Below Water Table Mining, Pit Lake Formation, and Management Considerations for the Pilbara Mining Region of Western Australia
Abstract
1. Introduction
Below Water Table Mining
2. Pilbara Context
2.1. Climate
2.2. Geology
2.3. Mining
2.4. Ecology
2.5. Mining Below the Water Table in the Pilbara
2.5.1. Water Quality
2.5.2. AMD
- Talus (1);
- Blast damage fractures adjacent to the pit wall (0.01);
- Pit wall surface (smooth) (0.0001);
- Pit wall surface (rough surface contribution) (0.0001), and;
- Non-blast damage fractures behind the MCS (0.00001).
- Soluble sulphates and carbonates, as sources of transition metals, alkaline earths, uranium, and selenium;
- Manganese oxyhydroxides as sources of barium, transition metals, and thallium.
2.5.3. Salinisation
- Direct rainfall;
- Catchment inflows;
- Pit shell exposures and talus;
- Groundwater inflows;
- Waste materials within catchment (including backfill).
2.5.4. Long-Term Water Quality
- Groundwater inflow quality;
- Evapoconcentration of this groundwater contribution to the total pit lake volume.
3. Risks
3.1. Creek Capture
3.2. Impact of Groundwater Loss
3.3. Direct Contact and Drinking
3.4. Discharge to Waterways
3.5. Seepage to Groundwater
Density-Driven Saline Seepage
3.6. Pests and Diseases
3.7. Safety
4. Opportunities
Aquatic Ecosystems
5. Conclusions
- Early and ongoing stakeholder engagement;
- Multi-disciplinary inputs from subject matter experts especially related to water;
- Sharing planning and benchmarking with other operations;
- Both publication for peer-review and incorporating learnings from case studies,
- Ad hoc research and trials;
- Expert third-party advice.
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Hazard | Description |
---|---|
Creek capture | Seasonal flow events are often of great magnitude and, with many pits located within or near floodplains, creeks may flow into pit voids, leading to pit wall destabilisation and erosion, as well as reduced or even intercepted downstream flows. |
Impact of groundwater loss | Pit lakes are likely to evaporate annually far more water than is accumulated from seasonal rainfall events, leading to constant abstraction of regional groundwaters as a terminal evaporative sink. |
Contact and drinking | Very poor, e.g., acidic, pit lake water quality can have acute effects on humans and wildlife in contact with pit lake waters, including on individuals drinking from the lake. |
Discharge to creek | Overtopping of lowest pit walls may occur during storm events where pit lakes waters are then discharged to lower waterway reaches, transporting geochemical contaminants to downstream receiving environments. |
Seepage to groundwater | Pit lake water may seep to groundwater where the pit intercepts regional flow paths and/or becomes surcharged through storm event precipitation or creek capture. Seepage water quality may be poor through geochemical interactions with pit void/backfill materials and also evapoconcentration. Longer term, density-driven seepage may result if pit lake salinity leads to water densities that exceed groundwater head differences to the lake, potentially reversing flow away from the lake. |
Pests and diseases | Exotic aquatic species may use pit lakes as habitat. Feral terrestrial species and birds may drink from pit lakes. |
Safety | Steep sided and unstable pit highwalls can present fall risks. Steep beach angles can lead to drownings. |
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McCullough, C.D. Below Water Table Mining, Pit Lake Formation, and Management Considerations for the Pilbara Mining Region of Western Australia. Mining 2024, 4, 863-888. https://doi.org/10.3390/mining4040048
McCullough CD. Below Water Table Mining, Pit Lake Formation, and Management Considerations for the Pilbara Mining Region of Western Australia. Mining. 2024; 4(4):863-888. https://doi.org/10.3390/mining4040048
Chicago/Turabian StyleMcCullough, Cherie D. 2024. "Below Water Table Mining, Pit Lake Formation, and Management Considerations for the Pilbara Mining Region of Western Australia" Mining 4, no. 4: 863-888. https://doi.org/10.3390/mining4040048
APA StyleMcCullough, C. D. (2024). Below Water Table Mining, Pit Lake Formation, and Management Considerations for the Pilbara Mining Region of Western Australia. Mining, 4(4), 863-888. https://doi.org/10.3390/mining4040048