Alan Martin

Lorax Environmental Services Ltd.

Pit lakes are often a common feature of the post-closure landscape at mine sites where open voids are allowed to fill passively or actively with groundwater, precipitation, surface runoff and mine contact waters. The large volume of pit lakes and their role in the development of holistic water management strategies frequently make them a focal poin...

The controls governing the availability of reduced selenium (Se) species, namely selenite [Se(IV)] and dissolved organic selenium (DOSe), to primary producers at the sediment-water interface (SWI) in depositional environments (i.e., lentic systems) were assessed through consideration of theoretical principles and field data. Se(IV) is generated in...

This paper summarizes recent experience building climate change scenario data into mine design and permitting studies in Canada and Sweden. For a proposed mine in Yukon Territory, Canada, and an existing mine in northern Sweden, this paper: 1) summarizes recent climate trends and future climate change scenario data for the two mine sites; 2) summar...

The large volume of pit lakes and their potential role in mine water management make them a focal point of closure planning. In this paper, the modelling of pit lake physical structure and water quality for the Aitik Pit (Aitik Mine, northern Sweden) is used to illustrate: 1) the importance of developing robust site-specific model inputs for the de...

A critical design element in support of a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) feasibility assessment was to maximize the likelihood that the PRB location will intercept seepage pathways that connect a tailings management area (TMA) to downstream surface water receptors. A tracer test was conducted to better define the hydraulic connection between the...

Goldcorp is assessing the feasibility of using permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) to intercept and treat tailings-derived seepage in a discontinuously confined sand and gravel aquifer down-gradient from the Campbell Complex Tailings Management Area (Ontario, Canada). Uncertainty in hydrogeological, geochemical and geotechnical site conditions, and...

At the Campbell Complex (Ontario, Canada), Goldcorp is assessing the feasibility of using permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) to intercept and treat tailings-related seepage, with As, Co and Fe representing the primary parameters of concern. Based on the distribution of hydraulic conductivity and geochemical species, most of the seepage is inferred...

Forty-seven sediment cores were collected as part of a spatial survey of Long Lake, Yellowknife, NWT, Canada to elucidate the physical and geochemical controls on the distribution of arsenic (As) in sediments impacted by the aerial deposition of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) from ore roasting at legacy gold mines. High-resolution profiles of dissolved A...

The distribution of seabed geotechnical, biochemical, and meiofauna attributes was examined in Baynes Sound, British Columbia, between 2009 and 2014. Among attributes measured were sediment porosity, organic carbon and nitrogen, and trace element concentrations (e.g., zinc, copper), which increased with increasing sediment fines content toward the...

Controls governing the speciation and accumulation of Se in a 3.7 ha marsh influenced by mine drainage were assessed through examination of water balance, water quality, sediment, and plant tissue components. Over the eight month study period, mean monthly flows ranged from 1,600 to 2,300 m3•d-1(hydraulic retention time of 1 to 3 days). Total Se co...

Arsenic (As) concentrations in lake sediments in the Yellowknife region, Northwest Territories, Canada, are elevated from the weathering of mineralized bedrock and/or from the aerial deposition of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) generated via the roasting of arsenical gold ores at the now-defunct Giant Mine and other historical roasting operations in the...

Pit lakes are a common post-closure feature at mine sites where open pits are allowed to fill with groundwater and surface runoff. The large volume of pit lakes and their potential role in water management make them a focal point of closure planning. Pit lakes can be allowed to fill passively, or alternatively, filling can be engineered to best mee...

The Campbell Complex (Goldcorp Inc.), located in northwestern Ontario, Canada, has been the site of gold-ore milling operations since 1949. As part of water management measures for the site, an engineered surface-flow wetland was commissioned in 2002 to facilitate final polishing of neutral-pH effluents prior to discharge. The wetland is 16 ha in a...

Suboxia is a prerequisite for the bioremediation of selenium (Se), whereby Se is removed from solution as reduced species (e.g., elemental Se). In this regard, flooded open pits offer suitable repositories for the bioremediation of Se given the tendency of these systems to develop suboxic conditions through either passive or active means. Specifica...

The removal of selenium (Se) from water using passive technologies at mine sites is challenging as a result of associated high flow rates. However, the chemical and hydraulic conditions of backfilled pits offer a potential means to bioremediate large volumes of water passively. Specifically, the oxidation demand associated carbonaceous waste materi...

Lime addition is a common method for the treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD) whereby neutralization promotes a reduction in acidity and the precipitation of metals as voluminous sludges that may contain gypsum, calcite and a spectrum of other phases. Due to the extremely fine-grained and often amorphous (i.e., non crystalline) character of sludge...

