Browsing by Author "Kalin, Margarete A."

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Abandonment plan for South Bay Mines, BP Resources, Selco Division.
(Boojum Research Limited, 1987-02) Kalin, Margarete A.; BP Resources Canada Limited. Selco Division
It was essential for our attempted formulation of close-out measures for the South Bay Mine site to assess the existing environmental conditions. Background information was reviewed, and an Ecological Engineering approach was drafted, based on evaluations carried out between April and July, 1986. In a presentation to the Ministry of the Environment, Northwestern Region, Kenora, submissions were made respecting the approach being taken and the experiments underway (August 19, 1986). Approval in principle was obtained for the pilot demonstration in September, 1986, of Ecological Engineering measures for close-out and abandonment of the copper and zinc concentrator wastes at South Bay Mines, BP Resources, Selco Division.
The acid generation potential of iron precipitates and their sludge in decommissioning with ecological engineering
(Boojum Research Ltd., 2003-06-24) Kalin, Margarete A.
The Ecological Engineering approach to decommissioning mine sites, which has been applied at the South Bay Waste Management Area (SBWMA), takes advantage of a number of naturallyoccurring processes to correct problems associated with acid mine drainage. One of these natural processes is to allow the formation of iron precipitates to occur without adding neutralisation chemicals such as lime as this requires the maintenance of a chemical treatment plant, often in perpetuity. Such plants produce, as a secondary waste, a sludge containing high metal concentrations, which needs disposal. For South Bay, a former Cu/Zn Mine with tailings and underground workings producing AMD, natural sludge production is estimated to be about 30 m 3 annually. The estimated sludge production for a high-density treatment plant would generate about 1,200m3 of sludge per year, including spent lime, while a general treatment plant would generate 3000 m3 per year (Kalin, 2001). The tailings consist of 41 % pyrite and 4 % pyrrhotite and are expected to generate AMD for anywhere between 1000 to 35,000 years. From an economic and environmental viewpoint the Ecological Engineering technology developed at this site in the last 15 years should not be dismissed without careful consideration. Ecological Engineering integrates natural iron - precipitation, alkalinity generation by microbes and biological polishing along with measures to reduce the rates of acid generation. The objective of this report is to summarize the acidification associated with iron precipitation which occurs in the discharge of contaminated ground water seepages. It will address precipitate formation in mine working discharges to the Backfill Raise Ditch (BRD), in the relevant water bodies of the SBWMA, which include Boomerang and Mud Lakes which have been utilized as polishing ponds and Armanda Lake, inadvertently acidified by effluent from Mud Lake.
Acidophilic aquatic mosses as biological polishing agents / for Dr. Ron McCready, CANMET, Energy, Mines and Resources
(1986-03) Kalin, Margarete A.; Buggeln, R.
Report examines the ability of vascular and non-vascular aquatic plants to adsorb hazardous materials from waste water.
Algal biopolishing of zinc : final report
(1992) Kalin, Margarete A.; Wheeler, W. N.
Report examines the relationship between periphytic algae and the removal of zinc from waste water.
Analysis and evaluation of pre-monitoring data for Kidd Creek Mines Ltd.
(Boojum Research Limited, 1987-12) Kalin, Margarete A.; Wall, D.
Report discusses data which was collected from the Kidd Creek Mines Ltd. and evaluated using the Ontario Effluent Monitoring Priority Pollutants List (OEMPPL).
The application of ecological engineering for close-out at Buchans : final report /prepared for Mr. George Neary, Joint Venture Group at Buchans NFLD., ASARCO INC. - Abitibi-Price Inc.
(1992-12) Kalin, Margarete A.
Report provides information pertaining to the use of the ARUM process and ecological engineering at the Buchans mine. The report includes data from the Oriental pits, and the tailings pond.
The application of ecological engineering to Selminco Summit : final report / prepared for: G. Landry
(1993-07) Kalin, Margarete A.
Report outlines how ecological engineering will be used to treat the Selminco coal dump. The report also contains details regarding the experiments conducted to determine how best to employ ecological engineering at this site.
An assessment of Prince Colliery effluents and their treatment : final report.
