Sulfide mineral oxidation and subsequent reactive transport of oxidation products in mine tailings impoundments: A numerical model

Abstract

A versatile numerical model that couples oxygen diffusion and sulfide‐mineral oxidation (PYROX) has been developed to simulate the oxidation of pyrite in the vadose zone of mine tailings. A shrinking‐core oxidation model and a finite element numerical scheme are used to simulate the transport of oxygen and oxidation of pyrite grains. The rate of pyrite oxidation is assumed to be limited by the transport of oxygen to the reaction site. The model determines the spatially variable bulk diffusion coefficient for oxygen on the basis of moisture content, porosity, and temperature, all of which are variable input parameters. The model PYROX has been coupled to an existing reactive transport model (MINTRAN), which uses a finite element scheme for transport of contaminants and MINTEQA2 to solve for the equilibrium geochemistry. The reactions described by MINTRAN are subject to the local equilibrium assumption. The resulting model, MINTOX, is capable of simulating tailings impoundments where the oxidation of pyrite or pyrrhotite is causing acidic drainage and where acid neutralization and attenuation of dissolved metals can be attributed to equilibrium reactions. Because MINTOX uses realistic boundary conditions and hydrogeological properties, the potential benefits of various remediation schemes, such as moisture‐retaining covers, can be quantitatively evaluated.