Okay, I got you here. I was trying to be provocative. I’m discussing semantics. The term “dry stacking” bothers me, and it should bother you too. “Dry” means to be devoid of moisture. I’ve never seen filtered tailings coming out of a filter plant that are devoid of moisture. That term is incorrect, and I feel like it is deceitful, even if the deceit isn’t on purpose. I know it’s an industry term that’s been around for a long time, but it’s an industry term that we should abandon. As geotechnical engineers, we know that if the moisture content of a soil is zero, then it’s dry. Filtered tailings coming from a filter plant aren’t dry.
Even worse? “De-watered tailings”. Doesn’t that convey they same thing as “dry”? Technically, I suppose that “de-water” means to remove water from something. Drilling and pumping can be carried out to “de-water” an orebody, for example. But when we use the term “de-watered tailings”, doesn’t it make you think of “dry” tailings?
Can’t we just use the term “filtered tailings”? I realize that the term “filtered tailings” is being used to describe a process, or preparation method, regardless of the behavior of the material, but at least for this blog, I’m fine with that.