Abstract
The focus of this study was to evaluate the potential reuse of mixed mine tailings and waste rock in water-balance covers (WBCs). Reuse of mine waste in geoengineering applications can provide an economic advantage via offsetting raw material requirements and reducing waste volumes to manage. Water-balance covers are designed to minimize percolation and/or oxygen ingress into underlying waste via moisture retention while also providing resistance against slope failure and erosion of cover materials. Water-balance simulations were conducted using a variably-saturated one-dimensional numerical model to assess hydrologic behavior of an actual WBC as well as hypothetical mixed mine waste WBCs. The actual water balance cover included a 1.22-m-thick silty-sand storage layer and a 0.15-m-thick topsoil layer. Three scenarios were evaluated via hydrologic modeling that focused on replacing the actual storage layer with a layer of mine waste: (1) storage layers were simulated as 1.22-m-thick layers of pure mine tailings (i.e., copper, gold, coal, and oil sand tailings); (2) storage layers were simulated as 1.22-m-thick layers of mixed mine tailings and waste rock; and (3) mixed mine tailings and waste rock storage layer thicknesses were redesigned to yield comparable percolation rates as the actual cover.
Highlights
The increased consumption of raw materials due to population growth has increased demand on natural resources
Water-balance modeling was conducted to evaluate the viability of using mixed waste rock and tailings (WR&T) as the water storage layer in water balance covers (WBCs)
Theoretical water-balance covers (WBCs) were created with (i) mine tailings and (ii) mixed WR&T to assess the effect of waste rock addition on hydrologic performance
Summary
The increased consumption of raw materials due to population growth has increased demand on natural resources. The generation of mine waste has increased, which require innovative and sustainable waste management considerations. Waste materials include waste rock discarded from mining operations and fine-grained tailings produced during ore extraction processes. The Mining, Minerals, and Sustainable Development Project (MMSD) reports that approximately 3500 active mine waste facilities exist worldwide. Disposal and management of mine tailings in impoundments and waste rock in gravity piles can be challenging due to variability in physical and chemical properties of the mine waste. Using mine tailings and waste rock as earthwork materials (e.g., water balance cover) can provide a sustainable and cost effective alternative to mitigate disposal and management challenges
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