ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: A subaqueous Tailings Disposal Facility (TDF), located in the Michigan Upper Peninsula, is a former iron mine excavation adjacent to a milling facility. Plans are being considered to rehabilitate the mill for nickel and copper ore processing. Pyritic tailings are proposed to be placed as a slurry and managed in the subaqueous TDF. Tailings from a nearby mine were placed in the TDF in the 1980’s. Using the recovery data since the 1980’s and current chemical and limnological conditions, a multi-compartment heat and mass balance model was constructed to evaluate potential water quality impacts from additional loadings. A companion paper addresses current chemical and limnological conditions. The model was developed to keep track of tailings loadings, TDF volume, water chemistry, oxidation/reduction reactions, oxygen transfer dynamics, and pH-alkalinity relationships. Modeling outcomes generally show long-term stability of the TDF and manageable water quality impacts.
