Thickened tailings disposal at Musselwhite Mine

Kam, Shiu; Girard, Jérôme; Hmidi, Nuri; Mao, Yingkiu; Longo, Sue

doi:10.36487/acg_rep/1104_21_kam

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Absolute minimum Quartile 25% Average Quartile 75% Absolute Maximum % cyclically exposed to drying from the November 2010 deposition start up through the entire summer of 2011. This is in contrast with experience at Bulyanhulu (Theriault et al, 2003) and at Musselwhite (Kam et al, 2011) , where access to foot traffic was attainable within a few days and two weeks, respectively.…”

Section: Particle Size Distribution -In Situ Thickened Tailings Samplescontrasting

confidence: 69%

Paste deposition over an existing subaqueous slurry deposit of high sulphide content tailings – the Neves Corvo experience

Lopes¹,

Bahia²,

Jefferies³

et al. 2013

Proceedings of the 16th International Seminar on Paste and Thickened Tailings

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Neves Corvo is a world-class underground copper-zinc mine located in the south of Portugal. The mine has been in operation since 1988 by Somincor (Sociedade Mineira de Neves-Corvo SA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lundin Mining Corporation from Canada. The pyritic tailings produced have a very high acid generation potential and until 2010 had been placed subaqueously in the Barragem Cerro do Lobo (BCL), a large tailings pond (190 ha) created by a rockfill dam, 42 m high, across a natural water course. That disposal system provided safe and reliable storage of the reactive tailings. However, by 2001 Somincor realised that the remaining subaqueous deposition capacity was limited and that an alternative site or other deposition methods would be required at this site. Following nine years of studies and evaluation of various alternatives Somincor decided to extend the life of the existing facility, by switching in late 2010 to using subaerial paste/thickened tailings deposition over the existing subaqueous slurry deposit. This approach provides the required storage volume for Somincor's 2005 Life of Mine Plan, and allows maintaining the existing perimeter dam at its current elevation, and facilitates site closure. This paper presents the results of the first two years of operation of the paste production plant and depositional performance of the first two to four metres of paste/thickened tailings over the very loose subaqueous deposit. Routine monitoring data reported includes records of produced paste/thickened tailings densities, yield stress, particle size distribution (PSD), and average specific gravity (SG) of solids. Settlement, deposition beach slopes and piezometric levels in the paste and underlying subaqueous deposit are also routinely monitored. In addition, in 2012 a campaign of Cone Penetration Test Undrained (CPTu) testing and collection of piston samples was carried out to provide in situ strength and permeability data as well as evaluation of the state parameter of the deposited tailings. The 2012 CPTu data is being used for ongoing assessment of the dynamic stability of planned deposition for the next two years. This type of data and a planned special laboratory testing program will be used to calibrate a model of the evolution of the void ratio of the deposit as a function of time and of additional deposition loads. This model will guide the design of the final deposition landform. The environmental component of the deposition monitoring program includes the monitoring of the pH profile of the top one metre of tailings left exposed and allowed to dry as a result of the sequential rotation of tailings discharge.

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Section: Particle Size Distribution -In Situ Thickened Tailings Samplescontrasting

confidence: 69%

Paste deposition over an existing subaqueous slurry deposit of high sulphide content tailings – the Neves Corvo experience

Lopes¹,

Bahia²,

Jefferies³

et al. 2013

Proceedings of the 16th International Seminar on Paste and Thickened Tailings

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“…As already noted, a TT operation invariably eliminates the decant pond, confirmed by Jewell (2004) and Kam (2011), among others. One exception is the Hillendale facility in South Africa, where mineral sands fines were thickened before being pumped, using positive displacement pumps, to a TSF where deposition occurs from a ring-dyke, producing a facility similar to a conventional TSF, although at higher densities.…”

