Supporting report C - Hydrogeology.pdfFLOW ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
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FINAL REPORT
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Flow Environmental Management was engaged by Heathgate Resources
Pty Ltd to undertake a desktop study of the local and regional
hydrogeology of the Beverley Mine Exploration Lease 3251 (EL3251).
This ‘Technical Report’ report will act as a basis to support any
environmental approval documentation required for an additional
mining lease within EL3251 (the study area).
This report provides the details of a desktop study of the
hydrogeological characteristics of the study area and updates the
hydrogeological assessment of the June 1998 Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the current mine operation. A large part of the
regional geological discussion in the EIS remains valid for the
study area. Therefore, the hydrogeological setting discussion is
primarily sourced from the EIS but also includes revisions of the
conceptual understanding and detailed evaluation of water level
observations, which has been collected since the commencement of
monitoring in 2001.
The Beverley uranium deposit is located within the western Frome
Embayment region where groundwater occurs in several separate
aquifer systems (from deepest to shallowest):
Mt Painter Complex and other fractured rock aquifers (Proterozoic);
Great Artesian Basin (GAB) aquifer - the Cadna-Owie Sandstones
(Mesozoic); Eyre Formation - blanket and palaeochannel sands which
are not thought to be extensively
developed at Beverley (Tertiary); Namba Formation aquifers -
Beverley and Alpha, Beta and Gamma Sands (Tertiary); and,
Willawortina Formation and younger aquifers - conglomerates and
poorly sorted sands in clays,
and those aquifers in the younger stream sediments, which have been
incised into the Willawortina Formation (Tertiary and
Quaternary).
Between and within each of these aquifers are aquitards.
New exploration drilling and re-interpretation of old drilling data
have led to the recognition of a more complex pattern of channel
sands than that outlined in the EIS.
In plan view, several new mineralised zones, referred to as
“trends” have been described:
Northeast sands lying immediately to the east of the North Beverley
Orezone and trending towards the east. This sand body has been
tested for continuity with Beverley North and found to be
essentially a separate sand lens surrounded by sits and
clays.
Beverley East trend, which extends from the eastern side of the
Central Beverley Orezone in a position, which approximately
coincides with the projected Central Channel shown in EIS Figure
6.4.
Deep South area with two essentially north-south trending
mineralised sands, including: 1. Russell trend, which lies to the
east of a southerly extrapolation of the Beverley South
Orezone (roughly coinciding with the South channel shown on EIS
Figure 6.4); and 2. Poontanna trend, which lies approximately one
km west of the Russell trend and over three
km south of the current mine lease (ML) boundary.
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In vertical profile, drilling below the Alpha Mudstone (which lies
below the Beverley Sand) has revealed a series of mineralised
sequences of sand, separated by mudstones and grading laterally
into silts/clays. These sands have been designated Alpha, Beta and
Gamma sands and the intervening mudstones bear the name of the
underlying sand zone. Thus the stratigraphic sequence, where fully
developed consists from top downwards of:
Beverley Sand; Alpha Mudstone; Alpha Sand; Beta Mudstone; Beta
Sand; Gamma Mudstone; Gamma Sand; Delta Mudstone; Delta Sand; Lower
Namba Carbonate; and Eyre Formation.
Since the commencement of mining operations, a series of monitoring
wells have been installed within and near the boundaries of the
channel sand deposits, predominately within the current mining
lease boundary. The majority of these wells intersect the Beverley
Sand aquifer, providing a very good spatial distribution for
understanding the water level responses in this aquifer. These
wells are either screened within the sand body of the orezone or
within low permeability silty-clay sediments at the margins of the
channel sands, both laterally and vertically. A total of eight
wells have been screened across the Alpha Sand aquifer. In
addition, a number of wells intersect the overlying Willawortina
Formation. Gauging information pertaining to these wells is
available from 2001. Three wells have been installed within the
southern portion of the EL3251. For two of these wells, gauging
records since early 2005 are available for the assessment of
temporal trends. Apart from these three wells, the hydrogeological
setting for the study area is primarily sourced from the EIS.
Water levels measured in the Namba Formation, prior to the
commencement of the 1997 round of groundwater pumping activities at
Beverley (the method of mining), were approximately 60 m below
ground level, at elevation levels of 17.74 m (+/-0.16 m) AHD. These
levels may be taken to represent the undisturbed groundwater levels
within the palaeochannel sands. The recorded levels within the
aquifer infer a very low hydraulic gradient, indicative of a low
potential for groundwater flow. More recent water level data
observed at monitoring wells outside the boundaries of the orezones
and the current mining lease area indicate static water levels,
which are not considered to be influenced by mining activities. A
detailed review of the temporal water level trends within the
current mining lease area and near the mining zones has identified
the following key findings:
Water levels of wells intersecting the low permeability sediments
show a slow water level recovery back to pre-mine baseline levels
following well development and routine groundwater sampling. This
slow recovery process has been observed within the wells
intersecting the low permeability silt-clay sediments of the
aquitards within the different mineralised sand aquifers.
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Wells intersecting the Beverley sand aquifer respond rapidly to
on-going mining activities. Pumping tests and groundwater level
observations have been used to determine the hydraulic
connection between North, Central and South Orezones. Based on
these observations, the North Beverley Orezone is considered to be
poorly hydraulically connected with the Central Beverley Orezones
but a higher degree of hydraulic connection exists between the
South and Central Beverley Orezones.
Water level responses to mining correlate with the inferred
geological boundaries of the channel sand deposits and can be used
to confirm these boundaries.
The existing mine Environmental Monitoring Management Plan (EMMP)
was based on the known extent of the Beverley Channel Sands at the
time of the commencement of mining. As new mineralised zones have
been discovered and developed, changes to the monitoring well
layout have been progressively approved but not consolidated within
the EMMP documentation on a regular basis. The Beverley mining
leases currently operate under three sets of legislation, each
requiring a planning document. The three documents currently
submitted are:
EMMP; Mining and Rehabilitation Plan; and Radioactive Waste
Monitoring Plan.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
2.1.1 Regional Groundwater Wells
................................................................................
12 2.1.2 Groundwater Monitoring Wells at Beverley
...........................................................
12
2.2 Mr Painter Complex Hydrogeology
....................................................................................15
2.3 Great Artesian
Basin..........................................................................................................15
2.4 Eyre Formation
..................................................................................................................17
2.5 Namba Formation
..............................................................................................................18
2.5.1 Lower Namba Formation (Alpha Mudstone Sequence)
........................................ 23 2.5.2 Upper Namba
Formation (Beverley Sands and Beverley Clay)
............................ 25
2.6 Willawortina
Formation.......................................................................................................30
4 REGIONAL AND DISTRICT GROUNDWATER QUALITY
........................................................49 4.1
Regional Groundwater Quality Data Sources
....................................................................49
4.2 Groundwater Quality in the "Shallow" Aquifer of the Flinders
Ranges and Plains..............49 4.3 Groundwater Quality in the
Great Artesian Basin (GAB) Aquifer
......................................52 4.4 Groundwater Quality in
the Baseline Study Area
...............................................................53
4.5 Groundwater Quality in Beverley Site Aquifers
..................................................................61
4.5.1 Willawortina
Formation..........................................................................................
61 4.5.2 Namba Formation
.................................................................................................
