THE SEDIMENT CONCENTRATION TURBIDITY RELATION - ITS VALUE IN MONITORING AT RANGER URANIUM-MINE, NORTHERN-TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA

Some earlier studies of erosion of the schist-dominated waste rock dum p of Ranger Uranium Mine, Northern Territory, Australia, used turbidit y as a surrogate for sediment concentration. Subsequent detailed studi es of the turbidity-sediment concentration relation for a number of si tes on the waste rock dump, reported in this paper, demonstrate that t urbidity cannot be used to accurately predict sediment concentration. The results of this experiment suggest that environmental monitoring o f erosion at mines in the Kakadu region of Northern Australia should u se direct methods of measurement of the sediment concentration in runo ff, and that turbidity measurements will not provide sufficient accura cy to satisfy audits of environmental compliance to regulatory guideli nes. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.