DESIGN OF SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE WHINNYHALL TSF STABILITY , Rio Tinto, Burntisland, SCOTLAND, 2025

Project Overview
The Whinnyhall Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) is located directly north of Burntisland in Scotland. The site was historically used for the deposition of red mud bauxite residues and associated industrial wastes from the Alcan bauxite processing plant, operating from 1941 until its closure in 2003. 

Although remediation work was completed in 2006, the site continues to require active management due to the ongoing discharge of leachates. Since acquiring ownership of the facility, Rio Tinto (RT) is responsible for applying both the D5 Standard – Management of Tailings and Water Storage Facilities and the 2020 Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM). 

Thus, Mecater was requested to perform an order of magnitude study for the stability improvement including a multi-criteria comparative analysis for Whinnyhall TSF and to elaborate a water balance model as well as a conceptual design of a buffer pond and a decommissioning phases for ther Top Pond.

Key Data

Surface: 18 ha

Capacity: 2 Mm3

Residue Type: Beauxite Red Mud 

Embankement Height: 12 m

Status: Closed

Mecater Ingénierie Scope of Work

• TSF Stability improvement: Review of the existing data, preliminary design of each proposed solution, bill of quantity, multi-criteria comparative analysis, …
• Water Balance Model: Generation of GoldSim model using recorded data and definition of the buffer pond needed capacity
• Buffer Pond Design: Conceptual design 
• Top Pond Decommissioning: Conceptual design