The Mining Environment Database on Abandoned Mines, Acid Mine Drainage and Land Reclamation

1994 ◽  
Vol 1994 (4) ◽  
pp. 352-357
Author(s):  
G. J. Kelly ◽  
R. J. Slater
Keyword(s):  
Acid Mine Drainage ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Land Reclamation ◽  
Abandoned Mines ◽  
Acid Mine ◽  
Mining Environment

Biological treatment of heavy metals in acid mine drainage using sulfate reducing bioreactors

2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Sierra-Alvarez ◽  
S. Karri ◽  
S. Freeman ◽  
J.A. Field
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Acid Mine Drainage ◽  
Biological Treatment ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Metal Removal ◽  
Abandoned Mines ◽  
Synthetic Wastewater ◽  
Sulfate Reducing ◽  
Acid Mine

The uncontrolled release of acid mine drainage (AMD) from abandoned mines and tailing piles threatens water resources in many sites worldwide. AMD introduces elevated concentrations of sulfate ions and dissolved heavy metals as well as high acidity levels to groundwater and receiving surface water. Anaerobic biological processes relying on the activity of sulfate reducing bacteria are being considered for the treatment of AMD and other heavy metal containing effluents. Biogenic sulfides form insoluble complexes with heavy metals resulting in their precipitation. The objective of this study was to investigate the remediation of AMD in sulfate reducing bioreactors inoculated with anaerobic granular sludge and fed with an influent containing ethanol. Biological treatment of an acidic (pH 4.0) synthetic AMD containing high concentrations of heavy metals (100 mg Cu2+l−1; 10 mg Ni2+l−1, 10 mg Zn2+l−1) increased the effluent pH level to 7.0–7.2 and resulted in metal removal efficiencies exceeding 99.2%. The highest metal precipitation rates attained for Cu, Ni and Zn averaged 92.5, 14.6 and 15.8 mg metal l−1 of reactor d−1. The results of this work demonstrate that an ethanol-fed sulfidogenic reactor was highly effective to remove heavy metal contamination and neutralized the acidity of the synthetic wastewater.

scholarly journals Prediction of acid mine drainage formation and zinc migration in the tailings dam of a closed mine, and possible countermeasures

2019 ◽  
Vol 268 ◽  
pp. 06003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlito Tabelin ◽  
Asuka Sasaki ◽  
Toshifumi Igarashi ◽  
Shingo Tomiyama ◽  
Mylah Villacorte-Tabelin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Acid Mine Drainage ◽  
Reactive Transport ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Abandoned Mines ◽  
Tailings Dam ◽  
Visual Modflow ◽  
Acid Mine

Acid mine drainage (AMD), the very acidic and highly contaminated leachate generated in closed/abandoned mines, is commonly managed by neutralization to raise the pH and precipitate most of the heavy metals. Although effective, this approach does not generate any product of economic value, so it is very costly and unsustainable in the long-term. Unfortunately, there are currently no effective alternatives to neutralization, and one way to improve the sustainability of this process is to reduce the volume of AMD generated and/or the concentration of heavy metals. The tailings dam investigated in this study is located in northern Hokkaido, Japan. Detailed characterization of borehole core samples showed that even after almost 40 years of exposure to the environment, the tailings still contain pyrite (FeS2) and substantial amounts of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn). Reactive-transport modeling using Visual MODFLOW predicted that AMD quality would likely continue to deteriorate with time and that treatment should be continued for at least 1,000 years. The model also predicted that a barrier with low permeability installed downstream of the tailings dam or ground sealing techniques for recharge reduction could lower the volume of AMD and concentration of Zn from the site.

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.

scholarly journals The Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage Using Vertically Flowing Wetland: Insights into the Fate of Chemical Species

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 477
Author(s):  
Nguegang Beauclair ◽  
Vhahangwele Masindi ◽  
Titus Alfred Makudali Msagati ◽  
Tekere Memory
Keyword(s):  
Acid Mine Drainage ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Abandoned Mines ◽  
Vetiveria Zizanioides ◽  
Redox Equilibrium ◽  
Geochemical Model ◽  
C Language ◽  
Acid Mine ◽  
Eds Analysis

In this study, the treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD) using vertically flowing wetland was explored. The wetland was enriched with Vetiveria zizanioides as a decontaminating media and soil as the substrate. Water was percolated through the substrate and the throughput samples were collected and characterized every five days for a period of 30 days. The obtained results revealed a tolerant index of 1.03 for Vetiveria zizanioides, and a net reduction of metals and sulfate. The removal efficacy of chemical species was observed to obey the following order: Fe (71.25%) > Zn (70.40%) > Mn (62%) > Al (56.68%)> SO42− (55.18%) > Ni (35%) > Cu (18.83%). The removal of chemical species was further aided by the used substrate, and this could be attributed to the accumulation of chemical species on the soil through precipitation, adsorption, and phyto-retention. As such, it could be deduced that the substrate plays a significant role in the removal of metals, while the grass and external factors accounted for the rest of the chemical species attenuation. The translocation assessment revealed that the distribution of chemical species was observed to be predominant in the roots, except manganese, which was transferred in the shoot (67%). The XRF, XRD, FTIR, and SEM-EDS analysis revealed the presence of AMD chemical species in the substrate and the grass components, hence confirming that the plants are playing a huge role in the removal of contaminants from AMD. The PH REdox EQuilibrium (in C language) (PHREEQC) geochemical model confirm that metals existed as di-and-trivalent complexes in AMD. Lastly, available metals were precipitated as metals hydroxides and oxy-hydrosulfates by the substrate. In light of the obtained results, vertically flowing wetland could be used for the passive treatment of AMD, and it will play a huge role in active and abandoned mines. However, prolonged assessment should be undertaken to understand its performance over a notable period of time.

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