MINERAL TAILINGS
Tailings are the by-products that remain following the extraction and recovery of valuable minerals from mine operations. They are generated by a milling process and are a mixture of finely-ground sand-to silt-sized rock particles, processing reagents and water.
Tailings Management is a fundamental component in the design and operation of mining projects.
Potential environmental and socio-economic considerations need to be balanced to ensure disposal and storage of tailings occurs in a sustainable and responsible manner.
BAIE Minerals develops viable and scalable mineral processing strategies to facilitate long-term sustainable remediation of abandoned/orphaned tailings sites. The opportunity and benefits for tailings remediation include:
the ability to recover economic minerals in the form of saleable concentrates that provide financial benefits to all stakeholders.
convert sites that may pose hazardous effects to humans, animals and plants into environmentally benign sites that meet government discharge standards to water and air.
minimize the cost of long-term care and maintenance of the sites.
BAIE Minerals approach to tailing remediation outlines the objectives (business and technology), identifies the project management systems and processes, methodology and approach, scope, timelines, budget estimates, potential stakeholders, project framework and responsibilities.
The objective of tailings management is to confine the mine tailings and provide for their safe, long-term disposal including their conversion to value-added economic assets. Responsible tailing management needs to consider:
the specific characteristics of tailings in protecting the environment
the variability of local conditions including seasonal weather
access to infrastructure,
process design for site-specific environmental conditions, ore type, geochemistry, topography and other constraints to minimize interactions between tailings and the local environment
prevention of metal leaching and contamination of surface and groundwater
