Liquid-solid coupling analysis of tailings dam under complex engineering conditions

The tailings pond is a necessary facility for maintaining normal production of a mine as a place for stockpiling tailings. On the other hand, the tailings dam is a major danger for metal and nonmetal mines, because dam failure may occur. We take the flat land tailings pond of the Sanshan Island gold mine, Shangdong Province, China, as an example. The tailings dam 3D numerical model was built using MIDAS/GTS and FLAC 3D techniques. The safety factor and the potential slide face of the tailings dam were calculated under different conditions using the strength reduction method. It is concluded from the liquid-solid coupling analysis that there are three potential failure modes of the tailings dam under preloading. Under the present conditions, the tailings dam meets the safety requirements, whereas it does not in the event of additional heaping. So the height of the present heap must be cut to satisfy the stability requirements under the condition of rain infiltration.