Project and Construction Manager for the full rehabilitation of a 32Ha acidic tailings impoundment.

This involved the initial neutralisation of the supernatant pond, pumping and further treatment off-site, then excavating and neutralising the remaining sulfitic tailings residue. This involved importing a combination of sand and limestone (buffer) along purpose built haul roads to the TSF, and using CAT 12G Graders mixing the residue with limestone, testing for pH, and then selectively placing the treated residue in the centre of the impoundment, and covering with more blended sand and limestone, thus creating a totally encapsulated cell, ultimately having the dome shape covered with bentonite filled geofabric, double welded polypropylene, and applying a 2m sucharge of sand over the cell membranes.

A full fleet of 30T articulated haultrucks, swamp dozers, excavators, CAT 994 FEL's and water carts were deployed over the 2-year program. A complete drainage system was also incorporated around the perimeter of the cell to control flow of rainwater from the cell. CSIRO monitoring was built into the design such that long-term data could be gathered to quantify and validate the effectiveness of the cell encapsulation.

The final surface was revegetated with a pioneer crop initially, and then a full final crop the next season.