CHARACTERISTICS OF IRON ORE TAILING SLIME IN INDIA AND

ITS TEST FOR REQUIRED POND SIZE

M. K. GHOSE1 and P. K. SEN2

1 Centre of Mining Environment, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, 826 004, India
2 MECON Ltd., 50 Chowinghee Road, Calcutta 700 71, India
(E-mail: cme@ismine.ernet.in)

(Received 22 February 1999; accepted 20 December 1999)

Abstract. The physical and chemical nature of the tailing slime depends on milling operations and
water content in the effluent. The characteristics of the tailings dictate the type of disposal facility
required. Characteristics of the tailings, transportation from beneficiation plants and disposal system
are described. Studies on tailing slime have been carried out at iron ore mines in Orissa and the results
are discussed. The tailings contain toxic elements and find their way into the water environment.
Sedimentation test was carried out on tailings and the area required for tailing pond was found to be
3155 m2 in comparison to 10 000 m2 obtained from the use of an empirical equation. Provision of
tailing pond for the disposal of tailings is a conservation of resources in addition to pollution control,
and sedimentation test is essential for required pond size calculation.

Keywords: beneficiation, slurry, thickener, recovery, recycling

1. Introduction

The mineral content of the iron ore, extracted from the mine, has to be separated. If
impurities, such as silica and alumina, are present beyond acceptable limits and the
Fe is less than 60%, the ore is beneficiated by crushing, screening, grinding, wash-
ing, classifying jigging, cycloning, processing in magnetic separator etc. (Sen and
Ghose, 1997). The rejected portion of the iron ore after the beneficiation process
may include coarse and fine particulate in the wash water and form a slurry known
as wet tailings. The physical and chemical nature of the tailing slime from benefi-
ciation plant depends on the type of ore, the milling operations used to beneficiate
the ore, and the water content in the effluent (Ghose, 1997).

2. Characteristics of Tailing Slime

No national plan or design for the disposal of tailings can be carried through
without an appreciation of the physical and the chemical characteristics of the li-
quid beneficiation plant effluent (Ghose and Kumar, 1997). The combined physical
and chemical properties of the material dictate the required type of disposal facility
and the degree of conservation in its design, consistent with the hazard posed by the

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 68: 51–61, 2001.

© 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
52 M. K. GHOSE AND P. K. SEN

materials. Understanding of the tailings begins with the knowledge of the process,
which produced the tailings. While tailings characteristics vary over wide ranges,
the type of ore being processed usuably allows some reasonably generalizations
about the general physical nature of the material.
The particle size is one of the most important characteristics of the beneficiation
product. The particle size fraction adopted by British Standard (Caper and Cassey,
1962) are as follows:

Gravel coarse : >2 mm

Sand coarse : 2 to 0.6 mm
Sand medium : 0.6 to 0.2 mm
Sand fine : 0.2 to 0.06 mm
Silt : 0.06 to 0.002 mm
Clay : <0.002 mm
Kudermukh Iron Ore Company (KIOC) India, beneficiates the magnetite ore in
spirals and by magnetic separation techniques. In these processes, the quantity of
tailings generated is about 29,424 tonnes of solids per day as slurry (liquid to solid
ratio is 1.5 to 1). The chemical constituents of the processed tailings include Fe,
SiO2 and Al2 O3 . The mineralogical composition are oxides of iron and silica (35
and 60–65%, respectively) and a specific gravity of 2.7 (GOI Report, 1987).
On the other hand, Indian iron ore mines of the National Mineral Development
Corporation (NMDC) at Bailadila, generates dry tailings of 2700 tonnes per day,
which are disposed with 7500 m3 of water, having a 27–30% solid to liquid ratio.
The other characteristics are total dissolved solids – 250 ppm, ore fines 95%, and
5% clay-silica material, having size – 10 mesh with 75%–100 mesh fraction (GOI
Report, 1987).
A huge quantity of water is required for the iron ore beneficiation. Before the
tailings are hydraulically transported to tailing pond for impoundment, the water is
recovered for recycling by a dewatering process utilizing thickener. The tailing feed
to the thickener is very fine. Coagulant and coagulant aids are used to get clarified
water of a relatively better quality for circulation. According to Vick (1983), the
underflow contains thickened tailing slurry having a pulp density of 15 to 55% (wt.
of solids per unit/wt. of slurry) and most commonly in the range of 40 to 55% are
produced by the thickener operation. The thickened tailing is generally conveyed
through a pipe and in the long run by gravity. Whenever possible, the water is
decanted from the pond and returned to the beneficiation plant for reuse. At least,
it will flow back to the natural stream.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF IRON ORE TAILING SLIME 53
TABLE I
Chemical analysis of iron ore

