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Hydrogeological Behaviour of Covers with Capillary Barrier Effects Made of Mining Materials

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Abstract

A laboratory study and numerical predictions were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a cover with capillary barrier effects (CCBE) made of mining materials in limiting the generation of acid mine drainage. The present study included the installation of three experimental laboratory columns as physical models of CCBEs. Each column was instrumented to monitor the hydrogeological behaviour of the different layers of the cover. In the moisture-retaining layer, which is made of desulphurized tailings, the degree of saturation (Sr) is usually maintained above 85%, while Sr in the two waste rock layers placed above and below the moisture-retaining layer (MRL) is typically between 5 and 15%. Suctions were usually lower than the air entry value for the desuphurized tailings layers, while suctions largely exceeded the water entry value of the mine waste rock in the two capillary break layers (CBLs). The oxygen flux was calculated using numerical modeling at the bottom of the MRL. Results confirm that the oxygen flux is low (between 0.34 and 3 g/m2/year). This study also confirms the potential of mine waste rocks to act as a substitute for natural granular soils in the CBL of a CCBE.

Résumé

Une étude de laboratoire et numérique a été menée afin d’évaluer l’efficacité d’une couverture avec effets de barrière capillaire (CEBC) faite de matériaux miniers pour limiter la génération du drainage minier acide (DMA). La présente étude comprend le montage au laboratoire de trois colonnes expérimentales utilisées comme modèles physiques de CEBCs. Chaque colonne a été instrumentée pour suivre le comportement hydrogéologique des différentes couches du recouvrement. Dans la couche de rétention d’eau constituée de résidus miniers désulfurés, le degré de saturation (Sr) s’est maintenu à des valeurs habituellement supérieures à 85% alors que dans les deux couches des stériles placées au-dessus et en-dessous de la couche de rétention d’eau, il s’est situé généralement à des valeurs entre 5% et 15%. Les succions mesurées dans les différentes couches ont été habituellement inférieures à la pression d’entrée d’air (AEV) des résidus miniers désulfurés pour les couches de rétention d’eau et largement supérieures à la pression d’entrée d’eau (WEV) des stériles miniers dans les deux couches de bris capillaires. Les flux d’oxygène calculés numériquement à la base de la couche de rétention d’eau confirment que ces derniers sont faibles (variant entre 0,34 à 3 g/m2/an). Cette étude confirme également le potentiel des stériles miniers d’agir comme couches de bris capillaires en substitution aux sols granulaires naturels dans les CEBCs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Fonds de recherche du Québec-Nature et technologies (FRQNT), as well as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for providing the BMP scholarship to the first author. We would also like to acknowledge the partners of the UQAT-Polytechnique Research Institute on Mines and Environment (RIME) for their financial support. Finally, the authors would like to thank the URSTM/UQAT staff for their assistance in the laboratory.

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  1. UQAT-Polytechnique Research Institute on Mine and Environment (RIME), Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), 445 boul. de l’Université, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, J9X 5E4, Canada

    A. Kalonji Kabambi, B. Bussière & I. Demers

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  1. A. Kalonji Kabambi
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Correspondence to A. Kalonji Kabambi.

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Kalonji Kabambi, A., Bussière, B. & Demers, I. Hydrogeological Behaviour of Covers with Capillary Barrier Effects Made of Mining Materials. Geotech Geol Eng 35, 1199–1220 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-017-0174-3

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