Natural attenuation of acqueous zinc in shallow soils over permafrost downslope of Galkeno 300 Mine Adit, United Keno Hill Mines, Central Yukon

This study investigated the natural attenuation of zinc in mine drainage at the Galkeno 300 mine site, located at the northern limit of the discontinuous permafrost zone in central Yukon Territory. The mine drainage contains -150 mg/1 Zn where it exits the mine; where these same waters enter the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: MacGregor, Dylan B.
Format: Others
Language:English
Published: 2009
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2429/13041
id ndltd-UBC-oai-circle.library.ubc.ca-2429-13041
record_format oai_dc
spelling ndltd-UBC-oai-circle.library.ubc.ca-2429-130412018-01-05T17:36:34Z Natural attenuation of acqueous zinc in shallow soils over permafrost downslope of Galkeno 300 Mine Adit, United Keno Hill Mines, Central Yukon MacGregor, Dylan B. This study investigated the natural attenuation of zinc in mine drainage at the Galkeno 300 mine site, located at the northern limit of the discontinuous permafrost zone in central Yukon Territory. The mine drainage contains -150 mg/1 Zn where it exits the mine; where these same waters enter the receiving environment of Christal Creek, the Zn concentrations have been reduced to ~2 mg/1. The research program examining this natural attenuation consisted of two phases. Phase 1 was comprised of a site investigation along with the collection of samples for chemical analyses and laboratory testing. Phase 2 consisted of laboratory characterisation and testing of samples collected during Phase 1. The Phase 1 site investigation was carried out during summer 2000. A climate station was established to monitor precipitation and temperature during the study-period. Site water balance was monitored through the erection of two weirs; inputs exceeded outputs by and average of 16%, indicating a minor degree of dilution. Water samples collected at sites along the longitudinal mine drainage flowpath showed no temporal trends, but clearly outlined a dramatic decrease in Zn concentrations with distance from the adit. Soil samples of upper organic and lower mineral horizons were collected from within and immediately adjacent to the flowpath. Chemical analysis of aliquots of these samples clearly showed elevation of Zn concentrations in samples in contact with mine drainage; upper organic horizon samples in particular were found to contain highly anomalous Zn levels. Applied Science, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Graduate 2009-09-22T22:57:32Z 2009-09-22T22:57:32Z 2002 2002-11 Text Thesis/Dissertation http://hdl.handle.net/2429/13041 eng For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. 12768373 bytes application/pdf
collection NDLTD
language English
format Others
sources NDLTD
description This study investigated the natural attenuation of zinc in mine drainage at the Galkeno 300 mine site, located at the northern limit of the discontinuous permafrost zone in central Yukon Territory. The mine drainage contains -150 mg/1 Zn where it exits the mine; where these same waters enter the receiving environment of Christal Creek, the Zn concentrations have been reduced to ~2 mg/1. The research program examining this natural attenuation consisted of two phases. Phase 1 was comprised of a site investigation along with the collection of samples for chemical analyses and laboratory testing. Phase 2 consisted of laboratory characterisation and testing of samples collected during Phase 1. The Phase 1 site investigation was carried out during summer 2000. A climate station was established to monitor precipitation and temperature during the study-period. Site water balance was monitored through the erection of two weirs; inputs exceeded outputs by and average of 16%, indicating a minor degree of dilution. Water samples collected at sites along the longitudinal mine drainage flowpath showed no temporal trends, but clearly outlined a dramatic decrease in Zn concentrations with distance from the adit. Soil samples of upper organic and lower mineral horizons were collected from within and immediately adjacent to the flowpath. Chemical analysis of aliquots of these samples clearly showed elevation of Zn concentrations in samples in contact with mine drainage; upper organic horizon samples in particular were found to contain highly anomalous Zn levels. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Civil Engineering, Department of === Graduate
author MacGregor, Dylan B.
spellingShingle MacGregor, Dylan B.
Natural attenuation of acqueous zinc in shallow soils over permafrost downslope of Galkeno 300 Mine Adit, United Keno Hill Mines, Central Yukon
author_facet MacGregor, Dylan B.
author_sort MacGregor, Dylan B.
title Natural attenuation of acqueous zinc in shallow soils over permafrost downslope of Galkeno 300 Mine Adit, United Keno Hill Mines, Central Yukon
title_short Natural attenuation of acqueous zinc in shallow soils over permafrost downslope of Galkeno 300 Mine Adit, United Keno Hill Mines, Central Yukon
title_full Natural attenuation of acqueous zinc in shallow soils over permafrost downslope of Galkeno 300 Mine Adit, United Keno Hill Mines, Central Yukon
title_fullStr Natural attenuation of acqueous zinc in shallow soils over permafrost downslope of Galkeno 300 Mine Adit, United Keno Hill Mines, Central Yukon
title_full_unstemmed Natural attenuation of acqueous zinc in shallow soils over permafrost downslope of Galkeno 300 Mine Adit, United Keno Hill Mines, Central Yukon
title_sort natural attenuation of acqueous zinc in shallow soils over permafrost downslope of galkeno 300 mine adit, united keno hill mines, central yukon
publishDate 2009
url http://hdl.handle.net/2429/13041
work_keys_str_mv AT macgregordylanb naturalattenuationofacqueouszincinshallowsoilsoverpermafrostdownslopeofgalkeno300mineaditunitedkenohillminescentralyukon
_version_ 1718589251371663360