seconds from disaster, page-19

hotchilli

Thanks for your comments. A few things to consider:

1) The amount of tails they need to handle per day is a maximum of 3,000t not 15,000t

2) Getting the mill started at a lower rate per day would be more acceptable than not doing anything at all (say 1,500t/d).

3) There are numerous examples of the tubes being used in the mining and related industries at input rates similar to the RED requirement.

4) Using the tubes is not a panacea but rather a show starter. It would clearly increase the costs to produce but surely higher cost production is better than nothing at all? Use it for the minimum time possible before a more sustainable (and cheaper) dry stacking method can be employed.

5) In many examples of the tubes being used they are not rehandled after use.

6) Using the tubes is one end member of dry stacking which would obviously be filtered mechanically as a preference. Many modern mines are dry stacking tails. Look for references. Sunrise dam in Western Australia is a good example.

7) The RED announcements explicitly state the silt in the pit was trucked out and they have published photos to that effect. There may have been some decant water pumped to a dam but the amount of silt cannot be anywhere near the same as the amount originally in the pit if it was trucked as stated.

8) The satellite photos do not indicate what you have suggested. The detail on them is incredible.

9) And finally why do these guys give us hope in an announcement over five weeks ago that they are working on the short-term solution and then go silent? These guys need to roll up their sleeves and work to solutions at different levels and time periods without the ‘focus’ that is too distant for them to understand at this juncture anyway.

My motto…. Never give up!