Section: Reduces or Eliminates Ponding And Low Strength Mud Depositsmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…They consistently achieve a beach slope of around 3%. Another piggybacking example is the Musslewhite operation (Kam, 2011), which utilised an existing footprint by thickening to 70% solids, and consistently achieving the design beach slope of 2% (with about 4% at the head of the beach). A final example of using an existing footprint is discussed by Cooper and Smith (2011), which is the central treatment plant (CTP) facility in South Africa, where diamond tailings (containing a high content of smectite clay) is thickened to 60% solids, using five 15 m diameter deep cone thickeners and is pumped over 5 km to the TSF using positive displacement pumps.…”

Section: Decreased Land Footprint By At Least Doubling Practical Stacmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived and realised benefits of paste and thickened tailings for surface deposition

Fourie¹

2012

Proceedings of the 15th International Seminar on Paste and Thickened Tailings

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Interest in the potential use of high density, thickened tailings has recently increased significantly. Reasons for considering this new technology vary across projects, but commonly include the need to conserve water, perceived lower risk of catastrophic failure, potential easier closure or even reduced overall costs. As with any new technology, there has been some tendency to overstate its potential benefits. This paper reflects on whether or not the potential benefits that have been attributed to paste and thickened tailings have been realised. Using a grading system, thirteen benefits that were ascribed to the new technology some years ago are evaluated. Data are taken from case studies, and it is suggested that the key proven benefits appear to be reduced operating costs in some cases, reduced wall-building costs and reductions in water consumption. One key potential benefit that has not been universally achieved is a reduction in the footprint of the tailings facility. Reports in the literature highlight the sometimes confusing nature of trade-off studies. Unless full life-of-mine costs are considered, these studies can be misleading and incorrect. The need to establish a consistent basis for comparative studies is discussed.

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“…The TMA capacity was later expanded by converting to thickened tailings disposal and tailings stacking from the perimeter. Since 2010, a total of 6.5 Mt of thickened tailings have been placed from the west end of the TMA over four stages of dyke raise (Kam et al 2014). The PD TMA design will provide total storage for 32 Mt of tailings.…”

Section: Musselwhite Minementioning

confidence: 99%

Managing high-density tailings disposal – deposition, water management and closure considerations

Kam¹,

Yaschyshyn²,

Hmidi³

2015

Proceedings of the 18th International Seminar on Paste and Thickened Tailings

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There has been a growing interest in the surface disposal of high-density tailings in recent years. Such an interest is driven primarily by the need to conduct mining in a sustainable manner by minimising environmental and social impact, conserving water and improving tailings safety. Increasingly, more mines are considering thickened or paste tailings disposal in conjunction with paste tailings backfill to better utilise their infrastructure. Several factors have hindered the wider adoption of high-density surface tailings disposal technology. The ability to predict tailings behaviour in full scale is still relatively limited. There is also little experience in managing a high-density tailings facility under varied climatic conditions. A number of high capacity mines have also had production issues meeting the tailings consistency criterion for deposition leading to major reconfiguration of the disposal system due to poor field performance. Some of these uncertainties are being addressed through laboratory and field research with significant advances being made on our understanding on tailings rheology, transportation, mechanism of deposition and post deposition behaviour change of the tailings. High-density tailings facilities will require a greater degree of management than conventional slurry tailings. Not only are the tailings likely more variable, there are unique challenges associated with tailings deposition and water management. This paper discusses tailings deposition control and water management methods that have been successfully used at a number of high-density tailings facilities with special reference made to central cone deposition in the Kidd Metallurgical Site and perimeter deposition at the Musselwhite Mine. Both of these facilities are located in cold climatic regions in Canada with surplus precipitation. Contingency measures that have been adopted to reduce the risk of system upsets and non-performance, and closure considerations for these facilities are highlighted. Field experience has shown that high-density tailings disposal can offer unique opportunities for progressive rehabilitation and optimisation of the closure design.

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Thickened tailings disposal at Musselwhite Mine

Cited by 13 publications

References 1 publication

Paste deposition over an existing subaqueous slurry deposit of high sulphide content tailings – the Neves Corvo experience

Paste deposition over an existing subaqueous slurry deposit of high sulphide content tailings – the Neves Corvo experience

Perceived and realised benefits of paste and thickened tailings for surface deposition

Managing high-density tailings disposal – deposition, water management and closure considerations

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