A guide to leading practice sustainable development in mining

Regardless of the project phase (exploration through to operations) there are a
number of issues to consider when developing a monitoring program. Typical
elements of an AMD monitoring program, during exploration/feasibility and
operations, are outlined in the Leading Practice handbook on Managing Acid and
Metalliferous Drainage. However, monitoring programs need to be site-specific and
take into consideration the phase of project development and the sensitivity of the
surrounding environment and community. Other key points to consider are:
The nature of the material being handled, including volumes and reactivity.
Likely composition of leachate generated from the material.
Likely downstream receptors and baseline concentrations of significant analytes.
Turnover of material including rate and the ability
of personnel to access the material.
Sampling technique, preparation and preservation requirements.
Maintenance of sample integrity and chain of custody.
Reference to appropriate guideline limits.
Turnaround times for both the material being mined and analyses. If
the turnaround of material being mined is relatively short, then analysis
techniques need to be applied which allow for a rapid turnaround of data.
Representative sample size.
Government regulations and licensing requirements.
The monitoring program should provide information to facilitate leading practice
AMD management in the short and long term. It is essential that monitoring data
are usable and that a solid communication forum exists between environmental
monitoring staff and site planners and managers. Careful interpretation of
monitoring results is also critical for the ongoing development and implementation
of an AMD Management Plan. If management practices are not effective then actions
need to be taken to rectify the situation before long term impacts arise. A quick
resolution will often prevent excessive acidification before it becomes impractical
or cost prohibitive. Education and involvement of the workforce is essential to the
successful management of AMD issues.
The benefit and importance of gathering an extensive sulphur and multi-element
database from drill core during early stages of project development is clearly
illustrated from Rio Tinto’s Sari Gunay project in Iran. A resource model database
consisting of more than 15,000 sulphur and elemental assays on one metre intervals
of drill core was compiled during exploration, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies.
These data identified the presence of sulphur within waste rock and ore as an issue
for the project because of the potential for generation of acid rock drainage and
contamination of water resources (LP AMD p.33).
A GUIDE TO LEADING PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MINING 49