MUBAS

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mining Engineering

MINE AND ENVIRONMENT(MEN-MAE-

321)
Land Pollution
Watson Mushani
Outline
• Introduction
• Effects of mining on land
• Mitigations
• Tailings and Management
Introduction
• Mining operations have significant impact on the physical
characteristics of the land. Land impacts, combined with
other environmental impacts, affect the land use patterns of
the local area. In turn, land use patterns have ecological,
economic, social implications.
Soil Contamination
• Soil contamination is an ongoing problem that affects active mines and
can persist long after mine remediation. Mining involves the excavation
of massive amounts of buried materials and bringing them to the
surface for processing. The introduction of materials that contain heavy
metals and other contaminants not normally found in surface soils
creates the potential for soil contamination .
• Processing raw ore requires the use of potentially hazardous chemicals
and creates waste products such as tailings, waste rock, slag, and muds.
These waste products are usually stored in open air piles or tailings
ponds.
• The failure or leakage of tailings ponds and the erosion or
mismanagement of waste piles can contaminate large areas of land if
not properly managed
• Atmospheric emissions, primarily particulate matter, from all stages of
mineral processing and from wind erosion can contain contaminants
such as heavy metals, inorganic ions, and other compounds. Once in the
atmosphere, these compounds can then contaminate the soil via
atmospheric deposition.
• Contaminants may also be directly spread throughout a mine site by
vehicular traffic during loading, unloading, and transportation activities.
• Mine water, AMD, and waste chemicals, if not adequately managed, can
also act as a transport mechanism for the contamination of soils near
mining operation
Alkalinity-ability to neutralise acids
• Alkalinity of the soil measurements are made by titrating the water on
which the soil has been dissolved in with an acid and determining the
hydrogen equivalent. Alkalinity is then expressed as milligrams per liter of
CaCO3. If 0.02 N H2SO4 is used in the titration, then I mL of the acid will
neutralize 1-mg of alkalinity as CaCO3.Hydrogen ions from the acid react
with the-alkalinity according in the following equations:
Measuring alkalinity
• If acid is added slowly to water and the pH is recorded for each
addition, a titration curve similar tot hat shown in Fig is
obtained. Of particular significance are the inflection points in
the curve that occur at approximately pH 8.3 and pH 4.5. The
conversion of carbonate to bicarbonate is essentially complete
at pH 8.3.
• However, because bicarbonate is also an alkalinity species, an
equal amount of acid must be added to complete the
neutralization. Thus the neutralization of carbonate is only one-
half complete at pH 8.3.Because the conversion of hydroxide to
water is virtually complete at pH 8.3. all hydroxide and half
carbonate have been measured at pH 8.3
• At pH 4.5 all of the bicarbonate has been converted to
carbonic acid including the bicarbonate resulting from the
reaction of the acid and carbonate.
• Therefore, the amount of acid required to titrate a sample to
pH 4.5 is equivalent to the total alkalinity of the water
Example
• A 200-mL sample of water has an initial pH of 10. Thirty
milliliters of 0.02 N H2SO4 is required to titrate the sample to
pH 4.5. What is the total alkalinity of the water in milligrams
per liter as CaCO3
• Because each mg of 0.02N H2SO4 will neutralize I mg of
alkalinity, there’s 30 mg of alkalinity in the 200 ml sample.
Therefore the concentration of alkalinity expressed as mg per
liter will be
• If the volume of acid needed to reach the 8.3
endpoint is known the species or alkalinity can also be
determined.
• Because all of the hydroxide and one-half of the
carbonate have been neutralized at pH 8.3, the acid
required to lower the pH from 8.3 to 4.5 must
measure the other one-half of the carbonate, plus all
of the original bicarbonate.
• lf P is the amount of acid required to reach pH8.3 and
M is the total quantity of acid required to reach 4.5
• The following generalizations concerning the forms of alkalinity
can be made
• if P = M, all alkalinity is OH
• P= M/2. all alkalinity is CO,
• P= 0 (i.e initial pH is below 8.3), all alkalinity is HCO3-
• P < M/2, predominant species are CO- and HCO3-
• p > M/2, predominant species are OH- and CO-
Topsoil Disturbance
• The soil that covers the earth provides nutrients and the
means for sustaining life, both directly and indirectly .
• Topsoil, the top several inches of soil, provides nutrients and
growing space for plant life supports beneficial
microorganisms, a supply of seeds and spores, and promotes
the rapid development of groundcover
• Topsoil quality and quantity can be altered through a range
of forces, including mining and erosion. During surface
mining operations, the clearing of topsoil and all the plants
and trees that rely on it is inevitable.
• This complete loss of habitat and ecosystem disruption can
devastate large areas of natural landscape, much of which
was originally natural areas such as forests, wetlands, or
grasslands.
Subsidence
• Mining subsidence is the lowering or collapse of the land
surface, typically caused by underground mining activity.
Subsidence occurs when rocks above the mine cannot
provide adequate support and collapse from the weight of
the overlying material. This can occur when a mine is active
or long after a mine has been abandoned .Whether or not
subsidence will occur is affected by several different
parameters including
• Depth of cover • Overlying strata properties • Seam thickness • Panel width •
