Grant: Alliance Grants

The Grassy Mountain Project is a proposed metallurgical coal mine located on previously mined land in the Crowsnest Pass near Blairmore Alberta. The previous mine was abandoned in the 1970's with no rehabilitation or reclamation, resulting in unusable land and exposed legacy mine rock. The potential development of a new mine at this location presents a unique opportunity to reclaim historic disturbances; however, there are considerable concerns over the impact of future mining on the local environment. Mining operations generate large abouts of unused geomaterials (e.g., mine rock and tailings) that are generally stored on site in mine rock storage facilities (MRSFs) and tailings storage facilities (TSFs). When mine rock and tailings are exposed to atmospheric conditions (i.e., atmospheric oxygen as air and water) sulfide minerals oxidize and produce acid rock drainage (ARD). The acidic effluent can subsequently leach metal ions from adjacent rocks (and the mine rock itself). If not properly controlled and treated, the ARD and metal leaching (ML) can create environmental and health concerns for wildlife and human populations reliant on local watersheds. The goal of this research program is to improve the predictive capabilities of kinetic column leach testing in both the standard and advanced industry testing methods. This goal will be achieved by conducting several advanced customized leach columns (in duplicate) that are continuously monitored and sampled while controlling water content, gas flux, and temperature that represent in situ conditions alongside standard humidity cell tests to better understand the mechanisms controlling ML-ARD production. The results of this study will be compared with existing and new lab and site data to help constrain the ability of kinetic methods to characterize different types of waste and improve mine rock storage strategies aimed at minimizing environmental impact and reduce risks related to ML-ARD management. This information may unlock potential to develop disturbed sites and facilitate timely and sustainable reclamation, eliminating liabilities for Canadians while restoring ecological function, improving cultural value, and providing economic benefit. Further, increasing our understanding of mine rock geochemical evolution and ML-ARD production in MRSFs and TSFs can lead to improved practices and designs of mine rock storage not only in Canada but also internationally.