Construction of the tailings dam will happen in stages, with starter dam followed by successive additions to a accommodate the need for reservoir capacity. The next bulletin, sustainable design and postclosure performance of tailings dams, will be published in 201112 for tailings dam designers intending to achieve sustainable development. Design, and analysis of tailings dams bitech publishers ltd. Tailings is a combination of the finegrained typically siltsized, in the range from 0. An upstream tailings dam consists of trapezoidal embankments being constructed on top but toe to crest of another, moving the. Geotechnical design of tailings dams a stochastic analysis. Olympic dam expansion project tailings storage facility design report p 7 of 105 1 introduction 1. Tailing disposal methods and tailings dam construction design. Tailings management plans must be developed to restrict potential releases to the environment. Appendix f1 tailings storage facility design report. The design height of the largest tailings dam at present is 260 m. Tailings dam failures generally result in catastrophic ecological. Guidelines on tailings dams planning, design, construction, operation and closure.
Design practice for tailings dams continues to evolve. This involvement is to be signed off formally by the owners representative in a construction certificate to be provided to the dsc at the end of each stage, and conclusion, of construction. Chapter viii closure and reclamation global tailings. The incident has caused significant legal and financial repercussions to the company. Stability after closure is a major concern in tailings dam engineering.
The tailings are then discharged from the dam crest and form the foundation for future raises. That is, a tailings dam has to be designed and engineered to address risks such as flooding e. Numerical simulation of seepage and stability of tailings dams. Design and authorisation procedures for proposed tailings facilities. The importance of the operational phase is addressed, because in. In some cases, this document presents a digest of vicks overall approach to tailings dam planning and design. Operate within design standards underground tailings placement optimized where feasible. A tsf is a highly engineered structure which consists of one or more tailings dams, with embankments designed to permanently store the tailings.
The key design criteria and design bases for tailings deposition are summarized in table 21. It is appropriate to perform numerical analyses of upstream tailings dams with advanced numerical software, based on e. With traditional tools like spreadsheet models, cad and mine design packages, scheduling and volumetric modeling of tailings areas can be a very painful experience, often producing oversimplified solutions. Design and evaluation of tailings dams epas web archive us. In addition the rehabilitated 1 dam is known to have environmental issues associated with impacted groundwater. R e p o r t mmg rosebery mine future tailings storage. In addition, following some recent tailings dam failures, changes have been made to indicate good management and accountability practice, aimed at reducing the likelihood of tailings dam failure. Outlook\3dnq4dt1\report on preliminary spillway design red dog tailings main dam ultimate closure configuration111408. Design of dams and appurtenant structures for earthquake ancold, 2019. The tailings storage facility tsf consists of the main tailings storage embankment, diversion ditches, tailing s discharge lines, reclaim barge and pipeline, seepage recovery system srs and.
Safety guidelines and good practices for tailings management. There are three types of dam raises, the upstream, downstream and centerline, named according to the relative position of the new crest of the dam to the previous. Planning, design,and analysisof tailings dams steven g. The special aspects covered in this bulletin encompass planning designing, construction and operation of tailings dams. Introduction tsf design justification the tailings storage facility tsf design report presents an analysis of the background conditions and investigations undertaken.
Focus will be on the geotechnical long term stability of the dams impounding the deposited tailings to create a safe and sustainable impoundment after remediation. It outlines the basis of the design and justifies the parameters adopted for the engineering design, construction, operation, rehabilitation and after closure of the tsf. Icold sustainable design and postclosure performance of. Key tailings management documents used in industry. It is generally advisable to recover as much of the water as possible in order not only to save the expense of obtaining a fresh supply. Construction of an upstream embankment begins with development of a starter dyke. Anhuis huang meishan iron mine tailings dam caused 119. This tailings disposal design guide has been prepared by the bureau of mines especially for those mining engineers and government officials responsi ble for the design, construction, operation, and inspection of mine tailings ponds.