The biogeochemical mechanisms of Se exchange between water and sediments in two contrasting lentic environments were assessed through examination of Se speciation in the water column, porewater, and sediment. High-resolution (7 mm) vertical profiles of <0.45 μm Se species across the sediment-water interface demonstrate that the behavior of dissolve...

Long-term (i.e. 100 year) climate predictions for high-latitude stations indicate these places may experience significant annual and seasonal changes in air temperature, precipitation and type and amount of evaporation. Such changes would have a pronounced effect on the water balances of many mine sites and strategies to manage water, effluents and...

The characterization and accumulation pathway of metal-rich cyanide phases in mine-contaminated Balmer Lake (Ontario, Canada) were assessed through detailed examination of sediment mineralogy and porewater composition. The near-surface deposits in the lake consist of fine-grained calcareous tailings intermixed with natural organic-rich lake sedimen...

The biogeochemical behaviour of selenium (Se) in two lentic environments (Goddard Marsh (GM) and Fording River Oxbow (FRO)) was assessed through detailed examination of Se speciation in bottom water, porewater and sediment components. The depositional environments at GM and FRO differ with regards to organic matter content, organic matter sources (...

A combination of Cu speciation analysis and toxicity testwork was conducted to assess the behavior, speciation, and bioavailability of Cu in a stream system rich in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) downstream of a mine-impacted lake (East Lake, ON, Canada). Elevated levels (approximately 50 microg/L) of Cu exist in the lake due to the release of diss...

Marine sediment samples were collected in the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia, to assess the use of a geochemical normalization technique in the identification of a chemical tracer of aquaculture waste material. Zinc and copper were suggested as tracers of feed pellets, while copper was considered an indicator of anti-foulant agents used on...

This work provides the first study of North Pacific planktonic ciliates by quantitative protargol staining. Triplicate water bottle samples were collected at a depth of 2 m (above the shallow pycnocline) at six stations in Indian Arm, British Columbia, on February 15, 1990, and February 26, 1991. Thirty-six ciliate species were observed. Six new sp...

The relationship between lake trophic status, sedimentary redox conditions and As mobility was examined in mine-impacted Balmer Lake, Canada. Under the current redox regime, the reductive dissolution of As-bearing Fe(III) oxyhydroxides occurs in close proximity to the sediment-water interface, resulting in the remobilization of dissolved As in the...

The post-depositional behavior of Cu in a gold-mining polishing pond (East Lake, Canada) was assessed after mine closure by examination of porewater chemistry and mineralogy. The near-surface (upper 1.5 cm) sediments are enriched in Cu, with values ranging from 0.4 to 2 wt %. Mineralogical examination revealed that the bulk of the Cu inventory is p...

The exchange of 226Ra and trace metals across the tailings-water interface and the mechanisms governing their mobility were assessed via sub-centimetre resolution profiling of dissolved constituents across the tailings–water interface in Cell 14 of the Quirke Waste Management Area at Rio Algom's Quirke Mine, near Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada. Shall...

Factors controlling the distribution of mining-derived Cu, Pb and Zn in the waters and bottom sediments of a large Andean lake (Lago Junin, Peru) have been assessed based on sample collections in May/June 1997 (dry season) and February/March 1998 (wet season). Relatively low levels of trace metals detected in surface waters of the lake during the d...

Detour Lake Mine, located 200 km northeast of Timmins, Ontario, operated from 1983 to 1999 using a combination of open pit and underground mining methods. As part of the historic tailings circuit, East Lake served as a tertiary polishing pond for gold mill effluents prior to final discharge to the receiving environment. The discharge from East Lake...

Detailed examination of the water column, sediments, and interstitial waters was conducted in Balmer Lake, Ontario, Canada, in 1993-1994 and 1999 in order to assess the seasonal and interannual controls governing the behavior of As. High-resolution profiles of dissolved (<0.45 microm) Fe, Mn, SO4(2-), and sigmaH2S across the sediment-water interfac...

The post-depositional reactivity of lake sediments impacted by metal-mining was assessed in Lago Junin, Peru. Due to mining-derived inputs of acid rock drainage, tailings and tailings pond overflow, the sediments exhibit widespread enrichments of copper, lead and zinc. High resolution profiles of dissolved (<0.45 μm) Fe, Mn, SO42− and H2S across th...

2001. Characterization of suspended particulate matter surrounding a salmonid net-pen in the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 58: 404–410. A field study was carried out on the central coast of British Columbia in March 1999 to determine particle fluxes arising from a salmonid net-pen during feeding. Water s...