Abstract
Risks and costs associated with tailings storage and management represent important components of the overall life cycle analysis of mining projects. In addition, tailings management is intrinsically intertwined with water management, and tailings storage is a truly multifaceted issue combining geochemical stability, geotechnical stability, water contamination, and fugitive dust concerns that all need to be carefully considered over periods of time that are much longer than the active life of mine life. New process technologies and advancements in existing ones are creating new opportunities for reducing long term environmental risks and/or offsetting the costs associated with tailings management. BQE Water will present several examples of precious and base metal projects where new technologies are applied to recover value and improve geochemical stability of tailings and/or where tailings storage facilities are used for managing contaminants of potential concern for environmental discharge. The drivers for these project and the benefits created during different stages of the mine life cycle will be discussed. The application of SART and Selen-IX technologies as well as project specific metal recovery and ammonia removal systems will be described including a systematic approach to reducing risks of technology implementation.