The RhoVie™ Slack Screen Densifier: a novel primary dewatering process for fine, high-clay-containing tailings

The drive towards so-called dry stacked tailings necessitates that the mine tailings undergo two dewatering steps, i.e. primary dewatering, which typically utilises gravity sedimentation technologies such as thickeners, followed by secondary dewatering, in which a variety of dewatering technologies such as vacuum or pressure filters, centrifuges and presses can be utilised. Incorporating various concepts from inline flocculation to static and dynamic screening, the RhoVie™ Slack Screen Densifier was developed to provide an alternative primary dewatering process for fine highclaycontaining tailings. The technology has several significant advantages such as low complexity, low power requirement and a low footprint, which allows for mobility depending on mining process or tailings deposition site locality. The development of this technology potentially provides an opportunity for an alternative dry stacking flow sheet for high-clay-containing tailings streams to be utilised.