Geotechnical evaluation of tailings thickening

随着现有储量的开发，新能源和新材料的开发对经济繁荣产生了影响。加拿大采矿业为经济贡献了400亿美元，约占国内生产总值的4%。这一重要活动与数量不断增加、性质和程度各不相同的矿山废物有关。尾矿(矿石加工过程中产生的泥浆)尤其具有挑战性，因为它们的沉降速度很慢，而且废物封存设施中的有毒水很高。世界各地的几个尾矿库坍塌导致了大规模污染，导致公众对尾矿处理的传统做法感到严重不满。该行业一直积极开发新的废物管理方法，以最大限度地减少对环境的影响。拟议的研究将通过研究泥浆浓缩的创新方法，为贱金属采矿作业设计可持续的(成本效益、环境友好和社会可行的)工程解决方案。具体目标包括：(A)设计不分离的浓缩机进料，以最大限度地发挥絮凝效果；(B)改善浓缩过程中的尾矿脱水，以提高重力浓缩机的效率；以及(C)预测浓缩机底流的长期行为，以评估尾矿库的水下处置。这项研究将有助于生产不分离的尾矿流，将大部分工艺水去除并回收用于选矿。低含水率的工程材料将占据更小的处置区域，可以在相对较短的时间内作为有用的景观进行复垦。除了增加尾矿库的存储容量外，新的尾矿管理解决方案还将因减少酸性岩石排放和金属浸出而有助于减少环境负担。

Economic prosperity is influenced by the exploration of new sources of energy and materials along with the development of existing reserves. The Canadian mining industry contributes $40 billion to the economy and accounts for about 4% of the Gross Domestic Product. This important activity is associated with large volumes of ever increasing mine wastes of variable nature and extent. The mine tailings (slurries generated during ore processing) are particularly challenging because of their slow settling rates and high standing toxic waters in the waste containment facilities. Several tailings dam failures around the world resulted in massive contamination causing acute public distress over the conventional practice of tailings disposal. The industry has been proactive in developing novel waste management methods to minimize its environmental footprint. The proposed research will devise sustainable (cost effective, environmentally friendly, and socially viable) engineering solutions for base-metal mining operations by investigating the innovative method of slurry thickening. The specific goals include the following: (a) design of nonsegregating thickener feed to maximize the effectiveness of flocculation; (b) improve tailings dewatering during thickening to increase the efficiency of gravity thickeners; and (c) predict the long-term behavior of thickener underflow to evaluate subaqueous disposal in tailings ponds. This research will help produce nonsegregating tailings streams with bulk of the process water removed and recycled back for ore beneficiation. The low water content engineered materials will occupy a much smaller disposal area that can be reclaimed as a useful landscape in a relatively short time. In addition to an increased storage capacity of the tailings impoundments, the new tailings management solutions will help decrease environmental liabilities due to reduced acid rock drainage and metal leaching.