The Future of Tailings Management

The Talk: The global industry currently anticipates annual production rates of billions of tons of mine tailings and waste rock, with increases in the future expected due to the higher utilization of lower-grade ores. There is an increasing concern worldwide for the potential consequences from tailings dam seepage and failure due to the combination of unprecedented tailings production and the possibility of more extreme weather events associated with global climatic change that can adversely affect tailings disposal facilities. The mining industry must address and mitigate these risks by considering the continuity of materials flow and the integrated value chain. The value chain includes the ore body itself (characterization and modification of ore and gangue), excavation, transport, mineral processing, and tailings management/disposal/storage. For the future, the value chain must be extended to engage the circular economy through downstream production of value-added products that minimize the need for tailings disposal, and take advantage of the embodied energy and mining work done in tailings production. The Speaker: Dr. Priscilla P. Nelson came to the Colorado School of Mines in 2014 as a Professor and Department Head of Mining Engineering, and she directs the Tailings Center’s certificate program. She has an international reputation in geological and rock engineering and has been involved in the underground construction industry for over 45 years. Dr. Nelson has published more than 180 technical and scientific publications, and she is a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), former president of the Geo-Institute of ASCE, a lifetime member and first president and Fellow of the American Rock Mechanics Association, and Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Nelson has received many honors and awards, and is identified as one of the 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining (by WIM/UK). In 2018 she received the Outstanding Educator award from Underground Construction Association of SME.