Mine Wastes and Water, Ecological Engineering and Metals Extraction

Margarete
Kalin-Seidenfaden
William N. Wheeler Editors
Mine Wastes and

Water, Ecological
Engineering
and Metals
Extraction
Sustainability and Circular Economy
Mine Wastes and Water, Ecological Engineering
and Metals Extraction
Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden
William N. Wheeler
Editors
Mine Wastes and Water,

Ecological Engineering and
Metals Extraction
Sustainability and Circular Economy
Editors
Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden William N. Wheeler
Boojum Research Ltd. Boojum Research Ltd.
Toronto, ON, Canada Toronto, ON, Canada
ISBN 978-3-030-84650-3 ISBN 978-3-030-84651-0 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84651-0
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I would like to dedicate this book to the late
Jui-Lin Yen (Allen), my long-time partner,
and to Patricia (Pat) Sudbury. Without
Allen’s wisdom and support, I would not
have been able to carry on my quest for the
ecology of mine waste and water. Pat listened
patiently to the many endless discussions
between Mike and myself for many years,
always being provided with nice lunches
prepared by her. She kindly accepted many
times, and even during the retirement of her
husband, to stay alone. Mike and I visited so
many waste sites as he wanted to see for
himself the ecological wonders which I had
reported to him.
May, 26th 2021

Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden Hasliberg-
Reuti, Switzerland
Foreword: Viewpoint on the Founder
I met Margarete Kalin many years ago because she is the daughter of a war comrade
of my father-in-law. Since the 1970s, when Margarete had emigrated to Canada, the
contact became more intensive. She visited us frequently at that time in connection
with international professional conferences around the world. In the meantime, she
had become an associate professor and, after several decades, was working with her
scientific team on sustainable methods for treating mining legacies.
Thus, I was introduced to a world previously unknown to me, mining, and its
wastes. They are festering wounds in the surface of the earth worldwide. As a busi-
nessman, it quickly became clear to me that these un-remediated contaminated sites
from the extraction of coal, copper, or uranium, for example, will continue to bur-
den companies, states, and governments economically and ecologically for many
generations to come.
Their wastewater, in particular, is being released in ever-increasing quantities
through precipitation and enriched by weathered sediments. Particularly noticeable
is the increasing clogging by precipitated rust-brown iron hydroxide in (artificial)
lakes, streams, and rivers. Such turbid water is not inviting for swimming or recre-
ation. Nor as a habitat for plant and wildlife let alone for consumption as (treated)
drinking water.
Margarete conducted extensive studies and experiments on many “lunar land-
scapes” around the world. New or adapted methods of innovative biological and
microbiological processes were often used. The series of experiments and practical
results were meticulously documented in electronic databases and constantly
adapted to current IT procedures. In the meantime, the library has a volume of about
160 documents.
Margarete has learned from childhood to adapt her life and her research work to
tough environmental conditions and to persevere. As the daughter of a regime-
critical Protestant pastor and a teacher, she lived with her two siblings in Thuringia
East Germany from 1947 to 1960 under constant observation by state security.
When the political pressure became too great, the parents decided to flee to the West
with their three minor children, and they finally ended up in the Bernese Oberland
Switzerland, where the father got a job as pastor of a parish.
vii
viii Foreword: Viewpoint on the Founder
During his first mountain climb, the father died unexpectedly of a stroke and the
mother had to support the family as a teacher in the remote mountain village. Since
there was not much else to distract her except skiing in winter and hiking in sum-
mer, the young Margarete became intensively involved in observing the rugged
nature of the mountain world, thus laying the foundation for her later studies and
scientific work.
In 1971, the trained executive secretary and agricultural-biotechnical laboratory
technician emigrated to Canada with her husband. There she worked at McGill
University as a dishwasher, but her undercover was soon detected. She complained
to the boss about the radioactive filter papers in the wastepaper bucket beside her
fume hood. While living in Zurich applied to three universities as a “mature stu-
dent” for a bachelor’s degree. She typed her husband’s doctoral thesis in the eve-
nings entering the final corrections. After her apprenticeship, Margarete became a
lab assistant at ETH in Zurich. During that time, she attended courses that interested
her, including working on experiments involving the genes of fruit flies. She
attended lectures of her interest during the day and worked on experiments with
fruit fly genetics in the evenings to replace lecture time.
Of the three universities, one refused her admission on the grounds that her father
had been an East German spy: deeply frightening news for Margarete. But the other
two universities gave the green light, and after five years, both the Bachelor of
Science and Masters in Entomology at the University of Toronto were completed.
The documentation on the social behavior of insect larvae was even published in
Nature, the quintessential journal of science.
This unusual distinction for a nonacademic (without a doctorate) helped her to
obtain a position as a research associate at the Institute for Environmental Studies
(IES) at the University of Toronto. She was given the task of conducting research on
the ecological behavior of the waste piles of a uranium mine north of Toronto. A
final report requires that literature in the area must be cited in every report. Margarete
found that the university’s libraries had no scientific literature on plants, trees, and
shrubs or grass growing on uranium wastes. This prompted her to propose a four-
year study to the government of Canada, for which she prepared a research plan to
determine the possibility of radioactive contamination of the food chain.
This project was approved by the Canadian federal government, and she investi-
gated uranium tailings in Ontario and soon all uranium tailings sites in Canada. This
was the first time she entered the tough male domain of mining. It was certainly not
an easy learning curve, but she always kept her head up. Through the publications
of these studies, Margarete was appointed as Canadian representative to the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), much to the surprise and envy of her
colleagues at the institute, who each had a doctorate.
Working on projects in the uranium industry soon attracted the interest of other
mining companies, and it was natural to start her own company, Boojum Research
Limited, in 1982. Because of Margaret’s background, Boojum’s approach has
always been one of practicality and innovative problem solving, often in the face of
Foreword: Viewpoint on the Founder ix
opposition from established consultancies and mining professionals. This led to

another milestone in 1989, as her work on a closed copper zinc mine was published
in the first edition of the book on Ecological Engineering: An Introduction to
Ecotechnology. Over the years, she earned increasing respect being awarded prizes
by the CLRA (Canadian Land Reclamation Association) as well as the CIM
(Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum).
What does this mean for the benefits and practical application in ecology, econ-
omy, and politics? Here are some examples from East Germany: Until the reunifica-
tion of Germany, large areas in the former GDR were characterized by the key
industries of lignite, potash, spar, and ore mining and processing as well as uranium
mining. All sectors produced enormous amounts of overburden and landfill material
with well-known negative consequences for the environment, especially water pol-
lution. Visible traces of the contaminated sites from coal mines can currently also be
found in the river Spree which flows through Berlin. Nearly all tributaries are also
affected. The result is that landscapes are covered by washed-out iron hydroxide
from the buried coal, mainly in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg, and
Thuringia.
The Wismut GmbH (uranium for Russia) was founded in 1991 after the Berlin
wall fell and LMBV (Lausitzer und Mitteldeutscher Bergbau-Verwaltungsgesellschaft
GmbH coal) in 1995 to manage, rehabilitate, and prepare for subsequent use. Both
companies are federally owned and are under the control of the Federal Ministry for
Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Ministry of Finance, respectively, and
will continue to devote themselves to the perpetual burdens for a long time to come,
critically eyed by politicians, environmentalists, and citizens’ initiatives, such as the
“Klare Spree” action alliance.
In 2005, the LMBV organized the first International Remediation Congress ISC
in Berlin, in which Margarete also participated as a keynote speaker. Wismut in turn
invited Margarete to give lectures and workshops to report on her experiences with
Ecological Engineering processes. A wetland treatment system was changed into an
ecological engineering system. The system showed great interest and worked rea-
sonably well however missed some essential aspects, as her participation was termi-
nated too early. Their own conventional processes took over. Margarete is convinced
that there is still considerable potential for innovation, rationalization, and thus cost
reduction.
In order to make her scientific documents and evaluations available to the general
public for research and teaching as well as for operational use and to establish them
as important building blocks in her fields of expertise, Margarete donated a truck-
load of books to the mining and environment library at the Laurentian University of
Sudbury in Canada, supporting with a stipend the integration into the online library.
To round it off, she also offers workshops and lectures.
For her “life’s work,” she was awarded an honorary doctorate from this univer-
sity on October 2020. Her long-time co-author who became her, friend made great
scientific contributions. Dr. Günther Meinrath from Passau and Bad Tölz
x Foreword: Viewpoint on the Founder
commented on his laudation with the words: “The University of Sudbury does not
only distinguish Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden. The Laurentian University of
Sudbury also distinguishes itself – with one of the most unusual personalities the
scientific world of today has to offer.”
Gustav A. Habenstein, Chief Representative. Always Solutions Services GmbH.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Always Solutions Services Gmbh Gustav Habenstein

Moers, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Foreword: Frame of Reference on the Early
Projects
I was asked by Margarete Kalin to write some introductory comments for this eco-
logical engineering book, providing some thoughts on this topic as viewed from the
mining sector perspective. Specifically, my viewpoint relates to the uranium mining
sector as carried out in northern Saskatchewan. I worked most of my career for
Cameco Corporation, covering both its Fuel Services and Mining sectors. Having
retired a decade ago, I can only provide my personal perspective.
The uranium mining sector in northern Saskatchewan, which while not large in
scale relative to other mining sectors, is in my view a good example of how a well-
regulated, responsibly operated mining sector can successfully manage its environ-
mental impacts, both now and in the future. There has been clear progress in dealing
with past issues, as well as implementing and improving current environmental per-
formance. I worked with Margarete on several Boojum projects with Cameco,
involving both historic and current operating uranium mine/mill environmental
matters. I should first summarize why we chose to fund the Boojum research work
described in this book.
Our objective centres on continually improving the understanding of how our
mining operations interact with the local environment. This interaction primarily
focuses on the water environment with topics relating to how tailings, waste rock
and overburden stockpiles are managed, as well as the behaviour of former mine
pits and underground workings. Uranium is a relatively common naturally occur-
ring high-value metal. It is found throughout the world in low concentrations, with
known pathways of dispersion and concentration through chemical and biological
processes. One can learn a lot about uranium’s environmental behavior from how it
has been naturally distributed around viable ore bodies. For instance, this type of
knowledge can lead to the discovery of mineable deposits by analysing such things
as downstream lake bottom sediments and past glacier transport activity.
In Saskatchewan, to licence and operate a modern uranium mine, credible
decommissioning plans must be developed from the outset. Such plans must be sup-
ported with justified cost estimates, then approved by regulatory authorities and
typically financially backed up by acceptable financial assurance mechanisms.
These financial assurances are required if the operator defaults on their
xi
xii Foreword: Frame of Reference on the Early Projects
decommissioning obligations. Decommissioning plans must be supported by long-

term environmental risk assessments, largely built on environmental transport mod-
els. Source terms for any surface and groundwater contaminant transport pathways
to the receiving environment are needed, including such things as expected adjust-
ments with time, as well as contaminant transport dispersion and accumulation
characteristics. Good models require good input data, based on knowledge of how
all contaminants of concern behave, spanning both radioactive and non-radioactive
constituents. In northern Saskatchewan mines, in addition to uranium and its decay
products, such as radium, other key constituents include arsenic, nickel, molybde-
num and selenium.
Boojum’s work largely centred on the behaviour of uranium, radium-226, arse-
nic and nickel. The work focused on characterising contaminant source terms, pro-
cesses that mobilize contaminants, processes that sequester soluble contaminants to
less soluble precipitates and study of ways in which these natural processes could
be optimised. The overarching decommissioning goal is to minimise the long-term
mobilization of contaminants in tailings, waste rock and mined-out ore deposits.
Nevertheless, some limited contaminant migration is inevitable. Reliably under-
stood contaminant chemical characterization and interactions with the receiving
environment are of paramount importance in predicting future behaviour measured
over thousands of years. The halo mineralization found in displaced waste rock and
ore body overburden as well as mineralization left in place in mined-out pits and
underground workings must be characterized. These components may have similar
mineralization to that found in the ore body itself or may reflect natural migration
from the ore body. Either way, these source terms are now potentially subject to
accelerated aging by being exposed to weathering factors, such as oxidation. Mill
tailings, on the other hand, have completely modified mineralization due to the
chemical processes used to extract the uranium.
This contaminant characterisation work continues to evolve as the mine site tran-
sitions through the various phases of its decommissioning plan. Typically, the mine
site is expected to transform from an initial post-closure active management decom-
missioning phase to a subsequent passive decommissioning monitoring phase,
before reaching the final post-licence management phase.
In addition to the primary mission of better understanding contaminant behav-
iours for decommissioning process approvals, ecological engineering processes can
provide viable supporting remediation processes when faced with residual longer-
term low-grade, low-rate contaminant transport. While long-term solutions obvi-
ously need to be based on something beyond simply saying that “nature will take
care of itself”, the positive aspects of naturally occurring processes to mediate any
residual impacts cannot be summarily dismissed, especially in the later, more pas-
sive, stages of the decommissioning process. Reaching the fully decommissioned
end-state is no simple task, but more achievable when built on good science.
CAMECO, Saskatoon John Jarrell (Retired)

Saskatchewan, Canada
Foreword: Point of View on the Business Aspects
Progress towards long-term sustainable environmental solutions in the wake of cir-

cular economy and sustainability needs to start with a change in attitude. The execu-
tives in the mining industry should pay heed to what has happened over the course
of the last few years to the automotive industry. Internal combustion engines have
been declared “persona non grata” in many jurisdictions. A significant number of
nations have declared that all new vehicle sales must be electric. Some have set a
target of 2035, others a few years later. While the time frames may vary, the direc-
tion the automotive industry is being forced to follow is clear. These are not
consumer-led initiatives. Rather, elected officials are responding to their perception
of the demands of the public for environmentally sustainable policies.
I have had the privilege of knowing Margarete Kalin for more than three decades.
Over the course of those years, my role has been a combination of business advisor,
corporate director and friend. Her passion for creating sustainable environmental
solutions for the long-term acid mine drainage problems that are endemic to mine
sites has not waned. This book is another chapter in her efforts to effect change. Her
firm, founded in 1982, in the first years the uranium industry, the most progressive
of the industry, supported her endeavours. Projects to develop site-specific decom-
missioning scenarios with several large corporations followed.
I was introduced to Margarete in 1990. She was struggling to understand the
decisions being made by her customers. My experience with corporations in the
resource industries and understanding of general corporate behaviour helped me
provide Margarete with guidance regarding the apparent lack of willingness of the
mining industry to embrace sustainable solutions. Margarete refused to accept that
acid mine drainage is a price the environment must pay for mineral extraction. Her
perseverance has led to an impressive scientific foundation that can be used to bring
an end to acid mine drainage. This book is written for the mining industry and its
executives who remain firmly entrenched in the remediation approaches of the past.
Environmental restoration tools regarding the wastes as extreme ecosystems
developed by Margarete Kalin with her team of scientists have demonstrated that
they can meet the minimum regulatory standards by keeping contaminants within
the mine waste and water management systems. Co-authors of this book are persons
xiii
xiv Foreword: Point of View on the Business Aspects
well known in the mining industry. They offer critical thought on land and water
usage, present alternatives and encourage change which can be brought about with
lower operating costs through more efficient hydrometallurgy. They support the
approaches demonstrated by Boojum as the vastness of Germany’s coal strip mining
is indeed to anyone an extreme ecosystem. Thus, this book provides a significant
added benefit if continued and further developed not only through creating jobs but
also to address severe problems of the water supply in the coal-mining districts.
Ecological engineering tools help gradually eliminating the perpetual liability asso-
ciated with mining and their wastes.
Margarete has laid the groundwork to introduce some degree of sustainability to
and a circular economy for the industry. It is now up to the executives to demand
that this body of work is applied from exploration through operation and to the
grave. Leaders lead…. Anyone who is not leading is following. Leaders can influ-
ence outcomes. Followers suffer the consequences. If the executives of mining com-
panies want to have a meaningful impact on the direction that new environmental
responsibility regulations take, they need to lead. If the executives do not act, gov-
ernments will set new, higher minimum standards for mine site environmental com-
pliance. The executives in the mining industry should keep in mind that whether
new regulations will be effective, let alone cost efficient are seldom important crite-
ria for government policy. The starting point rests with the executives of the mining
industry. They need to change their mindset. The clock is ticking.
Boojum Research Ltd. Ronald Benn

ON, Canada
Preface: Why We Have Written This Book
Mining, as it is currently practiced, is an extremely wasteful pursuit. A space alien

watching us mine a tonne of rock – and throw 99% of it back, as we do with gold
ores and nickel laterites, for example – would correctly think we are crazy. The act
of mining the ore is the most expensive part of metals extraction, yet we happily
throw most of what we mine away, at the same time creating vast amounts of tail-
ings, waste rock and contaminated fresh water. The mining industry needs a para-
digm shift in thinking to recognise that supposedly uneconomic materials that we
currently throw away – such as iron, magnesium, silica, calcium and aluminium –
are finite and valuable resources in themselves. We have taken the trouble to dig
them up, so we should take further trouble to recover them. This is the first reason
for writing the book.
The book is targeted at a wide-spectrum audience, mining executives and profes-
sionals, government regulators, environmentalists and anyone with an interest in
our planet and its ecosystems. However, it is the mining executives and government
that we would like to embrace the Way Forward, because stewardship of our planet
is a necessity. Current practices must change. Society, in general, recognises that
there is a crisis with climate change and global warming. Mitigation of mining
wastes is thought to be being driven by the so-called electric revolution. This revolu-
tion needs metals and minerals in large amounts to facilitate the dream of renewable
energy. The waste sites of these minerals are growing, consuming more land and
contaminating more water. The second reason for writing the book is to offer sug-
gestions of ways to responsibly go about mining.
The book also describes the balance between mining and ecology, and how the
latter, particularly the roles of microbes, can assist in mitigating, reversing and con-
taining much of the damage that mining has created. It is a topic that is not generally
well understood, and to which there is a general reluctance to embrace, but it is one
that we believe is crucial and essential to preserve the viability of the planet. This is
the third reason for writing the book. Contaminated drainage from mining wastes,
as it is believed, is not “the price to be paid for metals”.
Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden earned the nicknames “Cattail Kalin” and “Swamp
Doctor” for her professional life as a lone pioneer. She was initially tolerated and
xv
xvi Preface: Why We Have Written This Book
subsequently respected by the industry, culminating with the award of a PhD

Honoris Causa from Laurentian University, based on her unique experience of
investigating and working on waste piles and their drainage, first in Canada and its
Arctic, then in Germany, China, Australia, Brazil and the USA. Different commodi-
ties were encountered with the work, but the same extreme ecosystem ecology was
always present. This supports the claim that ecological engineering processes have
global relevance and need to be further developed and expanded, based on biogeo-
chemistry and microbial ecology. The industry was interested in Boojum’s work,
the forerunner being the uranium industry and other commodities followed, but
after three decades the interest dwindled. We all know that change is difficult, but
time is now pressing, which is the fourth reason for writing this book.
The “Blue Marble”, planet Earth, is our home, the only one we have. Unlike our
forefathers who were able to drop everything and sail off to the New World, we are
not able to do that. Astronomers estimate that there are over two billion possibly
habitable exo-planets in the universe, but the nearest of these is over four light years
away. In the far distant future, humankind may be able to reach out to the stars, but
for now we are confined to our planet, so we need to look after it.
The Earth is a truly marvellous, wonderful ecosystem, but it is a fragile one, and
we are duty-bound, if we want to continue to exist here, to show appropriate stew-
ardship. This is really the first and main reason for writing this book. Although a
cliché, it is nevertheless true that we either mine or grow everything we use. The
products of the former underpin our modern society, but they are not renewable,
they are finite. Only agriculture is truly renewable. Freshwater is somewhere in
between since it is recycled on a global scale. Humankind has recognised the use of
metals since antiquity, but it is only in the last few centuries or so that large-scale
mining has created numerous new environmental issues. Freshwater is also a finite,
but recyclable resource and needed for mining and mineral extraction. Desalination
can go some way to alleviating the pressures on freshwater use, but it is not the
answer, being both costly and returning the concentrated brine creates additional
problems for already-distressed oceans.
Beyond the obvious environmental issues, therefore, are population growth, and
the use of arable land and freshwater. These reasons are highlighted in our book and
we hope that they are sufficient arguments to provoke action. It is also our hope that
in writing this book, we have contributed not only to the general discussion on this
topic, but we have also presented some concrete ideas on how improved stewardship
of our home can be implemented.
Oakville, Canada
Michael P. Sudbury
Alexandria, Canada Bryn Harris
Toronto, Canada
Acknowledgments
The ecological fieldwork on the mine waste management areas was only possible
because many mine managers, too numerous to name, were instrumental in giving
access to the sites and actively supporting our work. Boojum is grateful for the first
hand knowledge about mine operations generating the waste rock piles and the pro-
cesses which reject barren liquors and tailings. These two ingredients were neces-
sary to make progress possible. Without the acceptance of the Canadian Mineral
Processors (CMP’ers), this work, developing the Ecological Engineering tools,
could not have been realized. Our gratitude goes to all the scientists in geology,
hydrology, mineralogy and microbial ecology, algal physiology, data management
and not to forget the many summer students who needed often courage when
requested to carry out nearly impossible tasks. These waste sites are no picnic
places. Many thanks to our coauthors, Michael P. Sudbury and Bryn Harris, who
provided a framework for the Ecological Engineering tools as their work support
solutions to the way forward.
Toronto, Canada Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden

Toronto, Canada William N. Wheeler
xvii
Summary
This book, in ten chapters, addresses and presents methods to stabilize mine waste
and water management areas. It presents scientific bases to utilize ecological pro-
cesses in order to balance the weathering processes in these extreme ecosystems
with a realistic view of these waste sites of broken or ground rock. It has been the
self-inflicted mission of Boojum Research Ltd., supported firstly by the uranium
industry, then followed by several others to develop decommissioning scenarios.
Over 40 years, it grew into an approach, which if further developed with the mining
industry, may lead to a “Eureka moment” and may make mine waste management
possible from “the cradle to the grave,” given that one of the most relevant findings
is that “bugs fight bugs.” The book is intended to be the beginning of an approach
which might lead to the “holy grail” long awaited by the industry, consultancies,
and academia.
The importance of the mining industry is well-known, if not always appreciated,
as our lives are surrounded by its products, i.e., metals and industrial minerals. As
long ago as 1556, Georgius Agricola first highlighted the destructive environmental
side-effects of mining and metals extraction, namely dead fish and poisoned water.
These effects, unfortunately, are still with us today. Since then, our knowledge of
the reasons leading to environmental deterioration have grown tremendously, and
many mining and smelting processes have been improved. In Agricola’s time, min-
ing was generally local and surrounded by forests which were cut to support the
underground tunnels of the mine and used for fuel for roasting of the ores. However,
changes in mining methods since the early 1900s to open pit mines, with or without
tunnels, became the most common mining method. This led to a second mining
waste namely, vast rock piles with uneconomical concentrations of mineral from the
overburden, in addition to the ground rock from the mills, namely the tailings.
Along with population growth and technology advancements, metal demand
increased, and further wastes were created due to chemical neutralization of mine
wastewater, generating a mineral-laden sludge. This latter material, however, is in
fact just a perfect alternate food for microbes.
An umbrella large enough and/or the best cover strong enough to persist for
decades or millennia for enclosing the wastes does not exist. To halt weathering, the
xix
xx Summary
oxidative reaction expedited by microbial activity has to be restrained or even inhib-

ited. The logical approach to address this is to reduce the weathering rate and pro-
mote precipitation within the waste deposits by delivering, with the oxygenated
water, a reactant which alters the mineral surface such that oxygen-consuming
microbes dominate.
Boojum was guided by professionals of the mining industry from its inception in
1982 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and continuing up to the idea of summarizing
about 40 plus years of Ecological Engineering methods in a book. A partial sum-
mary is available in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia under the title Mining,
Ecological Engineering and Mineral Extraction for the twenty-first century by Kalin
et al. (2018). Chapters 1, 2, and 3 are included in this book with an enlarged Chapter
4 and generally more data have been integrated. The text is expanded in the hope
that Ecological Engineering tools can be further developed and applied.
Chapter 1 in this book describes mining waste generation, weathering, and the
complexities of predicting the characteristics of their effluents from the onset of
operation. Chapter 2 provides rough estimates of global annual ore and waste gen-
eration of major commodities, their water, and land use reflecting the urgent need
for action to change the present approaches to mining and waste generation. Chapter
3 provides a solution to both, giving an outline of changes needed in hydrometal-
lurgical processes to recover more commodities than the target mineral, and also
saving land and water. Chapter 4 presents a brief history of mine waste management
funded by various government and industry programs, with Boojum reviewing its
early contracts. The prevailing response was that ecological engineering and biol-
ogy do not work in the winter, and certainly not in the far North of Canada. This
misperception provided a unique opportunity to document natural recovery pro-
cesses of long-time abandoned operations in the North West Territories and the
Yukon. It was founded by Canada’s DIAND (Department of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development) and facilitated by the water boards of both jurisdictions,
providing water monitoring data and aerial photographs which were used to assess
the recovery of the land disturbance. Out of 31 sites investigated, only 5 showed no
recovery of the water quality (mostly small gold mines where the gold was collected
with mercury). With these findings of nature’s repair potential, Boojum gained con-
fidence, and despite Boojum’s initially cautious faith, these natural cleansing pro-
cesses were confirmed. Yes, they take a bit of time – but they work and are
sustainable.
In Chap. 5, the differences in degradation of organic and inorganic pollutants are
highlighted. The use of natural or constructed wetlands with sediments within
which plants grow is very successful cleansing and degrading agents for organics.
However, when tested for mining wastewater containing inorganic contaminants,
the treatment generated hydrological problems. The different removal processes are
described.
Chapters 6, 7 and 8 describe how the ecological engineering tools which are
needed to neutralize acid mine and rock drainage. These tools, namely ARUM
(Acid Reduction Using Microbiology), biological polishing and biofilm augmenta-
tion to reduce sulfide oxidation, are installed within the mine waste management
Summary xxi
area. As ditches and shallow ponds are void of sediments those have to be con-
structed. Instructions are given to provide conditions for microbially active
sediments.
In order to remove contaminants out of large water bodies, lakes or flooded pits
(also called pit lakes), it is necessary to generate particle forming organics, phyto-
plankton, through adjusting the ratio of nutrients in the water. These free-floating
algae provide, in the water column, cell wall surfaces to which metals adhere/
absorb, forming particles large and heavy enough to settle to the bottom sediment,
again either constructed or existing. For attached periphyton growth (attached living
algae), surfaces have to be provided supported by floats or adding brush at a depth
where light can penetrate, at the edges of pits or pools, initiating the growth of a
floating living cover. These measures have in common that the lack of a continued
supply of organics halts a sustainable treatment approach within the water body.
This tool is referred to as biological polishing, replacing the use of flocculation
agents for particle formation (Chap. 7).
Lastly, a very important tool is the one presented in Chap. 8. To various acid-
generating mining wastes, Carbonaceous Phosphate Mining Wastes (CPMW) were
added, weathering products / particulates of CPMW were carried with the rain to the
mineral surface, the effluents had a circumneutral pH. This process was brought
about through the formation of a biofilm over the mineral surface and has been
documented several times, by different scientific groups repeating tests with differ-
ent commodities and experimental designs. Initial skepticism suggested that bio-
films would not last!! The rocks from the first experiment have been stored for 11
years, as Boojum anticipated the biofilm might no last, but sometime every experi-
ment has an end. The rocks were placed outdoors without further CPMW addition
for an additional two full years, with continued improvement of the effluent. Hence,
outdoor exposure was continued, and eventually, the surfaces were investigated
through SEM microscopy at the University of Toronto. Eleven years had passed,
and some of the biofilms still persisted. Recently, Boojum found in updating the
literature on MIC (Microbial Inhibition of Corrosion), a publication about a rust-
free nail covered by a biofilm several thousand years old.
Chapter 9 highlights R&D projects that have used the above tools to contain or
slow the production of AMD in mine waste management. Chapter 10 provides some
practical suggestions to move the industry closer to sustainability and some of the
Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
William N. Wheeler
Contents
1 Introduction and Weathering�� 1

