Report (English, PDF)

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2026-08-26

Placer mining involves washing stream gravel to separate and save free gold particles. Usually a placer mine must discharge excess effluent water, which contains some residual suspended fine silt and clay particles, from a settling pond, back into the stream. This study examines the applicability of introducing placer effluent through a diffuser to lessen environmental impact. A diffuser is a mechanism which introduces effluent fluid into the main current of a receiving stream so that mixing and dispersion are facilitated. A diffuser usually consists of a header pipe with one or more discharge ports. Effluent is ejected from the ports at high velocity into the receiving water. Performance of the diffuser depends on the diameter, spacing, and angle of the ports in relation to the water column. Diffusers are used effectively in many industrial applications. Computer programs have been developed which predict the effluent plume from a diffuser, using input data from both the receiving stream and the effluent discharge. We used the CORMIX model, which was developed for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This program can also be used in the design of diffusers. We modelled two…

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