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GUIDANCE DOCUMENT <br />WATER SAMPLING AND GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION <br />AT METAL MINING SITES <br />Original October 2009 <br />Updated 21 April 2010 <br />David Bird, DRMS <br />The Construction Materials and Hard Rock Acts mandate the Division to protect the prevailing <br />hydrologic balance, which includes water quality. The Hard Rock Rules also require <br />applicants/operators to conduct geochemical evaluations of material that will be exposed by mining, <br />placed in on-site solution containment systems or facilities, stockpiled, or disposed of on the affected <br />land, and that has the potential to cause acid mine drainage or to release designated chemicals, or toxic <br />or acid-forming materials. <br />The DRMS staff is frequently faced with operators who must perform these evaluations but are not <br />trained in water quality sampling or geochemical testing. A scenario we should try to avoid is one in <br />which DRMS informs an applicant/operator that they must conduct water sampling or geochemical <br />testing, but is not provided appropriate guidance on analytical protocols or DRMS requirements. <br />Untrained operators sometimes take it upon themselves to conduct water sampling or geochemical <br />testing that turn out to be incomplete, inaccurate, or irrelevant, followed inevitably by a DRMS <br />requirement to repeat the procedure correctly. Following are general guidelines to assist Division staff <br />in assisting metal mine operators on these important evaluations. <br />1. WATER QUALITY SAMPLING <br />Water sampling should not be attempted by anyone who has not received basic instruction in the <br />procedures. The risk of sampling error or contamination is too great, and additional potential costs <br />include having to repeat the sampling and analyses. The Division can provide instruction on small and <br />relatively uncomplicated water sampling programs. Large and complex sampling programs, for <br />example those involving deep monitoring wells, a large number of sites, or a complex suite of analytes, <br />should only be done by trained personnel. <br />A. Where and what to sample <br />Sample locations: The number of sampling points will vary with the size and scope of the operation, <br />but as a general rule the Division will require the following: <br />• Downgradient ground water and surface water compliance points <br />• Upgradient ground water and surface water baseline sampling points <br />• Ground water monitoring beneath and/or downgradient from waste rock, ore processing <br />facilities (e.g., mills and heap leaching impoundments), and tailings impoundments.