KP Brand Story Video
A video showcasing Knight Piésold's history and capabilities.
The name Knight Piésold has been made synonymous with quality engineering, environmental science and construction support for mine infrastructure.
Knight Piésold’s experience in tailings dam engineering and the disposal of particulate mine waste dates back to the 1930s, with experience in all types of tailings and management systems.
Knight Piésold has pioneered the development of alternative tailings management technologies such as drained sub-aerial systems, cycloned wall raising, and has also been involved in thickened and paste tailings disposal projects, as well as dewatered ‘dry stack’ tailings systems. We have a strong capability in design reviews and third-party audits.
Knight Piésold has gained significant experience in recent projects designing and installing clay and geosynthetic barrier systems for tailings facilities as well as return water dams. This experience includes the regulatory approval process, as well as waste classification and geochemical analyses (acid mine drainage).
Knight Piésold has extensive experience in seepage and stability analyses for not only TSFs but also water dams, and other mineral residue or mine waste dumps. This includes seismic stability. In addition, KP has developed in-house dam breach analysis software which has become a requirement for many new TSFs.
Knight Piésold offers a full range of inspection and monitoring services for operational TSFs to ensure that they are operated and managed safely and in accordance with operating manuals and emergency response plans. This includes commissioning support and training for new facilities or those in transitional phases.
Knight Piésold has extensive experience in designing leach pads for all locations, sizes and a range of ores and minerals.
Substantial expertise has been accumulated in satisfying stringent groundwater protection requirements with extensive use of synthetic membranes and natural soils as lining materials.
Our design work includes all solution collection facilities, ponds, water reservoirs and irrigation systems. We have partnered with process design specialists to provide a full design service.
Knight Piésold has assisted in mine planning, design and monitoring of waste rock facilities and stockpiles with respect to physical and chemical stability, environmental, closure and water management aspects.
Knight Piésold‘s geotechnical office in Pretoria, specialises in many aspects of geotechnical engineering and engineering geology.
The office provides this expertise to the mining, transport and water divisions within the company, as well as to external clients such as consultants, mining houses, developers and governmental bodies. Specialised skills have been developed in site investigation in both soils and rock.
Comprehensive laboratory and interpretive services are offered in-house and through our associate company, Civilab in South Africa.
Our highly qualified geotechnical specialists are able to carry out a full range of site investigations, construction materials investigations, dam and embankment design, shallow foundations and pile foundation design, slope stability and pit slope stability analysis, lateral support design, rock mechanics and rock classification, rock bolt and anchor design, tunnel geotechnical investigations, grouting of dams and tunnels, dolomite studies, waste landfill investigations and design, and long-term settlement predictions.
The company offers groundwater studies for water supply, water quality monitoring and mine dewatering. We team up with contractors for drilling, pump testing and water sampling to support these services.
We build hydrogeological models to assess and predict dewatering and contamination impact, as well as propose remediation solutions.
Knight Piésold has designed water management systems for mining projects worldwide.
We offer a full range of water management services to the mining industry based on international experience in hydrology, hydraulics, hydrogeology and geochemistry. Services include surface water resources planning, hydrogeological investigations, river diversions, mine dewatering, water balance studies (stochastic and probabilistic/risk-based approach), water quality assessment and treatment.
Knight Piésold is recognised as a leader in dam engineering and is able to carry out dam safety inspections for all categories and types of dams.
We have extensive expertise in developing hydropower projects for mining companies to ensure an independent reliable power supply.
Knight Piésold’s environmental scientists have the technical skills to conduct full environmental studies for all types of mines and mining projects, including dam and hydropower projects.
We carry out assessments in line with local legal requirements, as well as international standards set out by lending agencies. Our multidisciplinary approach uses teams from the company’s technical staff supported by experts in specific fields and geographic locations.
Knight Piésold has undertaken detailed studies of the impacts of new projects throughout the world. These have included a number of projects in environmentally sensitive areas requiring special attention to local community values and rare species of flora and fauna.
