GARDGuide:About

From GARDGuide

Global Acid Rock Drainage Guide

Research into the process of acid rock drainage (ARD) formation and methods to minimize its impact has been conducted for over 50 years. Much progress has been made in the last 20 years through a number of research consortiums. As such, there is a considerable volume of scientific and engineering guidance available on ARD already through INAP, MEND, BCARD, ADTI, ACMER, WRC, PADRE and other programs. The research however is in disparate references, not easily accessible and tends to be issue, commodity or geographically centric. INAP and the Global Alliance (GA) are interested in consolidating the information and producing a guide that will be up to date and global in scope. The Guide will be a practical “how to” to reference on best practice rather than a literature or research summary.

The objective is to produce a Global Acid Rock Drainage Guide (GARD Guide) that will be a premier reference for the mining industry, regulators, investors, NGO’s and other stakeholders including the general public. The Guide will address the production of contaminants from sulphide mineral oxidation that can result in ARD, neutral mine drainage (NMD) and saline mine drainage (SD).

The Guide will focus on mining and apply to mining wastes (overburden, waste rock and residues/tailings) and mine workings (including in-situ operations). The Guide will apply to the entire mining industry and all commodities produced by mining including base metals, coal, iron ore, gold, diamonds and uranium. It will cover all phases of an operation from initial discovery through to post-closure. The primary target audience will be a scientist or engineer with a reasonable background in chemistry and the basics of civil engineering, albeit with no specific knowledge of acid rock drainage.

The Guide will bring together the best technical and management practices with the objective of creating a body of work with high industry and external stakeholder credibility. The Guide will assist industry in providing high levels of environmental protection, assist governments in the assessment and regulation of affairs under their jurisdiction and enable the public to have a higher degree of confidence in and understanding of acid prevention proposals and practices.