![]() ![]() Keywords: tailings management, cost comparison, tailings storage facility design, Mining Rehabilitation Fund 1 IntroductionĬhallenges to the management of tailings are increasing the pressure placed on the mining industry to become more sustainable. This serves to enable decision makers to decide on the best practice for tailings disposal efficiency to ensure sound environmental and social performance. An appropriate comparison depends on the assessment of the accumulated costs resulting from a more holistic approach. The paper ends with a discussion addressing the long-standing challenges of financially quantifying the ‘real’ costs of surface tailings disposal. In the context of increasing tailings management challenges, changes in the lifecycle costs over a range of possible future case scenarios are presented within the results to evaluate to what extent different TSF designs and closure strategies have on driving the costs of disposal in the long-term. The concepts of the West Australian Mining Rehabilitation Fund (MRF) are introduced and considered in the estimates. Key elements driving the costs of disposal are highlighted and discussed. Conceptual TSF designs were developed and costed for managing the tailings as slurry, thickened, and filtered. This paper reports on an economic evaluation completed for comparing the lifecycle costs of disposing a typical non-acid generating gold tailings in the Goldfields of Western Australia. Furthermore, there is a recognised lack of information on the costs of dewatering technologies to aid in tailings management decision-making. However, it is often deemed undesirable because of economics – a conclusion that sometimes results from short-term profit-based assessments. The use of high-density tailings may be the best available option in many cases. Current evaluation methodologies used to decide on the preferred method are limited, and have often poorly addressed the issue of realistic financial provisioning for the responsible disposal of tailings. Integrated tailings management, including technical, economic, environmental, social, and risk aspects of the operation is urgently required. ![]() As tailings storage facilities (TSFs) come under scrutiny, operators are looking at alternative tailings management strategies. Increasing regulatory and social demands are key driving forces behind operational changes taking place in mining. © 2018 Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, ISBN 978-0-992Ĭarneiro The University of Western Australia, AustraliaĪB Fourie The University of Western Australia, Australia Abstract Paste 2018 – RJ Jewell and AB Fourie (eds) ![]()
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