Mine Water Balance
Transcript Of Mine Water Balance
The Mine Water Balance for Tailings Impoundments -Guidance for the Mine Water Manager
Presented by:
David Hoekstra, SRK Consulting Larry Cope, SRK Consulting
Kathleen Willman, Teck Resources
Background
Mine water management, and especially tailings mine water management, has become an increasingly important topic in addressing mining issues. Managing the water in the tailings impoundment and planning for shortfalls and surpluses has become more important than ever and requires a predictive tool that incorporates the key aspects of mine water management in a tailings impoundment. The roles of mine operator, model developer, and model user are often not clearly defined and the water balance tool becomes underused. This short course walks through the process of developing a water balance as a continuously evolving tool that retains its value with the evolution of mining operations.
Objectives
The one-day short course will cover the following topics to demonstrate the techniques and approaches used to develop implement and apply a mine water balance, with the focus on the tailings component of the water balance.
What a mine water management water balance is and how is it different from water balances used for other disciplines
Goals of a mine water balance Why do you need a water balance, what is it good for? Who is (are) the end users? Water balances for International Cyanide Management Code compliance Defining the water balance objectives Developing the conceptual and mathematical models Collecting and developing the model inputs Construct and develop the model, what platform to use? Documentation and user interfaces Calibration of the model Reporting, predictions, and implementation Updates and maintenance Who owns the model, who uses it, and who updates it
The goal of the short course is to map out the progression of a design to operating stage tailings water balance project from initial scoping through development and into the deployment and use of the model as a tool for mine water management. This course is intended to provide guidance on scoping out a water balance project, understanding the challenges of consultant model development vs. mine staff operated model and what is involved in developing a water balance model.
Audience
This course is intended for mine water managers and those seeking to develop tailings mine water balances for mine projects. While examples will rely heavily on the GoldSim simulation software, prior experience with GoldSim is not necessary and in-depth use of GoldSim for water balance modeling is not addressed. Participants are encouraged to bring mine water management problems to the course that can be incorporated into the problem solving sessions.
Proposed Agenda
Time
Activity
7:30 am‐8:30 am
Registration
8:30 am – 9:45 am Session 1: Introduction
What is a water balance for mine water management
How is it different from process or hydrologic water balance
Goals of Mine Water Balance
How can the mine use the water balance
Determining the stakeholders
Who is the model developer, model user, and/or model owner
9:45 am‐10:15 am Coffee Break AM
10:15am – 12:15pm Session 2: Setting up the model
Design vs. Operational Model
Build the conceptual model
Collect and develop the data
Site water inventory
Develop the mathematical models
12:15 pm‐1:15 pm Lunch
1:15 pm – 3:15pm Session 3: Building the model
Select the modeling platform
Incorporating time and dynamic behavior
Incorporating uncertain inputs
Incorporating operating logic and operator behavior
Planning for change
3:15 am‐3:45 am
Coffee Break PM
3:45pm‐5:00pm
Session 4: Finish the model and use it
Document, document, document!
Designing the user interface
Calibration and updates
Projections and reporting
Model transfer and training
5:00pm – 5:30pm
Wrap up, discussions and questions
Instructor’s Bios
DAVID HOEKSTRA
David is a Principal Consultant Engineer from SRK Consulting’s Denver office with more than 28 years of experience in mining, environmental, solid waste and geotechnical projects. He has been developing probabilistic, dynamic water balances and water management tools for most of that time. David uses a variety of tools to simulate the management of process solutions, resource and waste materials, acid mine drainage, runoff and snowmelt, and stream and groundwater flows, for a wide variety of mining, oil and gas, energy, and resource management projects. David first became involved with GoldSim during the early development of the software in the late 90’s as a beta tester, developing his first water balance model in 1999. He has been an intensive user of the software ever since. David has developed, implemented and reviewed many water balance models for projects across the world, at every level from Order-of-Magnitude studies to Operational Tracking and Planning tools.
KATHLEEN WILLMAN
Kathleen Willman is the Manager of Engineering & Remediation for Teck Canadian Legacy Properties. She has spent seven years working as an environmental professional at operating mines in Canada and the United States, and worked ten years as a consultant for SRK Consulting. Her particular areas of expertise are water and load balance modeling (Excel and GoldSim) and solid waste management. Kathleen has developed water and load balances for numerous projects across the globe, ranging from pre-feasibility to closure planning. Her responsibilities have included managing solid waste, water quality, drinking water and spill reporting programs, and conducting environmental audits.
LARRY COPE
Larry Cope is a Principal Hydrogeologist from SRK Consulting’s Fort Collins office with 30 years of experience consulting to the mining industry. He specializes in designing and implementing inflow mapping and monitoring programs, and evaluations to troubleshoot and improve the performance of mine water management systems. Larry’s expertise includes hydrogeologic characterization, aquifer hydraulic analysis, and water balance evaluations. He has collaborated with clients to evaluate and manage mine water inflow, develop mine water supply, conduct investigations for dewatering, and develop groundwater monitoring programs.