63
5 GROUNDWATER FLOW, INTERCHANGE AND DISCHARGE
................................................67 5.1 Regional
Patterns
..............................................................................................................67
5.2 Beverley
Aquifers...............................................................................................................69
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6 CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF THE BEVERLEY AQUIFER SYSTEM
..........................................72
7 REFERENCES
..........................................................................................................................75
Figure 1: The Study Area
Figure 2: Location of Registered Groundwater Wells within
Approximately 25 km Radius of the Study Area
Figure 3: Location of Beverley Mine Monitoring Wells
Figure 4: Location of GAB Bores
Figure 5: Cross Sections
Figure 7: Alpha Mudstone Surface with Schematic Geological Cross
Sections
Figure 8: Upper Namba Formation (Beverley Sand and Lateral Silt
Equivalent Wells) Local Water Levels (m AHD) – June 2005
Figure 9: Upper Namba Formation (Beverley Sand) Local Water Levels
(m AHD) – June 2005
Figure 10: Upper Namba Formation – Selected Hydrographs
Figure 11: Location of Water Wells
Figure 12: Willawortina Formation Regional Water Levels (in m AHD)
– Pre-Mine
Figure 13: Willawortina Formation Local Water Levels (m AHD) – July
2006
Figure 14: Location of Poontana Fault Zone
Figure 15: Poontana Fault Zone
Figure 16: Water Level Trends of Wells Intersecting Low
Permeability Sediments and Wells Intersecting The Beverley Sand
Sediments
Figure 17: Regional Salinity Data for Hard Rock Aquifers
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Figure 18: Regional Salinity Data for the Willawortina
Formation
Figure 19: Regional Variation in Groundwater Salinity with Depth,
Willawortina Formation
Figure 20: Groundwater Salinity Distribution, Baseline Study
Area
Figure 21: Groundwater pH Distribution, Baseline Study Area
Figure 22: Uranium in Baseline Study Area Shallow Aquifer Water
Samples
Figure 23: Distribution of Uranium Concentrations in Baseline Study
Area Shallow Aquifers
Figure 24: Distribution of Radium Concentrations in Baseline Study
Area Shallow Aquifers
Figure 25: Distribution of Radon Concentrations in Baseline Study
Area Shallow Aquifers
Figure 26: Willawortina Formation Local Electrical Conductivity
Observations (mS/cm)
Figure 27: Beverley Formation Local Electrical Conductivity
Observations (mS/cm), July 2006
Figure 28: Regional Groundwater Flows
Figure 29: Conceptual Model in Vicinity of Beverley Channels
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TABLES
Table 2: Stock Wells and Springs
....................................................................................................
32
Table 3: Aquifer Test Data, Willawortina
Formation.........................................................................
34
Table 4: A Namba Formation Aquifer Hydrological Parameter Values
............................................ 42
Table 5: North East Pumping Test Results
......................................................................................
44
Table 6: Water Quality in GAB
Bores...............................................................................................
53
APPENDICES
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1 INTRODUCTION
Flow Environmental Management was engaged by Heathgate Resources
Pty Ltd to undertake a desktop study of the local and regional
hydrogeology of the Beverley Mine Exploration Lease 3251 (EL3251).
The site is located on the arid plains between the North Flinders
Ranges and Lake Frome, approximately 600 km north of Adelaide. This
‘Technical Report’ will act as a basis to support any environmental
approval documentation required for an additional mining lease
within EL3251 (the study area, Figure 1).
The report provides details of a desktop study of the
hydrogeological characteristics of the study area and updates the
hydrogeological assessment of the June 1998 Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the current mine operation. A large part of the
regional geological discussion in the EIS remains valid for the
study area. Therefore, the hydrogeological setting discussion is
primarily sourced from the EIS but also includes revisions of the
conceptual understanding and detailed evaluation of water level
observations, which have been collected since the commencement of
monitoring in 2001.
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Figure 1: The Study Area
Source: URS (2007)
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2 OUTLINE OF HYDROGEOLOGY
Within the western Frome Embayment region, the major
hydrogeological system in which the Beverley deposit is located,
groundwater occurs in several separate aquifer systems (from
deepest to shallowest):
Mt Painter Complex and other fractured rock aquifers
(Proterozoic);
Great Artesian Basin (GAB) aquifer - the Cadna-Owie Sandstones
(Mesozoic);
Eyre Formation - blanket and palaeochannel sands which are not
thought to be present at Beverley (Tertiary);
Namba Formation aquifers- Beverley and Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta
Sediments (Tertiary); and,
Willawortina Formation and younger aquifers - conglomerates and
poorly sorted sands in clays, and those aquifers in the younger
stream sediments, which have been incised into the Willawortina
Formation (Tertiary and Quaternary). These systems are considered
as a single unit in this text.
Between and within each of the aquifers are aquitards. The complete
stratigraphy is shown in Table 1.
In the following sections the aquifer sequence is described, with
emphasis on those potentially affected by the proposed mining, the
Namba Formation and Willawortina Formation aquifers.
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Table 1: Summary of Groundwater Analytical Results
Time Units * Symbol Unit Description
Qha1 Sands and Gravels Modern stream deposits. Intermittently
reworked sands, gravels and cobbles. Holocene
Qhe2 Simpson Sand Modern dune system of the Strzelecki
Desert.
Late Pleistocene to Holocene Qec Coonarbine Formation Flat
low-lying clayey sand plains.
Qu ate
rn ar
y
Medial to Late Pleistocene Qpae Eurinilla Formation Flat low-lying
clayey sand plains with lower part
cemented by gypcrete or calcrete.
Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene TpQaw Willawortina
Formation
Sheeted gravels and clayey sands. Forms basic landscape of uplifted
High Plain flanking the Flinders Ranges.
Late Eocene to Palaeocene Tsi Undifferentiated Duricrusts
Silcrete-Porcellanite-Greybilly, usually local cap rocks to other
units in proximity to the Range Front. Multiple ages.
Namba Formation-Upper Olive Grey swelling clay, dolomite nodules,
and beds, greenish laminated silt and fine sand. Includes Beverley
Sands. No exposures.
Miocene Topn
Namba Formation-Lower
Olive Grey swelling clay, dolomite nodules, and beds, greenish
laminated silt. Includes Alpha, Beta and Gamma Sands and associated
Mudstones at Beverley. Localised dark sandy claystones. No
exposures.
Ca ino
zo ic
Te rtia
Palaeocene- to Eocene Taee Eyre Formation
Uncemented quartz sand, some clay beds, minor lignite. Often capped
by Tsi. Exposed near ranges 25Km north of Beverley, concealed at
depth to the east.
Kmb Bulldog Shale
Clay and silt, lesser sandy lenses. Local exposures in the western
portion of the high plains. Concealed at depth to the east.
Knr Parabarana Sandstone
Knr: Quartz Sandstone, pebbly conglomerates, and basal channel fill
deposits. Local relict outliers in the ranges and low relief areas
of the western portion of the High Plains.
Me so
zo ic
Cr eta
ce ou
Palaeozoic Ordovician Undifferentiated eOdi British Empire Granite
Granite, Freeling Heights area.
Ne o -
Pr ote
ro zo
Sandstones, siltstones, shales and limestones, lesser mafic
volcanics. - Gammon Ranges
Pr ote
ro zo
Quartzite, pebble conglomerates, rhyolites: porphyries and
granites. schists and gneiss – Mt. Painter ~ Mt Neil (Range s due
west of Beverley).
* The time units of this table are oldest at the bottom and
youngest at the top
Source: Mines and Energy South Australia (MESA), now Department of
Primary Industries and Energy Resources SA.
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2.1 Groundwater Monitoring Network
2.1.1 Regional Groundwater Wells
Registered groundwater wells within approximately 25 km radius of
the site are shown in Figure 2. The locations have been extracted
from the PIRSA groundwater database. The figure also includes the
recorded depth, well purpose and observed total dissolved solids.
The majority of the registered wells have been drilled to depths
less than 100 m below ground level. The current status of the wells
is not known and some may have been abandoned.
2.1.2 Groundwater Monitoring Wells at Beverley
Since the commencement of mining operations, a series of monitoring
wells have been installed within and near the boundaries of the
channel sand deposits, predominately within the current mining
lease boundary. Figure 3 shows the location of the groundwater
monitoring wells, including the aquifer that the wells are
monitoring.
The majority of these wells intersect the Beverley Sand aquifer,
providing a very good spatial distribution for understanding the
water level responses in this aquifer. These wells are either
screened within the sand body of the orezone or within low
permeability silty-clay sediments at the margins of the channel
sands, both laterally and vertically. A total of eight wells have
been screened across the Alpha Sand aquifer. In addition, a number
of wells intersect the overlying Willawortina Formation. Gauging
information pertaining to these wells is available from 2001.
Three wells (DSMW1, PRC1 and PRC2) have been installed within the
southern portion of the EL3251 (Figure 3). For two of these wells,
gauging records since early 2005 are available for the assessment
of temporal trends. No gauging information is available for PRC1.
PRC1 monitors the Beverley Sand aquifer, PRC2 the Beta Sand aquifer
and DSMW1 the Willawortina Formation. For the area outside the
current mine lease, apart from these monitoring wells, the
hydrogeological setting for the study area is primarily sourced
from the EIS.
EL 32
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2.2 Mr Painter Complex Hydrogeology
The Mt Painter Complex and other crystalline rocks of the Flinders
Ranges comprise fractured rock aquifers with the highest yields
near to faults, where most springs occur (Ker 1966). Recharge is by
limited direct infiltration from rainfall. Water quality is
variable, from less than 1,000 mg/L to more than 10,000 mg/L Total
Dissolved Solids (TDS). The water table in the fractured rock
system, though variable, is the highest in the western Frome
Embayment region. Discharge occurs into the numerous ephemeral
creeks and along the range front at springs, such as Paralana Hot
Springs. Discharge probably occurs also by under flow into the
sedimentary aquifers of the Frome plains where these directly
overlie or abut the fractured rocks.
