- Title
- Geotechnical and hydrogeological evaluation of artificial soils to remediate acid mine drainage and improve mine rehabilitation - An Australian case study
- Creator
- Taylor, Michael; Panther, Barbara; Yellishetty, Mohan
- Date
- 2013
- Type
- Text; Conference paper
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/161200
- Identifier
- vital:12349
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02678-7_83
- Abstract
- This project investigates the feasibility of combining overburden (OB) produced from an open cut brown coal mine, rejected wood chip waste from a Kraft Paper Mill (KMR), and industrially derived compost. The outcome is an artificial soil that mitigates Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) and enhances soil heath and suitability for rehabilitation. The three separate industries are local to each other, facilitating economical transportation of waste streams. The study identified a suitable artificial soil mixing ratio that would ultimately neutralise AMD and amplify nutrient content (8 parts OB, 1 part KMR and 0.6 parts compost), based on net acid producing potential derived for each component. The pH of the mixtures increased compared with the raw materials eg. from pH 3.24 to pH 6.51, which was well within ideal conditions for plant growth and inhibition of acidophilic bacteria that catalyse AMD reactions. The artificial soil also demonstrated increased water retaining characteristics (field capacity) and enhanced vegetation growth, with an extreme example illustrated by one acid OB sample (pH 1.75, originally unable to support vegetation) effectively supporting grass growth after mixing. Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP) results showed no regulatory levels being breached in regards to metals leaching out of the artificial soils. However, in some samples, the artificial soil leachate exhibited higher concentrations of metals than the original samples. Electrical Conductivity values increased on average from 0.8 ds/m to 1.66 ds/m). These soils, once proven safe and effective for use, could be laid over the waste dumps in brown coal mines for reclamations purposes.
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Relation
- Mine Planning and Equipment selection p. 855-865
- Rights
- © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
- Rights
- This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
- Subject
- AMD; Overburden; Kraft Mill Rejects; Mine Rehabilitation
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