Our environmental specialists to offer clients an appropriate blend of skills and experience in the following areas of expertise: environmental auditing; environmental impact assessments, environmental monitoring and analysis; public participation; social impact assessments; environmental management plans and programmes. Specific to the mining sector are mine closure plans and environmental rehabilitation plans.
Knight Piésold’s environmental team has significant experience in Water Use Licencing, wetland assessments and aquatic bio-monitoring. KP makes use of external specialists as and when required to complement their team and also uses local personnel for foreign projects as and when required.
Our integrated expertise in site and waste characterization, engineering design, risk assessment, cost estimating, and construction management combines to develop appropriate closure plans for new and existing mining operations that are compatible with the surrounding environment.
The scope of services provided covers remediation of infrastructure, waste dumps, rehabilitation, acid drainage mitigation and contaminated land remediation.
The company offers a wide range of construction and supervision services to the mining industry, including tailings facilities, heap leach pads, slurry and water pipelines, water storage, access and haul roads, materials handling and storage facilities, and other earthworks or water-related works.
Full quality assurance and quality control systems are followed to ensure designs are built according to the specifications and drawings.
In the mining sector, the name Knight Piésold (KP) has become synonymous with quality civil engineering, environmental science and construction support for mine infrastructure.
Knight Piésold’s mining expertise has been utilised on hundreds of surface and underground mining projects worldwide for all stages of permitting, project development, construction, operation and closure.
The research, design and implementation of pioneering solutions to mining waste management (tailings) and heap leach systems, as well as specialist geotechnical investigations for mine developments, have positioned our company as leaders in these fields.
Projects include gold, platinum, nickel, phosphates, chrome, fluorspar, copper, cobalt, manganese, zinc, uranium, coal, diamond, graphite, gypsum, ash and heavy mineral sands mines.
As a result, members of the company have extensive capabilities and experience in most aspects of mine infrastructure and can, therefore, offer a full spectrum of services including:
Knight Piésold has been active in South Africa, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Israel.
A video showcasing Knight Piésold's history and capabilities.
Knight Piésold is a global consulting firm that provides specialised services to the mining, power, water resources and infrastructure industries.
In the mining sector, the name Knight Piésold has become synonymous with quality civil engineering, environmental science and construction support for mine infrastructure.
First gold pour from the Premier gold project in British Columbia is targeted between late 2023 and early 2024.
The McIlvenna Bay project will be the world’s first carbon-neutral copper and zinc mine.
The Curipamba copper-gold project is planned to be developed as an open-pit mine with an initial mine life of ten years.
The San Matias copper-gold-silver project will be developed as an open-pit mining operation.
The Altan Tsagaan Ovoo (ATO) gold and silver project has total mineral reserves of 26.4 million tonnes (Mt) at the ATO and Mungu deposits.
The Toliara mineral sands project is expected to commence stage one mining operations by September 2024.
The Motheo copper project in Motheo, Botswana is expected to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2023.
The Spanish Mountain gold project is an open-pit gold and silver mining development in south-central British Columbia, Canada. It is fully owned by Spanish Mountain Gold, a Canadian gold exploration company.
The Seguela gold project is an open-pit mining development located in the western part of Cote d’Ivoire. Canadian gold miner Roxgold owns a 90% interest in the property, while the remaining 10% is held by the Government of Cote d’Ivoire.
The Marathon Palladium-Copper Project is a new open-pit mining development located in the province of Ontario, Canada. Generation Mining owns an 80% interest in the property, while the remaining is held by Stillwater Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sibanye-Stillwater.
The Hombre Muerto North project is a high-grade lithium project located north of Hombre Muerto Salar, Salta Province, Argentina.
The Mabilo copper-gold project is a high-grade copper-gold project located in Camarines Norte Province, Luzon, Philippines.
The Coburn mineral sands project is located in the mid-west region of Western Australia. Strandline Resources is developing the heave mineral sands (HMS) project, which is classified as one of the biggest and most advanced undeveloped mineral sands projects in the world.
The Cascabel copper-gold project is a large high-grade copper-gold porphyry exploration mine located in the Cascabel region of northern Ecuador.
