REDEFINING TAILINGS

SMARTER WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR MODERN MINING.

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As mineral operations target higher recovery rates from increasingly lower-grade and complex orebodies, mineral processing circuits are producing finer ore feeds to enhance mineral liberation.

This shift is resulting in a growing proportion of ultra-fine tailings - particularly those under 45 micrometre (µm) - which present significant challenges in handling, consolidation, and rehabilitation.

Due to their narrow particle size distribution and lack of larger particles, these tailings exhibit poor packing densities. This limits their ability to develop sufficient material strength, reducing opportunities for reuse and leading to continued reliance on traditional tailings storage facilities, in-pit disposal or low-strength underground backfill.

While dry stacking is gaining traction, its widespread adoption is constrained by cost, climate conditions (especially in tropical and wet environments), and the technical demands of dewatering large volumes.

Key risks in tailings management

As tailing volumes grow and environmental expectations rise, mining operations face increasing pressure to manage waste more responsibly. Several critical risks must be addressed to help ensure safe, sustainable and cost-effective tailings handling, storage and repurposing:

• Escalating liabilities - large tailings storage facilities pose significant long-term risks, including community safety concerns, environmental degradation, and rising life-of-mine costs.

• Limited repurposing potential - reusing tailings at scale is often constrained by factors such as distance from viable markets, difficulty in achieving sufficient material strength due to fine particle sizes, and the need to stabilise leachable constituents.