Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 274-283 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Environmental Geotechnics |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Jul 2017 |
Abstract
Waste rock piles are made of heterogeneous, coarse-grained rock extracted from mines to reach the ore. The internal structure of a pile has a major impact on water and oxygen movement and hence the production of acid mine drainage or contaminated neutral drainage. This paper illustrates potential avenues to minimise the infiltration of precipitation into the core zone of rock piles by applying a compacted layer on top of each bench, made of finer-grained nonreactive waste rock. Several configurations and characteristics (without and with cover, inclined and horizontal covers, varying hydrogeological properties of the cover material) are evaluated using the numerical three-dimensional fully integrated variably saturated flow model HydroGeoSphere. In these simulations of a single bench, the compacted layer is represented as being homogeneous and isotropic while the loose core waste rock zone is represented using two approaches: (i) the classic equivalent porous media approach and (ii) a medium with randomly generated fractures to represent the effect of macropores on water flow. Short (10 d) and longer-term (1 a) simulations have been conducted with recharge events based on historic observations. The results provide guidelines for the design of efficient compacted layers leading to an improved environmental response of waste rock piles.
Keywords
- Environment, Groundwater, Waste management and disposal
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Chemistry
- Environmental Science(all)
- Water Science and Technology
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
- Environmental Science(all)
- Waste Management and Disposal
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Geochemistry and Petrology
- Environmental Science(all)
- Nature and Landscape Conservation
- Environmental Science(all)
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: Environmental Geotechnics, Vol. 4, No. 4, 31.07.2017, p. 274-283.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Improving control of contamination from waste rock piles
AU - Broda, Stefan
AU - Aubertin, Michel
AU - Blessent, Daniela
AU - Graf, Thomas
AU - Hirthe de Wallner, Eugenia Mabel
N1 - Funding information: This research work is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the partners of the Research Institute on Mines and the Environment (RIME UQAT-Polytechnique; www.rime-irme.ca) and the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST).
PY - 2017/7/31
Y1 - 2017/7/31
N2 - Waste rock piles are made of heterogeneous, coarse-grained rock extracted from mines to reach the ore. The internal structure of a pile has a major impact on water and oxygen movement and hence the production of acid mine drainage or contaminated neutral drainage. This paper illustrates potential avenues to minimise the infiltration of precipitation into the core zone of rock piles by applying a compacted layer on top of each bench, made of finer-grained nonreactive waste rock. Several configurations and characteristics (without and with cover, inclined and horizontal covers, varying hydrogeological properties of the cover material) are evaluated using the numerical three-dimensional fully integrated variably saturated flow model HydroGeoSphere. In these simulations of a single bench, the compacted layer is represented as being homogeneous and isotropic while the loose core waste rock zone is represented using two approaches: (i) the classic equivalent porous media approach and (ii) a medium with randomly generated fractures to represent the effect of macropores on water flow. Short (10 d) and longer-term (1 a) simulations have been conducted with recharge events based on historic observations. The results provide guidelines for the design of efficient compacted layers leading to an improved environmental response of waste rock piles.
AB - Waste rock piles are made of heterogeneous, coarse-grained rock extracted from mines to reach the ore. The internal structure of a pile has a major impact on water and oxygen movement and hence the production of acid mine drainage or contaminated neutral drainage. This paper illustrates potential avenues to minimise the infiltration of precipitation into the core zone of rock piles by applying a compacted layer on top of each bench, made of finer-grained nonreactive waste rock. Several configurations and characteristics (without and with cover, inclined and horizontal covers, varying hydrogeological properties of the cover material) are evaluated using the numerical three-dimensional fully integrated variably saturated flow model HydroGeoSphere. In these simulations of a single bench, the compacted layer is represented as being homogeneous and isotropic while the loose core waste rock zone is represented using two approaches: (i) the classic equivalent porous media approach and (ii) a medium with randomly generated fractures to represent the effect of macropores on water flow. Short (10 d) and longer-term (1 a) simulations have been conducted with recharge events based on historic observations. The results provide guidelines for the design of efficient compacted layers leading to an improved environmental response of waste rock piles.
KW - Environment
KW - Groundwater
KW - Waste management and disposal
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85030478509&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1680/envgeo.14.00023
DO - 10.1680/envgeo.14.00023
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85030478509
VL - 4
SP - 274
EP - 283
JO - Environmental Geotechnics
JF - Environmental Geotechnics
SN - 2051-803X
IS - 4
ER -