The construction of a tailings impoundment in an area with high precipitation during a long period of the year is a challenge in and of itself. In addition, if the impoundment is to be founded on a loose and saturated soil, the challenge becomes even greater. This is the reality of a thickened tailings impoundment, designed as a future solution for tailings storage of a mine located in a rainy region. As a solution to this problem, the possibility of using tubular geoforms filled with thickened tailings for the construction of the containment dam of the thickened tailings impoundment was analyzed. The result would be a significant modification to the original design of the dam (borrow material) in order to reap both technical and economic benefits. The use of tubular geoforms filled with tailings slurry is a new technology in tailings management. The tubular geoforms are made of permeable geosynthetic material, which allows for the draining and consolidation of the water from the slurry, leaving inside a densified material with a resultant moisture equivalent to what we would obtain from complete consolidation of this material but in a much shorter period. This paper analyses technical and constructive advantages that this technology represents for a dam construction. Among others the following advantages are highlighted: (i) management of differential settlements that could be generated in the existing soft foundation soil of the area; (ii) decrease or elimination of a foundation treatment that would involve saturated and loose material removal; and (iii) operation not affected by weather as compared to working with borrow material, which must be compacted at a specific moisture content.
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