Fe2 O3 92.304%
FeO 0.500%
SiO2 2.490%
Al2 O3 2.150%
TiO2 0.150%
MnO2 0.400%
CaO 0.140%
MgO 0.100%
P 2 O5 0.064%
SO3 0.064%
CuO 0.025%
PbO 0.0024%
ZnO 0.0149%
NiO2 0.0102%
As2 O3 Nil
SnO Traces
Cr2 O3 0.064%
MoO3 Traces
U2 O 5 0.114%
K2 O 0.030%
Na2 O 0.034%
Combined water 1.380%
Indetermines 0.002%

Total 100.000%

3. Studies on Tailing Slime

In order to characterize tailing slime it is essential to conduct a systematic waste

survey. No exclusive procedure is available for sampling tailings of mines. Iron ore
tailings contribute the pollutants to surface and ground water, by its disposal to the
tailing pond. The analysis of iron ore is given in Table I.
Tailings samples were collected from five locations at the Barsura iron ore
mines in Sundergarh district of Orissa. Tailing slurry from the beneficiation plant
leads to thickener. Recovery of water for recycling after separation of tailings is
affected. The tailings from underflow of thickener was being discharged into a
tailing conveying nallah. Apart from the underflow of the thickener other wash
water containing solids were being discharged to conveying nallah, where both
54 M. K. GHOSE AND P. K. SEN

Figure 1. Indicative layout showing sampling station Barsua.

the discharges were getting mixed up. While the tailings so discharged were being
carried out by gravity flow to a tailing pond located at 1.2 km down stream, the
coarse particles were getting separated out on the nallah bed and the nallah itself
was acting as an extended portion of tailing pond. The locations of the sampling
are presented in Figure 1. Composite samples were collected, once a month round
the year, and analysed. The location details are given in Table II.
Sedimentation tests were carried out in the laboratory for the tailings sample,
following the method developed by Talmadge and Fitch (Metcalf and Eddy, 1974).
In this method a column with a height of ‘+1’ is filled with suspension of tailing
slime of uniform concentration ‘C’. As the suspension settles the position of the
interface changes. The rate at which the interface subslies is then equal to the slope
of the curve at that point. According to methodology critical area for thickening is
given by
Q
A=
V
where
 CHARACTERISTICS OF IRON ORE TAILING SLIME 55
TABLE II
Location details of tailing sample collection

Sampling Location details

code

B4 Tailing slurry discharge from underflow of thickener.

B5 Wash water from beneficiation plant being discharged to tailing conveying nullah.
B6 Tailing slurry as feed to thickener.
B7 Clarified overflow from thickener.
B8 Tailing slime from nallah near conveyor Junction 59/59.

A = Area in m2 ;
V = Subsidence velocity;
Q = Overflow rate in m3 hr−1 .
Q and V are calculated with the data on input to tailing pond in m3 hr−1 and
cylinder test results. Samples (120 mL) were poured into the cylinder after shaking
(to make suspension uniform throughout). The movement of the interface were
noted at intervals as indicated in Table III. TSS and iron were determined in the
supernant liquid after 24 hr. TSS were determined again in the supernatant liquid
after 48 and 72 hr of settling.

4. Results and Discussion

The results of the samples collected from underflow of thickener (B4), wash water
from beneficiation plant (B5) and mixed tailings from nallah (B6), tailing slurry as
feed to the thickener (B7) and clarified overflow of the thickener (B7) are shown
in Table IV. The results of the sieve and chemical analysis of the tailings, coming
from the beneficiation plant, are given in Table V.
From the results, it is observed that the feed to thickener (B6) and clarified
overflow from the thickener (B7) indicate the substantial removal of TSS and other
constitutents in the thickener. It is further noticed that there was marginal increase
in TDS (mean value) from 48 to 53.5 mg L−1 , which might be due to the use of
coagulants in the clarification process. The tailing slurry characteristics from B4,
B5 and B8 showed TSS in the range of 168–605, 5.7–15.2 and 50–184 mg L−1 ,
respectively. It was observed that partial settlement has occurred in nallah between
tailings discharge point and down stream of B8 location, 400 m away. The other
major constituents of tailings were Mn, Cr, Zn, Cu, Ni, Co and Mo. The results
showed that most of the iron ore oxides are present in tailings.
 56
M. K. GHOSE AND P. K. SEN
Figure 2. Settling rate of iron ore tailings (Barusa Mines).
 CHARACTERISTICS OF IRON ORE TAILING SLIME 57
TABLE III
Sedimentation rate of iron ore tailings

