Prediction of acid rock drainage in waste rock piles Part 1: Water film model for geochemical reactions and application to a full-scale case study

Abstract Geochemical reactions taking place at the rock surface and pore water interface, and rapid preferential water flow through waste rock piles are identified as two primary steps for acid rock drainage (ARD) and metal leaching (ML) processes. This paper (Part I) develops a water film model to describe the interactions among sulphide minerals, pore water and oxygen, which considers the reactive surface areas as the primary sites to capture geochemical reactions including sulphide oxidation and neutralization reactions, and also considers acid and metal ion storage in pore water. In addition, the proposed water film model is further coupled with a pile-scale mass transport model to investigate a specific case of the main waste rock pile at the Equity Silver mine, Canada. Overall, the simulated profile of oxygen concentration matches the historical monitoring data. The modeling results revealed potential controlling mechanisms for ARD generation inside the waste rock pile and provided insights into the impact of an engineered cover on the waste rock pile.