Using Biogeocementation to Reduce Physical Instability and Wind Erosion of Mine Tailings
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USING BIOGEOCEMENTATION TO REDUCE PHYSICAL INSTABILITY AND WIND EROSION OF MINE TAILINGS by Nicole Woodcock A thesis submitted to the Department of Civil Engineering In conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada (January, 2021) Copyright ©Woodcock, 2021 Abstract The mining industry in Canada is an essential driver of economic growth as societal demands for minerals increases with advances in technology. The waste generated through these mine operations is one of the biggest environmental and safety hazards in the world, with the long- term storage of this waste in tailings dams being a geotechnical and geochemical hazard. The biogeocementation of tailings, using calcite produced by microorganisms to create rock-like tailings deposits, is an attractive concept because a bio-cement can be formed that is durable enough to improve the mechanical behavior of the tailings. In this work, the microorganism Sporosarcina pasteurii was explored for its effectiveness at performing biogeocementation to physically stabilize gold and nickel mine tailings and prevent the wind erosion of gold mine tailings deposits. S. pasteurii was proven to be resilient when exposed to heavy metals at low concentrations, from temperatures of 4 to 31C, and pH values from 2 to 12, indicating S. pasteurii can survive in the potentially harsh conditions of tailings dams. S. pasteurii was then utilized to strengthen undrained gold and nickel tailings. Gold tailings from the Dominican Republic showed a 6.8% increase in shear strength with bacteria inoculation whereas nickel tailings from British Columbia showed an 18% decrease in shear strength. This indicates biogeocementation was successful for the gold tailings and unsuccessful for the nickel tailings which could be due to pore clogging. Finally, S. pasteurii was investigated for its ability to withstand wind speeds up to 15 km/h with the average percent mass lost reduced to 0.46 0.22% from 3.99 0.88%. The most effective application method for biogeocementation was found to be a single application of S. pasteurii i followed by a continuous application of nutrient amendments, which has positive implications for field level scale-up. The promise of biogeocementation is demonstrated in this thesis, however, future proof- of-concept work needs to be performed to further characterize the robustness of S. pasteurii and determine its effectiveness in real-world environments, such as tailings dams. ii Acknowledgements I would firstly like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Pascale Champagne, for giving me the opportunity to join her research group all those years ago and for her unending support along the way. She has not only provided me with guidance during my research but has been a valued mentor and friend. I am very thankful for her endless hard work and late nights staying up editing my work, writing me reference letters, chatting, and giving me great life advice. A special thanks to Vanessa and Jason, who provided me with invaluable opportunities in my career and have been a wealth of knowledge, fun, and guidance. This research would be nowhere without you. To everyone the BGC Fredericton office, thank you for making my internship the most fun and helping me with my research. I am grateful to Sarah and Samira, whose work on the biogeocementation project gave me inspiration. To the civil staff, Stan, Nathan, Hal, Jyoti, Sophie, and Laura, thank you for lending your hands and for great conversations I will treasure. Thanks to David, Connor, Joaquin, Matt, Alan, Lauren, and Bailey for countless fantastic research and non-research related conversations, you are the reason I am still sane. To Claire and Vanessa (and Fish), thank you for the support you provided me as roommates, knowing I had wonderful people to come home to made everything easier. To my friends, Abby, Alanna, Rowan, Darcy, Holly, and Vinyas, thank you for continuous support and love. Last but not least, to my family. To Mom and Dad, Amber and Rebecca, Grandma and Grandpa, Nana, and Nana and Poppa, thank you for caring for me and fully supporting me (even if you didn’t always understand what I was doing). Finally, Conrad, thank you for having my back, making me laugh, and providing a much-needed escape during this time. I love you all! iii Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... v List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ xi List of Equations ......................................................................................................................... xii List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1 - Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2.1 Mining in Canada ..................................................................................................... 1 1.2.2 Current Issues in the Mining Industry ...................................................................... 2 1.3 Site Descriptions ................................................................................................................. 3 1.3.1 Gold Mine in Ontario................................................................................................ 3 1.3.2 Climate and Wind Speed Data for Gold Mine in Ontario ........................................ 4 1.3.3 Characteristics of Mine Tailings for the Gold Mine in Ontario ............................... 4 1.4 Project Description.............................................................................................................. 5 1.4.1 Research Objectives .................................................................................................. 6 1.5 Thesis Organization ............................................................................................................ 6 Chapter 2 - Literature Review ..................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Safe Management of Mine Tailings .................................................................................... 7 2.1.1 Introduction to Tailings Dams ................................................................................. 8 2.1.2 Mine Tailings Dam Design ....................................................................................... 8 2.1.3 Stability Risks of Tailings Dams ............................................................................. 10 2.1.4 Management of Tailings Facilities ......................................................................... 12 2.1.5 Major Mine Disasters ............................................................................................. 14 2.1.6 Gold Mine Waste ..................................................................................................... 15 2.2 Environmental Impact of Mine Tailings ........................................................................... 18 2.2.1 Socioeconomic Impact of Tailings Dam Failures ................................................... 19 2.2.2 Wind Erosion of Tailings ........................................................................................ 20 2.2.3 Dust suppression reagents ...................................................................................... 21 iv 2.3 Current Treatment of Mine Tailings ................................................................................. 22 2.3.1 Remediation of Tailings after Failure..................................................................... 24 2.3.2 Current Physical Treatment of Mine Tailings ........................................................ 25 2.3.3 Current Chemical Treatment of Mine Tailings ....................................................... 29 2.3.4 Current Biological Treatment of Mine Tailings ..................................................... 32 2.4 Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (Biogeocementation) ..................................... 37 2.4.1 Bacteria used for Biogeocementation ..................................................................... 38 2.4.2 Use of Biogeocementation in soils .......................................................................... 40 2.4.3 Use of Biogeocementation in mine tailings ............................................................ 46 Chapter 3 - Investigation into Sporosarcina pasteurii and the Measure of Shear Strength on Undrained Gold and Nickel Tailings........................................................................................