Strategies for reclamation of tailings impoundments

ABSTRACT Reclaimed tailings disposal sites must be configured to avoid the possibility of catastrophic dewatering to ensure long term sustainability. This can normally be achieved by dewatering tailings impoundments and breaching tailings dams or by reducing the size of the pond to a shallow ponded area far removed from any dam.. Where tailings are stored in abandoned mine pits, ponding may be acceptable if the scheme is-not vulnerable to breaching, accelerated erosion, or rapid flow releases. Surface erosion of the reclamation cover is a governing issue where the underlying tailings material is highly erodible. Reclaimed tailings storage areas with long uniform side slopes may not be sustainable over the long term. Irregular topography, with well defined swales as found in the natural environment, is preferable. Concepts such as the “safety factor”, “design recurrence interval” and “life of a civil engineering project” need to be replaced with concepts such as robust systems, self-healing capability and ...