Gold tailings liquefaction under critical state soil mechanics

Abstract

The results from a laboratory testing programme designed to evaluate the behaviour of gold tailings are presented, and interpreted in the critical state framework. Drained and undrained triaxial tests sheared under monotonic loading allowed the critical state line (CSL) to be established. The observed highly non-linear shape of the CSL was used to investigate the intrinsic dynamics of the monotonic undrained response of tailings, and to define the undrained instability state. This behaviour is useful in explaining the mechanics of tailings, which exhibits relatively well-defined transitions of state captured by the state parameter.