Dry disposal represents a paradigm shift in mining engineering. The tailings are engineered to suit the disposal requirements, as opposed to engineering a facility to accommodate the tailings. It is, therefore, important to understand how the material properties and operational parameters can be modified to produce the desired transport and deposition characteristics of the tailings, For thickened tailings disposal, dry stacking and paste fill, the theology must be well understood to ensure maximum efficiency of the entire disposal operation. The paper presents the disposal of bauxite residue (red mud) as a case study and outlines alternative and simplified methods of theological characterisation. The effect of both shear and compression history on pipeline transport is examined in order to identify favourable processing schemes. Prediction of the slope formed by the deposition of de-watered tailings is necessary to ensure maximum storage efficiency and stability. The slope is found to be dependent on theological properties such as yield stress and viscosity, operational parameters such as depositional flow rate, and the topography or slope of the underlying base.