Review of Design Approaches Applicable to Dewatering Uranium Mill Tailings Disposal Pits

This report is a review of design approaches in the literature that may be applicable to uranium mill tailings drainage. Tailings dewatering is required in the deep mined-out pits used for wet tailings disposal. Agricultural drainage theory is reviewed because it is seen as the most applicable technology. It is concluded that the standard drain-pipe envelope design criteria should be easily adapted. The differences in dewatering objectives and physical characteristics between agricultural and tailings drainage systems prevent direct technology transfer with respect to drain spacing calculations. Recommendations for further research are based on the drainage features unique to uranium mill tailings. It is recommended that transient solutions be applied to describe liquid movement through saturated and partially saturated tailings. Modeling should be used to evaluate the benefits of drainage design approaches after careful consideration of potential construction problems