Digging Deep Dialogue 37: Responsible stewardship for mining through proactive monitoring of heap leach facilities.

We take our Digging Deep Dialogue to Chattanooga, a city in southeastern Tennessee, in the USA. We seek to learn more about real time heap leach monitoring technologies enabling the mining industry to practice more responsible stewardship. Our mission is not in vain, as we get to learn more about Canary Systems, Inc. value offerings from Will Conrad , Monitoring Technology Solution Architect for Canary Systems’ Mining Group. Will holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mining engineering from Virginia Tech , where he focused on ground control and monitoring systems. Boasting over 10+ years of worldwide experience in architecting monitoring programs for underground, open pit, heap leach, and tailings operations, we are definitely in good company. Our conversation, focused on Canary Systems' heap leach monitoring technology, reactive vs proactive approaches to heap leach failures, their value proposition to the gold and copper mining industry in Africa and we capped off with a brief discussion about the June 2024 Yukon heap leach failure.

DD: Welcome to the Digging Deep Dialogue, Will, it’s a pleasure and honor to have you. Can you please tell us more about your journey with Canary Systems Inc?

WC: I’m currently the Monitoring Technology Solutions Architect for Canary Systems' Mining Group and am based out of our Chattanooga, TN office. I began my monitoring and mining career at an internship with an underground salt mine working with convergence readings, shaft inclinometer surveys, and roof bolt torque testing while studying Mining Engineering at Virginia Tech. After undergrad, I directly began my master’s degree where my research involved microseismic monitoring and pillar loading in coal.

My time with Canary Systems began as our Mining Group Manager, overseeing our mining operations as well as client relations. I then transitioned my primary focus to the technological aspects of monitoring solutions, which is my true passion, eventually moving into my current role where I assist clients in designing ways to satisfy their monitoring needs. Project management is also a part of my current duties, where I combine my knowledge of both the operational and technical sides of the business.

DD: Let’s dig deeper, and learn more about heap leaching and what your heap leach monitoring systems offer the mining industry? Feel free to cite a couple of case studies focused on the problems and how the solutions were implemented?

WC: Canary Systems specializes in slope stability monitoring solutions for heap leach operations. Our products and services provide a full, turn-key monitoring system deployment. This includes instrumentation, automated data collection and transmission hardware, field installation, and an integrated web platform, with continual support of the entire installed system.

MLSuite?, our software platform, provides the ability to integrate virtually any data source that plays a part in the stability of heap leaches. This includes both subsurface instrumentation, such as piezometers and inclinometers, and surface data sources, such as InSAR and our own MLGPS system. We integrate other data sources that affect a leaching facility as well, such as pumping discharge rates and quantities, to provide a full context for conditions.

We have also developed an automated solution for monitoring oxygen content within leach pads to indicate to operators how well bioleaching is occurring. The data can be collected, managed, and displayed for further analysis, enabling mining operators and Engineers of Record (EORs) to make informed decisions quickly and be notified of potential stability issues.

Well over a decade ago Canary Systems was contacted to address critical monitoring challenges following a significant slope failure at a copper leaching operation in North America. Our team implemented an automated monitoring solution to track pore pressures and leaching solution levels over time to help manage the situation. This not only assisted in resolving the mine’s failure situation but has continued to operate as an effective monitoring system ever since.

Through the years, we’ve further deployed and integrated a variety of automated ground displacement monitoring solutions at the operation, such as inclinometers, MLGPS units, and most recently a prism network. Using our MLSuite platform, our client was able to identify a few years ago that a buttress was needed to mitigate any further movement before another failure occurred. This project overall has demonstrated the value of our approach to geotechnical monitoring, and has provided the operation with the tools to understand the conditions at their facility.

DD: Reactive vs proactive approaches to heap leach failures. What are some of the benefits of onboarding Canary Systems from the onset as opposed to after an incident has happened? How dire can the situation be, if balances and checks are not in place on site?

WC: Some of the benefits of our platform include advanced alarm and notification features that ensure a near real-time response to critical events, improving overall safety and decision-making. Our calculation engine and data classification tools enable users to analyze and categorize information with precision, while integrating diverse data sources within a unified view. Additionally, the platform provides long-term analysis features, allowing users to gain substantial historical insight through the use of charting and reporting outputs.

Proactive measures of the system include a trendline function feature that allows users to easily track data patterns into the future by using historic data. One use case for this is when tracking the inverse velocity of ground movement, the system can update a predicted time of failure automatically once the next data point is captured from the data source.

One of the benefits of implementing our MLSuite platform well before the onset of any failure is that the operation can have an organized way of gathering insight into the performance of their facility, with the idea that any issues are realized far enough in advance that mitigations can be put in place before an incident ever occurs. Furthermore, we offer support for database upkeep and management, ensuring that all data is efficiently stored, maintained, valid, and accessible.

DD: What is your value proposition to the gold and copper mining industry in Africa? Why should they onboard Canary Systems Inc as a solutions provider for heap leach monitoring?

WC: Onboarding Canary Systems as a solutions provider for heap leach monitoring offers several key advantages including the following:

Cost savings: Preventing incidents is typically far less expensive than dealing with the aftermath of a failure, including potential environmental remediation, regulatory fines, or production losses. It’s also important to note the significant long-term savings of implementing an automated monitoring system verses manual data collection methods.

Operational efficiency: Continuous automated data collection and analysis can help optimize heap leach processes, potentially improving metal recovery and reducing operational costs. Staffers also can focus on engineering tasks rather than continual data reduction.

Regulatory compliance: Proactive monitoring and automated reporting helps ensure ongoing compliance with global standards and environmental regulations, including those set forth by the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM).

Unification of data using one software: Enable mining personnel and EOR’s to gain detailed information regarding their mining operation by integrating and viewing data through one software platform, rather than relying on a piecemealed software lineup or dozens of specialized spreadsheets.

DD: In closing, we recently saw the Government of Yukon in Canada taking control of the assets of a gold miner as an aftermath from the response to a heap leach facility failure in June 2024. How can Canary Systems Inc help gold mining companies to prevent such a worst case scenario?

WC: Implementing MLSuite demonstrates an operator's commitment to responsible stewardship by enhancing their monitoring program and displaying to regulatory agencies that their facilities are proactively being assessed for the likelihood and nature of potential failures. The system ensures data is well-organized, centrally stored, and easily accessible, with built-in visual, alerting, and reporting functions.

With the platform being a web-based system, not only do site personnel have continual access to processed monitoring data throughout the life of the deployed system, but so do corporate responsible persons, EORs, and even regulatory agencies if so desired.

Digging Deep are leaders in connecting people and opportunities in Africa's mining industry through a vast network of chambers, contractors & mining companies.

We specialize in connecting BDMs, Sales & Commercial teams, Marketing & Communications teams, Product teams and Management teams to decision-makers in the African mining industry, and we do this through:

?? Due diligence and securing trusted local partners

?? Voice of customer surveys from mine personnel

? Spotlighting case studies, testimonials and event participation

?? Written interviews and social media posts

? Blog articles

Set up a quick meeting: https://calendly.com/diggingdeep-info/30min or email: [email protected]