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Relationship between fracture distribution and the acidity of mine drainage at the Il-Gwang Mine  

Choi, Jae-Young (Korea Institute of Science and Technology-Gangneung)
Um, Jeong-Gi (Dept. of Energy Resources Engineering, Pukyong National University)
Kwon, Hyun-Ho (Mine Reclamation Corp.)
Shim, Yon-Sik (Mine Reclamation Corp.)
Publication Information
The Journal of Engineering Geology / v.20, no.4, 2010 , pp. 425-436 More about this Journal
Abstract
We established a stochastic 3-D fracture network system for fractured rock masses located in Il-Gwang Mine, Busan, to explore the relationship between the acidity of mine drainage and fracture geometry. A field scanline survey and borehole image processing were performed to estimate the best probability distributions of fracture geometry parameters. The stochastic 3-D fracture network system constructed for the rock masses was validated and deemed to be successful. The 3-D fracture network model was suitable for developing conceptual ideas on fluid flow in fractures at a field experimental site. An injection well and three observation wells were drilled at the field experimental site to monitor the acidity of mine drainage induced by the injection of fresh water. The field experiment, which was run for 29 days, yielded a significant relationship (with a high coefficient of determination) between the fracture geometry parameters and the acidity of mine drainage. The results show that pH increased with increasing relative frequency of fracture strike, and decreased with increasing fracture density. The concentration of $SO^{2-}_4$ decreased with increasing relative frequency of fracture strike, and increased with increasing fracture density.
Keywords
Il-Gwang mine; fracture network; acid mine drainage; field experiment;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
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