Investigation of fugitive dust emissions from Nepheline Syenite mine tailings near Nephton Ontario

UNIMIN extracts and produces feldspar at two adjacent sites located north of Havelock, Ontario. In recent years, there have been occasional complaints from nearby residents concerning high levels of dust deposition on their properties. The residents believe that the dust originates from the mine site. In response, UNIMIN has invested heavily in several dust control strategies. However, the relative efficacy of these strategies has not been quantified for the given site conditions. Damilare Ogungbemide is a PhD candidate working within the internationally-recognized Trent Environmental Wind Tunnel group (TEWT) at Trent University. He will carry out field and wind tunnel measurements which will investigate the physical properties of the mine tailings as related to dust emission. The ultimate goal of this research is to provide information that will allow UNIMIN to customize/optimize their dust management program for the range of climate and topographic conditions found at the mine.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Cheryl McKenna Neuman

Student:

Damilare Immanuel OGUNGBEMIDE

Partner:

Unimin Canada Ltd.

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Mining and quarrying

University:

Trent University