Abramento, M, Campos, MMR & Senf, DF 2008, 'Failure of an Industrial Residue Cover and Remediation Using the Cellular Confinement System', in AB Fourie, M Tibbett, I Weiersbye & P Dye (eds), Mine Closure 2008: Proceedings of the Third International Seminar on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 697-704, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/852_65
(https://papers.acg.uwa.edu.au/p/852_65_Abramento/)
Abstract: A large residue disposal area in the northeastern region of Brazil was required to be capped with an 
impermeable layer and vegetation. The residue was graded to a 35 m long 3H:1V-stable slope. The initial 
design had the following material layers (bottom to top): residue, 1.5 mm thick HDPE geomembrane, non-
woven needle-punched geotextile, as well as 60 cm of cohesive soil and vegetation. Once half of the soil 
cover had been installed, a heavy rainfall-induced failure of both the soil cover and the geotextile occurred, 
while the geomembrane remained intact. In order to reconstruct the capping system, several options were 
analyzed. The final solution consisted of the following layers (bottom to top): residue, 1.5 mm thick HDPE 
geomembrane, non-woven needle-punched geotextile, 7.5 cm high sand-infilled HDPE-perforated Geoweb 
sections, as well as 20 cm of cohesive soil and vegetation. This paper describes the failure mechanism of the 
original solution and the remediation procedure.