Preliminary Discussion on Comprehensive Utilization of Tailings

Tailings produced in a concentration plant are the discharge of solid wastes after grinding ore into size and selecting useful components in the specific economic and technological condition. According to statistics, for the mining of metal ore, non-metallic ore, coal, clay, etc, the production of tailings of the world is up to 100 million tons per year. The number of existing tailing piles is 12718 in China, of which the construction ones are 1526, accounting for 12% of the total, and the closed tailing piles are 1024, accounting for 8%. As of 2007, the national total tailings accumulation is 8.046 billion tons. The non-ferrous metal mining is one of the largest discharge of solid wastes industries because of its low comprehensive recovery rate. For example, the beneficiation and recovery rate of non-ferrous metal mine is from 50% to 60% in China, which is lower 10% to 15% than developed countries, and the associated non-ferrous metal recovery rate is 40%, which is lower 20% than developed countries. On the utilization of duns, Poland is 90% to 100%, United States, Australia, France, Canada, Belgium and other countries followed, while China is only about 20%. The utilization of fly ash is to 100% in Japan and Denmark, France is 65%, UK is 55%, and China is just 45%. Quantities of waste rock, waste slag, and waste water have occupied land, destructed vegetation, deteriorated the soil and water quality, and caused land subsidence, landslides, mud-flow and other geological disasters. Therefore, the comprehensive utilization of resources is the right choice of mining sustainable development, environment protection, resource conservation, economic and social development.