PORE PRESSURE CHARACTERIZATION OF IMPOUNDED TAILINGS

Christina Winckler, P.E.1

Richard Davidson, P.E.2
Lisa Yenne, P.E.3
Matt Gallegos4

ABSTRACT

A common problem in any tailings dam, regardless of the method of construction, is the
distribution of pore pressures within the impoundment. The pore pressures within
impounded tailings closest to the crest vary with depositional schemes and requirements
for maintaining a saturated beach for dust control. Downward and lateral drainage also
significantly affect the pore pressure regime along with the size and location of a decant
pond that may shift significantly during each year. These variable components make it
challenging to predict pore pressures within the impounded tailings for the ultimate
design elevation.

A beach investigation and monitoring approach is advocated to characterize pore pressure

conditions, confirm design level analyses, and address these concerns. This approach
includes piezocone penetration testing (CPTu) soundings to characterize the pore
pressure response characteristics of the tailings and installation of piezometers to evaluate
pore pressures within the impounded tailings over time. Upper and lower bound pore
pressure scenarios are developed with respect to physical distance from the decant pond.
These pore pressures are used to project future conditions at the ultimate design
elevation, which are then compared to design seepage modeling results. Undrained
strength limit equilibrium post-earthquake stability analysis using a phreatic surface input
and pore pressure distribution contours are used to evaluate the sensitivity of these
critical input parameters for the ultimate design elevation the loading condition.

INTRODUCTION

The pore pressure regime within impounded tailings of a typical active centerline raise
tailings dam was investigated by advancing piezocone penetration testing (CPTu)
soundings and drill holes along temporary access dikes near existing monitoring sections
up to 600 feet onto the beach.

The internal geometry consists of an embankment sand shell constructed of compacted

underflow sand at a 4H:1V (horizontal to vertical) exterior slope with a 100-foot wide

1
Senior Geotechnical Engineer, URS Corporation, 8181 East Tufts Ave., Denver, CO 80237, 303-740-
3986, Christina.Winckler@urs.com
2
Senior Principal, Vice President, URS Corporation, 8181 East Tufts Ave., Denver, CO 80237, 303-796-
4655, Richard.Davidson@urs.com
3
Manager Mining Group, Vice President, URS Corporation, 8181 East Tufts Ave., Denver, CO 80237,
303-796-4626, Lisa.Yenne@urs.com
4
Senior Geotechnical Engineer, Rio Tinto, 11984 West Highway 202, Magna, UT 84074, 801-204-3506,
gallegom@kennecott.com

Pore Pressure Characterization of Impounded Tailings 1437

final crest. The ultimate design section is approximately 250 feet in height. This typical
section also includes a drainage blanket extending 200 feet upstream of the centerline, as
shown on Figure 1. The results from the pore pressure measurements from CPTu static
dissipation tests were compared to on-going piezometer measurements. The foundation
material is relatively impermeable as compared to the tailings.

Figure 1. Typical Centerline Dam Section.

Two monitoring sections are considered in this paper; one section is located close to the
decant pond while the other section is almost two miles from the decant pond. Both of
these sections require tailings spigotted on the beach on the same regular rotating cycle
for dust control. These sections represent the upper and lower bounds for the pore
pressure regime within the impounded tailings.

BEACH INVESTIGATION

A beach investigation program can be performed to gather in situ information about

impounded tailings. The intent of the investigation is to evaluate the beach development
over time, to characterize pore pressures within the impounded tailings, and to verify the
effectiveness of the drainage measures. The field investigations include advancing CPTu
soundings and performing dissipation tests at a series of depths. At some CPTu sounding
locations, drill holes can also be advanced to collect samples for laboratory testing.
Piezometers can also be installed along each of the sections to monitor beach phreatic
conditions during spigotting cycles. Shallow test pits can also demonstrate how
meandering tailings streams deposit coarser material and slimes pockets.

1438 Dams and Extreme Events

 Photo 1. Test pit exploring tailings beach deposition.

Access dikes are constructed in order to advance the soundings and drill holes within the
impoundment interior. Depending on conditions, geogrid and geotextile reinforcement is
often required to advance the dikes as far into the impoundment as is safely accessible, as
shown on Photo 2.

Photo 2. Access Dike Construction towards the Impoundment Interior.

The approximate length of the access dikes for the upper and lower bound sections were
about 400 to 600 ft. Loose, saturated conditions were confirmed by sand boils and
bearing capacity failures observed as the dikes were advanced due to fill placement, as
shown on Photo 3. The sand boils were generally observed at a distance of 200 feet or
greater from the crest.

Pore Pressure Characterization of Impounded Tailings 1439

 Photo 3. Sand Boils Observed during Access Dike Construction.

