Characteristics of prokaryotic and fungal communities emerged in eco-engineered waste rock – Eucalyptus open woodlands at Ranger uranium mine

2021 ◽  
pp. 151571
Author(s):  
Fang You ◽  
Ping Lu ◽  
Longbin Huang
Keyword(s):  
Waste Rock ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
Uranium Mine

scholarly journals Do suspended sediment and bedload move progressively from the summit to the sea along Magela Creek, northern Australia?

2015 ◽  
Vol 367 ◽  
pp. 283-290
Author(s):  
W. D. Erskine ◽  
M. J. Saynor ◽  
K. Turner ◽  
T. Whiteside ◽  
J. Boyden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Uranium Mine ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Sediment Yields ◽  
Flood Plains ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Base Level ◽  
Soil Erosion Rates

Abstract. Soil erosion rates on plots of waste rock at Ranger uranium mine and basin sediment yields have been measured for over 30 years in Magela Creek in northern Australia. Soil erosion rates on chlorite schist waste rock are higher than for mica schist and weathering is also much faster. Sediment yields are low but are further reduced by sediment trapping effects of flood plains, floodouts, billabongs and extensive wetlands. Suspended sediment yields exceed bedload yields in this deeply weathered, tropical landscape, but the amount of sand transported greatly exceeds that of silt and clay. Nevertheless, sand is totally stored above the topographic base level. Longitudinal continuity of sediment transport is not maintained. As a result, suspended sediment and bedload do not move progressively from the summit to the sea along Magela Creek and lower Magela Creek wetlands trap about 90.5% of the total sediment load input.

Evaluation of soil reclamation techniques at the Key Lake uranium mine

2015 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. O. Olatuyi ◽  
L. A. Leskiw
Keyword(s):  
Control Plot ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Moisture Distribution ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Soil Reclamation ◽  
Uranium Mine ◽  
Available N ◽  
Rock Pile ◽  
Waste Rock Pile ◽  
All Treatment

Olatuyi, S. O. and Leskiw, L. A. 2015. Evaluation of soil reclamation techniques at the Key Lake uranium mine. Can. J. Soil Sci. 95: 153–176. Adequate soil nutrients and water supply are critical to vegetation establishment and creation of sustainable ecosystems in post-disturbed mining sites. This study investigated effects of various amendments and capping techniques on soil quality and moisture distribution on a reclaimed waste rock pile at the Key Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Soil profiles were reconstructed in 2010 using locally available sandy glacial materials to create soil covers of 1 m thickness. The reclamation treatments consisted of a Control plot, commercial peat (Peat), a local lake sediment (Sediment), underlying flax straw (Straw), mulched forest floor and Ae (LFH), fertilizer (NPK), manure pellets (Pellets), and a demonstration plot (Demo) comprised of Sediment, LFH and Pellets. Soil amendments were applied by various techniques as broadcast, surface incorporation, below the surface or surface mounding. Annual plot monitoring was conducted from 2011 to 2013 and soil samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), available nutrients, cation exchange capacity (CEC), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and regulated metals. Volumetric moisture contents were measured periodically to examine soil moisture response to growing-season precipitation. In 2013, the topsoil of the Control plot was slightly acidic (pH of 6.3) while the Sediment and Demo plots had the lowest pH of 4.0. The EC and SAR values were below 1.0 in all treatment plots. The highest levels of available N, TN, TOC and CEC were in the Sediment and Demo plots, followed by the Peat. The concentration of arsenic exceeded the regulatory limit by 3.4- and 2.6-fold in the Sediment and Demo topsoil, respectively, while concentrations of other metals were below the limits in all treatment plots. The Sediment and Demo treatments were most effective in retaining water in the topsoil, while application of soil amendment by mounding enhanced infiltration and water transmission in the profile. In terms of soil fertility and moisture storage, the combination of organic amendments in multi-layers plus surface mounding, as in the Demo plot, is the most promising capping technique for restoring soil health, vegetative cover and ecosystem functions on the waste rock pile.

