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British Columbia Mine Reclamation Symposium
Groundwater quality evaluations of mines McCreadie, Hugh; Smith, Rod
Abstract
Groundwater quality is an aspect of mine reclamation that is now receiving increased attention. The potential impact of mines on groundwater quality can be estimated by considering: mine water sources; groundwater flowpaths; waste characteristics; groundwater geochemistry, and environmental impacts. Primary groundwater flowpaths are within the more permeable geologic materials. These flowpaths can transport a significant mass of contaminants even though they generally comprise a small proportion of the materials. Impacts include potential degradation of water quality in local aquifers, lakes and streams. Groundwater assessments can be carried out in four phases. Phase I consists of a review of existing data that are used to develop a preliminary hydrogeologic interpretation and define a Phase II field program. The preliminary interpretation is verified and a groundwater monitoring network is installed during the field program. The Phase I and Phase II data are amalgamated into a Phase III report, which documents the analysis and presents estimates of future impacts. Mine personnel, in Phase IV, collect and compile monitoring data that can be used to check the model estimates. In this manner, potential environmental liabilities are identified and the costs of remediation and/or mitigation are minimized.
Item Metadata
Title |
Groundwater quality evaluations of mines
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Creator | |
Contributor | |
Date Issued |
1993
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Description |
Groundwater quality is an aspect of mine reclamation that is now receiving increased attention.
The potential impact of mines on groundwater quality can be estimated by considering: mine water
sources; groundwater flowpaths; waste characteristics; groundwater geochemistry, and environmental
impacts. Primary groundwater flowpaths are within the more permeable geologic materials. These
flowpaths can transport a significant mass of contaminants even though they generally comprise a small
proportion of the materials. Impacts include potential degradation of water quality in local aquifers, lakes
and streams.
Groundwater assessments can be carried out in four phases. Phase I consists of a review of
existing data that are used to develop a preliminary hydrogeologic interpretation and define a Phase II
field program. The preliminary interpretation is verified and a groundwater monitoring network is
installed during the field program. The Phase I and Phase II data are amalgamated into a Phase III
report, which documents the analysis and presents estimates of future impacts. Mine personnel, in
Phase IV, collect and compile monitoring data that can be used to check the model estimates. In this
manner, potential environmental liabilities are identified and the costs of remediation and/or mitigation
are minimized.
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Extent |
1803945 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-07-20
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0042228
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URI | |
Affiliation | |
Peer Review Status |
Unreviewed
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Scholarly Level |
Other
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Copyright Holder |
British Columbia Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation
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Rights URI | |
Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International