National Mineral Resources University (Mining University) (Russia):

Pashkevich М. А., Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Professor, Head of Chair, mpash@spmi.ru

Petrova T. A., Ph. D. in Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor, perova9@yandex.ru

The analysis of the environmental studies data on vegetation and topsoil quality, as well as dispersion composition of wastes, formed in iron ore beneficiation, showed that carried-off dust was characterized by increased content of toxic metals (vanadium, titanium, zinc, cobalt and others), producing a negative effect on condition of agricultural land and atmospheric air in the area of the tailings storage facility location. In addition to that, the deposited processing waste materials contain approximately 25–30 % of iron oxides, permitting to consider this tailings pond as a technogenic deposit. Consequently, fugitive dust, carried off from the tailings storage pond surface, causes losses of potentially valuable mineral raw material. The paper presents an analysis of the existing methods of technogenic deposits conservation, permitting to retain valuable components in waste materials and prevent negative environmental impact of tailings storage facilities. Main drawbacks of the existing methods were revealed and the need for provision of improved protection systems was justified. The results of the studies on development of environmentally-safe and economically efficient methods of technogenic deposits conservation, based on formation of polymer screens, preferably from mix of secondary high-pressure and low-pressure polyethylene, melted together with soil, are presented. The experiments performed on testing sites allowed to optimize the screen formation technology and develop the process of tailings storage pond surface isolation by means of a self-propelled screen installation machine, in this way providing for environmental improvement in the area of the tailings storage facilities location and decreasing air pollution.

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