Close-Out of the Daxin Open Pit Uranium Mine and Associated Waste Rock Piles in China

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lechang Xu ◽  
Jie Gao ◽  
Changshun Ren ◽  
Min Shi ◽  
Xueli Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Open Pit Mine ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Uranium Mine ◽  
Slope Stabilization ◽  
Rock Pile ◽  
Waste Rock Pile ◽  
Transfer Station ◽  
Waste Rock Piles

The Daxin Uranium Mine was a small open pit mine with contaminated facilities that included an open pit of 87,620 m2, east waste rock pile of 71,710 m2, west waste rock pile of 57,828 m2, ore transfer station and industrial fields of 9,370 m2, building and structures of 26,600 m2, 246 pieces of equipment, 3000 m of plastic conduit. 2500 m of steel conduit and 1020 m of roads used for transport uranium ores. We present the integrated decommissioning programme utilized to closeout this uranium mine: uranium extraction, slope stabilization, cleanup, backfill, reshaping and covering, re-vegetation, dismantlement and demolishment of facilities, decontamination, re-smelting and wastewater treatment.

scholarly journals Assessment of two kinetic tests to predict the acid mine drainage in waste rock samples of a uranium mine

2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Trópia de Abreu ◽  
Efigênia Miranda de Faria ◽  
Carla Thamilis Fonseca Chaves ◽  
Adilson do Lago Leite ◽  
Jorge Carvalho de Lena
Keyword(s):  
Acid Mine Drainage ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Abandoned Mines ◽  
Uranium Mine ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
System Quality ◽  
Oxidation Reactions ◽  
Acid Mine ◽  
Kinetic Tests

Acid mine drainage is the result of the oxidation process of sulfide bearing rocks. This process occurs when the sulfide material is exposed to atmospheric conditions. Under these conditions, successive oxidation reactions yield sulfuric acid generating acidic waters. This problem becomes more serious when the surrounding rocks are not able to neutralize the acid. The low pH condition of the drained water accelerates the solubility process of solid materials (rocks, soils and sediments) and favors metal and metalloid leaching making them available to the environment, which impairs the hydric system quality. This is a quite common situation at abandoned mines where the material is exposed, as at theOsamu Utsumi Mine in Caldas, MG. The main goal of this work was to assess and compare two kinetic tests in an attempt to predict the acid generation from the waste rock of the Osamu Utsumi Mine. The tests were carried out using a Soxhlet extractor and a leaching column. The leachate from the two tests was analyzed for the physical-chemical parameters (pH, Eh and electric conductivity) and metals and metalloids.

Gunnar Uranium Mine Environmental Remediation: Northern Saskatchewan

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Muldoon ◽  
Laurier L. Schramm
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Environmental Remediation ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Uranium Mine ◽  
Northern Saskatchewan

