Introduction

In this course, we discuss the water and chemical mass balance of a mine site and the many components or facilities that go to make up a mine. There are as many water and chemical mass balances as there are mines. And there are as many mass balances as there are facilities on a mine. In this course we focus on the fundamental theories and methods and illustrate these with examples that are intended to assist and guide in compiling water and chemical mass balances for a mine and its various facilities.

This course is one of a series of related courses, others in the series include:

• Groundwater in Mining
• Surface Water Management at Mines

Objectives

Reasons for undertaking a facility or site water balance study may include:

• evaluating strategies for optimum use of limited water supplies;
• establishing procedures for limiting site discharge and complying with discharge requirements;
• estimating the demands on water treatment plants, holding ponds, evaporation ponds, or wetlands.

Content

The course comprises 14 viewing sessions, each of 30 - 60 minutes duration, plus supporting figures, tables, worked examples and references, and interactive reviews that confirm your achievement of the learning objectives. The total duration of the course is approximately 10 hours.

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify the basic principles of mine water and chemical mass balance modeling and apply these to typical mine facilities.
2. Apply the principles of mine water and chemical mass balance modeling to open pits, underground mine workings, tailings impoundments, waste rock dumps, and heap leach pads.
3. Evaluate practical engineering methods to control groundwater flow to make mining safer, more cost-effective, and more environmentally friendly.

Duration: 14 Hours

Category: Geotechnics

Level: Advanced