Towards the development of geotechnical engineers as TSF Engineers of Record

January 7, 2026

The Engineer of Record (EOR) concept originated in North America and has been used in private and public works construction since the early 20th century. For mine process tailings dams and tailings storage facilities (TSFs), the EOR concept gained prominence over the past decade – a period marked by several catastrophic TSF failures. The role, function, and responsibilities of the EOR for TSFs were formalised in the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM; Global Tailings Review (GTR), 2020). Following the introduction of the GISTM, there has been increased demand for engineering consulting firms to provide EOR services, including the assignment of suitably qualified and experienced engineers as EOR representatives. The current demand for EOR representatives greatly exceeds supply. As a result, EOR representatives are often accountable for multiple TSFs. The combination of high workloads and the long-term nature of EOR appointments compromises their ability to adequately meet duty-of-care obligations. A potential reluctance to accept the liability associated with EOR appointments further constrains the available pool of EOR representatives. To address this supply constraint, in addition to recruiting talent into the mining and consulting industries, structured, purposeful, and continuous skills development of prospective EOR representatives is necessary. The strong demand and long life cycle of TSFs – often spanning several decades – together present a clear opportunity to develop aspiring TSF engineers into competent EOR representatives. A framework to support the systematic development and training of geotechnical engineers to become suitably qualified and experienced TSF EOR representatives, is presented in this paper. Over time, industry-wide implementation of structured development programs such as the one proposed herein should help increase the supply and capability of EOR representatives and improve the quality and sustainability of EOR appointments. The proposed framework also enables aspiring EORs to gauge their development towards EOR status and monitor their progress in fulfilling the necessary requirements. The authors have developed and applied the framework to several TSFs since the publication of the GISTM. While the quantitative scores and weightings for the various criteria are not included in this paper, as they remain under development, the authors are prepared to share them on a personal basis to promote broader acceptance of the proposed framework and procedures.

Kirsten, AH., Kirsten, LH., Campello, V., Gepilano, V. and Johns, D. 2025 " Towards the development of geotechnical engineers as TSF Engineers of Record,” in Proceedings of the LOM-MWT Conference 2025, July 29 – 30, 2025. Brisbane, Australia: Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM)