Determining Evaporative Fluxes for Improving the Water Balance at Mine Waste Repositories

要成功地运作和关闭矿山废物储存库，就需要准确地量化地表水预算，以控制大气降水渗入废物的情况。净表面渗透率最终产生内部渗漏，释放出可能威胁下游受体的潜在沥滤液。最近在加拿大的活跃和回收矿场以及加拿大公司运营的国际矿场进行的实地规模观察表明，目前用于计算矿山废物沉积物（如废石堆和尾矿蓄水池，如不列颠哥伦比亚省Equity银的主要废石堆）渗透率的预测模型是不可接受的。这里提出的研究计划的全球目标是调查这些错误的原因，并改善现有的土壤-大气方法目前可用于估计地表通量边界条件在矿山废物库。在我的职业生涯中，我所做的所有研究都是在矿山废物管理领域。我的研究项目的目标是开发新技术，以改善矿山废物管理，关闭矿山和减少长期的环境责任。这些目标是通过培养和革新高素质的人才来实现的。拟议的研究计划的主要短期目标将是针对准确的仪器的开发，以测量真实的现场蒸发和蒸散的覆盖和覆盖的矿山废物沉积物与理论模型预测的值进行直接比较。该研究计划的长期目标是提高研究人员和工程师设计矿山废物矿床的能力，以减少与尾矿和废石相关的环境责任。此外，长期目标将是高素质人才的持久培训，在高质量期刊和会议记录中传播研究成果，并最终协助将研究成果付诸实践。拟培养博士生、硕士生各沿着人，博士后2人。预计该研究计划将导致技术的发展，以加强采矿场地的环境监测和优化矿山复垦工作的性能。据设想，油砂行业以及基础和贵金属采矿行业的研究人员和执业工程师将使用基础知识和开发的技术，以加强加拿大拥有和/或经营的全球矿场的油砂和金属矿山的矿山废物系统的设计。

Successful operation and closure of mine waste repositories require accurate quantification of the surface water budget that controls the infiltration of meteoric water into the waste profile. The rate of net surface infiltration ultimately generates internal seepage with the release of potential leachates that may threaten downstream receptors. Recent field scale observations at both active and reclaimed mine sites in Canada, as well as international sites operated by Canadian companies, have shown current predictive models used to calculate infiltration rates for mine waste deposits such as waste rock dumps and tailings impoundments, such as the main waste rock dump at Equity Silver Mine, BC, are unacceptable. The global objective of the research program proposed here is to investigate the reasons for these errors and to improve the existing soil-atmosphere methods currently available for estimating surface flux boundary conditions at mine waste repositories. All of the research I have carried out over the course of my career has been in the area of mine waste management. The objective of my research programs has been to develop new technologies for improved mine waste management, mine closure and the reduction of long-term environmental liabilities. These objectives have been achieved through the training and innovation of highly qualified personnel. The chief short-term objective of the proposed research program will be directed at the development of accurate instrumentation to measure true field evaporation and evapotranspiration on uncovered and covered mine waste deposits for direct comparison with values predicted by theoretical models. The long-term objective of the research program will be to improve the capacity of researchers and engineers to design mine waste deposits that reduce environmental liabilities associated with mine tailings and waste rock. In addition, the long-standing objective will be the enduring training of highly qualified personnel (HQP), dissemination research results in high-quality journals and conference proceedings, and finally to assist with the implementation of the research results into practice. The training of 1 PhD and 1 MSc student along with 2 postdoctoral fellows is proposed. It is anticipated that the research program will result in the development of techniques to enhance the environmental monitoring of mining sites and optimize the performance of mine reclamation efforts. It is envisioned that the fundamental knowledge and developed techniques will be used by researchers and practicing engineers in the oil sands industry as well as the base and precious metal mining industry to enhance the design of mine waste systems for oil sands and metal mines at Canadian owned and/or operated mine sites worldwide.