6 ® Routes COLETANCHE NEWS March 2012 / n°6 Events This coming spring, we will be attending: Geo-Congress 2012 organized by the American Society of Civil Engineer: March 25-29, 2012 Oakland, CA, USA Booth 205 The 2012 RPIC Federal Contaminated Sites National Workshop, April 30 to May 3, 2012 in Toronto, ON, Canada. Geo-Americas 2012, May 1st- 4th / Lima Peru / Booth 48. We will be presenting 4 papers. COLETANCHE® is a bituminous geomembrane manufactured by bitumen impregnation of a non-woven geotextile produced by the US firm Johns-Manville. Dealing with rapidly changing weather Sand cover Bitumen Non-woven polyester Glass fleece Anti-root film The Furioso Mine project in Chilean Patagonia Coletanche; the difference Installation of geomembranes in regions of the world characterized by rapidly changing weather conditions, high and/or low temperatures, and very high wind conditions always poses problems. The solution is simple: 1. Use a heavy geomembrane, 2. Line a small area whenever weather conditions allow, and 3. Place the cover soil (ballast) as quickly as possible. COLETANCHE® allows the implementation of this simple solution because: • it is heavier than any of the other geomembranes. Therefore COLETANCHE® will not be uplifted in wind speeds up to 50 mph (80 kmh). • it can be installed by a general local contractor (or the operator/owner’s own forces) and does not requires a specialty subcontractor. This allows full schedule flexibility and eliminates concerns of stand-by cost associated with weather delays. Why did they choose Coletanche ? Closure of the wasterock facility at the Furioso Mine in Chilean Patagonia presented the challenges highlighted above. The owner and his consultant evaluated different geosynthetics options and selected COLETANCHE® because it was the only geomembrane that can be installed in strong wind and even snowy weather. Geographic Location The mine is approximately 46 miles (75 km) southwest of Chile Chico at an elevation of about 4,600 ft. (1,400m) above sea level at latitude 46°33'S and longitude 071°42'W. The mine is essentially non-accessible during the winter months (between mid-March through December) due to the high snowfall and poor road conditions. Daytime temperatures in the winter can be as low as -13°F (-25°C) with wind speed in excess of 50 mph (80 km/h). ◄Conditions on 11 January 2012, the day we were supposed to start. A typical mid-summer day in Patagonia! Naches, WA - 2006 The wasterock facility was designed to contain approximately 223,000 cubic yards (170,000 cubic meters) of waste rock material. Approximately 16 acres (6.5 ha) of Coletanche were installed. ◄ A couple of days later, the facility is ready for Coletanche Note the nature and size of particules in support soil. Installation Note that COLETANCHE® is flat on the ground support with no wrinkles, waves, or kinks due to its low thermal expansion and therefore the cover soil can be pushed over the Coletanche without problems. Wasterock facility during lining ► The installation team consisted of Patagonian workers hired by the mine and trained by Coletanche staff. They placed and welded all the panels of COLETANCHE®. COLETANCHE® toughness and strength allows the contractor to use regular equipment near and on the geomembrane thereby facilitating construction and reducing the schedule. COLETANCHE® will be connected to the rock outcrop in the background. Summary The benefits from using a Coletanche based solution rather than using another flexible geomembrane were: Financial In 45 days we placed: • 700, 000 ft2 (65, 000 m2) of Coletanche • 39, 000 ft (12, 000 m) of seaming • 8 inches (20 cm) of cover soil instead of 3ft (1m) over 16 acres (6,5 ha). • Erosion/biotic barrier consisting of 20 inches (50cm) minus rock. • Performed all CQA activities. • Local work force was used rather than a specialty contractor • The ability to work whenever weather allowed. + • A final cover system less expensive than one built with any other geomembrane. Convenience Protection of Environment and Sustainability • No speciality geosynthetics sub-contractor meant full control of schedule. • Use of available large mining equipment. • The final cover protects the waste rock from precipitation that causes acid generation for years to come. • Reduction of cover thickness led to reduced CO2 emission through reduction of truck traffic For more technical information or to organize a brown bag please contact Axter Coletanche Inc. 2000 rue Peel - suite 670 - Montreal, QC, H3A 2W5 - Canada Phone: (1) 514 903 1912 - Email: [email protected] www.coletanche.com