EP 172 | Tailings Are Not Just Relocated Ore: The Nuances of Tailings Mineral Resource Estimates

Tailings Mineral Resource Estimates can appear straightforward. The material has already been mined, crushed, processed and deposited in one location — but tailings facilities present their own unique set of technical challenges.

In this episode of Fresh Thinking by @SnowdenOptiro  , Senzeni Mandava and Melanie Bulley explore the nuances of estimating Mineral Resources within tailings facilities. They discuss how tailings differ from conventional in situ deposits and why depositional engineering, rather than natural geological controls, can become fundamental to understanding continuity.

opics covered include:

• Density and moisture uncertainty
• Sampling unconsolidated and saturated material
• Variography and spatial continuity in tailings • Depositional history and hydraulic segregation
• The importance of the phreatic surface and hydrogeology
• Metallurgical recoverability and project economics
• Mineral Resource classification
• Tailings reprocessing, critical minerals and ESG considerations

As Senzeni and Melanie discuss, a tailings facility is not simply a relocated orebody. It is an engineered, evolving sedimentary system with its own geotechnical, hydrogeological, metallurgical and operational complexities.