Numerical prediction of the long-term evolution of acid mine drainage at a waste rock pile site remediated with an HDPE-lined cover system

2018 ◽  
Vol 216 ◽  
pp. 10-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murugan Ramasamy ◽  
Christopher Power ◽  
Martin Mkandawire
Keyword(s):  
Acid Mine Drainage ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Long Term Evolution ◽  
Numerical Prediction ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Rock Pile ◽  
Cover System ◽  
Term Evolution ◽  
Waste Rock Pile

Geochemical characterization of acid mine drainage from a waste rock pile, Mine Doyon, Québec, Canada

2004 ◽  
Vol 69 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 45-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
O Sracek ◽  
M Choquette ◽  
P Gélinas ◽  
R Lefebvre ◽  
R.V Nicholson
Keyword(s):  
Acid Mine Drainage ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Geochemical Characterization ◽  
Rock Pile ◽  
Acid Mine ◽  
Waste Rock Pile

scholarly journals Evolution of Acid Mine Drainage from a Coal Waste Rock Pile Reclaimed with a Simple Soil Cover

Hydrology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murugan Ramasamy ◽  
Christopher Power
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Acid Mine Drainage ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Cover System ◽  
Acid Mine ◽  
Cover Systems

Waste rock piles (WRPs) are commonly remediated with cover systems to limit water and oxygen influx and mitigate the impacts of acid mine drainage (AMD) on the environment. While numerous types of cover systems exist, simple, single-layer soil covers remain an attractive option due to their low cost and simplicity of installation. Since knowledge of their long-term performance in humid climates is limited, this study was undertaken to assess and predict a single-layer cover system at a WRP in Nova Scotia, Canada. A two-dimensional finite element model was developed to simulate variably saturated flow and solute transport at the WRP and surrounding area. Key parameters collected during five years of field monitoring, including moisture contents, groundwater levels and dissolved metal concentrations, were used to produce a well-calibrated and verified model. Early results confirm that the cover system has already decreased AMD into both groundwater (reduced water infiltration/seepage in the WRP) and surface water (eliminated contaminated surface water runoff). Long-term acidity depletion rates indicate that all sulphidic minerals within the pile will be oxidized within 34 years, but due to the slow leaching rates into water, it will take over 9000 years to deplete all acidity. Numerical simulations predict the evolution of groundwater and surface water quality over time until full acidity depletion. Current work involves kinetic tests on waste rock samples to more accurately access the annual generation and release of AMD.

scholarly journals Hydrogelogical characterization of a waste rock pile and bedrock affected by acid mine drainage from geophysical survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cesar Augusto Moreira ◽  
Matheus Felipe Stanfoca Casagrande ◽  
Fernanda Miranda de Siqueira Büchi ◽  
Débora Andrade Targa
Keyword(s):  
Acid Mine Drainage ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Geophysical Survey ◽  
Rock Pile ◽  
Acid Mine ◽  
Waste Rock Pile

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF LONG TERM UNSATURATED FLOW AND ACID MINE DRAINAGE AT WASTE ROCK PILES

2006 ◽  
Vol 2006 (2) ◽  
pp. 582-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Fala ◽  
John Molson ◽  
Michel Aubertin ◽  
Bruno Bussière ◽  
Robert P. Chapuis
Keyword(s):  
Acid Mine Drainage ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Unsaturated Flow ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Acid Mine ◽  
Waste Rock Piles

Numerical Simulation of Water Flow in Mine Waste Rock Pile

2015 ◽  
Vol 744-746 ◽  
pp. 1101-1108
Author(s):  
Meng Zhou Zhang ◽  
Zeng He Xu ◽  
Li Guo Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Unsaturated Flow ◽  
Water Movement ◽  
Mine Waste ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Rock Pile ◽  
Fine Material ◽  
Internal Structures ◽  
Waste Rock Pile ◽  
Mine Waste Rock

As a long-term source of contaminant solutes, the flow of water within a waste rock pile containing reactive sulfide minerals significantly contributes to the solutes transportation. In this paper, a waste rock pile with the internal structures and grain size distribution from a typical waste dump is introduced as the geometric configuration. A numerical model is then applied to simulate unsaturated flow within a waste rock pile constructed with two primary materials. The simulations results show that the water movement within heterogeneous pile mainly depended on the internal structures. The flow of water can be controlled by the fine material layers within the coarse materials. These fine material layers form a capillary barrier which preventing the water infiltrate towards the centre of the pile. They can retain more water than coarse materials and form a ponding effect and/or percolation points within the pile.

Assessment of Unsaturated Flow for a Large Coal Mine Waste Rock Pile

2014 ◽  
Vol 955-959 ◽  
pp. 1179-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajizadeh Namaghi Hadi ◽  
Ming Kun Luo ◽  
Sheng Li
Keyword(s):  
Unsaturated Flow ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Mine Waste ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Coal Waste ◽  
Rock Pile ◽  
Rock Materials ◽  
Solute Transport Modeling ◽  
Waste Rock Pile ◽  
Waste Rock Piles

Some waste rock piles create some problems such as acid mine drainage (AMD), leaching of heavy metals, and slope stability concerns. These problems are related to the flow of water through the rock pile. Understanding the physical and hydrological properties of the waste rock piles is important for flow and solute transport modeling. To study physical properties and unsaturated flow in rock pile, some soil samples were collected from surface of the large coal waste rock pile and tested for some common geotechnical parameters in the laboratory. The results showed that materials are so heterogeneous and highly supporting segregation and natural gravity sorting of waste rock materials from top to toe. Numerical simulation was performed to investigate the unsaturated flow conditions in the pile. The results obtained showed that pile is unable to fully saturate and drain during the simulated period. It was also found that high evaporation and also coarse grain nature of waste rock materials results holding few amounts of water in the system.

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