The ore extracted from the mine is transported to the concentrator. Some of the ore is transformed into copper concentrate, while the rest becomes slurry waste. The slurry waste cannot be directly disposed into nature for its adverse impact on the ecological balance; therefore, dams are constructed, and a tailings cell is built to store the tailings. The term “Tailings Storage Facility” encompasses both the storage cells and the slurry waste.
Due to its location on flat terrain, the Oyu Tolgoi mine has employed a rectangular surface Tailings Storage Facility (TSF), which is deemed the most suitable method for such geographical features. This facility is designed with a downstream embankment method requiring the least amount of cost.
The Concentrator Plant at Oyu Tolgoi uses 10 different reagents in its Flotation process as well as to protect transmission pipelines. These reagents pass multiple stages to reach the TSF, do not disseminate in the air, and have no properties that accumulate in living organisms.
The company has adhered to Rio Tinto’s D5 Standard, “Management of Tailings and Water Storage Facilities”, which is based on the ANCOLD standards. Per the D5 Standard, the construction process encompasses operational procedures, commencing with the construction blueprint planning.
Further detailed information concerning the Tailing Storage Facility can be found here.
The most recent Tailing Storage Facility Progress Report on the Remedial Action Plan can be found here.