A laboratory investigation of the dynamic properties of tailings

The dynamic response of tailings from a gold mine located in western Quebec was evaluated using cyclic laboratory testing. These tailings are classified as nonplastic silt and sand. Specimens of the tailings were prepared as slurries, consolidated to vertical effective stresses of 100-400 kPa, and subjected to cyclic direct simple shear testing with cyclic stress ratio, CSR, values between 0.075 and 0.15. The shear modulus reduction of the tailings under cyclic loading was found to be fairly similar to that described for clean sands in the literature. The cyclic resistance ratio, CRR (which reflects the liquefaction resistance), of the samples was not significantly affected by the effective consolidation stress (in the range considered here). Analysis of test results with the simplified method of liquefaction evaluation indicates that this method may be applicable to these tailings. However, other factors, such as the possible effects of layering and ageing of the tailings in situ, should also be considered in such an assessment.