Ecological engineering for the decommissioning of the Claude Pit

Abstract

A decommissioning proposal for Claude Pit and the Claude and D-J Waste rock piles has been prepared by Amok in March 1992. Boojum Research was requested to provide input with respect to Ecological Engineering measures which could be implemented to assist in achieving the desired water quality. To propose such measures, which are directed to assist ecosystem development in the Claude pit and sustain a healthy Claude Lake, it is necessary to determine if the pit water, at decommissioning or in the long term, has the tendency toward a acid or neutral environment. This will determine the type of ecological measures which are required to assist ecosystem recovery. After a site visit, the complexity of the acid generation question was apparent. It was therefore decided that the available background data on water quality and acid base accounting needed to be summarized and reviewed in order to gain an overview. Based on this review, the decommissioning approach was developed.