Time Movement of Remarks

interface
(volume in
cylinders)
(hr) (mL)

0 120
1 118
4 108 Supernatant liquid after
7 102 24 hr TSS 20 mg L−1
20 hr, 20 min 92 and Fe 5 mg L−1
26 hr, 20 min 86 48 hr TSS 15 mg L−1
29 hr, 20 min 82 72 hr TSS 12 mg L−1
44 hr, 20 min 74
50 hr, 20 min 71
53 hr, 20 min 70

The cylinder test was used for heavy slurry, where suspended solids exceeded
approximately 5000 mg L−1 (NALCO, 1979). In this method, the location of the
interface between water and settled solids was recorded with time. Graphs showing
the height of tailings slurry versus time were plotted. To carry out the design of
decant pond, the cylinder test was conducted. Based on the results given in Table III
the curve plotted is shown in Figure 2. Input to the tailing pond was 130 m3 hr−1
of tailing slurry. Initially the height of the tailings in the cylinder was 30 cm. After
2.3 hr of settling the tailings height was reduced by 2 cm. It may be seen that,
had the initial rate of settlement continued, the desired level of settlement would
have been achieved after 13 hr. But the rate of settlement continued to decline with
the passage of time. A linear settlement could be observed after 13 hr, but after
the lapse of 18 hr period the rate of settlement further reduced and the ultimate
settlement of 12.3 cm could be achieved only after 53.3 hr. As may be noted from
the curve that if there had been no reduction in the rate of settlement after 18 hr,
ultimate settlement should have been achieved in 34.15 hr. The area required is
3155 m2 and the available area is 10 000 m2 , which is more than the requirement.
The use of the empirical formula for decant pond based on 5 days of retention
time and surface pond area of 400–1000 m2 acres per 1000 t of tailing discharge
per day which works out to be 10 000 m2 of pond area. But it has been observed
that by using the empirical formula, the land requirement is much more than that
of the experimental results.
 58
TABLE IV
Physico-chemical characteristics of tailings

Parameters Unit B4 (thickened slime underflow) B5 (washwater from B6 (thickener feed)

beneficiation plant)
Range Mean St. Dev. Range Mean St. Dev. Range Mean St. Dev.

pH – 5.8–6.2 – – 6.4–7.4 – – 5.4–5.9 – –

Temperature ◦C 20–32 – – 21–32 – – 19–32 – –
TSS g L−1 168.60 416 157.99 5.7–15.2 8.84 3.13 255–792 563.3 164.28

M. K. GHOSE AND P. K. SEN

TDS mg L−1 41–54 45.5 4.4 41–51 46.1 3.2 42–54 48 3.54
Chloride mg L−1 8–12 10.08 1.31 10–18 13.1 2.47 9–14 11.75 1.42
Hardness mg L−1 11–16 14.0 1.59 8–12 9.84 1.11 10–17 12.67 2.01
Sodium (Na) mg L−1 3.4–12.5 8.58 3.25 0.7–1.8 1.17 0.32 4.2–14.5 9.38 3.17
Potassium (K) mg L−1 0.6–3.4 2.14 0.91 0.28–0.96 0.56 0.19 1.3–4.2 2.77 0.86
Iron (Fe) g L−1 33.2–121.5 83.38 31.6 1.04–3.04 1.77 0.63 51.1–152.4 110.17 30.62
Manganese (Mn) g L−1 0.39–1.39 0.36 0.96 0.012–0.35 0.02 0.007 0.59–1.82 1.3 0.38
Chromium (Cr) mg L−1 56.8–204.0 140.8 53.47 1.76–5.14 2.98 1.06 86.3–268.1 190.7 55.5
Cobalt (Co) mg L−1 1.32–4.65 3.2 1.22 0.08–0.24 0.13 0.05 3.9–12.18 8.7 2.53
Nickel (Ni) mg L−1 10.3–37.2 25.45 9.71 0.35–0.95 0.55 0.19 15.6–48.7 34.7 10.1
Copper (Cu) mg L−1 25.8–93.0 63.95 24.37 0.88–2.34 2.33 1.22 39.2–121.9 86.7 25.27
Molybdenum (Mo) mg L−1 1.08–4.25 2.85 1.08 0.07–2.8 1.99 0.82 3.13–9.75 6.93 2.02
Aluminium (Al) g L−1 1.27–4.56 3.13 1.19 0.04–0.11 0.07 0.02 1.92–5.97 4.25 1.23
Zinc (Zn) mg L−1 15.5–55.9 38.40 14.6 0.57–1.4 0.82 0.29 23.53–73.1 51.9 15.16
COD mg L−1 26–85 51.80 18.34 8–15 11.58 2.23 20–45 30.92 7.41

St. Dev. = Standard Deviation.

