Speakers
28th International Conference on Paste, Thickened and Filtered Tailings
14–16 April 2026 | Lisbon, Portugal
Keynote paper presenters:
Johan Boshoff
Vice President: Global Tailings Management
Gold Fields Australia
Johan Boshoff has been involved in geotechnical engineering aspects of mine waste projects for the past 30 years. His expertise includes detailed design, monitoring and project management of tailings storage facilities, mine residue stockpiles and waste disposal facilities. In the past, he has also fulfilled the role of Engineer of Record for major mining clients on key assets. He has worked on projects in South Africa, West and Central Africa, Australasia, Asia, Latin America, and North America. Johan is also the primary and supporting author of numerous publications, conference papers, and work papers dealing with tailings disposal aspects and mine waste.
As the vice president of global tailings management (based in Perth, Western Australia) he is the discipline leader and subject matter expert for all company-owned and operated tailings storage facilities (TSFs). He also supports implementing leading industry practices for effective and sustainable design, construction, operation, and closure of TSFs across all Gold Fields and Joint Venture operations. He is a member of the ICMM Tailings Working Group and served on an advisory panel to establish the Global Tailings Management Institute. He is also the chair of the GeoStable Tailings Consortium Technical Committee.
Dana Cartwright
Director (Acting), Innovation
ICMM, UK
Dana joined ICMM in June 2023 and is a senior manager for the climate and innovation programs, focusing on tailings innovation, climate change, health and safety, circular economy, and the Innovation for Cleaner, Safer Vehicles initiative. She began her career in environmental regulation in the USA, working on multi-stakeholder watershed management, before spending more than a decade in the oil and gas industry on a wide range of operational and corporate roles.
The management of tailings is one of the most significant challenges and opportunities for the mining industry. The way we manage tailings today will define the future of mining tomorrow. In recent years, we have seen real progress: stronger global standards, better monitoring tools, and new technologies that help reduce risk and improve the way we design and operate facilities. These steps are helping us move toward a future where catastrophic failures can be prevented and where communities, investors, and regulators can have greater confidence in how we operate. Innovation is reshaping how companies understand and manage risk, improving safety and transparency across operations.
This keynote will look at where we stand today, sharing examples of innovation and collaboration already happening across the industry. It will also explore where we can go from here, outlining a vision of what the future could hold: a future where tailings facilities are inherently safer by design, where we manage water and waste more efficiently, are more resilient to climate risks, and where the industry’s approach to tailings can become a model of environmental stewardship.
This keynote aims to paint a clear picture of what is possible for tailings management, and how the industry can collaborate with technology innovators, suppliers and academia to drive collective action. It will share a vision for a future where the industry leads with integrity, where tailings facilities are designed and managed to the highest standards, and where responsible stewardship strengthens trust with communities and society.
Professor Antonio da Fonseca
Professor
University of Porto, Portugal
Antonio is a professor in geotechnical engineering in the civil engineering department at the University of Porto, director of the geotechnical laboratory, and is nationally and internationally recognised. He is a fellow and past president of the College of Geotechnical Specialists of Portuguese Institution of Engineers and was the vice-chair and chair member for 17 years. His areas of interest cover ground characterisation from advanced laboratory tests and in situ tests with new interpretation approaches of specifically non-textbook materials, like residual natural soils, transitional soils, sensitive/fragile soils, like mine tailings, when subjected to static and/or cyclic actions, as well as modelling their behavior in geotechnical structures like foundations, deep excavations and earth structures, has been the major goals of his research, post-graduate teaching and supervision.
Abstract: Filtered tailings stacks are increasingly considered as a preferable option for tailings storage facilities as they can enhance stability and structural integrity, thereby reducing the risk of catastrophic failures. This technique involves compacting unsaturated tailings, requiring less disposal area, reducing the risk of groundwater contamination, and allowing water recovery from the processing cycle, making it a more sustainable solution with lower environmental impact. This is particularly important in countries with a humid climate, like Brazil, and high tailings production volumes, which distinguish them from international cases. Topics related to particle breakage, transitional behavior, and the effects of undercompacted materials on static liquefaction vulnerability in iron ore and rare earth tailings are addressed. Mechanical and morphological characterisation of iron ore tailings that originate from the Iron Quadrangle region in Minas Gerais, Brazil, are discussed. The mechanical behavior has been assessed through consolidated undrained and consolidated drained triaxial tests performed on specimens molded under varying compaction conditions, including moisture content, compaction degree, and energy application method. The results interpreted under the framework of critical state soil mechanics, when compared with particle morphology data, allowed for the evaluation of how grain size distribution and particle shape influence mechanical behavior. Additionally, the effects of moisture content and compaction energy application method on strength parameters and the determination of the critical state line have been studied. A comprehensive characterisation of the mechanical behavior of these tailings, considering the key variables, indicates a relevant influence of these factors on their overall performance.
Mafalda Oliveira
Chief of Dep. Dams and Extractive Waste
Boliden Somincor, Portugal
In 1987 Mafalda graduated in geology – scientific & technological area, from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Porto, Portugal. She has 38 years’ experience, of which 36 are in the mining industry. Mafalda is the head of department of dams, tailings, waste rock and water, at Boliden Somincor, a mine located in the south of Portugal.
Her main areas of activity and responsibilities focus on tailings and waste rock management, slurry tailings, thickened tailings, geochemical and geotechnical characterisation and stabilisation, hydraulic and structural stability of earthfill dams, rockfill dams and heaps, geotechnical monitoring and instrumentation, hydrogeology, hydrogeochemistry and water balances. She has a solid background in geotechnics, geochemistry, hydrogeology, ARD environments, extractive waste management, with a range views on the Portuguese, EU and international level mining sector. She was a member of several European committees and groups, and is the author and co-author of several technical papers and articles.
Opening Speaker:
Sara Töyrä
Dam Safety Specialist
Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB), Sweden