Can Fibre Optics Help Prevent Tailings Dam Failures?

In January 2019, a devastating tailing dam failure in Brazil caused a massive landslide, destroying homes and forcing people to evacuate as mining waste flooded their town. To prevent similar disasters, Dr. Susanne Ouellet, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Earth, Energy and Environment at the University of Calgary, is developing an advanced monitoring system to help mine operators predict tailings dam risks before a problem strikes.

Under the supervision of Professor Jan Dettmer, Dr. Ouellet’s system uses distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) technology to detect changes in strain, temperature, and seismic disturbances in tailings dams — the earth-fill embankment dams used to store mining waste. Once installed, DAS sends real-time data to geotechnical engineers, so they can learn more about where and when problems are occurring.

How Does Distributed Acoustic Sensing Work?

At its core, DAS technology works by sending laser pulses through a fibre optic cable. When these pulses encounter irregularities in the fibre, they generate backscattered light. By analyzing the timing and properties of this backscatter — along with the fibre’s known characteristics and data acquisition settings — engineers can pinpoint strain changes and detect potential structural issues in real time.

Dr. Ouellet first used DAS to uncover hidden slope failures in landslides. Now, she is applying the same principles alongside passive seismic techniques to monitor the internal stability of tailings dams.

“Right now, we can use this technology to understand how the performance of a dam is changing over time but what I’m most excited about is working towards integrating it into an operational tailings dam monitoring system to support data-driven decision-making,” Dr. Ouellet emphasizes.

Lumidas From Discovery to Commercialization

Building on the success of her Mitacs-funded research, Dr. Ouellet launched her cleantech startup Lumidas to bring this technology to market.

“I don’t think I would have launched a company without the support of Mitacs. It really helped to provide a framework to investigate my idea and continue to work with industry as technology advances,” she says.

Dr. Ouellet is currently enhancing the DAS system installed at a Saskatchewan mine. This includes developing a software dashboard to help end-users interpret and utilize fibre optic sensing data more effectively.

Dr. Ouellet’s advancements in real-time dam monitoring earned her a 2024 a Mitacs Innovation Award — Outstanding Innovation.

“Winning this award and just having this work recognized is incredibly rewarding,” concludes Dr. Ouellet.

Mitacs’s programs receive funding from multiple partners across Canada. We thank the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon for supporting us to empower Canadian innovation. 

Do you have a business challenge that could benefit from a research solution? If so, contact Mitacs today to discuss partnership opportunities: BD@mitacs.ca.