CLOSURE PLAN EVALUATION FOR RISK OF ACID ROCK DRAINAGE

Abstract

Control of acid rock drainage (ARD) is a long-term issue for many mine sites and is often a primary objective of remediation efforts. Some sites continue to require monitoring and management of ARD long after mine operation has ceased and closure is complete. In New Zealand, an innovative and quantitative approach was applied to evaluate the expected risk of ARD after implementation of the closure plan for the Golden Cross Mine. In addition, this future risk was compared to current operating conditions to provide an estimate of the reduction in risk provided by the remediation activities. This approach was useful to both the mine proponent and the regulatory agencies in assessing the effectiveness of the existing closure plan and providing focus on the components of greatest risk. Mine components remaining on site after closure that could potentially generate ARD under various failure scenarios were identified and evaluated. These components included the tailings decant pond, waste rock, stockpiles, open pit mine and water treatment systems. For each component, a series of initiating events and failure scenarios were identified, and a decision tree methodology was utilized to estimate the probability of ARD generation for both current and closure conditions. Due to themore » implementation of closure plans designed to minimize or eliminate ARD through regarding, construction of engineered covers and water management designs, the risk of ARD generation will be significantly reduced over time.« less