Abstract
The management of uranium tailings, generated as a by-product of ore processing, is particularly important to minimize the environmental footprint of the industry. A clear understanding of tailings slurry behavior is required at the time of deposition to help evaluate the storage capacity and life span of the containment facilities. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the segregation and self-weight settling properties of uranium tailings. Detailed laboratory investigations were conducted on tailings from 4, 5, and 6 % nominal mill feeds (high-grade McArthur River ores blended with special wastes on site) from the Cameco Key Lake operation. The results indicate that the three uranium tailings can be characterized as a sandy silt material with a negligible amount of clay. Their depositional behavior is governed by the initial solids content of the slurry. The investigated tailings showed insignificant segregation between 25 and 40 % initial solids content. The initial hydraulic conductivity during settling was about 10−4 m/s at a void ratio of 4 and was increased by half an order of magnitude for the 4 % mill feed, and by almost two orders of magnitude for the 5 and 6 % mill feeds at a void ratio of 8. Over the same range of initial void ratio, the settling potential increased threefold: from 8 to 24 % for the 4 % mill feed and from 12 to 36 % for the 5 and 6 % mill feeds. The better rate and amount of dewatering of future high mill feed tailings as compared to the current low mill feed tailings means that the onsite containment facility can store more tailings thereby supporting a longer life span of the mill.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ASTM D422-63 (2007) Standard test method for particle-size analysis of soils. Annual book of ASTM standards, West Conshohocken
ASTM E1168-95 (2013) Standard Guide for Radiological Protection Training for Nuclear Facility Workers. Annual Book of ASTM Standards, West Conshohocken
ASTM D854-10 Standard Test method for specific gravity of soil solids by water pycnometer. Annual book of ASTM standards, West Conshohocken
ASTM D2216-10 Standard test methods for laboratory determination of water (Moisture) content of soil and rock by mass. Annual book of ASTM standards, West Conshohocken
ASTM D2487-11 Standard practice for classification of soils for engineering purposes (unified soil classification system). Annual book of ASTM standards, West Conshohocken
Azam S (2003) Solid–liquid separation of laterite slurries. Dissertation, University of Alberta
Azam S (2011) Effect of composition and morphology on self-weight settling of laterite ore slurries. Geotech Geol Eng 30:107–118
Azam S, Al-Shayea NA, Al-Amoudi OSB (1998) Expansive characteristics of gypsiferous/anhydritic soil formations. Eng Geol 51:89–107
Bharadwaj B, Moldovan B, Yesnik L, Grant S, Piche J (2010) Cameco Corporation—the Key Lake uranium mill: current status and vision for the future. In: Proceedings 3rd International Conference on Uranium, Saskatoon, Canada, vol 1. Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Publisher, pp 327–336
Cameco (2010) Key Lake extension project. Project description: safety, health, environment and quality, Saskatoon
Carl C, von Pechmann E, Hohndorf A, Ruhrmann G (1992) Mineralogy and U/Pb, Pb/Pb, and Sm/Nd geochronology of the Key Lake uranium deposit, Athabasca basin, Saskatchewan, Canada. Can J Earth Sci 29:879–895
Das BM (2006) Principles of geotechnical engineering, 6th edn. Thompson, Toronto
Holtz WG, Kovacs WD (1981) An introduction to geotechnical engineering. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs
Macdonald R (2006) Geology. The Encyclopaedia of Saskatchewan. Canadian Plains Research Center, Regina
Matyas EL, Welch DE, Reades DW (1984) Geotechnical parameters and behavior of uranium tailings. Can Geotech J 21:489–504
McRoberts EC, Nixon JF (1976) A theory of soil sedimentation. Can Geotech J 13:294–310
Mihiretu YT (2009) Fundamentals of segregation. Dissertation, University of Alberta, Edmonton
Pane V, Schiffman RL (1997) The permeability of clay suspensions. Geotechnique 47:273–288
Selim MS, Kothari AC, Turian RM (1983) Sedimentation of multisized particles in concentrated suspensions. AIChE J 29:1029–1038
Shaw SA, Hendry MJ, Essilfie-Dughan J, Kotzer T, Wallschläger D (2011) Distribution, characterization, and geochemical controls of elements of concern in uranium mine tailings, Key Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada. Appl Geochem 26:2044–2056
Terzaghi K, Peck RB, Mesri G (1996) Soil mechanics in engineering practice, 3rd edn. Wiley, New York
Vance RE (2010) Uranium 2009: Resources, production and demand. In: Proceedings 3rd International Conference on Uranium, Saskatoon, Canada, vol 1. Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Publisher, pp 17–23
WISE Uranium Project (2012) Uranium maps. http://www.wise-uranium.org. Accessed 18 August 2012
World Nuclear Association (2013) http://www.world-nuclear.org. Accessed 8 October 2013
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge Cameco Corporation, Canada for providing materials, onsite support, and financial assistance. Thanks to the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council for financial support and to the University of Regina for providing laboratory space and computing facilities.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Khaled, S.M., Azam, S. Depositional characteristics of uranium tailings from Saskatchewan, Canada. Environ Earth Sci 72, 4393–4400 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3339-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3339-x