Critical issues for improved mine wastes disposal: Investigation of self-weight consolidation, accelerated drainage, strength gain under unsaturated conditions, and stability of engineering works

采矿业是加拿大重要的投资来源，为高技能人才创造了大量有趣的工作岗位。地雷也可能是一个令人担忧的问题，特别是考虑到会产生大量废物。开发和实施安全管理和储存这些废物的有效方法是该行业面临的重大挑战。对于初始含水量非常高的细粒尾矿和处理污泥来说尤其如此。在这种情况下，沉积过程中的排水和固结问题是处置设施分析和设计的关键方面。管理矿场废石也会带来困难。该研究计划将解决硬岩矿山的一些最关键问题，包括：评估细粒矿山废物的自重固结行为、加速排水和消散多余孔隙水压力的方法、去饱和度对矿山废物剪切强度的影响，以及改善尾矿库和废石堆的水文土工响应的替代处理方法。

The mining industry is an important source of investment in Canada and it creates a large number of interesting jobs for highly skilled personnel. Mines can also be a source of concerns, particularly when considering the large quantities of wastes being produced. The development and implementation of effective methods for safely managing and storing these wastes represent a major challenge for the industry. This is notably the case for fine-grained tailings and treatment sludge having very high initial water contents. In such cases, drainage and consolidation issues during deposition are key aspects for the analysis and design of the disposal facilities. Managing waste rocks on mine site can also raise difficulties. This research program will address some of the most critical issues for hard rock mines, including: assessing self-weight consolidation behaviour of fine-grained mine wastes, means to accelerate drainage and dissipation of excess porewater pressures, the effect of desaturation on the shear strength of mine wastes, and alternative disposal methods to improve the hydro-geotechnical response of tailings impoundments and waste rocks piles.