Resource recovery as a sustainable perspective for the remediation of mining wastes: rehabilitation of the CMC mining waste site in Northern Cyprus

Purpose. Investigation of the choice of parameters of equipment for extinguishing coal mining wastes that go to the formation of waste dumps, the choice of the main components of equipment for the operation of technological units and a schematic diagram of equipment for extinguishing coal mining wastes are proposed. Methods. Analysis of existing approaches to technological solutions to prevent combustion of waste dumps; environmental assessment of alternative options for technological solutions to prevent combustion of waste dumps; creation of an environmentally friendly design technology for the use of coal mining waste. Results. Based on in-depth analysis of the main components of technological units for the operation of the equipment, MFP FullJet irrigation nozzles by Spraying Systems Co. were proposed. – USA, their main advantages are considered. The expediency of using a hydraulic network, which includes pipelines made of polypropylene material produced by “Aquatherm” – Germany, are substantiated; the main component of the pipelines is the material “Fusiolen”, the advantages of which are given in the article. An integral part is pumping equipment, consisting of centrifugal pumps for water supply (1VNS 60-66) and (VNSp 2.5) for supplying limestone suspension to irrigation nozzles of the transporting dump mass. Scientific novelty. Equipment for extinguishing coal mining waste (rock dumps) resistant to spontaneous combustion is proposed, in which the introduction of new structural elements and their interconnection is achieved by the continuous control and management of spraying per unit of the transported surface of the dump rock, dispersed with an inert substance (lime suspension), which prevents the formation of active combustion centers during the operation of waste heaps. Timely coverage of the dump mass with an inert substance reduces the time of contact of the rock with the environment, which is an important stage in the formation of rock dumps, especially of a conical shape, reduces the cost of operation and maintenance due to the formation of fire-resistant dumps, regardless of the influence of environmental conditions. Practical implication. Efficiency from the use of equipment for extinguishing coal waste can be obtained due to the continuous work achieved by covering the dump mass with an inert mixture during transportation, this reduces the contact of the rock with the environment, which is an important stage in the formation of rock dumps of a particularly conical shape, and reduces operating costs and their maintenance due to the formation of fire-resistant waste dumps regardless of the influence of environmental conditions.

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Rehabilitation of Industrial Barren in Arctic Region Using Mining Wastes

The Open Ecology Journal ◽

10.2174/1874213001811010001 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Marina V. Slukovskaya ◽

Lyubov A. Ivanova ◽

Irina P. Kremenetskaya ◽

Tamara T. Gorbacheva ◽

Svetlana V. Drogobuzhskaya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Communities ◽

Arctic Region ◽

Magnesium Silicate ◽

Magnesium Carbonate ◽

Mining Waste ◽

Mining Wastes ◽

Grass Cover ◽

Vegetative Cover ◽

Initial Stage ◽

Progressive Succession

Background: This work has explored the possibility of applying mining waste-based ameliorants for the remediation of soil that has been transformed by copper-nickel smelter emissions by means of forming artificial phytocenosis. Objective: The aim of our work was to propose, develop and approbate a technique for the preservation of dumps polluted by heavy metals and prevention of their erosion by creating dense grass covers with the use of wastes from mining and processing enterprises to form a supporting substrate for herbaceous plants. Methods: The vegetative cover was cultivated on a supporting medium, consisting of mining waste, with a hydroponic vermiculite substrate and a mix of graminaceous plant seeds, indigenous to the study area and resistant to heavy metal pollution. The mining wastes, used in the experiment, contained acid-neutralizing minerals such as calcium and magnesium carbonate and hydrous magnesium silicate. Results: It is shown that, due to a large pool of Ca and Mg, these mineral substrates are alkaline (pH 8.4 – 9.2) and can perform successfully in optimizing of edaphic conditions for the plant communities grown on industrial barrens. In a pilot experiment without a proposed supporting medium, the plants did not form a stable grass cover and had died out by the beginning of the third growing season, whereas the experimental plots with a proposed supporting medium (waste-based substrate) developed a high-quality grass cover by the end of second vegetation seasons. Conclusion: The resulting plant communities grown on a proposed supportive medium is find to be resistant to aerotechnogenic pollutants and capable of independent survival, representing the initial stage of progressive succession in the presence of on-going pollution.

