Tailings

Tailings are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are distinct from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material that overlies an ore or mineral body and is displaced during mining without being processed.

Tailings consist of fine particles, ranging from the size of a grain of sand to a few micrometers.

There is a wide range of methods for recovering economic value, containing, or otherwise mitigating the impacts of tailings.