Table 1 summarizes the pore pressure profiles in CPTu soundings from within the
impounded tailings. The co-located drill hole to the CPTu sounding is also noted in Table
1.

Table 1
Summary of Evaluated CPTu Soundings and Drill Holes
Distance from
Percent of Full
CPTu Sounding Embankment
Study Section Hydrostatic Pore
and Drill Hole Centerline
Pressure
(feet)
CPT-U1 23 15
CPT-U2 and DH-U2 48 20
Upper Bound CPT-U3 67 20
Section CPT-U4 and DH-U5 89 20
CPT-U5 and DH-U6 285 50
CPT-U6 544 65
CPT-L1 13 5
CPT-L2 35 5
Lower Bound CPT-L3 and DH-3 67 20
Section CPT-L4 and DH-4 88 20
CPT-L5 187 30
CPT-L6 354 45

Results from this investigation showed that the beach area within 200 feet of the dam
centerline is well drained and has a low percentage of full hydrostatic pressure conditions
due to the effectiveness of installed drainage measures. The tailings within 50 feet
upstream of the centerline show little or no pore pressure. Beyond 200 feet from the
centerline, the percent of hydrostatic conditions increased to 45 and 65 percent, as shown
in Table 1. Progressing further into the interior, closer to the decant pond, full hydrostatic

1440 Dams and Extreme Events

conditions would be expected without much drainage effect. In this case, the beach slope
ranged between 0.4 and 0.6 percent, although 1 percent slopes are common in coarser,
spigotted tailings.

LABORATORY TESTING

Laboratory testing performed on the impounded tailings beach samples included sieve
analysis, Atterberg limits, moisture content, consolidation testing, and triaxial and DSS
shear strength testing. The consolidation results were used to normalize strength
parameters. The fines content of impounded tailings typically range between 15 to 99
percent, as shown on Figure 2. The plasticity index ranged between 1 and 12 for the
finer-grained silty or clayey materials. Many coarser grained samples are non-plastic.

Figure 2. Summary of Tailings Gradations.

The degree of saturation (Sr) was calculated on Shelby tube samples using the void ratio
(e) and moisture content (w) measured from consolidation or triaxial shear strength
testing using the following equation:

Sr = (w Gs)/e (1)

A specific gravity (Gs) of 2.7 was used for impounded tailings, although it can be much
higher in other ore bodies. The calculated degree of saturation is shown on Figure 3. The
results show a degree of saturation generally above 85 percent.

Pore Pressure Characterization of Impounded Tailings 1441

 Figure 3. Calculated Degree of Saturation for Impounded Tailings Samples.

PORE PRESSURE CHARACTERIZATION

The pore pressures within the impounded tailings can be characterized using dissipation
test results from the CPTu soundings. Two sections were selected to represent the upper
and lower bound pore pressure within the impounded tailings as follows:

• Upper bound section with the decant pond located relatively close, approximately
600 feet from the upstream crest centerline of the embankment.
• Lower bound section with the decant pond located approximately 9,000 feet from
the upstream crest centerline of the embankment.

The dynamic pore pressures for each CPTu sounding, the static equilibrium pore pressure
obtained from the pore pressure dissipation tests, and the piezometer readings are shown
on Figures 4 and 5 for the upper and lower bound sections, respectively. The percentage
of full hydrostatic pore pressure was calculated for each sounding, also shown on Figures
4 and 5, and summarized on Table 1. Generally, the pore pressure dissipation tests and
piezometer readings show reasonable agreement. Typical piezometer readings for the
upper bound section within the impounded tailings have gradually increased as the
impoundment is raised over the years, as shown on Figure 6.

1442 Dams and Extreme Events

 Figure 4. Dynamic Pore Pressures, Static Dissipation Results, and Piezometer Readings
for Upper Bound Section.

Figure 5. Dynamic Pore Pressures, Static Dissipation Results, and Piezometer Readings
for Lower Bound Section.

Pore Pressure Characterization of Impounded Tailings 1443

 **

Figure 6. Typical Individual Piezometer Readings in Impounded Tailings for Upper

Bound Section.

Both the upper and lower bounds pore pressure characterization were divided in four
zones with respect to distance from the embankment centerline, as shown on Figures 7
and 8. The zones are 0 to 100, 100 to 300, 300 to 500, and greater than 500 feet from the
crest. For both conditions, the zone greater than 500 feet was assumed to be 100 percent
of full hydrostatic pressures. The upper bound pore pressure zones are characterized
using 20, 50, and 65 percent hydrostatic, respectively, as shown on Figure 7.

Figure 7. Upper Bound Pore Pressure Characterization within the Impounded Tailings.

1444 Dams and Extreme Events

The lower bound pore pressure zones are characterized using 20, 30, and 45 percent of
hydrostatic, respectively, as shown on Figure 8.

