Olette Tailings Facility – Technical Studies & Compliance (France)
Project Overview
Rio Tinto Closure (RTC) manages a portfolio of nearly 40 legacy sites across France, including the Olette tailings storage facility located in the southwest of the country.
RTC is responsible for ensuring the long-term integrity, monitoring, and safe management of the facility, with a focus on preventing and mitigating potential geotechnical and environmental risks.
As part of its commitment to comply with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), as well as internal standards D3 (Geotechnical Risk Management) and D5 (Tailings and Water Storage Facilities Management), Rio Tinto commissioned Mecater to carry out the necessary technical studies and develop comprehensive management plans to bring the Olette site into full compliance.
Key Data
- Surface area: 6.8 ha
- Storage capacity: 1 million m³
- Tailings type: Flotation waste
- Embankment height: 15 to 18 m
- Status: Closed and rehabilitated
Scope of Services – Mecater
Mecater delivered a full suite of technical studies and operational tools, including:
- Site fact sheet and data consolidation
- 3D modeling of the facility
- Dam safety assessment
- Design criteria report
- Liquefaction, stability, and deformation analyses
- Water management studies
- Identification of credible failure scenarios and failure mode characteristics
- Dam break analysis
- Trigger Action Response Plan (TARP)
- Monitoring and instrumentation plan
- Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (EPRP)
- Operation, Maintenance and Surveillance (OMS) manual
- Corrective actions and remediation plan
- Potential Failure Mode Analysis (PFMA)
- Climate Change Resilience Assessment (CCRA)
- Hybrid Risk Assessment (HBRA)
- Site inspection sheet