Decommissioning the RM3 Drain at the Selbaie Mines Reclaimed Tailings Facility: A Field Trial Study
Anne-Marie Dagenais, Michaël Demers-Bonin, Ashley Gusikoski, Vincent Martin
In the proceedings of: GeoSaskatoon 2023: 76th Canadian Geotechnical ConferenceSession: Tailings and Rock
ABSTRACT: The former Selbaie mines produced 45 million tonnes of acid-generating tailings stored in the tailings management area (TMA). Reclamation started in 2000 and was mostly finished by 2006. The site is now in active care and maintenance. Reclamation involved placing a 1 m thick till cover over most of the tailings, promoting clean runoff and maintaining the phreatic surface within the TMA. The cover slopes towards the northern end towards the Retention Pond and the spillway in Dam RM3. During Dam RM3 spillway construction, a rock drain and sumps called RM3 drain were built. The system collects water, which flows to a manhole and discharges through an outlet pipe in the spillway wall to control water levels in the acid-generating waste rock shell, preventing contamination of the Retention Pond. A field trial evaluated decommissioning the drain to simplify water management, improve dam safety, and manage risks associated with the pipe in the spillway. The trial assessed dam stability, flow regime in the Retention Pond area and TMA dams, and water quality.
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Dagenais, Anne-Marie, Demers-Bonin, Michaël, Gusikoski, Ashley, Martin, Vincent (2023) Decommissioning the RM3 Drain at the Selbaie Mines Reclaimed Tailings Facility: A Field Trial Study in GEO2023. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.
@inproceedings{Dagenais_GEO2023_175,
author = {{Dagenais, Anne-Marie}, {Demers-Bonin, Michaël}, {Gusikoski, Ashley}, {Martin, Vincent}}
title = {Decommissioning the RM3 Drain at the Selbaie Mines Reclaimed Tailings Facility: A Field Trial Study }
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 76th Canadian Geotechnical Conference}
year = {2023}
organization = {The Canadian Geotechnical Society},
address = {Ottawa, Canada} }
title = {Decommissioning the RM3 Drain at the Selbaie Mines Reclaimed Tailings Facility: A Field Trial Study }
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 76th Canadian Geotechnical Conference}
year = {2023}
organization = {The Canadian Geotechnical Society},
address = {Ottawa, Canada} }