Integrated waste management

Introduction
 In mining operations, large volumes of tailings,
waste rock, and heap leach ore are produced.
 The disposal and containment of these materials to
provide site specific environmental protection is a
primary consideration during design and
development of new mining projects as well as
expansions of existing projects.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 To develop designs which are protective of the
environment it is important to consider the complete
system of;
 site-specific environmental characteristics.
 waste material characteristics, and,
 long term land use objectives.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 All mine waste disposal facilities are constructed
with or on geological materials.
 Hence, geotechnical considerations play an
important role in the development of protective
designs.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 During the 1970s: a lot of attention was paid to the
design of geotechnically stable tailings
impoundments.

due to direct result of failures

which have occurred and concerns
raised about large tailings
impoundments near population
centres.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 The design of such structures was formalized in
terms of;
 siting options.
 construction options, and,
 tailings deposition / management options.

the industry concentrated on

documenting successful operations
and expanding their application to
other sites.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 During the 1980s: major efforts with respect to
tailings disposal design has been developed with
considerations for environmental protection.
 Containment systems, tailings management
schemes, and tailings treatment were introduced and
the ideas expanded to provide environmentally
sound tailings disposal.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 Open pit mines result in the production of large
volumes of waste rock.
 The terminology “waste rock” is not universally
accepted,
e.g., in some states, “waste” is taxed on a per
tonnage basis as the statutes define “waste” as
referring to municipal waste and other trash.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 In mining, “waste rock” purely implies rock
materials which may or may not be mineralized and
which are uneconomical for further processing at the
time of mining.
 When commodity prices increases, the “waste rock”
could become ore.

hence, the often quoted

expression “today’s waste is
tomorrow‘s ore”

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 Alternative terminology which have been proposed
include;
 “barren rock”.
 “overburden” (often kept for the truly
un-mineralized materials).
 “rock”.
 “excess rock”.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 Waste rock disposal may be a simple matter in some
environments due to low environmental sensitivity,
as well as topographical and other site features, but
it can be a very complex problem at other mines.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 Waste dumps as high as 1000 meters are now being
considered at some mines in high mountainous and
high precipitation areas, these facilities obviously will
require much attention in their design.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 Metal extraction through heap leaching has received
considerable attention over the last ten to fifteen
years.

much progress has been made in applying

the technology to efficient gold and
copper extraction over the last fifteen
years.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 Containment of solutions and spent ore are
important considerations in the development of
heap leach facilities.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 Water budget/balance of a project determines water
needs, containment needs, and very often treatment
and disposal needs.
 Development of a credible water balance as well as
diversion controls should be considered during
design.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 Due to the uncertainties associated with many of the
parameters, including climatic considerations,
probabilistic evaluations of water balances are
becoming more generally applied to allow operators
to make risk-based decisions.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 The best design can be rendered useless if there is
poor construction quality control and quality
assurance (QC/QA).
 QC/QA for earth constructions have been very well
developed and broadly practiced during this century.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Integrated waste management

Introduction
 However, much has been learned over the last
decade about QC/QA of geosynthetics.
 A major consideration during QC/QA is;
 the accurate documentation of activities, and,
 the final preparation of a construction QA or
construction certification report.

ENE710S WASTE MANAGEMENT