• Journal of the Korean Society of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineers
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.517-526
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• 2018

In order to remove pollutants from the soil in the Ka-hak mine site, this study investigates optimization of the acid washing conditions for the soil. The soil at the site is presumed to be contaminated by diffused heavy-metal-contaminated tailings. The major heavy metal pollutants in the soil are copper, lead, and zinc. Gravels larger than 5mm in size constitute approximately 38% of the soil, and these are the least polluted by heavy metals. On the other hand, it is difficult to reduce the concentration of heavy metals in fine soils, particularly those whose sizes are less than 0.075 mm. The results of the continuous process using a hydro-cyclone show that fine soil particles consisting of at least 20% of the raw soil must be separated before the chemical soil washing process in order to achieve reliable cleaning.