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Environmental Lmpact Mine Development and Tailings Disposal

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Environmental Lmpact Mine Development and Tailings Disposal .--L South Pocific Regionol Environm€nf Progromme ft -- Ittltt-'r'tl SPREP Reports ond Studies Series no, 95 WJ: Environmental lmPact Hffi Assessment Guidelines for Mine DeveloPment and ffi Tailings Disposal at Tropical Coastal Mines ar'' -il South Pocific Reglonol Environment Progromrre Environmental lmpact Assessment Guidelines for Mine Development and Tailings Disposal at Tropical Coastal Mines Prepared by Derek Ellls Assisted by Jacquellne Connolly SPREP Librry Cataloguing-in-Publication Dara Ellis,Dcsck Erwironmental impact ascsmcot guiddinca fq minc dcrrclopment 2ad t.ilingr dispod et topicel costal rnincs / grcprrcd \ p6d Ellir ard **itt"d bJ.cqudinc Connolly. - Apie,Vftstcrn Samoa : SPREB 1996. viii,26p. : 69., placcs, ublcs : 29 can- ISBN:982-04-0150-X 1. Environncntal impact rtetcmens.2. Mincs and rnincrrl rrsouroae - Erndrronmcnal aspccs, 3. Erwironmcnal monitori.g- I. C.onnolly, Jacquclinc. II. South Pacific Rcgiond Environmcnt Prognmmc. IV Tida 333.765 kcprrcd for putilication by thc South Pacifc Rcgionel Ernironmcot kogrlmmc, PO Bc 24o,Apb,Wcrtcrn Samoa @ South PacificRcgiorrl Environmcnt Plogrannc, 1996 Thc South Pecifc Rcgional En'ironncnt Plogrililnc authcbcs thc rcproduction of tcmud netcrid, wholc or parq in any form, providcd approprbtc acknorlcdgcmcot b gi\r€o. Original 3srt; F'ngfirh Editor Barbare Hcason Production Pctcr Erans Photographs Plare I (covcr and p.4) reproduced with permission of Island Copper Mine, BHP Minerals Canada Ltd; platc 6 (cover and p.6) and plate 5 reproduced with permission of Placcr Pacific Limited, Typeset in I l/13 Bembo and UR\7 Casde Printed on I l0gsm Tudor RP. (100% recyded) by ABC Printing, Brisbane, Australia Printed with finaocial assistance from AusAID Covcr photographs Top:The seale of uwu produaionfmm ninitg and milling prouses an be enotmorn, Hererun see the *uste mck dunry anil their redamation at klanil Coppa Mine, Canada. Tlrc tailings aft undcrunta. Bottom: A seaunter-mk de-aention tank for submarinc tailings dischatge. Contents Acknowledgements v List of participants, mining wot*.shop, Solomon Islands, March 1992 vi Executive surnmary vii Part One Mine development and ailings disposal I 1 Introduction 3 1.1 Overview 3 1.2 Production of teilings: the mining-milling prccess 3 1.3 Environmentd risks 7 1.4 Regulation and these Guidelines 8 2 Description ofprocedures 10 2.1 Orrerview 10 2.2 Exploration 10 2.3 Development: Feasibility essessrnent 11 2.4 Development:Blueprinring 12 2.5 Development: Construction and commissioning 13 2.6 Operations 13 2.7 Closwe 14 3 Numericd guidelines 16 ReGrences 20 fart Tlvo Environmental questionnairres 2l keliminary information to be compiled by the Regulatory Agency for a mine development 22 Preliminary information to be compiled by an applicrnt for a mining licence n Tables 3.1 Guideline vdues for trace metals (ppm, dry wt) and per cent incidence of biological effects in concenrradon ranges defined by the values,ERL and ERM 16 3.2 DnIt Canadian Guidelines, and incidence ofadverse biologicd effects in concentration ranges defined by values for marine sediments,TEL end PEL 18 3.3 Draft Canadian Guidelines and incidence of adverse biological effece in concentration ranges defined for fresh water sediments 18 3.4 Sediment criteria for six elemental conteminants derived from water qualiry criteria and equilibrium partirioning coefticients 18 3.5 Guidelines for marine sediments comparing vdues from Thbles 3.1,3.2 and 3.4 19 FiSre 1..[ Un#prodmodfrsntrrntihg 4 5.il ffie pomthl ftir bicilqeic{ldbm of sfinwt+-odra-d erohmibns, rcgtt'dinshc US. hlAdonct$st-{s,$ndftrdslhogreru tl? ! te'hnlll-9ffi6r,@a,er+qt Heq&,iE&r €dualoi*G*udh il 2 lfrinepitb uimeriormlley 5 t Imprct oftriling dbcbrryo m e rirer rnnlky 5 *'EdlfugF,erfr.Eggattheialcdg$ 6 5 Anincp"-irmgrtncdfiar:rEdi6 E 6 6 :Seam[Gr-frirde-@sion grnlsfor G tdlhgFri :6 Acknowledgements The development of these Guidelines was funded initidly by the Canadian Inrernational Development Agency (CIDA) througb the medium of a grant for a Tiaining Programme in Marine Pollution Assesment and Control to the Univetsiry ofVictoria, Canada and the Universiry of the South Paci6c, Suva, Fiji. This grant allorved presentation of a workshop on the marinc impact of coastd urd island mines rt Honiua, Solomon Islands,2{ March 1992.The workshop was facilitated by cooperation with the Gwernment of the Solomon tslands and the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)- Subsequencly, SPREP was able to fund the updating and formalising of these Guidelines byJ. Connolly.This was ca6ied out under the supervision of D. Ellis, made available by the University of Victoria. The authors are pleased to acknowledge this