Pillar size • Surface topography
Land Use Patterns
• Land use can be generally defined as the benefits or products
from the management or use of land. Various land uses include
grazing, forestry, recreation, traditional indigenous uses,
conservation, water catchment, agriculture, and rural and urban
development. Changes in land use patterns often have secondary
effects on air and water quality, ecology, and the economy
• Mining results in environmental and ecosystem degradation
that decreases land use purposes. Surface mining, for
example, removes vegetation and soils, interrupts
ecosystem service flows, and results in inevitable and often
permanent deforestation and loss of farmlands and natural
habitats.
Managing land pollution
1.Changing Mining Techniques
This includes methods like Partial Mining backfilling,
Harmonious Mining
2. Comprehensive Planning
3. Incorporating appropriate architectural and
structural design features
4.Reclamation and backfilling
Tailings and Management
The overall goal of a tailings storage facility is to provide secure
containment for tailings during operation and, following closure, to
retain its integrity in perpetuity. This is not easily achieved, and it is
evident that many older tailings storages fall short of this goal. In
planning tailings storage facilities, common objectives are to:
• Minimize the footprint of the facility, consistent with other
requirements;
• Design and construct retention structures that are stable under all
foreseeable conditions, with an adequate factor of safety to protect
against uncertainties;
• Provide sufficient freeboard and manage the facility so as to
accommodate inflow from the maximum credible operating discharge
and rainfall scenarios
• Minimize, and in some cases intercept and recover, seepage
through the base of the storage area and/or through the
retention structure
• Maximize the settling rate and density of settled tailings solids,
and minimize the time required to achieve this density;
• Facilitate recovery and re-use of tailings liquid;
• In cases where the facility poses a potential threat to wildlife or
livestock, remove the threat or prevent access;
• Facilitate rehabilitation of the facility after tailings discharge is
complete.
Tailings Chemistry
• Tailings geochemistry, not surprisingly, reflects the host rock geochemistry.
Many tailings contain pyrite which may oxidize upon exposure to the
atmosphere, producing acid in the same way that waste rock can oxidize to give
acid rock drainage.
• Depending on the process used, reagents may be introduced that may be
harmful to the environment. Since all water entering the tailings impoundment
is potentially released to the environment either as decant water, run off,
seepage, leachate, or by evaporation, it is important to understand the long-
term chemistry of tailings water. It is important, however, to recognize that
while some tailings are toxic, many tailings are not.
• More often than not, tailings solids are inert rock particles and their direct
environmental impacts are of a physical, not chemical nature. Similarly, while
some tailings liquids contain dissolved substances that may be toxic or
hazardous, others contain water with no deleterious constituents.
Tailings disposal Schemes
• Uncontrolled Discharge
Uncontrolled discharge onto the ground surface was relatively common
practice for small operations prior to the mid-20th century. It is still
common among artisanal miners.
• Riverine Discharge
Riverine discharge was also common practice prior to the mid-20th
century, even at some larger mining projects, including the Mt Lyell
Copper Mine in the Australian state of Tasmania. Contrary to
conventional engineered TSFs, where tailings are contained, and the
spatial extent of impact is well defined, riverine tailings discharge is an
open tailings disposal scheme: tailings slurry is released to the
environment without well-defined boundaries
riverine
• Dry Stacking
Dry stacking of tailings is perhaps the most promising development in
recent years as it broadens the options for tailings disposal schemes.
Dry stacking involves filtration of the tailings slurry to remove most of
the liquid, producing a ‘filter cake’ that is unsaturated – typically with a
moisture content of 35% or less. Belt or vacuum filters may be used to
accomplish the dewatering . The filter cake is not pumpable, and
requires transportation by truck or conveyor system to the ultimate
deposition area.
In-pit Storage and Backfilling
• As for waste rock disposal, the best sites for tailings storage may be
voids remaining at conclusion of mining, the preferred choice for final
tailings placement for many regulatory authorities worldwide. Apart
from the low costs involved, this means that the tailings are stored
below grade, so that failure by collapse or erosion is physically
impossible.
Tailings Storage
Surface Tailings Storage
Surface or on-land tailings storage is used by the vast majority of mining
operations. In some cases, tailings are stored in underground openings or
surface pits but, more commonly, the tailings are deposited in purpose-built
containment facilities.
Most established mining companies, wherever possible and practical,
prefer to store tailings in engineered tailings storage impoundments.
Accordingly, tailings solids are confined within well-defined areas. In some
cases, the tailings of today could be the ores of tomorrow if advances in
extraction technologies allow further tailings processing to be economically
attractive. However, advances in recovery rates mean that such cases are
likely to be less common in the future than in the past.
The factors that influence design and operation of TSF include:

