PREDICTION OF EFFLUENT WATER QUALITY FROM WASTE ROCK PILES IN A CONTINUOUS PERMAFROST REGION

Predicting effluent water quality from mine waste disposal facilities is and important aspect of the design and management of mining operations. Development of water quality predictions required in the early stages of mine planning is challenging because of the lack of detailed information on the ro...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: D. Blowes, L. Smith, D. Sego, M. Neuner, M. Gupton, M. Moncur, M. Moore, R. Klassen, T. Deans, C. Ptacek, A. Garvie, J. Reinson
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Subjects:
Diavik Diamond Mine
permafrost
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.616.7206
http://www.imwa.info/docs/imwa_2007/IMWA2007_Blowes.pdf
Description
Summary:Predicting effluent water quality from mine waste disposal facilities is and important aspect of the design and management of mining operations. Development of water quality predictions required in the early stages of mine planning is challenging because of the lack of detailed information on the rock and its weathering characteristics. These predictions require the selection of rock samples that are lithologically and spatially representative of the rock that will be mined, the implementation of a reproducible characterization protocol and the development of a rigorous approach for scaling from laboratory measurements to the field-scale behaviour. At the Diavik Diamond Mine Inc. operation, open pit mining will lead to the construction of two 200 Mt permanent stockpiles of waste rock. Assessing the long-term environmental implications of storing waste rock in regions with continuous permafrost provides unique opportunities and challenges. The Diavik waste rock research program includes the measurement and comparison of waste rock characteristics across a wide range of scales, varying from samples of less than a kilogram to the construction of three large-scale waste rock piles (15 m in height × 60 m × 50 m) to assess the evolution of the hydrology, geochemistry, temperature, and biogeochemistry of the waste rock piles over time. One test pile contains rock with a sulfide content of < 0.04 wt % S, a second test pile contains rock with> 0.05 wt % S and the third pile simulates a cover scenario proposed for closure of the higher sulfide rock piles. Complementary studies involving conventional static and kinetic tests on small test samples have also been initiated.

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