Visualization of deposition and moisture evolution of thickened tailings in the field at Musselwhite Mine

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Tailings are a waste product generated by grinding of rock during extraction of mineral resources such as gold or copper. This silt size material, essentially mud, is typically deposited in dammed impoundments during mining. The generation rate of tailings can run into the millions of tonnes per year at a typical mine, and mine waste impoundments often cover several square kilometres, with dam heights in excess of 50 m. Along with the creation of a waste material that must be stabilized and reclaimed, tailings impoundments carry with them the risk of failure - the recent disaster at Mount Polley being only a recent example. Musselwhite is among relatively few mines to employ thickened tailings technology. This technology dewaters tailings before deposition, increasing their strength and virtually eliminating catastrophic consequences of impoundment breaches, as well as reducing the size of the impoundment and increasing recycling of water, which has obvious environmental benefits. The improved stewardship of water is important to First Nations communities,on whose lands Musselwhite Mine sits. While Musselwhite employs this technology successfully, there is a cost to the thickener operation. Professor Simms will work with the mine to study the effects of thickening on strength behaviour of the tailings as well as to better understand how to minimize water losses from the impoundment. This will improve costs at the mine and further improve environmental performance of the facility.