Hydraulic Mineral Waste Transport and Storage

Abstract

Conventional mineral waste disposal involves pumping dilute concentration suspensions of tailings to large catchment areas, where the solids settle to form a consolidated base while the excess water is evaporated. Unfortunately, this often takes years, if ever, to occur, and the interim period poses a severe threat to the surrounding countryside and water table. A worldwide movement to increase the concentration of these tailings to pastes for disposal above and below ground, obviating some of these issues, has led to the development of new technologies. Increasing the solids concentrations invariably produces non-Newtonian effects that can mask the underlying nature of the suspension mechanics, resulting in the use of poor pipeline and disposal methods. Combining rheological characterization and analysis with non-Newtonian suspension fluid mechanics provides insight into these flows, both laminar and turbulent. These findings provide the necessary basis for successful engineering designs.