November Special Presentation - Pearson Convention Centre
Wed, Nov 22
|Pearson Convention Center
Women in CGS has organized a special presentation by Dawn Tattle titled From Dirt to Dollars. This will be followed by a lecture from Dr Felipe Ochoa on his work on Tailings Sands Liquefaction Mitigation using Nanomaterials.


Time & Location
Nov 22, 2023, 5:00 p.m. EST – Nov 23, 2023, 7:30 p.m. EST
Pearson Convention Center, 2638 Steeles Ave E, Brampton, ON L6S 6J9, Canada
About the event
Event Program:
- 5:00 PM – Women in CGS Special Presentation - From Dirt to Dollar
- 5:30 PM – Cocktails and Socializing
- 6:30 PM – Dinner
- 7:30 PM - Lecture - Tailings Sands Liquefaction Mitigation using Nanomaterials
Please join us for a special presentation by Dawn Tattle. Everyone is welcome.
Guest speaker: Dawn Tattle, P.Eng., ICD.D
Dawn Tattle is an award-winning business leader, geo-structural engineer, heavy construction contractor, author, educator and keynote speaker with more than 35 years experience in the heavy construction industry. Her focus: business development, practical solutions, design innovation, quality control, and worksite health and safety best practices. As an educator, Dawn has been an adjunct professor at University of Toronto’s School of Engineering, and has guest lectured at Ryerson University, the University of Waterloo, and the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. In addition to lecturing, Dawn has contributed to many industry conferences as a keynote speaker and industry panelist. Her work has been widely published.
Prior to committing full-time to consulting, board work, lecturing and expert witness work, Dawn was president of Anchor Shoring & Caissons Ltd from 1997 through 2017. With over 4,500 completed projects, Anchor Shoring was recognized as an industry leader, and specialized in innovative soil retention and engineered foundation solutions. Anchor Shoring was acquired by GFL Environmental Inc. in 2016, where Dawn was instrumental in negotiating the company’s sale.
During her tenure as president, Dawn won many awards for her business acumen, engineering skills and for her commitment to workplace safety. In addition, Dawn served on several industry boards where she lent her considerable engineering and construction expertise. In 2008 and again in 2010, the Women’s Executive Network named her one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women. Dawn also received the 2T5 Mid-Career Achievement Award from the University of Toronto in 2010. She is on the Board of Directors for the Toronto Construction Association and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. The Ontario Minister of Labour appointed Dawn as a representative on the Vulnerable Worker Task Group with the Ministry of Labour, and in 2013 as an Employer Representative on the Prevention Council. Dawn served on the Board of Directors at the Guarantee Company of North America until its sale to Intact Insurance in 2019.
• 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM Women in CGS Ticket: $10
Looking forward to seeing you there.
Notes:
- Tickets are sold based on first come first served.
- There is a maximum of 10 tickets available for students and 10 tickets available government employees
- No refund is possible from 24 hours to the start of the event.
- Host sponsor's ticket include one patron ticket.
- Sponsorship tickets do not include a patron ticket.
- Women in CGS tickets do not include a patron ticket for the dinner lecture.
Tailings Sands Liquefaction Mitigation using Nanomaterials
AbstractTailings dams play a pivotal role in global mining operations, often containing materials such as silty sands or sandy silts with low plasticity that are highly susceptible to flow liquefaction failures. Provided the liquefaction-triggering events that these geo-structures can encounter, ensuring their robust operation and guaranteeing stability and security is of paramount importance.
In recent years, extensive research has focused on enhancing the liquefaction resistance of sands by applying nanoparticles such as colloidal silica, bentonite, and Laponite, materials that present extremely high plasticity. The prevailing consensus from these studies suggests that the incorporation of small quantities of these materials within the matrix of sand yields a significant increase in liquefaction resistance.
A five years research study has expanded the existing research by conducting mechanical tests on tailings sands under monotonic and cyclic mechanical tests, varying the fines content, and modifying the matrix of sands with Laponite. The sands have been treated with varying portions of Laponite, from 1 to 3% by dry mass of the total fraction, under different relative densities.
Throughout the analysis of the experimental results, it has been observed that adding 1% laponite demonstrates a discernible impact on behavior by diminishing excess pore pressure and minimizing the instability stage. Conversely, the inclusion of 3% laponite transforms the behavior from contractive to dilative, eliminating the instability stage and substantially augmenting the undrained strength of the sand.
Overall, this presentation will highlight the potential of nanomaterials as a valuable agent for improving the liquefaction resistance of tailings sands. The findings shed light on the interplay between laponite concentration, relative density, and mechanical behavior, offering insights to guide the engineering of more resilient tailings dams in the mining sector.
Distinguished Speaker:Dr. Felipe Ochoa
Felipe Ochoa is civil engineer and M.Sc. from University of Chile (2006). He graduated with a M.Eng. and Ph.D. from Purdue University (2015). He is currently faculty of engineering at University of Chile where he teaches soil dynamics, soil improvement, geotechnical engineering, and soil foundations. At U. of Chile, he has been PI and CoPI in the following research projects: a) Flow failure and liquefaction mitigation of tailings using nanomaterials, b) Non-linear design of bridges and critical infrastructure, c) Mega landslides in Paraglacial environments. In addition, professor Ochoa works as a consulting engineer, remarking his position as the head reviewer for the design and construction of the tunnels for Lines 8 and 9, which crosses several and densely populated urban areas of Santiago de Chile. He also served to lead the seismic hazard of the most important earth dam in the Valparaiso región of Chile, and has served in several consulting projects related to tailings dams and mining facilities.
Sponsorship Benefits:
- Gold, Silver, and Bronze Sponsors will be acknowledged during the session and their logos will be presented on screen at the start, end, and during breaks.
- The Host Sponsors will have a prominent logo presentation and exposure at both Women-in-CGS and the Annual Award Dinner during announcements. Each Host Sponsor patron will also come with one complimentary ticket to the Women-in-CGS event, and one complimentary ticket to CGS Annual Award Dinner.