Institute “Yakutniproalmaz”:

N. A. Trofimova, Head of Laboratory, Candidate of Economical Sciences

R. Sh. Bakhteev, Leading Engineer-Hydrogeologist, e-mail: TrofimovaNA@alrosa.ru

Tailing impoundments of liquid wastes from processing plants are considered to be potentially dangerous facilities that generate a negative impact on environment of the surrounding territories. A vital task of their disposal is faced nowadays by mining industry in general and by the diamond-mining company “ALROSA” OJSC in particular. At present few applied and mostly widespread methods, used by currently operating mining enterprises for solving this problem, include: discharge into rivers network in volumes that do not deteriorate its environmental condition; stockpiling into artificially created ground water bodies and underground disposal into aquifers, have a number of engineering, ecological and economical limitations, which are conditioned by reduced mineralization (15-20g/l) of liquid wastes of processing plants. The most promising discharge technology for tailing impoundments with temporarily stockpiled aforesaid wastes (in terms of ecological and economical advantages) is already a proven method of strong brines disposal into permafrost rocks used at Udachninsky GOK, “ALROSA” OJSC.

The developed, introduced and successfully proven by experiments technology of low-mineralized waters disposal (of tailing facility) into permafrost interstratal intervals is based on application of beneficial effect resulted from dissolving underground ice by means of brine waters. Its utilization provides an opportunity to perform discharge of accumulated tailing facilities of “ALROSA” OJSC with minimal financial costs and without any environmental harm.