This year’s edition of the Goldschmidt Conference will be in Yokohama, Japan on 26th June to the 1st of July. There will be a special session (session 15m) on the Reuse, Recovery and Remediation of Mine and Mineral Processing Wastes. This is the summary of the session:
“A multitude of mineral and metal extraction processes produce wastes that pose significant long term risks to human and ecosystem health. These wastes have been traditionally managed by safe storage in land based repositories combined with site restoration and monitoring programs after industrial operations have ceased. In other circumstances, where historic activities have led to less than ideal disposal situations, spread of wastes and contaminated waters can be problematic. It is now recognised that many of these wastes still contain metals, metalloids and other recoverable commodities, and that simple treatment and disposal represents a missed opportunity. Indeed, many passive and active recovery schemes have been recently implemented or trialled. This session, therefore, aims to highlight current (bio)geochemical research that investigates the full range of mineral weathering / leachate generation behaviour exhibited in a range of important mining and mineral wastes, the role of microbes in catalysing these processes and their overall impact on the natural environment. We also seek contributions relating to science based investigations of activities designed to extract potential values from mineral wastes that may also involve preventing the spread of contamination in the environment, increasing the rate of site rehabilitation and reducing the need for long term management / monitoring at waste storage sites.”
The abstract submission started the 11th January and closes February 26, 2016.
Alkaline Remediation 