Estimation of fines and solids content in tailings oil sands deposits is imperative for tailings planning as well as reporting tailings inventory to the regulator. This report reviews the development of a proper procedure for the engineering assessment of uncertainty in reported tailings mass/ volume as a function of data spacing.
The goal of the study considers operational approaches that would increase fines capture to reduce the amount of fines that cause formation of MFT. This study includes a review of case studies to understand fines capture rates in existing facilities, processes controlling beach fines capture, and the operational changes that may increase fines captures. A high level review of available modeling tools are used to asses if operational factors are appropriately addressed within the models.
Industry recommended practices for estimating fluid tailings volumes and tailings performance, in response to the 2009 Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) Directive 074 (D074). The scope of best practices focuses on four areas: Fines measurement, FFT volume determination, deposit characterization, sampling and geostatistics.
The Tronox KZN Sands Fairbreeze Mine is located in Zululand, south of Mtunzini on the east coast of South Africa. Mining activities commenced in 2015 and the declared life of the mine is 15 years. Fairbreeze Mine is beneficiating an orebody that is part of the Berea Red dune system and the fines content is known to approach 30% in some areas of the deposit. The definition of fines in the mineral sands industry is classified as any particle passing 75 µm and consists predominantly of clays and some traces of silica particles of silt size. Historically, the mining industry has made use of sub-aerial deposition to dewater fines that do not drain freely. The only tools available to the processing facilities using the sub-aerial deposition dewatering method, has been: In order to minimise the risk and to reduce the sterilisation of large tracts of land, mining companies are being forced to consider alternative dewatering techniques. The use of amphibious vehicles, or mud-crawlers, is a well-documented alternative in the alumina industry but little is known about the performance of amphibious scrollers on mineral sands fines residue. This paper investigates the effects of mechanical scrolling performed by mud-crawlers on the dewatering and the ultimate final dry density of Fairbreeze fines. The investigation looks at ways that mud-crawlers can be applied as a financially viable alternative to sub-aerial deposition.
Copmonent 4 of the Oild Sands Tailings Technology Deployment Roadmap. This report intends to identify technologies and/or suites of technologies which could improve the ability of tailings management practices to meet the previously defined goals, and the pathways by which they could be brought through the research and development process to commercial implementation.
Project to develop a method for measuring fines that would result in technically sound, statistically defendable, and consistent measurement methodology for oil sands fines (<44-micron particle size) which is applicable across all areas of an oil sands processing facility." Although the reproducibility was poor (not to be used as industry standard), the information gathered during these studies may help laboratories better understand and refine their internal methods as is appropriate.