Presented by:
David Hoekstra, SRK Consulting Larry Cope, SRK Consulting
Kathleen Willman, Teck Resources
Background
Mine water management, and especially tailings mine water management, has become an increasingly important topic in addressing mining issues. Managing the water in the tailings impoundment and planning for shortfalls and surpluses has become more important than ever and requires a predictive tool that incorporates the key aspects of mine water management in a tailings impoundment. The roles of mine operator, model developer, and model user are often not clearly defined and the water balance tool becomes underused. This short course walks through the process of developing a water balance as a continuously evolving tool that retains its value with the evolution of mining operations.
Objectives
The one-day short course will cover the following topics to demonstrate the techniques and approaches used to develop implement and apply a mine water balance, with the focus on the tailings component of the water balance.
What a mine water management water balance is and how is it different from water balances used for other disciplines
Goals of a mine water balance Why do you need a water balance, what is it good for? Who is (are) the end users? Water balances for International Cyanide Management Code compliance Defining the water balance objectives Developing the conceptual and mathematical models Collecting and developing the model inputs Construct and develop the model, what platform to use? Documentation and user interfaces Calibration of the model Reporting, predictions, and implementation Updates and maintenance Who owns the model, who uses it, and who updates it
The goal of the short course is to map out the progression of a design to operating stage tailings water balance project from initial scoping through development and into the deployment and use of the model as a tool for mine water management. This course is intended to provide guidance on scoping out a water balance project, understanding the challenges of consultant model development vs. mine staff operated model and what is involved in developing a water balance model.
Audience
This course is intended for mine water managers and those seeking to develop tailings mine water balances for mine projects. While examples will rely heavily on the GoldSim simulation software, prior experience with GoldSim is not necessary and in-depth use of GoldSim for water balance modeling is not addressed. Participants are encouraged to bring mine water management problems to the course that can be incorporated into the problem solving sessions.
Proposed Agenda
Time
Activity
7:30 am‐8:30 am
Registration
8:30 am – 9:45 am Session 1: Introduction
What is a water balance for mine water management
How is it different from process or hydrologic water balance
Goals of Mine Water Balance
How can the mine use the water balance
Determining the stakeholders
Who is the model developer, model user, and/or model owner
9:45 am‐10:15 am Coffee Break AM
10:15am – 12:15pm Session 2: Setting up the model
Design vs. Operational Model
Build the conceptual model
Collect and develop the data
Site water inventory
Develop the mathematical models
12:15 pm‐1:15 pm Lunch
1:15 pm – 3:15pm Session 3: Building the model
Select the modeling platform
Incorporating time and dynamic behavior
Incorporating uncertain inputs
Incorporating operating logic and operator behavior
Planning for change
3:15 am‐3:45 am
Coffee Break PM
3:45pm‐5:00pm
Session 4: Finish the model and use it
Document, document, document!
Designing the user interface
Calibration and updates
Projections and reporting
Model transfer and training
5:00pm – 5:30pm
Wrap up, discussions and questions
Instructor’s Bios
DAVID HOEKSTRA
David is a Principal Consultant Engineer from SRK Consulting’s Denver office with more than 28 years of experience in mining, environmental, solid waste and geotechnical projects. He has been developing probabilistic, dynamic water balances and water management tools for most of that time. David uses a variety of tools to simulate the management of process solutions, resource and waste materials, acid mine drainage, runoff and snowmelt, and stream and groundwater flows, for a wide variety of mining, oil and gas, energy, and resource management projects. David first became involved with GoldSim during the early development of the software in the late 90’s as a beta tester, developing his first water balance model in 1999. He has been an intensive user of the software ever since. David has developed, implemented and reviewed many water balance models for projects across the world, at every level from Order-of-Magnitude studies to Operational Tracking and Planning tools.
KATHLEEN WILLMAN
Kathleen Willman is the Manager of Engineering & Remediation for Teck Canadian Legacy Properties. She has spent seven years working as an environmental professional at operating mines in Canada and the United States, and worked ten years as a consultant for SRK Consulting. Her particular areas of expertise are water and load balance modeling (Excel and GoldSim) and solid waste management. Kathleen has developed water and load balances for numerous projects across the globe, ranging from pre-feasibility to closure planning. Her responsibilities have included managing solid waste, water quality, drinking water and spill reporting programs, and conducting environmental audits.
LARRY COPE
Larry Cope is a Principal Hydrogeologist from SRK Consulting’s Fort Collins office with 30 years of experience consulting to the mining industry. He specializes in designing and implementing inflow mapping and monitoring programs, and evaluations to troubleshoot and improve the performance of mine water management systems. Larry’s expertise includes hydrogeologic characterization, aquifer hydraulic analysis, and water balance evaluations. He has collaborated with clients to evaluate and manage mine water inflow, develop mine water supply, conduct investigations for dewatering, and develop groundwater monitoring programs.