Current state of fine mineral tailings treatment: A critical review on theory and practice

Abstract

Highlights Presented facts on escalating generation of fine mineral tailings worldwide.  Overview of coal, alumina, oil sands, and base metals tailings characteristics.  Reviewed theoretical and industrial developments for tailings management.  Determined numerous knowledge gaps between current theories and practices.  Identified opportunities for improvement towards more sustainable practices. Graphical AbstractEvolution of fine mineral tailings treatment objectives.Figures "Flocculated solids" and "Stackable solids" are adopted from Alamgir, et al. (2012), permission pending. The last figure "Reclaimed land" is adopted from Golder Associates (2009), permission pending. AbstractThe mining industry produces fluid fine mineral tailings on the order of millions of tonnes each year, with billions of tonnes already stored globally. This trend is expected to escalate as demand for mineral products continues to grow with increasingly lower grade ores being more commonly exploited by hydrometallurgy. Ubiquitous presence and enrichment of fine solids such as silt and clays in fluid fine mineral tailings prevent efficient solid-liquid separation and timely re-use of valuable process water. Long-term storage of such fluid waste materials not only incurs a huge operating cost, but also creates substantial environmental liabilities of tailings ponds for mining operators. This review broadly examines current theoretical understandings and prevalent industrial practices on treating fine mineral tailings for greater water recovery and reduced environmental footprint of mining operations.

UAV Remote Sensing Surveillance of a Mine Tailings Impoundment in Sub-Arctic Conditions

“…Mining produces significant amounts of waste materials, and the volume of waste products is expected to increase in the future as lower grades of ores are utilized in mining [1,2]. One of the waste types produced is tailings, which comprise solid particles from mineral extraction and a mixture of water and additional components such as coagulants and flocculants.…”

“…One of the waste types produced is tailings, which comprise solid particles from mineral extraction and a mixture of water and additional components such as coagulants and flocculants. Tailings impoundments pose one of the most significant environmental risks in mining areas [2,3]. In particular, conventional storage of tailings in the form of a slurry can pose high environmental risks depending on the quality of tailings, due to potential water seepage, spills, and dam collapses.…”

“…The paste technique is claimed to have numerous advantages compared with conventional slurry deposition, such as increased deposition angle, decreased land footprint, less frequent need to raise the embankments, fewer seepage and stability issues, and less segregated material [8,9]. However, research on the effects of cold climate conditions on paste storage is currently limited [2,10,11]. Moreover, deposition of tailings using the paste technique requires more investment and a higher degree of mine management compared with the conventional slurry storage approach [2,8].…”

Avaliação Da Recuperação De Água a Partir Da Filtragem Do Rejeito De Minério De Níquel

“…A quantidade e o tipo de polímero floculante utilizado é função das características físico-químicas de superfície das partículas, bem como do seu tamanho, que reflete diretamente na área superficial. Além das características dos floculantes, os aspectos físicos do rejeito, como distribuição granulométrica, morfologia das partículas e mineralogia têm influência nas interações entre o material particulado e a água, durante os processos de agregação (Oliveira et al, 2004;Wang et al, 2014). No processo de espessamento, forma-se um sedimento saturado em água e, na maioria das vezes, é necessário expelir essa água em excesso para maior redução de volume e aumento da resistência mecânica do sedimento, satisfazendo as especificações regulatórias para deposição segura do rejeito (Wang et al, 2014).…”

“…Além das características dos floculantes, os aspectos físicos do rejeito, como distribuição granulométrica, morfologia das partículas e mineralogia têm influência nas interações entre o material particulado e a água, durante os processos de agregação (Oliveira et al, 2004;Wang et al, 2014). No processo de espessamento, forma-se um sedimento saturado em água e, na maioria das vezes, é necessário expelir essa água em excesso para maior redução de volume e aumento da resistência mecânica do sedimento, satisfazendo as especificações regulatórias para deposição segura do rejeito (Wang et al, 2014). Uma operação unitária adicional utilizada no desaguamento de polpas minerais é a filtração com formação de torta, em que o produto sólido resultante -a torta -com elevada concentração de sólidos, pode então ser transportada ou descartada mais facilmente (Qi et al, 2011) e o filtrado, reutilizado como água de processo.…”