Electrical resistivity of iron ore mine tailings produced in Western Australia

Abstract

This paper presents the details of an experimental study on the electrical resistivity of iron ore mine tailings produced in Western Australia. In the study, an experimental set-up is developed based on the Wenner Array, and has been used for determining the electrical resistivity of the tailings at different relative densities in dry and fully saturated conditions. The apparent electrical resistivity of the iron ore mine tailings ranged from 11 kΩm for a very dense state to 19 kΩm for a very loose state in dry condition; while for the fully saturated condition, the resistivity ranged from 20 to 31 Ωm for very dense state to very loose state, respectively. The results are discussed for their practical applications such as identifying weak zones in tailing embankments, extent of corrosion in buried steel pipelines, and extent of degree of compaction in structural fills.

Keywords:

• electrical resistivity
• Wenner array
• iron ore
• mine tailings

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to Greg Hudson and David Eastman of Mount Gibson Iron Limited, Perth, who assisted with obtaining the iron ore mine tailings for this research. The authors would also like to appreciate the help from Lee Gough, Gary Wheeler and Dave Farrar, all of MinAnalytical Laboratory Services Australia Pty Ltd for their assistance in conducting the XRF analysis through their facilities.