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Minerals
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Reutilization and Valorization of Mine Waste, Volume II
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Reutilization and Valorization of Mine Waste, Volume II

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Mineralogy and Biogeochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 4563

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Isabelle Demers

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Guest Editor
Research Institute on Mines and Environment (RIME), Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Rouyn-Noranda, QC J9X5E4, Canada
Interests: mine waste management; reclamation; desulfurization; engineered covers; reuse of desulfurized tailings; geo-environmental modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Lucie Coudert

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Institute on Mines and Environment (RIME), Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Rouyn-Noranda, QC J9X5E4, Canada
Interests: mine waste reprocessing; value recovery; hydrometallurgy; contaminated mine water treatment; sludge stability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Solid mine waste management is the most important environmental challenge of mining operations, because of the volume of waste produced, their permanence, and their potential geotechnical and geochemical instabilities. In the context of sustainable development and responsible mining operations, solid mine waste may offer opportunities for reuse and valorization beyond their traditional disposal. Recent research work identified options to take advantage of the physical, mineralogical, and chemical properties of waste rock, tailings, and mine water treatment sludge, either for reutilization on the mine site itself or for further use ex situ. This Special Issue welcomes work conducted in the following research areas: reprocessing of mine waste, desulfurization, integration of waste into mine backfill, reutilization of mine waste, value recovery from waste, co-disposal of tailings and waste rock, integration of mine waste into reclamation scenarios, etc.

Prof. Dr. Isabelle Demers
Prof. Dr. Lucie Coudert
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 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

  • reprocessing of mine waste
  • reutilization of mine waste
  • value recovery
  • desulfurization
  • co-disposal
  • reclamation
  • mine backfill
  • sludge valorization

