Thermal behaviour and performance of two field experimental insulation covers to control sulfide oxidation at Meadowbank mine, Nunavut
Insulation covers are an appealing reclamation approach to control sulfide oxidation in tailings storage facilities located in the Arctic. In this study, the thermal behaviour and effectiveness of insulation covers for the reclamation of the Meadowbank mine’s tailings storage facility were assessed...
Published in: | Canadian Geotechnical Journal |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 |
id |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 2024-09-15T18:26:55+00:00 Thermal behaviour and performance of two field experimental insulation covers to control sulfide oxidation at Meadowbank mine, Nunavut Boulanger-Martel, Vincent Bussière, Bruno Côté, Jean 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Geotechnical Journal volume 58, issue 3, page 427-440 ISSN 0008-3674 1208-6010 journal-article 2021 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 2024-07-25T04:10:04Z Insulation covers are an appealing reclamation approach to control sulfide oxidation in tailings storage facilities located in the Arctic. In this study, the thermal behaviour and effectiveness of insulation covers for the reclamation of the Meadowbank mine’s tailings storage facility were assessed using both laboratory-based tests and field experimental cells. Oxygen consumption tests performed in controlled laboratory conditions indicated that a temperature of 0 °C is adequate to control Meadowbank’s tailings oxidation. Two instrumented experimental covers were constructed with 2 and 4 m of nonreactive waste rocks. Thermal monitoring of the experimental cells was conducted over 4.5 years and demonstrated a thermal regime dominated by heat conduction. The 2 m cover displayed temperatures at the tailings–cover interface greater than 0 °C for 94 to 124 days per year, whereas the tailings under the 4 m cover stayed below 0 °C year-round. Field oxygen consumption tests showed a reduction of 70%–90% in the oxygen uptakes measured for covered tailings compared to uncovered tailings. Calculations of yearly oxygen consumption fluxes showed oxygen fluxes less than 2 mol·m −2 ·year −1 , confirming the effectiveness of the cover configurations to control sulfide oxidation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Nunavut Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Geotechnical Journal 58 3 427 440 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Insulation covers are an appealing reclamation approach to control sulfide oxidation in tailings storage facilities located in the Arctic. In this study, the thermal behaviour and effectiveness of insulation covers for the reclamation of the Meadowbank mine’s tailings storage facility were assessed using both laboratory-based tests and field experimental cells. Oxygen consumption tests performed in controlled laboratory conditions indicated that a temperature of 0 °C is adequate to control Meadowbank’s tailings oxidation. Two instrumented experimental covers were constructed with 2 and 4 m of nonreactive waste rocks. Thermal monitoring of the experimental cells was conducted over 4.5 years and demonstrated a thermal regime dominated by heat conduction. The 2 m cover displayed temperatures at the tailings–cover interface greater than 0 °C for 94 to 124 days per year, whereas the tailings under the 4 m cover stayed below 0 °C year-round. Field oxygen consumption tests showed a reduction of 70%–90% in the oxygen uptakes measured for covered tailings compared to uncovered tailings. Calculations of yearly oxygen consumption fluxes showed oxygen fluxes less than 2 mol·m −2 ·year −1 , confirming the effectiveness of the cover configurations to control sulfide oxidation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Boulanger-Martel, Vincent Bussière, Bruno Côté, Jean |
spellingShingle |
Boulanger-Martel, Vincent Bussière, Bruno Côté, Jean Thermal behaviour and performance of two field experimental insulation covers to control sulfide oxidation at Meadowbank mine, Nunavut |
author_facet |
Boulanger-Martel, Vincent Bussière, Bruno Côté, Jean |
author_sort |
Boulanger-Martel, Vincent |
title |
Thermal behaviour and performance of two field experimental insulation covers to control sulfide oxidation at Meadowbank mine, Nunavut |
title_short |
Thermal behaviour and performance of two field experimental insulation covers to control sulfide oxidation at Meadowbank mine, Nunavut |
title_full |
Thermal behaviour and performance of two field experimental insulation covers to control sulfide oxidation at Meadowbank mine, Nunavut |
title_fullStr |
Thermal behaviour and performance of two field experimental insulation covers to control sulfide oxidation at Meadowbank mine, Nunavut |
title_full_unstemmed |
Thermal behaviour and performance of two field experimental insulation covers to control sulfide oxidation at Meadowbank mine, Nunavut |
title_sort |
thermal behaviour and performance of two field experimental insulation covers to control sulfide oxidation at meadowbank mine, nunavut |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 |
genre |
Nunavut |
genre_facet |
Nunavut |
op_source |
Canadian Geotechnical Journal volume 58, issue 3, page 427-440 ISSN 0008-3674 1208-6010 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2019-0616 |
container_title |
Canadian Geotechnical Journal |
container_volume |
58 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
427 |
op_container_end_page |
440 |
_version_ |
1810467564104450048 |