Dam Safety Remediation Measures at the Aitik Tailings Management Facility, Northern Sweden

December 16, 2024

At the Aitik tailings management facility (TMF), recent (2019–2023) extensive site investigations in the dams’ foundations and the deposited tailings mass have highlighted the need to undertake a large program of dam safety remediation measures to improve the stability of the roughly 70 m high embankments, and to help achieve the requirements set out in the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM).

The techniques and management strategies used were uniquely selected to satisfy critical performance requirements, as needed to manage continuous operation and tailings deposition, and to safely execute the remediation works. They include buttressing of the existing clarification pond, construction of an extensive shear key at the toe of one of the embankments, and establishment of an exclusion zone for tailings deposition through the construction of rockfill piers across the tailings beach surface. In addition, the works involve the construction, decommissioning, or relocation of key mine infrastructure (haul roads, services, and water management features such as spillways, pump houses, and pipes).

Over the course of the 32 months duration of the project, over 45 Mt of rockfill will have been hauled to the dams and the scope, scale, timeline, and logistical complexity of the works will have impacted the entire mine site.

Girard, R. and J. Quinn. 2024. “Dam Safety Remediation Measures at the Aitik Tailings Management Facility, Northern Sweden,” in Proceedings of the Tailings and Mine Waste Conference, 10-13 November 2024. Colorado, USA.