• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.469-480
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• 2003

Laboratory leaching experiment study carried out to estimate a extent of heavy metals that could be leached out when acid rain(pH 5.0-3.0) and strong acidic solution(pH 2.5-1.0) reacted with tailings and contaminated soils from abandoned metal mines. In slightly to moderately acid conditions(pH 5.0-3.0), As, Pb and Zn dissolutions became significantly increased with decreased pH in tailing, while dissolution of these elements was very limited in contaminated soil. These results suggested that moderately acid rainwater leaches Pb, As and Zn from the tailings, while these elements would remain fixed in contaminated soil. In the pH range of 2.5-1.0(strongly acid condition), Zn, Cd and Cu concentrations of leachate rapidly increased with decreased pH in contaminated soil, while Pb, As and Co dissolutions became importantly increased in tailings. The experimental solubility of Zn. Cd and Cu was very low even at very low pH values(up to pH 1), except for CY4(Cheongyang mine). These can result from an incomplete dissolution or the presence of less soluble mineral phases. So, the solubility of heavy metals depends not only on the pH values of leachate but also on the speciation of metals associated with contaminated soils and tailings. The relative mobility of each element within failings at the pH 5.0-3.0 of the reaction solution was in the order of Pb>Zn>Cd>Co=Cu>As. In case of pH 2.5-1.0 of the reaction solution, the relative mobility of each element within contaminated soils and tailings were in the order of Zn＞Cd>Cu>Co>Pb=As for contaminated soils, and Pb>Zn>Cd>hs>Co>Cu for tailings. The obtained results could be useful for assessing the environmental effects and setting up the restoration plan in the areas.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.113-119
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• 2004

Mineral wastes are generated by the minerals, mining, and metal industries. These are generally inorganic waste streams of mainly waste rock or residues from refining during extraction of metals or minerals from the ore. There are many plants where minerals are recovered in secondany circuits, treating tailings, where the feed grades are much lower than would be economic on a mined ore. The world is now becoming aware of the finite nature of its resources at a price, and of the ever-increasing development costs of large new mines. Reprocessing of old tailings on a large scale must be worth examining very seriously by those with access to sufficient material of this type. In the present paper, mineral separation techniques to recover valuable metals and resources from the old tailings are reviewed, and new trends for future developments are also discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.19-21
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• 2001

The Shiheung mine was closed in 1972 and has been abandoned since then. Although some restoration work has been done, there still remain mine failings in and around the mine, posing a potential environmental hazard. Mine tailings and the porewater extracted from the tailing were investigated to see any evidence of elemental release and migration to adjacent groundwater and soil in the field. The pHs of the tailing range from 6.24 to 7.23. Calcite in the studied area seems to influence on such neutral pH range. Depth profile of mine tailing demonstrate elements have been leached and removed as a consequence of weathering during disposal. This is also supported by the findings from porewater analysis, corresponding the trends in the mine tailings. The concentrations of Cu, Cd, Pb, Zn in the tailing porewater exceed the standard value of EPA for drinking water and this implies groundwater can be contaminated through infiltration of the porewaters, which ultimately will be discharged as leachate from the mine tailing. Groundwater samples collected near the mine area do not show high metal concentrations, except for Fe, which were detected over drinking water standard.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.209-218
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• 2003

Ecosystems in the Keweenaw Peninsula region of Lake Superior, USA, were disturbed by over 500 million tons of copper-rich mine tailings during the period 1850-1968. Metals leaching from these mine residues have had dramatic effects on the ecosystems. Vast acreages of exposed tailings that are over 100 years old remain unvegetated because of the combination of metal toxicity, absence of nutrients, and temperature and water stress. Therefore, it is important to characterize and fractionate solid copper phases for assessing labile forms of copper in soils and sediments contaminated by the mining wastes. X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that calcite, quartz, hematite, orthoclase, and sanidine minerals are present as major minerals, whereas cuprite,tenorite, malachite, and chalcopyrite might be present as copper minerals in the mining wastes. Sequential extraction technique revealed that carbonate and oxide fractions were the largest pools of copper (ca. 50-80%) in lakeshore and wetland stamp sands whereas the organic matter fraction was the largest reservoir (ca. 32%) in the lake sediments. The concentrations of iron and copper were inversely correlated in the oxide fraction suggesting that copper may occur as a surface coating on iron oxides. As particle size and water contents decrease, the percent of the copper bound to the labile carbonate fraction increases.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.26-32
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• 2000

