I am part of the UBC Geohazards Research Team. My research is focused on developing empirical and numerical models for the runout analysis of tailings-flows.
Tailings dams are a critical piece of mine infrastructure. These dams retain mine tailings, a waste product of mineral processing operations that includes finely ground rock and process water. When these dams fail, a destructive flow of mine tailings can develop. These flows travel over substantial distances, and can impact large areas. The ability to understand and predict the motion of flowing tailings is a crucial step in protecting people, infrastructure and the environment from these events. This research project aims to develop practical methods to reliably predict the runout characteristics for tailings-flows.
2017-Present: Ph.D. Student in Geological Engineering, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2014-2017: Junior Geophysicist (G.I.T.) at Surface Search Inc., Calgary, AB, Canada
2010-2012: M.Sc. in Geological Engineering, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada
2008-2009: Postgraduate diploma in Earth System Physics, International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy
2003-2008: B.Sc. in Physics, Physics Department, Shiraz University, Iran
Ghahramani, N., A. Mitchell, N. M. Rana, Scott McDougall, S. G. Evans, and W. A. Take. 2020. “Tailings-Flow Runout Analysis: Examining the Applicability of a Semi-Physical Area–Volume Relationship Using a Novel Database.” Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 20 (12): 3425–38. doi:10.5194/nhess-20-3425-2020.
Innis S., N. Ghahramani, N. M. Rana, S. G. Evans, S. McDougall, W. A. Take and N. Kunz. 2020. "Automated Hazard Mapping of Tailings Storage Facility Failures". Proceedings Tailings Mine Waste Conference, 15–18 November, Colorado, USA, 661-669.
Ghahramani, N., McDougall, S., Mitchell, A., Evans, S. G., Take, A., and Cuervo, V. 2019. “Introducing a Runout Zone Classification for the Analysis of Tailings Flows”, in: Proceedings Tailings and Mine Waste Conference, 17–20 November, Vancouver, Canada, 555–568.
Ghahramani, N., and S.G. Evans. 2018. “The 1985 Earthquake-Triggered North Nahanni Rockslide, Northwest Territories, Canada: The Co-Seismic Movement of a Sedimentary Rock Mass Conditioned by Residual Strength.” Engineering Geology 247: 1-11. doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2018.10.015.