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Mine Tailings Management Tailings are waste products from the mining industry that are finely ground material left over in containment areas or discharged to receiving waters after valuable metals are extracted. There are real pollution issues associated with tailings, including concern about the structural stability of containment areas and potential pollution impacts should a failure occur, the impact of the tailings operations on people living in the immediate vicinity of the containment areas, and most importantly the pollution potential on ground and surface water. HydroQual’s engineers have extensive experience in assessing the fate and transport of contaminants from tailings containment areas. Such assessment is commonly used in Ecological Risk Assessment (ERAs) studies aimed at determining the risks associated with specific mining operations. HydroQual develops and applies mathematical models, including hydrodynamic, sediment transport and metal speciation models, to determine how receiving waters are affected by the tailings storage and other mining operations under existing conditions and after closure of the mining operations. Fundamental to that determination is an understanding of the tailings being stored or discharged, the chemical reactions that are important in determining the fate of metals in the water column and sediment, and the extent of metal toxicity. HydroQual’s modeling framework is tailored to each site under investigation and explicitly accounts for bioavailability of metals in the water column and in sediment. Our engineers will then help design management strategies to balance the containment provisions with the risks posed by the tailings storage and/or disposal, and achieve desirable environmental outcomes. HydroQual’s services cover the following aspects of tailings management:
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Water Quality and Ecosystem Modeling | Water Supply | Watershed/Sewershed Modeling
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