Thirty-six now-abandoned uranium mine and mill sites were developed and operated in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, from approximately 1957 through 1964. During their operating lifetimes these mines produced large quantities of ore and tailings. The Gunnar Mine is located on the shores of Lake Athabasca, the 22nd largest lake in the world. The Gunnar mine (open pit and underground) produced over 5 million tonnes of uranium ore and nearly 4.4 million tonnes of mine tailings. There is an estimated 2,710,700 m3 of waste rock that abuts the shores of Lake Athabasca. After closure in the 1960’s, the Gunnar site along with all of the other uranium mine and mill sites were abandoned with little remediation and no reclamation being done. The governments of Canada and Saskatchewan are now funding the clean-up of these abandoned northern uranium mine and mill sites and have contracted the management of the project to the Saskatchewan Research Council. The clean-up activity is expected to take about 8 years, followed by 10–15 years of monitoring activity before the sites are to be released into an institutional controls program that will allow government oversight of a long term management and monitoring program. The Gunnar site, because of the magnitude of tailings and waste rock, is subject to an environmental site assessment process regulated by both provincial and federal governments. This process requires a detailed study of the projected environmental impacts resulting from the mining activities and an analysis of projected impacts from remediation efforts. Prescribed environmental and land use endpoints will be made based on the environmental assessment studies and remediation options analyzed and implemented based on expected results. Remediation options range from deep lake disposal of tailings to disposal of tailings in the open pit which is now filled with water and fish (contaminated, but which are reproducing successfully) to covering the tailings with a cap. The site also includes many buildings that are remnants of a community of approximately 800 people who once occupied the site. These buildings, many of which contain asbestos, must be appropriately removed and disposed of. The original mine head frame and mill site buildings, many of which still contain the original machinery and equipment, must also be removed and disposed of. The regulatory requirements include the environmental assessment processes, a complex public involvement strategy and licensing from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The environmental assessment process, specific site studies and public involvement initiatives are underway with the long term goal of releasing the property in a fully remediated state.

Mycorrhizas and Other Specialized Nutrient-Acquisition Strategies: Their Occurrence in Woodland Plants From Kakadu and Their Role in Rehabilitation of Waste Rock Dumps at a Local Uranium Mine

1992 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 223 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Reddell ◽  
AR Milnes
Keyword(s):  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Ectomycorrhizal Fungus ◽  
Waste Rock ◽  
Uranium Mine ◽  
Zn Deficiency ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
P Deficiency ◽  
Mine Site ◽  
Eucalyptus Pellita

The presence of mycorrhizas, proteoid roots and leguminous nodules was determined in a range of woodland species (from a variety of habitats in soils formed on different parent materials) in the Kakadu area in the monsoonal tropics of northern Australia. In addition, the chemical fertility and the occurrence of mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobia in rudimentary soils ('minesoils') forming in situ on waste rock dumps at a mine site in the region were compared with stockpiled topsoils from the mine area and undisturbed topsoils collected from the surrounding native woodland. A major aim of these investigations was to assess the feasibility of rehabilitating the waste rock dumps without spreading topsoils. More than 90% of the woodland flora examined had one or more specialised nutrient-gathering mechanism. Mycorrhizas were found on 82% of the species, with some 16% of species having both ecto and VA mycorrhizas, often on the same individual plant. Many of these observations are the first records of mycorrhizal infection in the particular genera and species involved. Soil baiting and dilution experiments showed that rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi were ubiquitous components of the soil biota in all undisturbed woodland soils. However, they were absent or poorly represented in the stockpiled topsoils and in some of the rudimentary soils formed in waste rock at the mine site. The diversity of spore types and/or numbers of infective propagules of VAM fungi was lower in stockpiled topsoils and in minesoils than in the undisturbed woodland soils. Nutrient omission experiments identified that acute deficiency of P, and to a lesser extent N, was a limitation to growth of seedlings on all soils. Zn deficiency was detected in the only soil for which this was examined. A glasshouse experiment, using a young minesoil and application of basal nutrients, demonstrated that inoculation of Acacia holosericea seedlings with rhizobium could completely alleviate the effects of N deficiency. Under conditions of both N and P deficiency, dual inoculation of A. holosericea with rhizobium and spores of the VAM fungus, Glomus, only partly overcame the limitations of P deficiency on seedling growth. Induction of deficiencies of P and Zn in a second minesoil (through application of basal nutrients), demonstrated that inoculation of seedlings of Eucalyptus pellita with spores of the ectomycorrhizal fungus, Scleroderma, partly alleviated the effects of both deficiencies. Rehabilitation strategies implemented at the mine site using either soils forming in situ on the waste rock dumps, or by spreading stockpiled topsoils, will need to ensure deficiencies of P and other nutrients are alleviated and that viable populations of mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobia are introduced and maintained during early phases of vegetation establishment.

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