Mine Waste Rock and Riverbed Materials at High Pressures. Applications for High Waste Rock Dumps and High Tailings Dams Design

The compressibility and particle breakage behavior at high pressures levels of mine waste rock (MWR) and riverbed (RB) gravels containing large particles sizes up to 0.2 m have been studied in drained isotropic stress-strain path, drained axisymmetric compression paths as well as in oedometric path. At the same time, compressibility tests were performed at different stress levels in a large oedometer device and the effect of saturation on the compressibility of these materials was also investigated. Samples of blasted and additionally crushed MWR for testing purposes were selected from different copper mines in Chile, including some run of mine (ROM) leached samples. RB materials that have been used in the design of earth and rockfills dams in Chile were also tested and analyzed. The complete set of results should be considered when designing granular drains under high pressures for tailings dams.