Tailings Design Alternatives

Alternatives for tailings design and closure for a gold mine complex

The Palito Mining Complex is comprised of the Palito and São Chico underground gold mines which are located in the Tapajós Mineral Province in the Pará State in the north of Brazil.

SRK has been working on the development of alternatives for tailings disposal from a gold processing plant. The objective is to reduce the area of tailings disposal through a more secure and environmentally adequate methodology than the methods usually applied in mining.

For the elaboration of these studies, SRK has developed a multidisciplinary work, involving the offices of Brazil (Belo Horizonte) and United Kingdom (Cardiff).

The scope of the project includes:

• Geotechnical alternatives for tailings disposal
• Hydrological evaluation and water balance to the site
• Geochemical characterization of acid rock drainage potential and metal leaching
• Wastewater treatment plant
• Conceptual closure plan for tailings disposal areas.