Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 19.17.
Construction of a tailings embankment using the upstream method.
Figure 19.18.
Section of bauxite tailings embankment at Weipa showing upstream construction (Minns,
1988
, reproduced with permission of ASCE
).
noted that because of layering the tailings are likely to have perched water tables, so satu-
ration is almost inevitable.
The method is best suited to hard rock tailings, i.e. silt-sand tailings which are readily
spigotted to classify into a sandy beach, but can be applied also to high clay content
tailings.
Stability will also be dependent on allowing the finer tailings (“slimes”) to desiccate and
develop a significant undrained strength.
Figure 19.18 shows use of the upstream method for bauxite tailings at Weipa (Weipa 1
tailings in
Figure 19.5
)
.
19.5.2.2
Downstream method
Figures 19.19
and
19.20
show two versions of the downstream method of tailings
embankment construction.
