Comparative analysis of laboratory and field tracer tests for investigating preferential flow and transport in mining waste rock

Comparison of unsaturated flow and solute transport through waste rock at two experimental scales using temporal moments and numerical modeling

“…These complexities observed at the large scale are generally viewed as difficult, or impossible, to reproduce in smaller experiments (e.g., field barrels, laboratory columns, or humidity cells). For example, a number of studies have compared mineral weathering rates across scales with the intention of determining correction (or scaling) factors (Eriksson et al, 1997;Frostad et al, 2005;Malmström et al, 2000;Otwinowski, 1995). However, the results reveal large discrepancies in behavior among scales, which suggest large field experiments may be necessary to adequately characterize system response (Malmström et al, 2000).…”

Comparison of methods for the estimation of pyrite oxidation rate in a waste rock pile at Mine Doyon site, Quebec, Canada

“…Similarly, the scale dependence of mineral weathering rates has been studied by several investigators (Swoboda-Colberg and Drever, 1993;Velbel, 1993;Malmström et al, 2000). The most important factor contributing to the scale dependence effect appears to be the differences in grain size that affects exposed surface area (Eriksson et al, 1997). Malmström et al (2000) compiled data collected by Banwart (1994, 1999a,b) for waste rock material from the Aitik site in northern Sweden with predominantly diffusive oxygen transport.…”

Column Elution Experiments on Volcanic Ash: Geochemical Implications for the Main Ethiopian Rift Waters

“…Moreover, the total porosity measured gravimetrically and the effective porosity determined by means of tracer testing gave similar (Table 4 and 5); thus, their ratio approached unity. This implies that there is no considerable partition between mobile and immobile water within the column, and there is no indication of preferential flows and corresponding immobile water zones (Eriksson et al 1997). Figure 6 depicts the simulated and observed breakthrough curves of the non-reactive tracer (KCl) injected in all three columns after the elution experiments.…”

“…The breakthrough curves of the saline tracer KCl were analysed with the method of moments (Eriksson et al 1997). The zeroth normalised moment, μ 0 , quantifies the fraction of tracer mass recovered in the effluent:…”