Influence of Rainfall on the Stability of Filtered Tailings Slope with Waste Rock Inclusions

Filtered tailings are an alternative to traditional slurry tailings disposal methods, which contribute to reduce environment impact, decrease water consumption, improve dam safety, and facilitate site reclamation. However, the geotechnical stability of filtered tailings storage facilities (TSF) is strongly dependent on climatic conditions and water table positions and can pose significant challenges, in particular with climate change. At the same time, waste rock inclusions have shown to be an effective method for controlling water level table as well as reinforcing slopes in conventional TSFs. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate their potential effect on filtered TSFs. Numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the impact of rainfall on the stability of filtered tailings stacks reinforced by waste rock inclusions. Results showed that extreme rainfall events could reduce slope stability significantly and that waste rock inclusions can improve the stability of filtered tailings stacks under both dry and wet conditions. At the same time, waste rock inclusions showed the performance as a drainage technique for controlling groundwater level under long-term climatic change. The findings of this study could have important implications for the design and management of filtered tailings stacks in mining operations.