Akyem Mine, Ghana, Africa

Newmont Corp.

The TAILENG Foundation is dedicated to inspire the next generation to pursue education in the field of earth resources engineering and educating professionals on the best practices, all in order to promote better environmental stewardship and sustainability. In particular, the adequate management of waste residuals from mining related activities is a key aspect of earth resources engineering. in this context, the TAILENG foundation focuses on advancing the state of knowledge and practice in the design of tailings and industrial waste storage facilities Recent catastrophic failures of tailings storage facilities, such as the Fundao dam failure, which killed 19 people and, historically, is considered the largest environmental disaster in Brazil, highlight the need for an improved understanding of the engineering properties of tailings. The 2008 Kingston, Tennessee failure of a coal ash storage facility is another example of the severe environmental impacts of the failure of a tailings or industrial waste storage facility. These and other recent failures highlight the need to better understand the behavior of intermediate, or transitional, soil that include mine tailings, coal combustion by-products, and other industrial sludge to develop robust design, operation, and closure plans for waste storage facilities.

Who we are?

The TAILENG foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes educational activities and cutting edge research activities of faculty at U.S. leading universities such as Georgia Tech, Colorado State University, University of California-Berkeley, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

We also interact with mine owners and operators that include mining engineers, geotechnical engineers, environmental engineers, geologists, and water resources engineers from industry and academia.

What we do?

  • We promote fundamental and applied research on earth resources engineering, with focus on mine tailings and industrial waste to improve resilience and sustainability in the mining and power industries and industries related to earth resources in general.
  • We contribute to create the next generation of earth resources, tailings, and waste residual engineers.
  • We contribute to elevate the standard of practice through educational activities.
  • We engage with mine owners and operators, consulting engineering, regulatory personnel, and interested members of society to discuss important aspects related to earth resources engineering, mining, tailings, and industrial waste.

Why do we do this?

  • We seek to improve the state-of-knowledge related to the behavior of mine tailings and industrial waste to promote safe tailings and industrial waste storage facilities.
  • We desire to reduce the likelihood and impact of catastrophic failures in waste storage facilities worldwide.
  • We aim to provide innovative, effective, and economical solutions for the design, operation, and closure of the geotechnical infrastructure required in the mining and power industries.
  • We seek to provide training and education to practitioners and students through a variety of short courses and other professional development opportunities to share new research and disseminate best practices.