Background |
In Australia, hundreds of mine lakes will develop over the next ten years as open-cut mines cease operations and the resulting voids fill with water. Regulators, communities and the minerals industry are becoming more aware of the legacy of these mine lakes, and are placing an increasing reliance on predictive modeling of mine lake water quality to understand the long-term implications of selected closure strategies. Indeed, regulatory authorities are currently reluctant to allow relinquishment of final mining voids until the long-term water quality of the resulting mine lake can be established.
The ongoing management of a mine lake forms an essential part of the mine closure plan, and it is imperative that mine operators understand the future requirements for modeling the mine lake water quality to verify closure. A strategic approach to selecting an effective monitoring regime needs to be taken to provide the most appropriate data for the prediction of mine lake water quality.
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Objectives |
- The objective of this project is to develop a protocol for the collection of input data to facilitate the modeling and prediction of water quality for future and existing mine lakes that is endorsed by both the industry and regulators.
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Methodology |
A team of mine lake and water quality specialists will review current industry practice and the regulatory requirements for each State as well as the ANZECC/ARMCANZ Water Quality Guidelines. The requirements for assessing water quality will be identified and existing protocols identified. Any missing requirements will be identified and developed as required and all compiled into a single reference on mine lake water quality sampling. |
Outcomes |
- The outcome of the project will be a concise manual that will provide the industry with an understanding of the monitoring requirements to effectively take the mine to closure and relinquishment. The protocol will define input data requirements and guide the operators in the implementation of the most appropriate monitoring regime to their needs. It will cover pre-filling, during-filling and post-filling protocols.
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Project Team |
The proposed project is highly interdisciplinary, and thus a team of specialists to address the core disciplines has been assembled, viz.
- Team Leader - Dr Carolyn Oldham, Centre for Sustainable Mine Lakes and Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia.
- Dr Ursula Salmon - Centre for Sustainable Mine Lakes and Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia (aquatic geochemistry).
- Dr Grant Douglas - CSIRO (mineral geochemistry).
- Dr David Reynolds - Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia (hydrogeology).
- Prof Greg Ivey - Centre for Sustainable Mine Lakes and Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia (hydrodynamics/meteorological forcing).
- Dr Jennifer Stauber - CSIRO (aquatic ecotoxicology).
- Dr Claire Linklater - SRK Consulting (acid generation).
- Dr Jason Plumb - CSIRO Land and Water (environmental microbiology).
- Dr Anas Ghadouani - Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia (lake ecology).
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| Project Duration |
12 months from October 2006 |
Project Sponsors |
Barrick Gold of Australia Limited
BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance
GHD Pty Ltd
Newmont Australia Limited
Newmont Waihi Gold Limited
Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines
Rio Tinto Limited
Western Australian Department of Water
Xstrata Coal (NCA Project)
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Project Summary |
On completion |
More Information |
Mr Ron McLean |
