Owner's engineering and design review
Tailings storage facilities, filtered tailings stacks, slopes and marine structures.
David Eduardo Lourenço, PhD
Geotechnical engineerTechnical and financial risk for mining, infrastructure and energy assets.
15+ yearsEurope, Africa, South AmericaBased in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
I am a civil engineer from the University of Coimbra with a PhD in geotechnics from UFRGS.
I work as owner's engineer and senior consultant on tailings storage facilities, filtered tailings stacks and rare earth mining projects.
Owners, investors and lenders use my work to reduce technical uncertainty before they commit capital.
CREA PR173168Ordem dos Engenheiros 64024
Consulting
I take a small number of assignments and do the technical work myself, with senior specialists when the problem needs them.
Technical due diligence
Geotechnical and financial risk for owners, investors, lenders and insurers.
Geotechnical investigation
CPTu and SPT campaigns, QA/QC and reliability of geotechnical data.
Numerical modelling
Soil-structure interaction, ground improvement and offshore geotechnics. Also delivered for consulting firms.
Forensic assessment
Root-cause analysis of geotechnical failures in mines, ports and roads.
Technical training
Courses and in-company programmes for engineering teams.
Selected assignments
| 2020–present | Vale S.A. | Tailings storage facilities. R&D and traceability of geotechnical data. |
| 2025–present | Mineração Usiminas S.A. | Filtered tailings stacks. |
| 2023–present | Serra Verde Pesquisa e Mineração | Rare earth elements mining project. |
| 2023–2024 | Nexa Resources | Forensic assessment in underground mining. |
| 2020–2021 | Samarco Mineração S.A. | Tailings dams, Germano Complex. |
| 2019 | Construtora Queiroz Galvão S.A. | Geotechnical evaluation of the Florianópolis Southern Roadway bypass. |
| 2018 | Andrade Gutierrez Engenharia S.A. | Forensic geotechnical assessment of a terminal at the Port of Santos. |
Other assignments for DF+ Engenharia, Tec3 Geotecnia, Walm Engenharia and Tetra Tech (2019–2021).
Senior Geotechnical Consultant at ANALYSIS Consultoria Geotécnica e Civil since 2021. Geotechnical Consultant at Rhama Analysis since 2022. International contracts through PHISSAL (Portugal).
Ventures
Each company runs on its own website. My role in each one is stated below.
Founder
GeoRiskScan
Early assessment of geotechnical and financial risk for tailings facilities, dams and critical infrastructure. Since 2026.
georiskscan.comLOMATIK
Measurement instruments for geotechnical investigation and field testing. Estância Velha, RS. Since 2024.
lomatik.comManutify
Maintenance management for equipment and service orders. Since 2026.
manutify.comCo-founder
GISTM.NET
Resources and tools for the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management. Since 2023.
gistm.netDetect & Solve
Traceability of incidents and non-conformities in construction, mining and infrastructure projects. Since 2024.
detectandsolve.comPRITEO
E-learning for engineering. 1,400 licences sold to Vale S.A. Since 2021.
priteo.comResearch
Education
- 2021Post-doctorate, load attenuation through soil-structure interaction in offshore mooring lines. UFRGS.
- 2020Post-doctorate, new materials in geotechnics and environment. UFRGS.
- 2018Post-doctorate, hydrojetting, load transfer and soil improvement systems (offshore). UFRGS.
- 2016PhD in Engineering (Geotechnics). Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.
- 2009MSc in Civil Engineering. Universidade de Coimbra.
- 2007BSc in Civil Engineering. Universidade de Coimbra.
Patent
BR1020190235934. Cementing agent from eggshell and glass waste, and its production process. Co-inventor. Granted by INPI on 13 January 2026.
Selected publications
- 2026Geotechnical and Geological Engineering
- 2025
Impact of Drilling Fluids on Borehole Hydraulic Conductivity in Geotechnical Investigations
Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - 2021
Lime-Ground Glass-Sodium Hydroxide as an Enhanced Sustainable Binder Stabilizing Silica Sand
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (ASCE) - 2021Transportation Geotechnics
- 2020Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering (ASME)
- 2019
- 2017
Interpretation of static and dynamic penetration tests in coarse-grained soils
Géotechnique Letters
Additional discussion papers in ASCE journals (2021).
Peer reviewReviewer since 2018 for Ground Improvement (ICE), Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering (ASCE) and Geotechnical and Geological Engineering (Springer).
Teaching
PRITEO
Online engineering courses.
In-company programmes
Tailings mechanics courses for mining companies.
Other roles
- Director, Rede Portuguesa de Ciência e Inovação no Brasil.
- President of the Fiscal Council, Instituto Pedro Hispano (Portugal).
- Coordinator of the Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory (LEGG), UFRGS, 2018–2022.
- Registered engineer: CREA PR173168 (Brazil) and Ordem dos Engenheiros 64024 (Portugal).
Working languages
Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Cape Verdean Creole.
Contact
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