Mine water tracer tests as a basis for remediation strategies

Abstract

Mining usually causes severe anthropogenic changes by which the ground- or surface water might be significantly polluted. One of the main problems in the mining industry are acid mine drainage, the drainage of heavy metals, and the prediction of mine water rebound after mine closure. Therefore, the knowledge about the hydraulic behaviour of the mine water within the flooded mine might significantly reduce the costs of mine closure and remediation. In the literature, the difficulties in evaluating the hydrodynamics of flooded mines are well described, but only few tracer tests in flooded mines have been published so far. Most tracer tests linked to mine water problems were related to either pollution of the aquifer or radioactive waste disposal and not the mine water itself. Applying the results of the test provides possibilities for optimizing the outcome of the source–path–target methodology and therefore diminishes the costs of remediation strategies. Consequently, prior to planning of remediation strategies or numerical simulations, relatively cheap and reliable results for decision making can be obtained via a well conducted tracer test.