IMWA 2025 Catoca Diamond Mine – implementation of an advanced monitoring network for a Tailings Storage Facility (2025)
Marçal Manuel Vicario, Manuel Fidel Sonhi Manassa, Enoque Makango Paiva, Lukombo Eduardo Luzaiadio Carlos & Kym L Morton²
Catoca Mining Society, Luanda, Angola, Talatona Sector
²KLM Consulting Services Pty Ltd, 22 Central Road, Sunrella AH, South Africa
Abstract
The Catoca mine is an open-pit diamond mine belonging to Sociedade Mineira do Catoca in Angola that began in 1995, when the first researchers arrived at the Catoca kimberlite to prospect the area, with exploration activities beginning in 1997. The mine is located in the Province of Lunda Sul, 1050 km east of Luanda, capital of the Republic of Angola. It has a large active tailings storage facility (TSF) and two smaller deactivated TSFs. Over the last three years, Sociedade Mineira do Catoca has installed a comprehensive and large monitoring and control network infrastructure that is fully automated and connected to a database and dashboard viewed by operators and managers at remote workstations. This interactive database can be accessed anywhere in the world. With this interactive database, Angola now has an enhanced monitoring network capable of analysing the causes of TSF failures and providing early warnings to help prevent them.
The monitoring network is the first in Angola and is state-of-the-art for modern TSF monitoring, in line with the principles of the Global Industry Standard for Tailings Management (GISTM). The network integrates the monitoring of water levels, length of beaches behind the different dikes, pore pressures, slope movement, and weather information and is linked to an alert system that not only tracks movement but also the causes of the movement of a TSF.
The installation of monitoring equipment and the systematic management of data enables detailed control over a TSF, improving risk assessment and overall safety. Project management and installation sequences can be replicated for other mines.
The main applications are good examples of what can be achieved for the post-construction implementation of detailed monitoring for active and decommissioned TSFs in remote areas. The implications are that the strategy and network can be used to improve safety and manage risk on other mines around the world. The facility is an excellent example of engineering collaboration, geotechnical interpretation, instrumentation design, and software connectivity.
Keywords: Tailings Storage Facilities, Monitoring, Pore Pressures, Dam Failure, Diamond Mine
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