Design and Performance of Cover

Systems for Mine Rock and Tailings

A Global Prospective
G. Ward Wilson
Professor and Chair
Mining and the Environment
University of British Columbia
 Design and Performance
• Landforms and Terrain Features
• Mined Earth Structure and Topography
• Climate Regime
• Cover Design Mechanisms – Barrier, ET,
and Water Shedding
• Performance Criteria – Infiltration Control
& Gas Transport/Diffusion Control
• Physical Stability & Landuse
Classify Mined Earth Structure
Unsaturated Waste
Rock Reactor
O2&H20

Water Table at Depth

Saturated Tailings
 Antamina Grasberg Trial Dump

Mt Lyell

Grasberg Excavation
 Generation &
Installation of Cover System
AcidRelease Rate
Generation Curve
tonnes/yr
Generation & Release Rate
tonnes/yr

Area A
Storage of Oxidation
Products Environmental Loading
(Product of Flow and
Concentration)

Area B
Release of Oxidation
Products

Years Decades Centuries

TIME
Long-term Drainage
Simulation (80 years)
M.D. Fredlund (2006)
Surface Flux Boundary = -1mm/day
Covers and the Active Zone
Biosphere
Ecosystem

Depth
of Organic/mineral media
Living Soil System
Active Buffer/Protector
Store and Release Zone

Engineered Properties
-Permeability/flow
Barrier System -water storage
-Volume Change

Waste Profile
-Mine Waste
Isolated System -Municipal Waste
-Hazardous Waste
Classify Climate Regime
Humid Equatorial
Humid Temperate/Marine
Humid Cold/Continental
Semi-Arid/Mid and Low Latitude
Arid/Mid and Low Latitude
Cold Polar
GARD Guide Modified from
Holdridge et al (1971)
INAP (2009)
Percolation = P – R – AET - S
MEND 2001
Store & Release Cover at Kidston
 1) Importance of Net Radiation
(Qnet) on Evaporation
• Both AE and PE are partly functions of net solar
radiation

 Q net   E a
AE 
  A
• The net solar radiation received by a surface will
be affected by the orientation of the surface
 The
measurement of
Qnet at a weather
station
Qnet measurement on slopes
The Equity Silver Mine (BC)
 SunModel (Qnet) applied to Equity
Bjorn Weeks (2006)
Z
Day 222
X 9
8
Y 7
6
5
4
3
2

1400
Elevation

1300

1200 6500
1100
8500 7000

8000 7500
g
Ea orthin
stin N
g 8000
7500

8500
 Weeks (2006)
Z
Day 222
X 9
Y 8
7
6
5
4
3
2

8500
1400

g
Elevation

E astin
8000
1300

1200 7500
1100
8500 8000 7500 7000 6500

Northing
 Weeks (2006)
Z
Day 222
X 9
Y
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
Elevation

1400

1300 8500

1200

1100 8000
g
8500 tin
8000
E as
7500
7500
7000
6500
N orthing
 Weeks (2006)
Z
Day 222
Y X 9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2

1400

1300

1200
8500
1100
8000 8500

Nort 7500 8000

hing
7000 a sting
7500 E
6500
Variation of Qnet over Time
 Impact of Slope on Evaporation
800 PE
AE
Precip
600
mm of water

400

200
North Face South Face

0
-45 -30 -15 0 15 30 45
Slope Angle
 Model Applied to site (PE)
PE total
889
Z
780
X
671

563 Y
454

345

237

128
Elevation (m)

1400
1300
1200 6500
1100
8500 7000

8000 7500
g
Ea
stin orthin
N
g 7500
8000

8500
 2.) Significance of Run-off
• US – Albright et al (2005) ACAP Reports
Run-off between Zero to 10% of Precip.
• Singapore – Rahardjo et al (2005) Report
Run-off between 26% to 60% of Precip.
• China – Zhana et al (2007) Report Run-off
from an expansive clay to vary between zero
and 45%.
• Tasmania – Brett (2008) reports water
shedding cover reduces net infiltration to 3%.
 Infiltration and Runoff
Infiltration due
Rainfall Intensity
Infiltration Capacity (m/sec)
to Ponding

h = Cw  (Kw h)
t
Runoffy y

Ks

Quantity of Infiltration

Time (sec)
Root

Crack/Fracture
 Influence of High Intensity Storms
1000
5-minute storm

2
100 5
10
Storm Intensity (mm/hour)

