Investigating the performance of Mazraeh Ahar copper mine tailings dam from stability and seepage aspects

Document Type : Research paper

Authors

1 Associate professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

2 MSc. In Engineering Geology, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

3 Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

10.22034/hydro.2023.57823.1303

Abstract

The sustainability of tailings dams is very important from the economic, social and environmental aspects. The stability and safety of these structures are a worry of countries all over the world. Mazraeh mine tailings dam is located 18 kilometers north of Ahar city. This tailings dam was built in order to store the tailings from the concentration and processing factory and reduce the pollution of the mines in the area. The current level of the dam crest after height rising in two stages is 2085 m (above from sea level), with a height of 47 meters from the bed. The studied dam site is located in the tectonic zone of the Western Alborz. The weathering of the rock mass on the surface and along the joint surfaces is evaluated as low to moderate. In general, the quality index of the rock mass up to a depth of 20 meters from the surface of the earth is very poor to poor and at greater depths it is medium to excellent. Based on the results of lugeon tests, the permeability of the dam site is determined to be an average of 35 Lu in the bed up to a depth of 12 meters, and less than 5 Lu in other sections. In this research, the stability and performance of the dam in terms of seepage have been investigated through field studies and limit equilibrium analysis using Seep/W and Slope/W software. The obtained results show that the stability coefficients of the dam boy slopes are more than the minimum required limits and there is not much problem in this respect. The amount of seepage through dam foundation in the abutments is not very significant, but it is noticeable through the rock mass on the bed, which necessitates the sealing of such dam foundations.

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References

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Hydrogeology
Volume 8, Issue 1
Publisher
September 2023
Pages 156-169

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