Case Study: Environmental Issues, Rehabilitation at Mt Morgan Mine

This case study examines the environmental challenges at the Mt Morgan mine site in central Queensland, Australia. It provides an overview of the historical mining processes, the adverse environmental implications, and the ongoing rehabilitation efforts. The paper details the mine's impact on the Dee River, including color changes due to acid mine drainage (AMD) and the effects of various pollutants on aquatic life and soil. It explores the seepage interception and groundwater systems, highlighting the presence of AMD and the government's plans for site rehabilitation, including the role of Carbine project operators and current land use. Furthermore, the study discusses the implications of the ongoing mining and construction processes on the local population. The case study offers insights into the complexities of managing abandoned mining sites and the importance of strict environmental regulations. Desklib is a platform that provides all the necessary AI based study tools for students.

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A case study of the Environment issues at Mt Morgan site in central Queensland
Introduction
Mining is a process of extracting valuable geological materials and minerals from the
earth. Mining also includes extraction of non- renewable sources of energy such as petroleum,
coal, and natural gases. The commonly mined valuable rock deposits are gold, diamond, copper,
and limestone and to the countries where these natural sources are valuable, mining is an
important source of income. Mining has been a human activity for many centuries although most
of the mining activities create adverse impacts on the environment (Afum and Opoku, 2018).
Hence, many nations where mining is practiced have passed environmental regulations to
minimize these impacts. Mt. Morgan site is a historical gold, silver, and copper mine located
approximately 32 km from Rock Hampton in Queensland Australia. It was closed after 100 years
of mining activities due to environmental issues. Being the largest mining site in the 19th
century, the project left a many effects on the site itself and Dee River. Some of the impacts left
behind by the mine are tailings dump mining and Acid Rock Drainage into Dee River (Lambkin,
2011). During the early years of operation in the early 1990s, there were no environmental
regulations, or they were minimal and the mining activities were at the peak during this period
(Dold, 2014).
A total of approximately 686,000 tons of minerals were mined from Mt Morgan site
using open-cut and underground processes. The site remained an abandoned mining site until in
January 2000 when the Department of Mining and Energy came up with a 10 year plan of

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rehabilitating the site (Singhal, 2009). The department also proposed a 3 years program to study
the sources which were mostly contaminated, examine the water movements of River Dee and
how the river was affected by the mining activities. As part of this learning program, an
agreement was made between the government and the holder of leases in the country which is
Norton Gold Fields Ltd in 2003. The agreement prohibits those who lease the site from dumping
tailings and other wastes from mineral processing into the river. The government is still seeking
to establish an agreement that would see the mine operating as commercial site thus long-term
improvements of the site (Lambkin, 2011).
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the mining processes, environmental implications, and
the rehabilitation plans of historical site
Background
The location of Mount Morgan site is adjacent to River Dee. The mining activities mostly
affected the west side of the river. According to Wels, Findlater &McCombe (2006) the climate
at the site is described as seasonal with temperature ranging between 32°C and 23°C from
January to July The area receives an average of annual rainfall of 740mm where long rains are
experienced between November and May. The Mount Morgan gold and copper deposits are
found in Calliope Block, which runs from Rockhampton to Warwick on the eastern part of
Australia (Wels, Findlater and McCombe, 2006). Generally, all rocks in Australia are considered
to lack primary permeability and structure of the stone controls those with secondary
permeability. The site traces its history back to 1882 where it was opened to recover gold in large
quantities since it was available in the area (Lambkin, 2011). As a result of gold extraction,
considerable amounts of copper and silver were also mined. The site could not survive anymore
under the pressure of environmental rules as it had caused an underground fire from its systems

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and even the damage it had caused on River Dee. Therefore the giant mine site went into
liquidation in 1927 and it was later closed permanently in 1990 (Choudhary &Sheoran, 2012).
1) Environmental issues of the site
Pollution is an issue that has raised a lot of concern in the recent past. Mining activities impact
the environment negatively and causes harm to the people who live near the mining sites
(Lindbeck &Clark, 2010). Mining pollutes water, destroys aquatic life, and also destroys soil and
due to this, governments of various nations have imposed regulations to ensure that mining does
not affect the environment and lives. The following are some of the ways Mount Morgan site
contributed to pollution.
i. Dee river color change
Due to the Acid drained into the river from Mount Morgan sites, the river has been changing its
colors from, green, blue, or brown over the years. Scientists believe that presence of copper in
the river is the cause of the blue-green color. Water changes its color due to many reasons, for
example, the presence of blue color in River Dee occurs when the water has a pH of between 4.5
and 5.5. Water in River Dee changes its color when water from the old mine sites mixes with
quality water from the downstream catchment area (Korre, Gay & Durucan, 2007). Since water
from these two sources has different pH levels, water changes from one green, brown, to blue-
green. The effect of minerals such as Zinc, aluminum, sulphur and other harmful chemical
substances is that they destroyed aquatic life and destroyed the soil. Additionally, these
chemicals made the water in the river unfit for human consumption (Singhal, 2009).
ii. Acid Mineral Drainage (AMD)