2.3 Great Artesian Basin
The Lake Frome Embayment is identified as a discharge area for
water from the GAB aquifer system. In the basin in general,
pressure declines to the west and south, away from the recharge
areas in New South Wales and Queensland (Habermehl 1980, Callen
1981b). Discharge is from identifiable point sources (the mound
springs) and from other dispersed leakages through the overlying
Bulldog Shale, particularly where it thins towards the basin
margin. Water lost from the GAB aquifer by diffuse upward vertical
leakage enters aquifers higher in the sequence and is eventually
lost to evaporation, which is the principal discharge mechanism of
the Lake Frome region.
There are no mound springs close to the Beverley Project. The
nearest mound springs are on the Lake Frome bed, and north of
Moolawatana station on the northern fringe of the Flinders Ranges
(Boyd 1990). The water source of the nearer Paralana Hot Springs
appears to be local recharge from the Flinders Ranges. The head in
the GAB system is less than 100 m Australian Height Datum (AHD) to
the west of Lake Frome and the potentiometric surface exhibits a
broad depression, centred on Lake Frome, due to the influence of
springs and flowing bores.
The Cadna-Owie Formation is the only GAB aquifer present in the
area to the west of Lake Frome.
Seismic data and drilling appear to confirm the continuity of the
Cadna-Owie Formation beneath the Beverley site and the Cadna-Owie
Formation is thought to be the aquifer intersected in the Four-Mile
Flowing Bore (“Camp Bore”) at Beverley. The aquifer exceeds 19 m
thickness in Camp Bore and flowed at 5 L/s with a shut in head
equivalent to approximately 90 mAHD and a temperature of 50 degrees
celsius. It is regionally a moderate salinity groundwater source
being approximately 2200 mg/L TDS at Camp Bore.
A new GAB water supply well (GAB 3, refer to Figure 4) was drilled
in 1999 within the current mining lease. This well is used to
provide feedwater to the RO Plant to provide
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potable water for the camp supply and in the plant as make-up water
at a TDS of 2050 mg/L.
The Cadna-Owie Formation is capped regionally by the Bulldog Shale
(Marree Subgroup). The Bulldog Shale may be absent or thin in the
Camp Bore intersection, being replaced with the Lower Namba
Formation, a major aquitard. The vertical separation between the
GAB aquifer and the Beverley mineralised zone aquifer horizon
exceeds 100 m at Camp Bore and 194m (including 116 m of Bulldog
Shale) at the new water supply well.
Recent exploration drilling on the Poontana Trend has intersected a
sequence of Cretaceous sediments, which have now been identified
(palynology) as Bulldog Shale overlying Cadna-Owie Sands. These
units can be seen in Figure 5 section E – E’ below about 145m in
Drillhole PR106 which is located on the upthrow side of the
Poontana Fault. Several exploration holes on the upthrown side of
the fault have penetrated at least part of the Creatceous sequence.
These holes include PR106, PR104, PR102, PR074, PR073, PR063, and
PR072, PR071, PR051 and PR0070.
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Figure 4: Location of GAB Bores
2.4 Eyre Formation
The Eyre Formation is not thought to be well represented in the
stratigraphic column at Beverley. However, regionally it comprises
a blanket sand over the central and western Frome Embayment margins
(Callen 1977, Waterhouse and Beal 1978). The Eyre
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Formation is the host aquifer for uranium deposits within
palaeochannels in the southern portion of the Frome Embayment (eg.
the Honeymoon Deposit).
Water in the Eyre Formation is generally of poor stock water
quality or worse, and it is an aquifer of last resort where better
quality water cannot be found in shallow aquifers near by. The
salinity range of Eyre Formation water is 3,000 to 10,000 mg/L for
wells 45 km to 85 km south of Beverley.
2.5 Namba Formation
Drilling by Heathgate has included the installation of several new
observation wells in the Namba Formation. The location of these
wells is shown in Figure 3. Hydrographs since the commencement of
gauging are presented in Appendix 1.
Figure 5 presents a number of cross sections showing the surface
elevation of the Namba Formation sediments.
Water levels measured in the Namba Formation, prior to the
commencement of the 1997 round of pumping activities at Beverley,
were approximately 60 m below ground level, at Elevation Levels of
17.74 m (+/-0.16 m) AHD.
The baseline water levels were measured in the Central area in
March 1997 after the aquifers had lain undisturbed since the
mid-1980s. A series of water levels recorded in the RM series of
holes at the same time fall within the same range and includes
holes RM1 from the North area to RM7 in the South area (Figure 6).
These levels may be taken to represent the undisturbed water levels
within the palaeochannel sands.
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Figure 5: Cross Sections
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2.5.1 Lower Namba Formation (Alpha Mudstone Sequence)
The Lower Namba Formation unit is widespread, comprises black clays
and confines the Eyre Formation regionally and the Cadna-Owie
Formation where Eyre Formation is absent. At Beverley, recent
drilling penetrating the Lower Namba Formation has revealed a more
complex sequence than previously described.
The surface topography of the Alpha mudstone is illustrated in
Figure 7 together with several stylised cross sections showing the
entrenched nature of the Beverley channels (Figure 5).
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Figure 6: Beverley Sand Baseline Water Levels
6660000mN
6658000mN
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Figure 7: Alpha Mudstone Surface with Schematic Geological Cross
Sections
In the vicinity of the Beverely Channel the Alpha Mudstone sequence
contains several older lenticular sand zones, which have been
designated Alpha, Beta and Gamma in order of increasing depth below
the base of the Beverley Sand. These sands are believed to be
associated with former strand lines of a proto Lake Frome and each
sand is underlain by a similar dark clay layer (Figure 5). In Camp
Bore the unit exceeds 100 m in thickness and in GAB3 within the
existing mining lease, a thickness of 78m was intersected. The
geological section shows the unit to thicken somewhat to the east
from Camp Bore.
2.5.2 Upper Namba Formation (Beverley Sands and Beverley
Clay)
Callen (1977) has identified the Upper Unit of the Namba Formation
over a wide area of the Frome Embayment. Regionally it comprises
clays and silts within subordinate thin, fine-grained sand beds.
The Namba Formation is not generally considered to comprise a
significant aquifer and accordingly, there is no regional
quantitative assessment of its hydraulic properties. The sands of
the Upper Unit, wherever they do occur, are capped by a clay
(Callen 1975, 1977). The deposition of the clay capping concluded
sedimentation in the Namba Formation.
At Beverley, there are three sub-units identifiable within Callen’s
Upper Unit where there is a thickening in the palaeochannel. These
comprise:
Beverley Clay;
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Beverley Silt; Beverley Sands up to three sand units with silty
lateral equivalents separated by finer
grained interbeds.
Figure 8 shows computer drawn water level contours for the Upper
Namba Formation, which includes the wells intersecting both the
Beverley sands and their lateral silty/clay equivalents. The
potentiometric surface shown in Figure 8 suggests a spatial
hydraulic gradient variation across the unit. The steep gradients
reflect the extremely low hydraulic conductivity of the silts/clays
intersected by the wells located along the margins of the channels
(i.e. lateral confinement due to facies changes from sand to
silt/clay within the same stratigraphic horizon). Exclusion of the
wells intersecting the low permeability silts and clays outside the
channel proper, shows a plateau-like area of elevated pressures
within the channel with a very low hydraulic gradient, indicative
of a low potential for groundwater flow as shown in Figure 9.
In the immediate vicinity of Beverley, water level fluctuations
(Appendix 1) are variable with time associated with mining
activities. Selected wells showing the water level fluctuations are
presented as Figure 10. Compared to the baseline water levels, the
observed water levels show a response to mining activity for the
wells intersecting the Beverley sands. Water levels of wells
intersecting the low permeability sediments show a slow water level
recovery back to pre-mine baseline levels following well
development and routine groundwater sampling. Water level data
observed at monitoring wells outside the boundaries of the orezones
and the current mining lease area indicate static water levels,
which are not considered to be influenced by mining
activities.
