TSF Lining — Lithium Mine, Mali — Case Study

Case Study Brief

The lithium project in Mali required a geomembrane containment system across a large tailings-storage facility. Geosynthetics Africa’s scope brought together HDPE liner supply, installation and quality control over approximately 1.2 million m². Installation planning coordinated material handling, panel deployment and welding across the work fronts. Prepared anchor trenches supported perimeter restraint, with final backfilling following placement and seating of the liner. Quality control covered welding settings, trial seams, applicable non-destructive seam checks and destructive samples. Repairs and retesting formed part of the installation process before the affected work was accepted. Containment performance depends on the complete design, the project’s operating chemistry and ongoing protection of the liner. Material specifications and installation records support acceptance; they do not replace project-specific compatibility and engineering review.

The Installation Challenge

The 1.2 million m² TSF lining scope required coordinated work fronts, material availability and welding control across changing site temperatures. Liner compatibility and protection depended on the project’s design and operating conditions.

Materials and deployment were coordinated with the prepared earthworks. Panel layout, trial seams, production welding and the applicable tests were managed by work front, with traceability connecting rolls, panels, welders and inspection records.

Installation Sequence

Accept the prepared formation

Review subgrade condition, anchorage arrangements and release of each work front before placing material.

Deploy and identify liner panels

Lay out and position the HDPE panels, allowing for site conditions and recording roll and panel identification.

Control production welding

Establish parameters through trial seams, complete production welds and maintain weld records as conditions change.

Test, repair and complete anchorage

Carry out applicable seam checks and destructive sampling, repair and retest identified defects, then complete the perimeter details and handover records.

Field Quality Assurance (QA/QC) Checklist

Quality checks recorded on this installation.

Material conformance verified on receipt - mill certificates checked against GRI-GM13 and the project specification, roll numbers recorded against delivery.

Subgrade acceptance signed off before deployment - surface proof-rolled and inspected against the CQA plan, with written acceptance recorded per panel area.

Trial welds peel and shear tested at the start of each shift and on every change in ambient conditions, with machine settings, welder and result logged before production welding.

All seams non-destructively tested - air-pressure (ASTM D5820) on dual-track fusion, vacuum-box (D5641) on extrusion welds — with destructive peel and shear samples to D6392 at specified intervals, each result logged against panel number and welder.

Products Used in Project

Products supplied and installed on this project.

Geomembranes

GSE HD Smooth Geomembrane Liner

Quantity: 1,200,000

Specification Conformity & Lab Verification

Key properties compared with the project specification.

Property	Test Method	Specification Minimum	Delivered Value (Average)	Margin Above Spec
Thickness	ASTM D5199	2.00 mm	2.06 mm	+3.0%
Density	ASTM D1505	0.940 g/cm³	0.943 g/cm³	+0.3%
Carbon black content	ASTM D4218	2.0%	2.4%	+20.0%

“In-house project comment: The scale of this Mali TSF required repeatable control across every work front. Our delivery focus was to connect material supply, deployment, welding and inspection through a consistent QA/QC record.

Ivan M

Project Manager · Geosynthetics Africa — internal project team

TSF Lining — Lithium Mine, Mali — 1,200,000 m²