Site-wide water balances for mines are often relatively simple computationally, but very complex logically, with detailed operation rules imbedded in the model logic; prioritization of flows and demands, and switching between historic data inputs and projected (stochastic) inputs. These water balances can be the basis for a chemical mass load balance using the Contaminant Transport Module, where source terms are assigned to flows and carried through the system to determine water quality throughout the site. David Hoekstra has over sixteen years of experience developing mine water balances in GoldSim at sites as diverse as Alaska, North and West Africa, South America, the American southwest and Indonesia.
The presentation will showcase techniques and modeling philosophy developed over the years to achieve:
• Modularity - allowing model components to be reused on new projects
• Top down construction – grow the model with the mine
• Ease construction – techniques to shorten development and debugging time
• Transparency – being able to conceptualize the model quickly
• Ease of review – self documenting models reduce review time
• Coupling flow and contaminant transport models
The presentation will illustrate how these techniques have been used for water balance models at mines, but the philosophy and techniques are largely applicable to any kind of modeling application.
