TenCate Geotube® dewatering technologyprovides cost-effective and efficient dewatering and containment in the mining and mineral processing industry. In mining and mineral processing (mine tailings, coal sludge, etc), TenCate Geotube® dewatering technology enables the recovery of valuable materials, provides structural stability, improves water quality, or reduces storage footprint by sometimes 50 to 80%. Conditioners or polymers are normally used to promote flocculation to improve dewatering rates, solids retention, filtrate quality and increase in solids consolidation within the tubes.

TenCate Geotube® Dewatering Technology is ideal for:

Pond and Lagoon Maintenance (polishing ponds)
Tailings Management
Water Resource Management (water reclamation and reuse)
Beneficial Reuse (dyke and berm construction)
Precious Metals Recovery
Emergency and Disaster Management (uninterrupted mining operations)
Acid Mine Drainage (for active or inactive mines)
Specialty Applications
Geosynthetics

Dewatering for Mining and Mineral

TenCate Geotube® Dewatering Technologyis an alternative method for storing dry tailings and replaces the need for a traditional embankment Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) and offers more benefits in comparison to TSF. The large porous containers of Geotube® Dewatering designed for efficient retention of solids and high discharge capacity has been used worldwide to dewater and contain mine tailings safely and economically.

Benefits of TenCate Geotube® Dewatering Technology:

Community Engagement

Use of local labour for ongoing Geotube® deployment
Marketable use of an environmentally friendly alternative technology

Cost

Lower upfront capital expense allows improved financing as the mine is actively generating returns
Improved access to dewatered tailings for secondary processing or salvage value
Eliminates the cost of tailings dam monitoring and insurance
Scalable to match production rates
Beneficial use of Geotube® Dewatering units for bunding and containment

Environmental Impact

Storage of dry tailings in containers which can be stacked significantly reduces the the total required footprint
With the dam failure risk eliminated, the potential for an environmental disaster is significantly reduced
Geotube® Dewatering units allow for monitoring and environmentally friendly disposal of effluent water
Geotube® Dewatering units offer greater flexibility for placement of tailings

Risk

Geotube® Dewatering technology eliminates the risk of TSF dam failure. This risk is particularly significant in areas of high seismic activity and high rainfall
A Geotube® Dewatering solution is easily scalable thus reducing the risk of mine operations scaling beyond the capacity of the TSF