Geoelectrical Approach for Differentiating the Hydrogeological Section in the Study of a Tailings Pond Site

Abstract

An important issue in the construction of tailings ponds is the detailed knowledge of the hydrogeological section beneath the bottom of the facility. The answer to this question can hardly be achieved only by a standard drilling survey, especially in regions with complex geological structure where the identification of small in size, highly permeable areas requires a high density of the borehole network. The proposed geoelectrical approach for mapping the low-rank hydrogeological units forming the tailings dam basement involves the application of the electrical resistivity tomography method. The subsurface geoelectrical model obtained by this method is transformed into a hydrogeological model on the base of data from the performed standard core drilling survey and slug tests. The applicability and high efficiency of the proposed integrated approach is demonstrated by the results from the study of a site for construction of a tailings pond near Breznik, Bulgaria.