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Acid Mineral Drainage is formed when sulphide minerals mix with the air naturally and it exists
in form of sulphuric acid. AMD is happening in the old mines in Mount Morgan site up to date
and is the primary cause of the presence of AMD in the water catchments in River Dee (Dold,
2014).
iii. Open-cut overflows
In 2013, overtopping of the spillway of the open-cut pit was experienced in Mount Morgan for
the first time due to intense rainfall caused by ex-cyclone Oswald. The run-off extended for
about 50km downstream River Dee but this did not have any major effects on the quality of the
water in the river (Cheshire, Everingham &Lawrence, 2014)
2) Mining sites
At mount Morgan, the mining activities were carried out in the following two crucial systems
i. Seepage Interception System (SIS)
Most of the seepage units in Mount Morgan site were collected from Mundic Creek area.
For a long time, acid seeps have been discharging from various mine wastes. Seepage
interception Systems were used to pump back acid drainages back to the pit. The SIS system
consisted of 8 sumps normally used to receive groundwater and seepage acid (Choudhary and
Sheoran, 2012). To ensure the effectiveness of the system, a model that allowed water to flow in
the underground was developed (Korre, Gay & Durucan, 2007). This model ensured that open
pits and sandstone gully carried the largest amount of seepage since they were flooded, while
overburden and waste rock carried the other remaining amount of seepage. The estimated
drainage from Mount Morgan passing through the SIS system into River Dee was estimated to

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be 300 meter cubic per day. The Mundic tailings were the only ones placed between the
historical Mundic and Linda creed while the rest tailings were placed into the dams (Singhal,
2009).
ii. Groundwater system
The groundwater system at Mount Morgan site was designed to follow a natural
topography from the open cut pits towards River Dee Valley. The system was subdivided into
four basic hydrostratigraphic units which are basement rock, fractured bedrock, weathered
bedrock, and waste rock and tailings. The presence of colluvial deposits at fracturing of rocks at
the historical Mundic and Linda creek which are ancient drainages in the area highly favored the
natural flow of groundwater from the source to the west of River Dee (Afum & Opoku, 2018).
The system was recharged using the seepage that runs through the system from the sandstone
gully and pits. Waste rocks also provided the seepage that revived the system (Holland,
Duivenvoorden & Kinnear, 2014).
The groundwater in the mine consisted high levels of AMD from the open fits and
sandstone gully and the most common ions present were aluminum, sulphate and magnesium
(Buzzi et al., 2013). The percentage of acidification in the groundwater in the site, therefore,
varied depending on the strength and the type of the ion passing through the system. For
example, the drainage at Linda Creek was generally acidic due to the presence of aluminum
chemicals from the open cut pit. As a result, the quality of underground water entering River Dee
from this area was very poor. In other words, all the mining units in the Mount Morgan sites
produced seeping which consisted of the harmful acid drainage minerals (Cheshire, Everingham
& Lawrence, 2014)

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Since the mine was closed down in 1992 following environmental issues, nothing much
has been going on there and the site has been a tourist attraction in the region. However, the
government announced its plan to rehabilitate the site in 2011 but under strict environmental
regulations.
3) Redefining Mt. Morgan site
In the history of Queensway Mount Morgan site is a significant heritage and it was stored
in the Heritage Act in 1992. Although the mining activities of the site had severe effects on River
Dee and the surrounding area, the government has put proposals in place to make the site
operational again (Lambkin, 2011). As part of the government programs and the Norton leasing
company, there have been activities going on in the site with the initial purpose of discovering
gold and copper from the site. So far, approximately 10 million tons recovered from the
historical site mainly from the open cut pit and they are expected to last for another nine to ten
years. The developments experienced from the site are facilitated by test work using mineral
processing flow sheets. Following the ongoing mining process in the area, more mineral
processing units are being set on the site (Wels, Findlater and McCombe, 2006).
All the mining activities in the area are overseen by Carbine project operator which
operates under the agreement between the government and Norton. Escalators extract all the
mineral tailings and then transported to ROM stockpile by trucks. The slags which are found on
Red Oxide rocks are compact and hard, so they require occasional blasting to break (Singhal,
2009). The roads leading to the mine were upgraded and haul roads constructed to ensure
smooth and safe movement of trucks in and out of the site. According to the Environmental
Authority, all the areas that Carbine has been extracting minerals for the last 10 years require

