Mine Tailing

Geochemical analyses of intertidal sediments from the northern part of the Fowey Estuary, Cornwall, UK, reveal a clear pulse in Sn concentration in sediments which predate 1880. Sn concentrations at the base of the cores increase rapidly to peak values of 1200 ppm and then decrease to values of 200 ppm at the present-day sediment surface. The mineralogy of the

The role of both terrestrial and aquatic plants in phytoremediation of various contaminants is well established. Phytoremediation has been successfully implemented at different locations, including military sites, agricultural fields, industrial units, mine tailings, and sewage and municipal wastewater treatment plants, with efficient capacity for removing various organic and inorganic pollutants through processes such as extraction, degradation, or stabilization. Aquatic macrophytes represent a diverse group of plants with an immense potential for removal/degradation of variety of contaminants, including heavy metals, inorganic/organic pollutants, radioactive wastes, and explosives. The present review emphasizes the role of aquatic macrophytes in phytoremediation technologies with due importance to each group irrespective of being free-floating, submerged, or emergent. Realizing the exorbitant abilities of aquatic macrophytes, their suitability for wider use in phytoremediation technologies including constructed wetlands is emphasized.

Two flotation tailings sites (Ojancos and P. Cerda) from the Fe oxide Cu–Au Punta del Cobre belt, south of Copiapó, Atacama desert, northern Chile, are geochemically (largely using sequential extractions) and mineralogically compared. Main ore minerals are pyrite, magnetite and/or hematite and chalcopyrite. Gangue is dominantly calcite with minor quartz. The host silicate assemblage is largely controlled by hydrothermal alteration

Within the entire range of failure modes that have occurred at tailings impound- ments static liquefaction is likely the most common, and at the same time likely the least understood. As design practice in many mining regions has in fact discounted the possi- bility of the mechanisms and criteria for this failure mode, the possibility of its occurrence has often

Tailings have been traditionally stored in ponds surrounded by tailings dams for many years but since many accidents, including fatal ones, took place that involved tailings dams, a new approach has become necessary for their storage. An approach devised by Robinsky in the early 1970s for the storage and disposal of mine tailings suggests that it is more advantageous environmentally to strengthen the tailings before disposal. This work attempts to emphasize this point by seeking to explore the possibility of using these hardened tailings as base materials for the construction of unpaved (temporary access) roads. Six different types of tailings that represent a cross section from several mines in eastern Canada are used and preliminary physical characteristics tests were performed followed by unconfined compressive testing. Initial results indicate that the tailings sustained more than the minimum amount of stress normally required for filling stopes and the layer coefficients determ...

The design details of a modified permeameter for determining the unsaturated flow characteristics of tailings are presented in this paper. The key modifications in comparison to a conventional permeameter include the provision of adjustable sensors that move along with the slurry tailings as it settles due to desaturation during the testing period. The Instantaneous Profile Method (IPM) is proposed to estimate the representative field unsaturated coefficient of permeability of tailings in the laboratory using a large size specimen in the newly designed modified permeameter. The unsaturated flow behaviour determination is based on the measurements of volumetric water content and matric suction readings. Details with respect to the instrumentation used for the measurement of volumetric water content and matric suction readings are also presented. RÉSUMÉ: Dans cet article les détails d'un perméamètre modifié pour déterminer les caractéristiques de stériles miniers non saturés sont...

With the development of the conceptual design of the Canadian Hyperspectral Environment and Resource Observer (HERO) mission, its performance needs to be evaluated for different applications areas. Accordingly, this paper investigated the ...

In the present research, industrial byproducts, namely, cement kiln dust (CKD) and Class C fly ash (FAC) have been used as candidate materials along with the partial addition of sulfate-resistant cement (SRC) in the Stabilization/solidification of polymetallic sulfidic mine tailings (MT). The effectiveness of S/S was assessed by comparing laboratory experimental values obtained from unconfined compressive strength, hydraulic conductivity and

The abandoned Kilembe copper mine in western Uganda is a source of contaminants, mobilised from mine tailings into R. Rukoki flowing through a belt of wetlands into Lake George. Water and sediments were investigated on the lakeshore and the lakebed. Metal associations in the sediments reflect the Kilembe sulphide mineralisation. Enrichment of metals was compared between lakebed sediments, both for wet and dry seasons. Total C in a lakebed core shows a general increment, while Cu and Co decrease with depth. The contaminants are predominant (> 65%) in the ≤ 63 μm sediment size range with elevated Cu and Zn (> 28%), while Ni, Pb and Co are low (< 18%) in all the fractions. Sequential extraction of Fe for lakeshore sediment samples reveals low Fe mobility. Relatively higher mobility and biological availability is seen for Co, Cu and S. Heavy metal contents in lake waters are not an immediate risk to the aquatic environment.

X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS) was used to determine arsenic (As) oxidation state, local coordination (to a radius of 7Aaround As), and the relative proportion of different As species in model compounds and three California mine wastes: fully oxidized tailings (Ruth Mine), partially oxidized tailings (Argonaut Mine), and roast- ed sulfide ore (Spenceville Mine). Mineralogy was characterized by Rietveld