Geotechnical evaluation of tailings thickening

沿着新能源和新材料的开发以及现有储量的开发影响着经济繁荣。加拿大采矿业为经济贡献了400亿加元，约占国内生产总值的4%。这一重要活动与性质和范围各不相同的大量日益增加的矿山废物有关。尾矿（矿石加工过程中产生的泥浆）特别具有挑战性，因为它们的沉降速度慢，而且在废物容纳设施中含有大量有毒沃茨。世界各地的几个尾矿坝倒塌造成大规模污染，使公众对传统的尾矿处置做法感到严重不安。该行业一直积极开发新的废物管理方法，以尽量减少其环境足迹。拟议的研究将通过调查泥浆增稠的创新方法，为贱金属采矿作业设计可持续（具有成本效益，环境友好和社会可行性）的工程解决方案。具体目标包括：（a）设计非分离浓缩机进料，以最大限度地提高絮凝效果;（B）在浓缩期间改善尾矿脱水，以提高重力浓缩机的效率;（c）预测浓缩机底流的长期行为，以评估尾矿池的水下处置。这项研究将有助于生产非分离尾矿流与大部分的工艺水去除和回收矿石选矿。低含水量的工程材料将占用更小的处置面积，可以在相对较短的时间内回收为有用的景观。除了增加尾矿库的储存能力外，新的尾矿管理解决方案将有助于减少环境责任，因为减少了酸性岩石排水和金属浸出。

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.