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rehabilitation as stated in the agreement between the government and the leasing company
Norton. The agreement says that all materials contaminated with ARD seepage should be
removed from the area (Taube, 2005).
4) Current land use
Despite the government efforts to rehabilitate the site, only 15% of the total land is under
use by Carbine mining project. Due to this reason, the land has continued to be a source of AMD
since most of the wastes from the open cut dump sites continue to flow into River Dee and other
water catchment areas found near the site. The government has the responsibility to manage the
unutilized land and at the same safeguard the heritage of the site as it serves as tourist attraction
site (Abzalov and Newman, 2017). Most of the property in the area has remained un-
rehabilitated and people visit the area occasionally to learn and interact with nature. Carbine in
partnership with local commercial operators serves the visitors with information concerning the
history of the mine and the mineral extraction process. These tours to the historical site of Mount
Morgan are expected to expand in future. Currently, there are plans underway by the government
to repair and maintain the buildings in the place with high-value heritage. Additionally, it is
expected that Carbine will continue using the existing resources at the site in the mine time
(Parbhakar, 2016).
5) Implications of the rehabilitation process to the people
The ongoing mining and construction processes in the Mount Morgan site are not without
effects on the local people who live near the site. People are being affected by noise from vehicle
movement and mining activities, as well as dust in the area. However, these impacts are

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regulated under Environmental Act, Queensway Act, and Mineral Resources Act. Under these
Acts, Carbine is required to meet the requirements laid down in the Act (Parbhakar, 2016).
Simply, the tailings mining should not produce dust and in case it happens, dust suppressions
should be used if the limit is exceeded. Noise from blasting Red Oxide rocks is also a
disturbance to the locals and so, Carbine is required to use only open face blasting to minimize
the noise. In future, the mining company is expected to invent other methods of breaking the
tailings which are environmental-friendly. Before the site was closed in 1990, smelting was used
which produced irritating odor but under the new Acts regulating the operations of the mining
company, smelting is not allowed (Taube, 2005).
6) Environmental implications of the site
The Acid Drainage Minerals and seepage has been affecting the environment of
Queensway for so many years. Initially, mining operations at the site were not regulated by the
government and this led to careless extraction processes which are continuing to affect future
generations of people in the area. One of the severe damages caused by the mining activities is
the acid drainage into River Dee. Although the government has been trying to purify the water in
the river, there is nothing much which has been achieved so far because the acid has caused the
pH levels to rise (Lindbeck and Clark, 2010). Acidic water is harmful to human and aquatic life.
The acid kills fish found in the river or they are damaged. Acidic water flowing into River Dee
has completely disrupted the animal system and food chain. For example when it floods and the
sites, water from the open mines flows into the river. The water from the mine is acidic and it
causes diseases to fish found in the river. Consumption of the fish by human beings is also
harmful to their health. Additionally, the presence of acid in the water makes it unfit for people
to use. Water is life but not all water is suitable for use (Abzalov and Newman, 2017).

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The government must ensure that it prevent further damage to the environment from the
site. In the effort to achieve this, the government and the local authorities in Queensway are
trying to reduce the water levels in the open pit by evaporation. By doing this, the government is
hoping to completely dry the acidic water so that it does not flow into the river anymore
(Cheshire, Everingham &Lawrence, 2014). However, the problem with this process is that
evaporation is not long-term solutions to the problem because when it rains the pits are filled
with water and it ends up finding its way into the river. Evaporation cannot work well to prevent
acidic water drainage into the waterways. As it is widely known, when water evaporates, it
condenses and falls in another area as rainfall (Afum & Opoku, 2018). Evaporated water from
Mount Morgan consists of harmful acids and when it rains in another place, it also harms the
people and the animals found in that area. The most appropriate thing to do by the government is
to develop a program of treating the water from the open pits so that in case if finds its water into
the river, there will be no damage. Water treatment makes it free from chemicals and acid and no
harm will be caused (Dold, 2014).
Conclusion
Mount Morgan is a legacy site that is generating millions of dollars for the government
and supporting many people in the country. However, the adverse effects caused by the mine
cannot be ignored because they cost lives of people and animals (Holland & Kinnear 2014). For
so many decades, the government has been trying to come up with programs of eradicating the
acid chemicals found in the site but unfortunately, pollution remains a burden in the area and
there is a long way to go to completely clean River Dee. There is a lot that needs to be done
towards achieving the acid-free environment that will support human life and animal existence.
People are suffering today due to pollution. It is the responsibility of the government to protect

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the lives of its people by ensuring that they have access to clean water. Additionally, the land can
also be used for other purposes like farming where people can do farming to improve their
standards of living. From the study, it is evident that mining have destroyed environment in
Australia and it is unfortunate that no action was being taken for miners who contributed to
environmental pollution before. People engaged in mining freely without caring for the
environment because they knew that no action would be taken against the. Pollution is a menace
that affects the future generations as it is seen that River Dee is still affected by mining activities
that took place some 100 years ago. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate how mining
can impact the environment negatively and to show what the government can do eliminate these
impacts.

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