2 Dimensions of Global Mining Waste Generation and Water Use�� 9
Michael P. Sudbury
3 Toward a Sustainable Metals Extraction Technology�� 17
Bryn Harris
4 Waste Management: A Brief History and the Present State�� 29
5 Constructed Wetlands and the Ecology of Extreme Ecosystems�� 41
6 Ecological Engineering Tools in Extreme Ecosystems�� 47
7 Biological Polishing Tool: Element Removal
in the Water Column�� 73
William N. Wheeler, Carlos Paulo, Anne Herbst, Hendrik Schubert,
Guenther Meinrath, and Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden
8 The Biofilm Generation Tool for the Reduction
of Sulfate Oxidation �� 105
9 R&D Field Applications�� 121
10 The Way Forward�� 147
Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden, Michael P. Sudbury, and Bryn Harris
Related Reading �� 151
xxiii
Contributors
Bryn Harris Alexandria, ON, Canada

Anne Herbst Department Maritime Systeme, Interdisziplinäre Fakultät,
Rostock, Germany
Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden Boojum Research Ltd., Toronto, ON, Canada
Guenther Meinrath Head, RER Consultants Passau, Passau, Bavaria, Germany
Carlos Paulo School of the Environment, Trent University, Peterborough,
ON, Canada
Hendrik Schubert Universität Rostock, Biowissenschaften Lehrstuhl für
Ökologie, Rostock, Germany
Michael P. Sudbury Michael P. Sudbury Consulting Services Inc., Oakville,
ON, Canada
William N. Wheeler Boojum Research Ltd., Toronto, ON, Canada
xxv
Chapter 1
Introduction and Weathering
Abstract This chapter introduces mining wastes, primarily from sulfidic ores.
These wastes are environmentally destructive and have longevities of thousands of
years. The root cause of mining waste is the weathering of exposed waste rock and
ores. The weathering process is exacerbated by microbial metabolism. The focus of
this chapter and book is the delineation of the role of oxidizing microbes in causing
mine waste effluents and the role of reducing microbes in their prevention and
control.
Weathering liberates minerals, too low in concentration to be milled economi-
cally. The surface area within mine waste is dramatically increased and therefore
accessible for oxidation, e.g., weathering. Many elements liberated are needed to
sustain life, but increased concentrations are toxic when reaching the receiving
environments. The chapter gives a brief, but informative overview of mining prac-
tices, and about the complex factors which contribute to the rate and extent of
weathering processes. Challenges in predicting the weathering products such as
acid mine or rock drainage are presented.
Keywords Mining wastes · Mining technology · Mineral processing · Extractive

metallurgy · Environmental liability · Waste mineralization · Weathering processes
· Challenges in projection of effluent characteristics · Acid-Base-accounting,
Mining and the extraction of metals have been a large part of human activity since
prehistoric times, and the modern world has an almost unquenchable thirst for more
and more metals, not only the traditional metals, such as iron, copper, and alumi-
num, but also the rare and so-called rare-earth metals, which are important for
mobile phones and the like. However, recovering metals has not come without a
cost. The environmental consequences of even ancient activity are still evident
M. Kalin-Seidenfaden (*)
Boojum Research Ltd., Toronto, ON, Canada
e-mail: margarete.kalin@utoronto.ca
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Switzerland AG 2022
M. Kalin-Seidenfaden, W. N. Wheeler (eds.), Mine Wastes and Water,
Ecological Engineering and Metals Extraction,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84651-0_1
2 M. Kalin-Seidenfaden
today. For example, there is still evidence in Spain of mining by the Iberians in
3000 BCE (Davis et al., 2000), in the old mines of the Incas in South America
(Strosnider et al., 2011), and more recently, in the vast “red mud” ponds from baux-
ite mining found scattered worldwide (Ritter, 2014). There is, perhaps, no greater
and more poignant reminder of this latter environmental legacy than the fact that
October 2016 was the 50th anniversary of the terrible Aberfan disaster in Wales,
where an unstable coal mining tip engulfed a school, killing 116 children and 28
adults. More recently, the tailings dam break in Brazil is another example of a min-
ing tragedy that cost 248 lives and considerable environmental destruction (Wise
Uranium Project, 2019).
The practice of mining and metals extraction is that the mined, broken mineral is
separated into rocks that do not contain sufficient metal to be economically extracted,
referred to as waste rock, and rocks that contain ore. These latter rocks are ground,
the ore is extracted, and the remaining ground rock disposed of as tailings. The
wastes generate effluent known as mine or rock drainage, which is either alkaline or
acidic. Since ancient times, mining methods and practices have, of course, changed
dramatically, currently having a much larger scale and much more mechanized, and
with commensurately greater environmental issues. Ore was once high-graded (col-
lected in nearly pure mineral form) or mined in underground tunnels, collected in
glory holes, and hauled by rail to the mill. A glory hole with its haulage tunnel is
relatively small in comparison to an open pit, where the overburden (soil and rock
without sufficient economic metal content) is removed to gain access to the ore-
bearing strata. Today, most mines are either open pit, and/or have a network of
underground tunnels, or both.
The first step before mining can begin is exploration, which is carried out today
mainly by air, with sophisticated instrumentation, and covering large areas of the
globe. Ground truthing, when the geology is promising, is carried out with borehole
drilling and investigative trenching. Generally, these activities have low environ-
mental impact. However, important environmental parameters could be collected in
this early phase and later could be used to assess environmental consequences
should a mine be developed. For example, water quality of boreholes and drainage
characteristics of trenches could be used to plan for the future mine’s waste rock
pile and tailings basin siting. This potential is rarely utilized.
The second step is mining. It is the costliest of all activities, and one with a long-
lasting environmental impact. It disturbs the hydrological conditions of the under-
ground, contaminates the groundwater emerging from underground workings, and
destroys surface landscapes with waste rock and tailings deposits.
The third step is mineral processing. This consists of first crushing the rocks to
an even size and then grinding them in a ball mill. Once the desired sand-like size
of the rocks is reached, physical separation methods, such as flotation, gravity sepa-
ration, tabling, dense media, etc., are applied to the sand-water slurry. These meth-
ods result in a mineral concentrate that is further processed in the fourth step. The
ground rock remaining after extraction of the target economic mineral is regarded
as being of little or no economic value and is discharged, generally as a 30% sand-
water slurry, known as tailings. The vast quantities of tailings and waste rock
removed from the ground expose a very large surface area for weathering
1 Introduction and Weathering 3
(oxidation) and hence represent long-term environmental liabilities, as evidenced

by legacy sites worldwide.
The fourth step is collectively referred to as ‘extractive metallurgical processes.’
These processes differ from element to element, but take two forms, pyrometallurgy
(smelting) and hydrometallurgy (leaching). The former has serious occupational
health and safety issues in terms of gaseous emissions (air pollution) and slag (mate-
rial left over after smelting). Slag is accumulated on land, but generally has not been
considered a serious long-term environmental issue. Slags from smelting are exten-
sively reused as building materials (Piatak et al., 2015). Most of the hydrometal-
lurgical processes use chemical agents in relatively small quantities. The chemicals
do not have nearly the long-term environmental consequences that tailings and
waste rock piles have. In hydrometallurgical processes, only accidents during
extraction are of concern. This is particularly true for the extraction of gold, which
uses highly toxic cyanide. Although spills of tailings or process liquor are generally
disastrous, the toxicity of cyanide is short-lived.
1.1 Weathering: Contaminant Generation – The Challenge
Minerals are the source of most of the elements present in all living organisms and
are essential for growth and reproduction. Weathering, or the release of elements
from rocks, occurs due to physicochemical forces (heat, wind, freezing, snow, rain,
and erosion) and biogeochemical factors such as vegetation exudates and microbial
activity (Gorbushina, 2007; Dontsova et al., 2020). These are primarily oxidative
processes, driven by oxygen (air), water, and microbes. Microbes also bring changes
in weathering / oxidation by accelerating the rate of oxidation by 1000 fold dis-
cussed in Chap. 8. These processes lead to the gradual breakdown of rocks and their
minerals and supply elements to water and soil to support all life on the planet. Not
all rocks display the same weatherability. The mineral composition of a rock and its
weatherability are determined by a rock’s history or genesis over geological times-
cales (also known as the rock cycle). The weatherability of rock determines the
buffering capacity and elemental composition of the surrounding ground- and sur-
face water, which, in turn, with climate, define the characteristics of ecozones within
ecosystems (e.g., arctic or tropical) around the globe. Together with the growth and
decay of vegetation, these processes govern the characteristics of surface water,
groundwater and soil formation.
Exudates of higher plant roots alter the pH in the root zone and house microbes
and fungi that assist in dissolving minerals in the soil to increase nutrient availabil-
ity for plant growth (van Schöll et al., 2008). Lichens, fungi, and microbes grow
attached to rock surfaces, exuding organic acids to liberate elements from minerals
(Barker & Banfield, 1998; Uroz et al., 2009). These organisms control the availabil-
ity of elements and determine the distribution of elements in water, air, and soil. An
extensive discussion on weathering is given by Drever (2005) and Corenblit et al.
(2011). Mine wastes represent a very large amount of exposed rock surface; much
larger than the land area they occupy. Hence, weathering of the rock surfaces
releases disproportionally greater amounts of elements to ground- and surface

water, which for toxic metals can be detrimental to aquatic life.
Oxidation is primarily a geochemical reaction supported by microbes (Nordstrom,
2011). Many of these microbes belong to the group called Archaea (some of which are
chemo-lithotrophs or rock eaters (Dave & Tipre, 2012; Singer & Stumm, 1970)), which
derive energy from breaking mineral bonds, such as those in sulfidic minerals, increas-
ing oxidation rates a thousand-fold (Dave & Tipre, 2012). Chemo-lithotrophic microbes
are ubiquitous, colonizing any and all surfaces on the planet, and when they find the
proper conditions, they flourish, as evidenced by the sulfate-oxidizing microbes in mine
wastes. Further, the oxidation of sulfides in wastes generates heat (Blowes et al., 2003).
This can lead to steaming/burning waste rock piles (Kuenzer & Stracher, 2012;
Rosenblum et al., 2015). In the high arctic, the heat generated year-round prevents tail-
ings from freezing completely (Elberling, 2004; Hollesen et al., 2011).
Exposed, excavated rocks in mine waste management areas are similar to natu-
ral, extreme environments dominated by sulfate and iron generated by volcanoes
and their hot springs (King, 2003). In fact, life is hypothesized to have originated in
these iron-rich environments (Deamer & Weber, 2010). Mine sites have many simi-
lar characteristics, and consequently the control of microbes should be the primary
issue in mine waste management. Metal-bearing minerals are associated with the
iron sulfides in the ore, waste rock, and tailings. When combined with atmospheric
precipitation (i.e., carbonic acid) sulfuric acid, dissolves the minerals leaching met-
als from the rock. This is known as acid mine drainage (from tailings) or rock drain-
age (from waste rock). When the ore is contained in alkaline rocks, it is called
neutral drainage.
These extreme ecosystems are controlled by weathering and ecological pro-
cesses that are essentially the same the world over. Whether the wastes are in the
desert, the tropics, on the Altiplano, or in the arctic, microbial, and fungal processes
are the same the world over. Extremophile microbes have been found in the Atacama
Desert, Altiplano, Patagonia, and in Antarctica and the Arctic (Orellana et al., 2018).
Bio-geochemical cycles govern colonization, invasion, ecosystem evolution, and
processes. Mine waste sites are no exception. They are merely environments where
the native ecosystems have been scraped to bare rock. These sites are surrounded by
a relatively undisturbed environment providing seed sources. Without any soils,
these stark environments are controlled by oxidative processes. More natural eco-
systems are a balance between oxidative and reductive processes.
The goal of the ecological engineer is to balance these overwhelmingly oxidative
reactions with reductive processes. In pit lakes and drainage ditches this is accom-
plished by adding and/or abetting microbially-active, reductive sediments. In tail-
ings, the area of weathering is the phreatic zone, the water saturation zone, in which
the water level changes with the seasons. Here, the generation of weathering prod-
ucts has to be slowed. In waste rock piles, weathering products are produced
throughout the pile, wherever oxygen penetrates with air into the rock voids. The
weathering products are then transported out of the piles via atmospheric precipita-
tion (Fig. 1.1). Since weathering occurs on the mineral surfaces, it is there that the
oxidative processes must be slowed or stopped.
Fig. 1.1 A schematic cross section of water pathways within waste rock piles. Where the water
percolates through the wastes, the metal acidity increases and precipitation and re-solubilization
take place. Water creates its own selective pathways through the pile. It follows that to precipitate
the weathering products in-situ, the reactant needs to be carried by rain along selective pathways
1.2 Difficulties in Predicting Contaminant Generation
Once an ore body is evaluated as viable, possible effluents are characterized using a
procedure called Acid-Base Accounting (ABA). However, predicting drainage or
drainage water characteristics is difficult. Nevertheless, when an ore body is con-
firmed, and a mining operation is planned, government regulators request forecasts
of the acid generation potential of the wastes generated. Many test procedures have
been developed over time to improve accuracy. A detailed review of ABA tech-
niques is presented by Dold (2017), with an emphasis on mineralogy. Drainage
from a waste rock pile generally emerges in an oxidized form, whereas tailings
drainages emerge reduced, with low Eh and circum-neutral pH. When exposed to
oxygen in the seeps or drainages, metal contaminants rapidly precipitate. This reac-
tion produces hydrogen ions which decrease the pH (details in Dold, 2014).
Generally, ABA test work is based on ground- or segregated- rock. Segregation
(based on particle size and mineralogy) separates reactive waste from non-reactive
rock. This classification is supposed to ensure a relatively homogenous distribution
of all rock types occurring in the mine wastes, with both neutralizing and acid-
generating minerals. Grinding the segregated rocks creates a relatively homoge-
neous sample for the ABA tests, as well as allowing more exposure to the mineral
surfaces. While neutralizing and acid-generating minerals may be homogeneously
distributed in milled tailings for the ABA tests, they are generally not homogenous
in waste rock and the tailings.
Weathering products are generated mainly in the vadose zone of the fine-grained
tailings and in the flow path of the waste rock piles. Drainage is generated only at
locations in the wastes through which atmospheric precipitation passes. In the
stockpiles, both waste rock and tailings, water can form perched water tables and
develop distinct flow paths. Within the paths, contaminated water encounters differ-
ent minerals, causing different precipitation reactions. Neutralizing and acid-
generating rocks do not release their minerals at the same rate, which reduces
possible interactions. In addition, as the drainage passes through the stockpiles,
internal chemical precipitation occurs, leading to secondary minerals, some highly
water-soluble, further altering the chemical composition of the emerging drainage.
ABA procedures hardly account for all these interactions. Hence, ABA test proce-
dures are rarely reliable predictors of the drainage characteristics in the long-term.
For example, rock mineralization throughout the stockpile may not reflect that of
the tested material. This is typified by the observations presented in Table 1.1. Water
samples were collected from two different waste rock seepages between 1992 and
1994 and analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma spectroscopy (ICP) for their
Table 1.1 Water quality differences in seepages from the northwest and southeast slopes of a
waste rock pile
Northwest Toe Seepages Southeast Toe Seepages

Avg. S.D. Min Max n Avg. S.D. Min Max n
Temp 9.3 5.3 0.8 23 54 9 5.9 0.7 21 66
(°C)
pH 4.1 3.8 3 6 58 3.2 2.7 1.9 6.3 69
Cond 1410 644 550 4620 58 1382 874 273 4550 69
(μS cm−1)
Acidity 116 156 4.7 653 32 177 353 10 1723 35
(mg.L-1)
TDS 1427 583 362 2490 35 1372 717 327 4290 42
TSS 25 47 <1 110 5 425 790 <1 2300 9
Al 0.77 0.66 0.11 2.2 10 16 27 0.30 81 15
Diss As 81 102 0.01 520 47 32 30 0.06 130 63
Tot As 73 61 0.07 230 28 27 22 0.18 69 37
Ba 0.03 1 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 3
Ca 159 58 54 290 38 176 55 66 292 47
Diss Fe 0.12 0.23 0.001 1.0 32 16 51 0.001 220 42
Tot Fe 0.60 0.62 0.05 2.0 11 34 70 0.02 230 11
K 30 7.3 11 45 38 28 9.8 12 56 47
Mg 74 29 20 147 38 87 49 31 253 46
Mn 5.9 3.9 2.6 17 22 8.4 3.8 4.2 19 32
Na 31 11 13 70 38 23 6.7 11 35 47
Diss Ni 31 11 13 70 38 23 6.7 11 35 47
Tot Ni 88 75 2.6 400 47 85 94 1.8 470 62
The waste rock was declared as non-acid-generating based on the standard tests
elemental composition. Large variations in drainage composition were found

between different slopes of a waste rock pile. One slope (SE) was exposed toward
the sun and the other more shade (NW). The waste rock was tested using a series of
acid-base-accounting procedures and declared non-acid producing waste rock. Yet,
both slopes produced acidic drainage ranging from pH 2 to 6 (SE) and 3–6 (NW),
respectively (Table 1.1). The observations in Table 1.1 support the contention that
prediction of drainage quality is fraught with difficulties. It follows that more reli-
able approaches should be developed and considered.
These forecasts might be made more accurate by constructing and monitoring
rock piles during exploration. For example, ore and waste rock exposed during
exploration could be left as test areas to be monitored over time. If drill holes collect
water they could be used to monitor its quality and after they are pumped dry
checked occasional for water quality or its dry state over the life time of the mine.
This would provide useful information at close out of the mine waste and water
management area. Between exploration and development of a mine, years often
pass. The monitoring of these weathered exploration cavities, trenches or drill core
racks might give a more accurate characterization of the drainage. Finally, when
operations start, large, outdoor test piles may provide additional, useful data for
waste management during operations and planning for decommission.
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Chapter 2
Dimensions of Global Mining Waste
Generation and Water Use
Michael P. Sudbury
Abstract Mining and mineral processing are essential to our industrialized world.
However, the global dimensions of waste generation by mining activities are diffi-
cult to assess. Based on global statistics, the chapter not only illustrates the extent of
the challenges, but also projects that land usage for mining and agriculture appear
to be on a collision course. Given the scarcity of reliable numbers and the uncer-
tainty of the underlying assumptions, the chapter cannot give exact figures, but pro-
vides an educated estimate of land and water resources consumed by mining and its
wastes, globally. These estimates suggest that changes in mine waste and water
management approaches are needed now and by future generations. A paradigm
shift in land use, water usage, and mining techniques will not only benefit society,
but is essential for the continued extraction of metals, rare earth elements, and other
mineral resources.
Keywords Conflict of interest · Arable land use · Water resources · Desalination
Mining and mineral processing are vital activities in an industrialized world, but
their activities are mostly conducted in locations relatively remote from urban soci-
ety, thereby attracting little attention except when, on relatively rare occasions, a
major incident, such as a tailings dam failure or a rock failure, attracts wide media
attention. The industry has developed procedures to minimize the risk of such inci-
dents. A less spectacular but increasingly important aspect of mining is the need for
land to store wastes, and the need for water to transport and process ores, especially
when these needs compete with a limited area of arable land and/or water supplies
for irrigation. This competition is becoming more intense as the world’s population
increases, requiring more mineral resources and water, and requiring more agricul-
tural production from a finite arable land area.
M. P. Sudbury (*)
Michael P. Sudbury Consulting Services Inc., Oakville, ON, Canada
e-mail: msudbury@cogeco.ca

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84651-0_2
10 M. P. Sudbury
This section is a first attempt to put together a set of global statistics to quantify,
at least approximately, the dimensions of this competition and to identify some of
the ways that mining, and agriculture might cooperate to the mutual benefit of soci-
ety in general. The quantification of these dimensions is complex, but approxima-
tions are adequate to define the global challenge and to put mining activities into a
global perspective. Worldwide estimates are offered, based on the scant data avail-
able in the literature. Where no literature has been found, estimates are made using
the experience gained by the author over a lifetime in key positions in mining com-
panies worldwide. What’s important here is not an exact figure, but an educated
estimate of the order of magnitude of tonnages of waste rock and tailings produced
with the concurrent use of freshwater. The global land use is presented as waste
generation in units that are relatively easily to comprehend.
2.1 D
imensions of Global Mine Waste Generation
and Water Consumption
There are many organizations worldwide that collect statistics on mining wastes,
including the UN Statistics Division (2021) and the U.S. Geological Survey (2021),
which provide global production figures for minerals and metals. Additionally, min-
ing companies often provide information on solid waste production and water use
in annual environmental or sustainable development reports. The data are framed
within the global mining context covering a 25-year period, as this is a typical mine
lifespan. Emphasis is placed on water resource supply and use by mining operations
that appear to create competition, as they represent a close link to land use for agri-
culture. Abandoned or orphaned mine sites and their wastes, mankind’s shared
global historic inheritance, are not considered in these estimates.
Population growth, increased prosperity, resource demand, and resource compe-
tition are forcing the mining industry to rethink the future of mineral extraction.
These factors are inextricably linked, with consequences for people and the future.
Which should be emphasized—irrigation for agriculture, or mine water and waste
(Bebbington & Williams, 2008)?
The population of the globe is predicted to increase from the current 7.8 billion
(2021) to 9.2 billion by 2040—an increase of about 18% (Worldometer, 2021). This
will increase the demand for food, water, and raw materials of all kinds, including
minerals and metals. Global freshwater consumption per capita increases in propor-
tion to the increase in per capita income (UN Water, 2021a). The global average per
capita income has been increasing exponentially since the start of the Industrial
Revolution and is expected to increase by 33% in the next 25 years (The Maddison-
Project, 2013). This will result in a 60% increase in global water consumption. This
estimate discounts major natural or human-generated disasters.
Water is vital in many mining operations, as it is used for dust control, drilling,
transportation of solids, furnace cooling, and quenching slag and off gassing (H2S
2 Dimensions of Global Mining Waste Generation and Water Use 11
emissions from the tower of the refinery) as well as in refining operations (Mudd,
2008). Efforts are underway to reduce freshwater use in mining, but it is not yet
common practice (Bruce & Seaman, 2014).
2.2 Global Mine Water Usage – Annual Estimates
With 80 km3/y (Table 2.1), the industry’s global water consumption is relatively
small compared to other industrial sectors (Table 2.2; UN Water, 2021a, b;
Ecological Society of America, 2001). However, this consumption leads inevitably
to contamination of groundwater and surface water. Increased surface area of waste
rock and tailings exposed to weathering releases not only soluble elements, but also
large quantities of suspended solids. Furthermore, during mine development, dewa-
tering is often needed to access the ore to be mined, which in turn may deplete
freshwater aquifers. The current global use of water of all major industries is esti-
mated to be around 4500 km3 per year (Table 2.2), or about 10% of the net precipita-
tion (rain and snow) falling on land.
Currently, the water supplied by atmospheric precipitation is supplemented by
draw-down of aquifers. Depletion of aquifers will increase competition for surface
water supplies and lead to increased reliance on desalination plants in arid locations.
These estimates highlight the fact that mining and milling might well be on a
Table 2.1 Global water use estimates for the commodities listed, not including REE
Ferro- Oil
Mineral Coal alloys Iron ore Gold Copper sands Other Total
Ore (106t.) 7000 1000 2600 1700 1100 1000 5700 20,100
Process Water (m3.t−1) 2 1 5 5 5 10 5
Water Use (109 t.y−1) 14 1 13 8.5 5.5 10 28.5 80.2
Source: UN Water (2021a, b)
Table 2.2 Water consumption estimates of global industrial sectors

Global
Industry Irrigation Forest Power Desalination Municipal Mining Manufacturing Use U.S.A.
Product Food Paper Heat Freshwater Services Metals Various
sink
Water Use 1500 10 70 (−28) 500 80 2340 4500 2000
(109t.y−1)
Per Person 0.6 0.004 0.03 (−0.01) 0.2 0.03 0.9 1.76 5.5
(m3.d−1)
Source: UN Water (2021a, b)
12 M. P. Sudbury
Table 2.3 Estimates of global mined tonnages of minerals and their associated wastes
Coal Industrial-
Ferro- Ferro- Iron Base Oil agricultural Total
Material alloys (1) alloys* ore Gold metals sands minerals World
Ore (106 t/y) 7000 1000 2600 1700 1200 1000 5700 20,100
Waste rock/ 7000 1000 1000 3000 2100 1000 5700 20,800
tailings
(106 t/y)
Note: *Ferro-alloy ores include nickel laterites and beach sands
collision course with civilization’s water requirements, given the well-documented

global water scarcity (UN Water, 2021b). Concomitantly, the dollar value of water
will increase and the degradation of resources will gain importance. In Table 2.3,
the global mined tonnages of minerals and their associated wastes are estimated.
The global area covered annually with mine wastes can be estimated to be on the
order of 1000 km2, assuming an average loading of 20 tonnes.m−2.
2.3 Global Mine Lands Usage Annual Estimates
Global satellite imagery might provide a more substantive and definitive estimate.
The estimated annual total land area committed to mining is small compared to the
total land area of the Earth, which is one hundred and forty-nine million square
kilometers (World Atlas, 2021). However, it is large enough to be a serious local
issue and becomes even larger if extrapolated over a century or more. A time trend
of the available arable land area with the growing world population is presented in
Fig. 2.1.
This emphasizes that arable land is being lost at an unsustainable pace. For
example, between 1950 (0.52 ha/capita) and 2050, it is estimated that 0.36 ha per
person will be lost (UN FAO, 2009). It can be expected that conflicts between agri-
culture and mines and their wastes will increase (Hilson, 2002). Already there are
localized conflicts, as some groups like Mining Watch (Mining Watch Canada,
2021) document the conflicts between Canadian mining companies and local land-
scapes. Mine wastes not only consume land but also create dust storms and silt
streams, and contaminate surface water and/or groundwater. Failure of tailings
dams is the cause of many disasters, as the long-term stability of dams is an acknowl-
edged engineering challenge (WISE Uranium Project, 2021).
The rising global population is placing increased pressure on the finite area of
arable land for food production and will increase the demand for irrigation
(Table 2.4). The area of arable land is also shrinking as an increasing population
requires more land for infrastructure. Some forest lands could be converted to arable
land, but this would bring about a loss of carbon dioxide sinks, a loss of water-
holding capacity, loss of wildlife habitat, and increased erosion, producing
10 6000
World Population (billions)
Arable land (hectares per

