A new and revolutionary process, being tested for the first time in the world, has been prototyped by Anglo American at its El Soldado copper operation in Chile. The project makes it possible to reduce water consumption by naturally increasing the recovery of this resource from the tailings themselves by approximately 80%. In addition to providing greater stability, security and facilitating the process of environmental remediation.
Anglo American has now announced the results obtained after the testing program of a revolutionary dewatered tailings system, unique in the world. The project called Hydraulic Dewatered Stockpiling (HDS) consists of a tailings disposal system that, through the use of technologies, allows greater water recovery, greater compaction and surface stability, and faster environmental remediation of the terrain. The pilot has been developed at the El Soldado mine, located in the Valparaiso Region, and is the first industrial test carried out worldwide. The initiative is part of the FutureSmart Mining™ innovation and sustainability approach through which Anglo American has implemented various actions focused on the introduction of new technologies, in order to have increasingly safe, sustainable and efficient operations that coexist in harmony with the regions that host them.
HDS uses sand free of fines derived from the tailings themselves, generating a drainage network within the same facility. The tailings are deposited according to a strategic configuration that allows natural drainage from the stored tailings, obtaining a result similar to the filtered tailings in terms of safety (stability) and water recovery. However, HDS uses no filters, has a lower carbon footprint, lower cost, and uses much of the existing processing infrastructure. This stacking process effectively drains water from the waste, accelerating dewatering and consequently consolidation of the material. Thus, the closure of tailings facilities could be carried out quickly and the land could advance in its environmental remediation process a few months after deposited the last tonne.
Patricio Hidalgo, Executive President of Anglo American in Chile, said: “Our purpose is to re-imagine mining to improve people’s lives. And when we talk about re-imagining mining, we talk about changing everything and this is what we mean. Innovating in mining means challenging the limits to develop new solutions that improve everyone’s lives. In that sense, the way tailings dams have been managed in the past must change and HDS is a transformation in the way tailings dams are managed and operated. We are convinced that this is the tailings deposit of the future.”
The tailings deposited in HDS come from another project that is also part of FutureSmart Mining™: Coarse Particle Recovery (CPR), which has been successfully tested and operated at El Soldado and has enabled the current HDS pilot in the same operation. The HDS piloting began in August 2022 and already has preliminary results in terms of water recovery, which exceeds 80%.
The Minister of Mining, Marcela Hernando, described HDS as one of the new technologies that will be essential in the transition towards a more sustainable mining. “Without a doubt, this is an initiative that should be applauded. And we hope that other companies continue incorporating similar projects that allow us to take care of our water resources.”
“This is an innovation that will allow savings, water recovery above all, generate a safe and stable tailings, and also that it can be used later for the community,” said the National Director of Sernageomin, Patricio Aguilera. El Soldado is an innovation and technological development hub for Anglo American worldwide, where innovations with the potential to be implemented in other company operations in Chile and the world are tested, and it is also the place where solutions to mining’s global challenges are introduced.
