Construction of the A21 Dike at the Diavik Diamond Mine

Angela Küpper, Joan Roca, Greg Wenger, Gord Stephenson

In the proceedings of: GeoSt. John's 2019: 72nd Canadian Geotechnical Conference

Session: Dams and Embankments

ABSTRACT: The Diavik Diamond Mine is located on East Island in Lac de Gras, Northwest Territories (Canada). The A21 Dike is the third water-retaining dike constructed within the lake to enable dewatering of the area enclosed by the dike and allow open pit mining of the A21 Kimberlite pipe. The A21 Dike is a zoned rockfill embankment with a seepage cut-off wall. The cut-off wall comprises a single-row grout curtain in bedrock, cutter soil mixing panels through the dike embankment and foundation soil, and jet grout columns through the foundation soil and soil/rock interface. Changes in design and construction methods from the previous A154 and A418 Dikes were introduced with the intent of reducing costs, optimizing the project and accommodating the site conditions and schedule constraints. Although these changes led to a project that was recognized to be less robust than the previous dikes, the A21 Dike was completed on time and under budget and is currently performing as intended. This paper describes the main components and construction activities of the A21 Dike.

RÉSUMÉ: -Ouest (Canada). La Digue A21 est la troisième digue de rétention d'eau construite au lac pour permettre que l'exploitation à ciel ouvert de la cheminée de kimberlite A21. La Digue A21 est un remblai construit en enrochement injection dans le substrat rocheux, des panneaux de à travers le remblai et les sols de fondation, et des colonnes jet grouting à travers les sols de fondation et entre les sols de fondation et roc. Des modifications de conception et méthodes de construction par rapport prendre en compte les conditions de chBien que ces changements ont mené à un projet reconnu comme étant moins robuste que les digues précédentes, la Digue A21 a été réalisée dans les délais et en deçà des sommes budgétés, et performe comme prévu. Ce document décrit les composantes majeures de la Digue A21 et les activités principales de la construction.

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Cite this article:
Angela Küpper; Joan Roca; Greg Wenger; Gord Stephenson (2019) Construction of the A21 Dike at the Diavik Diamond Mine in GEO2019. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{Geo2019Paper503,author = Angela Küpper; Joan Roca; Greg Wenger; Gord Stephenson,title = Construction of the A21 Dike at the Diavik Diamond Mine ,year = 2019}