Editing Dam (section)

==== Tailings dam ====
{{main|Tailings dam}}
[[File:Bituminous geomembrane installation on a mine tailings storage facility.jpg|thumb|[[Bituminous Geomembranes (BGMs)|Bituminous geomembrane]]  installation on a mine tailings storage facility.]]

A tailings dam is typically an earth-fill embankment dam used to store [[tailings]], which are produced during [[mining]] operations after separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an [[ore]]. Conventional water retention dams can serve this purpose, but due to cost, a tailings dam is more viable. Unlike water retention dams, a tailings dam is raised in succession throughout the life of the particular mine. Typically, a base or starter dam is constructed, and as it fills with a mixture of tailings and water, it is raised. Material used to raise the dam can include the tailings (depending on their size) along with soil.<ref>{{cite book |last=Blight |first=Geoffrey E. |chapter=Construction of Tailings Dams |title=Case studies on tailings management |year=1998 |publisher=International Council on Metals and the Environment |location=Paris |isbn=978-1-895720-29-7 |pages=9–10 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qG9Bux3RYWMC&q=tailings+dam&pg=PA9 |access-date=10 August 2011}}</ref>

There are three raised tailings dam designs, the "upstream", "downstream", and "centerline", named according to the movement of the crest during raising. The specific design used is dependent upon [[topography]], geology, climate, the type of tailings, and cost. An upstream tailings dam consists of [[trapezoid]]al embankments being constructed on top but toe to crest of another, moving the crest further upstream. This creates a relatively flat downstream side and a jagged upstream side which is supported by tailings [[slurry]] in the impoundment. The downstream design refers to the successive raising of the embankment that positions the fill and crest further downstream. A centerlined dam has sequential embankment dams constructed directly on top of another while fill is placed on the downstream side for support and slurry supports the upstream side.<ref>{{cite web|title=Properties of Tailings Dams |url=http://www.mining.ubc.ca/faculty/meech/MINE290/Tailings%20Dam%20Construction%20Methods.pdf |publisher=NBK Institute of Mining Engineering |access-date=10 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001213037/http://www.mining.ubc.ca/faculty/meech/MINE290/Tailings%20Dam%20Construction%20Methods.pdf |archive-date=1 October 2011 }}http://mining.ubc.ca/files/2013/03/Dirk-van-Zyl.pdf</ref><ref name="taildam">{{cite book |editor-first=Raj K. |editor-last=Singhal |title=Environmental issues and management of waste in energy and mineral production: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Environmental Issues and Management of Waste in Energy and Mineral Production: SWEMP 2000; Calgary, Alberta, Canada, May 30&nbsp;– June 2, 2000 |year=2000 |publisher=Balkema |location=[[Rotterdam]] [u.a.] |isbn=978-90-5809-085-0 |pages=257–260 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PqiYy538JFUC&q=tailings+dam&pg=PA257 |access-date=2015-11-09}}</ref>

Because tailings dams often store toxic chemicals from the mining process, modern designs incorporate an impervious [[geomembrane]] liner to prevent seepage.<ref>{{cite report |last1=McLeod|first1=Harvey  |last2=Bjelkevik|first2=Annika |date=2021 |title=TAILINGS DAM DESIGN Technology Update |publisher= ICOLD Committee on Tailings Dams|url= https://www.icoldchile.cl/boletines/181.pdf|doi= |page= 91}}</ref> Water/slurry levels in the tailings pond must be managed for stability and environmental purposes as well.<ref name="taildam" />