An investigation of surface paste disposal for lead-zinc underground mine tailings

Abstract

Removing and storing the high amounts of mine tailings properly are the main problems of mining industry in the economic and environmental aspects, recently. Various studies have been done to solve this problem. Therefore, surface and underground tailing storage methods have been developed using paste technology. In this study, the storage possibilities of process tailings of a Pb-Zn underground mine were investigated in detail. In this context, the physical properties, mineralogical, and elemental composition of the tailings was revealed in the aspect of convenience for the material. Additionally, physical changes of the paste material in the laboratory environment was measured. The results obtained from this study showed that the surface paste disposal method has some advantages compared to the alternative tailing disposal methods in terms of environmental risk and storage of more tailings than conventional methods.