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Wet Barriers on Pyritic Uranium Tailings

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Wet Barriers on Pyritic Uranium Tailings Wet Barriers on Pyrite Uranium Tailings Laboratory Lysimeter Studiesof Oxidation, Leaching and Limestone Neutralization Characteristics of Uranium Tailings and Waste Rock MEND Project 2.13.la Part 1: - Oxidation and LeachingCharacteristics of Total Mill Tailings, CoarseTailings and Waste Rock, and Limestone Neutralization Characteristicsof Tailings mixed with Limestone,under Unsaturatedand Batch Leaching Conditions Part II: - Oxidation and Lcaching Characteristicsof CoarseTailings under SubmergedConditions This work was done on behalf of MEND and sponsored by the Canada Centre for Minera1 and Energy Technology (CANMET) and Rio Algom Limited Elliot Lake, Ontario January1998 Wet Barriers on Pyritic Uranium Tailings Part I and II Laboratory Lysimeter Studies of Oxidation, Leaching and Limestone Neutralization Characteristics of Uranium Tailings and Waste Rock Nand K. Davé Report MMSL 98 - 001 (CR) January 1998 Part I: - Oxidation and Leaching Characteristics of Total Mill Tailings, Coarse Tailings and Waste Rock, and Limestone Neutralization Characteristics of Tailings mixed with Limestone, under Unsaturated and Batch Leaching Conditions Part II: - Oxidation and Leaching Characteristics of Coarse Tailings under Submerged Conditions Work Performed for Rio Algom Limited, Elliot Lake, Ontario under Contract No. 50948 i WET BARRIERS ON PYRITIC URANIUM TAILINGS PART I AND II LABORATORY LYSIMETER STUDIES OF OXIDATION, LEACHING AND LIMESTONE NEUTRALIZATION CHARACTERISTICS OF URANIUM TAILINGS AND WASTE ROCK Nand K. Davé* EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report describes the results of laboratory column leaching studies that were conducted as a part of a broad research program titled “Development of Wet Barriers on Pyritic Uranium Tailings for Controlling Acid Generation”. The research was undertaken jointly by CANMET, Elliot Lake Laboratory and Rio Algom Limited, under the Canadian Mine Environmental Neutral Drainage (MEND) Program. Purpose: Column leaching studies were conducted for evaluating the oxidation and leaching characteristics of pyritic uranium tailings with and without limestone amendments and crushed waste rock, under unsaturated and submerged conditions. These experiments were designed to determine the acid generation characteristics and subsequent metal and radionuclide releases of test samples subjected to submersion underwater and exposed conditions. Methods: The leaching experiments were conducted using PVC cylindrical column lysimeters filled with total mill tailings, coarse tailings, tailings amended with 7.5% (w/w) limestone of varying screen *Senior Environmental Research Scientist, Elliot Lake Laboratory, CANMET, Natural Resources, Canada. ii sizes, and crushed waste rock samples obtained from Quirke Mine. The experiments provided unsaturated conditions for leaching of test samples as well as a submerged condition for coarse tailings where a shallow water cover, 0.45 m in depth, was established using distilled water. The submerged coarse tailings were also rinsed rapidly during the initial leaching period to remove gypsum and other soluble minerals for studying oxidation and leaching characteristics of such tailings in the absence of gypsum controlled sulphate solubility. All tests were conducted at laboratory room temperature (22 ºC) and light conditions, which aided in enhancing the chemical reactivity of test materials in laboratory simulations compared to field conditions. Duration of the Study: The experiments, conducted at the CANMET, Elliot Lake Laboratory, were started in April 1989 and concluded in June 1993. Results: Coarse Tailings: Unsaturated Condition: · The unsaturated coarse tailings without limestone amendment oxidized readily and produced highly acidic drainage (pH ~ 1.0 - 2.0 and acidity ~ 12,000 - 30,000 mg CaCO3/l); · The coarse tailings amended with coarse limestone (screen size -6.3 mm) also produced highly acidic drainage (pH ~ 2.5 - 3.0 and acidity ~ 4,000 - 12,000 mg CaCO3/l), but its onset was delayed by approximately one year in comparison to coarse tailings without limestone. The acid drainage occurred with 90% of the available alkalinity still remaining in the sample; iii · The coarse tailings amended with pulverized wet ground limestone did not produce any acidic drainage during the entire four year study period. Oxidation and acid generation processes were active in these tailings as well, but the fine grained limestone provided complete acid neutralization and acidic drainage was prevented during the study period. Submerged Condition: · The submerged coarse tailings did not produce any porewater acidic drainage for the first three years, but in the fourth year a weak acidic drainage (pH ~ 5.5 - 7.0 and acidity ~ 10 -20 mg CaCO3/l) was observed ; · In comparison to unsaturated coarse tailings, submersion of tailings underwater decreased cumulative porewater acidity, sulphate and iron loadings by factors of 295, 200 and 950 respectively; · The submersion of coarse tailings also resulted in increased mobility and release of Ra-226 in the porewater when tailings developed acidic conditions at the surface after they were depleted of available alkalinity and gypsum. There was a 10 fold increase in the cumulative loading of Ra-226 in the porewater over that of unsaturated coarse tailings; · The increased drainage of Ra-226 in the porewater was also accompanied by that of iron, both occurring near the end of the fourth year, where as gypsum was completely removed from the tailings during the first three months of leaching; · The surface water above submerged tailings contained low concentrations of dissolved metals, when the water cover above the tailings was continuously maintained in a well oxygenated condition by fresh water inflow and where both surface and pore water flows were present in equal proportions. The dissolved Ra-226 concentration in the surface water was also low, ranging between 30 and 140 mBq/l. iv Total Mill Tailings: Unsaturated Condition: · The total mill tailings, in all test conditions, drained poorly and retained appreciable amounts of moisture which controlled their oxidation and acid generation rates; · The unsaturated total mill tailings without limestone amendment also produced acid drainage, but it was moderate and less acidic (pH ~ 2.0 - 3.0 and acidity ~ 500 - 1500 mg CaCO3/l) than for coarse tailings under similar conditions; · The total mill tailings amended with various screen-sized limestone did not produce acid drainages during the entire study period. The tailings were oxidizing slowly but the added limestone was actively consumed in providing complete acid neutralization in all amended samples. Waste Rock: Unsaturated Conditions: · The unsaturated crushed waste rock having a high acid generation potential (NNP = -17.8 kg CaCO3/tonne) also oxidized and started to produce highly acidic drainage ( pH ~ 2.0 - 2.5 and acidity ~ 7,000 - 20,000 mg CaCO3/l) in the fourth year of the study period; · The unsaturated crushed waste rock having medium (NNP = -10.7 kg CaCO3/tonne) and low (NNP = +13.8 kg CaCO3/tonne) acid generation potentials did not produce acidic drainage during the entire study period. v DETAILED SUMMARY OF FINDINGS In 1989, under the Mine Environmental Neutral Drainage (MEND) program, a joint research project titled “Development of Wet Barriers on Pyritic Uranium Tailings for Controlling Acid Generation” was established between CANMET, Elliot Lake Laboratory and Rio Algom Limited, Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada. This research program encompassed a variety of laboratory and field studies designed to evaluate the performance of a shallow water cover or other wet barriers on pyritic uranium tailings as a close-out option for controlling acid generation and release of metals and radionuclides. As a part of this program, extensive laboratory column leaching studies were conducted to evaluate oxidation and leaching characteristics of tailings and waste rock samples under unsaturated conditions, tailings amended with 7.5 % (w/w) limestone of varying screen sizes, and submerged coarse tailings. For these tests, two types of tailings and three types of waste rock were chosen. The two types of tailings were: total mill tailings (unclassified), approximately 50 % less than 74 mm; and coarse tailings, approximately 84 % greater than 74 mm. The three types of waste rock were categorized as having, low (NNP = +13.8), medium (NNP = -10.7) and high (NNP = -17.8 kg CaCO3/tonne) acid generation potentials. The experiments were conducted in PVC columns, under unsaturated and submerged conditions. T he latter tests were conducted only for coarse tailings, where a shallow water cover, approximately 0.45 m in depth, was provided using distilled water. For both unsaturated and submerged cases, the tailings or waste rock were allowed to weather at the exposed surface or tailing / water interface and leached with natural lake or distilled water (for submerged tailings only). The unsaturated tailings and waste rock were batch leached by adding 1 l (litre) natural lake water every two weeks where as the submerged tailings were trickle leached with a continuous inflow of distilled water. The leachates were allowed to vi percolate through the test media and collected as drainage effluents from the bottom of the columns in all cases. The experiments, conducted at the CANMET, Elliot Lake Laboratory, were started in April 1989 and concluded in June 1993. Table S1 provides a brief summary of various test conditions and porewater drainage (seepage) quality results for this laboratory
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