Acid Mine Drainage, Rock Drainage, and Acid Sulfate Soils

JAMES A. JACOBS is Chief Hydrogeologist of Clearwater Group in Point Richmond, California. He is a Fulbright Senior Scholar, having won four awards between 2003 and 2012. He is coauthor of three other environmental books and has served as an expert witness in a variety of resource and environmental contamination cases. He is an instructor for the University of California, Berkeley Extension Program, teaching a class on sustainable remediation methods for soil and water. JAY H. LEHR received a degree in geological engineering from Princeton and a PhD in groundwater hydrology from the University of Arizona. He is the coauthor of 30 books relating to environmental science and water supply. He edited the journal Groundwater for 25 years. He is currently the Science Director of the Heartland Institute, a free market think tank in Chicago, Illinois. STEPHEN M. TESTA is currently the Executive Officer of the California State Mining and Geology Board and past president of the American Geosciences Institute, American Institute of Professional Geologists, American Association of Petroleum Geologists (Energy Minerals Division), and Los Angeles Basin Geological Society. Mr. Testa was a consultant for over 30 years and served as an instructor at the University of Southern California and California State University, Fullerton.

Preface ix

Contributors xiii

Part I Causes Of Acid Mine Drainage, Rock Drainage, and Sulfate Soils

1 Acid Drainage and Sulfide Oxidation: Introduction 3
James A. Jacobs and Stephen M. Testa

2 Vitriols in Antiquity 9
Stephen M. Testa

3 Biogeochemistry of Acid Drainage 15
James A. Jacobs and David B. Vance

4 Trace Element Geochemistry and Acid Rock Drainage 53
Bruce W. Downing and John Gravel

5 The Microbiology of Acid Drainage 61
Bruce W. Downing

6 Natural Acid Rock Generation, Drainage, and Metal Leaching: Impact on Exploration, Mining, and Reclamation 67
Bruce W. Downing

7 The Sulfur Cycle: Acid Drainage and Beyond 81
David B. Vance

Part II Assessment of Acid Mine Drainage, Rock Drainage, and Sulfate Soils

8 Sampling Strategies for Acid Drainage Studies 99
James A. Jacobs

9 Stream Characterization for Acid Mine Drainage 105
Jeff Skousen and James A. Jacobs

10 Overview of Soil and Groundwater Sampling Methods for Acid Drainage Studies 119
James A. Jacobs

11 Acid Drainage Sampling Design and Sample Preparation 123
Bruce W. Downing

12 Acid Drainage and Aquatic Resources 131
Dennis R. Neuman, Stuart R. Jennings, and James A. Jacobs

13 Metals Associated with Acid Rock Drainage and Their Effect on Fish Health and Ecosystems 139
Dennis R. Neuman, Peter J. Brown, and Stuart R. Jennings

14 Biological Sampling and Inventory Process 171
Jeff Skousen, Craig Mains, and James A. Jacobs

15 Acid Rock Drainage as Related to Permafrost, Glaciers, and Climate Change 185
Bruce W. Downing and James A. Jacobs

16 Acid Sulfate Soils 191
James A. Jacobs

17 Prevention of Arsenic Mobilization Related to Sulfide Oxidation in Aquifers 197
Mark S. Pearce, Mike Waldron, and James A. Jacobs

Part III Prediction and Prevention of Acid Mine Drainage, Rock Drainage, and Sulfate Soils

18 Overview of Acid Drainage Prediction and Prevention 207
Stuart R. Jennings and James A. Jacobs

19 Acid–Base Accounting Associated with Acid Rock Drainage 217
Bruce W. Downing

20 Acid–Base Accounting Test Procedures 229
Bruce W. Downing

21 Kinetic Testing Procedures 253
Bruce W. Downing

22 Kinetic Testing Data Interpretation 261
Bruce W. Downing

23 Block Modeling and Acid Rock Drainage Prediction 267
Bruce W. Downing and Gary Giroux

24 Lithogeochemical Methods for Acid Rock Drainage Prediction 273
Bruce W. Downing and Hans E. Madeisky

25 Predicting Acid Rock Drainage Based on Mineralogy andPetrology Studies 285
Shannon Shaw and Bruce W. Downing

26 Management and Analysis of Acid Drainage Data 293
Bruce W. Downing

27 Acid Generation and Drainage Workshop: Example Calculations and Solved Problems 305
Jeff Skousen, Paul Ziemkiewicz, and James A. Jacobs

28 Mine Reclamation Policy and Regulations of Selected Jurisdictions 319
James A. Jacobs and Stephen M. Testa

Part IV Remediation of Acid Mine Drainage, Rock Drainage, and Sulfate Soils

29 Overview of Acid Mine Drainage Treatment with Chemicals 327
Jeff Skousen

30 Passive Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage 339
Carl Zipper and Jeff Skousen

31 The Iron Mountain Mine in Shasta County, California 355
James A. Jacobs and Stephen M. Testa

32 Overview of Resources from Acid Drainage and Postmining Opportunities 361
James A. Jacobs

33 Systematic Land Reclamation Assessment at Acid Mine Drainage Sites 377
Pamela S. Blicker, Dennis R. Neuman, Stuart R. Jennings, and James A. Jacobs

34 Resource Recovery 387
Stephen M. Testa

35 Case Studies for Acid Mine Drainage 407
James A. Jacobs

36 Sustainable Aquaculture Using Treated and Untreated Mine Water from Coal Mines 419
Kenneth J. Semmens and James A. Jacobs

Part V Appendixes

Appendix A Web Resources for Acid Drainage Issues 433

Appendix B Acronyms Used in Acid Drainage Literature 435

Appendix C Glossary of Acid Drainage and Mining Technical Terms 442

Appendix D Chemical Equilibrium Diagrams 447

Appendix E Soil and Groundwater Sampling Methods for Acid Drainage Studies 450

Appendix F Conversion Factors and Datums 459

Appendix G Nomenclature and Physical Characteristics of Pyrite 461

Appendix H Summary of U.S. EPA Method 1627 Kinetic Test Procedure for the Prediction of Mine Drainage Quality 463

Appendix I Acid Mine Drainage Remediation Decision Tree 475

Index 481