8 5000
4000
6
capita)
3000
4
2000
2 1000
0 0
1950 1975 2000 2025 2050
YEARS
Fig. 2.1 Time trend of available arable land area with population growth
Source: Fast facts: The state of the world’s land and water resources. (FAO, 2011).
Table 2.4 Cost of desalination plants

Year 1982 1992 2002 2012 Base cost*
Cost (US$.m−3) 1.5 1.1 0.7 0.6 0.82
Energy (kwh.m−3) 8.1 5.3 4.5 3.8 2.2–3.0
Note: *The cost of desalinating sea water has been falling and desalination plants are being con-
structed by mining operations to avoid competition with scarce local water supplies
Source: Soruco and Philippe (2012)
desertification and loss of livelihood for aboriginal peoples. This alternative is not
generally regarded as desirable or viable. Some grassland may be suitable for crops,
but usually only with irrigation.
Many mines exist in the tropical or subtropical deserts that cover a total area of
15.3 million km2. The combined area of tropical and subtropical deserts is the same
as the global area of arable land, and with an adequate water supply, could presum-
ably be equally productive (Wikipedia, 2021). In these arid environments, water
supply and effluent discharge are major issues that must be balanced against lucra-
tive ore bodies that are mined in the same areas. During mine operation, the local
community can benefit from sharing a supply of freshwater, as the mining industry
is gradually adopting desalination to guarantee a supply of freshwater for ore
processing.
The base metal mining industry is also an intensive user of water, commonly
requiring about 3 tonnes of water per tonne ore. More intensive processing to extract
and upgrade more minerals will likely increase this quantity, but not by a significant
amount. Control, recycling, and purification of process water and tailings/waste
rock run-off and seepage will, however, become increasingly important, and eco-
logical engineering has an important role to play in this endeavor.
Currently, copper mines in arid regions, notably in the Andes, are resorting to
desalination of Pacific Ocean water for mine water supplies at a cost, including
14 M. P. Sudbury
pumping, of US$6–8 per tonne. Countries with sub-tropical climates (high solar
energy at ground level) including India, China, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Morocco,
Namibia and the SW USA, are all working to develop economically viable concen-
trated solar power systems. An ‘all in’ cost of under 10 cents per kWh is forecast by
2030 and with concurrent improvements in reverse osmosis systems (feed water
purification & graphene diaphragms) production costs in the US of $0.50–1.00
range are predicted (IRENA, 2016).
World Metal Institute statistics indicate the value of non-ferrous metal produc-
tion in developed (water-rich) countries are over three times greater per square km
than in desert countries. While open to many explanations, lack of water is an
important factor (Reichl et al., 2017).
The total cost for a large desalination plant (20,000 m3.d−1), with power costs at
10 cents per kilowatt-hour, can be approximated as $1 per cubic meter (Table 2.4).
This cost applies to the plant capital and operating costs only, and does not include
the cost of delivering seawater, returning brine, and delivering desalinated water to
the point of use. It should be noted that pipeline capital and operating costs to deliver
freshwater to a mine at a high elevation can triple the final delivered cost (Soruco &
Philippe, 2012).
References
Bebbington, A., & Williams, M. (2008). Water and mining conflicts in Peru. Mountain Research
and Development, 28(3), 190–195. Retrieved from http://snobear.colorado.edu/Markw/
Research/08_peru.pdf
Bruce, R., & Seaman, T. (2014). Reducing freshwater use in the production of metals. Teck
Resources Limited. Retrieved from https://www.teck.com/media/CESL-Publication-Copper-
reducing-fresh-water-use-in-the-production-of-metals.pdf
Ecological Society of America. (2001). Water in a changing world. Issues in Ecology #9. http://
www.esa.org/esa/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/issue9.pdf
Hilson, G. (2002). An overview of land use conflicts in mining communities. Land Use Policy,
19(1), 65–73. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264837701000436?
via%3Dihub
IRENA. (2016). The power to change: Solar and wind cost reduction potential to 2025,
ISBN 978-92-95111-97-4. 8. https://www.irena.org/publications/2016/Jun/The-
Power-to-Change-Solar-and-Wind-Cost-Reduction-Potential-to-2025
Mining Watch Canada (2021). Agriculture and mining land conflicts. www.miningwatch.ca
Mudd, G. M. (2008). Sustainability reporting and water resources: A preliminary assessment of
embodied water and sustainable mining. Mine Water and the Environment, 27(3), 136–144.
Reichl, C., Schatz, M., & Zsak, G. (2017). World mining data (Minerals production) (Vol. 32).
International Organising Committee for the World Mining Congresses.
Soruco, L., & Philippe, R. (2012). Upcoming trends in water supply costs for copper mining in arid
regions. In Fernando Valenzuela & Jacques Wiertz (Eds.), Water in mining 2012: Proceedings
of the 3rd international congress on water management in the mining industry, Santiago, Chile.
The Maddison Project. (2013). Global per capita income. https://www.rug.nl/ggdc/
historicaldevelopment/maddison/releases/maddison-project-database-2013
United Nations, FAO. (2009). Global agriculture towards, 2050. http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/
templates/wsfs/docs/Issues_papers/HLEF2050_Global_Agriculture.pdf
United Nations, FAO. (2011). The state of the world's land and water resources for food and agri-
culture (SOLAW) – Managing systems at risk. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations. Rome and Earthscan.
United Nations, Statistics Division. (2021). Mining statistics. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/envstats/
qindicators.cshtml
United Nations, UN Water. (2021a). Water usage facts. https://www.unwater.org/
United Nations, UN Water. (2021b). Water scarcity. https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/scarcity/
US Geological Survey. (2021). Mining statistics. https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nmic/publications
Wikipedia. (2021). Desert farming. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_farming
WISE Uranium Project. (2021). Tailings dam failures. http://www.wise-uranium.org/help.html
World Atlas. (2021). Total land area of Earth. https://www.worldatlas.com/geography/planet-
earth.html
Worldometer. (2021). World population. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
Chapter 3
Toward a Sustainable Metals Extraction
Technology
Bryn Harris
Abstract Since metals are essential in modern society, cost-effective, sustainable

remediation measures need to be developed. Engineered covers and dams enclose
wastes and slow the weathering process, but, with time, become permeable.
Neutralization of acid mine drainage produces metal-laden sludges that, in time,
release the metals again. These measures are stopgaps at best, and are not sustain-
able. Focus should be on inhibiting or reducing the weathering rate, recycling, and
curtailing water usage. The extraction of only the principal economic mineral or
metal generally drives the economics, with scant attention being paid to other poten-
tial commodities contained in the deposit. Technology exists for recovering more
valuable products and enhancing the project economics, resulting in a reduction of
wastes and water consumption of up to 80% compared to “conventional process-
ing.” Implementation of such improvements requires a drastic change, a paradigm
shift, in the way that the industry approaches metals extraction. Combining new
extraction approaches, more efficient water usage, and ecological engineering
methods to deal with wastes will increase the sustainability of the industry and
reduce the pressure on water and land resources.
Keywords Chloride metal extraction · Sustainability mining wasterock ·

Endangered elements · Intrinsic energy of sulfides
The metals extraction industry is now facing possibly its greatest-ever challenge,
with the need to demonstrate “sustainability” in the face of dwindling reserves and
grades, increased restrictive legislation, and increasing costs. To even entertain the
idea of being “sustainable” in the face of being essentially nonrenewable, the indus-
try theoretically can no longer afford to throw away up to 99% of the material it
mines, the act of mining being the largest single cost of getting the mineral-bearing
B. Harris (*)
Alexandria, ON, Canada
e-mail: bryn@sutekh.org

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84651-0_3
18 B. Harris
rocks. Mining, as opposed to processing (grinding and concentrating), represents

generally the main cost associated with any metals extraction project. There are
some polymetallic ore bodies, but at most, only one or two metals are extracted,
dictated by the market value of the metal.
Of the various extraction technologies, a brief mention should be made of bacte-
rial leaching for base metals, as it is often perceived as being the “environmental
solution.” This is because it uses “natural processes,” but it is in many ways worse
than conventional approaches. While bacterial leaching has seen some measure of
success in uranium and gold plants, attempts to apply the technology to base metals
have been largely unsuccessful. An initial pilot project in Chile, comprised of a joint
venture between BHP Billiton and Codelco, known as Alliance Copper, ultimately
resulted in the building of a 20,000 tpa (tonnes per annum) copper plant (Batty &
Rorke, 2006). However, the project was terminated in October 2006, having not
achieved its objectives. Similar processes were tried for nickel and zinc, with simi-
lar results, and the failures likely had similar causes, given that an understanding of
microbial processes was lacking or was not utilized. Microbial systems are consid-
ered difficult to control.
However, more recently, there have been two projects which attained com-
mercial operation, albeit briefly in one case, for nickel. Of these, Mondo
Minerals Nickel in Finland attained commercial operation on a waste stream
from a talc operation (Neale, et al., 2016a, b), but is now on care and mainte-
nance, and Terrafame is reactivating a project in Finland (Heikkinen & Korte,
2019). Terrafame is the only primary process for processing nickel arisings,
although it rides very strongly on the back of a vibrant conventional zinc
operation.
In general terms of metal extraction and recovery, the industry has a well-
deserved image of being slow and conservative, although it is not totally averse to
change and innovation. There have been some exciting and innovative processes
developed since the end of World War II, notably:
• Pressure leaching (leaching at higher than atmospheric pressures and higher tem-
peratures than boiling water)
• Ammonia-based processes for Ni, Co, and Cu pioneered by the Canadian com-
pany Sherritt Gordon (now known simply as Sherritt or Sherritt International)
• Oxidation of zinc sulfide concentrates in sulfuric acid, also pioneered by Sherritt
• Oxidation of refractory gold concentrates in sulfuric acid to make the gold ame-
nable to subsequent cyanidation leaching, pioneered by Barrick and others
• Nickel laterites in sulfuric acid (although this has not yet been proven as being
generally economically-viable)
• Copper solvent extraction in various forms using “designer” complex organic
carbon molecules
• CIP/CIL (carbon-in-pulp or carbon-in-leach) for gold and silver recovery, using
activated (usually coconut shell) carbon to preferentially absorb the gold or silver
3 Toward a Sustainable Metals Extraction Technology 19
• Falconbridge (now Glencore) chlorine leach process (Falconbridge is one of a

few plants that make use of chloride chemistry).
These, while in themselves highly commendable and successful, have unfortu-
nately not addressed the basic issues confronting the industry today, namely sustain-
ability and environmental liability. It is considered, therefore, that the industry
needs to completely change its mindset and how it operates if it is to remain both
competitive and at the same time to reduce or possibly eliminate environmental
liability, and be “sustainable.” Given the actual costs of mining itself (getting to the
ore body, breaking the rock and hauling it to the surface), and that large, rich ore
bodies are no longer being found, then it surely makes both economic and sustain-
able sense to maximize the recovery of all metals that have value and have been
mined. The question, therefore, is obvious: why is the industry not extracting more
out of the mined rocks?
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s there was a great deal of almost evangelical
interest in and enthusiasm for, and research into, developing hydrometallurgical
processes for the treatment of (primarily) copper sulfide concentrates (Paynter,
1973; McLean, 1982; Flett et al., 1983; Wadsworth, 1984). An astonishing number
of different processes emerged during this time, with so-called “out of the box”
thinking. Great emphasis was placed on chloride-based processes, attempting to
take advantage of the many unique properties of chloride chemistry, although sev-
eral sulfate-based circuits were also conceived, together with one notable ammonia-
based plant, Anaconda’s Arbiter Plant (Kuhn et al., 1974). Unfortunately, only two
of the processes achieved commercial operation (Duval’s chloride-based CLEAR –
Copper Leach, Electrowinning and Regeneration - and Arbiter), and then only for a
limited time, thus leading to a general suspicion of “new technologies” that contin-
ues to exist.
In 2003, at a major international hydrometallurgy symposium, the keynote paper
addressed why new hydrometallurgical processes failed (Halbe, 2003). Four impor-
tant aspects were highlighted, namely, (i) if any pilot-scale testing was conducted, it
was to generate product, not to confirm process parameters; (ii) equipment was
downsized or design criteria were made less conservative in response to projected
cost overruns; (iii) process flowsheets were unusually complex, with prototype
equipment in two or more critical unit operations; and (iv), somewhat surprisingly,
there was a lack of understanding of the process chemistry. Consequently, very few
of the processes even reached the pilot stage, with the unfortunate result that there
is now an inherent distrust of any new extraction processes or technology. This dis-
trust has only been enhanced by the failure of four HPAL (high-pressure acid leach)
projects in Western Australia since the mid-1990s, and more recently, the failed
hydrochloric acid regeneration plant of SMS Siemag (now SMS Group) at the (for-
merly) Thyssen Krupp steel plant in Calvert, Alabama.
20 B. Harris
3.1 Estimating the Full Extraction Potential of Mined Rock
Referring to the fact that mining costs represent a large and significant part of any
overall metals or industrial minerals project cost, a hypothetical example is given
below where it would make both economic and environmental sense to maximize
the recovery of all metals that have value and have been mined, a desirable step
toward sustainability of the mining industry. Consider that a nickel laterite, with a
composition of 1.2% Ni, 0.1% Co, 5% Al, 15% Mg, and 30% Fe is processed with
90% recovery of Ni, Co, and Fe, and 75% recovery of Al and Mg. Taking prices (in
US dollars, 2018) of $5/lb for Ni, $10/lb for Co, $0.2/lb for Al2O3, $40/tonne for
Fe2O3, and $50/tonne for MgO, the following revenues are generated for a plant
nominally producing 50,000 tonnes of LME (London Metal Exchange) grade Ni:
• Ni—$550 million
• Co—$90 million
• Al2O3—$150 million (350,000 ton)
• Fe2O3—$70 million (1.8 million ton)
• MgO—$30 million (610,000 ton)
By this analysis, the revenues of the project could be increased significantly over
those generated simply by nickel (and cobalt). Furthermore, there are additional
benefits in that there are close to 2 million tonnes of residues (equivalent to approxi-
mately 50% of the material originally mined) that will not have to be disposed of,
and hence an appreciable reduction in mining wastes. There are also indirect sav-
ings and benefits, particularly from an environmental viewpoint, in that water is
saved because it is not used for mining the equivalent tonnage of Al, Fe, or Mg from
a primary ore body, such as bauxite, iron ore, or magnesite/dolomite mines, and the
tailings that would necessarily be produced from such mining would no longer be
generated. Furthermore, there is always a premium for high-grade hematite, which
does not need further processing, which also occurs in nickel laterite deposits, so
that the revenues to be derived for this hypothetical mine are probably significantly
understated.
However, in the context of the illustration, the actual prices are irrelevant, since
the objective is simply to demonstrate the points that these values have been mined,
but, with traditional processing methods and especially mindsets, they are not only
not being realized, but also are being disposed of, thereby creating an environmental
problem that can, and should, be avoided (Dry, 2015).
3.2 Barriers to Higher Recovery of Metals from Mined Rock
The industry, because of the past failures noted above, and being generally reluctant
to embrace any sort of risk or major change, has standard arguments formulated
against such an approach for all or more metal extraction.
1. The technology to achieve the recoveries in sufficiently pure form does not exist.
2. If it did exist, then it would be too expensive and difficult to implement, espe-
cially as a retrofit, that is, into the existing process equipment.
3. The existing markets could not absorb additional tonnages.
For the case of iron and aluminum, the amounts generated from the hypothetical
laterite project are sufficient to operate a stand-alone steel mini-mill and aluminum
smelter. This ought to be attractive in an established and diverse mining area, such
as Western Australia. There is clearly sufficient aluminum associated with the
Western Australian laterites to sustain the existing local aluminum smelters, result-
ing in less bauxite needing to be mined and imported.
For environmental technologies, that is, technologies that deal with existing tail-
ings ponds, and especially those based on ecological engineering principles, points
1 and 2 above apply. It should also be pointed out in reference to point 3 that even
if 100% of the iron associated with current non-ferrous metal mining was recovered,
it would still be <10% of global iron production.
3.3 Future Resources: Old Legacies, the Ocean and the Sky
To put the above into context, our resource-hungry world needs to realize that com-
modities are under serious threat. Table 3.1 (abstracted from data of the 2019 edition
of the US Geological Survey Mineral Commodities (USGS, 2019) shows that sev-
eral common metals, whose availability we take for granted, that with known, iden-
tified reserves, and at current (i.e., no increase in) consumption rates, then there are
less than forty years of supply left. Demand for all of these metals will increase,
however, especially for cobalt, which is a key component in electric vehicles (EVs),
the growth of which will be substantial in the next decade, so that the estimated
number of years will, in actuality, be somewhat lower. Whilst we can expect some
new reserves to be identified, it is clear that in the 21st century, humankind will face
a crisis in the supply of the very metals that underpin our society. This table indi-
cates only some of the commodities under threat, however, The Royal Society of
Chemistry has generated an innovative, colour-coded Periodic Table highlighting
the elements at risk, as shown in the Fig. 3.1 (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2011),
albeit less up to date. Sackett has elaborated on these risks, and what they mean for
the human race, in some detail (Sackett, 2012).
Table 3.1 Metal supplies with identified reserves

Metal Cobalt Copper Gold Lead Nickel Silver Zinc
Production (2018) 140,000 21 3,260 4,400,000 2,300,000 27,000 13
tonnes million million
Identified Reserves 6,900,000 830 54,000 83 89 560,000 230
Beyond 2019 tonnes million million million million
Years Remaining 49 39 17 19 39 21 18
Beyond 2019
22 B. Harris
Fig. 3.1 Periodic chart of the elements at risk. Royal Chemistry 1 and the chemistry Innovation
Knowledge Transfer Sustainable Network’s Technology Roadmap
This projected shortage is, however, an opportunity from an environmental per-

spective, and especially with old tailings dams. Mining and extraction were not very
efficient in the past, even a century ago, and these old dumps, which are already an
environmental liability, contain billions of dollars of metals that are recoverable
with more modern extractive processes. One such already-mined resource in Canada
is the Sudbury Tailings from the operations of both Vale (Inco) and Glencore
(Falconbridge) (Dry & Harris, 2010; Peek et al., 2011; Harris & Dry, 2020). Since
the early 1990s alone, Glencore has disposed of 8 million tonnes (dry basis), with
an average grade of ~0.8% Ni (Peek et al., 2011). Cobalt content was not given, but
unpublished data have shown 0.03-0.05% Co and nickel contents as high as 1.2%.
As with other deposits in N. America, there is, however, a high arsenic content,
which together with a substantial pyrrhotite content (~75%) has acted as a disincen-
tive for re-processing.
However, an environmentally-clean and efficient chloride-based approach to re-
treating these tailings was proposed in 2010 (Dry & Harris, 2010), and more recently
in 2020 (Harris & Dry, 2020), and also a bioleaching process has been suggested
(Cameron et al., 2018; Sudbury Star, 2019). The chloride approach can recover, in
addition to nickel, cobalt, copper and the PGMs, useful products of iron and sulfur,
as well as the intrinsic energy contained in the tailings. Additionally, it fixes 100%
of the contained arsenic as scorodite, widely recognized as being the most effective
arsenic-fixation method. Bioleaching, whilst being able to recover nickel, copper
and possibly cobalt, is not able to achieve anything else, and more importantly, will
generate a tailings volume appreciably greater than that already there due to the
oxidation of iron and sulfur to form ferric hydroxide and gypsum. Furthermore,
bioleaching of pyrrhotite, especially a material with 75% pyrrhotite such as the tail-
ings, is actually quite hazardous due to the huge amounts of heat generated, and
bioleaching once it starts is very difficult to suppress. However, where there are no
recoverable economic values from such tailings, the recent work on inhibition of
sulfide oxidation may serve to reduce or even halt the oxidation of pyrite and pyr-
rhotite (Kalin et al., 2018). CPMW were applied in the field to fresh pyrrhotite tail-
ings. Oxidation rates were estimated after outdoor exposure 3.2 years followed by
5.5 years of indoor storage. The leachate was monitored for 1.8 years.
Thus, in one fell swoop, the pressure could, at least partially, be alleviated on the
supply side, and these old liabilities could be re-processed and remediated, ideally
ecologically, to the benefit of the global population as well as the restoration of vari-
ous types of landscapes. The industry, unfortunately, despite the many tailings dam
disasters, seems very reluctant to adopt this approach.
Another potential new source of supply is the so-called deep-sea nodules, which
contain vast quantities of manganese, nickel and cobalt, several times the identified
terrestrial reserves. Interest in the potential exploitation of polymetallic seabed nod-
ules generated a great deal of activity, interest in and excitement among prospective
mining consortia in the 1960s and 1970s. Almost half a billion dollars was invested
in identifying potential deposits and in research and development of technology for
mining and processing the nodules (Wikipedia, 2019). These initial undertakings
were carried out primarily by four multinational consortia composed of companies
from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of
Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan and two groups of private compa-
nies and agencies from France and Japan. There were also three publicly sponsored
entities from the Soviet Union, India and China (Wikipedia, 2019).
In the late-seventies, two of the international joint ventures succeeded in collect-
ing several hundred-tonne quantities of manganese nodules from the abyssal plains
(18,000 feet, >5.5 km depth) of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. Significant
quantities of nickel (the primary target at the time) as well as copper and cobalt were
subsequently extracted from this "ore" using both pyrometallurgical and hydromet-
allurgical methods.
An Economist report suggests that harvesting of deep-sea nodules is once again
definitely back on the agenda (The Economist, 2017). However, any future mining
of nodules will need to be authorized by the International Seabed Authority (ISA)
and would need to quantify any impact in advance via an Environmental Impact
Statement. This, of course, introduces a very contentious topic, namely as to whether
deep sea mining should be allowed from an environmental perspective. There are,
as might be expected, a diversity of opinions about the impact seabed mining might
have on the local ecosystem, and the fact is that nobody really knows. One theory is
that since the nodules are generally found in the proximity of hydrothermal vents,
which are constantly active, then harvesting of nodules would not, in fact, cause any
disruption different to that what is already there (The Economist, 2017).
24 B. Harris
A final, more far-out (literally) resource is space mining of asteroids. This clearly
a long-way off, but one which is already being considered. Unlike with the deep sea,
there are no environmental issues to confront (that we know of), so it maybe, if the
technology can be developed quickly enough, that space mining might happen
before deep-sea mining. We have about two decades to bring one of these into
reality.
3.4 Modern Chloride Extraction
Despite a track record of “nonsuccess” of the many chloride-based processes for

sulfide feeds, there remain many compelling reasons why the application of chlo-
ride chemistry not only can result in improved processing, but also can contribute
greatly to achieving sustainability and improved environmental performance. There
have been, and still are, a few very successful chloride-based base metal operations.
Glencore (formerly Falconbridge) has operated a chloride process for many years at
its nickel-cobalt refinery in Kristiansand, Norway, which is arguably the best base
metal recovery plant in the world today. It was initially a hydrochloric acid leach,
but more lately has used chlorine as the main oxidant/lixiviant, largely because
chlorine is available, being generated from the subsequent electrowinning circuits
for the recovery of nickel and cobalt metals (Stensholt et al., 1986a, 1986b, 1988;
Thornhill et al., 1971). Noranda (as it then was) operated the Brenda Leach Process,
which employed a high temperature (105°C to 110°C), high-strength chloride (30%
CaCl2 + NaCl + HCl) atmospheric leach of copper-molybdenum concentrates until
the mine shut down in the 1990s (Jennings et al., 1973). This process was highly
efficient, and essentially leached out all the copper, lead, and calcium from molyb-
denum concentrates to allow further, conventional processing of molybdenum to
take place, without generating large quantities of toxic residues.
Most of the advantages that were originally expected from the use of chloride
(Harris, 2014) with the processes developed in the 1970s and 1980s have remained
and are briefly discussed below.
3.5 Leaching and Intrinsic Energy Content of Sulfides
Intrinsic energy can be substantially recovered, especially if the feed contains

appreciable levels of pyrrhotite (Harris et al., 2007). The presence of pyrrhotite in
an ore or concentrate of all the iron sulfide minerals is generally regarded as a major
disadvantage, as it can be a significant factor in acid mine drainage. This is equally
true for sulfate leaching, but the advantage that chloride has is that the acid used to
effect leaching can be recovered and recycled (see iron below) which is not the case
with sulfate. Processing sulfide minerals in this way to recover energy as heat is
environmentally advantageous, since for every GJ of heat recovered, an equivalent
amount of burning carbon is prevented, and a toxic, acid-generating waste is elimi-
nated. Chloride circuits can be operated at atmospheric pressures, and are more
readily adjusted to ensure that the sulfide-sulfur that accompanies the mineral either
ends up as H2S gas, or as elemental sulfur, a product that can also be sold, and both
forms can be converted to sulfuric acid.
Chloride extraction circuits are more aggressive than their sulfate counterparts.
This has the advantage that higher metal recovery can be achieved, along with a
residue that is often easier to filter, which has a lower volume, and is less prone to
metal/acid leaching into the environment. Indeed, most chloride leach residues are
predominantly benign alumino-silicate gangue.
3.5.1 Iron and Hydrochloric Acid
Iron is the major contaminant in virtually every hydrometallurgical processing cir-

cuit, and has been deemed worthy of five international conferences devoted entirely
to its control and disposal. Sulfate chemistry is such that iron must be precipitated
via the use of some form of a base or neutralizing agent, generating large volumes
of sludges, whether they be jarosite, goethite, hematite, or “ferric hydroxide.”
However, chloride chemistry affords the possibility not only of recovering the asso-
ciated acid for reuse, but also of generating a marketable iron product, namely
hematite. At the very worst, this hematite is easy to filter, has a low volume, and is
environmentally benign.
3.5.2 Aluminum and Magnesium
Because of the highly aggressive nature of the chloride leaching operation, both
aluminum and magnesium tend to report to the resultant leach filtrate in significant
concentrations. During acid recovery, through hydrolysis of the iron chloride, the
aluminum reports virtually 100% along with the hematite. However, the different
crystal structures of the two oxides result in discrete compounds, allowing easy
separation of the aluminum. Magnesium, on the other hand, remains in the liquid
phase when either iron or aluminum is present, thus affording an efficient and sim-
ple separation. It can be recovered in a subsequent hydrolysis step as a magnesium
oxychloride, which can be calcined and results in a marketable magnesia.
26 B. Harris
3.5.3 Environmental Aspects
Because chloride is so aggressive, as noted above, it tends to dissolve all metals

from the ground rock. Thus, leach residues, which in conventional processing are
generally voluminous and must be ponded as tailings, are low in volume, are gener-
ally crystalline, and, most importantly, are no longer reactive and hence are environ-
mentally nonthreatening.
3.6 Current State of Development
Considerable development work has been undertaken on the chloride-based process

over the past decade. Ideally, the mining and metals extraction industry will con-
sider embracing what is essentially a quantum change in how it goes about its busi-
ness, and at the same time will overcome the negative perceptions created in the past
due to the many failed processing routes. The fact that microbial processes can be
controlled is generally not understood, and hence not accepted, by the industry,
largely because it is not within “normal” paradigms, which are based on the prin-
ciples of classical inorganic chemistry. Such ecologically based technologies, which
would reduce or completely halt the weathering rate at source, are generally either
ignored or are declared to be impossible or uneconomic, unfortunately with no real
basis for such declarations.
Further, without solid geomicrobiological knowledge, biological oxidation/cor-
rosion control cannot be implemented. There is, nevertheless, in this respect an
opportunity for the mining industry to embrace a technology (biological or ecologi-
cal engineering) that could have far-reaching benefits. The industry needs to take
the risk.
In the contexts of both efficiently recovering more value from the material mined,
and at the same time appreciably reducing the amounts of toxic wastes generated,
revisiting chloride processing as it was originally conceived in the 1970s has merit.
In recent times, chloride-based extraction has been further developed and refined,
with a greater understanding of the parameters involved, and with the objectives
discussed above in mind, to the extent that it can now be considered a viable option.
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Chapter 4
Waste Management: A Brief History
and the Present State
Abstract In the past mines left their waste rock and tailings to weather, filling val-
leys, lakes and/or rivers. It wasn’t until the end of WWII, that uranium mining wastes
became a public concern. Mine waste remediation started gradually with erosion con-
trol and prevention of dust storms. Base metal mines started waste remediation gradu-
ally later, with the same objectives. Tailings surfaces of base-metal mines were
stabilized with lime and grass covers. Some of these abandoned sites were invaded by
native plants which were thought to transport radionuclides into the food chain, but no
evidence of bioconcentration was found. However, acid and alkaline effluents
remained of concern. Government, jointly with the mining industry, funded not only
ecological inventories of tailings, but soon also programs addressing acid and alkaline
contaminants in waste effluents. Boojum Research was funded within these programs
to address these contaminants and provide decommissioning planning. Referring to
comprehensive articles for readers interested in details, the chapter explains a main
driving force for the improving waste management and effluent containment.
Keywords Environmental awareness · Sulfide backfilling · Radiation safety · Acid

rock drainage · Reactive Acid Tailings Sulfide Program · National Uranium
Tailings Program · Mine Environment Neutral Drainage · Food chain
contamination · Constructed wetlands · Inorganic contaminants · Municipal waste
For centuries, mine wastes, were just that – wastes. Miners left waste rock and tail-
ings to natural weathering processes, where atmospheric precipitation carried the
weathering products through the wastes, creating acid mine drainage. Calculations
based on weathering rates suggest that mine effluent contamination from many
mines will continue for hundreds or thousands of years, since weathering occurs
both under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions (Kalin & van Everdingen, 1988).

