Infomine Inc Waste Rock Dumps

Revision: 2006/02/28
Author: Jack Caldwell
http://technology.infomine.com

STATE OF THE ART REVIEW

Rock Waste Facilities
Facility Description
The most comprehensive description of a waste rock dump is in the Infomine EduMine course
“Design and Operation of Large Waste Dumps”, where the following types of dumps are
identified:

Valley Fills
Valley fills partially or completely fill the valley. The surface of the dump is usually graded to
prevent impoundment of water at the head of the valley. Valley fills which do not completely fill
the valley may require construction of culverts, flow-through rock drains or diversions, depending
on the size and characteristics of the upstream catchment. Valley fills which completely fill the
valley are sometimes referred to as "Head-of-Hollow" fills. Head-of-Hollow fills are common in the
coal fields of the southeastern U.S., and often incorporate chimney drains for collection and
conveyance of seepage and runoff.

Cross-Valley Fills
The Cross-Valley fill is a variation of the Valley fill. The embankment extends from one side of the
valley, across the drainage, to the other side of the valley. The upstream portion of the valley is
not completely filled, and fill slopes are established in both the upstream and downstream
directions. To avoid impounding water, Cross-Valley fills usually require specific provisions for
conveying water through or around the fill (e.g. diversions and/or culverts or flow through rock
drains).

Sidehill Fills
Sidehill fills are constructed on sloping terrain and do not block any major drainage course. Dump
slopes are usually inclined in the same general direction as the foundation. Toes of Sidehill fills
may be located on the slope or on flat terrain in the valley bottom.

Ridge Crest Fills

Ridge Crest fills are a special case of Sidehill fills, wherein fill slopes are formed on both sides of
the ridge line or crest.

Heaped Fills
Heaped fills, and also referred to as Area, Stacked or Piled fills, consist of mounds of waste with
slopes formed on all sides. Foundation slopes are generally flat or gently inclined.

Other Fills
Other types of fills or special purpose fills, which cannot be described using one of the above
types, or fills which incorporate more than one basic type (i.e. combination fills) may also be
possible. In such cases, descriptions such as backfilled pit or in-pit fill, road fill or dual terms (e.g.
Sidehill/Valley fill, Sidehill/Cross-Valley fill) may be most appropriate.

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Design
The design of mine waste rock dumps is described in numerous publications. The most
comprehensive is the Infomine Edumine course “Design and Operation of Large Waste Dumps”.
This course is based on the following readily available publications:

Engineering Design Manual for Disposal of Excess Spoil (OSM (1989))

Design of Non-Impounding Mine Waste Dumps (SME (1985))

Development of Systematic Waste Disposal Plans for Metal & Nonmetal Mines (USBM
(1982))

Pit Slope Manual, Chapter 9 - Waste Embankments (CANMET (1977))

Engineering and Design Manual for Coal Refuse Disposal Facilities (MESA (1975))

In summary the following steps are generally involved in the design of a waste rock dump:

Establish mine rock and overburden characteristics and quantities.

Assemble and review possible disposal site information, and hence select a site

Characterize the selected site

Establish the potential impacts of the dump on the environment

Develop plans for disposal, operation, and closure

As with all mine waste disposal facilities, including heap leach pads and tailings impoundments,
the following are issues to be addressed in the design of the waste rock dump:

Surface water management facilities

Groundwater protection features including basal drains

Stability

Closure geometry

Closure cover to control air entry, limit water infiltration, and hence limit seepage.

In designing a waste rock dump, the performance of the dump at various stages of its proposed
life may be modeled using numerical and/or computer models. This may include:

Water balance studies of the site and the dump

Geochemical modeling of potential acid rock drainage

Groundwater impact modeling

Slope stability modeling of static, seismic, and runout performance

Long-term geomorphic studies to establish how the dump will behave in the long-term
(1,000 years and more) as an integral part of the topographic of the site.

An integral part of the design of a waste rock dump is the

preparation of the following documents for the dump or at least parts of the overall mine
documents that relate specifically to the waste rock dump:

Operations Plan

Health and Safety Plan

Instrumentation and Monitoring Plan

Emergency Response Plan

Closure Plan

Post-Closure Monitoring and Maintenance Plan.

