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Use of DC resistivity and induced polarization methods in acid mine drainage research at the Copper Cliff mine tailings impoundments Zudman, Yuval

Abstract

Oxidation of sulphide minerals contained in the mine tailings impoundments at Copper Cliff, Ontario generates acidic conditions and elevated concentrations of dissolved constituents in the pore water. The tailings groundwater migrates radially outwards and might pose an environmental hazard if reaches the nearby water systems. There is a need to estimate the dimension of the current problem and assess future prospects. That need prompted a combined DC resistivity and Induced Polarization (IP) survey along one of the major flowpaths in the tailings. The DC resistivity and IP data were inverted to produce the detailed electric conductivity and chargeability structures of the cross section below the survey Une. Problems, generic of the inversion methodology and specific to the inversion of data from the tailings, are discussed and solutions are elaborated and demonstrated. The conductivity structure can be directly translated, through theoretical or empirical relations, to a map of the concentration of dissolved solids along the cross section and thereby provide insight about the current pore water quality. The sulphide minerals are the source of the IP response and thus the chargeability model can be used to estimate the amount and distribution of the sulphides. A new methodology to construct and invert IP decay curve information was developed. Assuming Cole-Cole relaxation to model the IP phenomenon, data sets constructed through the inversion of IP data of different time windows were inverted using a damped least squares algorithm. Values of the resultant Cole-Cole parameters might contribute additional insight about the sulphides in the tailings. Lack of time and laboratory verifications prevented full development and comprehensive conclusions. The research in this thesis concentrated along one line of the survey data with the intention of showing the capability of the DC resistivity and IP methods and their potential contribution to estimation of location and concentrations of the sulphide minerals and their oxidation products. The conclusions should assist designers of a large scale survey and prompt investigations of the relations between the physical properties mapped by these methods and the chemical parameters which are considered while assessing the damage and contemplating solutions.

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