Figure 8. Lower Bound Pore Pressure Characterization within the Impounded Tailings.

SEEPAGE ANALYSIS

The original design seepage analyses to evaluate the ultimate design elevation
performance included various tailings beach wetting scenarios (Ridlen et al., 1997). Pore
pressures were calculated for three cases; upper bound, lower bound, and a “best
estimate” case. The pore pressures based on field investigation results and vibrating wire
piezometer measurements compared favorably with the “best estimate” design seepage
model results.

Seepage analyses were completed using the two-dimensional finite element analysis
computer program SEEP/W (Geo-Slope, 1991), to estimate pore pressure regimes as the
tailings dam is raised to its ultimate height. A range of hydraulic conductivities for the
tailings and foundation soils were used in the analyses. The hydraulic conductivity of the
impounded tailings was modeled to decrease with increased confining pressures due to
consolidation and reduction in void ratio. Both tailings and foundation were modeled
using anisotropic (horizontal being greater than the vertical) hydraulic conductivities.

Three different estimates of pore pressures conditions were established using three
different combinations of boundary conditions and tailings hydraulic conductivities. The
lower bound conditions consisted of a decant pond 1,500 feet from the crest, a flux of 200
gpd/acre across the beach to simulate intermittent spigotting, and no inflow from the
hydraulic cells on the crest of the embankment. The results are shown on Figure 9.

Pore Pressure Characterization of Impounded Tailings 1445

 Figure 9. Lower Bound Pore Pressure Seepage Analysis Result (Note, pore pressure
magnitude is shown on Figure 12).

The upper bound pore pressure conditions were estimated using a decant pond 1,500 feet
upstream of the crest, a total head on the beach to create saturated conditions along the
beach to simulate continuous spigotting, and an inflow of 450 gpd/linear foot along the
crest of the embankment to represent hydraulic deposition. This estimate also used the
lower estimate of tailings hydraulic conductivity. The results are shown on Figure 10.

Figure 10. Upper Bound Pore Pressure Seepage Analysis Results (Note, pore pressure
magnitude is shown on Figure 12).

The “Best Estimate” pore pressures were estimated using a decant pond 1,500 feet
upstream of the crest, a flux of 200 gpd/acre across the beach to simulate periodic
spigotting, and an inflow of 450 gpd/linear foot along the crest of the embankment to
represent hydraulic deposition. The results are shown on Figure 11.

1446 Dams and Extreme Events

Figure 11. “Best Estimate” Pore Pressure Seepage Analysis Results (Note, pore pressure
magnitude is shown on Figure 12).

Comparison with Upper Bound Pore Pressure Conditions

The actual pore pressure conditions for the upper bound section were compared to the
design “best estimate” case seepage pore pressure conditions, as shown in Figure 12.
Contours of upper bound total head pore pressures were developed and imposed on the
seepage analysis results. The upper bound pore pressure conditions are similar to the
seepage analysis “best estimate” pore pressure conditions.

Figure 12. Best Estimate Seepage Analysis Result with Upper Bound Pore Pressure
Characterization within the Impounded Tailings (Note, pore pressure magnitude is shown
in psf).

STABILITY ANALYSIS

Undrained strength slope stability analyses were conducted to evaluate the ultimate
design height under the post-earthquake loading condition using two input methods of
pore pressures within the impounded tailings. One case used an assumed phreatic surface
with a decant pond modeled 300 feet from the crest and the phreatic surface decreased
from the decant pond to the center line of the embankment. The other case used the

Pore Pressure Characterization of Impounded Tailings 1447

projected upper bound and lower bound pore pressure conditions based on the CPTu
soundings and piezometer readings from the beach investigation. The undrained strength
analysis (Ladd, 1991) has been used to evaluate the post-earthquake loading condition,
where the material strength at the end of shaking is characterized based on the size of the
earthquake and performance of the tailings and foundation under these conditions.
Saturated tailings and foundation materials will generate excess pore pressure during
shaking. For these materials, the post-earthquake residual strength or a percentage of the
peak undrained shear strengths were modeled to account for degradation of shear strength
during the event.

Two types of tailings material are included in the section, impounded tailings and
compacted underflow. Spigotted deposition occurs from the embankment crest and
includes whole tailings and overflow tailings. The combination of whole tailings and
overflow tailings are characterized as one single material. The internal geometry is shown
on Figure 1.

Approach and Methodology

The limit equilibrium computer program UTEXAS4 (Wright, 1999) and Spencer’s
method of slices was used for the analyses. The post-earthquake loading condition
corresponds to the end of shaking. The loading condition is applied to the ultimate design
height immediately after deposition ceases. This is an extreme condition; with time, the
pore pressures would continue to improve due to dissipation of excess pore pressures in
the foundation and tailings materials.

