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Prediction of Acid Mine Drainage: Importance of Mineralogy and the Test Protocols for Static and Kinetic Tests

Vorhersage der Bildung von Sauren Grubenabwässern: Die Bedeutung der Mineralogie bei Statischen und Kinetischen Versuchen

Predicción del Drenaje ácido de Minas: Importancia de la Mineralogía y de los Protocolos para los Ensayos Estáticos y Cinéticos

酸性矿井水预测:矿物学及静、动态试验方法研究

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Abstract

Static tests, which compare the acid-generating potential and acid-neutralizing potential for a given mine waste (tailings or waste rocks), are characterized by a wide uncertainty zone in which it is impossible to accurately predict the acid-generating potential (AGP). Then, to better assess long-term AGP, kinetic tests are usually performed to provide more information about the reaction rates of the acid-generating and acid-neutralizing minerals. The present work compares the classic Sobek static test with three mineralogical static tests to assess the importance of sample mineralogy in acid mine drainage (AMD) prediction. We also investigated how experimental procedures related to static tests can influence prediction results. We used three synthetic tailings samples made by mixing well-characterized pure minerals in calibrated proportions. Although basically different in their principles and procedures, the modified Sobek and mineralogical static tests gave similar results. These AGP predictions were then validated by the use of a kinetic test. The kinetic test protocol was also modified in this study and the results obtained correlated well with the static test results, in contrast to the standard kinetic test protocol. The present work highlights the limitations of static and kinetic test procedures, and provides recommendations for a better use of these tests for more reliable AMD prediction.

Zusammenfassung

Statische Versuche, welche das säurebildende und -neutralisierende Potential von Bergbauabfällen bestimmen, weisen z. T. so große Unsicherheitsbereiche auf, dass das exakte säurebildende Potential (acid-generation potential, AGP) sehr schwer ermittelbar ist. Um das langzeitlich wirksame AGP zu bestimmen, werden häufig kinetische Test durchgeführt, um so die Reaktionsraten der säurebildenden und neutralisierenden Minerale zu ermitteln. In dieser Arbeit wird der klassische statische Versuch nach Sobek mit drei weiteren statischen Versuch verglichen, um die Bedeutung der mineralogischen Zusammensetzung der Proben bei der Vorhersage der Bildung von sauren Grubenabwässern zu untersuchen. Gleichzeitig wird betrachtet, wie sich die Versuchsbedingungen auf die Resultate auswirken. Hierzu werden drei künstliche hergestellte Mischproben verwendet, welche aus gut charakterisierten reinen Mineralen bestehen. Obwohl sich sämtliche Testvarianten hinsichtlich ihrer Grundlagen und Versuchsverläufe unterscheiden, führen sie zu vergleichbaren Ergebnissen. Die auf dieser Grundlage ermittelten AGP-Prognoseergebnisse wurden im Anschluss mit Hilfe eines kinetischen Versuchs validiert. Im Gegensatz zu standartgemäßen Versuchsverlauf wurde der kinetische Test verändert, was jedoch die Vergleichbarkeit mit den statischen Versuchen erhöht. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden die Grenzen von statischen und kinetischen Versuchsanwendungen aufgezeigt und Hinweise zur Verbesserung der Versuche abgeleitet. Dies führt zu vertrauenswürdigeren Ergebnissen bei der Vorhersage der Bildung von sauren Grubenabwässern.

Resúmen

Los ensayos estáticos que compararan la capacidad de generación de ácido y la capacidad de neutralizarlo para cierto residuo minero (colas o rocas residuales) están caracterizados por una amplia zona de incertidumbre en la cual es imposible predecir adecuadamente la capacidad de generación de ácido (AGP). Luego, para un mejor relevamiento del AGP a largo plazo, los ensayos cinéticos se realizan usualmente para dar más información sobre las velocidades de las reacciones de generación y neutralización de la acidez que presentan los minerales. Este trabajo compara el ensayo estático clásico de Sobek con tres ensayos estáticos mineralógicos para relevar la importancia de la mineralogía de la muestra en la predicción de AMD. También investigamos cómo los procedimientos experimentales de los ensayos estáticos pueden influir en la predicción de los resultados. Usamos 3 muestras de colas sintéticas preparadas mezclando en proporciones definidas minerales puros bien caracterizados. Aunque difieren en sus principios y procedimientos, los ensayos estáticos mineralógicos y los estudios modificados de Sobek dan resultados similares. Estas predicciones AGP fueron luego validadas utilizando un ensayo cinético. El protocolo del ensayo cinético también fue modificado y los resultados obtenidos correlacionaron bien con los resultados del ensayo estático, en contraste con el protocolo estándar del ensayo cinético. Este trabajo clarifica las limitaciones de los procedimientos de los ensayos estáticos y cinéticos y aporta recomendaciones para un mejor uso de estos ensayos para una más exacta predicción del AMD.

摘要

静态试验用以预测某给定废矿石(尾矿或矸石)的产酸和酸中和潜力,试验方法具有不确定性,难以准确预测废矿石的产酸潜力(AGP)。动力学试验能够为更好地评价废矿石长期产酸潜力提供更多的产酸和酸中和反应速率信息。本文对比了经典索贝克静态试验(classic Sobek static test)和3种矿物学静态试验(mineralogical static tests)结果,以评价在酸性矿井水预测中样本矿物性质的影响。同时,研究了静态试验过程如何影响产酸预测结果。3种人工合成尾矿由纯矿物按标准比例混合而成。虽然改进的索贝克(modified Sobek)和矿物学静态试验(mineralogical static tests)原理和步骤不同,但它们的试验结果相似。动态试验验证了产酸潜力(AGP)预测的可靠性。本研究中的动态试验也为改进试验,动态试验结果与静态试验结果具有很好的一致性。文章突出了静态和动态试验方法的局限性,提出了合理利用这此试验方法进行酸性矿井水预测的建议。.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported with funds from the Canada Research Chair on Integrated Mine Waste Management and the NSERC Industrial chair Polytechnique-UQAT on mining environment. Some financial support was also provided by the UQAT foundation (FUQAT) and the International Research Chairs Initiative (IDRC). The authors are also grateful to the “Unité de Recherche et de Service en Technologie Minérale” personnel for their technical assistance.

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Correspondence to Hassan Bouzahzah.

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Bouzahzah, H., Benzaazoua, M., Bussiere, B. et al. Prediction of Acid Mine Drainage: Importance of Mineralogy and the Test Protocols for Static and Kinetic Tests. Mine Water Environ 33, 54–65 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-013-0249-1

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