Mining Waste Management and Resource Recovery

A special issue of Recycling (ISSN 2313-4321).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2017) | Viewed by 16630

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 9, Heroon Polytechniou Str., 15780 Zografou, Greece
Interests: mine waste management; acid mine drainage; environmental management; TQM systems; sustainable development of natural resources; recycling; environmental impact studies; mine planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, GR15773 Zografou Campus, Athens, Greece
Interests: surface mining planning and optimization; mining economics; environmental impact assessment of mining; mining waste management; applications of digital technologies in decision making
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The focus of this Special Issue is on the value and importance of mine waste management and sustainable mining management. Mine waste management, recovery, and recycling are becoming increasingly important due to increasing expectations from governments, non-government organisations, and local communities. Mine waste management can be a significant challenge for many mining companies given the large volumes of mine waste produced and the environmental hazards associated with the mine waste. Modern mine waste management plans have to include both the storage and long-term stabilisation of waste. In addition, many mining companies are now being forced to consider mine legacy values post the completion of mining operations. Mine waste can include tailings, slags, sludge, overburden, waste rock, water, solids, and gaseous waste. These wastes are dependent on the ore, the mining process and extractive technology used. Many benign mine wastes can be used in landscape reconstruction, vegetation rehabilitation, road and dam construction, backfill, dust suppression (recycled waste water) and land reclamation. However, new and innovative uses for mine waste management practices are also being developed that help to reduce the negative impacts of both mining operations and mine closures and are increasingly being incorporated into the design and planning of new mines.

The publication of this Special Issue will hopefully add to the sharing of knowledge and also in the establishment of best practice methodologies in sustainable mine waste management.

Prof. Dr. Michele Rosano
Dr. Katerina Adam
Dr. Maria Menegaki
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • tailing management
  • mine waste recycling
  • mine waste planning
  • resource recovery

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

1562 KiB  
Article
Using Risk Assessment and Management Approaches to Develop Cost-Effective and Sustainable Mine Waste Management Strategies
by Theodora Karachaliou, Vasileios Protonotarios, Dimitris Kaliampakos and Maria Menegaki
Recycling 2016, 1(3), 328-342; https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling1030328 - 22 Nov 2016
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6653
Abstract
Soil contamination by mine wastes is an enormous challenge for both mining companies and competent authorities. Mine wastes are usually considered a major source of impacts on human health and the environment. Thus, the prevailing strategy is to reduce or completely remove the [...] Read more.
Soil contamination by mine wastes is an enormous challenge for both mining companies and competent authorities. Mine wastes are usually considered a major source of impacts on human health and the environment. Thus, the prevailing strategy is to reduce or completely remove the contaminants of concern through appropriate in situ or ex situ remediation techniques. Nonetheless, today’s mine waste may become tomorrow’s ore. In order to keep this option open, however, several things need to change in the concept and practice of mine waste management. This paper presents a case study from Greece, where mine waste (mainly metallurgical slags) have been disposed of, posing excess risks to human health and the environment. Complete restoration of the site would not only be cost-prohibitive but would also eliminate any possibility of future exploitation of contained resources. Considering both the protection of human health and the environment and the storage of waste for future use, a risk assessment and management approach was adopted that allowed the selection of cost-effective measures in order to: eliminate health hazards, re-use the site for recreational purposes, and secure the opportunity for resource recovery in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mining Waste Management and Resource Recovery)
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3371 KiB  
Article
Coal Mining Waste as a Future Eco-Efficient Supplementary Cementing Material: Scientific Aspects
by Moisés Frías, Rosario García, Raquel Vigil de la Villa and Sagrario Martínez-Ramírez
Recycling 2016, 1(2), 232-241; https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling1020232 - 16 Jul 2016
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 7853
Abstract
The stockpiling of tailings around coal mines poses a major environmental problem. Nonetheless, this clay mineral (kaolinite)-based waste can be reused as a supplementary cementitious material (recycled metakaolinite) in the manufacture of future eco-efficient cements. This paper explores the most significant scientific questions [...] Read more.
The stockpiling of tailings around coal mines poses a major environmental problem. Nonetheless, this clay mineral (kaolinite)-based waste can be reused as a supplementary cementitious material (recycled metakaolinite) in the manufacture of future eco-efficient cements. This paper explores the most significant scientific questions posed in connection with the conversion of this waste into pozzolans, such as the variation in product mineralogy depending on the sintering temperature and its effect on reaction kinetics in the pozzolan/Ca(OH)2 system over a period of 365 days. The findings show that the optimal sintering temperature is 600 °C, such that the cementitious properties of the activated product are determined solely by the conversion of kaolinite into metakaolinite and are unaffected by the other clay minerals (micas). The presence of 20% activated coal waste favors the formation of larger amounts of aluminous phases such as C4AH13 and C4AcH12 than in the reference paste and enhances C–S–H gel polymerization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mining Waste Management and Resource Recovery)
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