British columbia ministry of energy, mines and petroleum resources. Seepage control for tailings dams international mine water. Tailings dams planning, design, construction, operation and closure. Building on the implementation of the tailings guide and lessons learned, mac introduced a companion document in 2003. Consequently, the committee took a fresh approach to look at the key elements of a safe tailings dam from both design and governance aspects. Additionally, this report covers terminology used, tailings dam design and the current.
Figure 1 shows an overview of the stages of construction. Australian national committee on large dams ancold. Tailings dam construction methods dam civil engineering. This bulletin examines tailings dam safety in terms of design, construction, operation and rehabilitation. Consequently, the committee took a fresh approach to look at the key elements of a safe tailings dam from both design and. Penman, chairman, igold committee on tailings dams and waste lagoons, united.
Workasexecuted drawings and a construction report are to be. Kensington mine lower slate lake tailings dam ak00308 is a downstream constructed geosyntheticfaced. A dam break assessment was undertaken to assess the potential consequences of failure. History of tailings dam design klohn crippen bergerklohn. To evaluate stability of an upstream tailings dam, advanced numerical tools based on finite element methods are generally preferable to the traditional methods based on limit equilibrium approach. A pdf of the entire report including drawings and photos. Public concern and government regulations tailings dams are important structures that involve two aspects of public concern. Assigning low priority to the safety of tmfs has been shown to be a seriously flawed approach, as neglect of tailings dams has often been shown to be a major or significant contributing factor to the poor international record of tailings dam failures and incidents. Raising method upstream,downstream,centerline,other 8.
The specific design used is dependent upon topography, geology, climate, the type of tailings, and cost. Tailings dam classification and breach analyses, perspectives. They concluded that none of the existing regulations in other jurisdictions were written specifically for tailings dams. Tailings dam, cell tsf 2 once initial stage cell tsf1 full, convert to one above ground impoundment cell with embankments tsf2. These design recornendations are intended to deal specifically with. It builds on the work detailed in sustainable design and postclosure performance of tailings dams icold 20. Kensington mine lower slate lake tailings dam ak00308 is a downstream constructed geosyntheticfaced rockfill dam gfrd, keyed to bedrock. At the disposal area, tailings are processed to separate sand for dam construction and the remalning fines slimes along with excess water are discharged into. One significant aspect to be considered while design and construction are. Planning, design, and analysis of tailings dams ubc library. Appendix f tailings storage facility 4 detailed design. Coeurs current practices to maintain low risk tailings management operations.
It is essential that each specific dam has its own design process and one important factor is the estimated quantity of tailings to be disposed. Guidelines on tailings dams resolution copper project and. The consequence category was assessed as high b ancold, 2012 and the dmirs hazard category was category 1. Design, construction, operation and the effect of fines. The report should include calculations and be sufficiently detailed to accurately define the final design and proposed work as represented on the construction. Typically, tailings are pumped as a slurry to a storage dam, following similar engineering principles to water storage and hydroelectric dams. Steven, 1990, planning design and analysis of tailings dams bitech. One is the structural stability of the dam and the possible release, if failure occurred, of very large volumes of water and or semiflu id tailings. As there is seldom enough ground available on which the tailing of a flotation plant can be run to waste without being stacked, it is usual to impound it in some form of dam where the solids can be deposited and the water decanted off for return to the plant.
Tailings dams planning, design, construction, operation and. Formed in 1928, this subcommittee has produced a number of bulletins related to tailings dam design. Tailings sand dams are a special type of hydraulic fill dam for containing fine mine waste tailings, whose construction dates back to at least the. Designing safe and stable tailings dam structures with. The processed mine ore and tailings solids are benign and do not produce acid rock drainage conditions, requiring no direct treatment. The next bulletin, sustainable design and postclosure performance of tailings dams, will be published in 201112 for tailings dam designers. Pollution control regulations can have a very important impact on tailings dam design, and, in particular, on seep age control measures that are required to satisfy the re gulations. The design for the external walls uses the centreline construction method with a vertical clay core and waste rockfill for downstream zones. The design of sand tailings dams for tailings impoundments in highly seismic regions has been subjected to a long development process with continuous improvement mainly because of the general concern originated by several earthquake induced failures. Sustainable development in this paper is defined according to the bruntland report unwced, 1987.
