Design of an Asphaltic Concrete Core Water Retaining Embankment in Iran

A water retaining embankment was designed for the Miduk Copper Mine, near Shahr-e-Babak, in South-East Iran. This embankment forms part of a larger scheme for a down-valley thickened tailings storage facility which includes a tailings retaining embankment, decant system and associated emergency spillways. The water retaining embankment is located downstream of the tailings embankment. It is designed to collect bleed water and tailings surface and natural catchment rainfall runoff from the tailings storage facility. Water intercepted by this embankment is to be returned to the plant via an outlet pipe constructed through the embankment.

Selection of an asphaltic concrete core and the design of the water retaining embankment were based on two main criteria: the shortage of suitable core material and the associated costs of obtaining that material . This paper discusses the design process, including aspects of site selection, geotechnical investigation, material selection, stability analyses, seismicity, altitude and climate.