13 April 2019
Hindalco, Muri: another tailings failure, this time in India
Posted by Dave Petley
Hindalco, Muri: another tailings failure, this time in India
On 9th April 2019 yet another significant tailings failure occurred, this time at the Hindalco works at Muri in Jharkhand, India. The location is 23.364, 85.871.
There are some limited reports of this failure event in the media. For example, the Daily Pioneer has a reasonably detailed report:-
“On Tuesday afternoon, boundary wall of the caustic pond created by Hindalco Ltd to dispose of red mud recovered in the process of extracting aluminum collapsed thus leading to a landslide like situation in Muri near the railway tracks.
“As an impact of the boundary breach, a few dumpers, earth movers and tractors which were parked in the area were buried in the mudslide.”
There are very few images of this event in the media. The best idea of what happened can be gained from a Youtube video posted by R M Kumar:-
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This includes the following still:-
The Hindalco tailings failure at Muri in India. Still from a Youtube video by R M Kumar.
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Meanwhile Bhaskar.com has this image:-
The aftermath of the Hindalco tailings failure at Muri in India. Image from Bhaskar.com.
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Both images appear to show significant failures through gabian walls. To me, to support a tailings pile on this scale with gabian structures is something of a surprise. An inquiry has been ordered; it will be interesting to see what it shows.
Planet Labs have captured the aftermath of the tailings failure via their Planetscope satellites. This is an image of the area before the failure:
The site of the Hindalco tailings failure at Muri in India. Planet Labs Planetscope image collected 6th April 2019, used with permission.
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Whilst this is the aftermath:-
The aftermath of the Hindalco tailings failure at Muri in India. Planet Labs Planetscope image collected 10th April 2019, used with permission.
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The images suggest that this is a significant failure. Astonishingly, it is not clear as to whether there has been loss of life. Some reports suggest up to 20 people may have been killed, but most reports suggest a rather lower human impact. Meanwhile, operations at the plant have been suspended.
Reference and acknowledgement
Planet Team (2019). Planet Application Program Interface: In Space for Life on Earth. San Francisco, CA. https://www.planet.com
Thanks to a friend in India who highlighted this event to me.
Dave Petley is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. His blog provides commentary and analysis of landslide events occurring worldwide, including the landslides themselves, latest research, and conferences and meetings.
Based on the Googleearth images, it looks like dry tailings were being placed in the southern part of the main pond, sometimes after 2014. The available photos show that a gabion-type retaining wall was built on the southwestern boundary of the pond, facing the railway, to support the raised dry tailings material.
It looks like the gabion wall failed under the stresses increased by high stacked tailings in the southwestern section. Eventhough the dry tailings were being placed in the last 4-5 years, pore water pressures in this segment of the pond is a likely factor for a circular-type slope failure.
It does not look like that this was a tailings dam failure like in Kolontar, Hungary or Vale, Brasil incidents. Looking at the Planet Labs’ images, it looks like the failed tailings traveled downhill less than 200 meters towards south and stopped at railway banks on the west.
looks like Kingston …… only not as severe ….
gabian / gabion ??
Rud mud dam failure, China 2016.
There was a paper on the gabion walls published in the Proceeding of the 11th International Conference on Geosynthetics, in Seoul, Korea in Septmeber 2018.
If this red mud is the material I think it is, it is nasty stuff environmentally. Alumina is separated out of the bauxite using sodium hydroxide, and the fluid can have pH over 12, so maybe worse than Kingston. I’m not an aquatic biologist, but I’m pretty sure that can’t be good for a river.
(Once while sampling and testing a red mud pond in Texas, I scratched a mosquito bite too much and got some on my wrist where I had broken the skin. The scar was visible more than 20 years later; looked like a cigarette burn.)
Nik – Gabions are metal wire baskets filled with large gravel and cobbles (Italian word for basket). Good for erosion control and low retaining walls.
hey, very nice site. thanks for sharing post
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इस दुःखद घटना से अत्यंत व्यथित हूँ। मुझे लगता है इसे लेकर हमें सचेत होने की जरूरत है , औऱ भविष्य में इस तरह की घटना की पुनरावृत्ति ना हो , उसके लिए हमें जरूरी कदम उठाना चाहिये । और मैं समझता हूँ कि मेरे पास एक महत्वपूर्ण सुझाव है। और मैं चाहता हूँ की हूँ कि इसे अबिलम्ब सुरु भी कर देनी चाहिये। इससे पर्यायवरण प्रदूषण से भी राहत मिलेगी और इस अवशेष से उपयोगी वस्तू भी बन जाये तो कितना अच्छा होगा। इस अवशेष से ईंट, टाइल्स, पॉट , गृह सौंदर्यीकरण वस्तु , मूर्ति कला, आदि का निर्माण बड़े पैमाने पर किया जाए। ईंट गरीब असहाय परिवार को सुलभ मूल्य पर उपलब्ध हो, ताकि उन्हे मकान बनाने की सपना साकार हो। एवं बिना प्रदूषण के तैयार किये जायेंगे। मुझे आप सब की सहयोग की कामना करते हैं। धन्यवाद।।
I am very distressed by this sad incident. I think we need to be alert about this, and we should take necessary steps to prevent such incidents from happening in future. And I think I have an important suggestion. And I want that it should also be started without delay. This will also provide relief from environmental pollution and how good will it be if a remnant becomes a useful object. Bricks, tiles, pot, home beautification, sculpture, etc. should be constructed on a large scale from this relic. The brick should be available to the poor helpless family at an affordable price, so that they dream of building a house. And will be prepared without pollution. I wish all of you cooperation. Thank you..
I am very distressed by this sad incident. I think we need to be alert about this, and we should take necessary steps to prevent such incidents from happening in future. And I think I have an important suggestion. And I want that it should also be started without delay. This will also provide relief from environmental pollution and how good will it be if a remnant becomes a useful object. Bricks, tiles, pot, home beautification, sculpture, etc. should be constructed on a large scale from this relic. The brick should be available to the poor helpless family at an affordable price, so that they dream of building a house. And will be prepared without pollution. I wish all of you cooperation. Thank you..
Can any expert suggest a logical explanation to whether Wall collapsed first and that led to stack failure or stack failure occurred first and that led to wall failure
Does anyone know whether details of this case history have been published in a conference or journal anywhere?