The following lab-scale studies focus on the effects of low vs. high water tables within tailings impoundments, in conjunction with a monolayer cover system, in mitigating AMD production. Tailings and cover material were collected from the Faro Mine site in Faro, Yukon.
This study focused on oxygen concentration and unfrozen volumetric water content within freezing conditions through a series of laboratory column experiments. In order to create a representative model of freezing conditions for the numerical simulations, large instrumented columns were used with an inert material filling, and the evolution of the following parameters were monitored over time and depth:
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Volumetric water content;
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Unfrozen volumetric water content;
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Temperature; and
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Oxygen concentration gradient between the water interface and the top of the cover material (only the partially water-saturated portion).