Brazil Mining Dam Monitoring

Iron ore mining operations in Brazil are looking for new technologies for geotechnical monitoring of tailings dams.

Mining is a crucial part of Brazil’s development, and iron ore is the country’s primary industrial product. It is of great significance in the Brazilian economy and is one of the most valuable commodities produced and exported by Brazil.  Over the last decade, Brazil has experienced severe environmental disasters due to the collapse of tailings dams in the state of Minas Gerais. Therefore, companies are now searching for more sustainable engineering practices to eliminate the practice of piling tailings upstream and to reduce the risk of similar incidents. Brazilian companies are also exploring new technologies that can monitor the condition of dams more effectively and remotely.

High potential opportunities exist for U.S. companies to enter the market in these technologies:
•    Interferometric radar
•    Orbital radar for long-term dam monitoring
•    Satellites that speed up data transmission delays and increase data storage capacity
•    AI to create 5-year trends in dam data storage
•    Drones with vertical flight capabilities
•    High-tech cameras that can monitor in foggy situations
•    Technologies used in the dry stacking of dams

For further details and introductions to the Brazilian mining industry, please contact the US Commercial Service Brazil offices: Patrick Levy, Commercial Specialist – US Commercial Service, Rio de Janeiro, at patrick.levy@trade.gov or Tulio Teixeira, Commercial Assistant, U.S. Commercial Service Belo Horizonte, at tulio.teixeira@trade.gov