KGHM opens the Southern Quarters. Innovative solutions for safety and the environment

The Southern Quarter, which is part of the Żelazny Most Waste Treatment Tailings Pond, is the largest investment by KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. since 2018. Despite the pandemic, the extension of the facility was completed 7 months ahead of schedule. The Żelazny Most facility is now the largest and best monitored facility in Europe and one of the largest in the world. This is a key element in the copper production process.

"These are innovative solutions for the sake of safety. This is a key element in the copper production process. We have taken a giant step towards constantly participating and winning in this global game. Copper has a great time ahead. We are doing everything to make the most of it. Our results, investments such as the Southern Quarters of the Żelazny Most show that we are doing things right", said the President of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. Marcin Chludziński.

"I have the honour of supervising the crown jewel of the Polish economy, KGHM. A company that responds to the challenges of the modern world. Opening of the Southern Quarters of the Żelazny Most brings the company closer to becoming even more environmentally friendly. As Minister for State Assets, I am proud of KGHM's ability to rise to the challenges, its global reach and its good governance. KGHM is not resting on its laurels, it is constantly expanding, becoming more innovative and modern. The company's profits are record-breaking. The value of KGHM during the time when Marcin Chludziński is its president and when the Ministry of State Assets supervises the company has increased by PLN 20 billion", said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for State Assets Jacek Sasin.

The Żelazny Most tailings pond located in Lower Silesia is the best monitored tailings pond in Europe and receives tailings from KGHM Polska Miedź plants. Together with the so-called Southern Quarters added to the main facility, it covers an area of over 2,000 hectares. The pond is surrounded on all sides by earth dams with a total length of more than 20 km and a height from 54 up to 76 m. The facility receives around 30 million tonnes of tailings per year.

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES

Due to the significantly smaller surface area of the Southern Quarters compared to the main facility, an innovative compacted waste technology was used there. This is a revolutionary method from the point of view of the development and further operation of the Żelazny Most Tailings Pond. In the main facility, the "inward" warps technology is used. Flotation tailings are delivered from the processing plants by hydro-transport. Waste suspension delivered to the Tailings Pond is directed to distribution pipelines located on the crown of the facility's dams, from which it is discharged into the facility via pipelines. The coarse-grained material is used for the superstructure of subsequent floors of the Tailings Pond. The fine-grained material seals the bottom of the Tailings Pond bowl. The facility is being built using only post-flotation "waste" without the need for additional materials.

The base dam of the Southern Quarters has been constructed using the "downstream" method. In the dam area of the Southern Quarters, sealing has been carried out and drainage layers built, which will ensure that dripping water from the waste is received and returned to the closed loop system. The new technology reduces water loss and infiltration into the ground.

A waste separation and compaction station has been set up at the quarters to separate waste. The coarse-grained material will be used for the construction of the dam bodies and the fine-grained material, after the compaction process, will be managed inside the Quarters. Utilisation of this technology makes efficient use of the facility's surface area and does not require a large basin, but only a small reservoir for the collection of leachate water from the waste. Compaction of waste and, as a result, limiting the amount of water in the reservoir, significantly increases the facility's safety.

HIGHEST SAFETY STANDARDS

The pond is constantly monitored. The continuous monitoring of the Żelazny Most Tailings Pond includes a number of processes that determine the safety of the facility's use and possible threats to adjacent areas and the environment. Monitoring scope concerning the facility and environment in its vicinity includes: examination of precipitation rate, examination of substances and indicator parameters in surface, seepage and groundwater, measurement of groundwater level in observation wells, control of the Tailings Pond surface settlement based on established benchmarks, measurement of seepage water volume, monitoring of seismic activity, atmospheric air, soils and plants, animal health, noise. Geological exploration of the Żelazny Most Tailings Pond region is also carried out, including field surveys, sampling for laboratory tests, geophysical surveys based on exploratory boreholes, static soundings, open and string piezometers, inclinometers, drainage and relief wells, and electrical resistivity profiles.

For almost 30 years, the facility has been directly supervised by a wide range of experts and scientists participating in regular meetings (Construction Councils) where all issues related to the design, monitoring and expansion of the Żelazny Most Tailings Pond are discussed.

The Żelazny Most Tailings Pond fully protects the natural environment from water accumulating in the reservoir. In the extension of the facility to the Southern Quarters, the safest option for the construction and sealing of the dams was implemented, both from a hydro-technical and environmental point of view. The project was carried out by Budimex, with more than 100 equipment units working on the site, some of which were purchased specifically for this investment. The progress of the works was laser scanned and updated in BIM in collaboration with the Technical Office's BIM Innovation Team.

"The Żelazny Most Tailings Pond is one of the world's largest flotation waste treatment ponds. We have used modern technologies to expand it into the Southern Quarters, which guarantees the safe and efficient use of the facility," comments Artur Popko, President of Budimex S.A.