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It has been shown in past publications by the authors' research group that desiccation and desaturation of surface deposited paste tailings can be reasonably predicted using unsaturated flow codes under both laboratory controlled conditions and at a relatively arid field site. Given the variability of climate site to site, and from day to day at any given site, can we make some general guidelines or principles using generic modelling to help guide deposition management? A suite of generic numerical analyses are undertaken in which climate, layer thickness, water retention properties and hydraulic conductivity of the tailings, and water content at deposition are varied. It is shown that considering a single layer in isolation can lead to severe underestimation of drying time required to achieve a given water content or density. The underlying previously desiccated tailings are shown to have a profound influence on the rate of drying of a freshly placed layer, and may indeed make it impossible to reach a given water content through desiccation alone. The use of capillary breaks to overcome this problem is briefly evaluated. https://papers.acg.uwa.edu.au/p/1063_25_Simms/ Generic modelling of desiccation for cyclic deposition of thickened tailings to maximise density P. Simms et al. and to minimise oxidation 294 Paste 2010, Toronto, Canada

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