Thickened Tailings Storage

Suriname Aluminium Company LLC

Shyam Mahesh, Bauxite Institute Suriname
17 october 2011

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 Contents of the presentation
Introduction.
Background information.
Residue characterization, processing,
handling, storage, treatment and
utilization.
Location of residue storage facilities
(red mud).
Why the transition.
Environment & Monitoring. 2
 Introduction

Suralco refinery: in the Para district,

33 km south of Paramaribo, the
capital of Suriname.
Other activities: bauxite exploration,
bauxite mining and generation of
hydroelectric power.

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 Background information (1)

Started with mining in Suriname in

1916.
In 1964 started generating hydro-
electric power and brought a fully
integrated aluminum company to
Suriname.
In 1984 signed a mining and refining
agreement with N.V. Billiton
Maatschappij Suriname.
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 Background information (2)

Bauxite supplied to the refinery is a

mix of bauxite from four mines.
Refinery production capacity 5.590
ton of alumina per day with a
average of 46 percent of available
alumina.

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 Residue characterization,
processing, handling, storage,
treatment and utilization (1)
Refinery capacity 5.590 ton alumina
per day.
Residue factor 0.8 ton residue per
ton alumina (4.472 ton).
Bayer process, clarification phase
Sand fraction 15% and fine mud
fraction 85%.

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 Residue characterization,
processing, handling,
storage, treatment and
utilization
Dry stacking (2)
(Thickened Tailings
Storage by Dry stacking).
Research and trials on bricks.
Re-vegetation of the used storage
areas.

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Location of residue storage
facilities (red mud) (1)

RSA5B
DRSA-2
DRSA 1

DRSA 1E
Cooling pond
Cooling pond

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Location of residue storage
facilities (red mud) (2)

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 Why the transition

Continuation of the old wet storage

method would have meant:
Development of additional storage
areas;
Impacting on local wetlands;
Requiring large borrow areas for
construction materials (extra
costs).

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 Environment & Monitoring (1)

No community in a range of 1 km.

The Para river.
Primary and secondary dike
Residue Storage Area RSA5B.
Neutralize water from RSA5B to
discharge in the Para river.

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 Environment & Monitoring (2)

High waterlevel and rainfall.

The use of the Amphirol or mud
buggy for plowing.
Mud distribution.

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Thank you