MAGAZINE
Going passive - the solution
for mine wastewater treatment?H
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Going passive - the solution
for mine wastewater treatment
In many parts of the world including
Canada, there is growing pressure on
mining companies to find better
answers to the problem of surface
and ground water contamination
from mine workings and wastes such
as tailings during operational period
and after decommissioning. Much of,
this pressure is because of better
understanding of the effects that
metals and other impurities have on
aquatic environments, resulting in
higher expectations and tighter
regulations.
This has put new urgency into
the search for wastewater treatment
methods that are cost-effective to
install, which do not require constant
attention by skilled staff to operate,
are long-lasting and are practical,
particularly for decommissioned
mines and remote locations. This
“all order" is increasingly being met
by passive water-treatment systems
that are mainly based on bacterial
processesto treat waterso that itcan
besafely released into watercourses.
Mining companies need to
understand recent developments in
these systems, the increasing range
of applications for which they are
effective, and the limitations of the
technology.
First, what are passive systems?
Generally, they involve piping
wastewater into a treatment mix
that can include wood chips,
limestone chips, cow manure, hay,
peat and other media to absorb
Unwanted substances in the water.
Compared with active systems that
involve pumps, passive systems offer
these advantages:
Low cost of materials: The
materials used, such as cow manure
and wood chips, are generally less
expensive than thehardware needed
for activesystems. Often, itispossible
to abtain the necessary materials
nearby, reducing both the financial=
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and environmental casts of
transportation
No need for electrical power:
Pumps need a power source, and in
many mine locations this is costly to
Install, and the power line needs
constant attention indefinitely. If a
passive system can be set up to work
off gravity feed, as many can, there is
noneed to Install a pumpingsystem.
No need for skilled staff to
operate: Many active systems need
constant or frequent attention from
trained staff. Given the current skills
shortage and the fact that many
skilled personnel can readily find
work that docs not involve the need
tomake frequent back-country trips,
this aspect Is becoming crucial, While
considerable «kill isneeded to design
2 passive system and choose the right
materials in the right quantity te be
effective Inv each specific situation,
maintenance isnotasdemanding,
Sustainable: The risk of
breakdown ina pump:based active
system is a long-term liability that,
looms over a mining company's
balance sheet like an overhanging
cliff ready to collapse. While passive
systems do require maintenance,
their effectiveness generally does
not stop suddenly if this work is not
carried out promptly, as can be the
case If a pump gets clogged or a
bearing wears out. This gives mining
companies flexibility in planning
‘their work a real advantage when
weather can make a disused mine
site temporarily inaccessible
No need for continuous or
frequent sludge management
and for sludge disposal sites:
Any tool has its limitations and
situations where itis less applicable,
and this applies to passive systems as
‘well Passive systems can face greater
volume limitations than do active
systems their slow-working nature
means that for a large-volume
application, active systems may be
better Another limitation has to do
with the space requirement in a
limited area, or on aslope, installing
passive systems may be a challenge.
A more serious limitstion of
passive systems, particularly given
the inhosprtably cold. climates in
‘which mining is taking place thanks
4o encouraging commodity prices,
has to do with temperature. Bacteria
reduce their activity and
effectiveness as cleansing agents 35
lemperatures approach freezing
Below freezing, they may go into
suspension until_ more welcoming
temperaturesare felt, Whilebacteria
can produce their own heat,
experience shows that this
temperature difference is not large
enough for extremely cold
temperatures
However, a recent case example
In Québec shows that passive systems.
are increasingly able te climb to
lautudes and altitudes previously
off-limitsdue totemperature.
Consider recent work on a
decommissioned mine in the Val d'Or
area of Québec, with a tailings
disposal area of about 25 hectares.
About wo yeers ago, there were
spills from the tailings deposit, and
small seepage streams appeared. To
meet provincial objectives by the
time winter made work too difficult,
fa sclution to the water-treatment
problem needed to put in place in
short order,
What made this particularly
challenging was the location, which
features a Continental climate, For
six months each year temperatu
average below freezing, and
temperaturesbelow minus 40 Celsius
are common. There was no electrical
power connection to the site, which
‘was in a remote location.
To treat the tailings water
seepage, itwould have been possible
to install an active system, but
problematic. It was also problematic
to install 2 passive system, but this
choice looked mare do-able, partly
because of recent advances in
understanding in how to make
passive systems work in challenging
applications. As in other passive-
system applications, it was necessary
to fit determine the types of
materials, and their ratios, necessary
to treat the tailings seepage water.
Much of the material was locally
available, in some cases from nearby
fares.
In this application, it was
Important to get the process
working before the weather turned
too cold, to Give the bacteria a
chance to establish themselves
Insulating the structures used to
store the media helped 10 preserve
heat, The passive syste installed at
the site in 2004 has been performing
well and producing a water quality
that complies with provincial
standards.
Clearly, there are limitations on
the skuations for which passive
systems are effective. However,
increasing knowledge and
technology in this area opens up this
technology for wider ranges and
bringing the sites to compliance,
With proper attention to these
limitations, mining companies can
find @ wider range of situations
where passive water-treatment
systems will prove a good solution to
theneadto protect water supplies.
Nurak Kuyucak, Ms.Eng. and Ph.D.
(Chemical Engineering), BEng. an
associate with Golder Associates Ltd,
where her fields of experience
include wastewater treatment,
water and waste management, site
decommissioning and remediation,
and environmental impact
issessment studies
} Golder
Associatesx
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Nural Kuyucak, Ph.D., Ms. Eng. (Chemical Engineering), Professional Engineer, is an
Associate in the Ottawa, Canada office of Golder Associates Ltd. Her fields of
experience consist of wastewater treatment, water and waste management, site
decommissioning and remediation, and environmental impact assessment (EIA)
studies. Nural provides specialist services to mining, industrial, governmental and
municipal clients world-wide including Canada, USA, UK, Spain, Sweden, Italy,
Ireland, Turkey, Greece, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Australia and China. She can be reached
atnkuyucak@golder com; tal. 1.613.592.9600.