Study of characteristics of mineral pastes for tailing disposal

Studies to improve the treatment of tailings generated from ore treatment processes are increasingly needed in order to reduce the environmental impacts of this sector. The sedimentation difficulty of wastes high in fine in fine and ultrafine particles continuous improvements in the agglomeration, dewatering and tailing treatment processes. Hence the need for studies to improve the flocculation and thickening processes. In this work, the influence of cationic, anionic and non ionic flocculants was evaluated in Vale 's iron ore tailings, Pico Mine, located in Itabirito (MG). In order to evaluate the consistency of the mineral pastes, slump tests were carried out in several ranges of solids concentration. The results show a strong relationship the initial solids concentration and the type of flocculant polymer used, in the state of aggregation of the particles. (author)