I have designed a tailings recovery circuit in Ghana.  There are some things you need to know:

Have you done any testwork?  Does milling help the gold extraction, can you separate on size and reduce the tonnage?

What is the gold grade of the tails by screen size - can you segregate based on size and what losses will you take.  You need to have this for fresh and releached tails so you can see the gold deportment and leachability.

How are the tails being reclaimed?  If you are using a water monitor it may be easier to cyclone the tails.  Cyclones are much easier to use and cheaper to install than screens.  However, screens give you a more accurate size cut. 

Is there a lot of garbage in the tails - grass, wood, organic matter, cars, tires, plastic etc..?  You need to screen out this material.

Do you have assays of the tailings in situ - you need to develop a resource model so you know what has grade and what does not.  Many times the historic tails will vary as the plant efficiency improved... You also need to know the bulk density so you can calculate the tonnage.

Todd

I too am interested in this topic.  We are doing a tailings recovery from artisan miners that used mercury as a collector in Latin America.  We prefer to use mechanic means (concentrators) for primary recovery and then leach the concentrates for final recovery.  Are there any existing project examples you can refer me to?  Thank you! 

The feed stock assays at above 5 g/mt. The ore type varies and sometimes are mixed because they come from different locations. 

Yes, there is usually some organic and inorganic debris / trash and rocks in the tailings that need to be screened out in the wash phase.  

Sometimes the tailings are very sticky and hard clumps and needs to be liquified in the wash phase.  We were using a cement mixer for the trials and assume using a scrubber trommel for larger scale.  I was wondering what other methods their might be to liquify the heavy clays.  I remember seeing a video a long time ago of some miners in Ghana using a small mill with a water hose connected and was shoveling in the heavy clay soil to break it down and liquify it.  

Please send me info on the cyclones you mention. I have not seen one in use before.   

Sorry, I didn't intend to hijack the original question.  Maybe I should post this as a new thread?

Thanks again!