25
50
100
200
10
500
1000

1 60-day storm

0.1
0.01 0.10 1.00 10.00 100.00 1000.00 10000.00
Storm Duration (hours)
 Infiltration and Runoff
Runoff
Intensity of the rainfall

Runoff

Maximum
infiltration
Maximum
rate
infiltration
rate

Time (days)
D.G. Fredlund & G.W. Wilson (2006)
 Drainage of Cracks, Fractures

Volumetric water content

and Micropores

Air entry value for

intact soil matrix

Bi-modal Soil-Water Characteristic

Curve for Weathered Cover Soil

Desorption curve

0.1 1 10 100 1000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000

10 -3 Soil suction (kPa)

10 -4
Hydraulic Conductivity of
10 -5 Fractured Soil Structure
Hydraulic Conductivity, m/s

10 -6
Hydraulic Conductivity of
Logarithm of

Saturated Soil Matrix

10 -7

10 -8
Hydraulic Conductivity of
10 -9 Unsaturated Soil Matrix

10 -10

10 -11

10 -12

0.1 1 10 100 1000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000

Soil suction (kPa)
Measured Infiltration
12
Effective of Scale–up
8
6

0
0 5 10 15 20

Scale (metres)

Reference Volume

10
Permeameter
Typical Lysimeter
Benson
Instrument

Lysimeter

0
0.01 0.1 1 10 100

Dimension (Meters)
J. Andrina et al
ICARD (2009)
UBC/Antamina Scale Up Experiment
Corazao, Beckie, Klein, Mayer, Smith & Wilson
Inco Cover Lysimeter Experiment
ICARD Wilson et al (2003/6)
Uncovered Tailings
Co-Mix Cover Material placed as a Paste – Note Trafficability
Paste Rock Cover Trial
 Cumulated Flow [mm] Cumulated Flow [mm]
2-
Ap

0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
r 2-
Ap

0
100
200
300
400
500
600

r
27
-A
pr 27
-A
pr
22
-M
ay 22
-M
ay
16
-J
un
16
-J
11 un
-J
Jozsef Miskolczil (2007)

ul

Time [day]
11
-J
5- ul
Au
g
L#1

5-
L#2 & L#3

30 Au
-A g
ug
Time [day]

30
24 -A
-S

L#2
ug
ep

19 24
-S
-O ep
ct
L#3
13 19
-N -O
ov ct

13
-N
ov
 Cumulated Flow [mm] Cumulated Flow [mm]
2-
Ap

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
r 2-
Ap

0
100
200
300
400
500
600

27 r
- Ap
r 27
-A
22 pr
-M
ay
22
- M
16 ay
-J
un
16
-J
11 un
-J
Jozsef Miskolczil (2007)

ul
11
5- -J
Au ul
g
L#1

Time [day]
L#4 & L#5

30 5-
Au
- Au g
g
Time [day]

24 30
-S -A
ep ug

L#4
19 24
-O -S
ct ep

13
- N
19
-O
L#5

ov ct

13
-N
ov
 Total Precip 444mm (2006)
0%

11% 4% 31% 26%

Percent Run-off
The Road to Equity Silver
 Model Applied to site (PE)
PE total
889
Z
780
X
671

563 Y
454

345

237

128
Elevation (m)

1400
1300
1200 6500
1100
8500 7000

8000 7500
g
Ea
stin orthin
N
g 7500
8000

8500
GARD Guide Modified from
Holdridge et al (1971)
INAP (2009)
How Might We Achieve the Best Value –
with High Investment in Critical Areas

Cover Performance Critical

Cover Performance Not Critical

 Summary and Conclusion
• Cover Design is a Developing Practice.
• There is a High Tendency to Rely on
Models.
• Full Scale Field Demonstration for Cover
Performance and Benefit of Reducing
Leachage is Limited for Waste Rock.
• Need to Expand our Ability to Compute
Run-off and Energy Distributions.
• Need to consider micro-climate and micro-
topographic features in Cover Design.
Paste – Bulyanhulu (P. Simms)
Overlapping paste tailings flows
(partially desiccated)
3D FEM Water Model
Saretsky et al (2000)
 Grain-Size Equity Till Vs Blend 112
100

90
Blend 112
80

70
Percent Finer Than

60

50

40 Equity Till
30

20

10

100 10 1 0.1 0.01

Grain Size - (mm)
 Engineered system for wastes disposal

•
Apple Skin Cover