Geotechnical characteristics of the mature fine tailings in a 30-year 10-m standpipe experiment

Louis Kabwe, Don Scott, Amarebh Sorta, Ward Wilson, Ania Ulrich, Silawat Jeeravipoolvarn, Macoura Kone

In the proceedings of: GeoMontréal 2013: 66th Canadian Geotechnical Conference; 11th joint with IAH-CNC

Session: Mine Site Remediation

ABSTRACT: In 1982, the University of Alberta Geotechnical Centre installed two 10-m high research standpipes, which were about 1 m in diameter and were filled with Mature Fine Tailings (MFT) collected from Syncrude™s Mildred Lake tailings pond. The objective of these standpipes was to study the long-term consolidation behaviour of MFT and MFT-sand mixtures under controlled conditions. These two research standpipes were monitored for consolidation behaviour for 30 years. In 2012, renovations to the building housing the standpipes required their decommissioning and removal. After 30 years, the MFT in Standpipe 1 had settled about 3.5 meters. The geotechnical index characteristics and other characteristic properties of the MFT have been measured at various times during the 30 years. The objective of the paper is to determine whether the lack of consolidation during the 30 years had been influenced by changes in the index characteristics of the material.

RÉSUMÉ: En 1982, le Centre de Géotechnique de l'Université d'Alberta a installé deux colonnes expérimentales de 10 mètres de haut et d'environ un mètre de diamètre chacun. Ces colonnes ont été remplies de résidus miniers appelés « Mature Fine Tailings ou MFT » provenant du bassin de résidus de la pétrolière Syncrude. Ces colonnes ont été installées dans le but d'étudier la consolidation à long terme du MFT et du mélange sable-MFT dans des conditions contrôlées. La recherche a été menée pendant 30 ans, mais en 2012 la rénovation du bâtiment abritant les colonnes a forcé leur démantèlement. Après 30 ans, l™interface du MFT dans la Colonne 1 a diminué d™environ 3.5 mètres. Les caractéristiques d'index géotechnique et d'autres propriétés caractéristiques du MFT ont aussi été mesurées à différentes périodes pendant les 30 ans. L'objectif de cet article était de déterminer si le manque de consolidation pendant les 30 ans a été influencé par des changements dans les caractéristiques de l™index du matériel.

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Cite this article:
Louis Kabwe; Don Scott; Amarebh Sorta; Ward Wilson; Ania Ulrich; Silawat Jeeravipoolvarn; Macoura Kone (2013) Geotechnical characteristics of the mature fine tailings in a 30-year 10-m standpipe experiment in GEO2013. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{GeoMon2013Paper748,author = Louis Kabwe; Don Scott; Amarebh Sorta; Ward Wilson; Ania Ulrich; Silawat Jeeravipoolvarn; Macoura Kone,title = Geotechnical characteristics of the mature fine tailings in a 30-year 10-m standpipe experiment ,year = 2013}