acid mine drainage dwaf
THE REGULATION OF ACID MINE DRAINAGE IN SOUTH AFRICA LAW AND GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVES L Feris LJ Kotzé Acid drainage is one of the most serious and potentially enduring environmental problems for the mining industry Left unchecked it can result in such longterm water quality impacts that it could well be this industrys most harmful legacy1
South Africa faces a number of critical environmental challenges ranging from land degradation to the obliteration of finite resources but it is the problem of acid mine drainage AMD that may be its most perilous hazard in terms of its ramifications2 It is necessary to comprehend that ecologically South Africa is a country that is bereft by a water security dilemma whilst on the economic front the country
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Acid mine drainage is waste water that collects in abandoned gold and uranium mines on the Witwatersrand which chemically interacts with acidic and radioactive chemicals It is dangerous because if left unpumped it rises to the surface
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This research focuses on the remediation of Acid Mine Drainage AMD using metallurgical slags Slag leach beds are a promising low cost and low maintenance technology for the remediation of AMD compared to potentially expensive and maintain once intensive conventional active methods that entail addition of chemicals to treat AMD
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Impacts of mining on water resources in South Africa A review Acid mine drainage is a major problem on coal and gold mines throughout the world and in South Africa the main focus of this study is no exception Various studies that have been undertaken in South Africa have shown that the water decanting from the mine companies is highly acidic
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cid mine drainage AMD also called acid rock drainage ARD has recently attracted lots of attention in South Africa both in parliament and in the media In December parliament released an Interministerial Committee Report focusing on the AMD in the Witwatersrand gold fields However this is
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Water is universally acknowledged as a scarce resource and its scarcity is increasing WWF 2008 Acid mine drainage AMD was first identified in 1556 by Diego Delgado who reported on the state of mining in the Rio Tinto district and found that iron placed in a river dissolves in a few days
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• The gold mining industry in South Africa principally the Witwatersrand Goldfield is in decline but the postclosure decant of AMD is an enormous threat and this could become worse if remedial activities are delayed or not implemented Reference CSIR Briefing Note August 2009 Acid Mine Drainage in
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22 Figure 41 Acid mine drainage in the West Rand In the flooding Witwatersrand mine voids two processes leading to the acidification of water have been identified • Interaction between the inflowing water and the sulphides in the ore and host rocks leading to the generation of AMD
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Acid mine drainage is a problem at a number of active Alaskan metal mines including Red Dog Greens Creek and Kensington Mine The potential impacts of acid mine drainage on Bristol Bay fisheries is the primary source of opposition to the proposed Pebble Mine in southwestern Alaska and also a concern at the proposed Donlin Gold Mine
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Acid mine drainage occurs when ‘fool’s gold’ FeS 2 or iron pyrite found in mined rock oxidises This occurs when either underground mine shafts or crushed conglomerate in Mine Residue Areas MRAs on the surface become exposed to oxygen and water creating runoff that is very high in sulphates – effectively sulphuric acid – and
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Some of the environmental consequences of mining include dewatering and disposal of poor quality water pumped from underground mine workings Of major concern is huge volume of acidic water acid mine drainageAMD which is generated in active and old abandoned mines underground workings
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Acid mine drainage occurs when ‘fool’s gold’ FeS 2 or iron pyrite found in mined rock oxidises This occurs when either underground mine shafts or crushed conglomerate in Mine Residue Areas MRAs on the surface become exposed to oxygen and water creating runoff that is very high in sulphates – effectively sulphuric acid – and
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streams lakes ponds and springs DWAF 2004 Water and soil contamination caused by acid mine drainage AMD is a significant environmental problem in some parts of the world particularly in densely populated developing countries where human habitats are usually in close proximity to mine sites Lee 2003 Water draining
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Commonly referred to as acid rock drainage ARD or acid mine drainage AMD acid drainage from mine waste rock tailings and mine structures such as pits and underground workings is primarily a function of the mineralogy of the rock material and the availability of water and oxygen
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Acid mine drainage is a major problem with many hardrock mines including almost all mines where the metal ore is bound up with sulfur metal sulfide mines A significant number of coal mines also suffer from acid mine drainage The metals dissolved by the acid drainage poison downstream waters in many cases to the point where nothing other than
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Acid Mine Drainage Project The disposal of waste generated during the water treatment process either onto the existing Brakpan tailings dam old Withok Tailings Facility or through future refinement of waste streams to yield commercial products such as sulphur or
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the acid mine drainage AMD that emanates from both surface and underground workings waste and development rock and tailings piles and ponds Durkin and Herrmann 1994