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Figure 8: Upper Namba Formation (Beverley Sand and Lateral Silt
Equivalent Wells) Local Water Levels (m AHD) – June 2005
Note: Density correction not applied
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Figure 9: Upper Namba Formation (Beverley Sand) Local Water Levels
(m AHD) – June 2005
Note: Density correction not applied
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Figure 10: Upper Namba Formation – Selected Hydrographs
Well Intersecting Beverley Sands – Outside Channel Sand
Deposit
Well Intersecting Beverley Sands
Well Intersecting Beverley Silts/Clays
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2.6 Willawortina Formation
There are over twenty stock watering wells of relatively low yield
within the area shown in Figure 11, which appear to be drawing
water from the Willawortina Formation. For those within 15 km of
the Beverley site, the reported static water level (SWL) varies
from 4 to 40 m, with an average of 19 m (Table 2).
A reconstruction of the regional Willawortina Formation
potentiometric surface is presented in Figure 12, which is derived
from the water level observations of Ker (1966), which were
reported in feet, and includes the undisturbed pre-mining water
level observed at the Central FLT site (16.2 m) for comparison. The
general gradient is towards the discharge area of Lake Frome to the
southwest at approximately 0.5 m per km.
Stock bores are deliberately sited where the prospects of obtaining
better quality water at shallow depths are improved, particularly
along the banks of the incised creeks which cross the western Frome
region from west to east. Consequently they may tap more recent
creek channel deposits rather than the Willawortina Formation, in
the strict sense, but these are considered to comprise the recharge
sources for the Willawortina Formation, and will be considered as
integral with it.
The Willawortina Formation at Beverley has been shown from cuttings
logs, downhole geophysics and the observation well data to comprise
a number of thin aquifers separated by clay layers. The Formation
extends from the surface to a depth of approximately 100 m. The
suggested geological environment would lead to the deposition of
sheet-like over-bank deposits and immature alluvial channel fill.
Such environments produce multi-layered, poorly interconnected
aquifers in which the permeability, while variable, is usually low
as a consequence of the poorly sorted nature of the aquifer
sands.
Pre-mining results are included in Table 2. The piezometric data
show the formation to be saturated below about 60 m depth.
Airlifted yields range from 0.001 to 0.3 L/s, which are extremely
low for material classified as an aquifer. Aquifer property data
for the Willartina Formation are presented in Table 3.
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Figure 11: Location of Water Wells
WOOLTANA HS
WOODNAMOKA WELL
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Table 2: Stock Wells and Springs
WELL ID WELL NAME TOTAL DEPTH SWL TDS RADIONUCLIDES (Ker 1966)
(Ker1966) (m) (m **) *(mg/L) U µg/L Ra Bq/L
23 Paralana Hot Springs
1058 (n=5) 16 (n=4) 14 (n=7)
25 Box Bore 49 14 758 (n=3) 34 Pepegoona Bore 75 21 1072 29
20
36 South Poontana Bore
Bore 110 27 1010 96 26
47 North Mulga Bore 42 30 1495 34 40
49 Buxton Bore 2616 53 Mungaroonie Bore 37 24 799 69 99.5
54 Christmas Well and Bore
23 4 3084 81 34.3
55 Sandridge Bore 26 18 2845 119 36.7 67 Mulga Park Bore 39 4
3850
121 Ram Bore 29 15 6504 13.5 0.05
133 On Wooltana Station
138 John Brown Bore 44 40 1515 20.5 4.8
Munyallina Creek 3.7 0.018
Note: Unspecified method of determination ** metres below ground
level (n=5) etc: value shown is average from n analyses.
Source: Armstrong(1998)
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Figure 12: Willawortina Formation Regional Water Levels (in m AHD)
– Pre-Mine
4.9
5.0
10.0
12.5
12.3
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Table 3: Aquifer Test Data, Willawortina Formation
BOREHOLE SCREEN (m) TEST AIRLIFT (L/s)
K (m/d) TDS (mg/L) SWL (m **) COMMENTS SOURCE
37/04 84.5 - 90.5 Airlift 0.001 - 2,400* 65.56 No connection
to
aquifer
?
VSH1 Various79- 100.5
Falling Head - 0.1 - 1.8 17,250 65.08(Av.) 5 zones tested VSHI
drilled with Cable Tool
Rig
aquifer
aquifer
aquifer
aquifer
completed
H29C 94.6-101.6 Airlift - 14700 65.12
H34 90.0-93.0 Airlift 0.3 - 4090 56.27
H35 90.0-93.0 Airlift 0.04 - 4443 56.31
H38 87.8-90.3 Airlift - 3585 NA
H39 88.0-91.0 Airlift 0.015 - 3280 NA
H42 89.0-92.0 Airlift 0.2 - 4170 55.75
Impossible to analyze due to slow recovery and
interference from other works
Notes: * This analysis may be incorrect, as its SO4-- value is
anomalously low and the piezometer is reported not to be in
communication with an aquifer.
** Metres below ground level NA Not available C&H Coffey and
Hollingsworth
Source : Armstrong(1998)
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Drilling by Heathgate has included the installation of several new
observation wells in the Willawortina Formation. The location of
these wells is shown in Figure 3. Water level trends for the wells
monitoring the Willawortina Formation are shown in Appendix 1.
Figure 13 shows computer drawn water level contours for this
aquifer (wells that have been screened above the Namba Formation
have been considered to be representative of the Willawortina
Formation). The inferred flow direction is towards the south-east
with a steeper gradient at North Beverley compared to Central and
South Beverley.
In the immediate vicinity of Beverley water level fluctuations
(Appendix 1) are variable with time associated with recharge to the
uppermost permeable zone. The highest fluctuations are typically
observed along the major creeks to the north and south of the
deposit.
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Figure 13: Willawortina Formation Local Water Levels (m AHD) – July
2006
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3 BEVERLEY PALAEOCHANNELS
3.1 Palaeochannels Geometry
Extensive exploratory drilling, carried out since the opening of
the Beverley Uranium Mine has revealed a series of sand lenses,
most of which appear to occupy depressions in the surface of the
Alpha Mudstone and in similar positions with respect to the Beta
and Gamma Mudstones lying deeper in the sequence. These “channels”
are thought to be the expression of a series of fluvio-lacustrine
sedimentary cycles within the region. Each cycle is interpreted at
present to have been deposited during a single rise and fall of
lake level in the proto-Lake Frome, in response to climatic
fluctuations. Together they comprise the depositional system
responsible for the sedimentary and facies architecture of the
Beverley Region.
The nomenclature at the Beverley Mine has been extended in order to
accommodate this new concept, and the stratigraphy now comprises
the Beverley, Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta Sequences. The Alpha
Sequence corresponds to the regionally distinctive horizon referred
to by previous authors as the Alpha Mudstone (or Lower Member),
occurring immediately beneath the main mineralised horizon at
Beverley.
In addition to the originally described North, Central and South
Beverley sand lenses that were originally thought to be separate
bodies of sand but are now understood to be to some degree
hydraulically interconnected, the following sand bodies have been
delineated:
Northeast Beverley – extending from close to MW013 to the current
ML boundary where it is monitored by MW046 to MW050.
Beverley East – extending from the east side of the Central
Beverley sand body in a direction slightly east of southeast then
swinging towards the south and again to the south east outside the
current ML boundary. This sand body is identifiable as the Central
Channel in the EIS (Figure 14).
Deep South – two trends have been recognised beyond the southern ML
boundary,
Russell trend aligned approximately with South Beverley; and
Poonatana Trend associated with the upthrown side of the Poontana
Fault
Figure 5 shows the locations of a series of cross sections of the
newly discovered sand bodies with section A - A’ showing the
eastern edge of the Central Ore Zone, B – B’ and C – C’
illustrating the distribution of sands in Beverley East. The Beta
Sand is well developed in section B – B’ and two of the drillholes
have been extended into the Gamma Sand on section C – C’.
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Sections D – D’, E – E’ and F – F’ illustrate the sand distribution
in the Deep South area. The full sequence from Beverley Sand down
to Delta Mudstone is penetrated by one hole in section D –
D’.
The whole sequence is seen in section E – E’ where, beneath the
Gamma sequence is a calcareous unit named the Lower Namba Carbonate
which overlies what has been tentatively identified as Cretaceous
(undifferentiated). The considerable depth of sediments penetrated
by this section necessitated the representation of each cyclic
depositional sequence (Beverley, Alpha, Beta and Gamma) as a single
unit, which include the upper mudstone and lower sand
components.
Section F – F’ includes the Poontana Fault which has a vertical
displacement of the order of 70 m at this locality.
All sections show the stratigraphy but do not attempt to describe
the detailed facies changes, which are likely to play an important
role in the control of fluid movement during ISL mining.