The shear strengths of the materials are adjusted to reflect potential liquefaction or shear
strength loss that may occur during or after the earthquake. Therefore, saturated
potentially liquefiable materials such as the contractive whole tailings were modeled
using a residual undrained shear strength ratio. Naturally deposited, cohesive foundations
soils are not expected to liquefy, but will generate excess pore water pressures during an
earthquake. For these soils, the peak undrained shear strengths were reduced by 10
percent throughout the entire foundation layers to account for the degradation of shear
strength during an earthquake event.

Effective stress drained parameters were used for the compacted underflow sand, which
is not expected to generate excess pore water pressures or experience a reduction in shear
strength during an earthquake.

Results using Phreatic Surface

Figure 13 shows the identified shear surfaces for the post-earthquake stability analysis
model with a decant pond located 300 feet from the crest.

1448 Dams and Extreme Events

 Figure 13. Stability Results using Simplified Phreatic Surface Input.

In this case, full hydrostatic pressure and saturated conditions are assumed below the
estimated simplified phreatic surface, in the absence of beach information. The factor of
safety for the critical shear surface is 1.16.

Results using Pore Pressure Conditions

The identified shear surfaces for the upper bound pore pressure conditions are shown on
Figure 14, using pore pressures projected from the measured pore pressure conditions in
the beach investigation.

Figure 14. Stability Results using Upper Bound Pore Pressure Conditions.

A sensitivity study of the pore pressure input conditions is also performed for the lower
bound conditions. These results are presented on Figure 15.

Figure 15. Stability Results using Lower Bound Pore Pressure Conditions.

Pore Pressure Characterization of Impounded Tailings 1449

For both the upper bound and lower bound cases, using the projected pore pressure
conditions from the beach investigation measurements provides factors of safety which
are at least 5 percent higher than using the estimated simplified phreatic surface.

CONCLUSION

Spigotting to maintain a wet beach can be the main contributor to pore pressures within
impounded tailings between the pond and exterior embankment as observed in beach
investigations. The pore pressures within impounded tailings closest to the crest vary
with depositional schemes and the requirement to maintain a saturated beach for dust
control. Downward and lateral drainage also significantly affect the pore pressure regime.
Also, the size and location of a decant pond can shift significantly throughout the year,
this results in a saturated beach area with varying percentage of full hydrostatic pore
pressure within the impounded tailings.

The upper and lower bound pore pressure conditions should be based on measured data
and should reflect the variation in the potential distance to the decant pond. The post-
earthquake stability analysis results corresponding to the upper and lower bound
percentage of hydrostatic pore pressure conditions may indicate that stability results are
less sensitive to the location of the decant pond.

Many researchers and practitioners are attempting to estimate generation of excess pore
pressures during a seismic event; however, it is the author’s view that the USA method
with an estimate of reduced shear strength provides a more reliable simulation of post-
earthquake behavior. This approach is tied to the state of the material (Winckler et al,
2014) and the performance of numerous case histories which have experienced shear
strength loss and/or liquefaction.

There can be important differences in the results of stability analyses results using a
simplified phreatic surface assumption versus the projected pore pressure conditions.
Using a phreatic surface with full hydrostatic pressures does not simulate actual
conditions and can lead to excessive conservatism. The results from this beach
investigation showed that full hydrostatic pressure does not exist within the beach and
that the pore pressure regime is more complicated with three-dimensional drainage.

A beach investigation can be essential in defining drainage and pore pressure conditions
within the impounded tailings and in calibrating seepage models for predicting future
pore pressure conditions within impounded tailings.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The guidance of Emeritus Professors Norbert Morgenstern, I. M. Idriss, James K.

Mitchell, and Dr. Yoshi Moriwaki is gratefully acknowledged.

1450 Dams and Extreme Events

 REFERENCES

Geo-Slope International Ltd. (1991). SEEP/W, User’s Guide for Finite Element Seepage
Analysis.

Ridlen, Paul W., Davidson, R. R., Manka, D. L., Pilz, J., and Dunne, R. E. (1997).
Geotechnical Design of Kennecott Utah Copper Tailings Impoundment Expansion.
Tailings and Mine Waste ’97, Fort Collins, Colorado

Ladd, Charles C., (1991). Stability Evaluation during Staged Construction. Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering. Vol. 117, No. 4. April.

Winckler, Christina, Davidson, R., Yenne, L, and Pilz, J. (2014). CPTu-Based State
Characterization of Tailings Liquefaction Susceptibility. USSD 34th Annual Conference.
San Francisco. April 2014.

Wright, Steven G. (1999). UTEXAS4, A Computer Program for Slope Stability

Calculations, Shinoak Software, Austin, Texas.

Pore Pressure Characterization of Impounded Tailings 1451