May 19, 2020

Tailing Pond Failures Increase

Tailing Pond Failures Increase

May 19, 2020

Predictably, as many mining operations age, the number of tailing pond failures has increased significantly. The causes of these failures fairly evenly distributed: Seepage (21.6%); Overtopping (20.6%) Foundation Failure (17.3%); Earthquake (17.0%) and Other (23.5%). In addition, due to the recent pandemic economic downturn, it is expected that the number of abandoned mines and tailings ponds will increase dramatically. Ecovap’s enhanced evaporation technology allows these tailing ponds to occupy a small fraction of their normal land footprint and a dramatic reduction in risk of failure. For mining operations that are scheduled to be shut-down, ECOVAP’s ability to rapidly dewater the pond at >59x the normal evaporation rate facilitates a permanent remediation solution the remaining 1-5% of slurry and dried toxins can be dry-bagged and/or sent to an appropriate disposal site.

Review Article, A Comprehensive Review on Reasons for Tailings Dam Failures Based on Case History: Click

Latest News

Audit of British Columbia’s Tailings Pond Regulations Casts Shadow on Government’s 'World Class’ Mining Claims
July 2021
In 2014, a collapse of the Mount Polley copper/gold mine tailings pond unleashed 24 million cubic meters of wastewater into British Columbia waterways, becoming one of the worst mining environmental disasters in history...
Even Shallow Wastewater Injection Can Cause Earthquakes
July 2021
Geoscientists have found that even shallow wastewater injection - not just deep wastewater injections - can also cause widespread earthquake activity...
Salton Sea: Possible Mega-Project Would Require Enormous Brine Disposal
June 2021
The Salton Sea in Southern California has been dubbed one of the worst human-caused environmental disasters, worsening every year as farm run-offs deposit more chemicals to the lake,..
WASHINGTON POST
MARCH 2021
Army Corps denies permit for massive gold mine proposed near Bristol Bay in Alaska
WASHINGTON POST
MARCH 2021
Army Corps denies permit for massive gold mine proposed near Bristol Bay in Alaska
WASHINGTON POST
MARCH 2021
Army Corps denies permit for massive gold mine proposed near Bristol Bay in Alaska
WASHINGTON POST
MARCH 2021
Army Corps denies permit for massive gold mine proposed near Bristol Bay in Alaska
WASHINGTON POST
MARCH 2021
Army Corps denies permit for massive gold mine proposed near Bristol Bay in Alaska
WASHINGTON POST
MARCH 2021
Army Corps denies permit for massive gold mine proposed near Bristol Bay in Alaska