Tailings are
low
grades of mining ore that are disposed of on the land surface and often in mining waste ponds(1). Because they are unlined, these ponds can be a source of acids or metals, which are carried in run-off or leachate. Spoil consists of mining debris and waste.
What are tailings in mining?
Tailings are
a by-product of mining
. After ore containing an economically-recoverable commodity is mined from the earth, that commodity is extracted in a processing plant or mill. After the commodity of value is extracted from the ore material, the resultant waste stream is termed “tailings”.
Why must mine tailings be stored and disposed of carefully?
Answer: Tailings must be stored and disposed of carefully
because they hold various toxic chemicals and materials
. These chemicals can cause erosion and sinkholes, and contaminating soil and water supplies.
What kind of waste is tailings?
Tailings are the waste materials left after the target mineral is extracted from ore. They consist of:
Crushed rock
.
Water
.
What is tailings in geography?
Tailings are
the waste materials left after the target mineral is extracted from ore
. They consist of: Crushed rock. Water. Trace quantities of metals such as copper, mercury, cadmium, zinc, etc.
How are mine tailings disposed of?
The safe management and storage of tailings is paramount for any mine operation,” says Job Kruyswijk, Tailings Process Specialist for Weir Minerals. The traditional means of tailings disposal is typically
an impound method
, often stored in a constructed dam in diluted form.
What happens to tailings after mining is finished?
Because tailings originate in slurry form they are dumped in or near water, contaminating the water and
destroying aquatic life
. Tailings also can be transported by wind or water to contaminate other areas. Mine wastewater containing metals and chemicals can also leach into nearby waterways.
Where does mining waste go?
By far, the major fraction of mining waste such as waste rock are disposed of
in heaps (or piles) at the source
. Coarse coal refuse is typically removed from the preparation plant and disposed of in large piles or banks.
Why are tailings so controversial?
Minerals are processed so we can gain access to the desired minerals. What are tailings and what are they so controversial?
They lead to much of the pollution associated with mining
. … while the mines cause habitats to be temporary destroyed and miners can get lung diseases from breathing in mineral particles in the air.
What are mining spoils and tailings?
Tailings are low grades of mining ore that are disposed of on the land surface and often in mining waste ponds(1). Because they are unlined, these ponds can be a source of acids or metals, which are carried in run-off or leachate.
Spoil consists of mining debris and waste
.
What is an example of mineral waste?
Mining wastes include
hard rocks, gravels, clays, pebbles, sands, limestones, chalks
, siftings of fine fractions, dump tailings of flotation concentration of ferrous and nonferrous metal ores, sulfur ores, apatite-nepheline concentrates, coal wastes, halite flotation wastes, screenings of phosphorite, phosphoric ore …
What is the difference between mine waste and tailings?
Waste rock is bedrock that has been mined and transported out of the pit but does not have metal concentrations of economic interest. Tailings are the finely ground residuals that remain after the mill process has removed the valuable metals from the ore.
Is surface or subsurface mining worse?
Subsurface mining is actually less disruptive to the earth and produces less waste than surface mining, but it’s also
much less effective and more dangerous
. Many workers die in mine collapses, which then also leaves behind a large hole from caving in of the ground above.
What chemicals are in tailings?
Tailings from oilsands can contain
napthenic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenolic compounds, ammonia, lead, mercury, and other metals
.
What are tailings used for?
Tailings dams are used
to store water and waste that come as by products from the mining process
. It is estimated there are at least 3,500 tailings dams around the world. But as there are around 30,000 industrial mines, the number of tailings dams is likely to be much higher.
Are tailings and gangue the same thing?
Tailings are the materials
left
over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are distinct from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material that overlies an ore or mineral body and is displaced during mining without being processed.
