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at roundtable
Placement and compaction of a soil liner and the placement of a geomembrane liner at a heap leach operation.
O
n Feb. 11, 2005, more than 20 mining profession- • Heap loading, cycle times and lift thickness.
als gathered in Elko, NV for a day-long round- • Problems.
table discussion on heap leaching. Attendees in-
cluded project managers, operators and environmental Any one of these topics could have led to a daylong
professionals. They represented 10 mining organizations. discussion. As would be human nature, discussions also
Knight Piésold sponsored the special event. Its seven led to related tangents, such as tailings storage facilities.
representatives included three staff members from the In addition, lines were blurred between the topics, and
company’s Elko Operation, and one each from its Den- discussions with related areas often filtered into the vari-
ver, Cajamarca (Peru) and Vancouver offices. ous subjects. Feedback forms filled out by the partici-
The roundtable format was chosen to allow people pants indicated that the event was beneficial and that
from the mining industry to share ideas and experiences additional roundtable discussions should be held in the
in an open forum. Rather than presenting prepared talks, future.
spontaneity was encouraged. This resulted in a lively and Knight Piésold personnel initiated each topic with a
enjoyable discussion. Agenda items included:
vestigation. However, it is evident from the discussion practice can lead to a buildup of solutions near the toe of
that a well-developed investigation is imperative to the the heap — an area where slope stability can be at its
proper operation of a heap leach facility. lowest. Operations where such a practice is carried out
should be developed with consideration of its impacts
Geotechnical design on slope stability.
The quantification of geotechnical parameters and The resistance to sliding along a soil-to-geomem-
properties can greatly improve the operation of a heap brane interface is often the controlling factor that dic-
leach facility. The permeability of the various materials tates the stability of a heap leach facility. Proper
involved plays a key role in the recovery of fluids. Op- characterization of this strength using the materials iden-
erators typically apply leachate solutions at rates just tified for use in the construction of the facility is critical
below ponding thresholds of the ore. The heap and its to the geotechnical design of a heap leach facility. Tests
underlying drainage system should be permeable enough should be carried out using the range of loads anticipated
to percolate the fluids through the heap. And the net- in the field, with materials compacted considering the
work of drainage pipes at the base of the heap should be density and moisture content specified for the project.
designed to rapidly convey the fluids to the perimeter Great care is necessary to correctly interpret the results
trenches/pond system. of interface shear tests.
Pore pressure buildup within the heap is counterpro- A sound geotechnical design can be an irreplaceable
ductive to metals recovery and it can jeopardize slope tool in establishing a priori the range of expected behav-
stability. It is, therefore, important that the solutions be iors that a heap may exhibit during its life. This design
allowed to exit the heap as efficiently as practicable. Only would couple laboratory testing with modeling to assess
a small percentage of heap leach facilities have instru- slope stability as well as fluid movement through the heap.
mentation such as piezometers installed. As such, it is A well-conceived geotechnical design can improve
not practical to make adjustments to the heap afterwards the long-term success of a heap leach facility. It can also
to correct for pore pressure buildup. And the geotech- help guide the way toward necessary alterations to the
nical characteristics of the materials should be well un- design.
derstood beforehand to avoid such an occurrence.
Permeability testing of the ore can be beneficial in Liner selection
understanding the expected behavior of a heap leach fa- The selection of an appropriate geosynthetic liner is
cility. The permeability tests should be carried out to rep- crucial to the success of a heap leach facility. With heap
resent the range of conditions expected in the field. This heights continually on the rise, liner selection becomes
would include tests on agglomerated material, aged ma- more critical. Thicker high-density polyethylene (HDPE)
terial and materials confined under the pressures antici- geomembranes are often selected because they offer
pated to be imposed by the heap. greater puncture resistance. However, alternatives to
Side slope leaching is carried out by a few of the op- HDPE can also be considered. These include very-low-
erations present for the roundtable discussion. Such a density polyethylene (VLDPE) and linear low-density