A period of widespread damage to the surroundings by acid mine drainage was examined by modeling using column device, and the method to solve this problem was worked out. the underlying principle is to let the tailings permanently maintain a stable state not being reacted with the underground water, and the method is that the tailings and limestone are piled up alternatively. This reclamation method is economic and environmentally useful because of practical use of a large amount of low-grade natural limestone.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.51-57
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to research the mineralogical characteristics and removal of heavy metals of tailings from Gum-poong mine. From the result of mineralogical analysis, there are several sulphide minerals such as chalcocite, aresenopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite and galena. Cd and Zn have a good positive correlation from the statistical relation between Cd and other heavy metals(Cu, Pb, Zn). Residual heavy metals(As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) from the Gum-poong tailings were removed under the warning criteria from the result of froth flotation with K.A.X.(Potassium Amyl Xanthate) and Aerofloat 211.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to evaluate laboratory experiments on arsenic and cadmium removal from tailings using apatite at the Ulsan Abandoned Iron Mine, and to develop a stabilization technique. The results of this study show that the permeability is decreased proportionally to the amount of apatite when it is added below 8%, while this is almost constant when the amount of apatite is added above 10%. The water extraction test from tailings using deionized water for several days shows that pH (7.4-8.4) is almost constant or slightly increased when apatite is added below 8%, while it is slightly decreased when apatite is added above 10%. According to TCLP test, reduction of concentrations of heavy metals in leachate is proportional to amount of apatite added. It seems that precipitates generated from leachate-apatite chemical reaction are not redissolved. As a result, cadmium and arsenic in leachate is mostly removed when apatite is added above 10%, and it is suggested that a proper technique should be selected for field application because either mixed or layered method shows almost same removal efficiencies of cadmium and arsenic in tailings.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.67-73
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• 2014

In this study, the residual heavy metals in the mine tailings, primarily treated by soil washing, were stabilized using phosphate salts. The concentrations of residual contaminants in the washed mine tailings were As (1,861 mg/kg), Cd (20 mg/kg), Cu (56 mg/kg), Pb (2,149 mg/kg), and Zn (633 mg/kg). They were stabilized with $CaHPO_4$, $Ca(H_2PO_4)_2{\cdot}H_2O$, and hydroxyapatite at 0.1 wt%, 1 wt%, and 10 wt% for 1, 3, 5, 7, and 14 days. It was found that 1 wt% $Ca(H_2PO_4)_2{\cdot}H_2O$ was optimum in our experiments, but the stabilization duration did not affect the efficiency. After stabilization with 1 wt% $Ca(H_2PO_4)_2{\cdot}H_2O$ for 1 day, the concentrations of arsenic and heavy metals, As (0.328 mg/L), Cd (0.250 mg/L), Cu (0.143 mg/L), Pb (0.359 mg/L), and Zn (2.622 mg/L), in TCLP leachate were below the RCRA-TCLP limits, which meant the contaminants in the treated mine tailings were stably immobilized.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2014

The research evaluates the possibility of generating electricity using pyrite containing mine tailings, which are the major cause of acid mine drainage (AMD), by applying iron oxidizing bacteria (in this case, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans) and chemical fuel cell technology. The changes in the aqueous $Fe^{2+}$ concentration, which can represent an ionized form of pyrite, with an initial concentration of 9,000 mg/L were investigated during the 20 d growth period. Both the $Fe^{2+}$ and total iron (i.e., total $Fe^{2+}$)concentrations with or without A. ferrooxidans were observed. The $Fe^{2+}$ concentration decreased to about 6,000 mg/L, in the abiotic condition, while it decreased to about 400 mg/L in the biotic condition. The results showed that the increased $Fe^{2+}$ oxidation in the presence of A. ferrooxidans (i.e., catalytic ability of A. ferrooxidans) can be applied to electricity generation using pyrite containing mine tailings. In the co-presence of A. ferrooxidans and pyrite containing mine tailings, $Fe^{2+}$ oxidation and hence electron production increases, which, in turn, improves current density. This study can be applied to utilize ecological functions of indigenous bacteria in mine areas to enhance electricity generation efficiency.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineers
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.576-587
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• 2018

This study has focused on analysis factors affecting safety monitoring system at tailings sites, and the evaluation equipment to monitor the factors. Twenty sites at eighteen mines with unsafe conditions were selected to examine the equipment. There were three main factors influenced safety in the sites including surface erosion, piping, and slope instability. In detail, the surface erosion was divided into three sub-factors (planting, soil-topping layer, and tailings), piping into three sub-factors (liner, rain protection facility and leachate), and slop instability was also divided into three sub-factors (slop, concrete wall, and reinforcing wall). As results of in-field measurement, a CCTV was the most effective facility, and electrical resistivity survey, acoustic sensing, thermal liner sensor, structure inclinometer, rainfall meter, and flowmeter were also highly effective. According to applications of the facilities in the unstable tailings, structural defects were mainly found in the piping, which was the most important monitoring factor for safety management of tailings sites.