A review of international uranium mill tailings management practice

Uranium tailings management practices adopted in various countries or, more specifically, uranium mining areas, tend to reflect several factors: the age of the mining and milling operation, the mining method (e.g. underground vs open pit), the ore grade, the regional geology, hydrogeology and geochemistry, the topography and geomorphology of the area, climatic conditions, and governmental regulations. Of these, only the last, governmental regulations, are by definition nationalistic in scope. However, even these tend to reflect the other factors which are imposed by nature. As a result of these factors, international mill tailings management strategies vary greatly and include both effluent and non-effluent producing systems, above and below grade disposal schemes, lined and unlined 'ponds' above and below water (both surface water and groundwater) emplacement, 'wet' and 'dry' methods of disposal, and pre-treatment of the gangue in the mill. This paper reviews current (and, where applicable, past) uranium mill tailings management practice(s) in Africa, Australia, Europe and North America in the context of the above factors