• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.35-43
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• 2007

Vitrified aggregates obtained by using mine tailings were evaluated using various leaching methods to assess their environmental safety. The leaching tests in this study include continuous batch leaching, Dutch availability leaching, pH-stat and tank diffusion test as well as TCLP (Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure), which is commonly adopted. Vitrification technique has successfully been applied treating some solid wastes containing high level of heavy metals, such as EAF (Electric Arc Furnace) dust and mine tailings. The potentially most leachable element among trace metals was As and theoretically about 7% of total concentrations in the aggregate can be released under extreme condition. Zinc was leached about 4% and the other trace metals including Cd, Cr and Pb were hardly released from the vitrified mine tailing aggregate.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.9-15
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• 2010

Domestic gold mine tailings, generally, contain a lot of non-metallic silica and clay minerals. These minerals can be separated from the tailings by various physical separation methods and used as raw materials for cements and ceramic products. In these physical separation procedures, metallic complex sulfides, in which Au and metallic constituents such as Pb, As and Fe were concentrated, were obtained as a by-product. These metallic constituents should be removed or separated from the by-product to extract Au efficiently. In this work, removal and separation processes of Pb, As, and Fe from the by-product were investigated. Pb was removed to under 3% by using alkaline oxidative leaching at the leaching condition of $120^{\circ}C$, 2M NaOH, 100psi $Po_2$, 250r.p.m., 4 wt.% solid and 30 min. leaching time. The leached residue was roasted and separated magnetically to obtain a non-magnetic product contained <0.2% As, <3% Fe and high concentrated Au more than 8,000 ppm.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.38-52
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• 2011

Sorption and sequential desorption experiments were conducted for Zn using a natural soil (NS) in background status by aging (1, 30 and 100 days). The sorption isotherm showed that Zn had high sorption capacity but low sorption affinity in NS. Sequential desorption was biphasic with appreciable amount of sorbed Zn residing in the desorption-resistant fraction after several desorption steps. The biphasic desorption behavior of Zn was characterized by a biphasic desorption model that includes a linear term to represent labile or easily-desorbing fraction and a Langmuirian-type term to represent desorption-resistant fraction. The biphasic desorption model indicated that the size of the maximum capacity of desorption-resistant fraction ($q^{irr}_{max}$) increased with aging in NS. Desorption kinetics and desorption-resistance of Zn in the soils collected from mine tailings (MA, MB and MC collected from surface, subsurface soils and mine waste, respectively) were investigated and compared to the bioavailability to earthworm (Eisenia fetida). Desorption kinetic data of Zn were fitted to several desorption kinetic models. The ratio ($q_{e,d}/q_0$) of remaining Zn at desorption equilibrium ($q_{e,d}$) to initial sorbed concentration ($q_0$) was in the range of 0.53~0.90 in the mine tailings which was higher than that in NS, except MA. The sequential desorption from the mine tailings with 0.01M Na$NO_3$ and 0.01M $CaCl_2$ showed that appreciable amounts of Zn are resistant to desorption due to aging or sequestration. The SM&T (Standard Measurements and Testing Programme of European Union) analysis showed that the sum of oxidizable (Step III) and residual (Step IV) fractions of Zn was linearly related with its desorption-resistance ($q^{irr}_{max}$) determined by the sequential desorption with 0.01M Na$NO_3$ ($R^2$= 0.9998) and 0.01M $CaCl_2$ ($R^2$= 0.8580). The earthworm uptake of Zn and the desorbed amount of Zn ($q_{desorbed}$ = $q_0-q_{e,d}$) in MB soil were also linearly related ($R^2$ = 0.899). Our results implicate that the ecological risk assessment of heavy metals would be possible considering the relation between desorption behaviors and bioavailability to earthworm.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.525-534
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• 2014

Environmental problems typically occurring in abandoned mine lands (AML) include: contaminated and acidic surface water and groundwater; stockpiled waste rock and mill tailings; and ground subsidences due to mining operations. This study examines the effectiveness of various geophysical techniques for mapping potential hazard and contaminated zones. Four AML sites with sedimentation contamination problems, acid mine drainage (AMD) channels, ground subsidence, manmade liner leakage, and buried mine tailings, were selected to examine the applicability of various geophysical methods to the identification of the different types of mine hazards. Geophysical results were correlated to borehole data (core samples, well logs, tomographic profiles, etc.) and water sample data (pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and heavy metal contents). Zones of low electrical resistivity (ER) corresponded to areas contaminated by heavy metals, especially contamination by Cu, Pb, and Zn. The main pathways of AMD leachate were successfully mapped using ER methods (low anomaly peaks), self-potential (SP) curves (negative peaks), and ground penetrating radar (GPR) at shallow penetration depths. Mine cavities were well located based on composite interpretations of ER, seismic tomography, and well-log records; mine cavity locations were also observed in drill core data and using borehole image processing systems (BIPS). Damaged zones in buried manmade liners (used to block descending leachate) were precisely detected by ER mapping, and buried rock waste and tailings piles were characterized by low-velocity zones in seismic refraction data and high-resistivity zones in the ER data.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.143-151
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• 2004

