Mining

Waste rock pile drainage, dry stacking and erosion control with ANM compliance

The Challenge

Brazilian mining operates under increasing regulatory pressure following Law 14,066/2020, which bans upstream tailings dams and mandates decharacterisation of existing ones. Dry stacking is growing as an alternative — but requires efficient base drainage to ensure stability and compliance with ANM and the GISTM standard.

Beyond base pile drains, machinery yards and haul roads concentrate large volumes of HDPE pipe: conduits protect power and lighting cables for heavy equipment, while high-stiffness drainage pipes prevent mud from shutting down operations.

Techduto Solutions for Mining

Recommended lines, uses and differentials

Product Line	Use in Mining	Key Advantage
Techdreno DW SN8	Pile base drain, machinery yard and haul road drainage	SN8 ring stiffness, inert to acids and sulphates found in acid mine drainage
Techduto NBR	HDPE conduit for power, lighting and automation cables on yards and haul roads	NBR 15715; impact, moisture and chemical resistance — no corrosion
Drainage Geocomposite	Drainage blanket under waste pile, dam cover in dry stacking	Replaces gravel with logistical advantage in remote mine sites
Bidim Geotextile	Chimney filter, separation and sediment barrier	Documented chemical compatibility (NBR 13246)
Techdreno KC	Horizontal relief drains in pile berms	Integrated filter envelope — no separate geotextile needed

+300 km

of Techdrenos delivered to mining projects across Brazil

Law 14,066

Bans upstream method and requires dam decharacterisation (2020)

ANM 95/2022

Requires Safety Management Plan with documented drainage

GISTM

Global tailings management standard adopted by miners

Challenges and Solutions

How Techduto addresses each challenge in Mining

High pore pressure at waste pile base

Perforated HDPE pipe DN200–400 in a drainage geocomposite blanket removes water before it saturates the mass and reduces shear strength.

Fine migration into drain (clogging)

Filter geotextile and chimney filter around the pipe retain fine particles and maintain flow capacity throughout service life.

Mud in machinery yard and haul roads

Techdreno DW SN8 installed in parking and manoeuvring areas for excavators and off-road trucks drains rapidly and prevents bogging — and the operational downtime it causes.

Cable protection on haul roads and yards

Techduto NBR corrugated HDPE conduit (NBR 15715) protects power cables for yard lighting, beneficiation plants and substations along haul roads, resisting moisture, acids and heavy equipment traffic.

Surface erosion on waste pile berms

Drainage geocomposite and geotextile in perimeter ditches and chutes prevent gullying and sediment transport into water bodies.

ANM and GISTM compliance

Technically certified products (ring stiffness SN, permeability, chemical compatibility) streamline the audit dossier and Safety Management Plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Mining

No. Dry-stacked material still retains residual moisture and receives rainfall. The base drain system is mandatory — dry stacking only eliminates the liquid tailings dam, prohibited in the upstream method under Law 14,066/2020.

In many projects, yes. It offers transmissivity equivalent to 15–30 cm of gravel with a decisive logistical advantage at remote mine sites: lower weight and faster mechanised installation. A design check for equipment load compatibility is required.

No brand is specified. It requires design by a responsible engineer, calculation report and products with traceable technical documentation — ring stiffness SN certificates, geotextile test reports (NBR 13246) and chemical compatibility data sheets.

Yes. HDPE is inert to sulphates, chlorides and media with pH between 2 and 13, making it suitable for acid mine drainage (AMD) environments. The geotextile must be verified for compatibility with the specific leachate concentration.