Solid Waste Management Plan
Mining exploitation activities have produced an increasing amount of solid waste and caused
increasingly severe environmental damage as the Copper-Gold mining industry has grown. The
largest industrial solid waste generated in the process of exploitation of mineral resources is waste
rock, tailings, and other solid waste. The discharging of these solid wastes has a large portion of mine
land use and higher safety requirements. Simultaneously, it also brings great destruction to the mine
area environment. The Tampakan Copper Gold Project operated by Sagittarius Mines Inc. in the
boundaries of South Cotabato, Davao del Sur, and Sarangani is the subject of being focused. A
comprehensive solid waste management plan must be constructed to compensate for resources
shortage and generate environmental protection which would result in economic and social benefits.
Copper-Gold mining waste storage piles may be as large as 1,000 acres and typically include
three types of waste: waste rock, tailings, spent ore, and other wastes. Waste rock is one of the
maximum solid wastes that occurred in the copper-gold mining industry. To extract ore, a large
amount of rock is stripped or excavated and transported to the waste-rock dump. When the mineral
resource was exploited by underground mining methods, waste rocks are often rooted in the
excavation of mine shafts and declines and other development areas (EPA, 2020).
Constructing and Designing Waste Rock Piles (epa.gov)
Constructing and designing waste rock piles and/or dumps involves four major activities:
Material Characterization: Consistent and precise characterization of mine and waste rock
can aid in the identification of rock with high acid generation and buffering potential. With
this information, the rock can be put in the pile in such a way that acid generation is
minimized and acid treatment is maximized.
Proper Design: In Tampakan Copper-Gold mines, long-term stability and acid generation
potential are key considerations in designing the pile. In addition, any planned reclamation
and revegetation after pile closure will need to be incorporated into the design. Rehabilitation
of waste rock piles: Impact of acid drainage on potential toxicity by trace elements in plants
and soil
Figure 3. Pile Design for Waste Rock
Waste Deposition: To enhance performance and reduce effects, the trash must be deposited in
accordance with the pile design.
Waste Diversion: Establishing optimum water diversion control can reduce the potential for
acid generation and/or mitigate the potential acid impacts by diverting acid away from
susceptible habitats.
Waste Reuse: Instead of disposing of the waste, mixtures of crushed waste rock have been re-
used to construct embankments, fills, or pavement bases for highways.
Tailings are the principal solid wastes generated during the mineral beneficiation process. To
extract usable minerals, the ore was crushed and processed to the desired size, and then the usable
minerals were separated from the unusable minerals using various beneficiation techniques.
The major pile configurations for dry tailings are:
Valley-fill: tailings are dumped to fill in a valley;
Side hill disposal: tailings are piled on the side of a hill;
Level piles: can grow as lifts are added throughout the mine's life;
Waste-Reuse: some studies have shown that copper tailings can be used in bricks if pyrites
are removed first.
Spent ore is the material remaining after leaching. When the target metals can no longer be
recovered economically, copper or gold ore treated to heap or dump leaching becomes spent ore. A
limited percentage of gold mines dump spent ore in piles or dumps, which are usually left in place and
restored. The leftover elements are usually sand particles or pebbles of various sizes.
Spent Ore Management Methods:
Off-loading: The removal of leached ore from the leached pad to an ultimate disposal
destination, such as a valley-fill, waste piles, or an exhausted portion of an open pit, is known
as off-loading of spent ore. Contaminants, target minerals, and sulfur-bearing minerals may
be present in low concentrations in off-loaded wasted ore. Clay can be used to cover waste
minerals to prevent infiltration and run-off.
Detoxification: The principal way for increasing cyanide destruction in wasted ore is active
neutralization. Fresh water, re-circulation of untreated process solution, alkaline chlorination,
hydrogen peroxide, and biological treatment are among the washing liquids utilized in this
procedure.
Capping: The risk for precipitation infiltration, which can mobilize and transport pollutants,
can be reduced by capping a used ore pile. A geotextile cap or heavy compaction of soils with
high silt or clay content might be used to cap them. To boost stability, all techniques are
followed by the addition of soil and revegetation using shallow-rooted plants.
The SWMP's objective is to explain the strategies for managing solid waste. This is critical in the
mining sector, particularly at Sagittarius Mines Inc.'s Tampakan Copper Gold Project, where statistics
demonstrate an increasing number of individuals affected and the environmental implications of its
wastes. The Tampakan Copper-Gold project's potential implications are as complex as they are vast,
primarily affecting onsite population, plant and soil, and the water cycle in the site and neighboring
areas. Hence, SWMP should be a prime action that must be follow to mitigate future circumstance
and resolve current problems (ESSC, 2012).
References:
https://www3.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/wastes.htm
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479720317734
https://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm-copper-mining-and-production-wastes
https://franciscansinternational.org/fileadmin/media/Business_and_HR/Statements/
philippines_report_tampakancopyrevised_may2014.pdf
https://www.mining-technology.com/projects/tampakangoldcopperpr/
