World-wide, the mining industry produces 6,000,000,000 tonnes of tailings per year, as a by-product of the need to satisfy the demand for raw materials. Tailings are fine-grained residues from the milling process, emerging as slurries that are deposited in ponds or lagoons, often confined by man-made embankments or dams. These tailings management facilities can present serious threats to the environment and to human life, especially where there is improper design, handling or management. Their failure may result in uncontrolled spills of tailings, dangerous flow-slides, and/or the release of poisonous chemicals, leading to major environmental catastrophes.

To enhance the safety of tailing management facilities, the TAILSAFE (Sustainable Improvement in Safety of Tailings Facilities) project funded under the European Commission's 5th Framework RTD Programme was carried out from 2002 to 2005. TAILSAFE's objective was to develop methods of parameter evaluation and measurement for the assessment and improvement of safety. Although TAILSAFE primarily addressed European needs and priorities, and was based mainly on European case studies, the project also built on world-wide experience and results. This book represents the outcome of an extensive state-of-the-art review carried out within the project, and includes the following issues:

• Mineral-processing methods, with special emphasis on tailings production and water management
• Slurry handling, treatment and transport techniques, including dewatering and paste technologies
• Tailings placement, and lagoon and dam design and formation practices
• Authorisation, management, monitoring and inspection practices
• Major risks to the safety of uranium tailings facilities, and their environmental impacts
• Parameters governing the safety of tailings management facilities.
  

Publication: August 2008

Pre-publication price (until 7 August): £50.00. Price on publication:£59.00.