1.<Strong>Background information</Strong>Review and understanding of the general background and objectives of the extractive operation.
Collection of general information about:
prospecting, extraction, or processing activity,type and description of method of extraction and process applied,nature of the intended product.
2.<Strong>Geological background of deposit to be exploited</Strong>Identification of the waste units to be exposed by extraction and processing by providing relevant information on:
nature of surrounding rocks, their chemistry and mineralogy, including hydrothermal alteration of mineralised rocks and barren rocks,nature of deposit, including mineralised rocks or rock-bearing mineralisation,mineralisation typology, their chemistry and mineralogy, including physical properties such as density, porosity, particle size distribution, water content, covering worked minerals, gangue minerals, hydrothermal newly-formed minerals,size and geometry of deposit,weathering and supergene alteration from the chemical and mineralogical point of view.
3.<Strong>The waste and its intended handling</Strong>Description of the nature of all the wastes occurring in each prospecting, extraction and processing operation, including overburden, waste rock and tailings, by providing information on the following elements:
origin of the waste in the extraction site and the process generating that waste such as prospecting, extraction, milling, concentration,quantity of the waste,description of the waste transport system,description of the chemical substances to be used during treatment,classification of the waste according to Commission decision 2000/532/EC, including hazardous properties,type of intended waste facility, final form of exposure of the waste and method of deposition of the waste into the facility.
4.<Strong>Geotechnical behaviour of waste</Strong>Identification of the suitable parameters for assessing the intrinsic physical characteristics of the waste taking into account the type of waste facility.
Relevant parameters to be considered are: granulometry, plasticity, density and water content, degree of compaction, shear strength and angle of friction, permeability and void ratio, compressibility and consolidation.
5.<Strong>Geochemical characteristics and behaviour of the waste</Strong>Specification of the chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the waste, and of any additives or residuals remaining in the waste.
Prediction of drainage chemistry over time for each type of waste, taking into account its intended handling, in particular:
evaluation of metals, oxyanion and salt leachability over time by pH dependence leaching test, and/or percolation test and/or time-dependent release and/or other suitable testing,for sulphide-containing waste, static or kinetic tests shall be carried out in order to determine acid-rock drainage and metal leaching over time.