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Paste Technology

Paste Technology or Paste & Thickened Tailings (P&TT) is the single most rapidly developing field within tailings management. TTD stands for Thickened Tailings Disposal.

By the process of thickening the tailings to a heavy slurry prior to disposal, it is possible to create a self-supporting deposit of tailings and to eliminate the typical superimposed settling pond. The reason why the failure of a conventional tailings disposal dam is so environmentally disastrous is not the dam itself, but the fact that the dam retains a mass of very loose unconsolidated tailings and a great deal of process water. If the dam fails, the contents liquefy completely as they flow through the breach.

The main advantages of P&TT are:

Reduced need for transport water
Stable material for disposal
Protection of soil and groundwater from infiltration
Minor tailings dams required only
Significant reduction in risk posed by the tailings facility

The main problems eliminated using TTD systems are (Robinsky, E.I. (1999): Tailings dam failures need not be disasters - The thickened tailings disposal (TTD) system. CIM Bulletin. Vol. 92, N° 1028. p. 140-142):

Danger of tailings dam failure caused by earth tremor, vibrations or movement of heavy equipment
Erosion and undermining of the dams by seepage from the raised slimes pond
Danger of collapse of buried decant pipes
Infiltration of undesirable tailings fluids into the soil and groundwater from the liquid pond
Commencement of reclamation only after mine closure.

A few useful links (courtesy Petra Schlager, Karlsruhe University):

http://www.min-eng.com/pdmiw03/index.html

Processing & Disposal of Mineral Industry Wastes ´03 Conference, June 18 to 20, 2003, Falmouth, UK
Minerals Engineering International

http://www.thickenedtailings.com/

Dr. Eli I. Robinsky´s site

http://www.cemsa.org/cemsa2002/

3. Conf. Env. Managmt in S. Africa 08/2002, (full papers\waste management)

http://e-mj.com/ar/mining_books_2/

Book review

http://www.iied.org/mmsd/mmsd_pdfs/draft
_paper_lvw.pdf

Chapter TT

http://www.gmiconference.com/resource.html

Alternatives for tailings and accounting for sustainability

http://mine.queensu.ca/people/faculty/Archibald/
PeruEnvironment.pdf

Binder applications

http://www.acg.uwa.edu.au/pdf_files/Lord
_Canada.pdf

Fist thickened discharge

http://www.acg.uwa.edu.au/pdf_files/NL_18.pdf

ACG newsletter

http://www.acg.uwa.edu.au/pdf_files/NL_17.pdf

ACG newsletter

http://www.golder.com/archive/skelleftea2001
pastedisposal.pdf

Case study

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/pubs/
pdfs/ri9573.pdf

Report on TT transport

Mutiple-layer paste disposel (curtesy John Engels)

Mutiple-layer paste disposal (Newman, P., 2003, Paste the answer to dam problems, Materials World - Volume 11, Number 1. pp 24-26. Courtesy John Engels, University of Leeds)

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