Abstract
Are you planning on using a geosynthetic liner for your tailings facility? This presentation provides an overview of different geosynthetic liner system configurations and provides some guidance on which configuration is appropriate for a specific performance and tailings properties. Configurations include: tailings over liner, tailings on an overdrain system over liner, addition of a blinding layer between overdrains and liner, and slimes sealing (as an alternative to a geomembrane liner). For each configuration, three time periods were assessed for performance: Operations (with a water pond over the tailings surface); Closure (pond removed, closure cover added, liner functioning); and Long-term (liner at end of service life with assumed depreciated performance). Slimes sealing was evaluated for the long-term scenario. Model results are used to support selection of configurations for specific performance criteria and tailings properties.