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 2589 KiB  
Article
Conversion of Aluminosilicate Residue Generated from Lithium Extraction Process to NaX Zeolite
by Fatima Ibsaine, Dariush Azizi, Justine Dionne, Lan Huong Tran, Lucie Coudert, Louis-César Pasquier and Jean-François Blais
Minerals 2023, 13(12), 1467; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13121467 - 22 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1108
Abstract
The production of lithium from spodumene ores generates huge amounts of residues mainly composed of aluminosilicates. The main objective of the present study was to synthesize NaX zeolites with good ion-exchange capacity from these aluminosilicate residues, without using the fusion step or chemically [...] Read more.
The production of lithium from spodumene ores generates huge amounts of residues mainly composed of aluminosilicates. The main objective of the present study was to synthesize NaX zeolites with good ion-exchange capacity from these aluminosilicate residues, without using the fusion step or chemically modifying their initial Si/Al ratio. A physico-chemical (chemical composition, sorption capacity) and mineralogical (XRD, SEM) characterization of the zeolite synthesized using the conventional hydrothermal process (Process_1) was performed and compared with zeolite produced using a fusion step followed by a hydrothermal treatment process (Process_2) and commercial zeolite 13X. Then, the effect of operating parameters such as aging time and temperature, crystallization time and solid/liquid ratio on the sorption capacities of the synthesized zeolites using the conventional hydrothermal process was assessed. Initial aluminosilicate residues were mainly composed of Al2O3 (24.6%) and SiO2 (74.0%), while containing low amounts of potential contaminants (<1.6%). Based on its chemical composition, the fine fraction (<53 µm) was identified as the most suitable fraction to produce zeolites, while coarser fractions which contained higher Li content can be used to produce glass and ceramics. Physico-chemical and mineralogical characterization results show that zeolite produced using the conventional hydrothermal process (Process_1) had similar properties compared to zeolites 13X. Therefore, Process_1 was identified as the most performant while reducing operating costs related to alkaline fusion pre-treatments, which did not significantly improve zeolite properties. Finally, the optimum conditions for converting the residues into zeolite NaX, which had an ion-exchange capacity of 58 mg Ca/g were 8 h of aging at 75 °C and 16 h of crystallization at 100 °C, with a solid/liquid ratio of 1/10 (w/v). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reutilization and Valorization of Mine Waste, Volume II)
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20 pages, 2060 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Soil-Sludge Mixtures by Compaction for Potential Use in Mine Site Reclamation
by Mamert Mbonimpa, Élysée Tshibangu Ngabu, Tikou Belem, Ousseynou Kanteye and Abdelkabir Maqsoud
Minerals 2023, 13(6), 806; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13060806 - 13 Jun 2023
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Abstract
Studies have indicated the potential of mixtures of silty soil and sludge produced by active treatment of acid mine drainage for use in covers with capillary barrier effects for mine site reclamation. Very high water contents of sludge in the settling pond could [...] Read more.
Studies have indicated the potential of mixtures of silty soil and sludge produced by active treatment of acid mine drainage for use in covers with capillary barrier effects for mine site reclamation. Very high water contents of sludge in the settling pond could negatively affect the required hydrogeotechnical properties of soil sludge mixtures with high sludge contents. The challenge is then to determine the optimum wet sludge content of soil-sludge mixtures with air entry values (AEV) and/or saturated hydraulic conductivity (ksat) required for use in mine site reclamation covers. This paper presents a method to determine the optimum wet sludge content βopt for obtaining the maximum dry density of compacted soil-sludge mixtures. Two types of soil (S1 and S2) and two types of sludge (A and W) were tested. It was observed that βopt can be determined when the initial water content of the soil used in the mixture is lower than the optimum water content determined from the Proctor curve of the soil alone (10 wt% and 6 wt% for soils S1 and S2, respectively) and that βopt does not change with increasing initial soil water content. Optimum wet sludge contents found were low (≈15 wt% and ≈7 wt% for mixtures containing soils S1 and S2, respectively) for the test conditions, indicting a limited quantity of reusable sludge in the mixtures. For all mixtures, the water content corresponding to βopt was close to the optimum water content of the soil alone. Results of soil water retention and saturated hydraulic conductivity (ksat) tests conducted on selected optimized mixtures indicated that the mixtures based on soils S1 and S2 have air entry values higher than 20 kPa and would be suitable for use in the moisture retention layer of covers with capillary barrier effects, while soil S2 and the derived mixtures exhibited ksat < 10−7 cm/s and would be potential materials for the low permeability layer in low saturated hydraulic conductivity covers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reutilization and Valorization of Mine Waste, Volume II)
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Review

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33 pages, 1796 KiB  
Review
Remining for Renewable Energy Metals: A Review of Characterization Needs, Resource Estimates, and Potential Environmental Effects
by Ann S. Maest
Minerals 2023, 13(11), 1454; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13111454 - 18 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1961
Abstract
Remining has been researched for decades, but its potential to supplement virgin extraction is currently unknown. This review addresses the remining of tailings/waste rock, coal residues, and byproduct and primary production materials for renewable energy metals (e.g., Co, Ni, REEs, Mn, Li). Geochemical [...] Read more.
Remining has been researched for decades, but its potential to supplement virgin extraction is currently unknown. This review addresses the remining of tailings/waste rock, coal residues, and byproduct and primary production materials for renewable energy metals (e.g., Co, Ni, REEs, Mn, Li). Geochemical characterization methods for estimating pollution potential must be supplemented with mineral liberation analysis and process testing to reliably estimate remining’s economic potential. National and regional remining characterization efforts currently exist in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and China but will take years to produce viable operations at scale. Tailings hold the most promise due to their large amounts worldwide and the fact that they are already extracted and pre-processed, which reduces energy and water use. Of the processing approaches examined, bioleaching appears to offer the most benefits with the fewest potential downsides. The advantages and challenges of the processing methods and remining sources are presented. Best remining practices are urgently needed to improve resource estimates and avoid impacts such as the tailings dam failures that occurred at remining operations in Romania and South Africa. Interest in remining is booming because it can increase domestic supply. If properly conducted, remining can also improve circularity and environmental conditions in areas affected by existing and legacy mining activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reutilization and Valorization of Mine Waste, Volume II)
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