This manual includes a summary volume (Volume 1) and the following four supporting technical documents:
• Volume 2 – Theory and Background;
• Volume 3 – Site Characterization and Numerical Analyses of Cover Performance;
• Volume 4 – Field Performance Monitoring and Sustainable Performance of Cover Systems; and
• Volume 5 – Case Studies.

This volume presents a compilation of case studies that have previously been presented in publications such as the CETEM manual (CANMET, 2002), the MEND manual (MEND 5.4.2d), and the INAP long-term cover performance monitoring report (INAP, 2003). Depending on the objective of the original report, the case studies in these reports were written to highlight different aspects of the cover design process. The case studies have been re-formatted from their original presentation so that each case study is presented in a similar format. This volume has been divided into four sections based on the reports from which the case studies were taken: CETEM Manual Case Studies, MEND Manual Case Studies (a section each for tailings and waste rock), and INAP Report Case Studies.

The case studies in this manual are presented in terms of the successes and design objectives achieved. However, where appropriate, considerable emphasis is also placed on identifying the “lessons learned” as a result of the work having been undertaken. The objective will be to determine whether the cover system would have been designed, constructed, or monitored differently (i.e. would an amended methodology have been utilized), if the lessons learned had been known at the start of the project.

A potential fatal cover system design flaw is simply applying a successful design from one site to a second site, when in fact material properties, slope angles, slope lengths, and in particular climate conditions are in fact much different at the second site. Hence, the key idea(s) behind presentation of the case studies is that it is the design methodology that is transferable from one site to the next, and not the actual design itself, and that the methodology should be updated constantly as new information is developed.