Milos et al. (2018) conducted a comparative evaluation of various tailings extraction and transportation methods. The methods evaluated include excavators and trucks, hydromonitoring, conveyors, and pipelines for transport. The following points have been extracted from Milos et al. (2018) on the benefits of the use of excavators and dump trucks for tailings extraction:
- Transport by dump trucks provides flexibility and enables operational increase in or decrease of the mined tonnage.
- Breakdown is easily solved by using back-up capacity of dump trucks or by sub-contractor, at extraction operation or at rehabilitation.
- Dump trucks are used for both, tailings extraction and rehabilitation.
- Tailings extraction is very flexible as an excavator along with the dump truck fleet can be moved operatively according to head grade requirements.
- Dry ore and dry tailings stockpiles require smaller areas and capacity may be temporarily increased by stockpiling ore at the mine site.
- More economic water management, water remains in the processing plant, contamination of the tailings extraction operation and the rehabilitation area is limited.
The use of excavators and dump trucks to extract and transport the tailings to the mill is the selected method.
Tailings extraction using excavators and trucks will take place in 5 m high benches, with berms a minimum of 20 m wide, and bench faces angled b ........
