Mine water rebound in South Nottinghamshire: risk evaluation using 3-D visualization and predictive modelling

Dumpleton, S.; Robins, N.S.; Walker, James A.; Merrin, P.D.

doi:10.1144/qjegh.34.3.307

Cited by 35 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…However, abandonment of the South Nottinghamshire Coalfield and the cessation of pumping minewater raise concerns over the security of the Sherwood Sandstone Formation that overlies the concealed part of the coalfield. Dumpleton et al (2001) suggested that possible discharge of acid mine drainage both to the surface and into the Sherwood Sandstone might take place some 20 years after the end of dewatering.…”

Section: Groundwater Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The engineering geology of the Nottingham area, UK

Bell

Culshaw

Förster

et al. 2009

EGSP

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Nottingham was built near a crossing point on the River Trent in the East Midlands of England. Initially, the city developed on a low sandstone hill close to the north bank of the river, which provided a secure, well-drained location above the marshes that bordered the river. Geologically, Nottingham stands at the boundary between Palaeozoic rocks to the north and west, and Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata to the south and east. The area is underlain by coal-bearing Carboniferous Coal Measures, Permian dolomitic limestones, Permo-Triassic mudstones and weak sandstones, Jurassic clays and Quaternary glacial and alluvial deposits. Artificial deposits, resulting from the social, industrial and mineral extraction activities of the past, cover the natural deposits over much of the area. This geological environment has underpinned the economic development of the area through the mining of coal (now largely ceased), oil extraction that was important during World War II, brickmaking from clays, alluvial sand and gravel extraction from the Trent Valley, and gypsum extraction from the Permo-Triassic mudstones. The Permo-Triassic sandstone is a nationally important aquifer, and has also been exploited at the surface and from shallow mines for sand. However, this history of the use and exploitation of mineral deposits has created a number of environmental problems, including rising groundwater levels, abandoned mine shafts and mining subsidence, and, within the city itself, the occasional collapse of artificial cavities in the sandstone and contaminated land left by industrial activities. Natural constraints on development include gypsum dissolution, landslides, rockfalls, swell-shrink problems in Jurassic clays and flooding. Occasional minor earthquakes are attributed to movements related to coal mining or natural, deep geological structures. Thus, Nottingham's geological context remains an important consideration when planning its future regeneration and development.

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Section: Groundwater Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The engineering geology of the Nottingham area, UK

Bell

Culshaw

Förster

et al. 2009

EGSP

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“…full physically based models, in which a pipe network model (representing major mine roadways, etc.) is routed through a variably saturated porous media (the VSS-NET code; Younger & Adams 1999;Adams & Younger 2001; (three-dimensional) 3-D visualization software (VULCAN) that allows identification of mine water flow paths and outflow zones, which has been successfully linked to various hydrological simulation codes (Dumpleton et al 2001;Robins et al 2002) including GRAM.…”

Section: Towards Robust Management Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The challenges associated with transforming these plans into digitally available, hydrogeologically relevant data suitable for modelling purposes are substantial (e.g. Dumpleton et al 2001;Robins et al 2002). The modeller therefore often struggles to simplify the vast amounts of information to the point of identifying a few critical features (e.g.…”

Section: Shortcomings In Data Needed To Characterize the Hydrogeologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Where numerical models have been constructed such sensitivity analyses can be undertaken using conventional methods (e.g. Sherwood & Younger 1997;Burke & Younger 2000;Dumpleton et al 2001). Where computational resources permit, it is probably best to face the uncertainties squarely and undertake the modelling in probabilistic mode, using Monte Carlo methods or some other stochastic simulation protocol (e.g.…”

Section: Shortcomings In Data Needed To Characterize the Hydrogeologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Challenges in the characterization and prediction of the hydrogeology and geochemistry of mined ground

Younger

Robins

2002

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Although mining is no longer a key industry in the UK, the international mining industry continues to expand. One of the principal legacies of past mining in Britain is water pollution emanating from abandoned mine voids and waste rock depositories. This has necessitated many expensive technical evaluations and remedial programmes in recent years, from which important lessons may be drawn for the still-growing mining industry overseas. Perhaps the single most important lesson is that there can never be too much information on mine hydrogeology and geochemistry available at the post-closure phase. As this phase is also the longest in the overall life cycle of any mine, it should be given appropriate consideration from the outset. The post-closure studies described in this paper and in this volume (as well as elsewhere) highlight the dearth of hydrological data that are usually available when compared with the wealth of geometric information available from mine abandonment plans. It is advocated that the collection of appropriate environmental data is built into the initial mine development plan and that monitoring commences from the green field site onwards. The uncertainties related to predictive modelling of mine water arisings are considerable, whilst those of predicting mine water quality are even greater. Numerous pointers towards robust mine water management strategies are identified, and a call for 'defensive mine planning' is made, in which relatively modest investments in hydrogeochemical control measures during the exploration and exploitation phases of the mine life cycle will yield dividends in the post-closure phase. With such measures in place, and enhanced monitoring data to hand, the conjunctive application of physical and geochemical evaluations will eventually provide much-needed predictive tools to inform site management decisions in the future.

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“…Also the flooding scenario of opencast coal mines has been the focus of scientific studies (Ardejani et al, 2003;2007a;Dumpleton et al, 2001). However, the focus of these studies was either on abandoned, deep underground mines or metal mines.…”

Section: Introduction and Previous Investigations On Mine Floodingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling the hydrogeochemical evolution of mine water in a decommissioned opencast coal mine

Huisamen

Wolkersdorfer

2016

International Journal of Coal Geology

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Highlights• Kinetic geochemical modelling calibration method proposed-calibration against leaching test data was successful.• Transient source term transport modelling successful -calibrated against existing groundwater monitoring data.• Improved confidence in numerical transport modelling of the initial flush from opencast mines• Contaminant plume calibration in numerical models is possible using the proposed methodology. AbstractA method for the geochemical modelling of transient contaminant release from rehabilitated opencast coal mines, including calibration against existing data, is proposed. The need for such a methodology is illustrated by a directive received by a decommissioned opencast coal mine in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Groundwater monitoring data, geochemical analyses, numerical flow modelling and geochemical modelling are used to model the hydrogeochemical evolution of mine water over time. Models presented in this study are based on a conceptual model detailing groundwater levels and flow directions, hydraulic conductivities, groundwater chemistry, precipitation, evaporation, surface water bodies and potential sources. Additional to this, mineralogical analyses, leaching tests and acid-base accounting were performed to obtain a better understanding of the site geochemistry. A geochemical model was constructed which was used to obtain a statistically representative mineral assemblage based on laboratory data which was calibrated against leaching test data. This assemblage was simulated in field conditions as input to a numerical flow and transport model. The transport of sulfate was modelled accordingly and sulfate concentrations from monitoring data were used for chemical calibration. Following this, long term contaminant release was simulated. Calibration graphs from the transport model indicated concentrations within a 20 mg/L error margin, showing that the proposed methodology can be used to calculate contaminant concentrations in an aquifer over time within an acceptable range. This approach could provide an improved estimate of the duration of the first flush 2 which, upon completion, will transform decommissioned collieries into large scale reservoirs of utilisable groundwater.

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Mine water rebound in South Nottinghamshire: risk evaluation using 3-D visualization and predictive modelling

Cited by 35 publications

References 3 publications

The engineering geology of the Nottingham area, UK

The engineering geology of the Nottingham area, UK

Challenges in the characterization and prediction of the hydrogeology and geochemistry of mined ground

Modelling the hydrogeochemical evolution of mine water in a decommissioned opencast coal mine

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