 TABLE IV
(continued)

Parameters Unit D7 (Thickener over flow D8 (Tailing slime from nallah)

Range Mean St. Dev. Range Mean St. Dev.

CHARACTERISTICS OF IRON ORE TAILING SLIME

pH – 5.5–6.8 – – 5.8–6.8 – –
Temperature ◦C 18–30 – – 17–32 – –
TSS g L−1 2.8–6.6 4.93 1.14 50–184 124.1 46.65
TDS mg L−1 48–61 53.58 4.13 44–55 47.75 3.65
Chloride mg L−1 14.2–18 16.23 1.4 10–17.1 14.21 2.22
Hardness mg L−1 15.8–23 18.48 2.29 12–19.8 15.68 2.14
Sodium (Na) mg L−1 0.61–1.45 1.09 0.25 1.4–5.8 3.97 1.41
Potassium (K) mg L−1 0.28–0.75 0.57 0.17 0.7–2.4 1.73 0.58
Iron (Fe) g L−1 0.61–1.38 1.11 0.24 10.0–39.3 26.02 9.75
Manganese (Mn) g L−1 0.006–0.15 0.011 0.003 0.12–0.42 0.29 0.11
Chromium (Cr) mg L−1 0.94–2.23 1.7 0.38 16.9–62.3 42.0 15.78
Cobalt (Co) mg L−1 0.04–0.1 0.075 0.02 0.77–2.8 1.91 0.72
Nickel (Ni) mg L−1 0.17–0.41 0.3 0.07 3.08–11.32 7.64 2.87
Copper (Cu) mg L−1 0.43–1.01 0.76 0.17 7.69–28.3 19.1 6.87
Molybdenum (Mo) mg L−1 0.03–0.08 0.06 0.014 0.61–2.26 1.53 0.55
Aluminium (Al) g L−1 0.021–0.049 0.04 0.008 0.38–1.39 0.94 0.35
Zinc (Zn) mg L−1 0.26–0.61 0.46 0.1 4.61–16.98 11.45 4.3
COD mg L−1 13–18.2 15.89 1.32 18–28 21.75 3.11

St. Dev. = Standard Deviation.

59
60 M. K. GHOSE AND P. K. SEN

TABLE V
Sieve and chemical analysis of slime – effluent from bene-
ficiation plant

Sl. no. Particle size Distribution %

Fe Si02 Al2 O3

1 +65 mesh 0.6 1.8 1.4

2 +100 mesh 0.1 0.3 0.2
3 +150 mesh 0.3 1.3 1.0
4 +200 mesh 0.1 0.4 0.2
S +250 mesh 0.1 0.6 0.6
6 +325 mesh 11.1 41.1 34.2

5. Conclusion

The constituent of iron ore tailing slime are mostly silica, alumina and iron in the
form of oxides. The other constituents are oxides of Mn, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn etc. The
particle size distribution in tailing slurry solely depends on beneficiation process.
The tailings contain toxic elements and find their way into the water environment.
Provision of tailing pond for the disposal of tailings is a kind of conservation of
resources in addition to pollution control. In future, when all the present day rich
resource will be used up, it may be economically viable to extract iron from tail-
ings. Fe and TSS are the main source of water pollution which can be managed by
down stream treatment for discharge. It is worthwhile to recover the decanted water
from tailing pond and to recycle it in the plant. The results of the sedimentation
test indicates a subsidence velocity of 0.017 m hr−1 of the particles and for the
flow of 130 m3 hr−1 the area requires works out to 3155 m2 against 10 000 m2 by
empherical formula. So it is essential to conduct the sedimentation test to predict
the required tailing pond size.

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Dr. L. K. Singhal, Chairman-cum-Managing Director,

MECON Ltd. and Dr. D. K. Paul, Director, Indian School of Mines for extend-
ing institutional facilities and also to Steel Authority of India Ltd. for providing
financial support and necessary assistance for carrying out the work.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF IRON ORE TAILING SLIME 61

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