Publication Name: Australasian Exploration Geoscience Conference 2019
Authors: Matthew J. Cracknell*, Sibele C. Nascimento, Wei Xuen Heng, Anita Parbhakar-Fox, Thomas A. Schaap
Date Published: September 2019
Number of Pages: 4
Abstract:
The majority of discharged mine waste from the Mt Lyell copper mine was deposited as deltaic sediments at the mouth of the King River, Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania. These waste materials are composed of sulphide bearing tailings and are a significant environmental hazard due to their potential to generate highly acidic waters and mobilise heavy metals. This project aims to understand the internal structure of tailings deposited in the King River Delta (KRD) using coincident near surface geophysical methods, such as EM38, DC Resistivity, seismic refraction and shear-wave velocity analysis. This information is required to generate robust estimates of the volume of mine waste in the KRD, which will be used in a larger project that is assessing the environmental and economic feasibility of future tailings processing.