The mining industry faces diverse challenges to maintain sustainable production, particularly regarding critical water and energy supplies. As a significant player in the copper mining industry, Chile has become a global reference. Therefore, this re...
In the polish underground copper mines owned by KGHM Polska Miedz S.A, various types of room and pillar mining systems are used, mainly with roof deflection, but also with dry and hydraulic backfill. One of the basic problems associated with the expl...
Mining activity produces a series of wastes that must be treated to avoid environmental pollution. In addition, some of these mining wastes still contain metallic elements that are interesting for their extraction with new less expensive techniques a...
This study examines the awareness and implementation of Circular Economy (CE) principles within Chile’s mining sector, which represents the world’s leading copper producer. We employed a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative surv...
Due to the significant growth of the world population, the accelerated growth of economic industries in various countries, and improved living conditions, freshwater consumption has increased dramatically and is currently under critical pressure. Its...
In the northeastern corner of Minnesota, two of the state’s most iconic symbols, mining and pristine wilderness, are on a collision course. The Duluth Complex, considered by many to be the world’s largest undeveloped deposit of copper-nic...
There is a need to define mine tailings in a clear, precise, multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and holistic manner, considering not only geotechnical and hydraulic concepts but also integrating environmental and geochemical aspects with implicati...
The exploration of buried mineral deposits is required to generate innovative approaches and the integration of multi-source geoscientific datasets. Mining geochemistry methods have been generated based on the theory of multi-formational geochemical...
This paper considers the impact of copper mining-influenced water and metallurgical wastewater on the surface water in the Bor area, Serbia. Sampling, realized through the four campaigns (2020–2021), confirmed that both types of water, discharg...
The location and development of porphyry copper deposits is a key issue for the mining industry. In this study, the Gondwana metallogenic belt was chosen as the study area to compare multiple methods for extracting multi-source geological elements to...
The study evaluates the performance of the novel ADES (alkaline diffusive exchange System), SDES (sulfidogenic diffusive exchange system) and DAS (Dispersed Alkaline Substrate) technologies for the passive treatment of high-strength acid mine drainag...
This study presents the results of preliminary documentation and radon tracer investigations conducted at the “Aurelia” Mine in Złotoryja. Measurements of 222Rn activity concentrations were carried out between 17 March and 26 August...
19 January 2021
In the Gulf of California; mineral deposits have contributed to high metal contents in coastal environments. This study examined cadmium; lead; copper; zinc; and iron contents in three fish species; Kyphosus vaigiensis (herbivore), Stegastes rectifra...
Copper-mine tailings are the residual products after the extraction of precious copper metal from copper ores, and their storage can create numerous environmental problems. Many researchers have used copper-mine tailings for the preparation of geopol...
The Aynak Copper Mine was first discovered in 1973, and mining was initiated by the Metallurgical Company of China in 2009. However, its use has been suspended several times and the mine has never been fully exploited due to political unrest and terr...
Heavy metal-rich acidic soils of copper sulfide mines can easily cause harm to the surrounding environment and ecosystem safety if not treated properly. Currently, the most common method of mine ecological remediation is to improve acidic soils of co...
Bacterial communities from three different sampling sites of a copper mine tunnel were characterized by 16S rRNA sequencing (NGS). A high presence of halophilic bacteria was confirmed by comparison with literature data and with reference samples from...
The flotation tailings obtained from Bor Copper Mine contain pyrite (FeS2) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), these sulfide minerals are known to promote acid mine drainage (AMD) which poses a serious threat to the environment and human health. This study fo...
Water is a crucial input for any production system, and mining is no exception. A huge amount of water is being used in the various phases of mining activities. In the coming decades, the competition in using a sufficient amount of fresh water will b...
The increasing generation of mine tailings poses significant environmental challenges, but their reuse in construction materials offers a sustainable solution by reducing the demand for natural aggregates. To advance the use of tailings in constructi...
17 June 2020
In order to understand the heavy metal pollution status and ecological effect in aquatic environment around copper mine areas, seven heavy metals (Cd, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Zn, the Ni, and Pb) in aquatic environments in seven representative copper mine reg...
The soil heavy metal pollution around the mine threatens crop growth and human health. Intensively studies of the distribution characteristics and source of soil heavy metals around some typical mines are very crucial for environmental management and...
This paper presents a case study on heap bioleaching at the Monywa copper mine in Myanmar. Through mineralogical characterization and leaching tests, specific heap bioleaching technologies were developed and implemented at the mine. These technologie...
This study analyzes the distribution of operating costs along the value chain of an open-pit copper mine with a focus on key operational units or operations such as drilling, blasting, loading, hauling, stockpiling, blending, crushing, milling, and f...
Copper is among the most important metals by production volume and variety of applications, providing essential materials and goods for human wellbeing. Compared to other world regions, Europe has modest natural reserves of copper and is highly depen...
