aglo

The tailings project:
Geophysics for estimating calcine volume


 

Disclaimer

These geotechnical questions and geophysical problems are NOT ALL REAL - they were contrived specifically as an exercise for students. Many of the data sets were generated synthetically and do not represent real field measurements. There are photos of a real field site and some data were gathered at this site, but they have been modified to suit the teaching and learning needs of the exercises. Any conclusions drawn from the data sets are therefore NOT applicable to any real field location.

This exercise is part of a collection of activities involving the application of geophysics to a real geotechnical project. See the About page for more details.

Objectives

In this module you learn as much as you can from the geophysical data about ONE of the tasks at this project site. The key component is an action maze decision-making activity, supported with readings and quiz-style activities with built-in checking of responses.

Instructions

An outline of this exercise is given in the flow chart below. Please begin by reading this introductory page carefully. Then proceed by clicking "Start Here" in the menu to the left. This opens a guided activity sequence which will reference the links under the Resources and Activities menus as they become required.

"Self-test activities" are provided to help you learn the concepts. Use them when the learning sequence points to them.

"More involved activities" require some work on your part - either use of a spreadsheet or answering some questions. Your instructor may ask you to hand these in. If the "Solutions" link is active, the answers are provided so you can check your work.

Just like all learning activities, you would be wise to keep some notes about what you are doing, issues or concepts that are new as you learn them, and a "moral of the story" at the end, if you can think of one. You will know best how to take notes that are useful to you, but a summarizing worksheet is provided under activities to help you identify the key take-home issues from this learning activity.

Context

The geotechnical project which needs geophysical information involves characterizing an area downstream of a dam which impounds the tailings produced by a mine that was concentrating sulphide-based ore. Ground water within such tailings can become very acidic. If it escapes from the impoundment dam, it will travel as a plume through the ground downstream from the dam. The figure above is a view downstream of the dam, taken from the dam crest.

When setting up this project (Framework step 1), four specific tasks were identified; (i) estimating calcine volume, (ii) finding a pipeline, (iii) mapping bedrock topography and (iv) determining if a plume of contaminated water exists. For this exercise, we also assume that Framework step 2 (physical properties) has been considered.

This exercise involves working on Framework steps 3-7. These are (3) choosing the survey, (4) gathering data and presenting, (5) data processing, (6) interpreting results, and (7) synthesis of results to address the task as fully as possible. Begin by clicking the "Start Here" button on the menu to the left. "Resources" and "Activities" are referenced when necessary as you work through the activity. The general outline of this exercise is given in the following flow chart.