Tag: tailings management

In tailings management, what happens below ground is equally important as what happens above ground. The Australian Mining Review spoke to Klohn Crippen Berger (KCB) principal hydrogeologist Chris Dickinson about the topic of hydrogeological best practice as it relates to modern tailings management. Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) The GISTM (and its accompanying compendium) represent a significant shift in the approach to tailings management worldwide, “striving to achieve the ultimate goal of zero harm to people and the environment with zero tolerance for human fatality”. Chris says the new standard is a “quantum step forward in the management of mine tailings” aiming to couple engineering and geoscience together in the design, construction, operation and closure of facilities in...

HOW to manage tailings storage facilities (TSF) is an ongoing challenge for Australia’s mining and minerals industry, from a risk mitigation and cost point of view. The Australian Mining Tailings Communique recently released by the Minerals Council Australia (MCA) demonstrates that the industry takes the topic extremely seriously, with responsible tailings management moving to the top of the management agenda. The Communique doesn’t only outline a roadmap for better management of existing tailings dams, but also pledges to develop better ideas for the future on behalf of its member companies. No doubt this will include a closer investigation of tailings dewatering best practices, but also because regulators are reluctant to issue new TSF licenses. In fact, Australia is already a...

THE new innovative Teranap TP Control was the first bitumen geomembrane with integrated seam control system. The same BMI Siplast Teranap quality now has seam control technology, with the control channel embedded in the geomembrane and located in the middle of the weld melting zone. When the overlaps and welds are completed, the channel becomes fully encapsulated between the two layers of the membrane. Leak detection is carried out after the welding of Teranap TP rolls. The tracer gas is injected at low pressure into the channel, and will spread along the geomembrane’s welded channel, finding all possible escape routes. The detector is able to quickly locate the leak with high precision alerting the operator to possible issues. Not only...