Justin joined BMTJV in 2018. His role is focused on the development and delivery of the Rentails Project, providing technical oversight across all aspects of the project including tailings reclaim, re-processing and tailings disposal. Justin is a minerals processing/metallurgical specialist with over 30 years’ experience gained across a broad range of production, commissioning, research, process development, engineering and management roles. He has significant experience in project development and optimisation for a broad range of commodities, across all phases of project life cycle.
The Rentails Project: Tailings Reclaim Considerations
Bluestone Mines Tasmania Joint Venture Pty Ltd, currently operate the Renison Mine in western Tasmania, are progressing the Rentails Project towards execution. The Rentails Project intends to remine and reprocess approximately 30M tonnes of tailings (at 0.44% tin and 0.23% copper) to recovery both tin and copper. The Rentails resource, which represents the second largest tin resource in Australia, is contained within two historic non-operational upstream raised TSFs, namely A-B Dam and C Dam, and the current operational downstream constructed TSF, D Dam. A comprehensive Feasibility Study (FS) has been completed for the Rentails Project, which included various studies and assessments on the remining of A-B Dam, C Dam and D Dam. The upstream raised embankments and potentially soft tailings deposits present obvious geotechnical challenges for consideration. But what else needed to be considered? The holistic planning and design have required a multi-disciplined team and a broad range of considerations. The high rainfall environment, variable tailings deposit, and potentially acid forming tailings have presented challenges and constraints to the planning. This presentation will provide an overview on the approach to mining method selection, water management, geochemistry and potential acid generation, mine planning and resource modelling, processing and metallurgy, and rehabilitation.
