Specialized engineering for every project stage

We design, review and audit Tailings Storage Facilities under the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) and SERNAGEOMIN's Technical Guide for Tailings Deposit Operation. Our scope spans conceptual studies through independent design and operations reviews.

Together we define the technical approach best suited to each facility, prioritizing seismic safety, drainage and piezometric control across the life cycle, aligned with current practice in Chile and with the requirements investors and operators now expect under frameworks such as GISTM.

We execute and supervise geotechnical characterization campaigns for foundations, borrow materials, embankment bodies and tailings deposits — integrating boreholes, SPT and CPTu testing, sampling and laboratory testing to build reliable stratigraphic profiles and design parameters.

We deliver static and pseudostatic stability analysis, 3D numerical modeling and retaining-works design for embankment slopes, foundations and mining excavations, incorporating seismic criteria consistent with Chilean seismicity and CDA / GISTM guidance.

Instrumental monitoring of tailings deposits has evolved from periodic visual inspections to integrated real-time systems. Satellite InSAR detects millimetric surface deformations, while piezometer and inclinometer networks monitor internal embankment and foundation conditions.

Programa Tranque, a public-private initiative led by Fundación Chile, has developed a digital platform for real-time physical and chemical stability monitoring of tailings deposits nationwide, with an early-warning system operational and integrated with SERNAGEOMIN's Central Monitoring System. FHI designs, installs and operates monitoring programs aligned with these industry standards.

We assess constructability of your tailings and mining infrastructure projects from early stages — identifying construction constraints, optimizing works sequencing, managing interfaces across disciplines and proposing alternatives that reduce risk, schedule and cost.

In mining, energy underpins every production process, from tailings pumping and transport to plant operation, monitoring and control systems. We work with project and construction teams to ensure designs are executable in the field.

We prepare and review closure plans for tailings facilities and associated infrastructure, emphasizing long-term physical stability, covers, water management and revegetation, aligned with SEIA (Law 19.300) and Chilean closure obligations. Closure and post-closure are explicit GISTM requirements.

Seepage control in tailings dams is among the most critical technical challenges for geotechnical stability and water-resource protection. Drain walls capture seepage for treatment or reuse in mining processes, reducing freshwater consumption.

Specialized techniques such as Jet Grouting, high-pressure injections and plastic-concrete diaphragm walls have been applied in Chile to depths of up to 70 meters, protecting basins where deposits are sited. We complement these designs with water balances and site hydrogeological characterization.

The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), developed by ICMM, UNEP and PRI, sets requirements to prevent catastrophic failures of tailings facilities. Operators must prioritize facility safety throughout the life cycle, including closure and post-closure, under principles of transparency, accountability and protection of affected communities' rights.

In Chile, GISTM implementation has become a de facto requirement for large-scale mining. We support operators and investors with gap analysis, independent review and closure-of-gap plans against the standard's 15 principles and 77 requirements.