This paper presents the design and 3 year field performance results of three engineered test soil covers for the mitigation of acid rock drainage (ARD) at Whistle mine near Capreol, Ontario. Each test cover was a two-layer system consisting of a 0.90 m noncompacted pit-run gravelly sand overlying a barrier layer. The three barrier layers studied were a 0.46 m thick mixture of sand (92%) and bentonite (8%) (SB), a 0.60 m thick layer of sandy silt with about 5% clay (SS), and a 0.008 m thick geosynthetic clay liner (GCL). Each cover was installed on 6.10 m thick acid-generating waste rock and was instrumented and monitored along with a control test plot that consisted of 6.10 m of waste rock. The ultimate objective of the study was to select a suitable cover for full-scale decommissioning of acid-generating waste rock backfilled into the Whistle pit. Results from 3 years of monitoring showed that the GCL was the most effective barrier in reducing percolation into the underlying waste rock. Percolation through the GCL barrier was 7% over the 3 year period compared with 20% and 59.6% through the sand–bentonite and sandy silt barriers, respectively, and 56.4% through the control plot. The overall quality of percolate water from the covered waste rock was much better than that of percolate water from the uncovered waste rock. Aqueous geochemical modeling suggested that percolate water draining the oxidized waste rock was controlled by hydroxides, oxide, and sulphate phases of Al, Ca, Mg, and Fe3+.Key words: waste rock, acid rock drainage (ARD), capillary barrier, geosynthetic clay liner, amended soil systems, percolation, MINTEQ.

Flooding of tailings under shallow water covers is an effective method of decommissioning potentially acid generating mine tailings. The low diffusivity and solubility of oxygen in water are attractive features of this technology. However, wind-induced waves can resuspend flooded tailings and expose them to greater contact with dissolved oxygen, thereby increasing the potential for oxidation and acid generation. Field measurements of wind activity and waves under different water cover depths and associated resuspension for a mine tailings pond in Ontario are presented and discussed. The results show that wind speeds greater than 8 m/s above water covers that are shallower than 1 m create waves of height greater than 10 cm and bottom shear stresses greater than 0.2 Pa. Under these conditions the critical shear stress of the mine tailings was exceeded, resulting in erosion and subsequent resuspension.Key words: mine tailings, water cover, wind-induced waves, resuspension, wind speed, shear stress.

Three engineered test covers were installed at the Whistle Mine test site, near Capreol, Ontario, and monitored over 4 years. Each cover was a two-layer system consisting of a 0.90 m noncompacted gravelly sand overlying a barrier layer and a 6.10 m waste rock platform. The barriers consisted of a 92% sand – 8% bentonite mixture, a sandy silt, and a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL). A control plot (waste rock without cover) was also monitored. Water percolation through the covers was 61% for the sandy silt cover, 24% for the sand–bentonite mixture, 12% for the GCL, and 58% for the control. Post-monitoring excavation and examination of the test plots indicated that defects in the placement of the barrier layers, coupled with freeze–thaw effects, likely contributed to the unexpected high water percolation values observed. The results suggest that lapses in construction of soil barriers, such as lack of proper installation and quality control, can compromise cover effectiveness.Key words: mine waste, remediation, soil covers, post closure, investigations, water balance.

Soil cover systems are widely used for containment of municipal solid waste, hazardous and mine waste, with the objective of limiting the ingress of precipitation and oxygen. The ability to predict their long-term performance is crucial, as their failure would result in the release of contaminants to the environment. However, monitoring covers over the long term to derive the information needed to aid in design is impractical and there are no large-scale covers that have been in use for a long enough period to generate the data needed. Numerical models have been particularly useful as design tools. To improve their reliability these models may be calibrated to field data and then used to make long-term predictions of cover performance. The field performance of two resistive test soil covers on a 20% sloping waste rock platform is predicted using the two-dimensional soil-atmosphere model Vadose/W. Input data for the model included soil, climate and vegetation data obtained either in the field or laboratory. Model results were compared to field data to assess the validity of the program. The model reasonably simulated field response patterns for soil water storage and suction. Divergence between field performance data and model predictions were significantly influenced by snowmelt, interflow and flow through preferential pathways.

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