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5.2
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Geosciences
Special Issues
Safety Assessment of Tailing Dams
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Safety Assessment of Tailing Dams

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 11379

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Monica Barbero

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Guest Editor
Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, C.so Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
Interests: rock mechanics; rock slope stability; risk analysis of landslides; snow mechanics; complex rock formations; geotechnical works
Prof. Dr. Fabrizio Barpi

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Guest Editor
Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: computational mechanics; fracture mechanics of concrete; snow behavior; avalanche dynamics; dam engineering; engineering education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Terezinha Esposito

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Guest Editor
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Interests: soil mechanics; geotechnics applied to mining; tailings dams behavior; tailings characterization; risk and safety management of earth dams and tailings dams; risk analysis of geotechnical structures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The huge amount of waste resulting from the chemical and mechanical separation processes of mineral extraction, called tailings, is stored in large basins constructed by dams, called tailing dams, which represent complex geotechnical structures. Due to their relevant spatial extension and their long operation life, the main causes of the complexity are both the high surface and deep heterogeneity of the tailing deposits, their strong interaction with the environment, the atmospheric conditions, and their degradation over time. Unfortunately, a growing number of mining tailing dam failures cases are being observed, many of them causing dramatic damages to structures and infrastructures and losses of human lives.

It follows that a deeper understanding of the mechanical and physical properties of tailing deposits, including their in situ spatial variability, is needed, as well as detailed analyses of the failure mechanisms affecting the dam structure and their causes. This information is the basis for conducting a rigorous safety assessment of a tailing basin, estimating the damage scenarios that the dam collapse could induce, and defining the measures to be taken for the mitigation of risk.

This Special Issue is aimed at collecting research developments related to tailing deposits characterization, safety assessment of tailing dams, good practices for tailing dams design, simulation of tailing flows resulting from dam collapse, risk analyses, and geotechnical monitoring, in order to provide a comprehensive update of the state-of-the-art.

Prof. Monica Barbero
Prof. Fabrizio Barpi
Prof. Terezinha Esposito
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • tailing dams
  • geotechnical monitoring
  • numerical tailing flow simulation
  • dam design
  • site characterization
  • tailing characterization

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 6866 KiB  
Article
Laboratory Studies Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography and Fiber Optic Techniques to Detect Seepage Zones in River Embankments
by Azadeh Hojat, Maddalena Ferrario, Diego Arosio, Marco Brunero, Vladislav Ivov Ivanov, Laura Longoni, Andrea Madaschi, Monica Papini, Greta Tresoldi and Luigi Zanzi
Geosciences 2021, 11(2), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11020069 - 7 Feb 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2992
Abstract
We present the results of laboratory experiments on a down-scaled river levee constructed with clayey material collected from a river embankment where a permanent resistivity instrument has operated since 2015. To create potential seepages through the levee, two zones (5 × 4 cm [...] Read more.
We present the results of laboratory experiments on a down-scaled river levee constructed with clayey material collected from a river embankment where a permanent resistivity instrument has operated since 2015. To create potential seepages through the levee, two zones (5 × 4 cm and 10 × 2 cm) were filled with sand during the levee construction. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) technique and Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) technology were used to study time-lapse variations due to seepage. The ERT profile was spread on the levee crest and the Wenner array with unit electrode spacing a = 3 cm was used. Six organic modified ceramics (ORMOCER) coated 250 μm-diameter fibers were deployed in different parts of the levee. Time-lapse measurements were performed for both techniques from the beginning of each experiment when water was added to the river side until the water was continuously exiting from the seepage zones. The results showed that ERT images could detect seepages from the early stages. Although with a short delay compared to ERT, fiber optic sensors also showed their ability to detect water infiltrations by measuring temperature changes. Both technologies being successful, a discussion about respective peculiarities and pros and cons is proposed to suggest some criteria in choosing the proper technique according to the specific needs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety Assessment of Tailing Dams)
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Review

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22 pages, 4689 KiB  
Review
Using Geomembrane Liners to Reduce Seepage through the Base of Tailings Ponds—A Review and a Framework for Design Guidelines
by Anne Tuomela, Anna-Kaisa Ronkanen, Pekka M. Rossi, Anssi Rauhala, Harri Haapasalo and Kauko Kujala
Geosciences 2021, 11(2), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11020093 - 17 Feb 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 7615
Abstract
Geomembranes are used worldwide as basin liners in tailings ponds to decrease the permeability of the foundation and prevent further transportation of harmful contaminants and contaminated water. However, leakage into the environment and damage to the geomembrane have been reported. This paper reviews [...] Read more.
Geomembranes are used worldwide as basin liners in tailings ponds to decrease the permeability of the foundation and prevent further transportation of harmful contaminants and contaminated water. However, leakage into the environment and damage to the geomembrane have been reported. This paper reviews available literature and recommendations on geomembrane structures for use as a basal liner in tailings ponds, and presents a framework to achieve early involvement and an integrated approach to geomembrane structure design. Cohesive planning guidelines or legislative directions for such structures are currently lacking in many countries, which often means that the structure guidelines for groundwater protection or landfill are applied when designing tailings storage facilities (TSF). Basin structure is generally unique to each mine but, based on the literature, in the majority of cases the structure has a single-composite liner. The type of liner system used depends mainly on the material to be used on top of the structure, local hydraulic pressure gradient, and climate conditions. More practical information and scientific knowledge on the use of base liners in various cases are needed. A sustainable approach could be risk-based design, where the life cycle of the basin is taken into consideration. To this end, this paper proposes geomembrane-lined tailings pond to be assessed as a stakeholder. Emphasis on this, early enough, can ensure critical factors for tailings ponds to be considered from the outset in the design of mines and reduces the environmental footprint of the mining industry. More holistic project management and early involvement and integration are recommended to improve construction quality during the entire life cycle of the pond. In the long term, use of dry stacking or other alternative methods should be encouraged, despite the higher costs for operators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety Assessment of Tailing Dams)
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