Measurements of uranium mill tailings consolidation characteristics

A series of experiments were conducted on uranium mill tailings from the tailings pile in Grand Junction, Colorado, to determine their consolidation characteristics. Three materials (sand, sand/slimes mix, slimes) were loaded under saturated conditions to determine their saturated consolidated behavior. During a separate experiment, samples of the slimes material were kept under a constant load while the pore pressure was increased to determine the partially saturated consolidation behavior. Results of the saturated tests compared well with published data. Sand consolidated the least, while slimes consolidated the most. As each material consolidated, the measured hydraulic conductivity decreased in a linear fashion with respect to the void ratio. Partially saturated experiments with the slimes indicated that there was little consolidation as the pore pressure was increased progressively above 7 kPa. The small amount of consolidation that did occur was only a fraction of the amount of saturated consolidation. Preliminary measurements between pore pressures of 0 and 7 kPa indicated that measurable consolidation could occur in this range of pore pressure, but only if there was no load. 13 references, 13 figures