Tailings Management
Make your tailings work for you
Phibion can resource, plan, manage and monitor your tailings operations at any scale and in any location.
Phibion can also model AMC operations with high confidence so that you not only know the performance that can be achieved but also the operational intensity required to deliver it.
We can manage high production sites by providing additional MudMasters that work as an integrated fleet to deliver the required performance.
Introducing the World’s First Real-Time Density Sensor (RDS) for Safer, Smarter Tailings Management
Phibion, the global leader in Accelerated Mechanical Consolidation (AMC™) for tailings management, has launched the world’s first fully automated, real-time density sensor for tailings dams. This groundbreaking technology eliminates the need for manual sampling, enhancing safety while providing immediate, high-precision data to optimise AMC™ operations.
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OPERATIONS
Tailings Management
Tailings are part of virtually any mining/refining process. Tailings are the stream of unwanted residuals of mined ore that are deposited (usually hydraulically) in large storage dams adjacent an operation. If not managed correctly they can become unsafe, high risk structures that create legacy issues for local community and the environment.
Phibion’s AMC operations provide assurance on density, water recovery and risk mitigation with an approach that prepares the land for future use. AMC ensures your tailings align with your closure plan and goals eliminating re-work and additional cost. AMC makes your tailings work for your interests not against them. Do it right, Do it once.
By providing AMC as a service we can predict the performance of your tailings operations and provide accurate, reliable operational forecasts that seamlessly integrate with your existing plans.
CLOSURE
Closure Management
Eventually all operations must close. In some cases, once operations cease, it may take decades mostly due to the hazardous and unconsolidated nature of tailings storage facilities.
By using the Phibion AMC process a tailings dam can commence closure from the moment operations cease. This not only reduces the time required to affect closure but also ensures a better closure outcome due to the improved its density and strength of the tailings surface.
The improved land profile is then safe for earth moving equipment to quickly and cost effectively rehabilitate and landform the tailings.
LAND RECLAMATION
Dredging
Materials generated from the dredging of port shipping channels are increasingly being disposed on land to avoid harm to the marine environment. This also offers a productive and cost effective fill for land reclamation purposes.
The conventional dredge material reclamation process requires first an extended period of solar maturation, often taking years, and then the placement of sand as a pre-loading or capping layer. Due to the low material strength a significant proportion of this sand is lost.
Sand is a critical and expensive resource and often has a high environmental impact associated with its procurement. Preservation and potential re-use of this sand offers a means to reduce operational cost and environmental impact.
The Phibion AMC process (+ appropriate additional controls) can provide a rapid dewatering solution by generating residual strength in these materials. It is this residual strength that can preserve and support the subsequent sand deposition step required for pre-loading and capping. Once this stage is complete, the sand can be harvested and used again.
It is this combination of benefits allows a better reclamation outcome while reducing operational cost and environmental impact.
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Sustainability
Tailings storage facilities
What are tailings storage facilities
What are tailings and tailings storage facilities?
Tailings Storage Facility
Tailings are the left-over materials from the processing of mined ore. They consist of ground rock, unrecoverable and uneconomic metals, chemicals, organic matter and effluent from the process used to extract the desired products from the ore.
Tailings are stored in tailings storage facilities (TSFs). TSFs are dynamic structures that accommodate the leftover materials from the processing of mined ore.
There are different types of TSFs:
surface facilities, including paddock style or valley fills, which can comprise multiple dams (or cells) that have continuous, structurally similar interconnected walls
in-pit facilities
dry stack facilities
How do TSFs differ from conventional water dams?
The principal difference between TSFs and conventional water dams is that TSFs are constructed to maintain storage of waste material produced during mining operations, whereas water dams are typically built to store and release water. Also, TSFs are dynamic structures that often grow over the life of the mine to accommodate increasing tailings volume whereas water dams are typically erected in a single phase of work. The construction materials can also differ. TSFs are usually constructed from earth and rock waste materials from the mine, whereas water dams can be constructed from earth, rock, concrete and other materials.
Tailing storage facilities
There are three broad types of TSF construction, which are depicted below. The design choice is based on factors, including:
TSF location
site conditions (geology, seismicity, climatic conditions)
construction materials
tailings characteristics
Types of tailings storage facilities
Maintaining TSF integrity requires ongoing focus on appropriate engineering design, quality construction, ongoing operating discipline, maintenance, effective governance and independent reviews. In addition to design choice factors, internal and external factors that can influence TSF integrity include:
quality assurance and quality control of TSF construction
maintaining TSF operating discipline, including tailings characteristics, water management, monitoring and consideration of changes to any of these factors
Lifecycle of tailings storage facilities
TSFs evolve over their lifecycle, from planning, design, construction, operations, closure and ultimately to post closure. There may also be periods of care and maintenance between operational phases.
The duration of the closure phase in a TSF’s lifecycle can exceed the duration of the operational phase. The closure phase may include transition from operations to active care when tailings deposition ceases. Active care typically includes a continuation of water, geochemical and physical management processes that are designed to maintain TSF integrity. Over time, inactive TSFs may transition to passive care when the ongoing water, geochemical and physical management requirements are reduced or eliminated. Once a TSF has transitioned to passive care, additional works may be carried out to rehabilitate the site, such as earthworks and re-vegetation.
