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Calculation Brief Title: <br />Evaluation of the Sensitivity of Percolation <br />Estimates through Mine Rock Stockpiles on <br />the Simulated Precipitation Rate <br />1.0 Purpose/Objective <br />UNSAT-H was used to estimate the percolation of water through development rock <br />piles at the Van 4 Mine, Uravan Mining District, Colorado. UNSAT-H is a fortran- <br />based model that is used to simulate the one-dimensional flow of water, vapor, and <br />heat in soils. The code addresses the processes of precipitation, evaporation, plant <br />transpiration, storage, and deep drainage (Fayer 2000). <br />• In a review of the initial modeling results presented in Environmental Geochemistry <br />Investigation of Soil and Rock Materials, Van 4 Mine (CDM 2009), the Colorado Division <br />of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DBMS 2009) provided the following comment: <br />Unsaturated (UNSAT-H) model and percolation estimation. <br />Denison has provided information showing the limited mobility <br />and reduced threat from various minerals in the mined and <br />unmined rock material, based on the geologic characteristics as <br />well as the and climate at the mine. The wettest months are <br />August through October, which suggests that precipitation <br />during those months is delivered via thunderstorms - <br />potentially high intensity events. It is known that plumes can <br />form beneath waste rock facilities in and climates in response to <br />seasonal patterns of such high intensity events. Please address <br />the following: Does the model account for high-intensity, short- <br />duration precipitation events such as thunderstorms? If not, <br />what effect would these have on percolation estimates? <br />Additional UNSAT-H simulations were completed to address this DRMS comment by <br />evaluating the sensitivity of the UNSAT-H model to various rates of precipitation. <br />The simulated rate the simulated <br />called HPR, which is ulat d hourly at of precipitation. This calculation sheet <br />0 am <br />C:Welson wodJDenison\UNSAT_MHPR eensicivity\Ven 4 HPR Sensitivitycalc bW.dac