agency support in dlowing derrelopment of these Guidelines. The authors are also very grateful for the cooperation of parcicular individuals. We acknowledge first Mr Komeri OnoriqEnvironmental Impact Assesment Ofrcer of the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPRXP)' who coordinated arrangements for the Honiua workshop and facilitated arrangements for completion of the Guidelines. We dso thank the puticipants of the workshop, and the Solomon Islands public s€rvants who assisted in the organisation. Several of D. Ellist asociates and correspondents have conributed over the years much background information which has been incorporated into these Guidelines. These asocietes include a series of environmental managers at coastal mines, particularly C. Pelletier, R. Hillis end [. Horne at Island Copper Mine, Canada and G. Murray of Placer Pacfic Ltd. E. Long of the US Nationd Oceanographic and Atrnospheric Adminisnation (NOAA) has provided end updated information about numerical guidelines under development in the United States. Profesor G. W Poling of the University ofBritish Columbia, Vancourrer, Canada has been a frequent source of mine-milling informetion over the past tw€nty-five years. List of Participants, Minlng Workshop, Solomon lslands, March 1992 Narua Lorni, Departnent of Environment and Conserrntion, Papua New Guinea Venasio Nasara, Department of Mineral Resources, Fiii Kolinio Bula, Department of Mineral Resources, Fiji Charles Vatu, Environmentd Unit, Ministry of Natunl Resources, Vanuatu Simon Koke, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Solomon tslands $I) Bernard Telei, Environm€nt and Conservation Division, SI Rosemary Kinne, College of Higher Education, SI John Warden, College of Higher Education,Sl Alex Makini, College of Higher Education, Sl Robinson Fugui, Chief, Environmental Hedth Division, SI John Korinihana, Environmentd Hedth Division, SI Ped Shanel, Gold zudgg Landowners Representatirc,Sl Nicholas Biliki, Geology Division, Ministy of Natunl Resources, SI Don H. Tolia, Geology Division,Ministry of Natural Resources, SI Moses Biliki, Minisny of Education and Human Resources,SI Henry Isa, Erwironment rnd Conservation Division, SI Instructors Dr. D. V Ellis, Univesity of Vicoria, Canada Dr. P Hupbes, Kinhill Engineering, Darwin, Australia Executive Summary Disposal of tailings constitutes one of the most are: Exploration, Development (Feasibility signiEcant areas of potential environmental risk Asessment, Blueprinting, Construction and associated with coastal end island mine Commisioning), Operations and Closure. development. These Guidelines provide These Guidelines proride checklists of action nerrative and numericd targets ficr ficr each stage. environmenrd protection during the Numerical guidelines are prorided for a suite of development and operation of coastd and island cornmon metd contaminants. These are based mines that may discharge tailings to the sea. on values cdculated from case histories in both The Guidelines are targes in the sense that the United States and Canada, and &om a mine developers and operators should aim at theoretical procedure, Equilibrium Partitioning their achievement. They ate not standards and (EP) rney not be attainable under all circumstances. The Canadian and US date provide nvo sets of lt is recognised that site-specific, environmentd, values:(1) below which toxic impace are mining and other technical or socio-economic unlilcely; and (2) above which such impacts are factors may require adjustments at particular likely. The EP method cdculates a sediment sites, and that these rnay be either more or les vdue in equilibrium with the pore water so constraining on operations. These adjustments that water qualiry criteria are not contravened. must be supported by detailed information. There can be substantial differences in the values calculated by the different Mine tailings can be disposed on land, to rivers, Guideline methods. The rnlues to be used at a particular and to the sea. Discharging deep into the sea site must be decided by the Regulatory Agency. cen,at some locations,minimise some of the environmental risks, particularly los of land, Tho other questionnaires are also provided. displacement of people, and the threat of One is for administrative information and conamination of productive land and river should be compiled by the relevant Regulatory fisheries.Impacts on marine fisheries and other Agency. This list includes information such as marine resource use can be minimised by releramt regulations, per miaing procedures, site-specific placement of a tailings outfall. This other involved government agencies, and locd will be designed to gener:rte a coherent densiry resource owners and users. The second current flow of tailingt to a final deposition site questionnaire details the kinds of specific from which there will
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