Tailings dam break analysis follow five steps: 1) estimation of the release tailings volume, 2) estimation of the water in the tailings (moisture contents) and the free water in the facility (pond size), 3) calculation of tailings concentration, 4) development of the breach hydrograph, 5) routing the hydrograph .
How is a tailings dam constructed?
Upstream construction begins with a starter dam. The tailings are then discharged into the facility where they form a tailings beach. The deposited tailings adjacent to the dam wall is allowed to drain and then can be compacted to be used to form the foundation for subsequent levels of the wall as the dam is raised..
What are the factors considered when designing a tailings dam?
Design depends on the quantity and the individual characteristics of the tailings produced by the mining operation, as well as the climatic, topographic, geologic, hydro-geologic and geotechnical characteristics of the disposal site, and on regulatory requirements related to dam safety and to environmental performance..
In this method, a small starter dam is placed at the extreme downstream point (Figure 16.1) and the dam wall is progressively raised on the upstream side. The tailings are discharged by spigoting off the top of the starter dike and, when the initial pond is nearly filled, the dike is raised and the cycle repeated.
The basic types of tailing dams including upstream, modified centerline, centerline and downstream construction methods are described and the pros and cons of each presented.
Originally published: 1983Author: Steven G. Vick
Are tailings dam breach analyses a key role in ensuring public safety?
Recent catastrophic failures of tailings storage facilities have highlighted the critical roles that dam engineers can play in ensuring public safety, and have motivated the mine waste industry to assess and improve the practice of tailings dam breach analysis (TDBAs)
Do tailings dams have a long-term geomorphology?
Concepts and tools are provided in this paper that will assist engineers in achieving their long-term goals
This research evaluates four tailings dam designs in terms of their geotechnical stability and long-term geomorphology: two traditional designs (uniform slope and platform-bank) and two geomorphic-inspired designs (catena and horseshoe)
What factors influence the design of a tailings dam & impoundment?
This section first describes some of these fundamental design principles as well as major design variables and site-specific factors that influence ultimate design
As noted previously, the major considerations in the design of a tailings dam and impoundment are stability, cost, and environmental performance
Planning design and analysis of tailings dams
Dam in Karnataka, India
The Bhadra Dam or Lakkavalli Dam, which has created the Bhadra Reservoir, is located on the Bhadra River a tributary of Tungabhadra River. Bhadra Dam is located in the border of Bhadravathi and Tarikere, in the western part of Karnataka in India. The benefits derived from the reservoir storage are irrigation with gross irrigation potential of 162,818 hectares, hydro power generation of 39.2 MW, drinking water supply and industrial use. The dam commissioned in 1965 is a composite earth cum masonry structure of 59.13 metres (194.0 ft) height with length of 1,708 metres (5,604 ft) at the crest level, which submerges a land area of 11,250.88 hectares.
Idamalayar Dam is a multipurpose concrete gravity dam
Dam in Ernakulam District, Kerala
Idamalayar Dam is a multipurpose concrete gravity dam located at Ennakkal between Ayyampuzha and Bhoothathankettu in Ernakulam district of Kerala on the Idamalayar, a tributary of the Periyar River in Kerala, South India. The dam however extends east as far as Malakkappara. Completed in 1985, with a length of 373 metres (1,224 ft) and a height of 102.8 metres (337 ft), the dam created a multipurpose reservoir covering 28.3 km2 (10.9 sq mi) in the scenic hills of the Anamalais.
In mining
Materials left over from the separation of valuable minerals from ore
In mining, tailings or tails are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material that overlies an ore or mineral body and is displaced during mining without being processed.
The Dam Busters is a 1955 British epic war film
1955 film directed by Michael Anderson
The Dam Busters is a 1955 British epic war film starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave. It was directed by Michael Anderson. The film recreates the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Nazi Germany with Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb.
Ujjani Dam
Dam in Madha Taluka, Solapur district
Ujjani Dam, also known as Bhima Dam or Bhima Irrigation Project, on the Bhima River, a tributary of the Krishna River, is an earthfill cum Masonry gravity dam located near Ujjani village of Madha Taluk in Solapur district of the state of Maharashtra in India.
