Retreatment and beneficiation of weathered material from a coal tailings storage facility: A case study

Most of the mining industry has increasingly focussed on the efficient management and remediation of tailings storage facilities, often involving dry stacking of filtered as-arising tailings as well the reclamation and filtration of legacy tailings dams. This shift has also led to the emergence of tailings reprocessing and beneficiation projects, which aims to eliminate tailings waste while producing saleable products. This study evaluates the feasibility of reprocessing weathered coking coal material from a tailings storage facility using a specialised flotation technology. The work presented in this paper focusses on the development of a technically feasible processing route to produce a marketable product. Furthermore, the economic feasibility of the project is also evaluated. The scope of this study includes the processing plant design, from material reclamation to final product generation. This paper outlines the methodology and key design considerations used to develop the proposed processing flowsheet. Laboratory test work results inform specification and selection of processing equipment requirements, with the final flowsheet critically evaluated for its techno-economic feasibility potential. The findings highlight the potential for reclaiming and beneficiating the tailings material under consideration, demonstrating its feasibility as a sustainable and commercially viable project.