Influence of rock percentage on strength and permeability of tailing-waste rock mixtures

The strength and permeability of tailing-waste rock mixtures directly affect deposits’ stability for an alternative co-disposal technique. In the mixed co-disposal method, the void of the waste rock is filled with tailings, while the waste rock forms the particle skeleton. This method does not only improve deposits stability but also potentially reduces acid pollution. In this study, the rock percentage influence on the shear strength and permeability of tailing-waste rock mixtures was investigated by carrying out large triaxial tests and permeability tests. The shear strength, enhanced strength mechanism, and mixture permeability were analyzed. The results indicate that the shear strength and internal friction angle of the tailing-waste rock mixtures gently increased until the rock percentage reached 30% and then rapidly increased with the further increase of the rock percentage. The permeability coefficient of the mixtures slowly increased until the rock percentage reached 50% and then rapidly increased with the further increase of the rock percentage. The tailings washed out of the waste rock skeleton when the permeability was large. In this paper, 50% of waste rock is recommended for building mixture deposits.