«Mekhanobr Engineering» JSC (Russia):

Kibirev V. I., Deputy General Director for Design of Hydraulic Structures, spb.kibirev@mail.ru

Sazonov G. T., Chairman of the Board of Directors, President, office@mekhanobr.spb.ru

Timofeev N. V., Нead of Department

Today Tailings Disposal Facilities are considered as main operation units of concentrating plants. However, before 1954, waste tailings of ore-dressing facilities were regarded as an unwanted arising problem. Tailings Disposal Facilities were designed and operated with partial discharge of waste tailings slurry and settled water into natural ore bodies. The article describes the stages of radical changes in Tailings Disposal Facilities Design documentation, performed in connection with growing number of newly constructed and upgraded ore-dressing facilities, more stringent environmental protection requirements. The role of hydraulic engineers of the «Mekhanobr» Institute in development and realization of principally new concepts and projects both for Tailings Disposal Facilities and hydrotransport systems construction is shown. The 2000s are marked by the introduction of waste tailings slurry thickening and thickened tailings disposal technology in Russia and the CIS countries. Development of this technological approach is forecast as TSF design alternative in the future.