From the hydrogeological point of view the lateral limits of the
"active" channels may be either:
The steep sloping surface of the Alpha (or other) Mudstone where
the channel is deeply incised;
The facies change from active stream sediments dominated by sand to
overbank sediments dominated by clays and silts; or,
The lateral limits of the mineralised sand body where it abuts
against older channel sediments in the channel-within-channel
sequence.
From the observed hydraulic behaviour of the channel aquifers both
during pumping tests and in response to mining to date, it appears
that any of the above are effective lateral constraints which
restrict groundwater flow normal to the channel axis.
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Figure 14: Location of Poontana Fault Zone
(refer to EIS for the Beverley Deposit Stratigraphic Cross
Sections, Figure 6.5)
PO O
N TA
N A
U D
Drill Holes
Resource Outlines
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3.2 Faulting Near the Beverley Palaeochannels
The position of the Poontana Fault zone is shown in Figure 5 and
14. The cross sections show the structure to be a high-angle fault.
This faulting appears to have been active during channel deposition
and displaces the Namba Formation down to the west by a combined
total of up to 70 m, passing through a probable 100 m of Alpha
Mudstone beneath the level of the channel sands.
Movement along a fault in highly clay-rich sediments such as the
Alpha Mudstone leads to shearing and "smearing" of the clays on the
fault surfaces resulting in an impermeable fault fill.
The persistence of the large pressure difference between the
Cadna-Owie Formation (GAB) aquifer and the channel sands at
Beverley confirms that faulting in the Alpha Mudstone does not
offer a permeable connection. Any significant permeability in the
fault zones would:
Permit pressures to equilibrate between the two aquifers;
and,
Result in the water quality in the channel sands being close to
that in the GAB aquifer.
Field observations of pressure and water quality indicate that
neither of these situations has developed.
3.3 The Beverley Palaeochannels
The sands within the channel sequences at Beverley are highly
permeable (Table 4). There is a directional contrast in
permeability with values observed in pumping tests along the
channel being higher by a factor of at least 1.5, than those across
it. This reflects the depositional environment similar to that of a
braided stream.
At the channel edges the sands pinch out against the channel bank
or pass laterally into lower permeability facies.
Pumping tests conducted on partially penetrating wells show a small
degree of hydraulic leakage. This is interpreted to be largely
intra-formational within the Beverley Sands and to be due to some
communication between lenses of sand which represents a series of
channels-within-channels, frequently fringed by thin clay / silt
units.
The underlying Alpha Mudstone and the capping clay above the
channel sands are judged to be capable of providing a high degree
of confinement for the Beverley Sands and each mudstone/sands
sequence in the vertical section appears to have similar properties
except where a younger sand has been deposited in an erosional
feature directly on top of or alongside an older sand.
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Leakage through old exploration boreholes has been suggested as a
possible breach of the integrity of the overlying clays. Leakage of
this type was not noticed in any of the earlier pumping tests,
which were designed to obtain data on the major aquifer properties
within the ore zone. Additional pumping tests carried out in August
and September 1997 were specifically designed to detect such
leakage. These tests indicate that, in the Northern and Central
areas of the deposit, the capping clay is intact despite the fact
that the pumping wells and piezometers were located within a few
metres of old exploration holes.
More recent testing has confirmed the overall “tightness” of the
channel sand sequences.
A pumping test was carried out in April 2006 (Table 6) to assess
the degree of connection between the North East sand lens, the
Alpha Sand unit and the main North Beverley Orezone.
The North East lens was found to be very poorly connected to the
main ore zone and the general response was typical of that of a
fully bounded aquifer. There was found to be sufficient connection
at the test site, between the Alpha Sand and the North east sand
for the former to be regarded as being part of the Namba Aquifer
sequence for purposes of water balance calculation.
Current experience of the behaviour of the aquifer system shows
that whilst the drawdown response during pumping is rapid, recovery
is extremely slow and typical of a system, which is almost
completely sealed from outside sources of water. Any attempt at
constructing a conceptual model of the present day flow system in
its natural state must take into account the fact that the
palaeochannel sediments are hydraulically almost completely
isolated from seasonal and other changes occurring elsewhere in the
system.
Groundwater quality at various sampling points over the Beverley
Retention Leases show variations from 3,000 to 15,000 mg/L (ppm)
TDS. There is currently no evidence to demonstrate the existence of
vertical stratification at individual sites within the Beverley
sand aquifer system. However, it is likely that semi-regional scale
salinity zoning is present due to historic interaction between
water in the channel and brines developed near the evaporative sink
of Lake Frome.
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Table 5: North East Pumping Test Results
3.4 Confining Beds for Mineralised Zones
There are two degrees of vertical confinement of the mineralised
zones:
Beverley Clay and Alpha Mudstone, above and below the mineralised
Beverley sands; and,
Intra-formational clayey horizons within the Beverley Sands, which
provide localised confinement.
as well as lateral confinement due to facies changes from sand to
silt/clay within the same stratigraphic horizon.
3.4.1 Beverley Clay and Alpha Mudstone Confinement
The degree of confinement provided naturally by the Beverley Clay
and Alpha, Beta and Gamma Mudstone units is very high. They are
thick, highly plastic clays, which are continuous over areas much
larger than the extent of the mineralisation. While logging of
cores in these units’ records some fissured horizons corresponding
to heavily over- consolidated weathered layers, the majority of the
clay is massive. In the presence of free water the fissured clays
would be expected to swell in the same manner as the Hindmarsh Clay
of the Adelaide Metropolitan area.
The extremely low permeability of the Alpha and other underlying
Mudstones, and therefore high degree of confinement afforded by it,
is indicated by the very large vertical hydraulic gradient across
the unit. The static head in the Cadna-Owie Formation at GAB#3 Bore
is approximately 86 mAHD compared with 17.7 mAHD in the Upper Namba
Formation in the Beverley Palaeochannel, a head difference of 68.3
m over a vertical distance of over 200 m.
If the Alpha Mudstone sequence were even moderately permeable,
there would be prolific vertical flow into the channel sands from
below. In such circumstances, the salinity of the water in the
channel sands would be very close to that of the Cadna-Owie
Formation, not up to 5 times more saline as it is towards the
southern end of the mineralised channel.
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The Beverley clay layer has been perforated by prior drilling
activities and the boreholes were not back-filled to modern
standards. A series of pumping tests, some of which were designed
to test whether communication can be observed between the Beverley
Sands and the lowermost Willawortina Formation aquifer zone
demonstrated that no such communication could be detected.
3.4.2 Intra-formational Confinement
Within the Beverley Sands are numerous clay, sandy clay or silty
clay horizons, which range from thin laminae to thick beds. These
have been noted in all geophysical logs and cores. Individually
they have confining or semi-confining properties. Collectively,
these layers provide a high degree of confinement. The closely
spaced drilling has shown that these can be of limited lateral
extent. They have nonetheless provided sufficient confinement to
restrict the fluids to the zones within which they are circulated,
during mining. Pressure differences are readily transmitted through
these minor aquitards but they exhibit a sufficient permeability
contrast with aquifer sands to contain the mining fluids, unless
excessively high pressures (in excess of the fracture pressure) are
used.
Although drilling has not intersected any high angle confining beds
within the channels, the pumping test data indicate that such low
permeability zones must be present at the edges of the mineralised
sand zones in order to create the degree of lateral constraint
observed in the pumping test data. These data indicate strip widths
of 170 m at North Beverley and up to 275 m at Central. These values
compare with total width of channel sand of 350 m at the North site
and 500 m at the Central site. The hydraulic behaviour suggests
therefore that the pumped aquifer extends over only approximately
half of the full width of the sands although the calculated widths
can only be regarded as approximate owing to the many complexities
present in the tested aquifer geometry.
Operational experience has shown that monitor wells in the Central
Beverley area responded slowly and in a much-muted mode, to
fluctuations in pressure induced by mining in the North Beverley
mining zone. Figure 15 shows the responses in North Beverley and
Central/South Beverley with the latter areas responding slightly up
to the commencement of mining in Central in October 2003 then
directly responding to mining activity in Central Beverley. North
Beverley responses in 2004/5/6 tend to be dominated by pressure
fluctuations associated with operation of the disposal well. South
Beverley monitor wells respond in a similar fashion to Central
indicating a high degree of connection between Central and South
although during pumping tests, a well defined change in slope of
the distance-drawdown plot occurs between Central and South
Beverley suggesting a change in hydraulic properties sufficient to
influence flow between the two zones.
