SHORT COURSES

Connecting Science and Finance to Make Better Project Decisions 

Level: Intermediate 

Facilitators:  

Karen Chovan, Enviro Integration Strategies Inc.   
David Clarry, Innotain Inc. 

Balancing considerations to optimize decisions with long-term impacts and benefits is challenging for organizations. This challenge is particularly relevant in areas such as tailings and water management technology selection and facility design.  

Developing and agreeing on optimal designs for long-term impact and benefit requires collaboration across groups that may bring different time frames, experiences and priorities. Good collaboration in such circumstances requires clarity and alignment on aspects such as: 

• identifying performance criteria and standards that are required and/or should be prioritized 

• understanding what external factors, and associated risks, should be considered 

• identifying relevant solution options that are potentially viable 

• aligning on performance expectations for solution alternatives, and their salient risks to performance 

• alignment on key decision criteria and the process to choose between alternatives, and 

• the resources and supports available for implementation   

This workshop will explore a range of approaches that can support designing and selecting optimal solutions in the context of tailings design but will include the broader context of other aspects of long-life facilities and infrastructure. This will also include the role of financial analysis in evaluating alternatives and determining the feasibility of solutions in the context of overall projects, in particular how to evaluate cash flow profiles that begin with a longer payback (meaning that cash back is not recovered as quickly to invest in the next valuable opportunity) but have long “tails” of reduced costs (which requires assumptions about long-term stability). 

Short Course Objectives:  

To help participants understand how better decisions can be made for waste management and closure in mining, by considering holistic options earlier, thinking systematically, including more stakeholders, considering real cost accounting, and incorporating ESG factors from the start. 

Target Audience:  

All multi-discipline practitioners and managers involved in planning, options analyses, design and decision-making for mine waste management systems. 

About the instructor(s):