TY - THES

T1 - Reutilization, recycling and reprocessing of mine tailings, considering economic, technical, environmental and social features, a review

AU - Diaz Martinez, Juan Carlos

N1 - no embargo

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Production of waste is one of the fundamental environmental concerns for present and future generations. It is considered an important global target. Mining industry generates extensive quantities of waste materials from ore extraction and processing plants, which accumulate in tailings and open impoundments. In 2016, Approximately 30 billion tonnes of solid mine waste were produced worldwide and more than 7.5 billion of these tonnes were considered mine tailings. The risks associated with mine tailings dams have different nature, namely air and soil pollution, surface and groundwater contamination by acid mine drainage (AMD) and precipitation of heavy metals. In fact, failures of tailings dams have occurred, resulting in catastrophic and irreparable environmental and economic consequences. The need for a comprehensive framework for mine tailings management that promotes sustainable development is an important challenge facing mining companies, governments, environmental agencies and other stakeholders. This research addressed this gap by collecting, analyzing and identifying different methods that allow mine tailings dam reutilization, recycling and reprocessing from sustainability perspective, considering economic, technical, environmental, and social characteristics.

AB - Production of waste is one of the fundamental environmental concerns for present and future generations. It is considered an important global target. Mining industry generates extensive quantities of waste materials from ore extraction and processing plants, which accumulate in tailings and open impoundments. In 2016, Approximately 30 billion tonnes of solid mine waste were produced worldwide and more than 7.5 billion of these tonnes were considered mine tailings. The risks associated with mine tailings dams have different nature, namely air and soil pollution, surface and groundwater contamination by acid mine drainage (AMD) and precipitation of heavy metals. In fact, failures of tailings dams have occurred, resulting in catastrophic and irreparable environmental and economic consequences. The need for a comprehensive framework for mine tailings management that promotes sustainable development is an important challenge facing mining companies, governments, environmental agencies and other stakeholders. This research addressed this gap by collecting, analyzing and identifying different methods that allow mine tailings dam reutilization, recycling and reprocessing from sustainability perspective, considering economic, technical, environmental, and social characteristics.

KW - Umgang mit Aufbereitungsabgängen

KW - nachhaltige Entwicklung

KW - weltweite Produktion von Bergematerial

KW - gesetzliches Regelwerk

KW - Mine tailings management

KW - sustainable development

KW - mining waste global production

KW - legal framework

M3 - Master's Thesis

ER -