Anti-Seepage Project of Filament Geotextile for Copper Mine Tailings Pond
Anti-Seepage Project of Filament Geotextile for Copper Mine Tailings Pond
(Rock Foundation Without Fine Sand Cushion)
1. Project Overview
This project covers the tailings pond expansion of a copper mine. The pond foundation consists of blasted exposed bedrock featuring uneven surfaces and sharp rock protrusions, making it infeasible to purchase imported fine sand for levelling cushion construction. An alternative solution adopting thickened filament geotextile was applied to replace the sand cushion, with a designed total storage capacity of 1.2 million cubic meters.
Anti-seepage structural composition: Bottom layer of 800g/m² high-tenacity filament geotextile + 2.0mm textured HDPE geomembrane + top layer of 400g/m² geotextile.
2. Highlighted Design of Geotextile
The original design required transporting 23,000 m³ of external fine sand to construct the levelling cushion at excessive construction cost. The revised design uses 800g/m² high burst-resistance filament geotextile; the fluffy fabric structure fills irregular rock undulations naturally, eliminating expenses on sand procurement and haulage, cutting total project cost by approximately USD 200,000.
3. Acceptance Inspection Result
Post-completion seepage inspection confirmed zero leakage. The geotextile maintains stable dimensional performance without cracking or damage under alpine climate with drastic day-night temperature fluctuations.