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84651-0_4
Over time, our understanding of the origin and production of mine wastes has led to
improvements in mine waste management. Several methods and technologies over
the last century have emerged to lessen the impact of these wastes on the environ-
ment. Mine management practices have further evolved with the rise of environ-
mental awareness. Table 4.1 summarizes mine waste management in the mining
sector, comparing past and present (last 50 years) practices (Kalin, 2004). The com-
parisons of the past and the present reflect largely an astute awareness that mining
wastes are presently confined to the mine waste management area, leaving a smaller
footprint. In addition to this progress, the long-term generation of acid mine drain-
age is recognized through financial assurances since the early nineties, expressed
well in an article in the Mining Journal entitled “No Simple Solution” (Knapp &
Walsh, 1991). Financial assurances for perpetual treatment are the accepted solution
for the decommissioning of a mine waste management area. These changes were
initiated mainly in the uranium industry and have been translated to other mining
operations. However, they have not necessarily been implemented worldwide. None
of the waste management practices listed in Table 4.1 address the role of microbes
in generating contaminants. Remediation strategies have been selected based on
physical confinement and chemical reactions (neutralization reagents), relying upon
retention of contaminants through the reduction or exclusion of oxygen, followed
by application of neutralizing agents in water treatment plants.
Several practices have been implemented in the mining industry to reduce the
environmental impact. The first practice is segregating the sulfides and backfilling
underground workings with a high density paste made from tailings. Initially the
Table 4.1 Comparison of past and present mining waste management site selection and design for
waste rock and tailings over the last 50 years
Present Past
Site selection for waste rock and tailings with Economic considerations only (e.g.,
hydrological and economic considerations proximity to mine)
Ore stockpiles placement and exposure Not considered
Run-off drainage systems isolated from Sometimes considered
contaminated flows
Progressive reclamation of site during operations Not considered
General mine-closure plan considered Not considered
Strict design criteria for storage facilities for Sometimes considered
chemicals and fuel
Segregation and stockpiling of rock types according Unsegregated waste rock piles
to acid-generating potential
Improved dam design, including liners and leak Dams constructed from coarse tailings,
detection systems overburden, or waste rock
Thickened tailings; Underwater tailings management Above-ground tailings management
facilities facilities, no thickening
Tailings cleaning—sulfide separation Not available
Tailings: high-density paste backfill Not available
Highly acid-generating material used as backfill Conventional backfilling, using only
coarse fraction of the tailings
Source: Kalin (1998)
4 Waste Management: A Brief History and the Present State 31
practice of backfilling high sulfide wastes was considered an environmentally desir-

able option, but experience in some Canadian mines demonstrated that the high-
sulfide waste used for backfill could catch fire and prevent further mine operation.
Thus, for safety reasons, the sulfur content of mine backfill is severely restricted.
Generally, though, the volume of broken rock and tailings exceed the volume of the
cavities created by mining. Hence, it is not possible for all generated wastes to be
accommodated in the mine voids from which they were extracted. The surplus must
be stockpiled, unless a use can be found for it as aggregate (sand or gravel), if the
sulfur content is negligible. The challenge of isolating or otherwise finding benefi-
cial uses for waste rocks and tailings from open pit operations remains.
The overburden and waste rock from open pit operations must be stockpiled out-
side the pit during active pit operation and can comprise up to ten times the ore vol-
ume. Returning this waste material to the pit when it is mined out is generally
prohibitively expensive. Sometimes pit benches are filled with rocks allowing a high
hydraulic conductivity. This allows groundwater to flow along the pit walls rather
then through the tailings. It is called surround grout construction. Thus, when the pit
is mined out, where possible, the void is filled with water by force flooding or allow-
ing the groundwater and rain to gradually fill, creating pit lakes. In Germany, the
former coal mining voids (open cast mines) were filled with river water (Jordans,
2018), although not all operations have been successful, as iron-laden water has
emerged in the Spree river (IGB [Leibnitz Institut für Gewässerökologie und
Binnenfischerei], 2018).
There are companies that segregate sulfides in tailings and store them under water,
pending the day when they can be economically processed. It is also common prac-
tice to use and isolate waste rock and tailings as backfill in underground mining
operations. Tailings-paste fill operations use the non-sulfide fraction of the tailings
backfill after thickening, allowing immediate recycling of water. Sand-fill operations
have the option of thickening the slime portion at the concentrate level, producing a
thickened product as a valuable, impermeable cover for old tailings and waste rock
deposits. Both processes allow the immediate recycling of water, a useful measure.
4.1 M
ine Waste Site Ecology: The Beginning and Food
Chain Contamination
The generally accepted restoration technique for mining wastes applies lime and
fertilizer, followed by crimping of straw (GARD Guide; Verburg et al., 2009). This
is usually followed by seeding with a commercial grass seed/legume mixture. The
reclamation of uranium tailings in Canada followed the same methodology. In some
early mines in the Northwest Territories of Canada, though, the tailings areas were
left for indigenous species to repopulate.
The roots of naturally invading trees and shrubs were likely to penetrate deeper
than the roots of the grass and legume covers, concentrating toxic metals from the
tailings in their tissues. This led governmental regulators and scientists to raise con-
cerns over potential food chain contamination through this indigenous vegetation.
Of serious concern were the long-lived radionuclides contained in the uranium min-
ing wastes.
The Institute of Environmental Studies (IES) at the University of Toronto,
Ontario, Canada launched investigations of the indigenous flora on alkaline, barren
uranium tailings abandoned for 10 to 15 years. A diverse flora of indigenous, ter-
restrial, and aquatic biota was found (Kalin, 1984). A total of 15 uranium tailings
sites were studied, both acidic and alkaline, and re- and un-vegetated, in the prov-
ince of Ontario, Canada. Later the uranium mine sites in the Northwest Territories
and the Province of Saskatchewan (Kalin, 1985) were included. Another part of the
funding supported an MSc thesis (Caza, 1983) to study the growth and colonization
of Trembling Aspen on uranium tailings (Fig. 4.1a).
Radium-226, Uranium-236, and Lead-210 concentrations were determined in both
terrestrial and aquatic vegetation as well as in the tailings around the root areas. As
a result of this work, it became evident that indigenous terrestrial plants posed no
threat to the food chain, as the radionuclides and most metals remained generally in
the roots and surrounding soils. Tree roots form a dense carpet-like structure below
Fig. 4.1 (a) Trembling Aspen stand growing on bare tailings. (b) A root carpet is lifted to docu-
ment the horizontal root growth of the grass cover. (c) Root penetration of the grass cover showing
gray and brown regions. Gray areas are unoxidized tailings. (Photographs by
M. Kalin-Seidenfaden)
the grass cover on seeded tailings (Fig. 4.1b), surrounded by iron precipitate
(Figs. 4.1b, c). The vegetated surface covers reduced wind dispersal and erosion of
the tailings, while decreasing rainwater infiltration. Figure 4.1c highlights the dif-
ference between oxidized and unoxidized areas of the tailings. The oxidized areas
(brown) contained elevated levels of radionuclides.
4.2 Boojum and Government/Industry Programs
The uranium industry was one of the first to include environmental issues in their
close-out plans, as public awareness raised these issues in the late 1960s. From
these efforts, several principles were developed to govern management practices,
such as ALARA (As Low as Reasonably Achievable) for radiation safety at ura-
nium operations. It was later followed by BATEA (Best Available Technology
Economically Achievable) for all other mining operations (Pouw et al., 2015).
Comprehensive historical reviews of risks and environmental policy have been writ-
ten by Faber & Wagenhals (1988) and Kamieniecki & Kraft (2013). These efforts
are commendable and have brought about significant change in the mining industry.
The accepted treatment of contaminated drainages from both tailings and waste
rock piles has remained the same for decades. Neutralizing agents, such as lime, are
added to acid streams leaving a metal-laden sludge behind which needs further sta-
bilization. The reactivity of the sludge depends on the pH of effluent, the lower the
pH the greater the reactivity (McDonald et al., 2006). It is often returned to the tail-
ings piles. The neutralisation leads to an increase in pH with the formation of
inorganic particulates, which settle out of the water column, either with time or
supported by flocculating agents. With aging of the sludge, and through microbial
activity, the metals are released again. A research team at NRCan (Natural Resources
Canada) addressed the stability of the resulting neutralizing sludge and concluded:
“Current sludge management practices are ad hoc and frequently do not address
long-term storage” (Zinck, 2006).
INAP (International Network for Acid Prevention) has created a guideline, the
GARD Guide (Global Acid Rock Drainage: GARD), which is an internationally
recognized guide to the prediction, prevention, and management of drainage pro-
duced from sulfide mineral oxidation (Verburg et al., 2009; Kleinmann & Chatwin,
2011). In accordance with the guide, most current mine operation practices empha-
size containment of the wastes, thereby reducing the volume of effluent, not its
quality. These containment practices require significant financial commitment from
the operating mining company. But, while the management practices outlined in the
GARD Guide certainly reduce the immediate environmental impacts, they may, in
many ways, delay the onset of longer-term mine drainage issues. These entrenched
practices are a hindrance to novel approaches to mine waste management and the
acid challenge.
Remediation efforts and drainage treatment are viewed by some in industry and
government as ‘the price to be paid’ and therefore accepted as part of mining and
metal extraction. To some degree, physical and chemical aspects of natural weather-
ing processes are abated by present mining practices, but the fundamental contribu-
tion of microbial populations is ignored. Herein lies the long-term challenge. Only
when the microbial oxidation is controlled will long-term weathering processes
subside. Hence, current mine environmental management practices are, in a true
sense, not sustainable.
While discussions on the food chain were ongoing, some regulators were starting
to think about the idea of declaring mine wastes as hazardous materials. Mine
wastes are rocks, broken or ground, and certainly not hazardous. They need appro-
priate handling, as rocks are part of nature, supplying essential elements supporting
living systems in the aquatic, terrestrial and even in the atmospheric areas of the
planet. The challenge arises due to the very large surface area of mineralized rock
that is exposed. The weathering of this rock releases an excess of some elements
which, in many cases are toxic to the surrounding ecosystems, altering the pH and
the electrical conductivity- two key drivers of ecosystem change.
As food chain contamination was no longer a pressing issue, concerns turned to
contaminated fresh- and groundwater. The uranium industry in Canada anticipated
the development of more stringent environmental regulations, and was seeking sus-
tainable, ecological approaches to address drainages from their wastes and for
decommissioning of mine waste management areas. The Canadian government then
funded a 5-year program, the National Uranium Tailings Program (NUTP), in 1981,
to address the long-term environmental impact of uranium tailings. The long-term
goal for these was to seek a sustainable approach to the decommissioning of mine
waste management areas. With the encouragement of the government and the ura-
nium industry, Boojum Research Ltd. (Boojum) was founded in 1982 as an R&D
company. Its objective was to find long-term, sustainable, economic solutions to
mine closures.
Boojum Research’s first assignment under NUTP was to remove contaminants
from alkaline uranium mine waste holding ponds. Several abandoned, pH-neutral,
tailings ponds were investigated for their indigenous aquatic floras. In base metal
and gold tailings, extensive meadows of Chara vulgaris were found growing
(Figs. 4.2a, b). These algae appeared to be ideal biological polishers, as they were
also fast growing, and did not transport contaminants from the sediment back into
the water when the biomass decayed, but relegated the biomass and contaminants
into the sediment.
Since phosphate is often limiting to aquatic plant growth, supplementing phos-
phate to Chara was investigated to alleviate one of the forcing functions restricting
their growth and productivity. The effects of phosphate on the growth of Chara sup-
ported by NRC IIPAP funds, the Masters thesis of M. P. Smith (1988). Forcing
functions are defined as one or more resources that halt or slow progression of fur-
ther development (see Chapter 5 for details). This research was supported by
Boojum and an IRAP grant (Industrial Research Assistance Program of the National
Research Council of Canada) and lead to introduction of Chara as bio-polishers to
ponds where they did not previously exist. After several failures, the algae were
finally established in several tailings ponds, supporting metal and radionuclide
removal (Kalin & Smith, 1986).
Fig. 4.2 (a) Boojum researcher, M.P. Smith, holding a sample of Chara vulgaris found in a nickel
mine tailings pond. (b) Gold mine tailings pond in northern Ontario with dense populations of
Chara vulgaris (in the ponds). (Photographs by Boojum Research)
The NUTP research program was followed in 1983 by the Reactive Acid Tailings
Sulfide Program (RATS). This program focused on modeling, prediction, and meth-
odologies to reduce or remediate the long-term environmental effects of acid-
generating materials (John & Joe, 1987). Boojum’s first project under the RATS
program took place on a tailings site covered with a hard-oxidized crust of pyrrho-
tite (FeS). When unoxidized pyrrhotite is exposed to moisture, it starts to burn.
Rains produced acid run-off. Further, the mining company could not risk using
heavy re-vegetation equipment to establish a cover, as the crust could not carry the
weight of the heavy equipment. The crust would break, exposing the un-oxidized
FeS, and rain or moisture would ignite it.
Field surveys showed that cattails (Typha sp.), moss, horsetails (Equisitum sp.),
and blue-green algae (cyanophytes) grew along the banks of a nearby alkaline mine
slime stream. The alkaline stream resulted from washing explosives from the under-
ground walls or using shotcrete to cover acid-generating walls (Jones & Wong,
1994). Similar organisms were found growing on the tailings, mostly associated
with sticks or rocks, despite the reactivity of the pyrrhotite. On the edge of the bar-
ren tailings crust, vegetation was noted, similar to that along the alkaline creek. The
distribution patterns were comparable to those observed on uranium tailings several
years earlier (Kalin, 1984). Detailed measurements in the colonized areas generally
produced hints that physical topography (rocks providing shade or decaying wood)
and/or chemical conditions were growth-supporting factors.
The FeS tailings needed to be covered to reduce the acid run-off. The first level
of ‘vegetation’ included a moss cover as it could colonize bare surfaces. Early
attempts to grow moss in greenhouses and onsite were unsuccessful, but with the
proper fertilizer and shade, a green haze developed in some of the boxes in the
greenhouse trials (Fig. 4.3a). The treatment that produced the greenest boxes was
translated to the field, where trials were run to determine the best season for starting
(Fig. 4.3b). One example of successful plant growth was an island overgrown with
Fig. 4.3 Ecological engineering measures for stabilization and cover for pyrrhotite tailings. (a)
Tailings covered with alkaline mine slimes fosters colonization by indigenous plants. (b)
Experiments to fertilize the pyrrhotite tailings surface at various times during the season. Fall fer-
tilization was successful. (c) Horsetails colonized the alkaline mine slimes without any fertilizer.
In background are the permeable waste rock dikes to accumulate mine slimes. (d) Tailings several
years after decommissioning recommendations implemented. (Photographs by Boojum Research)
horsetails (Equisitum sp.; Fig. 4.3c). This overgrowth had established without our
help and served as an example for our trials. At the end of the RATS program, we
recommended to the mine operators that they create permeable dikes (composed of
coarse, un-compacted, larger waste rocks) and divert mine slime streams into these
dikes. The mine manager implemented the recommendations and after several
growing seasons, native horsetails and moss covered the site. A photo taken 10
years later shows the success of the treatment (Fig. 4.3d).
In addition to the alkaline stream on the pyrrhotite tailings, a slow-moving, acidic
(pH 2.5) creek was chosen on the site to address the forcing functions for aquatic
acid systems (Fig. 4.4a). The creek water contained high concentrations of sulfate
(4–6 g.L−1 SO4) and dissolved iron (1–2 g.L−1). Loose straw (not bales) was used as
an organic carbon amendment for microbial growth. The straw was added to several
sections of the creek (Fig. 4.4b). In the winter, while drilling holes in the ice cover,
hydrogen sulfide was released. In the spring, clear water was found in the straw-
filled section. Within the straw the pH was up to about 3.5, a remarkable increase
from the low of 2.5 (Fig. 4.4c).
The improvements in the creek water had been clearly induced by microbial
activity. The ice cover on the creek slowed the flow, while reducing wind-driven
mixing and oxygen diffusion. Heterotrophic microbes growing on the straw
Fig. 4.4 (a) Pyrrhotite tailings crust. In the foreground is the creek in which the first straw addi-
tion was made. (b) Straw addition in acidic creek before winter at the time of setup. (c) Clear sec-
tion of creek with straw in spring, all iron had been precipitated. (Photographs by Boojum
Research)
consumed oxygen, lowering the redox potential of the water. The combination of
low oxygen and organic carbon fostered the growth of anaerobic, iron- and sulfate-
reducing microbes. Stumm & Morgan (1996; p. 477) provided a clear explanation
for geomicrobiology processes. In general, a group of heterotrophic microbes alters
the surrounding growth conditions by making them a little less oxidative. This, in
turn, provides the proper conditions for the next microbe group to lower the redox
state even further. When the local conditions are reducing, microbes such as iron
and sulfate-reducing microbes will precipitate iron onto the straw while increasing
the pH. The emerging smell of H2S, the rotten egg smell noted in the winter sug-
gested that not enough oxidized iron had remained in the water to form iron sulfide.
If the pH had been high enough and the Eh low enough some pyrite could possibly
have formed (Fernández-Remolar et al., 2003; Reitner & Thiel, 2011).
These experiments provided key observations for mine waste and water manage-
ment, such as:
• No microbes were needed to seed the acidic water; they invade or awake when
food is available.
• Iron precipitate covered the straw, reducing access to the organic carbon, not
desirable.
• Ice cover reduced oxygen access, giving anaerobic microbes a chance to flourish.
Iron reduction by microbes raises pH, and this, in turn, leads to the in-situ metal
precipitation. To reproduce these conditions in any mine effluent, two things needed
to be developed. First, a living, floating vegetation cover would replace the ice
cover. This would provide a continuous supply of organics, through decomposing
litter and root exudates, and it would also decrease wind mixing of the water.
Second, an iron-precipitation pond is needed upstream of the living cover to prevent
intense iron encrustation of the root systems. In the creek, the straw became
encrusted with iron, forming secondary mineral spheres (Fig. 4.5). The straw
Fig. 4.5. A piece of straw under the dissecting microscope from the creek to which straw was
added. Note the iron precipitates (mineral balls) on the straw. (Photographs by Boojum Research)
provided organic carbon supporting the establishment of oxygen-consuming

microbes. The microbial-based treatment system thus developed was named Acid
Reduction Using Microbiology or ARUM.
The RATS program was followed by the Mine Environment Neutral Drainage
(MEND) program in 1989. All programs were under the auspices CANMET
(Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology) of the NRC (Natural Resources
Canada). MEND funding supported projects developing constructed wetlands for
the treatment of AMD. Officials of these programs expected the same successes
found while treating organic waste waters. They anticipated that same processes
would take place with inorganic substances (Kadlec & Knight, 1996; Mitsch &
Gosselink, 2000).
The stated objective for MEND, as Boojum understood it, was to “...develop
technologies to prevent and control acidic drainage, or -- how to stop the lime
trucks.” These technologies were to address decommissioning of mine waste and
water management areas, working within the wastewater management areas, before
discharge to the receiving environment. The technologies to be developed were to
provide acceptable conditions for a sustainable, walk-away so that the treatment
plant could eventually shut down.
Although Boojum Research obtained funding under all government/industry
programs it continued under MEND, but eventually differences in objectives lead to
a divergence. Boojum Research focused on containing the weathering products
within the waste and water management area (In Chapters 8 and 9 detail), whereas
MEND reviewers were seeking solutions in wetlands (Kadlec & Knight, 1996).
The construction of microbially-active sediments and the addition of targeted
nutrients to reduce or deactivate the predominantly oxidative environment within
wastes is the focus of our ecological engineering solutions. The goal was the devel-
opment of ecological tools which would improve the drainage leaving the site.
Hence, Boojum’s challenge was to determine the forcing functions within the mine
wastes, alleviate them, and have natural bio-geochemical processes transfer con-
taminants to sediments and transform them back into ore bodies of the future
(Debus, 1990).
References
Caza, C. (1983). “Biology of P. tremuloides on abandoned Uranium mill tailings sites near
Bancroft, Ontario”. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Toronto, Department of Botany.
Debus, K. (1990). Mining with microbes. Technology Review, 93(6), 50–57.
Faber, M., & Wagenhals, G. (1988). Towards a long-term balance between economics and envi-
ronmental protection. In W. Salmons & U. Förstner (Eds.), Environmental management of solid
waste (pp. 227–242). Springer.
Fernández-Remolar, D. C., Rodriguez, N., Gómez, F., & Amils, R. (2003). Geological record
of an acidic environment driven by iron hydrochemistry: The Tinto River system. Journal of
Geophysical Research: Planets, 108(E7).
IGB. (2018). Sulfate in River Spree and Lake Müggelsee. https://www.igb-berlin.de/en/project/
sulfate-river-spree-and-lake-Muggelsee
John, R., & Joe, E. (1987). CANMET’s Tailings Research Programs—An update. In Proceedings
of the 11th annual British Columbia mine reclamation symposium in Campbell River, BC, The
Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation (pp. 105–115). Available online.
Jones, C. E., & Wong, J. Y. (1994). Shotcrete as a cementitious cover for acid generating waste
rock piles. In Proceedings of the international land reclamation and mine drainage conference
and 3rd international conference on the Abatement of Acidic Drainage (Vol. 24, pp. 104–112).
Jordans, F. (2018). Germany turns former coal mines into vast lakeside resorts. The Durango
Herald, 6, 22–2018. https://durangoherald.com/articles/229327
Kadlec, R. H., & Knight, R. L. (1996). Treatment wetlands. CRC Lewis Publisher sop 881, ISBN
0-87371-930-1.
Kalin, M. (1984). Port Radium, Northwest Territories: An evaluation of environmental effects of
the uranium and silver tailings. University of Toronto, Institute for Environmental Studies.
Retrieved from https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/handle/10219/3016
Kalin, M. (1989). Ecological engineering and biological polishing: methods to economize waste
management in hard rock mining. In W.J. Mitch & S.E. Jorgensen (Eds.), Ecological engineer-
ing (pp. 443–461). wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-62559-0
Kalin, M. (1998). The Role of Applied Biotechnology in Decommissioning Mining Operations.
Proceedings of the 30th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mineral Processors, Ottawa, January
20–22 (pp. 154–167).
Kalin, M. (2004). Slow progress in controlling acid mine drainage (AMD): A perspective and a
new approach. Peckiana, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz, 3, 101–112.
Kalin, M., & Smith, M. P. (1986). Biological polishing agents for mill wastewater. An example:
Chara. In R. W. Lawrence, R. M. R. Branion, & H. G. Ebner (Eds.), Fundamental and applied
biohydrometallurgy (p. 491). Elsevier.
Kalin, M., & van Everdingen, R.O. (1988). Ecological Engineering: Biological and geochemical
aspects. Phase I experiments, In W. Salomons & U. Foerstner (Eds.), Environmental manage-
ment of solid waste (pp. 114–128). Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-18232-2.
Kamieniecki, S., & Kraft, M. (2013). The Oxford handbook of US environmental policy.
Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://global.oup.com/academic/product/
the-oxford-handbook-of-us-environmental-policy-9780199744671?cc=ch&lang=en&#
Kleinmann, R. L., & Chatwin, T. (2011). The GARD Guide and its general applicability to mine
water issues. In Proceedings, American Society of mining and reclamation, Bismarck, North
Dakota Reclamation: Sciences Leading to Success June 11–16 (pp. 317–325).
Knapp, R., & Walsh, D. (1991). No simple solution, CIM Bulletin, June 1991, 63–66.
McDonald, D. M., Webb, J. A., & Taylor, J. (2006). Chemical stability of acid rock drainage treat-
ment sludge and implications for sludge management. Environmental Science and Technology,
40(6), 1984–1990. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0515194
Mitsch, W. J., & Gosselink, J. G. (2000). Wetlands, 3rd Edition (p. 920).
Reitner, J., & Thiel, V. (Eds.). (2011). Encyclopedia of Geobiology (Encyclopedia of earth science
series). Springer.
Pouw, K., Campbell, K., & Babel, L. (2015). Best Available Technologies Economically
Achievable to manage effluent from mines in Canada. In 10th International Conference on
Acid Rock Drainage and IMWA Annual Conference (pp. 1–10).
Smith, M. P. (1988). Phosphorus Nutrition of Chara vulgaris L. MSc Thesis University of
Toronto, 69 pp.
Stumm, W., & Morgan, J. (1996). Aquatic chemistry: Chemical equilibria and rates in natural
waters (3rd ed.). Wiley.
Verburg, R., Bezuidenhout, N., Chatwin, T., & Ferguson, K. (2009). The global acid rock drainage
guide (GARD Guide). Mine Water and the Environment, 28(4), 305.
Zinck, J. (2006). Disposal, reprocessing and reuse options for acidic drainage treatment sludge. In
7th International Conference on Acid Rock Drainage (ICARD) (pp. 2604–2617).
Chapter 5
Constructed Wetlands and the Ecology
of Extreme Ecosystems
Abstract Constructed wetlands have been used for decades for the removal of
organic pollutants. Organic contaminants are either degraded into air, gases or
sequestered by aquatic vegetation. Inorganic elements need to be precipitated or
adsorbed onto particulates, carried out of the water column, and stabilized in the
sediments. Precipitation of these inorganic contaminants alters the hydrological
conditions. This leads to plugging and hydrological changes with concomitant treat-
ment failure, contrary to organic contaminants which are removed as gases or taken
up by plant. Both processes are referred to as bioremediation, but the removal pro-
cesses differ.
Mine sites should be treated as extreme ecosystems, surrounded by intact, native
ecosystems with their seed sources. This unconventional view of approaching ecosys-
tem development in areas of ground or broken rocks, such as deserts, hot springs, salt
lakes, high latitude and altitude systems requires an understanding of the blockages
which limit further progression. Mostly, mine waste systems need to be balanced, as
they are overwhelmingly oxidative and either acidic or alkaline. Their special biogeo-
chemical challenges present their own complexity, and they need to be given time.
Keywords Ecotechnology · Biogeotechnology · Ecosystem restoration ·

