Overview of the Mine Overlay Site Testing (MOST) Project A - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Brian Ayres, M.Sc., P.Eng.

Senior Geotechnical Engineer

Chief Operating Officer

Overview of the Mine Overlay Site Testing (MOST) Project – A Collaborative Initiative

Mine Waste Closure in Canada

 Closure / reclamation of mine waste storage facilities can be costly  INAP estimates total liability

• f acid-generating wastes

in Canada at $1.3 to $3.3 B  Neutral mine drainage becoming more of a focus

Mine Waste Closure in Canada

 Closure can involve a cover system coupled with a collection & treatment facility  Balance cover’s ability to reduce H2O and O2 ingress w/ treatment cost  Poor prediction of cover performance can result in much higher treatment $$

Mine Waste Cover Design

 Cover design can be complex and expensive  Laboratory testing, computer modelling, field trials

Cover System Evolution

 Through extensive monitoring, learned that covers evolve quickly  Challenging to account for evolutionary effects during design stage  Particularly the case when sites situated in a cold region … snowmelt and frost action

Creation of the MOST Project

 Mission: help industry improve cover performance, improve risk mitigation, troubleshoot design problems, reduce costs, and increase accuracy

• f environmental impact

assessments  Scientific steering committee:

 Dr. Jeff McDonnell (PI)  Dr. Lee Barbour  Dr. Jim Hendry  Dr. Andrew Ireson  Mike O’Kane

MOST Facility Overview

 State-of-the art high-bay laboratory  3 artificial hillslopes using tiltable trailers  Test beds can be exposed to natural and artificially-applied rainfall  Use of stable isotopes to track water movement through test beds

MOST Facility Overview

 3 phases over 9 years  3 pre-arranged potential clients:

 Syncrude Canada Ltd.  SRC – CLEANS project  O’Kane Consultants

Funding for MOST Project

 $5.1M over first 3 years  WED is providing 35% of total budget to cover capital expenditures  Fee-for-service model beginning in Year 4

Addressing Issue of Variability

Benefits of MOST Project

 Canadian mining industry will gain a competitive advantage in mine closure  Transfer of technology through close collaboration  Raise the bar of cover design practice and profile with regulators  Provide professional training to industry reps

Rendering by D. Shuttleworth from McKenna and O’Kane (2013)