Mine Wastes and Water, Ecological Engineering and Metals Extraction : Sustainability and Circular Economy

The book reviews past and present mine waste management processes. It estimates global water consumption by major mining resources per annum. This consumption will lead land use resources (agriculture and water) to collide with mining interests expected in the near future. With the application of novel metal extraction processes and the adoption of ecological engineering as an approach to waste and water management, a reduction in water and land consumption can be achieved. Using these methodologies would make mining more sustainable. Together with ore and metal recycling, mining methods can be brought into the 21st century. The book describes natural weathering processes and the microbiology of extreme environments, also known as mine sites. The role of microbes in weathering and remediation is emphasized, along with case studies of the enhancement of various ecological processes which curtail weathering and transform pollutants, creating ore bodies of the future. This book has been written as an extension to a contribution to the Oxford Research Encyclopedia. It adds depth and many examples from 40 years of multidisciplinary work with experts from geology, hydrogeology, geomicrobiology and algal physiology and chemistry, items too extensive for the Encyclopedia. Foreword: Viewpoint on the Founder Foreword: Frame of Reference on the Early Projects Foreword: Point of View on the Business Aspects Preface: Why We Have Written This Book Acknowledgments Summary Contents Contributors Chapter 1: Introduction and Weathering 1.1 Weathering: Contaminant Generation – The Challenge 1.2 Difficulties in Predicting Contaminant Generation References Chapter 2: Dimensions of Global Mining Waste Generation and Water Use 2.1 Dimensions of Global Mine Waste Generation and Water Consumption 2.2 Global Mine Water Usage – Annual Estimates 2.3 Global Mine Lands Usage Annual Estimates References Chapter 3: Toward a Sustainable Metals Extraction Technology 3.1 Estimating the Full Extraction Potential of Mined Rock 3.2 Barriers to Higher Recovery of Metals from Mined Rock 3.3 Future Resources: Old Legacies, the Ocean and the Sky 3.4 Modern Chloride Extraction 3.5 Leaching and Intrinsic Energy Content of Sulfides 3.5.1 Iron and Hydrochloric Acid 3.5.2 Aluminum and Magnesium 3.5.3 Environmental Aspects 3.6 Current State of Development References Chapter 4: Waste Management: A Brief History and the Present State 4.1 Mine Waste Site Ecology: The Beginning and Food Chain Contamination 4.2 Boojum and Government/Industry Programs References Chapter 5: Constructed Wetlands and the Ecology of Extreme Ecosystems 5.1 Constructed Wetlands 5.2 Ecology of Extreme Ecosystems References Chapter 6: Ecological Engineering Tools in Extreme Ecosystems 6.1 Defining the Characteristics of Ecosystems 6.2 Tool for Acid Reduction Using Microbiology 6.2.1 Swampy Drainages and Sediment Mineralization 6.2.2 Ditches/Open Water 6.2.3 Floating Islands: Organic Carbon Supply Supports Reducing Conditions 6.2.4 Underwater Meadows: Protecting Contaminated Sediments 6.3 Summary of ARUM Tests in Different Mine Drainages 6.4 ARUM Applications 6.4.1 Brazilian Mine Discharge 6.4.2 Dried Out Lake Sediment: Re-solubilization of Elements 6.4.3 In Situ ARUM Application References Chapter 7: Biological Polishing Tool: Element Removal in the Water Column 7.1 Which Elements Can Be Biologically Polished? 7.1.1 Biological Polishing Model 7.2 Charophytes: A Multitasking Tool in Alkaline Water 7.3 Charophytes as Carbon Sinks 7.4 Algal Blooms: Unchartered Tools for Biological Polishing 7.5 Magnesium Alloys to Support Biological Polishing 7.5.1 Magnesium Alloy Flow-Through Experiment on Lake Shore 7.5.2 Estimating Neutralization Kinetics 7.5.3 Magnesium Alloys in Rafts and Barges in an Experimental Lake References Chapter 8: The Biofilm Generation Tool for the Reduction of Sulfate Oxidation 8.1 History of Encapsulation Efforts 8.2 Repeating the Experimentation: The Big Surprise 8.2.1 Composition and Dissolution 8.3 Rocks on the Move: Independent Investigations of CPMW 8.4 Eureka – The Microbial Groups Are Identified References Chapter 9: R&D Field Applications 9.1 Arsenic and Nickel Removal from a Pit Lake – Saskatchewan 9.2 Zinc Removal from Circum-Neutral Gloryhole Effluent – Newfoundland 9.3 Limestone and CPMW Application to Coal Waste Piles – Nova Scotia 9.4 Tailings Hardpan Development Ontario 9.5 Decommissioning Concepts Applying ARUM, CPMW and Biological Polishing – Quebec 9.6 CPMW and ARUM in a Coal, Tailings Dump in Nova Scotia 9.7 Biological Polishing of 226Ra, Iron and Arsenic – Germany 9.8 Decommissioning with ARUM, CPMW, & Biological Polishing – Ontario References Chapter 10: The Way Forward Reference Related Reading Chapter 1: Introduction and Weathering Chapter 2: Dimensions of Global Mining Waste Generation and Water Use Chapter 3: Toward a Sustainable Metals Extraction Technology Chapter 4: Waste Management: A Brief History and the Present State Chapter 5: Constructed Wetlands and the Ecology of Extreme Ecosystems Chapter 6: Ecological Engineering Tools in Extreme Ecosystems Chapter 7: Biological Polishing Tool: Element Removal in the Water Column Chapter 8: The Biofilm Generation Tool for the Reduction of Sulfate Oxidation Chapter 9: R&D Field Applications Chapter 10: The Way Forward