Abstract: Acid mine drainage, the drainage of metals, and the prediction of mine water rebound after mine closure are major problems for the mining industry. In the literature, the difficulties in evaluating the hydrodynamics of flooded mines are well described, although only a few tracer tests in flooded mines have been published. Increased knowledge about the hydraulic behaviour of the mine water within a flooded mine might significantly reduce the costs of mine closure and remediation. Relatively cheap and reliable results for decision making can be obtained when tracer tests are properly conducted in a flooded mine prior to planning of remediation strategies or numerical simulations. Applying the results of successful tracer tests allows one to optimise remediation designs and thereby diminish the costs of remediation. The paper summarises the results of several tracer tests and draws general conclusions from such tests.
