Acid Mine Drainage | Learning from Case Studies
Presented by Assoc. Prof. Gavin Mudd (RMIT) and Richard Campbell (Hydroterra)
Australia has numerous mine sites with acid & metalliferous drainage (AMD) problems – many from ‘yesteryear’ before environmental regulation emerged to minimise impacts from mining. Surprisingly, there are very few modern mines which have been rehabilitated to address AMD risks.
Join mine site expert RMIT’s Associate Professor Gavin M Mudd as he presents some case histories and some of the underlying theory of mine rehabilitation and AMD. Ultimately, given the nature of the problem, we learn that long-term monitoring and assessment over decades is fundamental to success.
Case studies that Gavin will discuss include:
– Rum Jungle: Despite major rehabilitation works in the 1980s, AMD again emerged to pollute the Finniss River, leading to funding in the Budget for a new round of rehabilitation
– Redbank: A small but intensely polluting copper mine, better than textbook quality of AMD pollution of Hanrahan’s Creek leading to the rare intervention of cancelling the mining lease and moving the site to official legacy status to allow funding for rehabilitation
– Captain’s Flat: Arguably Australia’s first rehabilitation project designed to reduce AMD, but unlike Rum Jungle it seems to have remained somewhat successful
– Neath-Greta area, Hunter Valley: Former old coal mines causing AMD pollution of local streams, but when communities tried to help with DIY treatment, the community members were punished and the mines ignored
The insights will be worth your time, so grab your lunch and come armed with questions.
This free webinar will be held at 12.30pm AEST on 28 May.