玢岩型铁矿床尾矿中磷、稀土战略性矿产资源调查与综合利用研究:以安徽凹山矿田为例

玢岩型铁矿床是铁矿石的重要来源,其除了赋存巨量铁矿资源外,还以产出大量磷灰石为特征,伴生大量的磷、稀土、钒等资源。20世纪,矿业开发大多只回收主要矿种铁,对伴生资源的评价和综合利用较少。文章以凹山玢岩型铁矿田尾矿库为研究对象,开展伴生资源调查评价和综合利用示范研究。通过系统钻探采样、矿物组合分析、元素赋存状态和综合利用实验等研究,文章揭示出尾矿库中经济矿物为磷灰石,可综合利用资源为磷和稀土,并估算尾矿库中磷储量超过115万t、稀土5万t,社会和经济效益巨大,可作为范例进一步研究并推广应用。     

Characterization of Kolar gold field mine tailings for cyanide and acid drainage

The gold mining process at Kolar gold field (KGF) mines has generated about 32 million tons of tailings. Gold was extracted from the mined ores using cyanidation technique that involved dissolution of gold in the ore by water soluble alkali metal cyanides (example, sodium cyanide or potassium cyanide). Of the several dumps that received the mine tailings only the Kennedy’s Line dump was active prior to closure of the KGF mines in the year 2000. The Kennedy’s Line dump received sulfide bearing tailings in slurry form that comprised of spent ore and process water bearing soluble alkali metal cyanide. Depending on the pH of the tailing slurry, the free cyanides may exist as aqueous hydrogen cyanide that can escape to the atmosphere as hydrogen cyanide gas or occur as soluble cyanide (CN⁻) ions that can be leached by infiltrating water to the sub-surface environment. Additionally, the presence of pyrite minerals in the Kennedy’s Line dump makes them susceptible to acid drainage. This study examines the potential of gold tailings of Kennedy’s Line dump to release cyanide ions (CN⁻) and acid drainage to the sub-surface environment by performing physico-chemical and leaching tests with tailing samples collected from various depths of the dump, sub-surface soil samples beneath the dump and groundwater samples from vicinity of Kennedy’s Line dump. The chemical mechanisms responsible for the ambient cyanide and pH levels of the tailing dump, sub-surface soil samples and groundwater are also inferred from the laboratory results.     

Arsenic fixation on iron-hydroxide-rich and plant litter-containing sediments in natural environments

Iron-hydroxide-rich and plant litter-containing sediments from natural sites contaminated with uranium mine tailing leachates were examined for their ability to adsorb arsenic. The samples with high contents of iron hydroxides (Fe_total concentration, >300 g kg⁻¹) exhibited remarkable fixation of arsenic (up to 40 g As kg⁻¹). This value corresponded approximately to the supersaturation point for natural iron hydroxides under the present conditions, and it was significantly lower than the value found for synthetic iron hydroxides. There was a strong correlation (R=0.8999) between the concentration of iron and that of arsenic at low arsenic contents, indicating adsorption on strong binding sites. Although all the samples had noticeable contents of organic carbon (plant litter), calcium, and manganese, no obvious effect of these elements on arsenic fixation could be detected. The amount of iron hydroxides was found the only fixation-controlling parameter immediately below a leaching water source.     

Mercury speciation in tailings of the Idrija mercury mine

Five hundred years of mercury (Hg) mining activity in Idrija, Slovenia caused widespread Hg contamination. Besides Hg emissions from the ore smelter, tailings have been found to be the major source of river sediment contamination. In the present study, solid phase binding forms and the aqueous mobility of Hg have been investigated in tailings of the Idrija Hg mine by means of a pyrolysis technique and aqueous Hg speciation. Results show that Hg binding forms differ with the age of the tailings due to the processing of different ores with different roasting techniques. In older tailings, the predominant Hg species is cinnabar (HgS), due to incomplete roasting, whereas in tailings of the 20th century the amount of cinnabar in the material decreased due to a higher efficiency of the roasting process and the increasing use of ores bearing native Hg. In younger tailings, metallic Hg (Hg⁰) sorbed to mineral matrix components such as dolomite and Fe-oxyhydroxides became the predominant Hg binding form in addition to unbound Hg⁰ and traces of HgO. Leaching tests show that in younger tailings high amounts of soluble Hg exist in reactive form. In older tailings most of the soluble Hg occurs bound to soluble complexes. It might be assumed that in the long term, matrix-bound Hg⁰ could be bound to humic acids derived from soils covering the tailings. This means that, despite the lower total Hg concentrations found in the younger tailings, the long-term risk potential of its mobile matrix-bound Hg⁰ is higher than that of older tailings bearing mostly immobile cinnabar.     

Effects of the addition of complexants and bacteria on the soil-plant transfer at metal contaminated sites

