Tool for acid rock drainage and metal leaching prevention and management

Authors: Nicholls, J; Tremblay, G; Verburg, R; Bezuidenhout, N; Paisley, R; Korczak, N Download Paper Open access courtesy of:

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2515_51

Cite As:
Nicholls, J, Tremblay, G, Verburg, R, Bezuidenhout, N, Paisley, R & Korczak, N 2025, 'Tool for acid rock drainage and metal leaching prevention and management', in S Knutsson, AB Fourie & M Tibbett (eds), Mine Closure 2025: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 1-10, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2515_51



Abstract:
Improper management of mine waste materials containing sulphide minerals can accelerate natural weathering processes, potentially resulting in the release of acid rock drainage and/or metal leaching (ARD/ML) to the surrounding environment. Unmanaged ARD/ML processes can continue to degrade mine drainage water for decades or centuries and have a direct impact on the success of closure activities and the stability and usability of post-closure environments. Integrating ARD and ML prevention and management throughout the project lifecycle is essential to realising optimised post-closure outcomes, with benefits including: The International Network on Acid Prevention (INAP) has published international good practice principles in the form of the Global Acid Rock Drainage Guide (GARD Guide) (International Network on Acid Prevention [INAP] 2014) to support proactive management of ARD/ML. This resource includes sections on characterisation, prediction, prevention and mitigation and many others. However, despite the technical depth and global relevance of this content, there remains an opportunity to strengthen wider industry implementation of ARD/ML prevention, management, and good practice, throughout life of operations. Professionals on site that are often making mine planning decisions and have the greatest opportunity to incorporate ARD/ML and closure considerations into the project lifecycle are often not geochemists. In 2024, ICMM and INAP collaborated to develop a tool for acid rock drainage and metal leaching prevention and management (‘Tool’) (International Council on Mining and Metals [ICMM] 2025b) to support nonspecialists within mining companies to proactively prevent and manage ARD/ML. The Tool and accompanying user guide span the gap between global-level and site-specific support on the implementation of leading practices with the aim of empowering those responsible for ARD/ML management. This paper provides an overview of the Tool and its functionality in operationalising the principles in the GARD Guide throughout the mining lifecycle. The Tool is targeted at non-specialist mining professionals and aims to promote and facilitate integrated ARD/ML management and prevention through life of operations so that the potential environmental burden, and closure and remediation costs are reduced.

Keywords: acid rock drainage, metal leaching, global acid rock drainage guide, prevention and management, monitoring and maintenance

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