(Boojum Research Limited, 1992-08) Kalin, Margarete A.; Dearborn Environmental Consulting Group
Report describes the steps taken to determine a treatment option for the Prince Mine.
Assessment of seepage characteristics waste rock pile and holding pond : Hope Brook Gold Mines Ltd.
(Boojum Research Limited, 1988-08-31) Kalin, Margarete A.; Van Everdingen, R. O.; Hope Brook Gold Mines Limited.
Report examines the acid mine drainage from the Hope Brook waste-rock pile and seepage into creeks from the pile and a holding pond.
Biological cycling of arsenic in sediments impacted by gold mill effluents.
(Boojum Research Limited, 1992-01-14) Kalin, Margarete A.; Boojum Research Limited
Effluent treatment from gold milling requires the removal of heavy metals, cyanide and arsenic. The waters are generally alkaline and hence this presents a technical problem regarding the choice of a removal process. Conventional water treatment processes for arsenic removal include chemical oxidation (chlorination), coagulation - flocculation, liming, filtration, activated carbon adsorption and, ultimately, processes such as demineralizing by reverse osmosis or ion exchange. In principal, therefore, it is possible to select a treatment technology which will produce the desired effluent quality; however, the costs associated with the treatment technology are frequently prohibitive. The cost effectiveness of a treatment process is therefore equally important. With increasing environmental awareness, the treatment technologies do not only have to be economic and technically effective, but consideration has to be given to the long term stability of the resultant sludge. In addition, the decommissioning of the these facilities, along with the disturbed areas, has to be considered. The CREM task force has evaluated these technologies for their effectiveness. For arsenic, liming or softening was considered the most effective method which also removes any heavy metals. These methods produce sludges which represent an environmental problem. Therefore, better and more environmentally acceptable treatment processes have to be developed.
Biological polishing in acid mine drainage : contaminant removal capacity and application model : final report
(1993-03-11) Kalin, Margarete A.
Report details the development of a model for biological polishing.
Buchans : mining wastes and the environment
(1988-12) Kalin, Margarete A.
In July, 1988, ASARCO retained Boojum Research Limited to assess the Buchans waste management area which has been dormant since 1984. The objective of this work is to identify, through an intensive field investigation and analysis of historic data, any problems which exist and to suggest an approach for the reclamation and decommissioning of the Buchans waste management area. Results of the environmental monitoring of the waste streams, carried out by ASARCO, indicate that the concentrations of metals in the water of the pits is high. Therefore, ameliorative measures for the pit effluent should be considered a top priority. The reclamation plan will focus on developing a means of improving the quality of the water leaving the site, prior to its discharge. The socio-economic conditions require that the waste treatment systemat Buchans be ultimately maintenance free, i.e. a self-sustaining walk-away solution.
Buchans ecological engineering treatment assessment : long-term performance evaluation and site visit report (2009)
(2009-10) Kalin, Margarete A.
The decommissioning effort of the Buchans Waste Management area was carried out by Boojum Research Ltd for ASARCO between 1988 and 1998. A biological polishing pond system was installed treating combined effluents from Orientals, Valley Seeps and Drainage Tunnel. Work in the Hospital tailings spill area addressed the distribution of the metals to a depth of 0.5m and defined the contaminant loading to the Turnpike and the Buchans River. Based on these data a fresh water diversion ditch was constructed and test plots were set up to generate a hardpan below ground, where iron and metals precipitated with phosphate sand and a cover was provided for vegetation to prevent erosion. The test results were very positive and the PHITO (Phosphate Heterotroph Inhibition of Tailings-Oxidation) was implemented prior to the death of G. Neary. Boojum Research Ltd is a research company, developing sustainable decommissioning technology based on Ecological Engineering principles.
The Chara process : biological economization of mill effluent treatment potential applications and preliminary results / for CANMET.
(1985-05-31) Kalin, Margarete A.
Report examines the potential use of the "Chara process" as a biological method for waste water treatment and reclamation in base-metal mining operations that can be used to economize costs.
Chara process : biological polishing of alkaline effluents : final report / for Office of Technology Transfer CANMET
(1988-12) Kalin, Margarete A.; Smith, M. P.
Report examines the Chara process and attempts to further the development of the process so it can be used at mine sites.