Within a series of pot experiments with substrates sampled at heavily to moderately polluted sites of past metal mining activities, it was tried to influence the soil plant transfer of metals via addition of complexants, soil bacteria and perlite. Lettuce （lactuca sativa） was chosen as a universal accumulator plant. A wide range of concentrations in the samples ensures a rather general approach. The goal was to develop a strategy to enable plant growth at metal contaminated substrates for phytoremediation purposes. One contaminated mine tailing from Shiheung/Korea was treated with EDTA, NTA, citric acid, malic acid, NaCl, citrate＋NaCl, as well as compost, to provoke effects from chemical treatment. This should yield low molecular metal complexes in the soil solution and provide a carbon source to natural soil life. Other samples from Shiheung, from Okdong mine tailings, Okdong farmland, as well as from three contaminated sites from a medieval mine tailing at Oberzeiring/Styria/Austrias were treated with Cd- adapted soil bacteria, perlite, and soil bacteria and perlite, to impose of changes in microbial life directly. Fresh mine tailings are low in microbial life and plant- available nitrogen, whereas in the contaminated Austrian medieval samples, conditions have had time to adapt for more than 600 years. In the test substrates, supply with nutrient nitrogen was low, supply with nutrient phosphorus was low to adequate, and supply with potassium and sulfate was adequate. Effects of various additives on the plant yield mainly depend on the initial nutrient status. After harvest, the soils were parted in root soils and bulk soils to recognize possible differences. The lettuce plants were parted in leaves and roots. The solids were characterized by convential methods and aqua regia digestion, as well as by a Tessier-type sequential leaching procedure. The plant samples were digested with HNO3/HClO4. Basically, sample solutions were simultaneously read for 23 elements in ICP-OES in appropriate dilutions. Various treatments result in concentration shifts in root soil, bulk soil, plant roots and plant leaves. Interpretation is not easy, but physiologically active elements or contaminants are usually more involved.     

高密度电法勘探数据在Voxler平台的三维可视化展示——及其在尾矿库隐患勘查中的应用

尾矿库内堆放的有污染的固体和液体废物若得不到合理妥善的处理, 会对周边的环境造成严重的污染. 为了确定尾矿库的稳定性, 分析尾矿库内的固、液废弃物对周边土壤和地下水的影响, 急需查明尾矿库的形态特征和库容规模. 高密度电法作为一种常规的物探方法, 以其简便、快捷、高效等特点, 在确定尾矿库形态特征方面成为现场探测的首选技术手段. 本研究运用高密度电法反演得到尾矿库的底界面范围, 并结合钻孔验证, 在Voxler平台构建了尾矿库的可视化三维模型, 从而更加精确计算尾矿砂的方量, 证明了高密度电法在确定尾矿库形态特征中的可行性.     

Impacts of gold mine waste disposal on deepwater fish in a pristine tropical marine system

Little is known about the impacts of mine waste disposal, including deep-sea tailings, on tropical marine environments and this study presents the first account of this impact on deepwater fish communities. The Lihir gold mine in Papua New Guinea has deposited both excavated overburden and processed tailings slurry into the coastal environment since 1997. The abundances of fish species and trace metal concentrations in their tissues were compared between sites adjacent to and away from the mine. In this study (1999-2002), 975 fish of 98 species were caught. Significantly fewer fish were caught close to the mine than in neighbouring regions; the highest numbers were in regions distant from the mine. The catch rates of nine of the 17 most abundant species were lowest, and in three species were highest, close to the mine. There appears to be limited contamination in fish tissues caused by trace metals disposed as mine waste. Although arsenic (several species) and mercury (one species) were found in concentrations above Australian food standards. However, as in the baseline (pre-mine) sampling, it appears they are accumulating these metals mostly from naturally-occurring sources rather than the mine waste.     

铀水冶尾矿库地下水流特征与模拟分析：以某矿为例

铀水冶尾矿库中地下水流动特征控制了核素向周围环境扩散与迁移。本文以某矿山谷型尾矿库为例,运用二维有限元模拟了库内地下水分布及流动,结合水文地质条件进行了分析与讨论。     

岩溶型尾矿库渗滤液重金属污染防治技术研究进展

文章通过对岩溶型尾矿库渗滤液重金属污染防治技术相关方法进行研究,结果表明可渗透反应墙(PRB)处理污染地下水具有初期建设投资低、可以根据所要处理的污染物质灵活选择、运行期不需要能量供给而且处理设施不会占用宝贵的土地资源等显著优点,是岩溶型尾矿渗滤液治理方面最具发展前景的方法之一。     

Hydrochemical models of the sulphidic tailings dumps at Matchless (Namibia) and Selebi-Phikwe (Botswana)

The sulphidic tailings dumps at Matchless (Namibia) and Selebi-Phikwe (Botswana) are located in a similar semiarid environment but have a contrasting mineralogical composition. The Matchless tailings are pyrite-rich, whereas the Selebi-Phikwe tailings are dominated by pyrrhotite. Hydrochemical models are established with computer codes for water-balance, sulphide oxidation rate and hydrochemical equilibrium calculations. The data input is based on detailed mineralogical, chemical and kinetic investigations carried out on the core of boreholes drilled in 2000 and 2003. The oxidation of pyrrhotite proceeds at a much faster rate than the oxidation of pyrite. The PYROX code, which is used for kinetic calculations, can take these differences into account by applying different oxide-coating diffusion coefficients (D₂) for pyrrhotite and pyrite. Humidity-cell testing is widely used to predict the post-mining composition of drainage water in humid climates. However, the semiarid conditions at Matchless and Selebi-Phikwe only allow a minimal water flux within the dump. Under such conditions, humidity-cell testing is likely to overestimate the seepage-water pH. This is suggested by the hydrochemical equilibrium calculations for the post-mining period at Selebi-Phikwe, which predict a seepage-water pH about one unit lower than the pH at the end of the 26-weeks humidity-cell testing period. The acidity of the seepage water can be reduced by about half a pH unit, if an oxygen barrier below the evaporation zone is installed. A clay layer 0.5 m thick covered by >1.5 m tailings represents the optimal design for a wet barrier. All three computer codes used for water-balance calculations (HELP3, UNSAT-H and HYDRUS-1D), predict >85% average water saturation for such a layer, which diminishes the diffusion of oxygen into the pile and production of SO₄⁻² and H⁺. The alternative design for a dry barrier consists of a vegetated silt layer 1 m thick on top of the tailings. This barrier does not significantly influence the diffusion of oxygen although it reduces the net infiltration to ≤11 mm/year.