Ecological engineering · Niche construction · Biofilms · Geomicrobiology
5.1 Constructed Wetlands
Wetlands have gradually vanished world-wide as they are replaced by agricultural

activities and urban development (Roy et al., 2000; Walpole & Davidson, 2018).
The consequences of draining them were realized when their disappearance caused

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hydrological problems. The National Research Council (1992), in their report

Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems defined restoration as the “return of an ecosys-
tem to a close approximation of its condition prior to disturbance.” Further, they
considered the resurrection of wetlands “the construction of a wetland in an area
that was not a wetland in the recent past (within the last 100–200 years) and that is
now isolated from existing wetlands (i.e., not directly adjacent).”
Organic pollutants are degraded into gases and nutrients, and support aquatic,
above-ground and below-ground plant growth. They generate organic sediments
which, in turn, house microbes which drive contaminant degradation resulting in
changes in BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand). This provides reducing conditions
through microbial action, gradually forming sediment.
The state of Florida initiated legislation to counter wetland losses using organic-
rich wastewater and stormwater runoff -assisting the growth of wetlands. The resto-
ration of the Everglades water quality remains one of the largest restoration efforts,
reducing and altering the nutrient input from agricultural land in its headwaters (US
EPA, 2016). This project, started in the 1980s, is still in progress restoring a previ-
ously straightened river which has caused dramatic damage to the Everglades sys-
tem. Overall, these constructed wetlands perform well at their designated job,
making available intensive research funding which resulted in increased under-
standing of the cleansing capacity of organics (Kadlec & Knight, 1996; Gwin et al.,
1999; Mitsch & Gossilink, 2000), to name some of the most prominent
publications.
Constructed wetlands were also designed to remediate soils, especially when
contaminated with complex, man-made organics. The design of these wetlands was
based on the role of microbes in degrading pollutants (Adriano et al., 1999). Organic
man-made substances are complex, but their degradation and removal from wet-
lands by vegetation led to the development of the field of phytoremediation, address-
ing the transformation and control of a large variety of both natural and manmade
contaminants (McCutcheon & Schnorr, 2003).
5.2 Ecology of Extreme Ecosystems
All these developments in constructed wetlands occurred long after nuclear weap-
ons testing in the 1950s. It was also a period when acid rain and contamination with
radionuclides from fall-out were of major concern. The first to note public pressure
because of radiation and the potential food chain contamination was the uranium
industry. The base metal industry followed as acid rain, resulting from tailings dust
storms, became an issue. In northern Ontario, methods were developed for placing
a grass cover on acid tailings, a standard which led to greening of base metal tailings
(Peters, 1995) followed by uranium tailings. In the case of unattended orphaned
sites, revegetation by indigenous flora took hold, but the effluents or drainages, acid
or alkaline, remained contaminated with long-lived radionuclides. Hence public
pressure increased on the uranium industry to assess the fate of 226Ra and 210Pb (see
Chap. 4).
5 Constructed Wetlands and the Ecology of Extreme Ecosystems 43
In 2002, the comprehensive book by Brown et al. (2002) on mine water treatment
technologies published by the IWA (International Water Association) summarized
the issue of mine water effluents very well along with approaches using various
chemical treatments. These approaches were intensely debated at conferences, but
never contained microbial or ecological engineering tools. However, Brown et al.
(2002) quoted McGuinnes et al. (1996) recognizing ecological engineering with
these words.
All to often, constructed wetlands or other biological passive treatment systems are
designed and constructed by engineers who do not have this perception and thus the sys-
tems do not achieve a self-sustaining status.
Bradshaw and Chadwick (1980) and Cairns (1980) were among the first to address
the ecology and remediation of derelict and degraded lands. Their work focused on
establishing a vegetation cover on coal spoils, gold, and base metal tailings. At the
time, the accepted restoration technique applied lime and fertilizer, followed by
crimping of straw followed by seeding with commercial grass seed/legume mix-
tures and later planting trees. The remediation of uranium tailings followed the
same methodology.
Since constructed wetlands could and had worked well with organic pollutants,
there was enthusiasm for possibly using constructed wetlands to treat mine efflu-
ents, as well. These effluents are either acidic or alkaline, but contain inorganic
contaminants. Early attempts at using constructed wetlands for removal of metals
worked for a limited time. However, the precipitation of metals driven by pH/Eh
redox pairs (neutral pH and positive redox), soon ‘plugged’ the wetlands, with con-
comitant loss of removal capacity.
From the above discussion it would seem that the bioremediation of organic
substances leading to gases, nutrients and water is a perfect tool, but mine tailings
and their effluents contaminated by inorganic metals have a low pH and negative
redox values. These effluents can only be treated by using a microbially-active sedi-
ment, which can raise the pH, precipitate metals, and keep them out of the effluent
solution (see Chap. 6). The fundamental difference between constructed wetlands
for organics removal and inorganics removal is the end product, either gas and nutri-
ents, or precipitated solid metals from the inorganics. To use constructed wetlands
for inorganics, there needs to be an organic, reducing sediment and microbes that
can transform the redox state of the effluents. Boojum has focused its efforts on a
containing the weathering products within the waste by supporting the growth of
organic microbial films on the mineral surface and drainage effluents by creating
organic, reducing sediments.
Mine wastes are not hazardous materials, but broken or ground rock, natural
material exposed to natural weathering processes. Hence, ecological processes pre-
vail in these wastes. Cairns’ (1980) observations on the colonization of the dry coal
spoils fitted reasonably well with of ecosystem processes and their development, as
defined by Odum (1962). Odum formulated a restoration approach using ‘ecologi-
cal engineering’ tools. He stated that “environmental manipulation by man using
small amounts of energy to control systems” is all that should be required. This
approach was later consolidated by Mitsch and Jorgensen (1989) into ‘ecotechnol-
ogy,’ with 13 guiding principles, of which three apply specially to mining waste
sites, as they are extreme, relatively simple ecosystems, with aquatic and terrestrial
components.
1. Ecosystem structure and function are determined by forcing functions
(missing resources) of the system. Alteration of these causes the most dras-
tic changes in the ecosystem.
2. Ecosystems are self-designing systems. The more one works with the self-
design of nature, the lower the cost of energy to maintain that system.
3. Elements are recycled in ecosystems. Matching humanity and the natural
ecosystems supporting the biogeochemical pathways will ultimately
reduce the effect of pollution and lead to a sustaining system. (Mitsch &
Jorgensen, 1989; Chapter 3, pp. 21–25)
These three principles are fundamental to extreme ecosystems and therefore under-
pin Boojum’s approach to working in mine waste and water management areas.
Only when the forcing functions are identified and dealt with, can the ecological
engineering tools assist with the remediation of mine waste ecosystems and support
the progression toward sustaining and self-supporting systems (Orellana et al., 2018).
Boojum has concentrated on the ‘ecological engineering’ tools that modify these
extreme ecosystems to overcome the forcing functions which hold back any prog-
ress toward sustainability. The tools include using local biota such as microbes,
fungi, algae, mosses, and floating vegetation to alter the chemistry of the wastewa-
ter. To eliminate forcing functions, organics and/or nutrients are added to the wastes
supporting biofilm growth on the mineral surface or constructing sediments in
drainage channels to establish reducing conditions. In some cases, physical altera-
tions provide growth spaces for biota. In other words, Boojum has focused its work
on determining which forcing functions limit the productivity of these extreme eco-
systems and how they can be alleviated.
The first edition of the book on Ecological Engineering contained the observa-
tions of a base metal mine with acid mine drainage (Kalin, 1989). Since 1989,
Boojum has developed ecological and engineering tools intended to strengthen the
drive toward mine site ecosystem sustainability. The concept of treating mine sites
as extreme environments is fundamental to achieving the needed paradigm shift as
demonstrated by the work produced by Boojum. Microbes and their productivity
are the key ingredients enabling in the long-term, sustainably reduced weathering
(Feldman, 1997).
Working with microbes in mining is nothing new. The book Biogeotechnology of
Metals (Karavaiko & Groudev, 1985) opened with this quote from Pasteur (reprinted
in 1969). The meaning remains valid to this date.
There is no such thing as a special category of science called applied science; there is sci-
ence and its applications, which are related to one another as the fruit is related to the tree
that has borne it.
5 Constructed Wetlands and the Ecology of Extreme Ecosystems 45
Working world-wide, in the high artic on Baffin Island in the Northwest Territories,
the Yukon, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland (Canada),
in the Minas Gerais (a tropical and in semi-arid region of Brazil, the Sahel of
Burkina Faso, the humid subtropical region of Guiyang in China, the Rocky
Mountains, West Virginia (USA), Northern Queensland in Australia, and in Germany
convinced Boojum that, with minor differences, the same ecological principles per-
sist at all mines. Generally, the forcing functions (lack of organic carbon, targeted
nutrients, and physical settings) apply in all types of wastes sites, enabling the appli-
cation of a standard approach to each site, like standard engineering practices.
Simply stated, Boojum applies natural processes found in extreme ecosystems to
mine waste and water management. Many refereed publications and book chapters
are publicly available, in addition to the gray literature which contains corporate
reports of those companies which supported the development of decommissioning
scenarios. The corporate reports and conference proceedings have been submitted
in electronic form to the Laurentian University’s Mining Environment library
(https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/boojum).
References
Adriano, D. C., Bollag, J. M., Frankenberger, W. T., & Sims, R. C. (Eds.). (1999). Bioremediation
of contaminated soils (American society of agronomy #37). Madison.
Bradshaw, A. D., & Chadwick, M. J. (1980). The restoration of land: The ecology and reclama-
tion of derelict and degraded land. University of California Press. ISBN-13: 978-0520039612.
Brown, M., Barley, B., & Wood, H. (2002). Minewater treatment: Technology, application and
policy. IWA Publishing. ISBN 1 84339 004 3.
Cairns, J. (Ed.). (1980). The recovery process in damaged ecosystems. Mich Ann Arbor Science
Publishers. https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9822333
Feldman, M. (1997). Geomicrobiological processes in the subsurface. A tribute to Johannes
Neher’s work. FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 20(3–4), 181–189. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-
6976.1997.tb00307.x
Gwin, S. E., Kentula, M. E., & Shaffer, P. W. (1999). Evaluating the effects of wetland regulation
through hydrogeomorphic classification and landscape profiles. Wetlands, 19(3), 477–489.
Kadlec, R. H., & Knight, R. L. (1996). Treatment wetlands (p. 893). Lewis Publishers.
Kalin, M. (1989). Ecological engineering and biological polishing. In W. K. Mitsch & S. E. Jorgensen
(Eds.), Ecological engineering: An introduction to Ecotechnology (pp. 443–461). Wiley.
Karavaiko, G. I., & Groudev, S. N. (1985). Biogeotechnology of metals. International training
course on microbial hydrometallurgy of metals from ores (1982: Sofia, Bulgaria); International
seminar on modern aspects of microbial hydrometallurgy (1982: Moscow, RSFSR). Centre of
International Projects GKNT.
McCutcheon, S. C., & Schnorr, J. L. (2003). Phytoremediation: Transformation and control of
contaminants (Wiley-interscience text and monographs). Wiley. ISBN: 0-471-39435-1.
Mitsch, W. J., & Gossilink, J. G. (2000). The value of wetlands: Importance of scale and landscape
setting. Ecological Economics, 35(1), 25–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8009(00)00165-8
Mitsch, W. J., & Jorgensen, S. E. (1989). Ecological engineering – An introduction to Ecotechnology
(p. 472). Wiley.
National Research Council. (1992). Restoration of aquatic ecosystems. science and technology
and public policy. The National Academies Press.
Odum, H. T. (1962). Man in the ecosystem. Bulletin of the Connecticut Agricultural Station,
652, 57–75.
Orellana, R., Macaya, C., Bravo, G., Dorochesi, F., Cumsille, A., Valencia, R., Rojas, C., &
Seeger, M. (2018). Living at the frontiers of life: Extremophiles in Chile and their poten-
tial for bioremediation. Frontiers in Microbiology, 9, 2309. https://www.frontiersin.org/
articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02309/full
Pasteur, L. (1969). Correspondence of Pasteur and Thuillier concerning anthrax and swine fever
vaccinations. University of Alabama Press. 240 p. ISBN 0817350705.
Peters, T. H. (1995). Revegetation of the copper cliff tailings area. In J. M. Gunn (Ed.), Restoration
and recovery of an industrial region (Springer series on environmental management). Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2520-1_9
Roy, V., Ruel, J.-C., & Plamondon, A. P. (2000). Establishment, growth, and survival of natu-
ral regeneration after clearcutting and drainage on forested wetlands. Forest Ecology and
Management, 129(1–3), 253–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(99)00170-X
US EPA. (2016). Wetlands restoration definitions and distinctions, what is wetland restoration?
https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/wetlands-restoration-definitions-and-distinctions
Walpole, M., & Davidson, N. (2018). Stop draining the swamp: it’s time to tackle wetland loss.
Oryx, 52(4), 595–596.
Chapter 6
Ecological Engineering Tools in Extreme
Ecosystems
Abstract Mine waste rock piles and tailings are extreme, oxidative environments.
Once the overburden has been scraped off, the reducing sediments or soils have
been removed. This leaves newly exposed rock to weathering. The organic sedi-
ments need to be replaced. With time, newly created sediments will balance the
overwhelmingly oxidative conditions. In ditches and ponds, organic sediments
interface between the water body and the exposed rock. Adding organics to ditches
and ponds fosters reducing conditions in newly-created sediments. Microbes that
flourish under reducing conditions need to be nourished. These anaerobic microbes
transform metals in the effluent to authogenic ores. This process has been labeled
ARUM or Acid Reduction Using Microbiology. A continuous supply of organics is
needed to keep the process going. This is provided by periphyton, phytoplankton,
and/or floating, living islands of reeds or cattails. Living islands also protect reduc-
ing sediments from wind mixing. This approach has been tested in different acid
drainages around the world. A form or ARUM was also used to treat a groundwater
plume by dripping urea and sugar into the plume. The urea is hydrolyzed to ammo-
nia which raises the pH with metal and iron precipitation.
Keywords Redox reactions · Reducing sediments · Oxidative environments · Acid

Reduction Using Microbiology · Sulfate reduction · In situ treatment ·
Groundwater · Ureolytic microbes · Heterotrophs
Two types of extreme ecosystems (i.e., terrestrial and aquatic) exist in a mine waste
management area, drainages, open water bodies, and terrestrial systems with waste
rock and tailings. Drainages are basically artificial streams, brooks, or rivulets. Pit
lakes are artificial, as they are not placed into a drainage basin, have no sediments

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and no littoral and limnetic zones. A pit lake has no surface water inlets or outlets
and is often a hole in the groundwater table.
Every mine has site-specific environmental issues. Indeed, each mine has a dif-
ferent hydrology, geology, and mineralogy. Mines are in different climates, have
different physical layouts, and differ with respect to their surrounding environ-
ments. The waste- and water- management areas of all these mine sites foster
extreme ecosystems, whether the rock is ground or broken, or generating acidic or
alkaline drainages. However, the processes for releasing contaminants are the same.
For a discussion of weathering and microbial corrosion see Chap. 1.
Boojum Research (Boojum) has developed several ecological tools to counter
the forcing functions of these extreme environments. A tool can vary from mine
waste management area be it physical (providing structures, adding nutrient with
the rain or integration a living supply of organics) addition. In this case, the opera-
tion is the minimization or alleviation of forcing functions in mining extreme envi-
ronments. Tools have been developed to overcome the challenges brought about by
oxidative processes occurring at the mineral surface and resulting in acidic or alka-
line mine waste effluents.
6.1 Defining the Characteristics of Ecosystems
Boojum has formulated a systematic, multidisciplinary approach to address mine

waste challenges. Each project’s common features are divided into three phases.
Boojum has had the support of mining companies on several pre-feasibility studies
(also called scoping studies) which sometimes progressed to pilot projects. They
have also had corporate support for several large demonstration programs, some
even carried to full-scale.
Phase I (the feasibility study) consists of a literature review on the elements of
concern, addressing both their inorganic chemistry and biogeochemistry. A great
resource to achieve this is Reitner and Thiel (2011). The literature review is fol-
lowed by site visits to identify colonizing biota in the effluent streams, on the tail-
ings, and the waste rock piles, starting with the oldest waste, exposed on site since
onset of the mine operation. A survey of the undisturbed surroundings is included
because resources (seeds, organics, and potential colonizing plants) might be avail-
able for site recovery or colonization. The mine history, mineral extraction pro-
cesses, physical layout, hydrology, and former drainage basins are identified. The
physical layout is important as it includes areas where drainages emerge at the foot
of the waste rock and tailings piles. In most cases, aerial photographs exist which
indicate the original surface drainage, now covered by waste rock piles or tailings.
Meteorological data from nearby weather stations, spanning several years, are
requested to determine the amounts of precipitation that will fall onto the wastes
when the mine operation ceases. In operating mines, it is advisable to produce a
water balance of the mill, depending on the sources of freshwater used. Most of this
6 Ecological Engineering Tools in Extreme Ecosystems 49
Table 6.1 The ecological engineering approach to assessing a mine waste management area
Phase I Site history, mine waste management area
Site Characterization Physical layout
Climate, hydrology, surface water and groundwater quality
Contaminant loadings
Waste mineralogy, geochemistry contaminant paths and fate
Contaminant paths and fate
Process selection
Existing terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
Biological system selection
Phase II Geochemical and biological reaction rates
Field Testing of Define site-specific design criteria for treatment strategies
Selected Strategy
Assess feasibility of strategies
Decision to proceed to Phase III or address missing data
Phase III Full-scale design, construction, and monitoring of treatment approach
Scale-up of Modify, if necessary, fine-tune system
Treatment System
information is available from the company, found in historic files, or accessible

from official government agency websites. (Table 6.1).
Water, tailings, and biological samples found growing on tailings or in drainages
are analyzed for contaminant concentrations. The local indigenous flora is identified
both on the wastes and in the adjacent undisturbed environment. Growth rates for
the most promising organisms are researched or must be determined with laboratory
experimentation. The ecological potential to remove the elements of concern (con-
taminant-removal capacity) is derived from bio-concentration measurements sup-
ported by chemical analyses and biological assessments (e.g., growth curves,
biomass). These assessments determine the suitability to utilize the ecological pro-
cesses for the assessed site.
Upon approval of the feasibility report, Phase II (field and laboratory testing)
commences. This consists of a combination of laboratory and field testing of materi-
als that trigger precipitation of the contaminants with additions of target substances
(mostly organics, fertilizers). Field pilots are carried out on small waste streams to
determine residence times and growth rates. Field pilots are generally run for 2 to 3
years and are regularly monitored. Often, adjustments are needed with a one-time
addition of nutrients to kick-start the system. Organic materials for the creation of
sediments are assessed for availability. For example, in Brazil sugarcane leaves and
stalks were used, in Saskatchewan it was large alfalfa bales to create islands in a
shallow lake, and in China, rice straw was used. Contaminant loadings are calcu-
lated for the whole site, including the larger drainage basin(s) surrounding the
wastes, as, at decommissioning, these data may provide evidence of clean, surface
run-off. Materials are tested for use in creating additional surface area for the attach-
ment and growth of submerged biota. Time-relevant data were obtained by asking
mine site staff to monitor experiments, or, if unavailable, experiments were carried
out in the Boojum laboratory, as generally only two trips a year could be financed.
Forcing functions were determined in these experiments, and the most cost-effec-
tive means to alleviate them is determined, along with the most reasonable monitor-
ing frequency.
A report is then issued to the company and the government regulators, and,
depending on their response, the project proceeds to Phase III, with a gradual scale-
up, based on the field-pilot results. A monitoring program is carried out for several
years, until the ecosystem is homeostatic or has reached self-design.
6.2 Tool for Acid Reduction Using Microbiology
Many publications are available on microbial activity in sediments. Here Stumm &
Morgan (1996) microbially-mediated oxidation reactions are used as a reference
(pages 473–477). Each microbial reduction reaction proceeds with the oxidation of
a compound. Hence, these processes are redox reactions. Each redox reaction in the
presence of organic carbon is carried out by different microbes starting with denitri-
fication, followed by iron reduction and sulfate reduction, at which point nearly all
labile organics are consumed. If enough oxidized iron is present and the Eh is low
enough, the precipitation of authigenic iron minerals will occur. Should this not be
the case, sulfate-reducing microorganisms will produce hydrogen sulfide which
escapes the sediment as gas – bog gas.
For example, in northern Queensland, Australia, alkaline waste rock drainage
was collected in an evaporation pond during the monsoon rains. The company’s
goal was to remove or reduce the excessive sulfate concentrations in the water. The
investigation revealed pHs and Ehs indicative of reducing conditions above the pond
sediments. If little or no iron was present in the sediments, sulfate-reducing microbes
would convert the sulfate to hydrogen sulfide, leading to bog gas formation.
Microbial sulfate reduction might be utilized to reduce the sulfate concentrations in
the mine water.
Boojum recommended broadcasting organic matter over the dried evaporation
pond bed, which would be filled with alkaline drainage when the monsoons came.
As the organic matter decomposed, the sulfates should be released by microbial
metabolism. In the absence of iron, hydrogen sulfide gas should be liberated.
Boojum failed to point out that without iron, bog gas would be released. Taking the
recommendation literally, straw was added to the evaporation pond (Fig. 6.1). The
monsoon rains came, flooding the pond. Soon, the intensive smell of hydrogen sul-
fide emerged, resulting in the sulfate concentrations in the pond water being the
lowest ever measured in the discharge. Unfortunately, no data were provided to
Boojum. This simple feasibility study illustrates microbial reactions can be used to
regulate mine water chemistry.
Microbial sulfate reduction under anaerobic conditions has been shown to
remove sulfuric acid and metals from the water column, relegating the mineralized
metals to the sediments (Tuttle et al., 1969; Kosolapov et al. 2004). To utilize this
Fig. 6.1 Evaporation pond in northern Queensland, Australia, with straw bales being distributed
prior to the monsoon season. (Photograph supplied by Century Mine)
process, anaerobic conditions suitable for sulfate reduction need to be created.