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Retention of Contaminants Elements from Tailings from Lead Mine Washing Plants in Ceramics for Bricks

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min10060576 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 576 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jorge Suárez-Macías ◽

Juan María Terrones-Saeta ◽

Francisco Javier Iglesias-Godino ◽

Francisco Antonio Corpas-Iglesias

Keyword(s):

Ceramic Industry ◽

Physical And Mechanical Properties ◽

Ceramic Matrix ◽

Ceramic Materials ◽

Mechanical Tests ◽

Mining Waste ◽

Mining Activity ◽

Mining Wastes ◽

The Social ◽

Physical And Chemical

Mining activity is essential for the social welfare of the population. However, this activity produces a series of mining waste. These mining wastes, if not properly treated, can produce significant environmental pollution. This study develops the incorporation of tailings from washing plants in ceramic materials for bricks in order to retain the contaminating elements in the ceramic matrix. To this end, firstly, a physical and chemical characterisation of the mining waste is carried out and different groups of samples are conformed with clay and mining waste. These conformed samples with mining waste are evaluated through different physical and mechanical tests typical in the ceramic industry, studying the variation of properties by the incorporation of the waste. In turn, the leachates from the groups of conformed samples are analyzed, confirming the retention of the contaminating elements of the mining waste in the ceramic matrix. The results of these tests showed that ceramics can be made for bricks with up to 90% mining waste, obtaining physical and mechanical properties acceptable regarding the regulations and retaining the contaminating elements in the ceramic matrix, as confirmed by the leachate tests.

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Modelling of Contaminant Release from Mining Waste Deposits

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.20-21.189 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 20-21 ◽

pp. 189-192

Author(s):

L. Moreno

Keyword(s):

Drainage Water ◽

Mining Waste ◽

Mining Wastes ◽

Northern Sweden ◽

Sulphide Minerals ◽

Waste Rock Dump ◽

Study Case ◽

Contaminant Release ◽

Waste Deposits

The release of contaminants from mining wastes containing sulphide minerals is addressed. The paper shows the application of a methodology, Performance Assessment (PA), to the long-term behaviour of waste deposits. The aim of the paper is to address the different processes that occur in deposits for mining waste. These processes are applied to one study case; drainage water from a waste rock dump at the Aitik mine in northern Sweden.

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Recovery of Fine Coal Grains from Post-Mining Wastes with Use of Autogenous Suspending Bed Technology

Management Systems in Production Engineering ◽

10.2478/mspe-2020-0032 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 220-227

Author(s):

Daniel Kowol ◽

Haldun Kurama

Keyword(s):

Grain Size ◽

Ash Content ◽

Mining Waste ◽

Mineral Deposits ◽

Coal Waste ◽

Mining Wastes ◽

Test Results ◽

Waste Dump ◽

Secondary Mineral ◽

Fine Coal

AbstractIn addition to rock waste post-mining waste dump sites also contain coal grains justifying treating the dump sites as secondary mineral deposits. The article presents the results of laboratory tests aimed at determining the possibility of using suspending bed technology to separate a combustible substance from post-mining waste of a 4-0 mm grain size. The test results showed the possibility of obtaining good quality coal concentrates from coal waste of a grain size of 4-1 mm. The need for desludging and densifying the feed for the classifier with an autogenic suspending bed in the case of coal waste beneficiation in a wide 4-0 mm grain size justifies the use of a two-chamber device or two separate classifiers for narrower grain size classes. Concepts of systems for the recovery of fine coal grains providing the use of the classifier with autogenous suspending bed for the density distribution of feeds with high ash content are presented. The concepts were developed for beneficiation of the material in a 4-0 mm grain class.

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A Theoretical Model for Ore Mining Waste Management with regard to Pollution of Food Webs in Water Bodies

Madridge Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences ◽

10.18689/mjaes-1000109 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 48-50

Author(s):

Jan Stenis ◽

William Hogland

Keyword(s):

Food Webs ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Mining Waste ◽

Economic Systems ◽

Mining Wastes ◽

Water Shortages ◽

Optimal Production ◽

Use Of Resources ◽

The World ◽

Comprehensive Picture

Dam disasters occur sometimes frequently around the world as they did recently in 2015 and 2019 in Minas Gerais, Brazil. As a result, hundreds of families were displaced, and many cities suffered from water shortages. The study aimed to reduce ore mining waste pollutions in rivers and ocean currents and therefore mitigate their impact on the food webs. A model based on the equality principle named EUROPE (Efficient Use of Resources for Optimal Production Economy) was used to estimate shadow costs of economic systems. It was applied to ore mining wastes management in order to mitigate their negative impact on rivers and oceans. As a result, it gave a comprehensive picture of that management system in economic, technical as well as environmental terms.

