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During mining, ore is crushed, ground and processed to separate valuable minerals from the surrounding rock. The residual leftover rock and water from this process is called tailings. Traditionally, tailings were stored in liquid form in large facilities, known as tailings ponds.
Dry-stack technology is the best international practice in the mining sector. It removes the water from tailings, leaving behind a sandy material which is then stacked and compressed. This way, tailings are stored in much smaller areas more safely, reducing the project’s environmental footprint. Moreover, the dry-stacking area is better rehabilitated and integrated in the natural environment.
Reduced operational footprint thanks to smaller occupied areas.
Water use control thanks to dewatering and water recycling in the production process.
Low moisture solid form of stored tailings increases safety.
Creates full-time job opportunities for the duration of the project.
The Tailings Management Facility already operating at Kokkinolakkas is a state-of-the-art dry-stack tailings site located in the area of Madem Lakkos. It was designed and constructed with the latest technology to guarantee safe and environmentally responsible management of the current and historical tailings at Olympias (1960-2002). It was created to address the imperative need for closing the historical waste storage sites and create a new unified area with a primary focus on environmental protection.
4-level waterproofing system in conformance with national and European guidelines and the highest international standards.
24/7 monitoring of environmental and geotechnical parameters.
Water management systems for the preservation of natural water resources and the stability of the facility.
Materials stored in a solid form (moisture<20%) to optimize their geotechnical and geochemical characteristics.
Storage capacity of 10,85 million m3 to ensure environmentally safe storage for the dry-stack tailings generated from extracting operations and the processing of contemporary metal deposits at the Olympias and the Mavres Petres mines, and the materials generated during removing, cleaning and restoring all the historical and inactive areas.
High protection against natural phenomena (such as earthquakes and floods).
Skouries is a high-grade copper-gold deposit which will be mined using a combination of conventional open-pit and underground mining techniques, in line with the parallel rehabilitation principles, occupying less area. It has been designed to minimize operational footprint and maximize operational safety by integrating the latest dry-stack tailings management technology.
With the amendment of the Skouries planning, which was approved in 2021, and then approved in 2023 with the new Environmental Impact Assessment approval, an area of 486,000 square meters at the Lotsanikos basin was fully released. Dry-stack tailings management is now restricted within the Karatza Lakkos basin and occupies a footprint reduced by 40%.
By using the dry-stack tailings method at Skouries, we achieve:
40% reduced operational footprint by using only one out of the two storage facilities.
Reduced storage requirements and elimination of water losses through seepage, thanks to the dry form of the tailings (12-16% moisture).
Improvement of the geotechnical characteristics of storage facilities.
Parallel rehabilitation and full integration into the area’s natural landscape as operations are closed.
Water use control thanks to dewatering and water recycling in the production cycle.
For the management of other wastes generated during mining operations (municipal, industrial and wastewater), we follow comprehensive and structured procedures at all stages of: collection, transport, temporary storage, final disposal.
Our efforts were focused on “SEPARATION AT SOURCE” which means: Separating recyclable materials under different categories on the site of production. We have therefore proceeded with:
the procurement and installation of separation and collection containers for recyclable materials,
the placement of paper compression presses at the materials storage spaces,
the placement of barrel press machines at the sites, and
the placement of press containers for paper and plastic at the Temporary Waste Storage Facilities.
