Economic Performance of Active and Passive AMD Treatment Systems Under Uncertainty: Case Studies from the Brunner Coal Measures in New Zealand

Acid mine drainage (AMD) often requires management long after mining operations have ceased. Cost-effective long-term passive treatment systems (PTS) are required for closure of mine sites. However, PTS research seldom defines well-constrained operational and financial parameters to enable confident decision making by mining companies. PTS are generally assumed to be a lower-cost alternative to active systems when used in favorable circumstances, but there is little objective information to define when they are more suitable than active treatment. Instead, general ‘rules-of-thumb’ for flow rates or acid loads are used to determine when PTS are best used. We used well-characterized AMD from multiple historic and active coal mine sites in New Zealand to test these rules-of-thumb from a financial perspective by modelling capital and operational costs over a 100 year timeframe. We present static and uncertainty-based cost assessments of a mussel shell reactor PTS compared to typical active AMD treatment systems at six mine drainage sources from the Brunner Coal Measures. We show that for expected AMD characteristics and duration of treatment, savings on operational costs with PTS can exceed the higher initial capital costs. In addition, the financial advantage of PTS over time may be achieved at flow rates and acidity loads that exceed the industry rules-of-thumb PTS limits. However, in some circumstances, cost projections for high up-front capital costs of purchasing all treatment media for the life span of the PTS is less favorable than discounted treatment media in active treatment systems over time. Understanding financial models of AMD treatment options during mine site design can help reduce the costs of operating and closing mine sites.