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Author: Admin | 2025-04-27
Or a portion of a minedout pit. As with other methods, care is taken to account for any migration of contaminants that may occur. On some occasions, backfilling a pit with tailings can reduce or eliminate the production of acid rock drainage from the pit walls.Paste FacilityIn the final process before storage, water is separated from tailings slurry in special tanks called thickeners to make a “paste”. Depending on the amount of water in the tailings, usually less than 1 part of water to 3 parts of finely ground solids, the resultant material may have the texture of toothpaste. The paste is pumped to a storage facility. There usually is a small amount of decant solution that is pumped back to the process.Sometimes paste and cement are mixed and pumped back into an underground mine for storage, which actually helps the miners by filling voids and providing ground support. It also reduces the amount of area on the surface that would be used for the paste tailings facility.Filtered TailingsTailings are pumped into high pressure filters that produce a rinsed filter cake product containing about 1 part water to 5 parts of finely ground solids. The filter cake can be transported by conveyors or trucks and stacked in a tailings =facility. Usually, the size of the starter dam required to ensure slope stability is much smaller than conventional tailings facilities, but is highly project-specific. Ideally, there is usually very little solution left in the tailings, which may be moved and shaped in a pile by mechanical equipment such as bulldozers. A protective organic cover may be added after placement to effectively seal the tailings in a ground structure that may grow vegetation.Who Regulates Tailings Storage?All modern tailings facilities must submit and obtain local, state and federal regulatory approval of an operating, closure and remediation plan. Tailings management during mine operation and afterward are the responsibility of mining companies. Government agencies regulate tailings and set minimum design standards. Tailings management and storage facilities are engineering projects which comply with safety and environmental control requirements. Water management and dust management are also important considerations.SME Statement of Technical Position SME recognizes tailings management and storage as an essential part of the mining process. The selection of an appropriate tailings disposal method is site specific and there are no one-sizefits-all technologies. The tailings disposal method should be selected based on various factors, including site topography, climate, environmental factors, regulatory guidance, corporate policies, and land constraints, among others. Technological improvements in recent years have provided several different methods for constructing tailings management facilities to minimize environmental impact, water usage and dust generation. Tailings management facilities must be designed, constructed, operated, and closed subject to the appropriate
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