Abstract
Polluted drainage from weathering of sulfide-rich waste rock deposits can cause long-term impairment to waterways and biodiversity near mining sites. Mechanistic models represent established tools to support the predictions of the quantity and quality of waste rock drainage, and their associated risks. Yet, model-based predictions in typical waste rock systems are ubiquitously uncertain because of the strongly heterogeneous nature of these waste deposits. Embedding heterogeneity within predictive modeling is complicated by the magnitude and level of knowledge of the waste rock heterogeneity, and the large number of scale-dependent parameters feeding the model equations. This review encompasses deterministic and stochastic modeling approaches that emphasize consolidated tools and emerging modeling solutions to deal with heterogeneity for the modeling of waste rocks. Physical (e.g., variability of texture, hydraulic and pneumatic properties), geochemical (e.g., variability of mineralogy and kinetic parameters), and thermal heterogeneities are evaluated. The review points out the importance of stochastic modeling as a fundamental approach to embed uncertainty in long-term model-based decisions. Regulators and decision makers must be convinced of the benefit of using stochastic modeling, which is still considered to belong mainly to the academic sphere.
Highlights
Mine waste management represents one of the biggest environmental and socio-economic concerns for mining operators, governments and citizens
Mechanistic models represent established tools to support the predictions of the quantity and quality of waste rock drainage, and their associated risks
Embedding heterogeneity within predictive modeling is complicated by the magnitude and level of knowledge of the waste rock heterogeneity, and the large number of scale-dependent parameters feeding the model equations
Summary
Mine waste management represents one of the biggest environmental and socio-economic concerns for mining operators, governments and citizens. Amos et al (2015) extensively reviewed the physical and mineralogical characteristics of waste rock piles, providing a list of the principal processes related to sulfide oxidation and solute loading They concluded with a discussion on acid mine drainage prediction and prevention techniques, which included mechanistic model based analyses. A goal of this work is to illustrate that the use of heterogeneous modeling is no longer prohibitive, as it could have been just one decade ago: nowadays, modeling is facilitated by easier-than-ever-before accessibility to powerful workstations, super-computers and other solutions for parallel computing, which require simple notions of programming skills to be pre and post-processed In this sense, heterogeneity-driven uncertainty can be explicitly quantified by modelers and the results presented to decision makers in the form of probabilistic results. Steefel et al (2014) provides a comprehensive review of reactive transport modeling in subsurface environments
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