The lateral confining effect of facies change is illustrated in
Figure 16 which shows the response of a monitor well CMW017,
completed in silt adjacent to the Central Beverley Sand compared
with a long term monitor well RM7 during mining activity at
Central. Two points can be made:
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The water level in the “silt” well has not recovered to “normal”
Beverley (Namba) levels after drilling and
Responses do not appear to be related to pressure fluctuations in
the sands.
No pumping tests have been carried out in the Deep South area
therefore the degree of confinement cannot be categorically
defined. However, the similarity of lithologies and facies changes
implies that a similar situation should prevail in this area as
applies to the already developed parts of the Beverley Channel
Sequence.
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4 REGIONAL AND DISTRICT GROUNDWATER QUALITY
4.1 Regional Groundwater Quality Data Sources
Data on regional groundwater quality, including recent sampling and
analysis, is described in detail in Armstrong (1998). Currently
available stock and domestic bores within an area extending 20 km
to the north, east and west, and 30 km to the south, were sampled
to provide baseline hydrochemical data for regional groundwater
quality. The information obtained will certainly have an
unavoidable bias towards the better end of the water quality scale
since early bores which intersected water of unusable quality
tended to be abandoned on completion and their salinity and
location lost.
Water samples collected during the current phase were analysed for
the standard suite of major ions, trace elements and
radionuclides.
4.2 Groundwater Quality in the "Shallow" Aquifer of the Flinders
Ranges and Plains
The range of salinity found in the fractured rock aquifers can be
seen in Figure 17 showing the results for 36 samples from the
regional historic database ranked in order of increasing salinity.
The range, essentially from 600 to 3,000 mg/L, extends well into
the stock water range. This is appropriate since many of the bores
are used exclusively for stock watering.
Close to the Flinders Ranges the shallow aquifer is the outwash fan
material of the Willawortina Formation, but, further to the east of
Beverley the shallowest water intersections may be in Namba
Formation or Recent alluvium.
The salinity range in the Willawortina Formation is shown in Figure
18 to extend from less than 1000 mg/L to more than 20000 mg/L
indicating that fresh water, recharged by streambed infiltration
during storm events, is subjected to evaporative concentration and
may also be acquiring some additional salinity by mixing with
saline waters near Lake Frome.
The plot of salinity versus depth for the Willawortina Formation
waters (Figure 19) shows no correlation between the two parameters,
which is ascribed to the fact that evaporative processes are acting
on the shallower groundwaters leading to increase in salinity
independent of depth.
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Figure 17: Regional Salinity Data for Hard Rock Aquifers
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
TDS (mg/L)
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Figure 18: Regional Salinity Data for the Willawortina
Formation
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
TDS (mg/L)
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Figure 19: Regional Variation in Groundwater Salinity with Depth,
Willawortina Formation
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
SALINITY (mg/L)
DEPTH (m)
4.3 Groundwater Quality in the Great Artesian Basin (GAB)
Aquifer
Analytical data for five GAB bores is given in Table 6. Moolawatana
Bore #2, and the two Cootabarlow bores are located to the east of
the northern end of Lake Frome and Camp Bore (also known as 4 Mile
Flowing Bore) lies just to the west of the Beverley Retention
Leases boundary and GAB#3, completed in August 1999, is adjacent to
the Plant on the Mining lease.
The thickness of Lower Namba Formation plus Bulldog Shale, between
the Beverley Sands and the GAB aquifer in the recently drilled
GAB#3 is 194 m.
The three eastern bores all have high levels of bicarbonate typical
of GAB waters originating from the north and east whilst Camp Bore
and GAB#3 have higher calcium and magnesium with less than half of
the bicarbonate content of the eastern bores and lower pH. This is
interpreted to be the result of recharge from the hard rock
aquifers of the Flinders Ranges to the Cadna-Owie sandstones at the
western margin of the sub-basin. The presence of radionuclides in
Camp Bore water further supports a contribution to its make up from
the Flinders Ranges.
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Table 6: Water Quality in GAB Bores
HOLE OR SAMPLE ID Moolawatana Bore 2
Cootabarlow Bore 1
Cootabarlow Bore 3
DEPTH (m) 437 437 419 312 Screen 336 to 360m
pH (pH Units)
8.1 7.3 7.2
CATIONS
CALCIUM (mg/L) 5 8.6 7.1 38.8 31.6
MAGNESIUM (mg/L) 2 2.9 4.3 12.9 12.3
SODIUM (mg/L) 670 663 690 745 773 POTASSIUM (mg/L) 6 28.5
25.2
ANIONS
RADIONUCLIDES
4.4 Groundwater Quality in the Baseline Study Area
The distribution of salinity within the baseline study area is
presented in Figure 20 illustrating the tendency for salinity to
increase towards the east.
Many of the lower salinity waters are immature with bicarbonate
present in a similar milli- equivalents/litre range as the other
major ions, with the exception of sulphate. The more saline waters
are of Na-Cl-HCO3 type indicating a moderate residence time.
The distribution of pH in the baseline study area database samples
is given in Figure 21. All but one (Pepegoona Well and Spring pH
5.8) are slightly alkaline which is consistent with the generally
high levels of bicarbonate.
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The range of uranium content exhibited by the "shallow aquifer"
water samples in the regional database, which includes both
Proterozoic rocks of the Flinders Ranges and the shallow aquifers
of the foothills and plains is illustrated in Figure 22. It can be
seen to extend from zero to in excess of 300 micrograms/L. The
spatial distribution of these values is given in Figure 23, from
which it can be seen that uranium concentration tends to increase
towards the west reaching a maximum of 310 ug/L.
Radium (Figure 24) reaches a maximum value in this sample set of
178.7 Bq/L at Camp Bore (GAB) and elsewhere is less than 20 Bq/L
with values to the west dropping to below 1 Bq/L. The high radium
reported from Camp Bore in these past samples is not supported by
current sampling for which the radium value is 0.44 Bq/L.
Radon distribution (Figure 25) shows one high value at Paralana
Springs, which is well known as a radon anomaly.
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Figure 20: Groundwater Salinity Distribution, Baseline Study
Area
kilometres
360000m E
370000m E
380000m E
Paralana House Bore (2200)
Wooltana Bore 38 (950)
Pepegoona Well & Spring (3000)
Speculation Well & Spring (1900)
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Figure 21: Groundwater pH Distribution, Baseline Study Area
kilometres
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Figure 22: Uranium in Baseline Study Area Shallow Aquifer Water
Samples
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
URANIUM (microgm/L)
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Figure 23: Distribution of Uranium Concentrations in Baseline Study
Area Shallow Aquifers
kilometres
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Figure 24: Distribution of Radium Concentrations in Baseline Study
Area Shallow Aquifers
kilometres
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Figure 25: Distribution of Radon Concentrations in Baseline Study
Area Shallow Aquifers
kilometres
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4.5 Groundwater Quality in Beverley Site Aquifers
4.5.1 Willawortina Formation
Water quality immediately overlying the Beverley aquifer, within
the Willawortina Formation, has been routinely sampled. Field
parameters electrical conductivity (EC), pH and sulphate have been
collected. Temporal water quality trends for regulatory compliance
monitoring locations (located within the current mine lease),
intersecting the Willawortina Formation, are shown in Appendix
2.
Figure 26 shows the local EC observations (and averages) at
monitoring wells intersecting the Willawortina Formaltion.
Spatially the water quality in the Willawortina Formation is
variable, with average values of EC ranging from 3 mS/cm to 20
mS/cm, where it overlies the Beverley Deposit. Figure 26 shows a
continuous trend from north to south of increasing salinity,
similar to the trend observed for wells intersecting the Namba
Formation but with some evidence for localised changes in
conductivity possibly associated with recharge from surface
drainage lines. Temporal EC trends (Appendix 2) suggest little
variability of EC over time.
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Figure 26: Willawortina Formation Local Electrical Conductivity
Observations (mS/cm)
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4.5.2 Namba Formation
Routine water sampling from the Namba Formation has been carried
out with the collection of field parameters, electrical
conductivity (EC), pH and sulphate. Temporal water quality trends
for regulatory compliance monitoring locations (located within the
current mine lease), intersecting the Namba Formation, are shown in
Appendix 2. The wells sampled include samples collected from wells
intersecting:
The Beverley sands;
The low permeability silt-clay sediments along the margins of the
channel sands; and
The Alpha sediments.
