Assessment of Residual Strength of Tailings Using the Cone Penetration Test and Simplified Numerical Modelling

尾矿坝是一种巨大的人造土结构，用于处理大量的采矿副产品，即所谓的尾矿。为了提取矿石而粉碎的岩石中，绝大多数都没有含有足够数量的所需矿物。这些粉砂大小的材料与水混合，以松散的状态堆积在小型压实的周边路堤后面。在许多情况下，随着时间的推移，尾矿和压实的堤坝会堆积在一起，形成被称为尾矿坝的巨大结构。像所有其他堤坝一样，尾矿坝随着高度和坡度的增加，或者在地震等极端事件下，很容易发生坍塌。尾矿库的失效会释放大量的水和尾矿，造成生命财产损失和不可挽回的环境破坏(例如巴西的Fundao尾矿库)。为了确保安全和可持续的采矿作业，岩土工程师不断对尾矿库进行评估。这些评估包括使用为河流和海洋沉积的天然土壤开发的经验方法来评估尾矿的抗震强度。尾矿和天然土壤之间的根本差异使现有经验方法的应用受到质疑。拟议的合作研究将开发一种评估尾矿失效后抗力的方法，该方法决定了如何设计补救措施。合作伙伴公司将获得竞争优势，拥有针对尾矿的工程方法，确保更经济、更安全的设计。这些方法将为矿业公司节省数百万美元的尾矿处理成本，提高居住在尾矿附近的加拿大人的安全，并保护他们的环境。

Tailings dams are massive man-made earth structures used for disposing large quantities of mining by-products, known as tailings. A great majority of the rock crushed for ore extraction does not contain sufficient amounts of desired minerals. These silt-and-sand-sized materials are mixed with water and deposited in a loose state behind small compacted perimeter embankments. In many cases, over time, tailings and compacted embankments are built on top of each other to form massive structures known as tailings dams. Like all other embankments, tailings dams are susceptible to failures as their height and slope increases, or under extreme events such as earthquakes. Tailings dams failures release massive amounts of water and tailings that can cause loss of life and property and irreparable environmental damage (e.g. Fundao tailings dam in Brazil). To ensure safe and sustainable mining operations, tailings dams are continuously evaluated by Geotechnical engineers. These evaluations include assessing the strength of tailings against earthquakes using empirical methods that are developed for natural soils deposited by rivers and oceans. The fundamental differences between tailings and natural soils make the application of existing empirical methods questionable. The proposed collaborative research will develop a method for assessing the post-failure resistance of tailings, which determines how remedial measured are designed. The partner company will gain a competitive advantage in having tailings-specific engineering methods that ensure more economical and safer designs. These methods will save mining companies millions of dollars in tailings disposal costs, increase the safety of Canadians living near tailings and protect their environment.