Waste disposal using a spreader and conveyor belt method.

Abstract

In the search for opportunities to decrease operational costs in iron ore mining, waste disposal by conveyor belt has been considered as an alternative. In this work, this form of waste dump is investigated by means of the construction of a test pile and the assessment of geotechnical characteristics such as shear strength and in situ densities. Results were compared with two other dumps built by the traditional methods of bench and layer. The overall conclusion of this research shows that densities are 10% lower and shear strengths measured by a penetrometer are ten times lower in comparison with the other dumps. Therefore, a good understanding of this method and a thorough discussion of the project parameters are suggested before construction.