www.pwc.

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2012 Americas School of Mines

Basics of Mining and Mineral Processing

W Scott Dunbar University of British Columbia

Agenda
GeologicalConcepts MiningMethods MineralProcessingMethods MineWasteManagement MiningandMoney AFutureofMining

Mine Waste Management: The Topics

Typesofminewaste

Methodsofminewaste management

Sometailingsincidents
www.edwardburtynsky.com

Whattodowithmine waste

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Mine Waste Streams

Wasterock

Tailings

Mine

Mill

Wastewater

Acidrockdrainage

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Tailings
Finelygroundrockfromtheconcentrator/processingplant Particles0.1mmindiameter(sandandsilt) Threebasicformsofdisposal wettailingsinslurryform thickenedtailings dewateredtailings

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Wet Tailings Deposition

Ponded water Tailings beach Crest Zonedwasterock embankment

Original ground

Consolidated tailings cyclones

Waihi Gold,NewZealandcirca2005

www.newmont.com

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Tailings Ponds
Dam

HuckleberryMine,BC

SubaqueoustailingsdisposalRPM goldmine,Brazil

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Dewatering by thickener

www.miningtechnology.com/contractors/separation/cdeglobal

Thickenercrosssection
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Thickened Tailings
This thickened,wetenoughtopump throughapipe,butdryenoughto minimizeflowafterdischarge smallerfootprint

ThickenedtailingsatKiddCreekOntario www.tailings.info/thickened.htm

versusthis
SinglepointdischargeatGlebeMinesUK www.tailings.info/deposition.htm PwC MineWasteManagement 9

Dewatering by a belt press

Slurry in the feed hopper is sandwiched between two filter cloths (shown green and purple). Fluid is extracted initially by gravity, then by squeezing the cloth through rollers. Filtrate exits through a drain, while solids fall into a container.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_filter

Expensive, but necessary if water is needed especially in a dry climate. Also used to concentrates. dry mineral

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Dry Tailings (La Coipa, Chile)

Dryclimate needtoconservewaterforprocessingoresotailingsare dewateredanddepositeddry.

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Antamina Tailings Dam, Peru

Rockfill damwithupstreamconcreteface

Capacity:570milliontonnes Ultimateheight:240m

Source:Golder Associateswww.golder.com/sa

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Tailings Water Balance

Precipitation Evaporation Seepage recovery Dam Seepage Waterin tailings voids

Tailingsslurry transport Pump barge Mill

Monitoredcloselytocheckforleaks.Notailingspond,noprocessing.
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Runoff

Reclaim Freshwater makeup Losses

Oil sands tailings

sand&silt suspended clay

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Notes: Oil sands tailings

Fine clay particles derived from processing of oil sands remain suspended in large lagoons near processing plants. Clay slurry retains water that must be reused in processing. Fines and water can be separated with flocculants, but flocculants in recycled water interfere with oil sand processing. As of 2008, about 750 million cubic metres of fluid clay tailings exist within the tailings ponds near oil sands operations in Fort McMurray. If there is no change in processing method or tailings management, the amount of fluid tailings is forecast to reach one billion cubic metres in 2014 and two billion in 2034.

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Waste Rock Dumps

Nonmineralizedrockand/orlowgradeore Particlesizesrangefromclaysizeto2m

Bagdad2008

Dumpingoverburden(Batu Bersih Grasberg)

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Morenci mine waste pile

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How much tailings and waste?

Consideracopperminewith0.5%grade 170,000tonnesperdayx360daysperyearx20years 1.224billiontonneswaste+ore Suppose the strip ratio is waste/ore = 0.5. This gives 816milliontonnesoreand408milliontonneswaste Suppose 27% copper concentrate is produced, recovery 90% Thisyields13.6milliontonnesconcentrate leaving816 13.6=802.4milliontonnestailings 8milliontonnesofconcretewereusedtobuildtheHooverDam
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Notes: How much tailings and waste?

Consider a copper mine with 0.5% grade (Thats one part in 200 parts). If the mining rate is 170,000 tonnes per day, 360 days per year over 20 years, 1.224 billion tonnes (Bt) of waste + ore will be produced. Suppose the strip ratio is waste/ore = 0.5. If waste + ore = 1.224 Bt, then 816 million tonnes ore and 408 million tonnes of waste will be produced. Suppose a concentrate with grade 27% copper is produced and the recovery is 90%. A simple mass balance gives Ktonnesore 0.005 0.9=1tonneconcentrate 0.27 From which K = 60 tonnes ore to produce one tonne of concentrate. Thus from 816 million tonnes of ore 816/60 = 13.6 million tonnes concentrate will be produced. This leaves 816 13.6 = 802.4 million tonnes of tailings.

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Acid Rock Drainage (ARD)

Acid produced by exposure of sulfide minerals to air and water (an oxidation reaction). For example, pyrite:
pyrite 4FeS2 + + oxygen 15O2 + + water 14H2O sulphuric + acid 8H2SO4 + iron hydroxide 4Fe(OH)3
Yellow boy

Similar reactions for other metal sulfides metal contaminated water Treatments: Add lime to neutralize acid, but does nothing about metal contamination. Also expensive Prevent by flooding keeps the oxygen out
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Some Examples of ARD

EquitySilver,BC

EquitySilverMine,BC

PeruvianAndes

MountWashingtonMine,BC

AciddrainagefromMissouri coalmine

Some ARD is natural. Acid may be produced from a mineral deposit containing pyrite if exposed to air and natural water flows through it. Nearby creeks or rivers will have high acid concentrations and no plant life.
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Tailings Incidents
Stava,Italy(July1985) Merriespruit,SouthAfrica(Feb1994) Omai,Guyana(Aug1995) Marcopper,Philippines(Mar1996) LosFrailes,Spain(April25,1998) Ajka,Hungary(October4,2010)

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Omai, Guyana
Internalerosioncausedcrestoftailingsdamtodropover1m CyanidelacedtailingswaterreleasedintotheOmai river

Internalerosiontobeexplained

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The crest slump at Omai

August1995

Photosource:MineralPolicyCenter

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Never let this happen!

