ANALYSIS OF TRUNCATED TAILINGS DAM

Abstract

Tailing is a v/asic by-product produced in the mining industiy in huge quantities. 'I h: ore 'is crushed, pulverised, and processed to obtain mcals and other valuaIe inLicrals. The huge amount of tailing is genercily stored behind dams. The waste tailing is in a vcr' fiic forn having particle sizes ranging from sand size to few micron and remains in saturated condition. The store tailing my be chemically active, radioactive and toxic to environment and it is ve6 sus'eptibleto liqufaction. Failure of such structure/darn cause severe probIein due to flow of tailing to the downstream area. The continuation of mining activity requires that with the filling of existing dam to its rated capacity, a new stage has to be added to ensure further storing of tailing materiIs. T..is requires an increase in the height of dam by appropriate provisions on the downstream sid. Liintatioa on the availability of land for expansion of tailing dam requires that the tailing darn m;iy have to be truncated to comply with either safety and/cr legal obligaioas. The truncation of the dam, usually for a partial length at its periphery, permits a wide variety cf alternatives which can be adopted. A typical arrangement used for the truncition of the tailing dam has been investigated under the action of static and dynamic loads considering the tailing as a non-linear material. The effect of contact analysis between dam and retaining w'all is also considered with linear as well as non linear behavior of tailing material. The analytical results have been compared with a linear analysis to access the state of stress in the various components and ensure safety of the dam and integrating of the truncation procedure