Deposition of Fine Tailing Particles and Profile Zoning Of Tailings Dams

Profile zoning is a precondition for stability analysis of tailings embankments. As a consequence of technology progress in the beneficiation field, the size of tailings grains is getting smaller in recent years. Accordingly, traditional methods of profile zoning, which suit medium-coarse grained tailings, are no longer applicable for fine grained tailings. The results showed that drainage consolidation was difficult in the embankment. The embankment, composed of tailings, had a poor stability without the protection of incrustation, which consisted of medium-coarse grained tailings. A new profile zoning method is presented. In this method, degree of consolidation is regarded as the only basis for profile zoning and it shows that the adjacent boundary lines between dam sections intersected the slope surface of the embankment.