Employer: Ellatzite-Med AD

Designer and contractor: Geotechmin OOD

Project execution period: 1996 – 1999

Description of the project:

The construction of tailings pond “Benkovski-II” is the most significant environmental project in Bulgaria for the period 1996 – 1999. Some 140 million tons of tailings derived from copper and gold processing are to be landfilled in a 300-hectare waste storage area. For this purpose the project envisages the building of 7 earth and rockfill walls, 3 of them with draining and 4 with waterproof construction with clay screens. The liquid wastes are to be transported via pipelines and chutes from the plant to the dam. Two floating pumping stations are to be built for the pumping back of the collected water.

Conducted works:

• Clearing of all vegetation – 1,700 decares
• Excavation works – 850,000 cub.m.
• Rock fillings – 1,510,000 cub.m.
• Clay fillings – 270,000 cub.m.
• Filters (sand, gravel) – 53,000 cub.m.
• Concrete works – 7,100 cub.m.
• Assembling works: steel pipelines, pump stations, etc. – 3,493 tons
• Power lines – 8 km
• Temporary and permanent roads:
  - asphalt roads (width 6+2 m) – 7.2 km
  - gravel roads (width 5 m) – 8.2 km
  - temporary roads (width 5 m) – 18.4 km