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MINE D’OR DU TASIAST MASSIF DE L’ADRAR

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Reinforced embankments and steep slopes

2020

TASIAST - XX - Mauritanie

KINROSS

MINE D’OR DU TASIAST MASSIF DE L’ADRAR

Problem

In the context of the operation of the Tasiast gold mine in the Adrar Massif (Mauritanian desert), the mining company KINROSS had a primary crusher wall constructed, requiring the construction of two side walls with a height of 32.50 meters. The soil reinforcement technique with a vertical mineral facing, Terramesh® System, developed by Maccaferri, was chosen. The construction oversight company AUSENCO was impressed by the performance of the Terramesh® system as well as the technical support provided by Maccaferri. This is the tallest Terramesh system wall in the field of mining applications!

Solution

The Terramesh® system is a system that combines a gabion facing with a continuous wire mesh reinforcement of the facing. The gabion part ensures a neat facing while the wire mesh reinforcement provides support for the rear embankment and the stability of the structure. In addition to the wire mesh, reinforcement geogrids like Paralink® 300 and Paralink® 400 were added over a length of 20 meters in the embankment to provide the necessary reinforcement.The wire mesh used in the Terramesh® system is of a double-twisted hexagonal mesh type, coated with a 1mm thick PVC sheath. This corrosion-resistant wire protection ensures a service life of the structure for 120 years. The design of the structure was carried out by Maccaferri’s technical department using their in-house slope stability software, MACSTARS, to determine the length, spacing, and type of reinforcement.The construction of such a large retaining structure requires careful placement of the components and strict adherence to the work procedures. Maccaferri provided a comprehensive work procedure to assist the company in all stages of the project implementation. The cages were filled with stones extracted from the site and crushed on-site. Nearly 4,000 tons of stones were needed to fill the cages. Considering an average gold concentration of 5g/t in the extracted stones, the wall is made up of approximately 20kg of gold!