Figure 27 shows the local EC observations at monitoring wells
intersecting the Beverley Formation (at monitoring locations
screening both the mineralised sands and surrounding low
permeability silt-clay sediment) and Alpha Sediments. Figure 27
shows two groups of EC observations, with North Beverley having ECs
generally less than 10 mS/cm and Central and South Beverley falling
in the 10 to 20 mS/cm range. The data suggests a continuous trend
from north to south of increasing EC in the channel sediments. The
two wells intersecting the Alpha Sediments have recorded similar EC
to near by Beverley locations. Temporal EC trends (Appendix 2)
suggest little variability of EC over time.
There is currently no evidence that the Beverley Sands is
stratified with respect to water quality at any specific site. The
semi-regional scale distribution of salinity within the sand can
possibly be accounted for on the basis of an historic interaction
between water in the channel sands and brines associated with an
evaporative sink near the site of the present day Lake Frome. This
in turn has lead to the establishment of a saline plume maintained
in position by the density contrast between brine and fresher
channel water. An alternative interpretation of the salinity
distribution requires historic flow within the channel sands,
(although present day gradients indicate that the aquifers are
stagnant), at a low rate and originating to the north and east.
This infusion of fresher water could have originated as recharge to
the Willawortina Formation leading to much higher water levels and
some vertical leakage, or throughflow from basement. The flow rate
must have been small and duration relatively short since the
brackish to saline waters in the channel sands have not been
totally displaced.
Uranium concentrations encountered in the water samples from within
the Namba Formation are typically less than detection.
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Figure 27: Beverley Formation Local Electrical Conductivity
Observations (mS/cm), July 2006
4.6 Radionuclides in Potential Water Supplies
Water resources within approximately 15 km of the Beverley deposit
comprise supplies from the GAB at Camp Bore and GAB#3, the
Willawortina Formation along the major creeks, and surface
supplies, of which some are permanent. Some of these waters have
significant levels of radionuclides. The radionuclide levels in
regional stock bores, already listed in Table 2 exceed drinking
water standards for uranium (0.02 mg/L) but are below the 0.5 Bq/L
radium permissible under current National Health and Medical
Research Council guidelines (NHMRC and Agriculture and Resource
Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, 1996).
Radionuclides in surface waters (Table 8) exceed drinking water
standards for both uranium and radon. Levels of radionuclides are
within
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acceptable limits for their present use as stock waters, with the
notable exception of Paralana Hot Springs.
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Table 7: Radionuclides in Surface Waters
LOCALITY TDS (mg/L) U (ug /L) 226 Ra (Bq /L) 222 Rn (Bq /L)
Black Spring 1,300 62 0.06 122
East Painter Creek ? 21 0.02 12
Four Mile Creek 1,500 197 0.06 17
Munyallina Creek 1,400 4 0.02 6
Pepegoona Well & Spring 2,700 16(Av 3) 0.14(Av 3) 12
Spring North of Paralana 4,100 253 0.07 Nd
Stubbs Water Hole ? 14 0.03 Nd
Terrapinna Water Hole 6,700 52(Av 3) 27(Av 3) 0.3(av 2)
Unnamed Creek (4.5km North of Four Mile Creek)
700 17 0.09 17
AVERAGES (No. of samples) 102(11) 0.05(11) 23(8)
Paralana Hot Springs
Pool Water 115 14 1800
17 2081
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5 GROUNDWATER FLOW, INTERCHANGE AND DISCHARGE
5.1 Regional Patterns
Figure 28 shows the original conceptual regional groundwater flow
model. The highest heads, found to the west in the Flinders Ranges
drives the hydraulic system. Springs at the range front, such as
Paralana Hot Springs, discharge at approximately 100m AHD. These
Proterozoic fractured rock aquifers recharge the sedimentary
aquifers of the Frome Embayment, including the GAB aquifer. In
addition, the Cadna-Owie Formation aquifer west of Lake Frome
receives a component of recharge from the north, which cannot be
depicted on the east-west section of Figure 28. Further to the
east, near Lake Frome, the flow in the GAB is from the east and
north and there are discharges of GAB waters at mound springs and
flowing bores along the eastern edge of the lake and flowing bores
further to the east. The location of the groundwater divide cannot
be precisely determined from the sparse data for the GAB system.
However, the conceptual modelling of Diaconu indicates that the
lowest part of the piezometric surface is controlled by discharge
from the flowing bores and springs on the eastern side of Lake
Frome. Lake Frome is the regional groundwater sink with a minimum
surface elevation of approximately 5 m below sea level.
Overlying aquifers may be recharged from the Cadna-Owie Formation
via faults (where brittle lithologies are present on both sides of
a fault plane) and slow seepage upwards from the pressurised GAB
system, a process that is limited by the permeability and thickness
of the aquitards and the driving head difference.
To the south and east of Beverley, where the Eyre Formation lies
directly on Proterozoic rocks, it too would be recharged from these
underlying fractured rocks, as well as receiving contributions from
the Cadna-Owie Formation. The potentiometric surface in the Eyre
Formation regionally declines towards Lake Frome, although no data
exists west of the lake to demonstrate this in the Beverley
region.
The other major source of recharge (available to the highest
aquifer in the sequence) is direct infiltration from rainfall and
streambed infiltration. In a semi-arid climate, streambed
infiltration can be expected to be dominant. The Willawortina
Formation aquifer (including in this discussion the
post-Pleistocene stream bed deposits incised into it) is the source
of good stock quality water where it is tapped along the banks of
the creek channels. The potentiometric surface is closer to the
surface in the numerous wells drilled into it than is the case in
the interfluvial areas, such as at Beverley. The overall
potentiometric pattern suggests a net movement of groundwater in
the Willawortina Formation towards the east and Lake Frome.
Locally, the flow is away from the influent creek beds and along
the watercourses in the underlying sediments.
The Namba Formation, where it includes an aquifer locally at
Beverley, lies beneath the Willawortina Formation and above the
Cadna-Owie Formation (and above the Eyre
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Formation, if it is present). Recharge to the palaeochannel
aquifers from above and below appears to be minimal within the
lease area for the reasons given below.
During major rainfall events resulting in flow in the surface
watercourses (eg. Four Mile Creek), infiltration through the
streambed may give rise to a localised recharge mound in the
uppermost permeable interval. This mound appears to dissipate with
time but contributes to the resource of better quality water stored
in the shallow aquifer (streambed sands and gravels/shallow
Willawortina Formation beneath the drainage lines.
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Figure 28: Regional Groundwater Flows
Source: Prepared from J Higgins investigations by JLC Exploration
Services June 2007
Please note that there is strong vertical exaggeration of about
30:1
5.2 Beverley Aquifers
The data at Beverley shows that there is a difference of up to 1.5
m in hydrostatic head between the Namba Formation and the deepest
permeable zone in the Willawortina Formation at the Central FLT
site, 0.5 m at the North FLT site and a negligible horizontal
gradient within the channel sands. A similar situation exists
throughout the channel as indicated by the results of a recent
review of the water levels obtained after long periods of
rest.
It is evident from water level monitoring during current FLT
operations, that disturbances to the water balance in the channel
take a long time to recover. Therefore, much of what were
considered to be static water levels in earlier reports are now
considered to have been subject to disturbance prior to
measurement.
The water in the channel sands is considered to be close to
stagnant under the present day natural hydrologic regime.
The Willawortina potentiometric surface over much of the Beverley
area is up to 1.5 m higher than that of the Namba Formation
aquifer. However, the Willawortina potentiometric surface failed to
respond to up to 7 m of draw down in the upper Namba sands over 3
days of recent pumping tests. This indicates the extremely low
permeability of the clay aquitard.
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In addition the hydraulic gradient in the channel sands is flat,
indicating negligible horizontal flow. Response to recharge in an
open hydraulic system is by flow from the recharge area to the
discharge area thereby requiring a horizontal hydraulic
gradient.
In a bounded hydraulic system, such as the Beverley channel
aquifer, the response to recharge would be an increase in
potentiometric level modifying the existing vertical hydraulic
gradients. The response would cease when the head in the channel
was equal to the head in the overlying aquifer.
The Namba sands at North Beverley have a lower potentiometric
surface than both the Willawortina aquifer above and the GAB
aquifer below; thus vertical hydraulic gradients would suggest
that:
Either the palaeochannel is a sink for both external aquifers,
or,
The aquitards above and below the channel are resisting vertical
flow.
The persistence of relatively high salinities in the channel,
compared with salinities above and below, plus the absence of
vertical salinity variation in the channel sands supports the
hypothesis that the aquitards are effective barriers to vertical
flow and thus to vertical recharge.
