Chapter 11
11.0 ARD Management in the Future
11.1 Introduction
11.1.1 ARD through the Sustainable Development "Lens"
11.2 ARD Research and Management – Today and Tomorrow
11.2.1 History and Status of ARD Research and Management
11.2.2 The Future of ARD Research and Management
11.3 Stakeholder Roles
References
11.0 ARD Management in the Future
11.1 Introduction
This chapter briefly examines the current state and the future of ARD research and management.
It begins with a discussion of the relevance and application of sustainable development to ARD
management since, today and in the future, ARD management is viewed and managed through a
sustainable development “lens”. The second section briefly examines the state of research and
possible future developments in ARD science and engineering. The final section reviews the
roles of the various stakeholders in advancing ARD science and management.
11.1.1 ARD through the Sustainable Development "Lens"
With its potentially wide-ranging and multigenerational consequences, ARD is an important
‘sustainable development’ issue. It is helpful, therefore, to view ARD and its management
through a sustainable development “lens”.
The goal of sustainable development was outlined in Chapter 1 of the Guide and is repeated here
for ease of reference:
“to maximize the contribution to the well-being of the current generation in a way that ensures an
equitable distribution of its costs and benefits, without reducing the potential for future
generations to meet their own needs” (MMSD, 2002).
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In practice, sustainable development calls for an integrated, balanced, and responsible
approach that accounts for short- and long-term environmental, social, economic, and
governance considerations. Sustainable development is a shared responsibility, with
governments, civil societies, community leaders, and mining operators all playing
important roles.
Clean and available water is a fundamental global need for current and future generations. These
resources are under increasing demand from growing populations and industrial use around the
world. As ARD can affect water use for decades, the proactive and responsible care of this
resource is a fundamental sustainability issue.
Few regulations specifically require ‘sustainable development’ (see Chapter 3). Yet, industry is
increasingly utilizing the framework of sustainable development to inform business and
operational decisions, largely driven by the need to protect its social license to operate. Most
major mining companies have established their own, internal sustainable development
(sometimes also termed sustainability or corporate responsibility) principles with their associated
goals and targets. There are also industry-wide, external principles, such as those developed by
the International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM). In addition, International Finance
Corporation (IFC) guidelines and safeguard policies also drive much of the sustainable
development considerations.
The text box below provides some sustainable development guidelines relevant to environmental
and ARD management and the mining industry in general.
Sustainable development guidelines:
 IFC
Guidelines for the Mining Sector.
http://www1.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/1f4dc28048855af4879cd76a6515bb18/Final%2
B-%2BMining.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&id=1323153264157
 MMSD publications, including strategies and tools for sustainable development at the
global and regional levels. http://pubs.iied.org/
 Australia’s Leading Practice for Sustainable Development, including guides of ARD,
mine closure, and mine rehabilitation.
http://www.ret.gov.au/Resources/Pages/Resources.aspx
 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Minerals and Mining Sector supplement, which
outlines sustainable development indicators most relevant to the mining industry.
http://www.globalreporting.org/
 Equator Principles, applied by most financial institutions in reviewing applications for
financing. http://www.equator-principles.com/
It is prudent to consult these internal and external principles and goals and interpret them in
developing an ARD management plan.
Global standards, such as the ICMM Principles, are useful to help understand issues that need to
be considered within the framework of sustainable development. However, applications of these
principles, especially within the context of a mine site, are invariably local in nature. Local
factors, such as the environmental and ecological characteristics, economic development, and
cultural values, determine the degree of priority among issues that need to be considered and
addressed.
In ARD management, sustainable development typically involves the mining company engaging
stakeholders and finding optimal solutions that minimize risk, maximize benefits to multiple
stakeholders, and manage trade-offs. Fundamentally, it is a matter of exercising socially
responsible practices. Sustainable development requires looking for the solution from a whole
society and a whole mine-life-cycle perspective and for the long-term. A sustainable
development view favours prevention of ARD over mitigation and treatment. It also involves
considering the long-term cost of ARD management in assessing the feasibility of a mine project
or major expansion or modification, including the closure costs and post-closure site activities.
The relative importance of the different considerations for ARD is highly dependent on the local
environmental as well as socioeconomic characteristics. Stakeholders’ aspirations, priorities, and
preference help shape the targets and parameters for ARD management planning. The planning
timeframe, the level of acceptable risk, and range of possible financing mechanisms all depend to
a large extent on stakeholders’ views. On the other hand, engaging stakeholders also helps in
identifying opportunities to address other needs and concerns within an integrated ARD
management solution.
