Unique geosynthetic liner system for uranium mill tailings disposal

Abstract

Geoffrey Blight, retired Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa has just published a new book Geotechnical Engineering for Mine Waste StorageFacilities. In this book he comprehensively describes the history and current state-of-the-art of South African tailings disposal. Go to almost any other country where there are mines, and you find the offices of consulting practices that started in South Africa and that have expanded globally on the strength of their tailings expertise: SRK and Knight Piesold are but two examples. This paper is a short history of tailings disposal design and construction starting in South Africa with Fraser F. Alexander and the ring dike system and thin lift subaerial deposition; then progressing through the years of emigration from South Africa of engineers and companies to most other mining countries. We tell the story of how South African engineers and consultants have become so integral a part of current international tailings practice by adapting South African practice to international needs and by adopting and integrating practices pioneered by the great North American engineers faced with earthquakes, cold climates, dry deserts, and social & environmental concerns not initially part of early South African practice.