Exploring tailings reprocessing options for the Mount Isa Mines tailings storage facility
- Client Name
- Glencore Zinc Assets Australia (Mount Isa Mines)
- Location
- Mount Isa, Queensland
Challenge
Mount Isa Mines investigated reprocessing options for its 1,500 hectare Tailings Storage Facility (TSF), operational since 1958. The facility has accumulated tailings from multiple ore-types processed through various concentrators, creating a complex deposit. The Mount Isa Mines TSF presents significant opportunities due to the volume of material but also poses challenges for characterisation and modelling.
Challenges are related to sparse legacy data similar to many historical facilities. Although metallurgical accounting data exists, there are unknowns in the spatial distribution of metals and key material properties such as density, mineralogy, and metallurgical performance critical to evaluating reprocessing opportunities.
Solution
SLR supported Glencore Zinc Assets Australia with the geochemical and environmental aspects of their tailings reprocessing study at the Mount Isa Mines tailings storage facility. Reprocessing tailings can unlock additional revenue while mitigating long-term environmental impacts.
To address these gaps, a phased resourcing, Acid and Metalliferous Drainage (AMD) auger, drilling and characterisation program was developed, aligned with the exploratory nature of reprocessing investigations.
Impact
Static acid base account (ABA) data was obtained from resource drilling samples and used to verify the geochemical properties of the tailings. The net acid producing potential (NAPP) results were used to develop an acid rock drainage (ARD) block model.
The outcome of the geochemical assessment was that the NAPP results within the TSF are highly diverse vertically and laterally within the TSF.
Subsequent study stages such as pre-feasibility and feasibility will improve definition for each resource classification and ARD category.