The costs and the benefits of ARD management occur to different stakeholders and at different
timeframes. Left unmitigated, the impacts impose costs to the community-at-large, often for
generations. A well-designed ARD management plan, on the other hand, while increasing nearterm costs for the company, creates long-term benefits to the community, local government, and
other stakeholders, and reduces risks to the environment. Recognizing realistically the nature of
these costs over time, relative to the desired and anticipated benefits, is critical to the
development of an acceptable solution.
Sustainable development practices, including broadening the ARD planning perspectives,
incorporating stakeholder concerns, and communicating ARD management performance to
stakeholders, might increase short-term costs to the mining company. However, they can provide
considerable long-term benefits, including:
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Reducing the risk of business, closure costs, and operational interruptions
Providing financial incentives in terms of reduced financing and insurance rates
Staying ahead of regulatory requirements
Protecting reputation and the social license to operate
Many aspects of sustainable development may not seem directly relevant to ARD management at
first glance. However, some case histories in the industry have demonstrated the value of
applying the broader perspective early in ARD planning. For example, at the Britannia Mine in
British Columbia, Canada, including a geothermal energy system to extract ARD heat for a local
utility, a recreational area, and a sustainable community around the site constitute part of an
integrated ARD management solution that partially funds the ARD mitigation cost (Meech et al.,
2006). Similarly, metal recovery activities (e.g., re-mining, processing wastes or metal recovery
from ARD) might be implemented that benefit the company as well as the local community (e.g.,
Gusek and Clarke-Whistler, 2005). The examples illustrate how integrating environmental,
social, and economic aspects can produce sustainable solutions that benefit all parties involved.
In summary, sustainable development provides a valuable “lens” to view ARD at a particular
mine and to develop appropriate management plans that address both potential short and longterm issues.
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11.2 ARD Research and Management - Today and Tomorrow
11.2.1 History and Status of ARD Research and Management
As described in the Guide, research and knowledge of ARD management has grown rapidly over
the last 50 years and particularly over the last 20 years. In broad terms, some major advances
may be summarized:
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1950s - improved understanding of the causes of ARD, including the role of microorganisms
1960s - development of early prediction techniques starting in the coal fields of the
southeastern USA and in Canada
1970s - development of ARD prevention approaches, including segregation and selective
handling of wastes and of water treatment systems
1980s - start of comprehensive research programs, development of water cover
prevention technology, and improved national and global technology transfer and
exchange
1990s – enhanced recognition of sustainability concepts, development of a
comprehensive approach to ARD management and development of soil cover models and
multiple layer and store and release covers
2000s - standard incorporation of sustainability principles, improved integration of ARD
management into mine plans, and improved assessment of costs and implications for
mine development.
Perhaps the greatest achievement over the last 50 years, however, is the increased awareness and
comprehensive understanding of the ARD issue among all stakeholders. With this foundation,
the future of ARD research and management is promising.
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11.2.2 The Future of ARD Research and Management
Future ARD research and management experience will bring further advances. Ultimately, the
goal should be to implement characterization, prediction and prevention programs at all mines so
that material levels of ARD and ML are not produced. Sulphide oxidation might not be stopped,
but its effects could be reduced to insignificant levels. Many mines might achieve zero discharge
of effluents through the application of water minimization, recycle, and technological
innovation.
To achieve the ARD goal, advances must be made to address:
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Appropriate characterization and prediction programs that support effective ARD
prevention and management in all geo-climatic environments
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Prevention and management plans that are fully integrated into mine plans as a normal
course of doing business
Costs of ARD management are fully assessed and incorporated into mine feasibility
assessments including the full cost closure and post-closure scenarios for short and long
term risks
Permits and approvals reflect understanding and confidence in ARD management
approaches and regulatory bodies have the capacity to apply regulations that are relevant
to effective ARD management
Liabilities associated with historic mines are reduced through cost-effective ARD
mitigation, and where necessary by passive treatment
Stakeholders fully understand the risks and management approaches to address ARD
issues and have confidence in their success through verification of prediction and
prevention approaches
Substantial progress is likely to be achieved towards this goal over the next 10 years through a
combined effort of the mining industry, government agencies, financial institutions, universities,
and other stakeholders. This GARD Guide is aimed at supporting such an effort by compiling
global information and presenting it in a format that is accessible to all.
The following are some possible milestones:
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In 3 years – improved integration of ARD management into mine operations, effective
evaluation and costing of ARD management in feasibility studies and effective exchange
of case studies by the mining industry and government agencies
In 5 years – a field verified, standardized approach to prediction and risk assessment and
management, improved understanding of scale up of ARD prediction from lab to field
and improved resource recovery (water and metals) technologies for ARD
In 10 years – a field proven suite of prevention and mitigation tools to address multiple
ARD problem sets in various geoclimatic locations
Specific research is needed to fill knowledge gaps, some of which are listed below. In many
cases, the approaches and technologies are available and may be proven for particular mines or
geo-climatic environments, but it may not be known if they are broadly applicable.
