Comparative Assessment of Seismic Intensity Measures for Different Tailings Types

January 7, 2026

The growing number of tailings storage facilities (TSFs) has increased the need for reliable methods to evaluate their seismic stability. Past failures linked to tailings liquefaction have led to environmental and operational consequences. Waste rock inclusions (WRIs) have been proposed to improve seismic performance of tailings impoundments. However, quantifying their effect on stability requires evaluating the system’s behaviour under a range of dynamic loading conditions representing different levels of seismic hazard. This study compares the dynamic response of two distinct tailings materials using numerical simulations of impoundments with and without WRIs. Several seismic intensity measures (IMs), including the commonly used Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) and alternative measures like Arias Intensity (AI), Cumulative Absolute Velocity (CAV), and Velocity Spectrum Intensity (VSI), are evaluated for their correlation with the normalized horizontal displacement of the downstream slope (SARₓ). Results show that the seismic behaviour of tailings impoundments can be quite sensitive to variations in seismic intensity, but not all IMs influence the response of the system the same way. This highlights the need to select appropriate IMs in seismic analysis and design. These findings contribute to improving hazard assessment methods and support more robust TSF designs across diverse site conditions.

Zafarani, A.R., Nguyen, V., Quinn, J., 2025 "Comparative Assessment of Seismic Intensity Measures for Different Tailings Types,” in Proceedings of the Tailings and Mine Waste 2025 Conference, 2-5 November 2025, Banff, Alberta: University of Alberta Geotechnical Centre (UAlbertaGC) (CGS and CPA)