Bawdwin lead-silver project is a combined open-pit and underground project being developed in Myanmar.
The Chinchillas silver-lead-zinc project is located within the Bolivian silver-zinc-tin belt, which stretches into northern Argentina.
The Terronera project is a high-grade silver-gold project being developed in San Sebastian mining district in the Jalisco state of Mexico.
The Casino project is a porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum deposit being developed in Yukon Territory, Canada.
The Sanbrado gold project is a high-grade underground and open-pit operation located approximately 90km east-southeast of Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso.
The Pilgangoora lithium project is an open-pit project being developed 123km from Port Hedland, Western Australia.
The Ancuabe graphite project is located approximately 60km west of Pemba in Cabo Delgado Province of northern Mozambique.
The Fungoni project is an open-pit heavy mineral sands (HMS) project located approximately 25km to the south of Dar es Salaam port, Tanzania.
The Wahgnion gold project (formerly Banfora) is a fully permitted, high-grade open-pit gold project located in the southwestern part of Burkina Faso, West Africa.
The Matilda gold project involves combined development of the Regent, the Matilda and Williamson gold mines, as well as deposits at the brownfield Wiluna mine.
The Karma Gold Mine is an open-pit mine located 20km east of Ouahigouya and approximately 185km north-west of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
The Productora Copper Project is located approximately 17km south of the regional township of Vallenar, within the coastal range of region III, and approximately 600km north of Santiago, Chile, the world's biggest copper producer.
The Zafranal Copper-Gold Project, covering an area of approximately 32,000ha, is located approximately 80km from Tidewater, 90km from the city of Arequipa, and 150km from the Port of Matarani, in Peru.
Kaminak Gold’s wholly owned Coffee Gold Project is located approximately 130km south of Dawson City in Yukon Territory, Canada.
The Nachu Graphite Project, covering an area of approximately 199km², is located west of the coastal city of Lindi and approximately 200km from the port city of Mtwaram, in south-east Tanzania.
Namoya open-pit gold mine is located in the Maniema Province of Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mine is situated at the southwestern end of the 210km-long Twangiza-Namoya gold belt, and is owned by Banro Corporation (Banro).
The Bokan - Dotson Ridge Rare Earth Element (REE) Project, covering an area of approximately 3,000ha, is located on the southeast flank of the Bokan Mountain, roughly 60km southwest of Ketchikan, Alaska.
The Meliadine Gold Project is located in the Kivalliq District of Nunavut, approximately 25km northwest of Rankin Inlet on the west coast of Hudson Bay, Canada.
The Colluli Potash Project is located within the Danakil region of Eritrea, approximately 177km south-east of the capital city Asmara. The owner and developer of the project is the Colluli Mining Share Company (CMSC), a 50:50 joint-venture between Danakali and the Eritrean National Mining Company (ENAMCO).
The Jervois Copper-Silver Project, solely owned by KGL Resources, is located approximately 380km north-east of Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory, Australia.
The Mary River iron ore project located in Northern Baffin Island in Nunavut territory, Canada, started mining operations in September 2014.
Marandoo iron ore mine is situated 35km east of Tom Price in the province of Pilbara, in Western Australia. It is 100% owned and operated by Hamersley Iron.
Are you attending Mining Indaba 2020?
4 February 2020On the back of an 'exceptionally good year' in 2018, 97-year old proudly South African engineering and environmental consulting firm Knight Piésold (SA) is looking to build further on its strong achievements in 2019.
10 June 2019Environment consulting specialist Knight Piésold is today recognised as the ‘consultant of choice’ in the mining sector – thanks largely to the skills sets and experience it has built up over almost a century.
28 May 2019The mining industry in South Africa – which extends back more than a century – is grappling with historical legacies that have been put under the spotlight as the world becomes more environmentally conscious and responsible.
13 May 2019Knight Piésold's Vancouver office has been named as one of British Columbia's Top Employers for the fifth consecutive year.
1 April 2015Thank you for submitting the form. Your enquiry will be submitted to the company.
Thank you for subscribing to Mining Technology