Knight Piésold Brazil Opens Belo Horizonte Office
Knight Piésold Brazil Opens Belo Horizonte Office

Knight Piésold Brazil Opens Belo Horizonte Office

September 9, 2019, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Knight Piésold Brazil is proud to announce that it has officially opened an office in the country, located in the city of Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, in the southwest of Brazil. This is the company’s first formal office, which became fully operational in June 2019, having had a presence in the country since 2014.

Gustavo Vianna, director of operations, together with Octavio Vilas Boas,  technical director, leads the company’s five-strong team. Knight Piésold has been involved in major projects in Brazil in the past five years, such as providing design and Engineer of Record services for the country´s largest tailings storage facility, performing due diligence works for several relevant players in the mining industry, and contributing to governmental efforts to assess the condition of tailings dams across Minas Gerais.

Vilas Boas is a senior executive geotechnical engineer with more than 40 years of experience in feasibility studies, basic and detail (executive) designs, and construction supervision and management for dams, foundations, retaining structures, waste and tailings stockpiles, radioactive waste disposal systems, and mine waste disposal systems. He is a recognized tailings management expert in Brazil’s mining industry and is actively engaged in many mines in the country. He also has extensive experience with hydroelectric power plants, nuclear power plants, hydraulic structures, water supply systems, industrial facilities, and municipal solid waste landfills.

Vianna is a senior geotechnical engineer with more than 20 years of experience in geotechnical studies for deep foundations, mining structures, and infrastructure projects. He is a recognized leader in the engineering community in Brazil, currently serving as the president of the Brazilian Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering in Minas Gerais (ABMS) and the appointed Brazilian member of the Technical Committee on Interactive Geotechnical Design (TC206) of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). He  has taught geotechnical-related workshops, short courses, and graduate courses as an assistant professor and guest lecturer at the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, FUMEC University, and several industry associations, and has helped organize some of Brazil´s most relevant geotechnical conferences, such as the 2016 Brazilian Geotechnical Conference (COBRAMSEG 16) and GeoMin 2017.

Brazil is undergoing fundamental changes in the way the country deals with technical challenges in the mining industry. International consultants and technical expertise are in high demand, but the complexities involved in doing business in the country may present challenges for the unfamiliar practitioner.

“This is definitely not the easiest place in the world for doing business because of the intricacies and consequential implications of working with tailings storage facilities and mining geotechnical applications in the current climate,” said Vianna. “Together, Octavio and I have performed over 100 dam safety audits in the last few years and with our solid design and audit experience, we aim to provide local expertise on technical and legal aspects of practicing in Brazil. We are working on complementing Knight Piésold’s global resources to support existing clients and pursue prospective clients, as part of our strategy to continuously and thoughtfully increase our presence in the country.”

Knight Piésold Brazil is a proud member of the Belo Horizonte community and looks forward to helping clients navigate through this dynamically changing time in Brazil’s mining industry.

For more information, contact:

Gustavo Vianna
Director of Operations
Knight Piésold Consultoria Ltda.
E: brazil@knightpiesold.com
T: +55 31 3286 3099




 

 

 

 

Recent News

Mar 19, 2024
Knight Piésold Presents Tailings Best Practice Insights at the First International Symposium on Tailings Facilities in Mexico
Jan 31, 2024
Klamath River Dam Removal Design-Build Reaches Major Milestone
Dec 1, 2023
Knight Piésold Argentina Publishes 2022 Sustainability Report
Nov 16, 2023
Knight Piésold Shares Tailings Management Insights at Tailings and Mine Waste 2023 Conference
Nov 6, 2023
Dr. Violeta Martin and Daniel Adria Discuss Dam Breach Analysis at the 2023 Canadian Dam Association Conference
Oct 6, 2023
Knight Piésold Peru Shows Strong Presence at PERUMIN 36 Mining Convention
Sep 13, 2023
Knight Piésold Southern Africa's Kissandra Bridgmohan Named SAICE Young Technologist of the Year
Aug 25, 2023
Knight Piésold Southern Africa Scoops Lifetime Achievement and Young Engineer Awards at CESA Aon Engineering Excellence Awards 2023
Aug 9, 2023
Knight Piésold UK Celebrates 10 Years in London
Aug 3, 2023
Knight Piésold Peru Engages with the Mining Community at Expominas 2023 in Ecuador
Jul 31, 2023
Knight Piésold Argentina Certified as a Category I Sustainable Company by the Municipality of Godoy Cruz
Jul 26, 2023
Senior Engineer Scott Rees of Knight Piésold Canada Finishes 30 km Strait of Georgia Swim for Canadian Guide Dogs Fundraiser
Jul 20, 2023
Dr. Zhenhe Song Presents an Integrated Approach to Soil Shear Strength Parameter Selection at Mine Waste and Tailings Conference 2023
Jun 13, 2023
Gustavo Vianna Appointed as Chair of the International Slope Stability Symposium 2024
Apr 14, 2023
Rubén Vargas Gives Insight on Tailings Dam Design and Management at ISEM's XXV International Mining Safety Seminar
Apr 12, 2023
Guillermo Barreda Presents at the Energy Transition Workshop by the British Embassy in Peru
Feb 15, 2023
Knight Piésold Canada Named Among British Columbia's Top Employers for Eleventh Year
Feb 13, 2023
Jeremy Haile Receives Canadian Consulting Engineer's Lifetime Achievement Award
Nov 24, 2022
Knight Piésold has Strong Presence at Tailings and Mine Waste 2022
Nov 7, 2022
Dr. Violeta Martin and Nick Rong Contribute to Dam Safety Technical Learning with the Canadian Dam Association Community