CIM Distinguished Lecturers
Mayana Kissiova holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia, Bulgaria and a master’s degree in tailings management engineering from the École Polytechnique de Montréal. She has over 23 years of experience in engineering, design, construction and operation of tailings and water management facilities. Prior to joining Osisko Gold Royalties in 2018, she was principal in tailings management with Golder Associates Ltd. She was an active engineer of record for a number of mining properties in Northern Quebec and lead tailings management design engineer for various projects in Canada, including Canadian Malartic, Laronde Mine, Louvicourt Mine among others, as well as internationally for Iamgold and Dundee precious metals properties. She is committed to promoting a better understanding and control of the risk factors related to tailings and waste management through adopting best design, and management practices capitalizing on the lessons learned.
Distinguished Lecturer 2019-20
Lecture Abstract
Tailings, waste rock and water are by-products of the mining industry
Tailings, waste rock and water are by-products of the mining industry. They have little or no economic interest. However, the extraction of mineral resources generates large quantities of these materials, and variable techniques of storing them need to be developed. Important risks are associated with the management of these substances in the long term. If wrongly assessed, the risk factors could lead to incidents with catastrophic consequences. Recent examples of design and management give an insight to this engineering domain in fast development.