ASSESSMENT GROUPTM
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The Minesite Drainage Assessment Group (MDAG) is comprised of companies, based in Canada, that investigate, interpret, and publish on the environmental geochemical effects of mining on, and beneath, the earth's surface and water. Examples of our work are provided below.
Over more than 40 years, we have assisted:
- mining companies,
- consulting companies,
- agencies at various levels of government,
- indigenous peoples,
- universities,
- local community groups, and
- other non-governmental organizations.
This work includes environmental geochemical assessments and predictions for several hundreds of minesites
and for linear infrastructure like roads, rail, and pipelines:
- on all continents except Antarctica,
- above the Arctic Circle to below the Tropic of Capricorn,
- from beneath the ocean to more than 4000 m elevation,
- from coal and metal mines to precious-metal and diamond mines, and
- with annual precipitation from ~15 to ~4000 mm/yr.
MDAG's underlying philosophy is that the environmental effects of
mining can only be understood, predicted, and moderated by thoroughly understanding past
competent work and by carefully studying existing mining operations. Beware: Those who ignore
the past are doomed to repeat it and We learn from the mistakes of the past how to make new ones.
This is why we heavily emphasize real case studies
with abundant data, like those in our publications, databases,
and products and here on this page, while ignoring speculation,
wishful thinking, and unproven theory.
Backed by this practical knowledge of real
minesites around the world, MDAG provides dependable assistance in protecting the
environment for proposed, operating, and closed minesites. The value of our case studies
has also been recognized by many others. For example, our reference/textbook entitled Environmental Geochemistry of Minesite Drainage: Practical Theory and Case
Studies is in more than 20 countries worldwide.
Examples of Our Work:
Assistance in creating a manual for sampling, data analysis, and interpretation for predicting minesite drainage for the Province of British Columbia, Canada
Assessment and prediction of metal leaching, acid generation, hydrogeology, and contaminant migration from existing mine workings, pits, and waste rock, and from future workings, rock, and tailings, at a 40-year-old polymetallic mine in British Columbia
Prediction of chemical concentrations from pit walls, a waste-rock dump, and a heap-leach pile at a proposed gold mine in Mexico, integrated with mine planning and closure
Review and reinterpretation of data for a waste-rock dump with layers of acid-generating and acid-neutralizing rock at a closed gold mine in British Columbia
Assessment of arsenic and lead contamination in water and soil in and around a small town in central British Columbia caused by historical mineral processing
Conceptual design and assessment of closure options for a large underground base-metal mine in Peru
Integrated assessment of metal leaching and current/future acidic drainage from tailings, waste rock, and mine walls for closure of a mine in central British Columbia
Review of historical data, prediction of future water chemistry, and contribution to closure-plan designs for a metal mine in Quebec
Technical assessment and field inspection for acidic drainage at a coal mine in British Columbia on behalf of a regulatory agency for public hearings and monitoring.
Review and advice to First Nations on proposed mines on claimed territory
Expert Witness in criminal court proceedings on subsurface transport of metals in acidic groundwater under the federal Fisheries Act and a provincial Waste Management Act
Assessment of acid-drainage potential and water-quality impacts for closure plans at two metal mines in Ontario
Interpretation of physical and chemical hydrogeologic data at a potash mine with subsurface brine contamination in southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada
Compilation of long-term drainage-chemistry data at several international mines for an integrated database
Participation in formal Risk Assessments of active and proposed minesites in British Columbia, focussing on environmental chemistry
Case study of the construction, drainage chemistry, and dismantling of an acid-generating waste-rock dump for the Canadian Mine Environment Neutral Drainage (MEND) Program
Interpretation of static and kinetic testwork for predicting aqueous metal concentrations at an diamond project in Canada
Design and interpretation of 2000-sample ABA and kinetic databases for selection and refinement of acidic-drainage control at a gold-copper mine in Venezuela
Testimony and cross-examination under oath before a territorial regulatory water board on behalf of Environment Canada, with cross-examination of other witnesses
Coordination and interpretation of acid-drainage testwork for a proposed stratabound base-metal mine in northeastern British Columbia
Detailed statistical evaluation and interpretation of a database containing nearly 60,000 analyses of metal-bearing water at eight stations collected as often as every four hours for three years
Assessment of potential for future acidic drainage in a tailings impoundment closed for ten years in central British Columbia
Coordination and review of static and kinetic testwork for a proposed mine in Chile
Interpretation of static and kinetic testwork for assessing various closure options for a base-metal mine in Quebec
Review of acid-drainage studies at a proposed minesite for the State of Oregon
Voluntary Technical Advisor to the Canadian MEND Program, Prediction Committee
Invited member of the technical review panel for a field study and associated computer simulation of contaminated, radionuclide-laden groundwater in northern Ontario, sponsored by the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada
Creation of an object-oriented computer program to simulate acid generation, metal leaching, and water movement in open-pit and underground mines during operation and after decommissioning, including graphical output, through the Mine Environment Neutral Drainage Program
Assessment of acid-drainage potential in coal tailings in Nova Scotia
Expert testimony on minesite-drainage chemistry and mined-rock covers during a legal appeal of a government permit
Supervision of an acid-drainage study at a temporarily closed gold mine in northwestern British Columbia.
Acid-Mine-Drainage and Mine-Closure Expert for a civil application and mediation on contested ownership of an abandoned mine with major closure liabilities
Assessment of the potential for acidic drainage to appear at a large pH-neutral base-metal mine in eastern British Columbia.
Presentations and workshops on various topics related to water chemistry and environmental impacts, including aqueous speciation/mineral solubility, waste-rock dumps, and walls of open pits and underground workings
Detailed summary of 15 years of on-site monitoring and predictive testwork at a copper mine in British Columbia
Review and re-interpretation of hydrogeologic data to determine potential impacts of a wellfield on a nearby pond containing endangered species in Chile, including design of an environmental monitoring program
Long-term, research-level monitoring and interpretation of water levels, temperatures, and pore-gas composition in an acid-generating waste-rock dump, British Columbia
Design and coding of a flexible database with custom input screens and data management for international acid-drainage data, funded by the Federal/British Columbia Mineral Development Agreement
Evaluation of predictive testwork for acidic drainage at a copper mine in the Philippines
Literature review of acidic drainage in northern permafrost environments
Formal technical investigation of groundwater-borne organic contaminants to a fish-rearing stream, leading to federal charges
Detailed literature review and recommendations on the environmental implications of retrieving surface-impounded mine tailings and placing them in underground mines for the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada
Supervision, quality-assurance review, and detailed interpretation of contaminant migration at a chemical and metal-refining facility in Alberta including contaminant-plume tracking and pump tests
Review and presentation of comments on a major program for simulating acidic drainage in tailings
Collection of subsurface evidence under search warrant for groundwater-borne organic and inorganic contaminants to a fish-bearing river in a national park, to support federal charges
Review and recommendations for further work on a 80-year-old minesite in southeastern British Columbia
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