Flow behaviour of tailings paste for surface disposal

Surface disposition of mine tailings in paste form is a new disposal technique, and to achieve a desired depositional geometry, it is necessary to characterize the paste's flow properties. This study investigates how water content affects the flow behaviour and depositional geometry of tailings and kaolinite pastes, which are shear-thinning, high solids content, mineral pastes. A stress-controlled rheometer and a strain-controlled viscometer with vane fixtures were used to characterize the yield behaviour of the pastes, and three types of yield stress were determined. A flume apparatus was used to simulate paste deposition under laboratory conditions. The depositional angle, determined from the flume tests, and the yield stresses, determined from the rheometers, decreased as the water content increased. For each type of yield stress, a linear relationship was found between the depositional angle and the Sofra-Boger dimensionless group (τy′Fr/Re), with the linear coefficient depending on paste type.