ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Most mining operations have geochemically-heterogeneous waste rock characteristics that are a challenge for mine planning and environmental management. Any attempt to blend potentially acid generating and carbonate-rich waste, or any effort to predict environmental impacts of mine waste leachate must incorporate a method to characterize the geochemical characteristics of the waste over time and space as the dump is being constructed. The Brisas del Cuyuni open pit gold and copper mine, a project run by Gold Reserve Inc., plans to construct two waste rock dumps to accommodate 952 million tonnes of waste. The project team integrated the geologic block-model, mine planning, and geochemistry to determine the geochemical characteristics of the waste over time and space in the waste rock dumps. The results were used for geotechnical stability modeling, unsaturated flow modeling, and geochemical modeling of leachate water quality.
