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Assessment of the Mount Polley Mine site for potential passive or semi-passive treatment options

British Columbia Mine Reclamation Symposium; University of British Columbia. Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering

Passive water treatment is often sought as a component of long-term mine closure management. Passive water treatment promotes relatively self-sustaining conditions for the management of mine impacted water, with outcomes often being low maintenance and operational costs. However, owing to the sensitive biogeochemical nature of these technologies, a site-specific phased approach is necessary for evaluating passive treatment as a component of mine closure management, and ultimately, its successful implementation. The Mount Polley Mine (the “Mine”) was evaluated for the viability of constructed wetland treatment systems (CWTSs) as part of their long-term water management plan. A site assessment was conducted, which identified potential plant species for use in a CWTS, and evaluated the water, substrates, and plants in the context of a CWTS. Genetic microbial community profiling was used to assess natural wetlands, and components of the water management infrastructure at the Mine, and was paired with traditional growth-based microbial characterization and quantification. This information was evaluated in the context of water chemistry, treatment objectives, and biogeochemical processes to assess the feasibility for semi-passively or passively treating Mine water. Upon assessment of the natural treatment capacity at the Mine, natural conditions and processes were identified that could potentially benefit water quality.

Conference Paper

eng

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0374937

Non UBC

Other

DSpace