The tailings dam system is complex, and the dam structure changes continuously over time, which can make it difficult to identify key hazards of failure and characterize the accident formation ...
A tailings dam is a tailings embankment or a tailings disposal dam. The term "tailings dam" encompasses embankments, dam walls or other impounding structures, designed to enable the tailings to settle and to retain tailings and process water, which are constructed in a controlled manner. A tailings impoundment is the storage space/volume ...
Tailings dams have been used for over a hundred years and are the most common disposal system for mining waste, having really taken off in the second half of the 20 th century as technology improved. "They enable large scale and long-term storage of waste from the mineral extraction process," explains Butler.
Mine tailings are the waste materials generated during the mining process, which often contain a mixture of crushed rocks, chemicals, and potentially hazardous materials such as heavy metals, asbestos, and radioactive materials. These tailings are typically stored in large piles or ponds near the mine site. The composition of mine …
Tailings containment dam failures cause severe environmental, social, and economic impacts. Analyzing past occurrences allows society and decision-makers to improve storage facility safety. This study presents an overview of tailings dam failures, exploring historical aspects and environmental consequences. Two methodological …
Mining operations lead to the production of large quantities of mineral waste, such as fluid fine tailings whose disposal is rather challenging. In Brazil, tailings disposal is facing a critical situation due to the large accidents that took place in the last couple of years. As a response to these accidents, the Brazilian Mining Agency became stricter on …
The Global Tailings Review is an initiative co-convened by the International Council on Mining and Metals, United Nations Environment Programme and the Principles for Responsible Investment. ... "The catastrophic dam …
A tailings dam failure occurs when a tailings dam loses its structural integrity and releases tailings material from the impoundment. Released tailings flow under the force of gravity …
Tailings dam failures have been documented since 1915 (ICOLD, 2001). The International Committee on Large Dams (ICOLD, 2001) provides a catalogue of 221 tailings dam accidents, and includes the information provided in the databases of the US Committee on Large Dams (USCOLD, 1994) and the United Nations Environment …
The results of cyanidation and grinding tests on the Mouteh tailings samples. ... Some disasters with tailings dam in Brazil in 2015 for Samarco and 2019 for Vale show the extreme need for the ...
Upstream. Upstream construction begins with a starter dam. The tailings are then discharged into the facility where they form a tailings beach. The deposited tailings adjacent to the dam wall is allowed to drain and then can be compacted to be used to form the foundation for subsequent levels of the wall as the dam is raised.
The 2014 Mount Polley tailings dam failure was a shock to geotechnical and mining engineers. Since then, there have been other examples, including a decommissioned Brazilian iron mine dam that collapsed catastrophically in 2019, unleashing a mudflow that killed 270 people [].Statistical analyses have shown that the …
The stress field and the seepage field in tailings reservoir change, leading to the instability of the dam. The following reasons explained for the resulting failure: (1) the seepage field directly induces instability of the tailings dam (seepage and internal erosion); (2) the instability of the tailings dam foundation (poor foundation conditions); (3) flooding that …
The dry stacking of compacted filtered tailings is an alternative to cope with the new Brazilian regulations while providing a safe disposal method for the upcoming tailings or the previously disposed of tailings in dams that are about to be de-characterized (Consoli et al. 2022; Gomes et al. 2016). The stacking of compacted dry …
Tailings were deposited in a 130-ha tailings storage facility (TSF) ca. 2 km north of the open pit, with an estimated tailings mass of 5.5–7.5 Mt.12, 13 The LREO grade has been reported to range between 2 and 4.5%.23 The processed tailings were pumped to the tailings dam which was constructed using metasedimentary waste rock. The …
reclamation of tailings dams is not always practical. This is most notably the case for dams constructed by the downstream method, which receive regular depositions. For some dams with active pouring above reclaimed areas, line spills and deposition of windblown sand from beaches or benches, can
However, the disposal of tailings in the dams carries both geotechnical (e.g., dam failure and leakage) and environmental (e.g., acid and leachate formation) risks. There are serious tailings impoundment/dam failures that have arisen in different countries (e.g., Spain, Aznalcollar; Romania, Baia Mare; Canada, Mount Polley; and Brazil, Fundao).
The main chemical component of high-silicon iron tailings (HSITs) is SiO2; HSITs also include some oxides such as Al2O3 and CaO. Mechanical activation can reduce the particle size of HSITs and enhance their pozzolanic activity such that they can be used as a type of mineral admixture for cement-based materials (CBMs). This study aims to …
There are six fundamental types of tailings dam, each constructed using different techniques: UPSTREAM. The upstream method starts with the construction of a starter …
Catastrophic failure of a tailings dam at an iron ore mine complex in Brumadinho, Brazil, on 25th January 2019 released 11.7 million m3 of tailings downstream. Although reportedly monitored using ...
As one indicator of their potential scale, the Red Chris Mine, which has operated since 2015 in the headwaters of the Stikine River, maintains a tailings reservoir dam that is permitted to ...
tailings dam failures with tragic consequences, caused by a variety of factors, some of which may never be fully understood. However, there is ... involves crushing and grinding ore into fine particles and mixing with water and other agents to facilitate the extraction of the targeted metals or minerals. Once separated, the
Mining is an important industry, accounting for 6.9% of global GDP. However, global development promotes accelerated demand, resulting in the accumulation of hazardous waste in land, sea, and air …
Tailings are produced by crushing and grinding in the beneficiation process and, with the reduction in bulk density, the specific surface area becomes larger (Bhattacharya et al. 2006). Thus when fine tailings are stored in unstable dams, those physical properties can easily lead to collapse and landslides, especially in the rainy …
Tailings dams retain the waste by-products of mining operations and are among the world's largest engineered structures. Recent tailings dam failures highlight important gaps in current ...
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Tailings dams are used to store water and waste that come as by products from the mining process. It is estimated there are at least 3,500 tailings dams around the world. But as there are around 30,000 industrial mines, the number of tailings dams is likely to be much higher. Tailings dams can be huge in size, as big as lakes, and reach …
Committee on Large Dams' Guidelines on Tailings Dams – Planning, Design, Construction, Operation and Closure (ANCOLD 2012a), other ANCOLD guidelines and State Environment Protection Policies (SEPPs) where relevant • safe and structurally stable • managed to minimise impact on public safety, public infrastructure and the environment
Tailings dams are structures built to contain materials from mining, most commonly fine-grained or finely ground materials leftover from the extraction processes. Most of these processes are water based, and consequently tailings are usually produced, transported and discharged into a dam as a slurry.
Perhaps triggered by the initial attention to uranium impoundments, the increasing concern for environmental performance has led to better engineering design of tailings dams in …
Here we demonstrate how ambient noise interferometry can be applied to monitor dam performance at an active tailings dam using a geophone array.
Tailings dams and ash ponds experience various time-dependent processes, such as gradual strains associated with pore-water pressure dissipation or creep, internal erosion and piping, and the migration of fine grains that can cause the gradual clogging of internal drainage pathways and the rise of fluid pressure within the …
Providing superior operational and advisory services in hydro mining, tailings deposition and tailings dam water pond management to the mining, minerals processing, energy, and petrochemical industries. Hydro Mining. Hydro Mining entails spraying a jet stream of water against a tailings face to create a slurry.
Tailings are typically chemically similar to the parent material, but have been subjected in some way to physical and/or chemical separation processes, such as crushing and …