Tailings dam: Risks, Hazards and Innovative Solutions

Tailings dam, known also as tailings ponds, are an essential component in the mining industry, used to contain waste tailings from mineral extraction and processing processes.

These ponds are typically earthen dams used to store the by-products of mining operations after the ore is separated from the gangue. The tailings can be liquid, solid or a slurry of fine particles and are usually highly toxic and potentially radioactive. Solid tailings are often used as part of the structure itself.

These dams are among the largest engineering structures on the planet. The Syncrude Mildred Lake Tailings Dyke in Alberta, Canada, is a levee dam about 18 kilometers (11 miles) long and 40 to 88 meters (131 to 289 feet) high. The pond and the reservoir within it are built and maintained as part of Syncrude’s ongoing operations to extract oil from the Athabasca oil sands; it is the largest dam structure on earth by volume, and in 2001 it was believed to be the largest earthen structure in the world by fill volume.

Although these structures play a crucial role in the production cycle of mining, they nevertheless present a number of environmental and safety issues. According to data from the World Health Organization, about 30% of the world’s active mines use tailings ponds to store the waste produced, generating a huge impact in both economic and environmental terms.

It is estimated that only 5-10% of the water used in mining processes is actually consumed, while the rest is stored in these dams, creating a huge loss of valuable water resources.

Risks and hazard of tailings dam

Tailings ponds, despite being designed to contain toxic and inert mining waste, are subject to a number of risks and hazards that endanger the surrounding environment and local communities. One of the main risks associated with these facilities is levee failure, which can be caused by a number of factors, including pressure from accumulated materials, seismic events, and extreme weather conditions.

Accidents within these dams (usually levee collapse) can result in severe environmental damage, with disastrous consequences for the surrounding flora and fauna, as well as for water resources that are lost or contaminated. In addition, such events can cause human casualties, as in the case of the Brumadinho disaster in Brazil in 2019, which caused hundreds of deaths and extensive environmental damage.

These incidents are not confined to any one continent or raw material; on the contrary, they are widespread in so many mining sites related to a variety of different minerals (see chart). The collapse of these dikes cannot even be attributed to site mismanagement because they have also been recorded at sites owned by well-known companies and maintained with the highest standards of safety and management.

As new rules and regulations have come into effect in mining operations and tailings pond management, it has then become more and more pressing to find and implement alternative solutions to more effectively manage the tailings produced in the mining industry, and this is where Matec comes in.

Matec’s innovative approach to tailings dam

Matec Industries stands as a leader in offering innovative solutions to address the challenges of tailings pond reduction and elimination and mining tailings treatment. With its advanced filter press slurry treatment systems, Matec is able to completely eliminate the need for these tailings dams, offering a sustainable and safe solution for mining waste management.

By using the high pressure technology achievable by the filter press, solid tailings are separated from water, allowing the latter to be reused in mining processes and significantly reducing the consumption of water resources. In addition, the sludge treatment process significantly reduces the risk of environmental pollution by effectively eliminating the need for these huge ponds, ensuring the safety of local communities and the protection of surrounding ecosystems.

The slurry filtration system has been successfully introduced by Matec in many mines around the world with outstanding results that have proven the goodness of this technology in mining.

It was Matec itself that inaugurated the use of these filter systems in South America and in Brazil especially, when they installed, in 2018, the first plant in the mining area of Minas Gerais at one of the mining sites of the Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN). Thanks to this mammoth sludge treatment plant, the client was able to reduce and then totally eliminate its sludge pond.

Thanks to Matec’s innovative approach, mining companies can also achieve significant benefits in terms of reduced operating costs, reduced space occupied by processing (preserving up to 84% of the land previously occupied by these dams), and mitigation of environmental risks to benefit the overall sustainability of their operations.

A more sustainable future for the mining industry

The proper management of tailings ponds is a significant challenge for the mining industry, with serious consequences in terms of environmental impact, safety and sustainability. However, thanks to solutions offered by companies such as Matec Industries, it is possible to effectively address these issues, transforming mining tailings from a potential risk to a valuable resource.

Investing in advanced sludge treatment technologies not only helps mitigate the risks associated with the use of these forms of sludge storage, but also promotes responsible management of natural resources and a more sustainable future for the mining industry.