Organic materials play a central role in the wetland system, i.e., to chelate metal
ions, remove sulfate, increase pH, provide a growth media for microbes (especially
sulfate-reducing microbes). The construction of an organic sediment starts with pro-
viding straw or hay, not in bales, but distributed loosely to provide the maximum
surface area, while allowing some flow through the material. It is important that the
added organics contain some easily degradable material (labile component) and
provide structure to the sediment (recalcitrant component). Overall, organic materi-
als determine the usefulness of the wetland system to neutralize AMD passively and
sustainably.
Although easily degradable organic carbon is desirable for microbial growth
(Smith & Kalin, 1991), all materials tested contained both types - recalcitrant and
labile compounds, but in different proportions. While the easily-degradable carbon
is food for microbes, the added carbon also needs to provide structure, without com-
pacting, so that the drainage can move through it. Alfalfa hay provided the best
source for this purpose. Alfalfa had another bonus; it was relatively high in nitrog-
enous compounds, which are degraded into ammonia by ureolytic microbes. In a
similar study by Brown (2002), hay and silage in a 1:1 (weight) mixture, performed
best, along with barley and orchard grass silage at reducing sulfate concentrations.
Organic material that degrades easily is sometimes needed to ‘jump start’ the micro-
bial degradation process. High nitrogen content organics such as alfalfa, guinea pig
or horse food pellets worked best for this purpose. The compositions are given as a
percentage range for each organic compound are given below:
• labile: 1% to 9% lipids, 22% to 40% sugars, starch, and amino acids
• recalcitrant: 17% to 44% cutins, and lignin, and silica, etc. (Smith & Kalin 1991)
To develop this tool, Boojum selected two locations, Elliot Lake and Sudbury,
Ontario. In Elliot Lake, the ability of ‘artificial’ sediments to form secondary miner-
als was tested. In Sudbury, sediment construction and living, floating islands in
tailings acid mine drainage ditches through carbon addition were investigated.
In general, drainages emerge from tailings in a reduced state. Dissolved iron is
usually in the form of iron (Fe2+). Waste rock pile drainages generally produce efflu-
ents with oxidized iron (Fe3+). Visually, Fe2+ oxidation to Fe3+ is fast, producing a
solid iron hydroxide precipitate along with the co-precipitation of metals (Liu &
Kalin, 1994). However, only a fraction of the iron precipitates; a portion stays sus-
pended, passing through a 0.45μm filter. In some drainages, the iron does not read-
ily precipitate, especially in coal waste drainages. Iron can be complexed with
organic compounds, e.g., humic acids and other organic molecules. Boojum mea-
sured rates of iron oxidation in the field and in the laboratory (Liu & Kalin, 1994).
The oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+ is the main driver of pH reduction. Liu and Kalin
(1994) used drainages ranging in pH 1.8 to 3.6 and iron concentrations of 10 to
4000 mg. L−1 to determine the oxidation rate constant. The rate constant for a par-
ticular effluent is needed to determine the residence time needed to reasonably oxi-
dize ferrous iron before treatment. The rate constants calculated for the oxidation of
Fe2+varied from 0.00017 to 0.00030 per minute. This suggests that large oxidation
ponds would be needed to convert the ferrous to ferric iron. It is recommended that
the precipitation behavior of iron be tested in the laboratory for every effluent before
oxidation ponds are constructed.
6.2.1 Swampy Drainages and Sediment Mineralization
At the Elliot Lake site is a very slow-flowing acid drainage which forms a shallow
pool at the foot of a tailings dam. Boojum selected this site to test if this sequence
of oxidation reactions (sensu Stumm and Morgan) could be reproduced. Plastic
55-gallon drums, with open bottoms, were filled with loose straw, and inserted into
the eroded tailings (Fig. 6.2a). Standpipes were added to the drums to sample pore-
water for analysis. To be sure that sufficient iron would be present, a handful rusty
nails were added.
Monitoring included Eh, pH, and elemental composition of the porewater in the
straw/iron/acid drums with drainage. The water from the standpipes was sampled
after 3 years and stored under a nitrogen atmosphere to prevent changes in redox.
This was necessary as redox conditions change rapidly when groundwater or sedi-
ment porewater is exposed to air. Porewater chemistry, pH, and Eh were used as
inputs for geochemical modelling with PHREEQC (Parkhurst & Appelo, 2013).
Fig. 6.2 (a) Slow-flowing acid drainage forms a shallow pool at the foot of a tailings dam in Elliot
Lake. The site was selected to test if secondary minerals could be detected in constructed sedi-
ments placed into highly acid water. The drums contained organics and rusty nails with straw.
Porewater was sampled under nitrogen gas to examine if it authogenic minerals could be found
under the microscope, nettings without rusty nails formed as a control. (b) The alfalfa bails were
placed in a honeycomb structure to allow reducing and oxidizing heterotrophic microbes to invade
the bails. In March 1991 the bails were placed on the ice as access was otherwise not possible. in
July 1992 the structures had remained but by August 1993 vegetation had invaded and the bottom
pH had improved from 2.3 previous to 5.2. Note the high conductivity which had not changed.
(Photographs by Boojum Research)
The pore water from the drums revealed saturation indexes using PHREEQC to
determine Saturation Indexes (+SI), then conditions are appropriate for precipita-
tion of minerals, if negative, conditions do not warrant precipitation, and ions
remain in solution. Basically, supersaturation needs to be achieved with either a
low or a negative redox and/or with a higher pH. Some minerals require both a low
redox and high pH.
The analysis of drum porewater, collected without contact with nitrogen indi-
cated positive saturation indices for compounds of iron and sulfur, among others,
suggesting that authigenic pyrite was being formed.
The objective, documenting the authigenic mineralization potential of ARUM,
had been achieved. The processes described by Stumm and Morgan could be repro-
duced in the field. However, what Boojum had failed to do was to clearly explain the
objectives to the funders of the MEND project, as they expected a green wetland.
Nothing green was noted, and funding was cut. Two years later, when Boojum staff
returned to the site, the experiment had been destroyed. Only a photographic record
of the black, authigenic minerals in the straw remained (Fig. 6.3).
Fig. 6.3 The Elliot Lake drainage pool after mine operators demolished the site and experiments.
The black-stained pile close to the road was the only visual evidence of authigenic pyrite.
(Photograph by Boojum Research)
6.2.2 Ditches/Open Water
At active mine sites, ditches are constructed to lead drainage from the waste piles
toward a chemical treatment plant. The sludge from the neutralization plant is gen-
erally pumped back onto the tailings, essentially recycling the problem. These
ditches, because they are constructed, have no organic sediments. The MEND proj-
ect was therefore designed to treat the seepage before it reached the neutralization
plant. If the treatment was successful, the water could be discharged with a neutral
pH and free of many metals reducing the amount of lime needed for neutralization
and thereby also smaller sludge volume.
ARUM testing at the Sudbury site was focused on designing an experimental
system to (a) remove excess iron and metals; (b) provide an organic sediment for
heterotrophic microbes to establish a reducing environment and (c) provide a con-
tinuous source of carbon as food supply for those microbes, which would consume
oxygen to produce reducing conditions (Fig. 6.4; Kalin, 1990; Kalin et al., 1991;
Fyson et al., 1993).
The tailings seepage emerged with a neutral pH, but quickly oxidized, producing
iron hydroxide. The first set of ponds was designed to oxidize the iron from Fe2+ to
Fe3+, precipitating iron hydroxide and acidifying the seepage. The small ponds after
Fig. 6.4 ARUM system development. (a) Schematic of ARUM pilot test system for tailings drain-
age treatment. Seepage water travels from left to right. Oxidation/precipitation ponds are shown in
orange, the photograph is showing only a portion of the pond. Curtains are installed to enhance
iron settling. In the second pond(photo with floating frame is a settling pond for fine particles of
iron hydroxide) ARUM cells in blue in the schematic and in the photo the floating island with
vegetation. (b) Photograph of the site in Ontario. (Photograph by Boojum Research).
the oxidation cells and the initial ARUM cell were constructed with permeable
walls, in case nutrients had to be added, but this was not needed throughout the life
of the test cells (Fig. 6.4). The last set of ponds (2) were ARUM cells (Fig. 6.4). The
experimental system provided flow control to determine the residence time needed
for ARUM to increase the pH and precipitate contaminants. Once an organic sedi-
ment is constructed in the ARUM cells, a cover is needed. Floating, living covers
provide the water column and sediments with an additional, long-term source of
carbon through root exudates and litter. The covers also reduce wind-driven wave
action, limiting oxygen penetration into the water column.
After the ARUM cell the next treatment stage is biological polishing. Here,
algae, moss and fungi (i.e., periphyton), are grown on substrates to sequester the
remaining contaminants. Variations of this design were used to treat the effluents of
an abandoned gold mine in Brazil, discussed in Sect. 6.4.1.
6.2.3 F
loating Islands: Organic Carbon Supply Supports
Reducing Conditions
A tailings pond at decommissioning can be compared to a kettle lake (Fig. 6.5, right

side) which reflects the water level of the groundwater table. Often dead tree trunks
are sticking out of tailings, especially at the edges of the former valley or lake.
Inspecting the tree trunks, one finds a halo of oxidation surrounding the trunk, the
beginning of oxidation and acid generation. In natural lakes, organic sediments are
found, augmented by floating vegetation along the shore (Fig. 6.5a, photograph).
Semi-aquatic vegetation naturally forms floating islands (Mallison et al., 2001). The
natural, floating vegetation in bogs and lakes is initially anchored to the shore, but
can eventually cover the entire, open water body.
The process of ‘landing in’ or terrestrialization of water bodies can be observed,
exemplified by the schematic in Fig. 6.5b, which describes how ARUM might be
used in a decommissioning scenario. First a layer of organic sediments needs to be
created at the bottom of the tailings depression. Trees in the valley (depression)
should be cut down to prevent creating a ‘pipe’ through the tailings for oxidation.
The shrub, branches and leaves should be left to augment the organic sediments.
Tailings are then deposited on the sediment. Once the tailings deposit is completed,
a second organic sediment is created, and the shorelines are equipped with floating
living islands. Examples of the terrestrialization process are shown in photographs
from northern Canada. Figure 6.5a photograph depicts ‘landing in.’ Figure 6.5b
(right side) is a photograph of a seepage from a waste rock pile draining into a
depression where a sediment is gradually forming, invaded by semi aquatic vegeta-
tion. As the lake/pond ages, vegetation will extend inward from the edges. Upon
closure of the mine, the lake/pond will be covered with vegetation, providing reduc-
ing conditions for the sediments below. Sharma et al. (2021) describe different func-
tions for floating vegetation islands, some of which might be useful at mine sites.
Fig. 6.5 (a) Natural ‘landing in’ lake with schematic and photo showing the ‘landing in’ or
terrrestrialization of a lake/pond seen in the north of Ontario often in the muskeg country. (b) the
schematic shows the layers, with or without a natural sediment a constructed ARUM sediment
should be installed before the tailings are placed in the water body with the same functions as for
the ditches. A living, floating cover provides organic carbon for ARUM sediments On the right side
of the schematic the brown mass is the drainage from a waste rock pile directed in a small valley
with beginning terrestrialisation. (Photographs by Boojum Research)
To select the plants for living, floating covers, the primary focus is tolerance to
mine water conditions, either alkaline or acidic. The second focus is to select a plant
with a well-developed, loosely-bound root system to collect particulates and pro-
duce root exudates. Both Typha sp. (cattail) and Phragmites sp. (reed grass) tolerate
the adverse chemical environments of mine waste water, but Typha is better-suited,
with a more loosely-bound root system. Initially, the islands need support to float,
but with time (3 to 5 years) they become self-supporting, due to the gas produced
from the decomposition of the litter (Fig. 6.4b). For more information about cattail
islands for mine drainage see Kalin & Smith (1992). Islands can be constructed of
other species, such as Chrysopogon zizanioides for similar purposes (Kiiskila et al.,
2019). Pavlineri et al. (2017) have quantified the effects of using floating, living
covers in other remediation situations. Today, floating, living islands are available
commercially for a wide variety of applications.
6.2.4 U
nderwater Meadows: Protecting
Contaminated Sediments
In larger water bodies, water turns over (mixes) seasonally, driven by wind mixing
and a temperature gradient in spring and fall. If the water body is shallow, wind
induced mixing can even re-suspend sediments. In the case of iron-contaminated
the sediments in holding ponds or lakes, oxygen can reach the sediment-water inter-
face during periods of mixing. Consequently iron, which had been reduced to fer-
rous iron in anaerobic sediments, is re-oxidized to ferric iron, leading to a drop in
pH. The oxidized iron then re-settles during the summer and fall, again becoming
reduced, continuing the cycle. The continuous cycling of iron in lakes with exces-
sive iron in the upper part of the sediments, has been documented by Sulzberger
et al. (1990) and Stumm and Sulzberger (1992). In these lakes the seasonal turnover
produces a gradual decrease in pH, as oxygenated water reaches the sediment sur-
face annually. Boojum have documented this phenomenon in a one million cubic
meter lake as a gradual decrease in pH over the year, with a pH rise during the ice-
covered time (Fig. 6.6).
With an ice cover, the iron-hydroxide in the water column settled out onto the
sediment. Reducing conditions in the sediment gradually stabilized the iron, raising
the pH. As the ice melted, the lake turned over, re-suspending the iron, and re-oxi-
dizing the reduced iron in the top layer of sediments. This was particularly
Fig. 6.6 The gradual acidification of a mining lake in northern Ontario, Canada. Throughout the
acidification process pHs differed in winter when the late has an ice cover (orange) and summer
after turnover of the water body (blue). The dotted red lines are the ecological tools implemented
in the lake. Although the data set is small it shows the dramatic changes in the low pH range
between 1987 and 2005
prominent in the 1980s before remediation measures were initiated. If the pH

decreases much below 3 in acidifying lakes, the oxidized iron remains in solution,
gradually producing the distinctive dark red brown color, essentially becoming a
leaching solution.
To stabilize contaminated sediments and support a gradual pH increase in the
lake, the seasonal cycling of iron has to be prevented. This can be achieved by estab-
lishing an acid-tolerant underwater moss meadow over the sediments. The moss,
Drepanocladus sp., was found to be an ideal candidate for the job. It is widely dis-
tributed in temperate and arctic parts of the world (Wynne, 1944), and grows well in
acidic lakes with iron-rich sediments (Satake 2000; Fig. 6.7). Drepanocladus was
transplanted from a seepage on site to the lake using netting, fastened by an anchor
to the sediment (Kalin & Buggeln, 1986). As iron precipitates out of the water col-
umn, the moss becomes encrusted, retaining the iron and preventing release to the
water column. As the moss dies and decays, the iron is transferred to the sediment.
A moss cover also prevents sediments from becoming re-suspended during periods
of mixing.
In alkaline ponds and lakes, underwater meadows of charophytes can protect
sediments from the re-suspension of the precipitated iron and metals. These algae
form dense underwater meadows, growing on the sediment surface (Fig. 6.7a).
These fast-growing macrophytes are attached to the bottom of the ponds with root-
like rhizoid structures holding the plants in place in sediments. As discussed later
(Chap. 7), charophytes promote the precipitation of calcium carbonate with co-pre-
cipitated metals. Upon death, the biomass with entrustments sinks into the sedi-
ment, providing organic matter for oxygen-consuming microbes. The same function
can be shown for other benthic algal and moss species (Fig. 6.7).
Fig. 6.7 Submerged vegetation like mosses and algae can stabilize ARUM sediments. (a) Nitella
fexilis, a characean alga growing in alkaline water, can cover sediments and accumulate 226Ra and
uranium emerging from groundwater through the sediments. These algae can become covered with
epiphytes (periphyton) as shown here. (b) The green algae (periphyton) growing over acidic pond
sediments can also serve this function. Drepanocladus sp. (in insert) is an acid-tolerant moss.
Photograph insert shows the moss and reduced iron as a brown cloud released when sediments are
disturbed. (Photographs by Boojum Research).
6.3 Summary of ARUM Tests in Different Mine Drainages
The water quality changes brought about by ARUM are summarized in Table 6.2.
The results are given as removal rates for the metal of concern for different opera-
tions and locations. ARUM flow through systems were built and monitored in cen-
tral Ontario, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and northern Saskatchewan. In all
locations, the flow and volume of the test cells were measured. A very rough esti-
mate of removal rates in static reactors (2 L jars) at room temperature was deter-
mined (Table 6.2 top) and compared to rates calculated from field experimental
settings with added straw and low flow rates (1.5 L−s or less; Table 6.2 bottom). The
pH of the field systems (2.5–6) varied over the 2–3 years of measurements.
Boojum’s results show that acidity removal in static reactors ranged between 2.5
and 49 g.m−3.d−1, while sulfate removal ranged from 7.1 to 51 g.m−3.d−1.
In field flow-through systems, acidity removal ranged from 0.4 to 214 g.m−3.d−1,
while sulfate removal ranged from 1.2 to 435 g.m−3.d−1. Surprisingly, high sulfate
removal rates from a waste rock pile in central Newfoundland, Canada were due to
additions of straw to an iron-encrusted bog peat. Again, with more iron, more sul-
fates can be removed as iron-sulfides. These results clearly support the contention
that organic carbon sediments alleviate two of the primary forcing functions, low
pH, and acidity.
Table 6.2 A summary of water quality achieved in static reactors (2 L jars) and the field
pilot systems
Acidity Removal Iron Removal Sulfate Removal Metals Removal
AMD Type g.m−3.d−1 g.m−3.d−1 g.m−3.d−1 g.m−3.d−1
STATIC REACTORS
Ni\Cu 2.5 0.78 8.6 Ni: 0.17
Ni\Cu 5.3 2.5 7.1 (a)
Cu\Zn 8 3.1 11 Zn: 1.2
Cu\Zn\Pb 49 39 51 Zn: 3.8
Cu\Zn\Pb 11 5.5 18 Zn: 0.8
Uranium 41.1 0.005 16 Ni: 0.17
As: 1.8
FIELD SYSTEMS
Ni\Cu 0.8 0.04 14 Ni: 0.10
Ni\Cu 2.4 0.04 6.3 Ni: 0.25
Coal 2.8 0.3 3.2 Al: 0.12
Zn\Cu 0.37 (a) 1.2 Zn: 0.15
Zn\Cu 214 0.3 435 Zn: 71
Uranium (a) 0 3 As: 1.1
Ni: 0.32
(a) no metals present
Several passive constructed wetlands have been used to generate alkalinity in

mine effluents. Pat-Espadas et al. (2018) found some anaerobic wetlands could per-
form at the rate of 3.5 g acidity.m−2.d−1. These data are only comparable if it is
assumed that 1 m3 is equivalent to 1 m2 of flow (cells are only 1 m deep). Boojum’s
iron removal rates are of the same order of magnitude as those of Pat-Espanadas et
al. (2018), suggesting that similar processes may be at work. Another factor control-
ling acidity and contaminant removal rates is temperature. All of the static reactor
and field measurements were made during the ice-free season, with temperatures
varying between 5 and 22 °C.
One of the key criticisms of the ecological approach is the belief that biological
systems shut down at low temperatures. However, mine drainage does not freeze,
due to its generally high electrical conductivity. Also, adits, which drain from the
underground, may flow continuously, but with a lower volume. Microbial activity
slows with lower environmental temperatures, but because the chemical reactions of
sulfide wastes are exothermic, the drop in effluent temperature is mitigated. For
example, in Nunavut and Yukon territories, M. Kalin collected drainage in the win-
ter along waste rock piles and tailings dams, which were thought to be frozen. She
also observed tailings seeps on Baffin Island which contained algal growth.
Exploration drill holes and small springs were also green with algal growth.
6.4 ARUM Applications
6.4.1 Brazilian Mine Discharge
An abandoned gold mine portal discharged acid drainage to the Das Vehlas River,
Brazil. Ponds were constructed into the hillside, starting with two precipitation
ponds followed by three ARUM ponds (Fig. 6.8; Kalin & Caetano Chaves, 2003).
Sugar cane litter was used to create organic sediments in the ARUM ponds. Cattails
were planted on Styrofoam™ floats over the newly-created organic sediments.
Monitoring data continued for 1 year, demonstrating the success of the system. A
personal communication with V. Ciminelli of the University of Minas Gerais later
established that the system had been working for 25 years before it was destroyed
by the local population (Fig. 6.8).
6.4.2 Dried Out Lake Sediment: Re-solubilization of Elements
Sediments from several dried-out lakes were studied in northern Saskatchewan. The
original lakes were drained as the groundwater table was lowered to construct an
open pit to reach uranium ore. The lakes received water only from atmospheric
precipitation. Organic sediments in the lakes contained metals and authogenic
Fig. 6.8 The ARUM system in Brazil. (a) The portal of the abandoned gold mine. (b) The precipi-
tation ponds. (c) Cattails transplanted to Styrofoam™ floats as living cover for ARUM cells.
Photograph shows initial system. Which was later replaced (Kalin & Caetano Chaves, 2003).
pyrite, the natural result of ARUM, noticeable due to small acidic seeps occurring
after rainfall or snowmelt.
At close-out of the mining operation, the rising groundwater would re-fill the
lakes, flooding the sediments. Because the buffering capacity of the groundwater
was very low, the newly re-filled lakes would turn acidic. The environmental con-
cern was that nickel, also present in the sediments, would be released, and exceed
the allowable environmental concentration limit. This would necessitate chemical
treatment of the lake water, a costly undertaking. The objective of this work was to
address two issues. Which of the lakes contained sediments with nickel-bearing
strata, and, if so, could preventative action be taken to retain the nickel within the
newly flooded sediments?
The first question was addressed with an extensive lake sediment sampling cam-
paign, which included digging pits to a depth of 1 m and sampling the stratigraphic
layers. Stratigraphic and pedological assessments along with chemical analysis
identified those lake sediments which needed neutralization and nickel immobiliza-
tion. The problem was isolated to mainly one lake. Cores were taken, and carefully
introduced to plastic columns, with sampling ports in each of the strata. The col-
umns were stored in an industrial cellar at relatively low temperatures. The columns
were flooded from the bottom upward. Each of the port effluents was sampled for
the presence of nickel, identified through previous chemical analysis and a pedo-
logical assessment. This installation was run and monitored for 5 years (Fig. 6.9a).
The second question regarding the prevention of possible nickel release, could be
answered by creating ARUM sediments. The dried-out lake sediments contained no
organic matter. To test this, lake sediments and easily-degradable organic material
Fig. 6.9 Experiments to determine future acid-generating potential of lake sediments accompa-
nied by nickel release to the rising groundwater table. (a) Soil cores were obtained from several
dried-out lakes to simulate rising groundwater table. Sampling ports were installed in different
core strata to simulate/document potential nickel release. (b) The jars in the refrigerator were
equipped with mini piezometers in the sediment and connected to syringes to obtain porewater
before and after the addition of potato peel waste (easily degradable organics, EDO). (c) The
results were plotted into the phase diagram to identify which groups of microbes would be active,
based on the extensive database of surface and groundwater of Baas Becking et al. (1960). The pH/
Eh couples of the porewater before the organics were added are marked in blue and in red after the
addition. (Photographs by Boojum Research)
(potato peel waste) were placed into 1 L jars with sampling ports (small tubes) serv-
ing as porewater samplers. The potato waste would, hopefully, foster ARUM
microbes to precipitate the nickel. Both the porewater in the sediment and the over-
lying water were monitored for nickel concentration, pH, and Eh (Fig. 6.9b).
The jars were filled with groundwater shipped from northern Saskatchewan to
Toronto. In Fig. 6.9c the results are shown in an Eh-pH Baas Becking diagram (Baas
Becking et al., 1960). The pH and Eh pairs are plotted against each other, before the
addition of potato waste (blue crosses) and after (red xs). More than 90% of all
samples to which organic carbon was added showed a rising trend in pH, and a
decrease in Eh (Boojum Research, 2006). After one month the pH and Eh pairs
moved in the direction which promoted thiobacteria. Sulfate-reducing bacteria,
however, need even lower pH (<4) and negative Ehs (i.e., a region not yet reached).
It appeared that the results supported the hypotheses. Given that the sediments
had been dried out, the concern was raised by the client that the needed microbes
would be dead. Boojum’s assurance was insufficient, particularly for the govern-
mental regulators. Later, Boojum received a call from the project leader saying that
the lakes were flooded, and the projections were correct. Boojum had located the
contaminated lakes correctly and the nickel concentrations were acceptable.
However, they had problems with zinc from galvanized pipes needed in the opera-
tion. Unfortunately, the project leader had a fatal accident, and the project was ter-
minated. Here, as in Australia, Boojum provided evidence that organics are a key
component in initiating a change in the existing mine water conditions.
6.4.3 In Situ ARUM Application
In northern Ontario, a polymetallic mine was developed on a peninsula, between

two lakes, one of which was a trophy fishing lake, and the other, a contaminated
experimental lake. Boojum was hired to assist with the decommissioning, since
regulators and the company could not find a suitable place for a conventional chemi-
cal treatment plant or the resultant sludge. Sludge production was estimated between
1200 m3 and 3,000 m3 per year with high density sludge production projected to last
for 1000 to 35,000 years (Kalin, 2002). At that time, the mine operator and Boojum
had absolutely no knowledge of the groundwater conditions. Boojum engaged a
hydrologist and a geochemist to address this challenge.
Between 1986 and 2000 more than 110 piezometers were installed in and outside
the tailings area. The groundwater plume encountered in some piezometers con-
tained close to 1 g.L−1 each of iron and zinc, and about 20 g.L−1 of sulfur and was
expanding in strata at a depth of 16 m. This deep groundwater plume was moving
toward a small, lake to the north of the tailings called Mud Lake. A groundwater
model was constructed, based on the stratigraphy and the water level behavior in the
tailings.
In 1998, the software package, visual Modflow, was used to construct a numeri-
cal model of the larger drainage basin bounded by the trophy lake to the south
Hariharen & Uma Shankar (2017). This three-dimensional groundwater flow model
is an industry standard and had been subject to extensive verification and validation
studies (Harihan & Shankar, 2017). The model predicted that groundwater was
moving in several directions. It was feared that the plume would travel towards the
trophy fishing lake, a highly, undesirable outcome. Flows toward the direction of the
trophy fishery lake was relatively small at about 3,700 m3.a−1.
The global, site-wide model provided an estimate of the dilution potential from
the groundwater system of the various watersheds surrounding the mine and tailings
sites. It was determined that there are about 900,000 m3.a−1 of uncontaminated
groundwater available for diluting about 150,000 m3.a−1of groundwater in the mine
site and tailings. Most of the flow from the tailings was via the bedrock canyon to
Mud Lake to the north, at about 18,000 m3.a−1. The remaining flow paths accounted
for 7000 m3.a−1. There was about 9000 m3.a−1flowing from the tailings pond to
Mud Lake.
The results of transport modelling using zinc as the representative contaminant
indicated a breakthrough of contamination into Mud Lake in 5 to 10 years, with a
predicted zinc concentration of 60 mg.L−1 at the inflow of this groundwater into
Mud Lake after 20 years (Fig. 6.10). These predictions agree well with field samples
taken from piezometers in the flow path. The estimated loading of 1.3 tonnes of zinc
per annum into Mud Lake was compared to the 0.5 tonnes per annum previously
estimated for discharge into the trophy fishing lake. As the trophy fishing lake is a
very large lake at the headwaters of the English River, this plume could be consid-
ered minor. The loadings estimated are very conservative, since it was assumed that
an average concentration of 200 mg.L−1, representing the upper range of zinc con-
centrations within the tailings, were distributed throughout the tailings (Fig. 6.10).
The modeling demonstrated that the contaminant pathways were south to a
diversion ditch and then to the contaminated experimental lake, which was desig-
nated as a biological polishing lake. One plume moved to the north via the bedrock
canyon to Mud Lake, not toward the trophy fishing lake. After a few years, the
groundwater emerged into Mud Lake, where the pH dropped from between pH 5
and 6 prior to the emergence of the plume to pH 2.5 within 3 months. This triggered
an interest in treating the groundwater plume to prevent or lessen its effects on
Mud Lake.
To treat the groundwater plume, Boojum decided to feed nutrients into the plume
to activate and grow ureolytic microbes which would raise pH and precipitate con-
taminant metals (see equations). These microbes would degrade urea to ammonia in
the plume which would raise the pH. Sugar should activate the heterotrophic
microbes along with the sulfate reducers.
Laboratory experimentation with this type of drainage is not possible due to its
reactivity with oxygen. Therefore, Boojum supported a geochemical modeling
study of the expected reactions (Fleury, 1999), including the well-documented reac-
tions of urea-degrading microbes:
+ 2−
CO ( NH2 ) + 2 H 2 O ⇒ 2 NH 4 + CO . (6.1)
2 3
Fig. 6.10 Verification of the model using the projected zinc concentrations. The 20-year projec-
tions are taken from the startup of the operation of the mill with 100 mg.L−1 at the edge of Mud
Lake. (SCIMUS, 2003)
CO32 − + H + ⇒ CO3− (6.2)

