba you will receive a 10% off your delegate pass by using the code – DigDeep10.
 
So follow this link and purchase your ticket:https://www.miningindaba.com/Page/register
 
 
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS

Mine Tailings occur when the ore is crushed and pulverised; the metals of interest are extracted, and the leftover pulverised material is called Tailings. Tailings are transported as a wet slurry to a facility and are almost wet.
Tailings are of great interest to anyone with a geotechnical background as it involves many of the pursuits that make up the geotechnical course of study.
A major issue in the Tailings sector is that it is essentially a waste product, and people are reluctant to invest in a waste product. Therefore, technologically, it is slow to grow, and does not benefit from investment.
As yet, there are not clear factors linking Tailings projects that collapse, but Brian is confident that there must be a link, and that it must be data driven.
Improvement in Tailings should be based around risk and risk-analysis. Innovation, also, will drive Tailings forward, especially using polymers for binding.

.BEST MOMENTS
‘I had a rock collection like lots of little kids do’
‘You can more or less live the dream as a geotechnical engineer if you love Tailings’
‘Keep building the buttress’
’It’s the innovators who will solve the problems of tomorrow'
VALUABLE RESOURCES
 
Dig Deep – The Mining Podcast on iTunes
Please book your ticket to the upcoming Indaba Mining Conference 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa from the 3rd – 6th February 2020. 
All Dig Deep listeners can receive 10% off tickets when you register with the discount code DigDeep10. You can purchase delegate tickets from  https://www.miningindaba.com/Page/register
Hope to see you there in Cape Town!
ABOUT THE GUEST
Bryan also has his own podcast which you can find at https://anchor.fm/bryan-ulrich and which is also available on many platforms, including Apple. Bryan also writes interesting and informative blogs which can be found at http://www.bryanulrich.net/
ABOUT THE HOST
Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight to peoples experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.
Rob is the Founder and Director of Mining International Ltd, a leading global recruitment and headhunting consultancy based in the UK specialising in all areas of mining across the globe from first world to third worl