At Central Beverley the Willawortina Formation heads are lower than
channel aquifer heads therefore any vertical movement of water
would be expected to be upwards both from the underlying artesian
aquifer into the Namba and from the Namba into the Willawortina
Formation. The persistent high salinity of the channel aquifer at
the central FLT site compared with the overlying and underlying
aquifers suggests that, like the north site, it is effectively
isolated by the almost impermeable Alpha Mudstone and Beverley
clay.
In addition, attempts at replicating channel water compositions by
theoretical mixing of Willawortina and GAB waters in any
proportions using numerically based water quality modelling
software failed to produce a satisfactory match. This supports the
concept that the channel water originated from other than simple
mixing due to leakage from the vertically adjacent aquifers.
Discharge from the Namba Formation aquifer is believed to be
virtually zero since:
There is a zero hydraulic gradient;
Vertical hydraulic gradients are directed towards the channel sands
from above (small gradient) and below (very large gradient);
and,
The mineralised parts of the channel appear, from the recent
pumping test results to be bounded to the north and south by low
permeability potential flow paths and to the east and west by
similar restrictions.
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Any discharge originating from the Willawortina Formation aquifers
would be expected to be ultimately to the south east towards the
evaporative sink at Lake Frome. This is supported by the
distribution of salinity in the shallow aquifers.
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6 CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF THE BEVERLEY AQUIFER SYSTEM
Taking account of all hydrogeological information, including that
obtained from current operations, a conceptual model has been
developed for the immediate environs of the Beverley channel
aquifers. The model is illustrated in Figure 29. The essential
features of the conceptual model are:
The Beverley channel aquifer system is effectively sealed within an
envelope of fine- grained sediments and containing water with a
rest level, when undisturbed for long periods, of 17.7m AHD;
Alpha, Beta and Gamma sedimentary cycles have been included.
Bulldog Shale (Cretaceous Shale/mudstone overlying the GAB
aquifer)
Internal facies changes, too small in scale to be shown in Figure
29 and thought to originate from the channel-in-channel nature of
sedimentation, play a role in limiting the effective width of the
ore bearing sands in the areas tested to date;
There is no hydraulic gradient within the channel sands, therefore
there is no lateral flow;
Recharge to the Willawortina Formation occurs primarily along
surface drainage lines during major rainfall events with lateral
flow and discharge towards the regional sink of Lake Frome;
The basal permeable zone in the Willawortina Formation is
represented as a continuous aquifer in the model, but it may be a
series of disconnected lenticular fine sands/silts;
The Paralana Fault zone, where it displaces the Alpha Mudstone
Sequence and Beverley Clay, is impermeable due to the high clay
content of both lithologies. The head in the underlying artesian
aquifer (GAB or Eyre Formation) is of the order of 90m AHD and
vertical leakage through the Alpha Mudstone is negligible;
and,
The artesian aquifer may be receiving a contribution to its
chemical composition from water originating in the fractured rock
environment of the Flinders Ranges.
There is neither significant recharge to, nor discharge from, the
channel sands under natural conditions. During mining, experience
has shown that the only horizontal flow in the channel sands will
be in response to pumping and, where a bleed stream is maintained,
this horizontal flow will be towards the pumping centres.
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When in situ leaching is completed, the channel will return to the
stagnant natural hydraulic regime by the slow recovery process
which involves internal flow towards the areas of imposed draw
down, with a very small component of horizontal flow from outside
the boundaries of the pumped aquifers.
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Figure 29: Conceptual Model in Vicinity of Beverley Channels
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7 REFERENCES
Australian Groundwater Consultants Pty Ltd (1981). Beverley Project
Hydrogeological Program – field methods and data presentation.
Company Report, June 1981 (unpub).
Australian Groundwater Consultants Pty Ltd (1982). Beverley Uranium
Project: Hydrological evaluation for assessment of in situ leaching
impact for SA Uranium Corporation. Beverley Project Draft
Environmental Impact Statement Supporting Document No. 2. South
Australian Uranium Corporation.
Australian Groundwater Consultants Pty Ltd (1984). Beverley Project
supporting document No. 11. Geology and hydrogeology implications
of ISL mining. Consultant’s report to South Australian Uranium
Corporation, Adelaide.
Boyd, W E (1990). Mound Springs. in Tyler, M.J., Twidale, C.R.,
Davies, M. and Wells, C.B. (eds) Natural History of the North East
Deserts. Royal Society of South Australia Inc, Adelaide
Callen, R.A. (1975). The stratigraphy, sedimentology, and uranium
deposits of Tertiary rocks: Lake Frome area, South Australia. South
Australia Department of Mines Report Book 75/103.
Callen, R.A. (1975). Geological map of the Frome sheet. Department
of Mines and Energy, South Australia. 1:250,000 Mapping Series. No
SH 54-10.
Callen, R.A. (1977). Late Cainozoic environments of part of north
eastern South Australia. Geological Society of Australia Journal
24: 151-169.
Callen, R.A. (1981a). Geology of the Beverley area, Tarkarooloo
Basin. SA Department of Mines Open File 28/1/81.
Callen, R.A. (1981b). FROME, South Australia, sheet SH54-10. South
Australia Geological Survey. 1:250 000 Series - Explanatory Notes.
Department of Mines and Energy, Adelaide.
Coffey and Hollingsworth Pty Ltd (1973a). Beverley Prospect, SML
564, Soil and groundwater investigation. Report on Stage 1
feasibility study. Company Report (unpublished) A79/1-2. Company
Report (unpubl.)
Coffey and Hollingsworth Pty Ltd (1973b). Beverley Prospect, SML.
564, soil and groundwater investigation. Report on Stage 2
Feasibility Study. Report A79/2-1. Company Report (unpubl.)
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Habermehl, M.A. (1980). The Great Artesian Basin, Australia. BMR
Journal of Australian Geology and Geophysics 5: 9-38.
Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd (1998). Beverley Uranium Mine.
Environmental Impact Statement.
Ker, D.S. (1966). Hydrology of the Frome Embayment in South
Australia. SA Department of Mines Investigation Report.
National Health and Medical Research Council and the Agriculture
and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand
(1996). Australian drinking water guidelines 1996. NHMRC,
Canberra.
.
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APPENDICES
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APPENDIX 1 HYDROGRAPHS
SO UT
H BE
VE RL
-20
-16
-12
-8
-4
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
0
10
20
30
40
50
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
0
10
20
30
40
50
-20
0
20
40
60
-20
-10
0
10
0
10
20
30
40
-10
0
10
20
30
40
0
10
20
30
40
0
10
20
30
40
0
10
20
30
40
0
10
20
30
0
10
20
30
40
0
10
20
30
40
50
0
20
40
60
0
20
40
60
0
20
40
60
0
20
40
60
-20
0
20
40
60
-20
0
20
40
60
0
5
10
15
20
25
-20
0
20
40
60
-20
0
20
40
60
-20
0
20
40
-4
0
4
8
12
16
20
-4
0
4
8
12
16
20
-4
0
4
8
12
16
20
-4
0
4
8
12
16
20
0
4
8
12
16
20
0
4
8
12
16
0
10
20
30
40
0
20
40
60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
-30
-20
-10
0
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
0
10
20
30
40
50
-20
-16
-12
-8
-4
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
0
10
20
30
40
0
20
40
60
-30
-20
-10
0
10
0
20
40
60
0
20
40
60
0
20
40
60
80
0
20
40
0
20
40
60
0
20
40
60
80
0
4
8
12
16
0
5
10
15
20
25
0
5
10
15
20
25
0
5
10
15
20
0
5
10
15
20
25
0
5
10
15
20
25
0
4
8
12
16
20
0
4
8
12
16
20
0
10
20
30
0
4
8
12
16
20
0
4
8
12
16
20
0
5
10
15
20
0
5
10
15
20
25
0
4
8
12
16
20
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APPENDIX 2 WATER QUALITY TIME
SERIES PLOTS
0
4
8
0
2
4
6
8
0
2
4
6
8
10
0
4
8
12
0
2
4
6
8
10
0
2
4
6
8
0
2
4
0
2
4
6
8
0
2
4
6
8
0
2
4
6
8
0
2
4
6
8
10
0
2
4
6
8
10
0
2
4
6
8
0
2
4
6
8
10
0
4
8
12
0
4
8
12
0
4
8
12
0
4
8
12
0
2
4
0
2
4
6
8
0
2
4
6
8
10
0
2
4
6
8
0
4
8
12
0
4
8
12
16
0
4
8