The indigenous microbial flora of the drainage water was quantified and found to
be relatively rich in microbial diversity (Lau et al., 2001), although no ureolytic
microbes were found. The agricultural literature predicted that ureolytic microbes
not active below pH 4.0 (Burton & Prosser 2001), a pH which could be encountered
the groundwater plume. Experimentation with groundwater was complex, but tests
with a commercial enzyme in the negative redox range needed to be carried out in
the field. It was also likely that sulfate-reducing bacteria were present, as predicted
(Fleury, 1999).
A pilot test area was found which had a reasonably high groundwater flow rate,
to follow the expected pH increase (Fig. 6.11a, b). The tests were scaled up on the
shores of Mud Lake into which the plume discharged. At this location, the 16 m
deep plume was intercepted, and an injection protocol was implemented. A sche-
matic of the injection system is depicted in Fig. 6.12a. The photographs (Fig. 6.12b,
c) show the standpipes used to monitor the injected plume movement on a grid.
Piezometers in the muskeg area on the shores of Mud Lake intercepted the plume in
Fig. 6.11 (a) Yan Gan is shown performing the field tests on the activity of a commercial ureolytic
enzyme. (b) Murray Johnson shown installing injection standpipes in the sandy area to a depth of
0.5 m which served as the field pilot. A urea-sugar mix was injected about 15 to 20 cm into the
sand. (Photographs by Boojum Research)
a stratum 16 m below the floating muskeg. Below the muskeg a thick layer of gyttja
sediment was present into which the microbial food was injected. This made it pos-
sible to drip a urea-sugar mixture into the plume without oxygen contact. The instal-
lation was in operation by fall 2000, at which time a sampling campaign was carried
out to determine all background water quality parameters.
By August 2002, 529 m3 of plume drainage had been injected with 16.1 m3 of a
urea-sugar mixture. Monitoring ceased in summer 2003, after a final injection of
2 m3 urea-sugar slurry together with 58 m3 of drainage. The monitoring data
Fig. 6.12 (a) Schematic of the in-situ ground water drainage treatment pilot test. (b) Top left
photograph shows the untouched floating muskeg with piezometers. Piezometer M60A, in the
foreground, was central to the experiment as it behaved like an artesian well producing acid drain-
age. (c) the top right photograph shows the head feeding tank containing the urea-sugar mixture.
(d) Bottom right photograph displays the winterization of the T-junction between the injection well
and the food supply. (e) Bottom right photograph shows winterizing of the T-junction to the well
M60A (at the long end of the T) with the contaminated lake in the background. (Photographs by
Boojum Research)
indicated that the process was working; organic carbon was consumed, ammonia
was produced, and as expected, the metals were precipitated. A summary of this
work is provided in Kalin et al. (2008).
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Chapter 7
Biological Polishing Tool: Element
Removal in the Water Column
William N. Wheeler, Carlos Paulo, Anne Herbst , Hendrik Schubert,

Guenther Meinrath, and Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden
Abstract Mining effluents are colonized by algae, moss, fungi and higher plants.
Many of these can extract and hyperaccumulate metals. This process is known as
biological polishing. Algae growing in mine effluents can sequester metals through
adsorption onto cell walls and by absorption. Charophytes are a specialized group
of algae that grow in temperate freshwaters and in alkaline mine waste water. They
can hyperaccumulate radium and uranium, as well as many other cations. Their
calcium carbonate infused cell walls are also a sink for carbon dioxide, making
them very useful biological polishers. Boojum Research has studied mine waste
water in many places and noted a number of situations where algae and charophytes
may be useful for cleansing metals and radionuclides.
Algae are capable of surviving and growing in effluents with pHs as low as 0.8,
but due to the lack of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), do not grow well. To give
them more DIC, the pH needs to be above 4.0, where bicarbonate becomes the
dominant form. To accomplish this, the pH must be elevated. This can be accom-
plished by a number of means, but the most ecologically sensitive method is to
dissolve magnesium metal or alloys. This technology is discussed in detail.
W. N. Wheeler · M. Kalin-Seidenfaden (*)

C. Paulo
School of the Environment, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada
A. Herbst
Department Maritime Systeme, Interdisziplinäre Fakultät, Rostock, Germany
e-mail: anne.herbst@uni-rostock.de
H. Schubert
Universität Rostock, Biowissenschaften Lehrstuhl für Ökologie, Rostock, Germany
e-mail: hendrik.schubert@uni-rostock.de
G. Meinrath
Head, RER Consultants Passau, Passau, Bavaria, Germany

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84651-0_7
74 W. N. Wheeler et al.
Keywords Biological polishing · Charophytes · Algae · Periphyton · Extracellular

polysaccharides · Algal blooms · Carbon sequestration · Radium · Magnesium
alloys · Halophytes · Selenium · Tufa · Modelling · Radium
Biological polishing is a term that describes the use of plant and microbial biomass to
filter contaminants from waste water. These self-maintaining absorbants are tolerant
of extreme environments and are integrated into complete biological treatment
sytems. These living organisms whereby they extrude or surround themselves with
adsorbents, many benefits to the ecological engineer. 1. Sequestration of ionically
charged contaminants on oppositely charged cell walls. 2. Sequestration and floccula-
tion of particulates with extracellular polysaccharides. 3. Provision of organic carbon
for ARUM (Acid Reduction using Microbiology) sediments (with associated con-
taminants). 4. Carbon sequestration and removal from the atmosphere. 5.
Photosynthesis and aquatic pH buffering. Each of these benefits will be touched on
as it applies to mine waste water, both alkaline and acidic.
Collectively, aquatic vegetation consists of single-celled algae (phytoplankton),
multi-celled algae, moss and fungi (periphyton), and submergent, emergent or
floating, photosynthesizing higher plants. Planktonic algae come in two size
classes – those greater than 2 μm (phytoplankton), and those between 0.2 and 2 μm
(picoplankton). Multicellular periphyton can be mm to meters in size. While
periphyton can be observed with the naked eye, phytoplankton and picoplankton
are more microscopic, yet can contribute over 70% of the primary productivity in
freshwater lakes (Stockner & Antia, 1986; Stockner, 1988).
A survey of several acidic pit lakes in the former coal mining area of Lausitz
Germany (Steinberg et al., 1996) found picoplankton of varied composition
(chrysophytes, chlorophytes, diatoms, and cyanobacteria). They also found that
picoplankton were present only if the pH was above 4.0–4.5 (Steinberg et al.,
1998). Attempts have been made to find picoplankton in lakes with pHs below
4.0 by Boojum Research (Boojum), but the results have been inconsistent. In
lower pH ranges iron precipitate result in fault counts. This is evidenced by
Baker et al. (2004) who found fungi and active eukaryotes in acid mine drainage
with pHs as low as 0.8, in warm water of 30–50 °C, and rich in metal ions. They,
(Baker et al. 2004), used several methods to detect biota, most of them of a
genomic nature.
Since algae seem to be ubiquitous in aquatic environments, from extremely alka-
line to very acidic, the question arises, how can these plants be used to trap and
remove contaminants in quantities great enough to be significant? The role of the
ecological engineer is to provide the chemical and physical conditions necessary to
remove the forcing functions limiting their growth and production. This means pro-
viding them with inorganic carbon and other nutrients, suitable substrates, and
enough light for photosynthesis.
7 Biological Polishing Tool: Element Removal in the Water Column 75
One of the ways algae can polish waste water is by acting as flocculants to
adsorb contaminants and contaminated particulates onto living surfaces and exu-
dates. As the flocculated material grows in size, it becomes denser and sinks, carry-
ing particulates and contaminants with it. According to Stumm and Morgan (1996,
p. 818), particles (organic or inorganic) in freshwater systems play:
a commanding role in regulating the concentrations of most reactive elements and of any
pollutants in soils and natural water systems and in the coupling of various hydro-
chemical cycles.
Conventionally, flocculating agents (aluminum and iron salts or polyelectro-

lytes) are added to waste water to settle particulates out of the water column.
However, algae, fungi and microbes can perform a similar function. They, and their
exudates, extracellular polysaccharides (EPS), are electrically-charged anions,
attracting ions, precipitates, and other charged molecules. As the particles aggre-
gate, they become heavier, sinking to the sediment (Buffle & van Leeuwen, 1992).
All algae and microbes excrete large organic compounds called extracellular
polysaccharides. These molecules form colloids, gels or (emulsion-like particles)
which aggregate around the cells thereby increasing surface area and volume. The
chelating properties of EPS are described for Chlorella spp. by Kaplan et al. (1987).
The cells, along with the EPS, tend to aggregate (flocculate), until a critical mass is
reached and the cells, EPS and attached particulates and ions, are large enough to
sink to the lake or ocean bottom or to deeper layers in the water column. EPS can
also become separated from phytoplankton cells, and aggregate particles and com-
pounds without the original algal or microbial cells (Casado-Martinex, 2013).
7.1 Which Elements Can Be Biologically Polished?
Mine managers often ask the question – can algae clean every element? Algae
‘clean’ metals and elements by adsorbing them onto their cell walls, and/or absorb-
ing them into their cells. Living cells have reactive cell walls, and can carry surface
charges (electric fields) which can be negative or positive. These surface charges
attract oppositely-charged ions and charged particles. These cell walls are com-
posed mainly of polysaccharides and carbohydrates, e.g., cellulose, xylan, and
mannans (Neihof & Loeb, 1972; Myers et al., 1975; Lobban & Wynne, 1981), with
a negative charge on their surfaces. The negatively-charged groups attract cations
such as Zn2+, Cu2+, Al3+ and U4+ (Barker & Banfield, 1998; Marques et al., 1990).
The polysaccharide backbone contains many other side groups, ligands such as
amino groups, which bind metals (Sterritt & Lester, 1979). This ability to sequester
metals makes many of these organisms metal hyper-accumulators (Gale & Wixson,
1979; Mann et al., 1988; Juwarkar et al., 2010).
The question is particularly relevant given the boom in mining for REE (Rare
Earth Elements). Many of the rare earth elements are trivalent and have been shown
to be absorbed by algae, such as Gadolinium by Chlamydomonas (Aharchaou et al.,
2020), and Lanthanum by Chara (Li et al., 2008). Breuker et al. (2020) report on
microorganism biosorption of REE elements, including a couple of algae. Casado-
Martinex (2013) states that REEs in aquatic plants displace calcium and have a high
affinity for phosphate groups in biological macromolecules. In another study,
Manusadžianas et al. (2020) found that of the 12 REE elements studied, there might
be a possible linkage between the chemical/physical properties of REEs and their
biological effects. Ionic radius and atomic number seem to correlate with toxicity
to a charophyte, Nitellopsis.
Crist et al. (1988) approached the biological uptake and adsorption of metals
purely from a chemical perspective by titration. They defined two processes by
which metals interact with algae, a fast surface reaction (seconds) and a slow, dif-
fusion reaction. The fast reaction was attributed to adsorption onto algal cell walls.
The slow reaction was diffusion into the cell. The number of adsorption sites on the
cell wall is determined by wall structure and composition. Crist et al. (1988) further
noted that for each species of algae, as the pH increased from 4.5 to 5.5, the number
of adsorption sites on the cell walls increased, but not by the number of sites freed
up by proton removal. They concluded that not all new sites created by proton
removal are effective for metal adsorption. For a given alga, the maximum number
of sites is relatively constant within a family of metals (e.g., alkali-metals, transi-
tion metals), so that metals in each family should have relatively similar bioconcen-
tration factors.
This seems to correlate with data found by Boojum while studying the adsorp-
tion/absorption data for the green alga, Chara and periphyton in mining waste
water and pristine ponds. Boojum had a large data set of characean biomass and
summarized the elemental concentrations, grouping them according to the element
family. It reflects the bioconcentration possibilities where Chara biomass might
assist in reducing the concentrations in waste water.
Boojum Research postulated that the fundamental chemical characteristics of
each metal or contaminant may play a role in particle formation, adsorption and/or
absorption onto/into the biomass. Boojum compared the charophyte biomass sam-
ples collected in alkaline mine waste water and clean water, against a set of periph-
yton precipitate complexes (unwashed periphyton with precipitates) found growing
in acidic water during the spring and summer. The biomass of both was dried, acid
digested, and analyzed for 25 elements with ICP (Inductively-Coupled Plasma
Spectroscopy). Water samples collected next to the algae were filtered (0.45μm),
and similarly analyzed. Concentration factors were expected to be greater in the
acid-grown biomass than in the alkaline-grown biomass, as pH has a strong influ-
ence on cell wall reactivity. However, when examining the graphs (Fig. 7.1a, b), it
appears that biological polishing of different metals is essentially chemical in
nature, influenced by the biota and their cell wall characteristics. While no statisti-
cal significance can be claimed for the data sets consisting of 14 and 24 water and
biomass samples, respectively. The histogram patterns show similarities between
the alkaline and acid-grown algae when the elemental groups are considered,
reflecting their physical and chemical characteristics. It would be an interesting
project to address the characteristics of the cell walls supporting the biological
Algae in Water pH 3-4

1000000.00
Alkaline Post Non-Metals/Acnides Alkaline Transion Metals
Metals Alkaline Earth Metals
100000.00
10000.00
Concentraon (mg -L or mg -Kg)
1000.00
100.00
10.00
1.00
0.10
water
Algae
0.01
K Na Al As B Se P S U Ba Ca Mg Sr Cu Fe Mn Ni Zn
Charophytes in Water pH 6-8

1000000.00
Alkaline Post Alkaline Non-Metals/Acnides Alkaline Transion Metals
Metals Metals Earth Metals
100000.00
10000.00
Concentraon (mg/L or mg/Kg)
1000.00
100.00
10.00
1.00
0.10
water
Charophytes
0.01
K Na Al As B Se P S U Ba Ca Mg Sr Cu Fe Mn Ni Zn
Fig. 7.1 Concentration of major elements in charophytes washed free of periphyton (attached
algae) and the water in which they were growing. (a) In an acidic lake contaminated by a Cu/Zn
mine, 14 samples of periphyton-precipitate complexes and the surrounding water were collected
over a 4-month period during the growing season and were analyzed by ICP. (b) Charophyte bio-
mass samples and surrounding water (n = 24) from 5 contaminated and 3 pristine water sites
polishing process in acid and alkaline water given that pH is an important driver
within the adsorption process.
7.1.1 Biological Polishing Model
To understand the biological polishing process and use it to predict how much con-
taminant could be removed from the water column at a given site, Boojum devel-
oped a computer model, in which algal growth characteristics, photosynthesis data,
and water chemistry were entered to predict the capacity of the biological polishing
system to remove contaminants. With this tool, it was hoped to better understand
the bio-geochemical interactions within extreme ecosystems.
The computer model describes the growth of algae (periphyton) and their inter-
action with mine drainage. Input parameters included: surface areas of curtains for
attachment, amounts of fertilizer to be added, and seasonal light and temperature
patterns required for optimum growth. As plants photosynthesize (raising pH), and
adsorb contaminants, they change the water chemistry. Changes in Eh (oxygen is a
byproduct of photosynthesis) and pH of the water as a result of photosynthesis
significantly alter the solubility of metals in solution, possibly precipitating metals
as hydroxides and carbonates.
The computer model is an attempt to form a bridge between ‘top down’ and ‘bot-
tom up’ approaches, combining a mechanistic, theoretical perspective of the key
biogeochemical processes operating in mine waste water polishing ponds and the
empirical approach for quantifying the complex ecological growth processes. The
changes that can be brought about by algal growth in the water were evaluated with
PHREEQE (Parkhurst & Appelo, 2013), a model that was designed to perform a
wide variety of aqueous geochemical calculations. PHREEQE is based on an ion-
association aqueous model and has capabilities for speciation and saturation-index
calculations. This mechanistic/empirical model must be calibrated and verified in
the field. The first attempt to use the model on a 1 million cubic meter acidic lake
with a turnover of 3 years had limited success (Romanin, 1994; Kalin et al., 1995).
The computer model was designed to serve as a management tool for biological
polishing, in that it would allow the user to determine the standing crop and time
required to ‘clean’ a particular effluent. The model exists in FORTRAN and it is
now at least 25 years old. Progress in climate change modelling has taken great
leaps forward in the last couple of decades, which means the model could be drasti-
cally improved. Boojum is in discussions with researchers at the Swiss Federal
Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology to see if it can be developed further
(Fig. 7.2).
Fig. 7.2 Flow chart of the

computer program to
combine a mechanistic,
theoretical perspective of
the key biogeochemical
processes operating in
mine waste water polishing
ponds and an empirical
approach for quantifying
the complex ecological
growth processes
7.2 Charophytes: A Multitasking Tool in Alkaline Water
Charophytes are a taxonomic group of green algae which have an extensive geo-
logical history. This is because calcium carbonate is precipitated on the cell walls,
making them prominent in the fossil record. Charophytes are considered ancestors
of land plants and have attracted substantial scientific interest in the past two
decades for unraveling the adaptation to terrestrial plant life (Apolinarska et al.,
2011). The fact that these algae have been well studied, has led to a massive bibli-
ography (Van Raam, 2008).
Charophytes are morphologically complex algae, belonging to the Streptophyta
(Jeffrey 1967; Stewart & Mattox, 1975). Their large cells have made them model
systems for the elucidation of plant cell organization (Foissner & Wastenays, 2014).
The large internodal cells have been studied by plant physiologists and physicists
since, at least 1974, when Zimmermann & Dainty (1974) defined the membrane
transport system in plants. They have very peculiar physiological as well as
morphological characteristics which make them particularly well-suited for appli-

cations of wastewater treatment and nutrient sinks.
Charophytes enhance the conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) to
solid carbonate minerals as an indirect effect of photosynthesis and deposit the
minerals in the form of carbonate crusts (i.e., CaCO3). The charophyte cell wall
calcifies to varying degrees, largely depending on the pond water characteristics.
Three levels of carbonate formation are distinguished; external, intra-thallus car-
bonate precipitation, and internal calcification of oospores (Raven et al., 1986;
Leitch, 1991; Anadón et al., 2002; Raven & Beardall, 2003; Kawahata et al., 2013).
Calcium carbonate encrustations can account for up to 80 % of biomass dry weight
(Pukacz et al., 2016).
Carbonates are precipitated on the charophyte cell wall as a result of bicarbonate
and nutrient uptake (Smith & Walker, 1980; McConnaughey & Falk, 1991;
McConnaughey & Whelan, 1997). In both cases, local H+ extrusion acidifies the
charophyte surface. Remaining hydroxyls (OH−) are transported in cytoplasmic
streaming within the large cells and are released, forming exterior alkaline zones
(Beilby & Bisson, 2012). In alkaline zones of the cell walls, cations and carbonate
ions are precipitated as carbonates (i.e., CaCO3) on the plant surface (Fig. 7.3a).
Carbonate precipitation can occur spontaneously, as indicated by the reaction
Ca2+(aq) + CO32−(aq) ↔ CaCO3(𝑠). However, the precipitation of carbonates is
Fig. 7.3 (a) Carbon uptake results in precipitation of carbonates on the charophyte surface. C+
stands for cation, mainly Ca2+, but other cations like K+, Mg2+, Na2+, and Mn2+ are also precipitated.
(b) Internode of corticated C. vulgaris. (c) Internode of ecorticated C. braunii, scale bar = 500 μm.
(Photographs by A. Herbst)
facilitated by Chara and linked to the chemical gradients generated during photo-
synthesis in the vicinity of the cell walls.
On a microscale, in the ecorticated cell walls of charophytes, a regular pattern of
acidified and alkalinized zones often becomes visible as a banding pattern on the
axes and branchlets (Fig. 7.3b), whereas the banding is less pronounced in corticated
species (Fig. 7.3c; Spear et al., 1969; McConnaughey & Falk, 1991; Ray et al., 2003;
Kawahata et al., 2013). Most charophytes require waters of relatively high alkalinity.
According to Stroede (1937; cited in Dambska, 1964), the minimum calcium con-
centration for Chara appears to be between 15 and 60 mg Ca L−1 (Kufel & Kufel,
2002). Generally, species of the genus Chara prefer waters higher in Ca content than
those of the genus Nitella (except N. mucronata; Kufel & Kufel, 2002). Charophytes
have been reported to have a higher affinity to HCO3−, although most algae prefer CO2.
Charophytes are found in alkaline pH waters, where the dissolved CO2 is gener-
ally absent or low for growth, i.e., photosynthesis. As a carbon source, bicarbonate
(HCO3−) is abundant and Chara has evolved to utilize it to sustain its photosynthe-
sis and primary production. The uptake of carbon by Chara is controlled by car-
bonic anhydrase embedded in the cell membrane. This enzyme catalyzes the
transformation of HCO3− to CO2 and facilitates the assimilation of CO2 required for
photosynthesis (Ray et al., 2003). In the process, H+ concentration increases at the
cell-water interface and acidifies water to levels that keep CO2 in solution and,
hence, keep feeding the photosynthesis cycle. Membrane transport mechanisms
facilitate the direct uptake of HCO3− from water which is followed by intracellular
conversion to CO2. This ability is a unique characteristic of charophytes. With the
OH− which is exported from cell, the pH at the cell-water interface increases, and
this favors the precipitation of carbonates (McConnaughey, 1991; Kufel and Kufel,
2002; Ray et al., 2003; Pełechaty et al., 2013; Pukacz et al., 2014; Herbst et al.,
2018a; Pertl-Obermeyer et al., 2018; Sand-Jensen et al., 2018).
7.3 Charophytes as Carbon Sinks
Asadian et al. (2018) have discussed the possible use of oceanic algae as indicators
of climate change and a partial solution to carbon sequestration. They suggested that
algal production in the oceans could transfer carbon from the surface to sediments in
the deep ocean, where they would be locked away. Much in the same way, algal
production in freshwater ponds and lakes, but especially in mine waste water ponds,
might transfer carbon from surface waters to sediments. Charophytes are a very
ancient group of algae, as their fossil record reaches back as far as the middle
Palaeozoic. Their calcium carbonate encrusted thalli have remained in sediments for
thousands of years, suggesting that they are a stable and long-term sink for atmo-
spheric CO2 (Apolinarska et al., 2011; Pełechaty et al., 2013). Their primary produc-
tion in mine waste water (and other freshwater ponds and shallow lakes) would not
only clean the water but provide a carbon sink. For this, mining companies might be
able to both clean their mine waste waters, and potentially obtain carbon credits.
The calcification rate depends on seasonality and limnological factors (e.g.,

water depth) and how these impact photosynthesis. Yet, ideal conditions for maxi-
mum calcification have not been determined since these can be very different
among Chara species (Pukacz et al., 2016; Herbst et al., 2018a, b). Andersen et al.
(2019) highlight the importance of the carbon pump to primary productivity in shal-
low lakes, and mine waste water ponds can be considered shallow lakes.
Nevertheless, average carbonate deposition based on the Chara biomass (1725 ±
293 g.m−2) generated in a 6-month period on the littoral zone of a shallow lake (1 m
depth) has been estimated as 1255 ± 278 grams of CaCO3 per m2 (Pukacz et al.,
2016). Using these data, with the knowledge that CaCO3 contains 43.97% CO2, and
Chara biomass generates insoluble CaCO3, it can be inferred that 550 g of CO2 can
be sequestered by Chara encrustations per m2. For an area of 1 ha, Chara encrusta-
tions could retain as much as 5.5 t of CO2 over 6 months. Sand-Jensen et al. (2018)
suggested that carbonates remain on cell membranes even after microbial degrada-
tion of the organic carbon. He reported that during one summer, the standing bio-
mass of 1000 g.m−2 was found to have 59% to over 76% of its dry weight as
carbonate, on average 438 g.m−2 to 685 g.m−2.
If both calcium and carbonates are present in water, the Saturation Index SI =
log10(IAP/Ksp) can be estimated. This index relates the ion activity product (IAP)
Fig. 7.4 CaCO3 saturation index (SI) for mine waters at different Canadian mines calculated with
PHREEQC interactions. (Parkhurst & Appelo, 2013). Indices above one (1) indicate the potential
to precipitate
(e.g., Ca2+ x CO32−) to the solubility product (Ksp) of the mineral. As a basic rule,
when SI > 0 the precipitation of carbonates is favorable, but if SI < 0 then mineral
dissolution occurs. Simply put, the water needs to contain sufficient calcium in the
ionic form Ca2+, and not, for example, in the form of gypsum, CaSOx. 2H2O or other
sulfates. Mine waste waters with charophytes have been examined with respect to
the calcite saturation index (SICaCO3). The results are presented in Fig. 7.4.
All the effluents used in Fig. 7.4 have the chemical conditions necessary to pro-
mote calcite precipitation (SI > 0), and, hence, could support cultivation of Chara
as a carbon sequestration resource. Perhaps Chara and other charophytes, if grown
in mine waste waters and other shallow lakes and ponds, might just make a signifi-
cant carbon sink that would allow mines to claim carbon credits. Using ecological
engineering designs that account for both an ecosystem’s needs and the geochem-
istry of carbonates might, if scaled-up, make a contribution to the mining industry’s
need to reduce its carbon footprint.
Not only charophytes but other algae and microbes can precipitate calcium car-
bonate (Altermann et al., 2006; Diaz & Maberly, 2009; Kamennaya et al., 2012;
Zhu & Dittrich 2016). In phytoplankton, coccolithophorids precipitate calcium car-
bonate on their theca, (Paasche 1968; Moheimani et al., 2012), and coralline algae
(Goreau, 1963), cyanobacteria (Dittrich & Sibler, 2010), and filamentous algae, can
precipitate calcium carbonate on their thalli. Radionuclides can also be co-
precipitated (Kalin et al., 2011; Dienemann et al., 2002; Jha et al., 2010). Many
algae form mat-like structures that precipitate calcium carbonate and metals, such
as stromatolites (Riding, 2000).
Co-precipitation of metals with calcium carbonate is also a well-documented
means of metal sequestration (Hutchinson, 1975; McConnaughey, 1991; Gomes &
Asaeda, 2009, 2013). Consequently, there is a large literature on bioremediation
using charophytes (Lacerda et al., 1992; Marquardt & Schubert, 2009; Clabeaux
et al., 2013; Sooksawat et al., 2013, 2016, 2017). But, what metals and other con-
taminants can be removed from effluents using charophytes?
The effluent from waste rock piles and the mill at the top of a drainage basin in
northern Saskatchewan contained elevated concentrations of radium and uranium.
These effluents passed through two lakes separated by a narrow wetland. The con-
centration of 226Ra increased further as it was released from sediments in the upper
of the two lakes. The upper lake in the drainage basin was void of underwater veg-
etation but the lower lake had a dense cover of the charophyte, Nitella flexilis.
Regulatory agencies requested the company construct a chemical treatment plant in
the narrow muskeg-covered narrows between the two lakes.
The water monitoring data collected by the company revealed significant
decreases in 226Ra concentrations as water passed through the muskeg-covered nar-
rows (Fig. 7.5a). Boojum was requested to assess if one of the ‘Boojum weeds’
might be growing in the wetland. A rather adventurous trip in the winter (−40֯ C)
revealed a large stand of Nitella flexilis, which when sampled and exposed to the
air, froze instantly to the glove. Samples were placed into plastic bags and submit-
ted for analysis. The radiological analysis revealed high concentrations of 226Ra.
Fig. 7.5 Experimental transplants of Nitella at a uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan. (a)
Photograph shows the lake system downstream from mill building (white dot at horizon). The
lower lake is in center, upper lake in the background right corner. The wetland in the foreground
and the lower lake were populated by Nitella that were removing 226Ra. (b) Nitella plants in con-
tainers ready for transport and transplantation (Boojum Research, 2003). (Photographs by Boojum
Research)
A project was launched to test the possibility that these charophytes (Nitella
flexilis) could be transplanted and grown in the upper lake in the areas where the
226
Ra was diffusing through the sediment. The lake was barren of an aquatic vegeta-
tion, destroyed during pit construction to reach the ore body (Fig. 7.5a). If the
transplantation were successful, it could replace the proposed chemical treatment
plant. Biomass in significant quantities was transplanted by helicopter to the upper
lake (Fig. 7.5b). The transplants took hold and removed radium and uranium with
time (Boojum Research, 2003). The project was completed by 2004, at which time
a complete underwater meadow covered the lake sediments.
After several years, the upper lake was extensively populated, and no chemical
treatment plant was constructed for the removal of 226Ra. In 1998, process water
from the mine was discharged to the upper lake, dramatically altering the water
quality. It was feared that the transplanted underwater meadow might not survive.
However, as of 2014, no chemical treatment plant had been constructed (J. Jarrell,
personal communication, 2014). A final report was issued in 2004 and is available
in the report library at Laurentian University (Boojum Research, 2003).
7.4 Algal Blooms: Unchartered Tools for Biological Polishing
Since Boojum Research was established in the early 1980s, its employees have
visited many mine sites around the world and observed unusual and interesting
interactions between algal assemblages and different ores. It is postulated that many
of these algal communities could be scaled-up to improve the quality of the mine
effluents associated with these ores. None of the observations below have been fol-
lowed up, but might, with the right support, further the collection of natural effluent
Fig. 7.6 (a) Acid drainage seepage (pH 2–3) found in an adit at a small household coal mine dump
in China. A shovel is placed for scale. (b) A dense carpet of Ulothrix sp. growing in uranium mine
effluent in northern Saskatchewan, Canada (pH 7–8). (Photographs by Boojum Research)
cleansing technologies to be used to provide sustainable, long-term solutions for