Surface subsidence resulting from block caving mining causes considerable environmental and economic harm in mining areas, highlighting the critical need for accurate predictions of surface subsidence. Given the unique features of the block caving te...
Blasting and fracking of rock in mines exposes fresh rock surfaces to the local water and microbial communities. This may lead to leaching of metals from the rock by chemical or biological means and can cause acidification of the water system in the...
In this study, we determined the accumulation levels of copper in tissues and the status of antioxidant enzyme activities in Mimosaceace prosopis fracta against Cu-toxicity in a copper mine. We measured the level of chlorophyll and the activities of...
This paper intends to validate the application of magnetic techniques, particularly magnetic susceptibility, as sampling tools on a copper tailings terrace, by correlating them analytically. Magnetic susceptibility was measured in both the field and...
Mining may cause devastating environmental impacts through large-scale land transformations. However, mining-induced land transformations are poorly understood relative to a mine’s productivity or life cycle. We integrated satellite imagery, ge...
Acid mine drainage (AMD) has serious impacts on the environment. To inhibit the generation of AMD from copper sulfide tailings at the source, in this paper, a strategy is developed for promoting the biopassivation of copper sulfide tailings using alg...
This paper presents the results of a numerical analysis of the impact of rock mass geomechanical parameters on the stability of preparatory headings located within the Legnica-Glogow Copper District. The paper shows the results of numerical calculati...
Mining exploitation leads to slow or rapid ground subsidence resulting from deformation until the collapse of underground post-mining voids following excavation activities. Satellite SAR interferometry capabilities for the evaluation of ground moveme...
Efficient material handling is critical for mining productivity, safety energy and cost control. This paper analyzes the energy efficiency of five alternative designs for a 3 km inclined underground conveyor system for copper ore transport, consideri...
With production expansions, studies related to estimating the number of pieces of hauling equipment to be employed in open-pit mines have to be carried out. One of the main challenges comes from the methodology selected since numerous tools are avail...
The microbial ecology of acid mine drainage (AMD) systems in Armenia, with a long mining history, remains unexplored. This study aimed to characterize the microbial diversity and functional potential of AMD in the Syunik region and to isolate novel m...
Ore retention bunkers and receiving bins are important for continuous operation of transport system in a mine. Although the designs of the bins used in the KGHM PM S.A. mines have undergone modifications, their operating principle has remained unchan...
3 April 2020
Copper mining, the central axis of Chile’s economic development, produces a large number of tailings, which become a potential environmental risk. This study aims to evaluate the mechanical properties resulting from the making of Portland cemen...
20 September 2023
Work in the copper mining industry is often associated with exposure to respirable dust and respirable crystalline silica. This exposure has the potential to cause silicosis, an incurable occupational respiratory lung disease. This study aimed at est...
The recovery of valuable metals from different types of wastes has become of prime strategic interest given the scarcity of primary critical raw materials at international scale. Implementation of new methods or refinement of classical techniques wit...
The Brazilian Amazon presents several artisanal and industrial Cu mines that generate significant amounts of waste. The objective of this study was to evaluate the risks to the environment and human health based on the bioavailable and bioaccessible...
At depth in an abandoned tunnel of the White Pine Copper Mine, green films of the Cu-OH-Cl minerals atacamite and paratacamite were found on standing pools of brine. Some pools were also coated with a thin layer of petroleum. Green films of atacamite...
The No.4 tailings pond of the Dexing Copper Mine is the second largest in Asia. The tailing pond is a dangerous source of man-made debris flow with high potential energy. In view of the lack of effective and low-cost global safety monitoring means in...
Socioeconomic development is often dependent on the production of mining resources, but both opencast and underground mining harm vegetation and the eco-environment. Under the requirements of the construction for ecological civilization in China, mor...
The hazards of gaseous geodynamic phenomena and rockbursts are among the most challenging to assess and classify. This perception arises from both a review of the literature and an examination of available instructions and regulations in underground...
Mining activities cause serious pollution problems that affect health and the environment. This paper focuses on the environmental and biological effects that mining activity had on the population living and working in the Riotinto-Nerva area in the...
The generation of tailings in the world today is immense, since only ounces or pounds of metals are extracted for each ton of ore processed. In 2022, it was estimated that more than 14 billion metric tons of mining tailings were produced per year in...
A microanalyzer prototype for copper(II) ion monitoring in mining industrial processes is presented. The microanalyzer is designed as an assembly of different modules, each module being responsible for a unit operation. In order to optimize the indus...
Due to climate change risks, the public, regulators, and investors require solid actions to minimize the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of mineral extraction and metals production. The mining sector considers alternatives to reduce its carbon footpri...
Many companies in the mining industry include decarbonization of production among their key strategic goals as part of their internal sustainability strategy. This need is driven by a number of factors: stricter regulation in the area of carbon footp...
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