Author(s)

Magno André Oliveira^1*, Lucas Redoan Cecílio Campos², Marcela Cristina Costa Branco³, Junia Lúcio de Castro Borges⁴, Gustavo Filemon Costa Lima³, Alan Rodrigues Teixeira Machado⁵, Augusto Cesar da Silva Bezerra³

¹School of Mines Geotechnics Nucleus, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil.
²Institute of Geosciences, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Brazil.
³Transport Engineering Department, Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
⁴Department of Geography, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
⁵Department of Exact Sciences, University of the State of Minas Gerais, João Monlevade, Brazil.

In the last decade, Brazil was the scene of two of the world’s biggest disasters related to mining tailings dams. The collapse of the Mariana and Brumadinho dams was catastrophic event that brought to light major environmental and humanitarian crises. Facts like this incite debate on the safety of dam construction methods and highlight the need for a broad discussion of dam safety legislation in the country. From the above, this paper promotes a review of various forms of construction of tailings dams and their associated problems, as well as discusses the techniques for soil reinforcement and their construction methods. The work also brings an overview of the Brazilian dams from April to July 2019, tracing the context of the Brazilian tailings dams months after the tragedy of Brumadinho. The methodology includes a robust literature review and discourse analysis. In Brazil, the number of ruptured dams is alarming, especially in the state of Minas Gerais, in which more than 7 have broken in the last two decades. Among the damages, the deaths impact society abruptly and were cataloged 455 deaths, of which 216 correspond to the rupture of the dam of the Córrego do Feijão mine in Brumadinho. To evaluate and diagnose a dam, one should consider ordinance N ° 70,389, 2017 revoked by Resolution ANM n ° 95, of February 7, 2022. In this context, in March 2019, we experienced several disturbing situations regarding dam instability in the state of Minas Gerais, being categorized as risky structures. To exemplify, one can cite dams classified as level 2 risk that became level 3. Due to the above facts, several studies are being conducted to improve soil aspects. For example, we highlight the increase in soil resistance that can be done using commercial and alternative materials available in the environment.

Dams, Reinforcement, Rupture, Minas Gerais

Oliveira, M. , Cecílio Campos, L. , Costa Branco, M. , de Castro Borges, J. , Costa Lima, G. , Teixeira Machado, A. and da Silva Bezerra, A. (2023) Construction Processes Paradigm and Reinforcement Alternatives for Tailings Dam Soil. Journal of Environmental Protection, 14, 213-229. doi: 10.4236/jep.2023.143015.