Hydraulic conductivity of homogenized tailings from hard rock mines

Abstract

Tailings produced by milling for one extraction from hard rock mines, which range in size from clay to fine sand, have relatively low hydraulic conductivity, k. The value of k must be known with a certain degree of certainty to analyze consolidation and seepage conditions in and around tailings ponds. In this paper, the authors present the results of a laboratory investigation on hydraulic conductivity of homogenized tailings from hard rock mines. After describing some of the basic properties of four different materials, including mineralogy, grain size, Atterberg limits, compaction characteristics, and consolidation curves, permeability test results are given. The hydraulic conductivity value usually varies between 10–4 and 10–5 cm/s. The effect of various factors on this value, including void ratio and grain size, is then discussed in relation to predictive models. It is shown that a modified version of the Kozeny-Carman equation, in which a tortuosity factor and a grain-size distribution function are included explicitly, can represent the data very well. The equation is also checked against results taken from the literature on similar types of materials. Key words: tailings, hydraulic conductivity, laboratory tests, void ratio, grain size, tortuosity.