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Abstract/Additional Information |
Tailings dams have long been somewhat a mystery to those professionals who work primarily with water dams. Also many professionals who work with tailings dams have significant experience with different types of tailings dams. This paper is designed to shed light on the mysteries c tailing dams and describe the wide variety of design options available to the practitioner.
The basic types of tailing dams including upstream, modified centerline, centerline and downstream construction methods are described and the pros and cons of each presented. Key issues that dictate the type of dam to be selected will be discussed. These issues typically include tailing properties, site characteristics, site seismicity, construction materials including tailing and beneficial use of other materials generated by the mining process will be discussed. Alternate types of deposition will be described ranging from single point to multiple spigots to subaerial deposition. Also tailing dams will be compared to water dams to show the differences in design approach. One of the key differences is the approach to the use of drainage.
A series of examples will be discussed to demonstrate the design concepts presented including phosphatic clay storage facilities in Florida; copper tailing storage facilities in the southwestern United States and South America; gold tailing in the southwestern United States, South America and other international locations; and molybdenum lead and zinc facilities in various locations.
Environmental considerations have a significant role in developing the designs. They range from surface and ground water protection to dust control to protection of human and wildlife populations. Commonly considered alternatives to address these considerations will be addressed in conjunction with the various types of dams, methods of deposition and nature of the tailings.
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