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RGC: Project Experience
Rössing Uranium Mine
Namibia
- Client:
- Rössing Uranium Co.
- Years of Service:
- 1981 to 1994
- Project Description:
- This mine is a 45,000 tpd open pit uranium mine. Dr. Robertson,
as part of the SRK team, was retained in 1981 to review tailings
disposal procedures and to redesign the tailings dam and develop new
procedures of deposition to better utilize available storage
capacity and reduce water losses. (The very arid climate of the
Namib Desert, in which the mine is located, puts water resources at
a premium). The existing dam is about 8500 m in length and is 60 m
high at maximum section.
- Services Provided by Dr. Robertson:
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- Site investigation, laboratory testing, evaluation of foundation
and borrow materials.
- Design for tailings dam extensions, including seepage and
stability analyses.
- Preparation of construction drawings.
- Co-ordination and review of inspection of tailings dam construction.
- Surface and groundwater studies for water budget.
- Evaluation of groundwater pollution and contaminant migration.
- Bi-annual inspections of tailings disposal facilities.
- Results:
- The water usage at Rössing was reduced from 1.2 tons of
water/ton ore to 0.35 tons water/ton ore by the implementation of a
"Paddy" system of tailings management The reduction in water usage
was achieved in the paddy system by concentrating tailings
discharges into sections (or paddies) developed in the existing
tailings impoundment, new water management systems to reduce water
recycle and maintain a very small return water pond and adopting
water conservation practices in the entire mining operations
- Photographs:
- Rossing Mine, Namibia
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