1. Treatment of AMD MINE PORTAL TEAM www.MINEPORTAL.in
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2. ACID MINE DRAINAGE
One of the biggest environmental Problems with Mining Industry.
AMD is produced when –
Enough sulphide mineral is present to react and create acid at a faster rate than it can be neutralized by any surrounding alkaline minerals.
Sufficient water and air supply is present to support the chemical reactions.
Water that transports the acidic drainage into environment is present.

3. some of the mines that face a serious pollution problem due to acid mine drainage in India are – Baragolai (ECL); Churcha, West Chirimiri, Ambora & Rkhikol (WCL) Gorbi (NCL) Lakarka (BCCL), Dariba and Rampura agucha (HZL/Vedanta).

4. Need of Treatment
To reduce the environmental impacts.
-> saving surrounding river/water streams.
-> reducing land and water pollution
for improving life of machineries eg. Mine pumps.
for improving the production of the mine.
Total liability from AMD in Canada is about 2-5 billion Cad $(2008).*
* Source : , Natural Resources Canada.

5. Yellow boy (Acidic mine water, pH~ 3,with iron(III) precipitated) in a river nearby Garvey Creek, Nelson , New Zealand.

6. Part of the devastated area by AMD at Hughes bore hole
Part of the devastated area by AMD at Hughes bore hole. The Hughes borehole is an AMD  site located near the southwest central borough of Portage, Pennsylvania.

7. Acidic water and sludge in Tinto River , Spain.

8. The treatment issues Costly and unproductive process.
Sludge/ochre disposal problem.
No worldwide accepted method.

9. Common treatment methods
Liming widely used , a cheap method. Basic problem is production of sludge/ochre which gives rise to disposal difficulties.
Wetland systems/ponds – A development of liming method to reduce the generation of sludge and associated disposal/land pollution problems. In the method, a field made in a shape of pond with lime at the base is filled with acid mine water so as to increase the pH of water.
Organic/bacterial methods
Use of Metal absorbants
physical process techniques
Still in development phase, costly methods.

10. Laboratory Tests
Test for determining method for lowest sludge Water sample – 1 lit.,pH ~ 4.5 with some iron(III) as impurity. Flooculant N Ammonium chlorohydrate. Reagents used – Lime , NaOH , NH4OH and Ca(OH)2.

11. Sludge vol. (mL)
Reagent

12. Flocculant – lime ratio
Lime Flocculant test
Sludge vol. (mL)
Flocculant – lime ratio

13. Conclusion Liming – cheapest and least sludge/ochre producing method.
High Density Sludge (HDS) or Geoco process should be used to limit production of sludge and hence reducing land pollution.
Flocculant and lime should be in 6:10 ratio for minimum sludge.

14. Case Study
Mine : new Garzweiler II lignite o/c mine of RWE power, Germany. (capacity : 40 MT/yr.)
Pic. : BWE working in the Grazweiler II mine.

15. Steps taken for Treatment of AMD
Determination of the overburden’s self-buffering capacity.
measurements of sulphide oxidation rates at mining slopes and berms, as a function of exposure time to atmosphere.
large-scale tests to predict dump water quality with and without a buffering system (lime).
constructing and operating a limestone admixing system.
Establishment of a monitoring system for checking & control of the mitigating measures.
The acid mine treatment at Grazeiler II mine ensured the continue operation of the mine for several decades to come along with a higher output.