Fines Waterpressure

Coarse

Internalerosion offines Needatransition zonebetweensand andsilts

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Notes: Never let this happen!

The story is that suitable material to continue building the dam became unavailable, but production continued. So the cyanidelaced tailings were coming with no dam to contain them. Mine personnel used what was available crushed waste rock. This was too coarse grained and the sandy material used to build the dam filtered through it.

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Marcopper Philippines, Tapian Pit

CatherineCoumans,1987

Tunnelfrompitusedtodrainthepitwhen itwasinoperation

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Tapian Pit: Cross-section

30m Rock ~2.5km

Collapsed tunnelportal

~300m

Concretepluginstalled beforetailingsplacedinpit

Tailings (saturated)

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Notes: Tapian Pit Cross-Section

How much water pressure was on the rock around the plug? That is easily computed: P = density of water acceleration due to gravity height of water = 1000 kg/m3 9.8 m/sec2 300 m = 2,940,000 Pascals Thats about 426 pounds per square inch (psi). (By way of comparison, your car tire pressure is 4050 psi.) But what was the pressure in the ground where the rupture occurred? That is also easily computed. The depth of rock over the rupture was about 30 meters. The density of most rock is between 2000 and 2500 kg/m3. Lets estimate a range of rock pressure: P = density of rock acceleration due to gravity depth of rock = (2000 to 2500) kg/m3 9.8 m/sec2 30 m = 588,000 to 735,000 Pascals Thats a range of 85 psi to 107 psi. So there is 426 psi of water pressure up against 85 to 107 psi of rock pressure. What do you think will win? (Hint: The concrete plug would likely not crack way too strong.)

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March 24, 1996

The physics worked. Rock around the plug fractured causing leaks. 1.6 million m3 of tailings were released into the 26 km long Boac river. DredgedchannelatmouthofBoac River
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Los Frailes Spain

Pyrite(acidic) tailings Nonmetallic tailings

Deepfailurein foundationcaused ruptureofdam

1.3millionm3 tailingsand5.5millionm3 acidictailings waterreleasedintoRioAgrio

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The market clobbers Boliden share price after the Los Frailes incident

April27,1998 C$1.45pricedrop

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Aluminum plant at Ajka, Hungary

Untreatedwastekeptbehindlargedamwhichfailed October4,2010

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A 800,000 m3 spill

4045%ironoxide 1015%aluminumoxide 1015%siliconoxide plusothermetaloxides

Sevenpeoplekilled,150injured,500displaced $100millioninfinesimposedoncompany Managerofcompanyarrested,companyassetsseized Criminalnegligencechargesbeingconsidered

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The Real Costs

Liveslost Environmentaldamage Criminalchargesandjailterms
minemanagersguiltybyreasonofassociation

Lawsuits
fromlocalsandinterestgroupsrepresentinglocals

Cleanupcostsandliabilities
largerange:$500millionto$4billion

Lossofreputationand possiblelossofsociallicense

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Could something as bad as this happen in the mining industry?

Deepwater Horizonoilspill akatheBPoilspill,theGulfof Mexicooilspill,theBPoildisaster, ortheMacondo blowout April20,2010

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Reclaimed Tailings

HighlandValley,BC

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Reclamation at Waihi Gold, New Zealand

circa2005

2008

www.newmont.com

www.marthamine.co.nz/waste_tailings.html
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Kidston Gold Mine, Australia

Thickenedtailings depositedintopit

Wasterockend dumpedintopit

Wasteeventuallyextendedover tailingsresultinginacover
Source:Golder Associates,2005.Codisposal.Availableat:www.infomine.com/publications/docs/CodisposalPresentation.ppt PwC MineWasteManagement 39

Cover sulfide waste with non-sulfide waste

Watertable withindump Nonsulfide waste

Lowpermeability barrier

Highsulfide waste

Lowpermeability foundation

Goalistomaintainsaturationofhighsulfidewaste Canbedesignedgivendispositionofwastetypesinorebody model

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Cemented paste backfill

Cementedpastepouredintostope atLisheen mine,Ireland

www.lisheenmine.ie/?Backfill

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Myra Falls, British Columbia

www.em.gov.bc.ca

Undergroundmine: Cu,Zn,Pb withAuandAg SituatedinStrathcona ProvincialPark

Tailingspond?Thisisitandtheresno moreroomforcoarsetailings Mustusepastebackfill

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Passive treatment of ARD

influent: H2SO4 &metalions Wetlandplantsplanted inorganiclayer effluent organiclayer limestone Formationof metalsulfides settling pond

Neutralization ofacid

Valveopenedtoflush outlimestone

oxidationof iron rust

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Treatment of ARD in Pennsylvania

www.somersetcountyconservancy.org/restoration.html
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Co-disposal

Dewatertailings,combinewithwasterock
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ENDOFPART4

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