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Mining Waste Challenges: Environmental Risks of Gigatons of Mud, Dust and Sediment in Megadiverse Regions in Brazil

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12208466 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (20) ◽

pp. 8466

Author(s):

Flávio F. Carmo ◽

Andressa O. Lanchotti ◽

Luciana H.Y. Kamino

Keyword(s):

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Mining Waste ◽

Environmental Risks ◽

Mining Wastes ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

The Public ◽

Environmental Disasters ◽

The Subject ◽

Negative Impacts ◽

Mining Dam

The management of long-lived mining wastes is a complex environmental challenge, but the subject is little discussed among the public, scientific community, and policymakers. The negative environmental impacts caused by mining wastes are severe and cause damage to human health and the loss and degradation of natural ecosystems. With the objective of stimulating discussion to advance the development of measures to contain threats to biodiversity and to mitigate negative impacts, we present an overview of total volumes of mining waste disposal in tailings dams and dump piles, discriminating them by ore type and biome. We highlight the major environmental risks and challenges associated with tropical forests, savannas, and freshwater ecosystems and possible limitations and advances in public policies and governance. The scale of this challenge is global, as some data show, for example, Brazil generated 3.6 billion tons of solid mining waste in dump piles in the period between 2008 and 2019. The volume is equivalent to 62% of the global mass of nonfuel minerals removed from the planet’s crust in 2006. Numerous socio-environmental disasters are caused by catastrophic mining dam failures, and over the last 34 years, an average of one failure has occurred every three years in Brazil.

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Re-Thinking Mining Waste through an Integrative Approach Led by Circular Economy Aspirations

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min9050286 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 286 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Maedeh Tayebi-Khorami ◽

Mansour Edraki ◽

Glen Corder ◽

Artem Golev

Keyword(s):

Environmental Impacts ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Economic Value ◽

Mining Industry ◽

Mining Waste ◽

Integrative Approach ◽

Mining Wastes ◽

Social Environmental ◽

Social And Environmental Impacts

Mining wastes, particularly in the form of waste rocks and tailings, can have major social and environmental impacts. There is a need for comprehensive long-term strategies for transforming the mining industry to move toward zero environmental footprint. “How can the mining industry create new economic value, minimise its social and environmental impacts and diminish liability from mining waste?” This would require cross-disciplinary skills, across the social, environmental, technical, legal, regulatory, and economic domains, to produce innovative solutions. The aim of this paper is to review the current knowledge across these domains and integrate them in a new approach for exploiting or “re-thinking” mining wastes. This approach includes five key areas of social dimensions, geoenvironmental aspects, geometallurgy specifications, economic drivers and legal implications for improved environmental outcomes, and circular economy aspirations, which are aligned with the 10 principles of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). Applying circular economy thinking to mining waste presents a major opportunity to reduce the liability and increase the value of waste materials arising from mining and processing operations.

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Binding Properties of Mechanically Activated Nepheline Containing Mining Waste

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min10010048 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 48

Author(s):

Basya I. Gurevich ◽

Elena V. Kalinkina ◽

Alexander M. Kalinkin

Keyword(s):

Rare Metal ◽

Mining Waste ◽

The Other ◽

Mining Wastes ◽

Binding Properties ◽

Blended Cements ◽

Kola Alkaline Province ◽

The One ◽

Tailings Dumps ◽

Hand Pose

The development of apatite and rare-metal deposits of the Khibiny and Lovozero—the world’s largest ultrabasic massifs located in the Kola Alkaline Province—is accompanied by accumulation of huge amounts of sandy tailings dumps, about half consisting of nepheline. These tailings, on the one hand, pose a real threat of environmental pollution. On the other hand, they are “technogenic deposits” that contain reserves of valuable components (Na2O, K2O, Al2O3, etc.). In this paper, methods of processing of the nepheline-containing mining waste using mechanical activation to produce binding materials—geopolymers and blended cements—are observed. The advantages of combining the nepheline containing tailings dumps with other mining wastes accumulated in the region, such as Cu–Ni slag, are presented.

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