This study focused on examining the possibility of recycling mine solid waste as environmental materials, especially for porous media. Basic properties including mineralogical compositions, chemical compositions, and particle size distribution of the tailings from the Sangdong W mine were checked. The mineralogical and chemical compositions of the tailings samples were not much different in depth. According to Korean Standard Leaching Test for Wastes(KSLT), concentrations of heavy metals leached from the tailings were below the standard values. As a result of particle size analysis, the median diameter (d$_{50}$) of the tailings was in the range of 10 to 30 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$. The stable tailings slurry made up of 3 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ in d$_{50}$ was prepared using Attrition Mill. The milling condition was 40 vol% in slurry concentration, 700 rpm in stirring speed, and 1 hour in milling time. PEI was added as dispersing agent. Concentrated slurry was extended to 3 times by foaming method. In the case of 3 times foamed slurry, the total and open porosity of ceramic supports sintered at 1,075$^{\circ}C$ for 90 minutes was about 80% and 72%, respectively. Pore size was in the range of 30∼350${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$. Therefore, the tailings could be recycled starting material for environmental materials such as macroporous ceramic support.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.529-531
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• 2003

In order to investigate the level of heavy metal contamination and the seasonal variation of metal concentrations in soils and sediments influenced by past mining activities, tailings, soil and sediment samples were collected from the Hwacheon mine in Korea. The main pollution sources in this mine site are suggested as tailings and mine waste rocks. Elevated levels of Cd, Pb and Zn were found in soils and sediments. In a study of seasonal variation on the heavy metals in soils and sediments, heavy metals were higher enriched collected from before rainy season ($2^{nd}$ sampling) than after rainy season ($1^{st}$ sampling). Also, in order to estimate the microbial effects on Cd speciation in sediments, bacteria which can adsorb Cd was isolated and Cd adsorption characteristics of isolated bacteria in Cd solution was evaluated. The Cd bioremoval efficiency in Cd solution (5 ppm) by bacteria was more than $90\%$. Bioremoval efficiency in single metal solution was higher than that in mixed metal solution of Pb and Zn.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.189-194
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• 2018

The traditional gold mining in Kulon Progo district, Special Region of Yogyakarta Province produced tailings containing mercury (Hg) from the gold amalgamation process. Mercury accumulated in tailings has 164.19 mg/kg - 383.21 mg/kg in total concentration. Stabilization/solidification (S/S) is one of the remediation technologies to reduce waste pollution. Portland cement is one of the additive materials in S/S that effective encapsulates heavy metal waste. The aim of this research is to know the optimum composition of tailings mixture with Portland cement in S/S process. This research used variation of tailings composition. Variation of Portland cement composition with tailing are 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, 30:70, 20:80 and 10:90. The result of this study found that the optimum composition of Portland cement: tailings was 10:90, with compression test of $257ton/m^2$ and TCLP test was 0.0069 mg/L. The compression test results were in accordance to US EPA Standard quality of $35ton/m^2$. TCLP test results meet the standard of Indonesian Government Regulation No. 101 Year 2014 of 0.05 mg/L.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.83-89
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• 2015

Soil samples collected in an area of Gahak Mine were investigated for the characterization of mineralogical and physicochemical properties of contaminants in soils. It is found that soils in the study area are contaminated by lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), in which their concentrations are 595.3 mg/kg, 184.9 mg/kg, 712.8 mg/kg, and 10.64 mg/kg, respectively. All the concentrations exceed the concern criteria of Korean standard. Upon distribution patterns of metals identified by the sequential extraction procedure, our results show that more than 50% of metals are found as a residual type, and 30% are accounted for the association of Fe/Mn oxides. Interestingly, XRD results show that minium (Pb₃O₄) and cuprite (Cu₂O) are identified in the soil samples, suggesting that the sources of the contaminants for Pb and Cu are these minerals. In SEM images, tens of µm of Pb oxides and Pb silicate-minerals are observed. We, therefore, note that the contamination of metals in the study area results from the direct influx and disturbance of tailings. Our findings indicate that the characterization of physicochemical and mineralogical properties of contaminated soils is a critical factor and plays an important role in optimizing recovery treatments of soils contaminated in mine development areas.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2008

Levels of arsenic in stream and reservoir waters affected by an abandoned gold mine were examined. The abandoned mine has been left without proper civil and remedial works preventing potential environmental hazards. Field and laboratory chemical analyses revealed that the stream waters downgradient from the mine area were severely contaminated with arsenic and furthermore the reservoir water, 2-3 km away from the mine, also contained substantial levels of As, far exceeding the Korean stream water standard. Relatively higher pH values (6.5-9.4) enhanced mobility of As and mainly sustained substantial As concentration in waters. Chemistries of the stream water, groundwater and reservoir water were dominated by two main factors including effects of mine effluent and anthropogenic agricultural activities. Considering that there has been a substantial As input to the reservoir and the reservoir water has been used for agricultural and domestic uses, immediate remedial works are essentially required.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.743-747
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• 2005

In South Korea, about 900 metal mines have been abandoned, and about 88 million-t metal mine wastes have been discarded in recent years. The treatment of the tailings which are the main wastes in the abandoned metal mines becomes a social problem because they cause environmental pollution such as acidic waste water generation, groundwater contamination, and dust generation. Since almost whole quantities of the tailings have disposed by landfill now, the development of effective recycling methods for the tailings are strongly requested. It is expected that the fine tailings obtained by centrifugal separation process among the tailings can be utilized as admixture for cement. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the micro-structure of cement mortar admixed with fine tailing. Various admixtures were made of Fine tailings and 2 Types of OPC, fly-ash and blast furnace slag. The hydration reactivity of cement mortar with FT was examined by Porosity, XRD and SEM morphology analysis. The anolytical result about hardened hydrates shows that waste fine tailing help hydrates none densified due to it,s filling-space, These densified effect is concluded with improving the resistance to attack of cement mortar including waste fine tailing.