Physicochemical composition of wastes and co-located environmental designations at legacy mine sites in the south west of England and Wales: Implications for their resource potential

Abstract

We recommend you cite the published version. The publisher's URL is: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.08.009Refereed: Yes (no note) Disclaimer UWE has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material. UWE makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited.UWE makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights. UWE accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement. This work examines the potential for resource recovery from metalliferous mine wastes in 19 south west England and Wales. It does this through an assessment of the physicochemical 20 composition of several key metalliferous legacy mine waste piles and an analysis of their co-21 location with key cultural, geological and ecological designations. Solid samples were taken 22 from 14 different sites and analysed for metal content, mineralogy, paste pH, particle size 23 distribution, total organic carbon and total inorganic carbon. The majority of sites contain 24 relatively high concentrations (in some cases up to several % by mass) of metals and metalloids, 25 including Cu, Zn, As, Pb, Ag and Sn, many of which exceed guideline concentrations. 26 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR TEXT. Physicochemical composition of wastes and co-located environmental designations atHowever, the economic value of metals in the waste could be used to offset rehabilitation costs. 27Spatial analysis of all metalliferous mine sites in south west England and Wales found that 28 around 70% are co-located with at least one cultural, geological and ecological designation. 29All 14 sites investigated are co-located with designations related to their mining activities, 30 either due to their historical significance (e.g. mining infrastructure), rare species assemblages 31 (e.g. lichens and bryophytes) or geological characteristics (e.g. mineralisation). This 32 demonstrates the need to consider the cultural and environmental impacts of rehabilitation and 33 resources recovery on such sites. Further work is required to identify non-invasive remediation 34 and resource recovery methodologies to allow sites to be rehabilitated at minimal cost and 35 disturbance. 36 37 Introduction 38There are few locations world-wide where historic metal mining is more evident than in 39 mainland Britain. Extensive mining of major ores for metals including copper, lead, tin and 40 zinc at locations such as the Devon Great Consols in south west Devon and Parys Mountain in 41 north west Wales fuelled profound societal and industrial change world-wide (particularly 42 during the Industrial Revolution) but as a consequence created a s...

In Situ Resource Recovery from Waste Repositories: Exploring the Potential for Mobilization and Capture of Metals from Anthropogenic Ores

“…It seems reasonable to expect that this will initially be considered at a site-specific level, until a clear precedent has been set; for example, in the UK context this establishment of legal precedent is not an unusual process in planning and regulatory processes. Also as noted in Crane et al [82] the European Union Water Framework Directive is likely to result in the requirement of more stringent pollution control-driven interventions, and in such cases in situ approaches may well be implemented to offset remediation cost.…”

Synthesis and Binding Studies of a Novel Highly Selective Ag(I) Ligand

“…15,31 The choice of Cu 2+ and Pb 2+ as competing ions is borne out of the knowledge that these metals usually coexist with Ag + in ores and mine tailings. 35 Aqueous solutions of the metals containing low concentrations (4 mgL -1 ) of Ag + , Cu 2+ and Pb 2+ were prepared since Ag + is often present in within this concentration range in repositories where the ligands might find application. 35 It was observed that neat chloroform itself (the control) was able to extract some metals with a slight preference for Ag + (Figure 2).…”

“…35 Aqueous solutions of the metals containing low concentrations (4 mgL -1 ) of Ag + , Cu 2+ and Pb 2+ were prepared since Ag + is often present in within this concentration range in repositories where the ligands might find application. 35 It was observed that neat chloroform itself (the control) was able to extract some metals with a slight preference for Ag + (Figure 2). This is likely due to the differential partial solubility of these metals in chloroform.…”

Going to waste? The potential impacts on nature conservation and cultural heritage from resource recovery on former mineral extraction sites in England and Wales

“…This has resulted in a growing interest in the opportunities for recovering resources from these wastes (e.g. Bellenfant et al 2013;Crane et al 2017;Sapsford, Cleall, and Harbottle 2017), which may increase the security of supply of metals and reduce the need for new mines (Dunbar 2015). In addition, the land resource occupied by former mineral extraction sites could be made available for other uses; in England, many such sites are allocated for housing and commercial development (Sinnett et al 2014).…”

“…Resource recovery is also seen as an opportunity to mitigate some of the adverse impacts of mineral extraction (Bellenfant et al 2013;Crane et al 2017), including the loss of visual amenity and water pollution (Mayes et al 2009;Svobodova et al 2012). In Europe, this has become increasingly relevant in the context of the Mine Waste Directive (2006/21/EC), which seeks to protect the environment and human health from pollution originating in mine waste, and promotes the recovery of resources from mine waste (Bellenfant et al 2013).…”