Closure with ecological engineering of a remote Cu/Zn concentrator: overview of 16 years R&D field program
(Boojum Research Ltd., 2003-09) Kalin, Margarete A.
A 16 year field investigation to apply the principles of Ecological Engineering at a small, remote mining property, containing an estimated 0.75 million tones of acid-generating tailings, is described. The rehabilitation of the site relied heavily upon the performance of a biological polishing system established in a lake, acidified during mining operations. The effluents from the mill area, the underground workings and tailings seepages represent an estimated 15 t.y-1 of zinc and other metals in AMD, all directed into the 1 million m 3 lake. Ecological Engineering measures consisted of adding brush, phosphate, and calcium nitrate to the lake water and/or the sediments. And, since 1999, trials have been underway in the lake to determine the potential of using Mg to balance pH. The biological activity enhanced by these measures retains 80% of the zinc load within the polishing lake. The capital costs for a conventional high-density treatment plant have been estimated at $2.5 million (CDN) with annual operating costs of $0.35 million. To date, the cost of establishing a self-renewing, self-sustaining Ecolog
Commentary on the visit to Burkina Faso
(Boojum Research Ltd, 1995-08) Kalin, Margarete A.
This report is a commentary summarizing in Appendix 1 through IO the information which% has been obtained in the 2 days prior to departing to Burkina Faso, during the various meetings held, while on site and after the return. The terms of references which were defined for the project (Appendix 10) can not be satisfactorily addressed, given the time frame of the visit and the limited funds available.
Connection of the drainage tunnel with the Oriental Pits : geochemical and hydrological considerations
(1993-08-05) Kalin, Margarete A.
Report provides information on zinc removal in the Oriental east pit and the Oriental west pit. The report also suggests the diversion of the drainage tunnel waters to the First Meadow for treatment.
Contaminant sources and sinks: summary of R & D 1985 to 2002, South Bay
(Boojum Research Ltd., 2004-07) Kalin, Margarete A.
The South Bay Waste Management Area (SBWMA) is located in Northern Ontario, approximately 85 km north east of Ear Falls (51o 08N, 92o 40E). A zinc and copper mine was operated on the site from 1970 to 1981. The mine, the site of the former mill, a waste rock pile and the tailings are all located on a peninsula within the watershed of Confederation Lake, an important fishing lake with hunting lodges in the English River drainage basin. In fact, the former mine site is virtually surrounded by a chain of tributary lakes which feed Confederation – Boomerang Lake (1M m3) to the south which flows directly into Confederation, and Mud Lake (0.07M m3) and Lena Lake ( 0.7Mm3) to the north and northwest which flow to Confederation by way of Armanda Lake (1 M m 3). Boomerang Lake was contaminated during the life of the mine, and Mud Lake was contaminated in 1994 by a groundwater plume moving from the tailings. Both have been designated as part of the SBWMA and have been utilized in the clean-up effort. . Decommissioning activities, undertaken immediately after the closure of the mine, consisted of burying the portal and sealing the shaft, raises and caps. All buildings were destroyed - except for the concrete foundations that were left in place - and the contaminated building materials buried except for those materials subsequently used in the restoration. The tailings were covered in gravel to a depth of one foot and revegetated. These efforts had no effect on the generation of acidity and contaminants. A 1986 environmental study noted that acidic plumes were leaving the site and recommended that they be treated by the occasional liming of Boomerang Lake, a proposal that was not accepted. In 1986, Boojum Research Limited was invited to assess the potential applications of ecological engineering at the SBWMA and the site has thus become a demonstration site of this decommissioning approach. The SBWMA contains two distinct contaminant-generating areas; the Mine/Mill Site and the tailings basin. Measures taken at the SBWMA have substantially reduced the mobilization of contaminants on the site, and redirected all contaminants into two major contaminant sinks, Boomerang Lake and Mud Lake. Mass balances are presented below for the contaminants mobilized on-site and captured by the sinks. The noted retention of tons of contaminants provides a measure of the effectiveness of the effort to date.
Contaminant sources and sinks: summary of R& D 1985 to 2002, South Bay
(2004-07-14) Kalin, Margarete A.