Modification of hydro-geotechnical properties of tailings for optimization of high density deposition

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Base metal, precious metal, aluminum, and surface mining of bitumen all generate substantial volumes of tailings: fine particulate suspensions in water originating from either the grinding of host rock during milling or from soil in excavated overburden. Base and precious metal mining alone typically generates 200-500 million cubic metres per year of tailings in Canada, over 20 times the generation of rate of municipal solid waste, and likely to increase with growing mine development opening up in Canada's North. Typical footprints of these facilities are in the order of several square kilometres, with dams in excess of 200 m high. Oil sands tailings ponds are some of the few manmade structures visible from space. Major impacts associated with tailings are irrecoverable and / or polluted water lost to the tailings-water matrix, the risk of catastrophic failure (occurring as recently as the red mud tailings disaster in Hungary on Oct. 4th 2010) and consequent environmental and economic devastation, and the difficulty in dewatering slurry tailings to generate the strength necessary for reclamation.