Contaminant transport in water-filled mine-pits

• Main Authors: Stevens, Craig, Lawrence, Gregory A.
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/10862

Water-filled decommissioned mine-pits are likely to contain deleterious concentrations of various dissolved metals and salts. It is apparent that any given property of interest is not evenly distributed throughout the water column; the pit-lake is stratified. Thermal and chemical stratification are the controlling factors influencing the density of water and it is density that controls the overall stratification as heavy fluid cannot sit on top of light fluid. It is important to determine how concentrations of these properties might change over time. This paper describes some unique field data collected in the Brenda Mines pit-lake near Peachland, BC. The data illustrates the dynamics that should be expected before and after ice-on. Modelling based on this data indicates the sensitivity of the system to wind at the time of fall over-turn. The generality of the modelling is discussed, along with required input information.