Construction
and Instrumentation of a Multi-Layer Cover Les Terrains Aurifères
Mine Environment Neutral Drainage at CANMET-MMSL |
MEND
Report 2.22.4a
February 1999
SUMMARY
Since
January 1997, Barrick Gold Corporation's Les Terrains Auriferes
(LTA) tailings site has been the subject of a detailed study - MEND
Project 2.22.4 - aimed at assessing the performance of a composite
cover placed on the acid-generating tailings impoundment. The full-scale
composite cover was built in the winter of 1996 on the 60-hectare
site. Alkaline tailings were used for the fine material layer. In
addition to being the first full-scale cover of this type (e.g.
oxygen barrier) in Canada (and possibly elsewhere), this project
offers the added advantage of using mine tailings, a waste product.
The
main objective of this report is to describe the various phases
of the LTA project, from the initial conceptual design of the cover
to the final construction and monitoring. The theory behind composite
covers and design methods have already been thoroughly discussed
in the literature; the present report will, therefore, be a practical
field application example of this technology.
This
report will describe initial concerns, the flow charts used in the
decision process, the laboratory work performed as well as the fundamental
properties of all the materials used for construction. Sequence
of events, construction difficulties will be presented subsequently
along with monitoring instruments used. Analytical results outlined
in this report will allow preliminary comparison of properties observed
in laboratory and in situ. Conclusions will be formulated and discussed
to assess the applicability of this technology to other sites. A
final monitoring report will be available in 1999.
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