Eliminating Deep Seepage from a Tailings Storage Facility

Deep seepage from legacy tailings storage facilities is typically addressed through capital-intensive barriers and active interception systems that are vulnerable to single-point failure in heterogeneous subsurface environments. CCG reframed the problem at the system level — targeting the physical conditions that allow subsurface water to organize into persistent, long-range transport pathways rather than attempting to seal every potential leak. The proposed architecture combines distributed hydraulic connectivity disruption with passive immobilization of transport-capable water states, producing a permanent, maintenance-free reduction in seepage risk that tolerates incomplete subsurface knowledge and performs reliably under cold-climate conditions.