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MDAG.com: Online Since 1997
Providing Valuable Technical
Information on Minesite Drainage,
and on the Environmental Geochemistry
of Highly Reactive Geologic Materials
Dr. Kevin Morin of MDAG marks the 40th aniversary of his
Ph.D. thesis, supervised by Dr. John A. Cherry
at the University of Waterloo.
One important finding was that pH-varing aqueous interactions with primary and secondary minerals resulted in migrating
step-like equilibrium-pH plateaus ("sub-regions"), such as ~pH 3.0-3.7 for Fe3+-OH minerals and ~pH 4.3-5.0 for Al-OH minerals, through time and distance.
Kevin also celebrates 50 years of programming and operating computers, starting with punch cards and teletypes, using Fortran, Basic, and JCL.
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The latest MDAG Case Studies are:
78. Comparisons of Empirical Drainage-Chemistry Models (EDCMs) for Existing and Proposed Minesites (with Dr. Ann Lamontagne)
77. Some Thoughts on the Nugget Effect in Multi-Mineral Geological Samples
76. Non-Detectable Natural Elements in Aqueous and Solid-Phase Geological Samples Are Often Well Below One-Half the Detection Limit
75. Pyrrhotite Victims Aid Coalition
74. Platinum Group Metals as Water-Borne Contaminants at Mining Operations
73. Increasing Errors in ARD Prediction by Assuming Non-Extractable "Insoluble Sulphur" is a Real Sulphur Species and Excludes Acid-Generating Sulphur
72. Up Close and Personal with an ARD Celebrity: Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans
71. The Complex Three-Phase Effects of Humidity on Small-Scale Water Films and Reactive Mineral Surfaces
70. A Graphical Depiction of Integrated Energy Balance, Interactions, and Contributing Mechanisms-Processes for Open Environmental Systems like Minesite Components, Version 1
69. Siderite Correction Can Substantially and Erroneously Overestimate Effective Neutralization Potential and Underestimate ARD Risk
68. The Rapid Evolution of Machine Learning Applied to Minesite-Drainage Chemistries and Flows
67. Diffusion-Dominated Flux of Poregases and Aqueous Ions in Minesite Components - Commonly Modelled but Rarely Applicable Because Realistic Fluxes are Much Faster
66. Pondering the Role of Quartz in Rock Reactivity, ML-ARD, and Minesite-Drainage Chemistry
65. Thermodynamics - Not Designed for Minesite Components and Their Drainages
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The latest MDAG Publication is:
#99. Morin, K.A. 2022. A plausible explanation for common fractal temporal-spectral slopes of drainage flows and chemistries at full-scale
mining operations. European Geosciences Union EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, Presentation EGU22-6840.
doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-6840. Note: both the shorter presentation and the expanded display-materials version are available.
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MDAG is grateful to Maro Savvides at University College Utrecht for sharing the recent
2022 symposium presentation entitled "Communicating the Geologic History of
Aruba: Contextualizing Gold and Incorporating Human Activity".
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The third generation of MineWall, Version 3.0, has been released.
Originally developed for the Canadian MEND Program with approximately 700 pages of
documentation, the MineWall model simulates open pits and underground mines during active dewatering
(operation), during transient flooding and geochemical flushing after dewatering is stopped
(short-term closure),
and after a stable water level has been established (long-term closure). This model includes the geochemical effects of
fractured mine walls and of any granular material
(like tailings and waste rock) present in or backfilled into the mine. MineWall
3 can be downloaded for free, starting here.
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Five technical books on minesite drainage and highly reactive geologic materials are available here at MDAG.com, free of charge.
1) Wavelet Transforms of Drainage from Highly Reactive Geologic Materials; ISBN 978-0-9952149-3-4
2) Searching for Latent Variables in Minesite Drainage Using Exploratory Factor Analysis; ISBN 978-0-9952149-2-7
3) Spectral Analysis of Drainage from Highly Reactive Geologic Materials; ISBN 978-0-9952149-1-0
4) Environmental Geochemistry of Minesite Drainage: Practical Theory and Case Studies; ISBN 0-9682039-1-4
5) Minesite Drainage Chemistry: An Introduction; ISBN 978-0-9952149-0-3
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We have also published and co-published 99 informative papers at
conferences and in journals.
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Adverse environmental effects can arise from water draining over and through highly reactive materials,
such as mining wastes. We steadfastly believe that these adverse effects can
only be understood, predicted, moderated, and remediated reliably by thoroughly understanding past
competent work and by carefully studying full-scale sites.
Heed the
old words of wisdom "Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it"
or perhaps some newer ones "we learn from the mistakes of the past how to make new ones".
Is that why we hear that up to 90% of predictions of minesite-drainage chemistry
are too low,
and remain too low for newer minesites, leading to
unexpected costs and
adverse environmental effects for mining
companies and taxpayers? The public is starting to pay closer attention to these errors
and unexpected costs, with mining companies losing credibility. This
is why we at MDAG heavily emphasize real case studies
with abundant data, followed by theory and modelling in subordinate roles.
Privacy Policy: We don't know who you are and we do not try to find out. Enjoy the
site!
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Created by K. Morin