Design of Tailings Storage Facility for an Open Pit Copper Mine

Project goal: To design a new tailings storage facility for an Arizona open pit copper mine capable of holding 750 million tons of tailings produced in the next 50 years. In the copper mining industry, about 98 percent of the material processed is considered tailings, or waste. A tailings storage facility is required to hold all of the waste material, which is saturated with processing solutions. Through analysis of the tailings material and the area’s hydrologic and geologic conditions,it was shown that center-line construction provides the required stability while remaining cost-effective. The design focused on stability and safety of the tailings, particularly under the most adverse weather and seismic conditions. This tailings storage facility used cyclone deposition and a cross-valley layout to further contribute to its stability and sustainability.