Numerical simulations of the Fault Lake Tailings were conducted to assess the long-term impact of AMD-generation on downgradient receptors. The effects of impoundment geometry, contrasting permeability, water content, and mineralogy of tailings and native sediments were considered. Simulation results suggest that over a time period of 1,000 years only the top three meters of tailings become oxi...

Dispersed clay particles in mine tailings and soft sediments remain suspended for decades, hindering consolidation and challenging effective management of these aqueous slurries. Current geotechnical engineering models of self-weight consolidation of tailings do not consider microbial contribution to sediment behavior, however, here we show that microorganisms indigenous to oil sands tailings c...

As part of a comprehensive research program, new tailings matrices are formulated of combinations of tailings and binder materials. The research program encompasses experimental and numerical analysis of the tailings matrices to investigate the feasibility of using them as construction materials in cold climates. This paper discusses a conceptual cost benefit analysis for the use of these new m...

In order to evaluate the superiority of a filtered tailings storage facility (FTSF) to conventional tailings impoundment in the southern rainy regions of China (SRRC), the tailings slurry leakage and pollution accident occurring at the wet tailings dam (WTD) of Yinshan were analyzed, the properties of the tailings were tested in a laboratory, and the possibility of tailings liquefaction was eva...

Over the past half century, a surprising number of major pollution incidents occurred due to tailings dam failures. Most previous studies of such incidents comprised forensic analyses of environmental impacts after a tailings dam failure, with few considering the combined pollution risk before incidents occur at a watershed-scale. We therefore propose Watershed-scale Tailings-pond Pollution Ris...

This paper presents the methodology developed by the association of Mineração Rio do Norte S.A. with Embrapa/Agrobiologia and the Soil Department of Federal University of Viçosa to promote revegetation of tailings ponds from bauxite mining in Porto Trombetas, Para State, Brazil. The tailings have a fine texture (77% clay), are low in nutrients, have low pH (4.5) and high Pfixation capacity. Thi...

The effects of the disposal of copper mine tailings on the littoral meiofaunal assemblages of the Chañaral area of northern Chile were studied. Of the metals data collected, only in the case of copper was there a clear association with the tailings distribution in both the seawater and porewater samples, and it is assumed that the tailings on the beaches was the source of copper in the adjacent...

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the feasibility of growing energy sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) in three different metal mine tailings (Cu, Sn and Pb/Zn tailings) amended with uncontaminated soil at different mixing ratios. The results indicated that sugarcane was highly tolerant to tailing environments. Amendments of 20% soil to Sn tailings and 30% soil to Cu tailings could increase...

We tested the efTect oC the addition oC biosolids combined with a native rnycorrhizal inoculum (Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi [AMF]) 00 growth oC a native Australian grass, and 00 trace element stabilization oC sulphidic gold mine tailings. A glasshouse trial was established 00 four substrates: tailings (T); tailings with a layer oC 5 cm topsoil (TS); tailings amended with 100 dry t ha-1 biosoli...

The Athabasca oil sands deposit is the largest reservoir of crude bitumen in the world. Recently, the soaring demand for oil and the availability of modern bitumen extraction technology have heightened exploitation of this reservoir and the potential unintended consequences of pollution in the Athabasca River. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential impacts of oil ...