Characterization and Prediction
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Methods to scale-up laboratory prediction methods to full-scale mine facilities
Prediction approaches for underground mines
More long-term field verification of prediction programs
Methods to predict drainage from waste rock dumps and tailing impoundments in arid
environments
Tests of the southeastern US coal field “rules of thumb” for prediction to coal mines in
other geoclimatic regions
Improved coupled models for predicting acid generation and metal dissolution and
mobility in waste rock dumps
Improved and more timely kinetic prediction methods for ARD and ML
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Improved guidelines on the interpretation of kinetic test results, including coal wastes
Prevention and Mitigation
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Improved prevention and mitigation techniques for pit walls and underground mines
Development and demonstration of ARD passivation technologies
Development of implementation guidelines for blending and layering of waste rock
Understanding of the application and implementation of tailing paste and tailing-waste
rock co-disposal
Verification of performance and criteria for design and application of covers on waste
rock dumps and tailing impoundments in various geo-climatic conditions
Further field and long-term demonstration and case studies for all prevention and
mitigation approaches
Treatment
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Cost-effective methods for sulphate removal
Development of in-pit water treatment methods
Methods to predict and evaluate the operating life of constructed wetlands and other
passive treatment systems
Passive systems for manganese removal
Economic recovery of metals at relatively low concentrations from ARD
Design approaches for wetland treatment of ARD from metal mines (i.e., wide range of
metal parameters)
ARD Management
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Demonstrated case studies of integrating ARD prevention into mine plans
Improved and standardized approaches of risk assessment and management for ARD
prevention and mitigation
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11.3 Stakeholder Roles
Achieving the goal for ARD management outlined above will require participation of all
stakeholders. Some of their roles are listed below:
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Mining industry – develop management systems and integrate ARD into mining plans,
develop case studies, share on-site experience, and support research
Regulatory agencies – develop improved methods of risk management, share case
histories (especially for closed and abandoned mines), encourage communication
between stakeholders and continue to search for means to address ARD from abandoned
mines
Financial institutions – incorporate guidance (such as the GARD Guide) and define
expectations into their evaluation of financing requests by mining companies
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Multi-lateral organizations - incorporate guidance (such as the GARD Guide) into their
documents and foster its implementation in developing countries
Consulting community – apply best practice approaches in ARD prevention plans and
share experience and knowledge
Universities – focus applied research projects to fill ARD knowledge gaps, work closely
with the mining industry and other stakeholders, and train new scientists and engineers in
best practice
NGOs – assist in assessing and communicating risk among stakeholders
Communities – contribute to building case studies and long-term ARD management
approaches as part of attaining and maintaining the social license to operate
INAP and the Global Alliance are dedicated to reducing liabilities associated with sulphidebearing materials and will play their part in advancing best practice in ARD management. INAP
will fulfill its role by promoting and facilitating ARD prevention and treatment through global
networking, technology transfer and collaborative research. These activities will be achieved
through peer reviews, workshops and conferences, leveraged research and policy development.
INAP believes that this GARD Guide will be a key element in expanding ARD prevention and
treatment capacity in the mining industry and its numerous stakeholders. INAP is committed to
making the Guide the premier global authority on ARD in prevention and treatment and a
“resource of choice” on ARD best practice.
To achieve this, the Guide needs to continue to evolve and improve. The current version
represents only an initial step. Participation of all stakeholders is key. INAP and its member
companies will continue to be actively engaged in regular reviews of the Guide and will ensure
that all of its technical innovations on ARD that are not confidential are included in the Guide.
INAP encourages all readers of this Guide to provide input through the Wiki or to contact INAP
or the Global Alliance.
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References
Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI), 2007. Metrics Navigator.
http://www.gemi.org/metricsnavigator
International Council of Mining & Metals (ICMM), 2003. 10 Principles for sustainable
development performance.
http://www.icmm.com/our-work/sustainable-development-framework/10-principles
Gusek, J., and K. Clarke-Whistler, 2005. Where does the recovery of metal resources
from passive treatment systems fit in sustainable development initiatives associated with
large mining projects. Annual Meeting of the American Society for Mining and
Reclamation, June 19-24, Breckenridge, CO.
Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program (LPSDP), 2007. Managing acid and
metalliferous drainage. Canberrra: Australian Government Department of Industry
Tourism and Resources.
Meech, J.A., McPhie, M., Clausen, K., Simpson, Y., Lang, B., Campbell, E., Johnstone,
S., and P. Condon, 2006. Transformation of a derelict mine site into a sustainable
community: the Britannia project. Journal of Cleaner Production, 14:349.