ABSTRACT
Solid materials used in this study were fresh tailings produced by mineral extraction and processing of sulfide ores obtained from four different minewaste disposal facilities within Canada. Sample S1 was collected at the Camp Tailings Impoundment in Sherridon, Manitoba, which received mill tailings from the Cu-Zn-Ag-Au Sherritt Gordon Mine; sample KC was collected at the concentrator at the Kidd Creek metallurgical site near Timmins, Ontario, which received mill tailings from the Kidd Creek Cu-Zn sulfide mine; sample F1 was collected at the East Tailings Management Area of the Ni-Cu Farley Mine in Lynn Lake, Manitoba; sample ML5 was collected at the Moose Lake tailings impoundment near Onaping, Ontario, that receives material from the Ni Strathcona mine. Each tailings impoundment contains different amounts of residual sulfide (varying from a minimum of 0.46-15 wt.% in Lynn Lake up to 60 wt.% in Sherridon) and carbonate content (from <1 wt.% in Sherridon and Moose lake to 8 wt.% in Kidd Creek). The mineralogy of the tailings samples is described in Table 1. The chemistry of pore waters and acid neutralization mechanisms were studied in situ for all these tailing impoundments ( Moncur et al. 2005; Al et al.
