MALAWI UNIVERSITY OF BUSINESS AND APPLIED
SCIENCES
MINE AND ENVIRONMENT
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN MINES
MAYESO CYDRECK
[email protected]
0997770074 / 0886021095
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
INTRODUCTION
❑ Several environmental concerns are associated with waste rock
disposal.
❑Waste rock dumps have a large footprint and often have a strong
visual impact.
❑They represent engineering structures, and geotechnical stability
cannot be taken for granted.
❑Waste rock geochemistry affects runoff and leachate, often
turning water into wastewater.
❑Finally, erosion by water and wind may occur, and rehabilitation
of waste dumps may be difficult to achieve, especially in arid
environments.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
INTRODUCTION
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
WASTE PRODUCTION
❑In general, underground mining
operations produce much smaller
quantities of waste rock compared
to surface mines.
❑In an open Pit mine, the overall
stripping ratio is determined by the
dimensions and geometry of the ore
body, the value of the ore, and the
shape of the pit, which itself may be
determined by slope stability
considerations.
❑High-rank coal seams and high-
grade ore bodies, particularly for
valuable commodities such as
precious metals, may have stripping
ratios of 10 or more.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
WASTE MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
❑The following principles form a hierarchy and provide a basis for
waste management programs:
Polluter pays principle.
✓All costs associated with waste management should, where
possible, be borne by the waste generator.
User pays Principle.
✓All costs associated with the use of a resource should, where
possible, be included in the price of goods and services
developed from the resource.
Product stewardship principle.
✓The producer or importer of a product should take all reasonable
steps to minimize environmental harm from the production, use,
and disposal of the product.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
WASTE MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY
Most
Preferred
Avoidance
Re-use
Recycling
Recovery
Disposal
Least
Preferred
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
DISPOSAL
Objectives.
The following objectives apply in planning the storage and disposal
of waste rock to minimize environmental damage:
❑The area occupied by the waste rock storage (i.e. its ‘footprint’)
should be minimized, in so far as this is consistent with other
objectives.
❑The new landform created by the waste rock storage should be
consistent with its future land use(s), in terms of slopes, accessibility,
and surface roughness.
❑The new landform should be stable.
❑The new landform should not be any more erodible than
comparable natural landforms in the vicinity.
❑ ;
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
DISPOSAL
Objectives.
❑If the waste rock includes materials that have the potential to
generate acid drainage, the storage should be designed to
prevent or control this occurrence.
❑The surface of the waste rock storage should be amenable to
rehabilitation, consistent with its future land use.
❑If possible, the new landform should be congruent with its
surroundings, meaning that it should not be visually intrusive.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
DISPOSAL
Site Selection.
❑The main factors influencing the cost of waste rock disposal are:
✓Haulage costs which depend on the distance of the storage site
from the mine, and whether or not the site is elevated with
respect to the mine.
✓The design of the storage; in particular the need for
encapsulation of sulphidic materials, or incorporation of
elaborate drainage provisions.
✓The method of construction, including foundation preparation;
whether ‘top-down’ or ‘bottom-up’; compacted or
uncompacted; and the extent of regrading required to achieve
the final surface configuration.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
DISPOSAL
Site Selection.
❑From an environmental viewpoint, the best possible sites for
storage of waste rock are mined-out areas.
❑ The advantages of using waste rock to fill mine voids may
include:
✓Minimizing the footprint and, in particular, the ‘residual footprint’,
which is the land disturbance that remains after the completion of
rehabilitation.
✓Stabilizing the void. Many surface mines have unstable slopes or
slopes that may become unstable over time.
✓Isolation of potential acid-generating wastes. The best possible
site for such wastes is below the water table, and many mine
voids provide such sites.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
DISPOSAL
Top Down Construction Method.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
DISPOSAL
Top Down Construction Method.
❑The waste rock is dumped over an advancing face, known as
the angle of repose, sloping at approximately 38º from the
horizontal.
❑After dumping is complete, the dump is re-shaped to its intended
configuration, usually using bulldozers.
❑In many older mining operations, no re-shaping was carried out,
the angle of repose slope being the final out slope.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
DISPOSAL
Bottom-Up Construction Method.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
DISPOSAL
Bottom-Up Construction Method.
❑The waste rock is dumped in a series of piles and then spread to
form a relatively thin layer.
❑This is sometimes referred to as paddock dumping.
❑Subsequently, the process is repeated until the ultimate storage
configuration is achieved.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
THE END
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING.
