MINDEC: user guide

Large volumes of freshly broken and crushed sulphide-bearing rock are discarded as waste at metalliferous mine sites. This material commonly gives rise to contamination of surface and groundwater by high concentrations of trace metals and other potentially harmful elements. MINDEC provides a decision-support tool for environmental planners and regulators concerned with the management of mine wastes and with the contamination of waters arising from those wastes. MINDEC has been developed with funding from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) under the KAR (Knowledge and Research) programme, project R7118: ‘Cost Effective Evaluation of Hazards from Mine Waste’. It has been developed primarily for use in situations where the resources available for on-site data collection may be insufficient for a full assessment of a large number of sites.