327 EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF ACRYLAMIDE-BASED, ACRYLATE-BASED, AND COLLOIDAL SILICA RESINS AS HIGH-PENETRABILITY ALTERNATIVES FOR SEEPAGE CONTROL IN TAILINGS DAMS *D.A. Ghiorzo¹, **H. Egoavil¹ Technical Teams of Suppliers²,³ ¹Department of Materials, Soletanche Bachy Perú, Peru (*Presenting Author: daniella.ghiorzo@soletanche-bachy.pe) (**Co-author: hugo.egoavil@soletanche-bachy.pe) ² Technical team for acrylic resins (suppliers) ³ Client/consultant personnel who witnessed the tests We are facing a global challenge in modern mining: how to develop critical infrastructure in a faster, more efficient, and more responsible manner, while ensuring hydraulic and geotechnical safety in increasingly complex contexts. In mining projects associated with tailings dams, the effective control of seepage in fractured rock masses is a key factor in reducing risks, ensuring long-term stability, and meeting demanding construction schedules. This work is framed within this challenge by addressing the limitations of traditional cement grouting techniques in scenarios of high fracturing and residual permeability, and by exploring alternatives based on experimentally validated engineering solutions. Through the laboratory evaluation of acrylamide, acrylate, and colloidal silica resins, the objective is to contribute to more informed technical decisionmaking, enabling a better understanding of the materials to be injected to meet project requirements and to optimize the hydraulic performance of impermeable grout curtains. ABSTRACT Seepage control in tailings dams represents one of the main technical challenges in modern mining. In fractured and moderately weathered rock masses, ultrafine cement grouts may reach their limits of effectiveness, creating the need to evaluate higher-penetrability solutions capable of ensuring the hydraulic safety of these infrastructures. This paper presents the results of a laboratory testing campaign aimed at evaluating the performance of acrylamide-based resins, acrylates, and colloidal silica solutions as alternative grouting materials for seepage control in a tailings dam located in southern Peru. The study was carried out within the framework of impermeable grout curtain construction, where target permeability criteria were not achieved using conventional cementitious grouting. The testing program included measurements of viscosity, density, gel time, and observation of material behavior in the hardened state, considering preliminary acceptance criteria defined by the project. The results show that both technologies exhibit viscosities close to that of water, allowing penetration into fine fractures, as well as controllable gel times compatible with deep grouting operations. In particular, colloidal silica solutions demonstrate a more stable mechanical behavior after gelation, associated with their higher solids content and mineral nature.
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