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Acid mine drainage is waste water that collects in abandoned gold and uranium mines on the Witwatersrand which chemically interacts with acidic and radioactive chemicals It is dangerous because if left unpumped it rises to the surface
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Oct 14 2016 · 45 The Status of Acid Mine Drainage in the Three Vaal River Basins In the introduction to this book it was indicated that the purpose of this chapter is partly to determine the current nature and state of AMD in the Vaal River system It was also indicated that the system is divided into three basins
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Acid mine drainage single most significant threat to South Africa’s environment An engineer suggested to Mining Weekly that insufficiently treated AMD was threatening to pollute the Blesbokspruit river which was fed water from the wetland and which eventually entered the Vaal river catchment
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Acid mine drainage AMD its concomitant risks and consequences have in the past years spawned an area of interest and concern AMD is an austere environmental pollution problem which is usually an aftermath of pyrite oxidation or other sulphide containing ores in mining
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Other sources of pollution in the upper Olifants River and its major tributary the Wilge River are acid mine drainage emanating from a number of abandoned coal mines and the discharge of untreated and partially treated domestic and industrial sewage from municipal sewage treatment works located upstream of
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underground mine workings Of major concern is huge volume of acidic water acid mine drainageAMD which is generated in active and old abandoned mines underground workings This water requires treatment to DWADWAF 1996 set guidelines Several technologies have been advanced for treatment of AMD These are limestone and lime
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May 24 2010 · So who is Enviro Editor Well I am a simple person who got involved in fighting environmental issues some 17 years ago I started this site as a
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Pretreatment for acid mine waters involves pH elevation above pH 85 through the addition of lime and aeration to precipitate metal hydroxides Control parameters modelled were the direct discharge of minewater and subsequently the affects of elevating the pH with and without aeration Table 1 Grootvlei Minewater Quality Jan 96July 98
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Mine drainage is formed when pyrite an iron sulfide is exposed and reacts with air and water to form sulfuric acid and dissolved iron The rate and degree by which acidmine drainage proceeds can be increased by the action of certain bacteria
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Acid mine drainage must be treated to increase pH and remove heavy metals before being discharged into a receiving stream Treatment commonly consists of adding strong bases such as caustic soda NaOH sodium hydroxide soda ash Na 2 CO 3 sodium carbonate or lime CaO calcium oxide or CaOH 2 calcium dihydroxide
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The water flooding the mine void comes from a number of sources including direct recharge by rainfall groundwater seeping into the workings surface streams which lose water to mine openings shallow workings open surface workings seepage from mine residue deposits and losses from water sewage and storm water reticulation systems
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Acid mine drainage can sometimes be referred to as rock mine drainage Put simply it is the outflow of contaminated water from metal and coal mines This water becomes contaminated when rain or a stream comes into contact with a mineral that is rich in sulfur
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Acid mine drainage AMD is arguably one of the most serious environmental concerns in South Africa AMD is a legacy left behind by abandoned derelict and defunct mines and is a continuing byproduct of existing mining activities
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Mar 02 2011 · This can be witnessed by the release of acidic water otherwise known as acid mine drainage AMD into the countrys alreadystressed water supplies in the northern gold mining fields of the Witwatersrand region 4 As from 1996 both the scientific community as well as environmentalists had campaigned the Government as well as the mining industry to manage the AMD problem
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Commonly referred to as acid rock drainage ARD or acid mine drainage AMD acid drainage from mine waste rock tailings and mine structures such as pits and underground workings is primarily a function of the mineralogy of the rock material and the availability of water and oxygen
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Environmentalists have termed acid mine drainage AMD the single most significant threat to South Africa’s environment and this is being driven home by the AMD problems being experienced at the
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Oct 01 2014 · The mechanism of slag in acid mine drainage remediation The CaO found in slag reacts with water to form hydrated calcium hydroxide CaOH
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sulphide minerals in mine orebodies such as pyrite exposed by mining results in acid water that dissolves heavy metals can also become saline when AMD is neutralised through its reactions with rocks Mine water contains toxic heavy metals dissolved by the acid water including manganese aluminium iron nickel zinc
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Acid mine drainage is known as one of the most severe threats to water brought about by mining A mines drainage substances such as acid can destroy streams rivers and aquatic life The effects of this phenomenon are so immense that it can cause devastation that could last for hundreds to
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12 Acid Rock Drainage Management The Business Case A comprehensive approach to ARD management as promoted by the GARD Guide will reduce environmental risks and subsequent costs for the mining industry and governments reduce adverse
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