Construction
Construction of a waste rock is considered to entail the preparation of the site to receive the
waste rock as part of the overall mining process. A contractor may be employed to construct
access roads, strip the site, prepare foundations, place underdrains, and install surface water
management facilities.

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Operation
Operation of the waste rock dump, generally done by the mining employees, involves these
activities:

Ore transport from the mine and-or mill to the dump.

Off-loading of the ore at the dump in accordance with the planned dump development
and operating plans, including lift height and location

Access road construction and maintenance

Clearing of new areas for dumping, foundation preparation and drain construction as
required in new areas

Maintenance, upgrade, and expansion of surface water management facilities

Environmental monitoring of conditions at the dump including seepage water, surface
water, groundwater quantities and quality.

Dump performance monitoring and documentation including stability, erosion,
consolidation, and creep.

Post-Closure Maintenance
When rock that contains sulfide minerals is exposed to air and water, the weathering of the
minerals causes the water to become acidic. When the acidic water seeps from the rock, the
resultant seepage is called Acid Rock Drainage (ARD). Biological activity may contribute to and
accelerate the formation of acidic conditions in the rock. The low pH of the acidic seepage may
mobilize heavy metals in the rock. Acidic seepage has the potential to detrimentally affect
groundwater or surface water into which it flows.

The literature on ARD is vast. Over one hundred papers may be found in the Infomine library on
ARD. Topics covered in these papers include detailed descriptions of the geology of rocks that
produce acid drainage, the chemistry of acid generation, the control of flow from ARD-prone mine
waste disposal facilities, the environmental impact of ARD, and case histories of successes and
failures in controlling ARD.

The Infomine technical site EnviroMine includes a continually updated list of new publications and
upcoming conferences on acid mine drainage.

Suffice it to say here, that if you suspect that the rocks that will go into your waste rock dump are
likely to contain sulfide ores you should prepare the design of the rock dump and undertake its
operation and closure in a way that controls and ultimately minimizes the generation of acidic
seepage. Wade et al (2004)1 provide a fine description of a responsible and comprehensive
approach as applied at the Kemess Mine in British Columbia.

BC Rock Dumps
Looking through an old 1991 magazine called International Mine Waste Management I read an article by
Alistair Kent called Coal Mine Waste Dumps in British Columbia Stability Issues and Recent
Developments I was left wondering what happened subsequent to the 1991 “recent developments”.

I am indebted to Chris Carr, the only geotechnical engineer with the BC Ministry of Mines (MEMPR), who
took time to bring me up to date. Here is his report (Thanks):

A series of reports have been published following the work carried out by the British Columbia Waste
Dump Research Committee. The committee was formed in 1990 with representation by industry,

1
Wade, S., Bent, H., Davidson, S., and Tucker, G. (2004) “Waste Material Management at the Kemess South Mine
to Control Environmental Impacts.” See the Infomine Library.

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CANMET, BC Ministry of Environment and BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.
The following reports have been completed to date:

1. Investigation and Design Manual, 1991

2. Operating and Monitoring Manual, 1991
3. Review and Evaluation of Failures, 1992
4. Failure Runout Characteristics, 1992
5. Methods of Monitoring, 1992
6. Consequence Assessment for Mine Waste Dump Failures, 1994
7. Runout Characteristics of Debris from Dump Failures in Mountainous Terrain Stage 2: Analysis,
Modelling and Prediction, 1995
8. Rock Drain Research Program, 1999

The "Investigation and Design Manual" and "Operating and Monitoring Manual" are referenced in the
Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia (2003). The guidelines were
prepared by Piteau Associates Engineering Ltd. and Klohn Leonoff Ltd. respectively. Prominent
geotechnical consultants and industry representatives reviewed the guidelines and many of their
suggestions were incorporated.

Reports (1), (2) and (3) form part of the professional development course "Design and Operation of Large
Waste Dumps" administered by EduMine. Copies of the reports are available for purchase from BiTech
Publishers (http://www.bitech.ca/)
.

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