This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of phytoremediation on a tailing dam located in Shimen County, Hunan Province. Quadrat survey method was employed to investigate and sample the dominant plant species growing on the rehabilitated tailing dam. The fertilities of the soils were assessed, and concentrations of arsenic and other heavy metals in the plant and soil samples were mea...

This study compares coal mine tailings management strategies using life cycle assessment (LCA) and land-use area metrics methods. Hybrid methods (the Australian indicator set and the ReCiPe method) were used to assess the environmental impacts of tailings management strategies. Several strategies were considered: belt filter press (OPT 1), tailings paste (OPT 2), thickened tailings (OPT 3), and...

Tailings produced during bitumen extraction from surface-mined oil sands ores (tar sands) comprise an aqueous suspension of clay particles that remain dispersed for decades in tailings ponds. Slow consolidation of the clays hinders water recovery for reuse and retards volume reduction, thereby increasing the environmental footprint of tailings ponds. We investigated mechanisms of tailings conso...

OBJECTIVE Unreclaimed mine tailings sites are a worldwide problem, with thousands of unvegetated, exposed tailings piles presenting a source of contamination for nearby communities. Tailings disposal sites in arid and semiarid environments are especially subject to eolian dispersion and water erosion. Phytostabilization, the use of plants for in situ stabilization of tailings and metal contamin...

At the active tailings impoundment Carén (surface 22 km) from the porphyry copper mine El Teniente, Chile, initial steps of primary mineral alteration and geochemical changes after deposition were studied. The tailings contained up to 3 vol% sulfides (mainly pyrite). At five points in the tailings impoundment, water samples up to a depth of 4 m were taken from piezometer. Preliminary data showe...

Pyrrhotite-bearing tailings were deposited in an impoundment at the Copper mine at Laver in Northern Sweden 1936-1946. Sulphide oxidation has released acidity and metals to the recipient since deposition. Sampling of surface water was performed in a brook draining the tailings impoundment in 1993, 2001 and 2004-05. The dissolved concentration of sulphide associated elements such as Cu, S and Zn...

the concentrations and speciation of mo, together with fe, cu, and zn, in nver river sediments impacted with mo mining activities in western liaoning, northeast china, were investigated withgeochemical method. using the x-ray fluorescence and x-ray diffraction, the characterizations of metals in tailings ponds deposited along the nver river bank were analyzed. analysis and comparison of the con...

the contents of as, cd, cu and mo were determined in soil surrounding meyduk tailings dam based on 21 surface soil samples. assessment of toxic element pollution in studied soil samples needs knowledge of pre-anthropogenic metal concentration to act as a reference against which measured values could be compared. estimating the background values was executed by sampling rocks adjacent to soil sa...

Tree water uptake relies on well-developed root systems. However, mine wastes can restrict root growth, in particular metalliferous mill tailings, which consist of the finely crushed ore that remains after valuable metals are removed. Thus, water stress could limit plantation success in reclaimed mine lands. This study evaluates the effect of substrates varying in quality (topsoil, overburden, ...

Application of municipal biosolids to mine tailings can enhance revegetation success, but may cause adverse environmental impacts, such as increased leaching of NO3- and metals to ground water. Kinetic weathering cells were used to simulate geochemical weathering to determine the effects of biosolid amendment on (i) pH of leachate and tailings, (ii) leaching of NO3- and SO4(2-), (iii) leaching ...