A Fifty Cent Rheometer for Waste Management of Environmentally Sensitive Ore Tailings

Abstract

Substantial progress has been made recently toward developing environmentally acceptable disposal strategies in the minerals industry. Typically disposal schemes incorporate a mechanical dewatering stage in which the material is concentrated before disposal. At higher concentrations many particulate suspensions will exhibit a yield stress which is of vital importance to the operation of the disposal scheme. The present paper illustrates how the slump test, previously used for determining the empirical flow properties of fresh concrete, has been adopted as a means for accurately measuring the yield stress. The slump test offers a quick and easy way of measuring yield stress without the need for sophisticated electronic equipment, thereby giving plant operators an effective tool for examining yield stress in the field. A simple theoretical model is briefly described and experimental results performed to validate the model.