Environmental geochemistry of sulfide mine-wastes - E-Book

Topics in Mineral Sciences Volume 22

Editors: J.L. Jambor, D.W. Blowes

Environmental geochemistry has long been a subject of serious scientific pursuit, but only in the last decade or so have the environment and its preservation become everyday topics among the general public. In the exploitation of new mineral deposits, the mining industry of today has formidable obstacles to overcome, in part because of the legacy of scarred landscapes and polluted drainage that were at one time simply accepted as a natural consequence of the extraction of metals, upon which civilisation has depended for centuries of progress. Despite the monumental efforts that have been expended recently in attempts to rectify past errors and develop new mine-waste technologies, it can still be argued with much validity that our understanding of acid 
mine drainage and ways to ameliorate it effectively and _economically is in a foetal stage of development. It is only in recent years, for example, that it has been recognized that vegetative covers, although aesthetically pleasing and successful in reducing or eliminating eolian dispersion of tailings, are not effective in reducing acid drainage from decommissioned tailings impoundments. Proposals for mitigating acid drainage are manifold, but to date only underwater disposal, with its attendant restriction of oxidation, has been demonstrated to be effective on a long-term, cost-effective basis. The search for equally effective and economic solutions continues because, obviously, underwater disposal is not always a viable option. Thus, it is necessary to obtain a better understanding of the chemical and biological reactions that occur in mine wastes. We need to know more about the factors that govern the rates of these reactions, and the effects that reaction rates have on influencing the strength and other characteristics of the resulting acid drainage. Only with such knowledge can meaningful and economically practical steps be taken to minimize or eliminate acid drainage from existing sources, as well as from future minesites. Thus, this Short Course on the geochemistry of sulfide-bearing mine wastes is timely and relevant, and the collection of papers within this Volume provides examples of current progress and of how science can be applied in a practical way to environmental objectives. 

Softcover. 381 pages. 1994.