Mining Wastes Overview
Sharon F. Diehl and Kathleen S. Smith
Billings Symposium / ASMR Annual Meeting
Assessing the Toxicity Potential
of Mine-Waste Piles Workshop
June 1, 2003
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
Types of Mining
¾ Hard-rock (metallic) mines
¾ Coal mines (includes coalbed
methane)
¾ Industrial minerals (non-metallic)
¾ Petroleum (oil and gas)
Types of Mine Waste
Type Physical Characteristics Problems
Rock waste Igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary; High permeability,
very coarse fragments, unprocessed acidic leachate
heterogeneous
Tailings Silt size, processed Wind erosion
before consolidation,
acidic leachate
Coal waste Sedimentary Rock, Acidic leachate
interbedded coal,
processed
Radioactive/ Processed Low-level radiation,
Uranium waste radon
Hard-Rock versus Coal Mining
Greater amount of rock waste Lesser amount of rock waste
Complex mineralogy, geology, Less diverse mineralogy,
and alteration halos simple stratigraphy
A variety of mining methods Underground and (or) open-pit
(e.g. underground, open-pit, (strip mines)
placer, solution)
Composition of Historical Mining Wastes
Related to:
¾ Geology
¾ Mining methods
¾ Milling and smelting
technology
¾ Market demand
• WWII vs.
Great Depression
¾ Governmental policy
Stamp mill in Colorado
(photo from the William L. Fick Colorado Mining Collection,
Western History/Genealogy Dept., Denver Public Library)
Segregation of Historical Mining Wastes
Early
miners
segregated
mined
materials
Ibex #4 ore bin in Idaho
Park near Leadville,
Colorado
(photo from the Western
History/Genealogy Dept.,
Denver Public Library)
Placement of Historical Mining Wastes
Often adjacent to or in stream channels
Often on steep slopes
Alma Lincoln mine,
Colorado
(photo from the William L.
Fick Colorado Mining
Collection, Western
History/Genealogy Dept.,
Denver Public Library)
Gregory Gulch, Colorado
(photo by Donald Campbell Kemp,
Western History/Genealogy Dept.,
Argo mill, Idaho Springs, Colorado Denver Public Library)
(photo from the William L. Fick Colorado Mining Collection,
Western History/Genealogy Dept., Denver Public Library)
Placement of Historical Mining Wastes
Effluent from draining adits frequently
flows over or into waste piles
Mining Wastes and Regional Hydrology
Infiltration
Runoff
Shallow
Deep
system
Silver Plume, Colorado
(photo from the L.C. McClure collection,
Western History/Genealogy Dept., Denver Public Library)
Mining Wastes and Regional Hydrology
Mine
workings
often alter
the regional
hydrology
Silver Queen mine, California
(photo from the Western History/Genealogy Dept., Denver Public Library)
Tracer Injections
¾ Determine how much metal enters a stream
• Mass loading (concentration x discharge)
¾ Determine how much metal stays in a stream
¾ Provide accurate discharge measurements
• Difficult to obtain in mountain streams
¾ Differentiate between multiple sources
¾ Monitor effectiveness of remediation efforts
¾ Usually combined with synoptic sampling
• Collection of samples from many locations during a
short period of time, typically a few hours
See USGS Fact Sheet FS–245–96
Mining Wastes and Airborne Transport
Mining wastes
are often near
former smelting
operations
Fine-grained
material from
mining wastes
can be
(photo from the Western History/Genealogy Dept., Denver Public Library) transported by
wind
Non-Invasive Site Characterization
Screening Tools Tools
MINE WASTE
CHARACTERIZATION
Sampling and Geochemical
Screening Tools
Improved
Remediation
Strategies
Non-Invasive Screening Tools
¾ Physical Characterization
¾ Geological Characterization
¾ Imaging Spectroscopy
¾ Geophysical Methods
Geological Characterization
Mineral Deposit Type:
Geologic Setting:
• Which metals are present
• pH buffering capacity
• Acid-generating capacity
• Ease of subsurface transport
• Routes to receptors
Historical Mine/Mill Activities:
• Efficiency of sulfide removal
• Predict COC (e.g., Hg, cyanide)
Sampling and Geochemical Screening Tools
¾ Bioaccessibility Tests
¾ Sampling Strategy
¾ Leaching Tests
¾ Acid/Base Accounting
Site Characterization Tools
¾ Mineralogy
¾ Weathering Sequences
¾ Metal Partitioning
¾ Sulfur Speciation
Mineralogical Characterization
Elemental Residence Phases
(from mineral separates, 4 Colorado mine-waste sites)
Jarosite [ KFe3(SO4)2(OH)6 ] Pb, Ag, Cu, Bi
Pyrite [ FeS2 ] Cu, Bi, Ag, As
Sphalerite [ ZnS ] Cd, Cu, Mn, Ag
Galena [ PbS ] Ag, Bi
Anglesite [ PbSO4 ] Zn, Cd, Bi, Cu
Potential Environmental Impact of Mine Waste
¾ Degraded water quality
¾ Decreased species diversity
¾ Decreased population level
¾ Kill zones around waste piles
¾ Visual impact; esthetics
Potential Environmental Impact
A complex function of:
¾ Geology
¾ Geochemical and biogeochemical
processes
¾ Climate
¾ Topography
¾ The mining and mineral processing
methods used
¾ Age of wastes and reclamation history
Types of Mineral Deposits
¾ Conceptual models (geoenvironmental models)
have been developed to predict drainage
quality and potential environmental impacts
¾ Geoenvironmental models of mineral deposits
describe pertinent earth science and
engineering information about the
environmental characteristics of geologically
similar mineral deposits:
– prior to mining (= Baseline conditions)
– resulting from mining and mineral
processing