(1) general design criteria,

(2) tailings pulp density,
(3) types of layouts
(4) embankment design,
(5) tailings discharge,
(6) common water discharge systems,
(7) operational considerations,
(8) water balance,
(9) site selection,
(10) site investigation, (
(11) risks,
(12) monitoring,
(13) auditing,
(14) TSF closure.
Tailings pulp density
• Tailings pulp density increases as water content is reduced. This
can be manipulated, admittedly at a cost: tailings come as slurry,
thickened, pasted, dry, and cemented tailings. Table 1
summarizes how tailings pulp density influences tailings disposal.
Disposal of tailings as an un-thickened slurry (termed wet
tailings) is the most common form of tailings disposal.
• In this method, tailings slurry is pumped from the process plant
to an impoundment where the tailings undergo deposition,
consolidation and desiccation. The embankments are designed
to retain both water and solids.
• There is considerable confusion in the mining industry regarding
the definition of thickened and paste tailings.
• Thickened tailings imply high density slurry while the latter
emphasize the paste-like and non-segregating nature of tailings.
In these methods the tailings are thickened to high density slurry
or paste consistency using a high rate or deep thickener or similar
equipment. Conventional centrifuge pumps can pump thickened
tailings.
• Paste tailings require positive displacement pumps for their
transfer. Tailings paste plants are usually located close to the
tailings discharge point.
The main types of Tailing storage
Facilities(TSF)
• Turkey Nest or Ring Dyke storages, involving an embankment
or dyke around the complete perimeter of the facility. This
layout provides the least storage volume per unit of area, but
represents the only option on flat sites.
• Commonly in these situations, a series of adjacent cells are
developed during the life of the project. Discharge is rotated
between cells enabling better solar drying than if only one cell
was used
• Horse Shoe storage, involving a ‘U’-shaped embankment, constructed
on gently sloping land or at the base of a valley slope
• Valley storage, in which a dam is constructed across a valley.
In mountainous areas, such sites may represent the only
available storage options. Where possible, the storage is
located near the head of the valley, to minimize inflow from
the upstream catchment area. In other situations, it may be
necessary to divert water around or beneath the storage.
Valley storage
• Three approaches have been used for staged construction of tailings
embankments of valley type storage namely:
• Upstream
• Downstream
• Centerline
Upstream tailings dam
• In this method, a small starter dam is placed at the extreme
downstream point and the dam wall is progressively raised on
the upstream side.
• The tailings are discharged by spigoting off the top of the starter
dike and, when the initial pond is nearly filled, the dike is raised
and the cycle repeated.
• Various methods are used to raise the dam; material may be
taken from the dried surface of the previously deposited tailings
and the cycle repeated, or more commonly, the wall may be
built from the coarse fraction of the tailings, separated out by
cyclones, or spigots, the fines being directed into the pond
Advantages and disavantages
• The main advantages of the upstream construction are the
low cost and the speed with which the dam can be raised by
each successive dike increment.
Disadvantages
• The method suffers from the disadvantage that the dam wall
is built on the top of previously deposited unconsolidated
slimes retained behind the wall.
• There is a limiting height to which this type of dam can be
builandbecause of this, the t before failure occurs and the
tailings flow out upstream method of construction is now
less commonly used. Several major failures have involved
tailings dams constructed with the upstream method
Upstream tailings dam
Construction of tailings dam wall using cyclone under flow (spigoting)
Down stream embankment
• The downstream method has evolved as a result of efforts to
devise methods for constructing larger and safer tailings
dams. This method produces safer dams both in terms of
static and seismic loading .
• It is essentially the reverse of the upstream method, in that
as the dam wall is raised, the centerline shifts down stream,
and the dam remains founded on coarse tailings .
• Most procedures involve the use of cyclones to produce sand
for the dam construction.
Advantages
• Downstream dam building is the only method that permits design and
construction of tailings dams to acceptable engineering standards. All
tailings dams in seismic areas, and all major dams, regardless of their
location, should be constructed using some form of the downstream
method..
Disadvantages
• The major disadvantage of the technique is the large amount
of sand required to raise the dam wall. It may not be
possible, especially in the early stages of operation, to
produce sufficient sand volumes to maintain the crest of the
tailings dam above the rising pond levels.
• In such cases, either a higher starter dam is required or the
sand supply must be augmented with borrowed fill, such
procedures increasing the cost of tailings disposal
Centerline tailings dam
• The centerline method is a variation of that used to
construct the downstream dam and the crest remains
in the same horizontal position as the dam wall is
raised. It has the advantage of requiring smaller
volumes of sand-fill to raise the crest to any given
height. The dam can thus be raised more quickly and
there is less trouble keeping it ahead of the tailings
pond during the early stages of construction.
• Care, however, must be exercised in raising the upstream
face of the dam to ensure that unstable slopes do not
develop temporarily.
• Table 2 indicates the comparison between the 3 types of
dams/ embankments.
Typical causes of dam failure
Source:Karlheinz Spitz (Author)_ John Trudinger (Author) -
Mining and the Environment-From Ore to Metal-CRC Press (2019)