Treatment of AMD

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 ACID MINE DRAINAGE
One of the biggest environmental Problems with Mining
Industry.

AMD is produced when

Enough sulphide mineral is present to react and create acid at
a faster rate than it can be neutralized by any surrounding
alkaline minerals.
Sufficient water and air supply is present to support the
chemical reactions.
Water that transports the acidic drainage into environment is
present.
some of the mines that face a serious pollution
problem due to acid mine drainage in India are

Baragolai (ECL);
Churcha, West Chirimiri, Ambora & Rkhikol (WCL)
Gorbi (NCL)
Lakarka (BCCL),
Dariba and Rampura agucha (HZL/Vedanta).
 Need of Treatment
To reduce the environmental impacts.
-> saving surrounding river/water streams.
-> reducing land and water pollution
for improving life of machineries eg. Mine pumps.
for improving the production of the mine.
Total liability from AMD in Canada is about 2-5 billion
Cad $(2008).*
* Source : http://www.nrcan.gc.ca , Natural Resources Canada.
Yellow boy (Acidic mine water, pH~ 3,with iron(III) precipitated) in a river
nearby Garvey Creek, Nelson , New Zealand.
Part of the devastated area by AMD at Hughes bore hole. The Hughes borehole is an
AMD site located near the southwest central borough of Portage, Pennsylvania.
Acidic water and sludge in Tinto River , Spain.
 The treatment issues

Costly and unproductive process.

Sludge/ochre disposal problem.
No worldwide accepted method.
 Common treatment methods
Liming - widely used , a cheap method. Basic problem is
production of sludge/ochre which gives rise to disposal
difficulties.

Wetland systems/ponds A development of liming method

to reduce the generation of sludge and associated
disposal/land pollution problems. In the method, a field made
in a shape of pond with lime at the base is filled with acid
mine water so as to increase the pH of water.

Organic/bacterial methods
Use of Metal absorbants Still in development
phase, costly methods.
physical process techniques
 Laboratory Tests
Test for determining method for lowest sludge

Water sample 1 lit.,pH ~ 4.5 with some iron(III) as

impurity.
Flooculant - 0.5 N Ammonium chlorohydrate.

Reagents used Lime , NaOH , NH4OH and Ca(OH)2.

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
Lime Ca(OH)2 NaOH NH4OH

Reagent
 Lime Flocculant test
80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8

Flocculant lime ratio

 Conclusion
Liming cheapest and least sludge/ochre
producing method.
High Density Sludge (HDS) or Geoco process
should be used to limit production of sludge
and hence reducing land pollution.
Flocculant and lime should be in 6:10 ratio for
minimum sludge.
 Case Study
Mine : new Garzweiler II lignite o/c mine of
RWE power, Germany. (capacity : 40 MT/yr.)

Pic. : BWE working in the Grazweiler II mine.

 Steps taken for Treatment of AMD
Determination of the overburdens self-buffering capacity.
measurements of sulphide oxidation rates at mining slopes and
berms, as a function of exposure time to atmosphere.
large-scale tests to predict dump water quality with and
without a buffering system (lime).
constructing and operating a limestone admixing system.
Establishment of a monitoring system for checking & control of
the mitigating measures.

The acid mine treatment at Grazeiler II mine ensured the continue

operation of the mine for several decades to come along with a
higher output.