TECHNICAL PAPERS
Feb 1, 1998
Failure of Cyanide Overflow Pond Dam
Authors: Gerald A. Leonards, Fellow, ASCE,, and Richard J. Deschamps, Member, ASCEAuthor Affiliations
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 12, Issue 1
Abstract
An overflow pond dam at a gold mine in South Carolina failed in October 1990 approximately 2 weeks after an exceptionally large rainstorm produced more than 280 mm (11 in.) of rain in 1 day (>>2,500-year event). The pond contained a cyanide leaching solution used to extract gold from low-grade ore. The pond was lined with two geomembranes separated by a geodrain intended to serve as a leak detection system. A detailed investigation attributed the failure to internal erosion within the dam that resulted from uncontrolled natural ground-water seepage occurring below the dam. The dam was constructed of gap-graded rockfill containing significant portions of highly erodible fines. Shortcomings in the design and in the construction procedures that contributed to the failure are identified and discussed.
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Copyright © 1998 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Published online: Feb 1, 1998
Published in print: Feb 1998
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Gerald A. Leonards, Fellow, ASCE,
Prof. Emeritus, School of Civ. Engrg., Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47907.
Richard J. Deschamps, Member, ASCE
Asst. Prof., School of Civ. Engrg., Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN.
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Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.