A multidisciplinary approach considering geochemical reorganization and internal structure of tailings impoundments for metal exploration

Tailings deposits may host a significant amount of valuable elements and are of great interest as exploration targets for secondary mining. However, elements are distributed heterogeneously within an impoundment due to physical and chemical processes during and after deposition. Therefore, the complex internal structure has to be considered for representative sampling, estimation of ore grade and to prevent dilution of metals by bulk mining....