Disposição de rejeitos de mineração : uma revisão

Abstract

The search for mineral resources and consumer goods, in addition to ore grade reduction in the current deposits, have caused the exaggerated generation of waste, necessitating the expansion of storage structures and disposal of this waste. There are many techniques for disposing of ore processing tailings, however the most used is the containment dam. However, this type of structure presents environmental, economic and social risks. As a result, the mineral industry, scientific and technological circles and the government became interested in finding alternative methods for handling mining waste. Therefore, this work has as main objective to carry out a bibliographical review about the disposal of mining tailings, analyzing the conventional techniques and applied alternatives, in order to identify the best method in relation to the reduction of costs, risks and associated environmental impacts. The tailings containment technique in dams are structures built to dilute the cost of the mineral extraction process through successive heightening and can be of three types: upstream, downstream and centerline. Despite the containment dam being more economical and currently used, there are many accidents and incidents related to it. Alternative techniques compared to conventional dams are more advantageous in terms of operational cost, recovery of areas, reuse of water and reduction of environmental impacts. However, it was observed that the choice of the best method will depend on the type of mining and project, the physical and geochemical properties of the tailings and the geometric characteristics of the area, operating costs and equipment acquisition.