The company has responded proactively, and our approach to organizing. Is the dam currently operated as per approved design 7. In preparing its normal requirements for tailings dams, as set out in this guidance sheet, the dsc has adopted, as its basic. Design, construction and management of tailings storage. The records are very incomplete on crucial data elements. Regarding polymet minings northmet tailings dam design and safety background recent tailings dam failures in brazil are bringing attention to the design and operation of inactive and active tailings impoundments worldwide, including in minnesota, where a number of tailings basins exist as a result of more than 5 years of iron ore mining. Tailings dams safety guidelines, bulletin 74, international commission on large dams, 1989. The analysis and design allowed for 2m of freeboard between the dam crest and the tailings. This is particularly true of certain concepts and organizational emphases, as well as many of the tables and figures.
One significant aspect to be considered while design and construction are done is to minimize adverse effects to the environment. The design and construction of tailings dams, as well as the effect of drain gravels and filter materials on the geotechnical behaviour of the tailings sands, are also discussed. British columbia pdflatex and pstricks ministry of energy, mines and petroleum resources. Report on preliminary spillway design red dog tailings main. This chapter provides an overview of leading practices for design, construction, deposition, stabilisation, decommissioning, capping, reclamation, and aftercare for tailings facilities. The key to managing tailings is consistent application of that engineering capability within an effective management framework through the full life cycle. Tailings starter dyke paracatu tailings management following the 2015 failure of the samarco tailings dam in mariana, brazil, a great deal of attention has been paid to tailings dam safety by communities, authorities, and legislators. The tailings management component of tsm provides a strong and consistent message to tailings facility owners, operators and contractors.
These are more complex than with conventional earth dams. There exists a large volume of documentation relating to all aspects of design, construction, operation and closure of tailings facilities in the form of manuals, technical papers, conference proceedings and textbooks anglo 2005. Tailings dams 6 site selection and design construction operations closure transition active care passive care time landform no longer a dam june 2019 introduction to tailings dams tailings facilities in the portfolio approach to dam risk management at bhp the future. Tailings dam, cell tsf 1 initial stage single below ground tailings cell tsf1. Pdf design, construction and management of tailings. There are three broad design types for tailings dams. Vedanta fully complies with the international council on mining and metals icmm approach to tailings management. Selected bibliography tailing dam design, construction. Developing an operation, maintenance and surveillance manual for. The risks posed by tailings dams to the population. Tailings dam design consultants can take a significant role in assisting mining companies in development and implementation of proper stewardship programs. Best practices for tailings dam design klohn crippen. Geochemical testing indicates that the tailings are potentially acid forming paf and hence the design needs to incorporate elements to manage both current and potential acid mine drainage amd associated with the tailings. Failure of an embankment generally results in liquefaction of the unconsolidated tailings mass, which can flow many miles in.
The breach of the fundao dam at the samarco mine in 2015 killed 19 people and was declared the worst environmental disaster in brazils history. Every individual dam is unique and is designed, built and operated to specifications that are tailored to the physical nature of the tailings material itself, and a number of other factors. Mine tailings dams are geotechnical structures that are designed to provide. Parameters for the design of tailings dams canadian science. The preliminary spillway design builds off the conceptual spillway design by using updated mine site climate and stream data to determine the surcharge and spillway capacities required to achieve zerodischarge at closure.
The lack of any comprehensive tailings dam database has prevented meaningful analysis, either gross comparisons such as country to country comparisons, or tailings dam failures versus hydro dam failure rates or technical failure analysis to help prevent future incidents. The importance of the operational phase is addressed, because in tailings dams this phase can last many years and be the determinant in the final behaviour of the dams. The stability analysis considers drained and undrained parameters of. Report on preliminary spillway design red dog tailings. The analysis showed that low compressive stresses occurred above the phreatic level, near the zones of filter and rockfill banks.
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