undesirable mine effluents. They are interesting, and might stimulate both mining
industry and the scientific communities to develop the ecological tools further.
Example 7.1 In China, Boojum found iron-encrusted algae and fungi growing in
a small ‘waterfall’ area exiting the adit of ‘household’ coal mine (Fig. 7.6a), where
the drainage had a pH of 2–3. This coal is contaminated with antimony and iron,
which appeared in the drainage. The algae, fungi and microbes in this small seep-
age (see shovel for scale) might be the key to antimony removal, although this has
not been tested. At another mine in China a system was set up to promote iron and
antimony removal with iron precipitation (Sun et al., 2015). The oxidation and pre-
cipitation of the reduced iron emerging from the adit can be accomplished by run-
ning the effluent over a series of cascading waterfalls, followed by further polishing
in algal ponds.
Example 7.2 In northern Saskatchewan, Boojum observed a nearly solid, floating,

carpet of Ulothrix, a green alga, growing in the narrows between two lakes in the
path of uranium mine effluent (Fig. 7.6b). The mine’s environmental staff reported
that this bloom occurred every year, sometimes thick enough “to walk on.” What
conditions lead to this phenomenon? Boojum was using another alga, Nitella, at
this site for removal of radium and uranium, but these other species might be an
even better biological polishing tool.
Examples 7.3 and 7.4 Some algal blooms depicted are a ‘natural’ occurrence
throughout the year, or ‘bloom’ only in spring and fall. Fig. 7.7a shows Oscillatoria
(a cyanobacterium) growing in a neutralization pond on tailings in acid run-off in
northern Ontario. The algae form precipitate complexes which contain, in this case,
17% iron and 7% zinc growing in water concentrations of 0–1 mg.L−1 Fe and 10–50
mg.L−1 Zn (Kalin & Wheeler, 1992). In another area of the mine, Boojum found
Fig. 7.7 (a) A bloom of Oscillatoria (brown, floating cyanobacterial mat) in a former neutraliza-
tion pond located on tailings in northern Ontario. Analyses of the algal-precipitate complexes
showed them to contain 17% iron and 7% zinc (Kalin & Wheeler, 1992). (b) Microspora, a green,
periphytic algal bloom growing in an acidic runoff area of a mill pond after iron has precipitated
(northern Ontario). (Photographs by Boojum Research)
Microspora growing in very acidic run off from the mill of the same mine. These
algae contained 29% iron, but only 0.3% zinc (Fig. 7.7b).
Example 7.5 Boojum investigated two potash mining ponds in Saskatchewan,

Canada (Fig. 7.8a). These potash ponds have extremely high pHs, salt and carbon-
ate concentrations. The grayish, darker areas in the pond might be cyanophytes
known to assist in desalination. Sediment and water were collected from an evapo-
ration pond. Boojum inoculated hypersaline sediments and found that pink halo-
phytes grew (Fig. 7.8b). The halophytes were coated with a gel-like brownish
coating within several weeks. The concentrations of SO4, Mg Ca, K, Na, and Cl are
given in grams and hence represent supersaturated solutions. The algal biomass
collected from pond K2 had nearly half of the salt content of the brine in which the
algae grew (Fig. 7.8c).
The scientific literature on the biology of halophytes is extensive (Waisel, 2012).
Halophytes are also known to be used for the production of biodegradable plastic
(Bhati, 2019). Most of the halophytic microbes and fungi which inhabit these soda
lakes are cyanobacteria (Lanzén et al., 2013; Krienitz et al., 2016). One of the most
common cyanobacterial genera is Spirulina (Gimmler & Degenhard, 2001), which,
along with Dunalliela salina, only occur in alkaline water (Seckbach, 2007; Grant
& Sorokin, 2011). Spirulina can be cultivated in large quantities for food (Sánchez
et al., 2015). Perhaps some of these other algae will assist with desalinization?
Example 7.6 At a mine in northern Queensland, Australia, at that time one of the
largest zinc mines in the world, magnesium and sulfate concentrations exceeded
regulatory limits during the monsoon rains. The drainage from the waste rock piles
was collected in an evaporation pond. Along the beach, interesting structures were
noted, appearing somewhat like stromatolites or tufa (Fig. 7.9a; Freytet &
Verrecchia, 1998). All sticks of wood in the water were covered with a similar
brown crust. The bottom of the drainage creek was covered by an extensive growth
of mostly Ulothrix sp., Zygnema sp., and Navicula sp. (Fig. 7.9b). The white, float-
Fig. 7.8 (a) An aerial photograph of a potash pool. The different shades may indicate biota (b)
Photograph of pink halophyte cultures. The colonies were covered with gel-like substances within
weeks of culture. (c) Comparison of salinity of potash evaporation ponds and natural saline envi-
ronments. The concentrations of SO4, Mg Ca, K, Na, and Cl are given in grams and hence represent
supersaturated solutions. The algal biomass collected from pond K2 had nearly half of the salt
content of the brine in which the algae grew. (Photographs by Boojum Research)
ing material in the creek was analysed and contained an average of 11.6% Ca,
12.0% S and 2.5% Mg (Fig. 7.9b). Extrapolating this removal ability to a one-
hectare pond (if covered with the crusts) would extract 1.0 tonnes of Ca, 1.1 tonnes
of S and 0.22 tonnes of Mg. It follows that if the regulated elements, S and Mg, are
soluble, they could be recycled. But, if insoluble, they might be removed, if the
pond were skimmed of the crusts.
Fig. 7.9 (a) Alkaline biostructures along the entire beach of an evaporation pond at a zinc mine in
northern Queensland, Australia. Structures are formed during monsoon season. The structures ini-
tiated on wooden sticks (not shown) which get covered with a living, brown coating similar in
color to the crusts shown. These crusts resemble tufa or stromatolite structures. (b) Photograph of
the creek carrying the drainage from the waste rock pile along with the floating material. Note the
green periphyton along the creek bottom, and the white precipitate floating on the surface.
Fig. 7.10 (a) General view of a well-vegetated valley seep pond. (b) Algal growth in a natural
waterfall on the side of one of the valley seep ponds, a possible further means to remove selenium.
Example 7.7 A feasibility study was conducted assessing the applicability of eco-
logical engineering to lower selenium concentrations in drainage collection ponds
from mountain-top coal mining in West Virginia, USA. The conventional approach
to water treatment is ponding of the drainage, where biological methylation in the
sediment and by the vegetation leads to a reduction of selenium through volatiliza-
tion to the air (De Souza et al., 2002). When the ponds are filled with sediments,
they are removed to a landfill site, and the ponds refill gradually. Because the ponds
are alkaline, and charophytes are abundant in many of them, Boojum was retained
to assess the potential of using these plants to sequester and remove selenium.
All ponds visited were invaded with emergent and submergent aquatic plants,
including charophytes (Fig. 7.10a). As expected, the selenium concentrations
leaving the pond were somewhat lower than those entering the pond, but still not
low enough for the regulators. It was suspected that the sediments accumulated
selenium (Schaivon & Pilon-Smits, 2017). If this was the case, selenium may not
only be accumulated, but recycled from the sediments into the plants over the fol-
lowing season.
Sediment cores confirmed a gradient of selenium enrichment; the upper layer
(0–2 cm) contained 17 μg.g−1, 7 μg.g−1 at a depth of 2–4 cm, and 1.37 μg.g−1 at
4–6 cm. The sediment at 6 cm depth had concentrations of only 0.6 μg.g−1. The
selenium concentration in Chara biomass ranged from 2.2 to 8.0 μg.g−1. Water was
sampled where the inflow and outflow of the ponds could be accessed. When cha-
rophytes were sparingly present, the outflow water was reduced to 7 μg.L−1. Chara
biomass removed between 0.07 g.m−2 in sparsely colonized ponds, but up to 0.9 g.
m−2 in ponds that were more densely populated.
One pond was totally dominated by charophytes and the concentration of sele-
nium at the outflow was below the detection limit. Unfortunately, no boat was avail-
able to collect water at the pond inflow. The pre-feasibility study of the valley
drainage ponds indicated that, if Chara were introduced and flourished in the pond
after sediment removal, selenium concentrations in the discharge of the ponds
would be significantly lower. A further means of selenium removal might be dis-
covered if the attached algae growing in the ‘waterfall’ above the pond were inves-
tigated (Fig. 7.10b).
7.5 Magnesium Alloys to Support Biological Polishing
Many abandoned or orphaned mines exist where iron oxidation has progressed
beyond a pH value of 2 forming a ferric sulfate leach solution, which has been
shown to dissolve the mineral matter and trace element content of several coals
(Hamersma et al., 1977; Meyers, 1977). Boats in these waters have shiny aluminum
bottoms.
Several neutralization options can be used as an alternative to lime additions. For
example, the corrosion of magnesium metal (Mg) in water consumes hydrogen
ions, raising the pH. The following reactions are probable:
Mg 2 + + H 2 + → Mg ( OH )2 ( solid ) MgSO 4 ( water soluble ) + H 2 ( gas ) (7.1)

which might form hydro-magnesite, nesquehonite and/or lansfordite. The carbon-
ates ultimately sink to the sediment, while the magnesium sulfate stays dissolved,
but is relatively unreactive. Corrosion of the metallic magnesium continues as long
as the pH is low (Song & Atrens, 1999), even though the surfaces become coated
with carbonates/hydroxides (Fig. 7.11a). As this reaction rate is slow, it is not det-
rimental to the existing aquatic biota.
Fig. 7.11 (a) A close-up

photograph of corrosion
channels with hydrogen
bubbles, due to continued
corrosion. (b) Magnesium
scrap metal on a string
covered with iron and
magnesium after being
suspended from a barge in
an acid lake. (Photographs
by Boojum Research)
Larger scale experiments were carried out in an acidic lake in central Ontario.
Magnesium metal scraps were tied on ropes to barges floating in the lake. When the
barges shifted with the wind, the movement of the scrap introduced new lake water
to the magnesium, causing hydrogen gas to form small craters within the magnesium
carbonate/hydroxide, allowing bubbles to escape (Fig. 7.11b). From 1999 through
2002, a total of 4.6 tonnes of magnesium scrap were added to the lake barges, repre-
senting a total surface area of 1339 m2. The goal was to eventually raise the lake pH
to 4.5 with more barges. At this pH, enough CO2 would remain in solution as bicar-
bonate to make algal growth more feasible. The amount of magnesium added with
the rafts may or may not have been sufficient to raise the lake pH significantly, but it
appeared to slow acidification of the lake. In fact, during the winter of 2003, water
sampled from below the ice near one of the barges had a pH of 8. This pH was local-
ized around the barge, and would allow for carbonate precipitation, as indicated in
Fig. 7.11. As such, a side effect of this neutralization strategy with MgO is the poten-
tial to absorb atmospheric carbon as magnesium carbonates, a process that is highly
desirable as a means to decrease the industrial carbon footprint (McQueen
et al., 2020).
Magnesium is a very common element in nature. It is among the ten most abun-
dant elements in the accessible geosphere. In the earth's crust it commonly occurs
as a component of the mineral dolomite CaMg(CO3)2, kieserite MgSO4 . 2 H2O or
olivine (Mg,Fe)2SiO4. Magnesium is useful in environmental restoration as it is
readily attacked by oxygen and water producing non-toxic secondary products.
With oxygen, magnesium forms white MgO, a very brittle material that is easily
transformed into a powder. With water, magnesium forms Mg (OH)2, a gelatinous
hydroxide that, in contact with air, transforms into a variety of mixed oxide/hydrox-
ide/carbonate compounds. In no case are these corrosion products of magnesium
metal stable enough to prevent further corrosion. So, it forms no crust or oxide layer
on metal surfaces as long as the medium is at least slightly acidic. It is well known
that if acid is neutralized with limestone the secondary products are more stable and
hence lead to crust formation and ultimately passivation of the reactant and neutral-
ization is no longer effective.
The dissolution of metallic magnesium in water formally results in
Mg(OH)2 and H2
Mg ( s ) + H 2 O ( aq ) → Mg ( OH )2 + H 2 ( g ) (7.2)

In acidic waters, transiently Mg(OH)2 is instable (Esmaily et al., 2017) and
dissociates
Mg ( OH )2 → Mg 2 + + 2 OH − (7.3)

where the hydroxide is available for AMD neutralisation. The magnesium cation,
however, is invariably divalent and, thus, does not form precipitates that may form
inhibiting surface covers.
A major attraction of this AMD neutralisation approach by scrap magnesium is
the slow but steady production of hydrogen ions through corrosion of the metal
surface in-situ under normal atmospheric conditions. Seen chemically, addition of
scrap magnesium into the acidic lake water acts like a hydroxide titrant reducing H+
by neutralisation. The speciality with scrap magnesium is that the titrant is gener-
ated comparatively slowly due to heterogeneous reaction at the surface of the solid
Mg material. The reaction comes to an end when either the scrap magnesium is
consumed or the acidity is sufficiently reduced. The need for human surveillance of
the process is minimised.
More or less pure Mg scrap is not available commercially. Available materials
are almost always alloyed. The material used in the scale-up experiments was an
Mg alloy ASTM AZ91D, holding 9% Al and 1% Zn. The scrap Mg was delivered
in 1 m3 bags at a weight of 300 kg per bag. The alloy is more corrosion-resistant
compared to 99.9% Mg but proved to show a satisfactory corrosion rate in all exper-
iments. For initial experiments, though, Mg alloy ASTM AZ31 was provided where
a reduced aluminum content of 3% was used. To estimate the impact of alloying on
the reactivity of Mg, a few pure Mg blocks had been purchased with a total weight
of approx. 10 kg.
7.5.1 M
agnesium Alloy Flow-Through Experiment
on Lake Shore
The reported large-scale experiments with magnesium scrap metal (Mg or Mg

alloy) were carried out in a mining lake in northern Ontario (Canada) between 1998
and 2002. The lake water pH at this time was about pH 3. These experiments aimed
to arrest the seasonal decreases in pH due to spring turnover. If stabilization at pH
4.5 was successful, enhanced phytoplankton productivity would boost the biologi-
cal polishing capacity. The collected geochemical and hydrological information
were used for a rough assessment of the magnitude of chemical effects on the lake.
Preliminary laboratory experiments with the acidic lake water (430 mg.L−1 of
Ca, 4760 mg.L−1 of Fe, 210 mg.L−1 of Mg, 3950 mg.L−1 of S) showed that the dis-
solution of 0.13 mol MgO in 1 L of lake water could help raise the pH from 3 to pH
9. Typical experimental results are given in Fig. 7.12a together with geochemical
modelling results based upon PHREEQC. The neutralisation reaction terminated
within 50 h resulting in an increase from pH 3 to pH 9. Fig. 7.12b gives the change
in saturation indices of selected Fe3+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ minerals as a function of
pH. An SI below zero indicates undersaturation and, (hence) dissolution of the
respective minerals, while an SI above zero suggests precipitation. Fig. 7.12b illus-
trates that trivalent Fe3+ hydroxides readily precipitate at pH 3 and above, while
divalent cations like Ca2+ and Mg2+ precipitate only at pHs above 8. Thus, the for-
mation of inhibiting layers and crusts on the scrap magnesium surfaces are unlikely
in even slightly acidic mine waters.
Fig. 7.12 (a) Behaviour of experimental lake water upon addition of scrap magnesium. (a) The
experimentally observed change in pH occurred within 50 h. This reaction was modelled by
PHREEQC (Parkhurst & Appelo, 2013) with results given as the red curve. The calculated overall
increase in Mg2+ is also given. Experiment and modelling were performed with 10 mL water. (b)
shows results of a model simulation of solubilities of selected Fe3+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ minerals hema-
tite (Fe(OH)3), goethite (FeO(OH), brucite (MgO), hydromagnesite (Mg5(CO3)4(OH)2·4H2O),
huntite (Mg3Ca(CO3)4) and calcite (CaCO3). Modelling results are based on the PHREEQC stan-
dard database
Fig. 7.13 Field pilot test of Mg alloy surfaces in AMD for defining amount of Mg needed to be
suspended to buffer decreasing seasonal pH decline. (a) A cascade of three 1 m3 polyethylene
containers. (b) Second experimental setup. (Photographs by Boojum Research)
The modelling results in Fig. 7.12a,b are given for illustration. The authors are
aware of the fact that numerical modelling needs to be seen with caution.
Figures 7.12a, b are however, suitable to illustrate the basic chemical principle of
AMD neutralisation with scrap magnesium.
The dimensions of these experiments can be appreciated from Fig. 7.13. Batch
and flow-through experiments were performed at the shores of the experimental
lake during June 1998. These experiments were designed to examine whether H+
increases and acidity reductions observed in the laboratory experiments could be
repeated in field conditions, and whether the rates of these reactions were compa-
rable to rates determined in the lab.
In these experiments, containers held various amounts of AZ31 scrap magne-
sium (Fig. 7.13). A 1 m3 plastic tank was filled with experimental lake water. A
sack, sewn from fibreglass window screen material, containing 27 g of Mg cuttings
was suspended in the tank. This approach was taken in order to provide a minimal
mass of Mg in a form with high surface area. The solution was periodically stirred
by hand using a 2 in. × 2 in. wooden dowel. At night, the solution was stagnant. The
pH of the solution gradually rose from pH 3.2 to pH 3.52 over 3.86 days. When the
pH reached about 3.5, the solution became turbid and orange. Overall, the process
was very slow.
The Mg plates used in the circulated and stagnant batch tanks were transferred
to a single tank, where fresh experimental lake water (pH 3.2) was metered into the
tank, and overflow captured in a third tank. This experiment is shown in Fig. 7.13b.
The flow-through tank contained the stagnant batch experiment water (pH 5.2)
whose pH had been adjusted down to pH 4.1 with fresh feed water. A small flow of
water (0.004 to 0.026 L.s−1) was metered into the tank, but flow control was difficult
due to the crude adjustment capacity of the valve. The pH of the reactor tank varied
over the 2.2-day experiment, ranging from pH 3.9 to 4.7, but did not reach equilib-
rium, due to variable inflow. In total, approximately 2.2 m3 of experimental lake
water passed through the reactor.
While the pH of a bulk solution may be low, the conditions close to the reacting
surface may be quite different. Close to the surface where the neutralizing alkalinity
Fig. 7.14 Field 6
Tank 1: Plate, Circulated
experiments (1 m3) with
Tank 2: Plate, Static
exposure of 7.4 kg of scrap
magnesium to circulating 5
(red) and static (blue)
pH (unit)
experimental lake water
4
0 1 2 3 4 5
Days
is generated comparatively high pH values may prevail. Thus, geleous Mg(OH)2

may hamper the alkalinity-forming reaction. In order to get a hint of the order of
magnitude of such effects, the time-dependent change in pH was studied in circulat-
ing and stagnant experimental lake waters. Several kilograms of scrap magnesium
were contacted with 1 m3 experimental lake water. A typical result is shown in
Fig. 7.14. In this case, the static sample reacted faster compared to the circulating
sample. However, taking the poorly controlled conditions (e.g., with respect to the
effective surface area of scrap Mg) into account, no significant difference between
circulated and static samples could be observed.
7.5.2 Estimating Neutralization Kinetics
Nevertheless, corrosion products attached to the surface of a magnesium particle

reduce access of oxidizing agents, e.g., oxygen and/or water. Over-all kinetics of
Mg corrosion is a function of the accessible surface, the amount of corrosion agent
available for reaction per time unit, the temperature at the corrosion site and the
activation energy of the corrosion reaction. In a general way the process may be
described by a kinetic equation
∂  Mg ( II ) 
≈ F k [ Kp ]
v
(7.4)
∂t
In Eq. 7.4, the change in the Mg2+ concentration with time is expressed by the
accessible Mg metal surface per unit volume, F, a general expression of the corrod-
ing agent(s), KP, the unknown reaction order ν, and the kinetic constant k.
In the absence of detailed information about the reaction order and the detailed
chemical nature of the corroding agents, KP, it may be assumed that these param-
eters will not change drastically with the given conditions. In the present situation,
the major corroding agent is water. The magnesium metal is completely immersed
in the water body of the lake. Hence, major changes in its concentration are very
unlikely. The reaction order depends on the reaction mechanism and may change
with temperature as well as with the concentrations of all species involved in the
reaction. Because the temperature of the water is not prone to drastic variations and
the components involved in the chemical reaction are quickly dispersed and diluted,
it may be reasonably assumed that the term [KP]ν cannot be influenced to increase
reaction rates. Thus, the accessible area F has a considerable influence on the over-
all kinetics of the corrosion process of magnesium in water solutions. Since the
coatings and crusts formed on the Mg surfaces in lake waters are brittle and often
also finely dispersed, movement of the Mg in the water, either by wind and waves
or forced by pumping, will have a strong influence on the over-all reaction rate of
the process. This conclusion is clearly confirmed by the observations. It might be
possible to further improve the kinetics of the process by avoiding the contact of
Mg rods in the water with carbonates from air, e.g., by forced circulation using
pumps. Here further experimentation may result in a better understanding of the
possible benefits.
The kinetic constant may be expressed by an Arrhenius-like relationship (Eq. 7.5)
∆E H
−
k = Ae RT
(7.5)
Fig. 7.15 Example of the estimation of an overall kinetic factor k with a defined scrap magnesium
surface in 1L experimental lake water
where A is a kinetic pre-factor, ΔEH is the Gibbs free energy of activation, R is the
gas constant and T the absolute temperature in Kelvin. Hence, the kinetic factor k
for a given chemical reaction depends essentially on temperature.
A series of experiments were performed under laboratory conditions to get a
rough order of magnitude for the acid-neutralisation capacities of scrap magnesium
in experimental lake water. A typical example is shown in Fig. 7.15. The onset of
hydrogen generation and acid reduction was rapid initially and decreased after sev-
eral days. The acid reduction rate was sufficiently fast to support the design of
large-scale experiments at the site.
Using such information for estimating the likely change induced by the addition
of scrap magnesium into a surface water body, the following points need to be
considered:
• The estimated overall kinetic factor is based on the initial scrap magnesium sur-
face area. This parameter certainly will change in the course of an experiment.
The magnitude of changes will be unknown. Therefore, only the initial slope has
been used. ‘Initial‘ was often used in a pragmatic way and ad-hoc manner. The
small number of data points often did not leave another approach.
• Influence of temperature seemed to be considerable – as expected by Eq. 7.5.
Hence, summer seems to be the preferential time for addition of scrap magne-
sium into lakes.
• Apparently, movement of scrap magnesium in water seems to be beneficial. It is
likely that hydrogen bubbles (cf. Eq. 7.2) may attach to the metal surface. At
higher pH values gelatinous Mg(OH)2 may form close to the reaction zone at the
metal surface. Both effects will reduce the accessible scrap magnesium surface
area. Movement in the water is expected to reduce these adverse effects.
Since temperature at the bottom of shallow lakes is usually quite constant, k var-
ies within narrow limits. On the other hand, Eq. 7.5 may also suggest that keeping
the scrap magnesium close to the surface may be beneficial in order to profit from
faster reaction at warmer temperatures. As a consequence of these discussions, dif-
ferent configurations for controlled Mg exposure to the lake waters were tested at
the Boojum lab. As a result, two configurations have been studied in closer detail:
the raft configuration and the box configuration. The critical evaluation of the avail-
able data made clear that the box configuration was preferrable. The parameters
determined by Boojum for both systems will be summarized in terms of the above
stated reaction kinetics. Ongoing experiments, in combination with an additional
forced flow-through experiment, which were carried out in the laboratory by
Boojum, determined the parameters of the above given kinetic equations for the
boundary conditions of the lake water. The goal was an over-all estimate of the
amount of Mg metal and number of boxes necessary to achieve controlled increase
in pH in the experimental lake with optimal economic resources.
7.5.3 M
agnesium Alloys in Rafts and Barges
in an Experimental Lake
Supported by results from the 1 m3 tests (cf. Fig. 7.13), a total of 4.6 tonnes of
magnesium scrap were added to the acidic lake between 1999 and 2002. Four sepa-
rate additions of scrap magnesium (April 6, 1999: 970 kg and 2931 kg; June 28,
2001: 402 kg; Sept 20, 2002: 324 kg) totaled 4.6 metric tonnes. These 4.6 tonnes
were added to a volume of about 1,000,000 m3 lake water. Furthermore, an average
annual replacement of lake water on the order of 300,000 m3 was estimated. This
implies that the lake water is completely replaced every three years. These repre-
sent only rough estimates. A more detailed hydrological model of the lake would be
necessary to account for partial mixture, the dilution effects of the generated Mg2+
ions and associated increase in pH. Such a model requires more detailed hydrologi-
cal investigation and is outside the scope of this study which concentrated on the
feasibility of acid reduction by addition of scrap magnesium.
The scrap magnesium was suspended in rafts and barges (Fig. 7.16) that were
positioned in different locations within the lake. These materials were estimated to
have an exposed area for reaction equivalent to 1339 m2 (Table 7.1).
In this period, the dissolved Mg concentrations in the lake water increased from
10–12 mg.L−1 to 16–18mg.L−1 (with seasonal variations). Corrosion rates were
much faster in open water due to greater water circulation and supply of H+ to MgO
surface. Water sampled near the immersed Mg-scrap metal in the winter, when the
Fig. 7.16 Tests using the corrosion of magnesium metal to raise lake pH. (a) wooden raft contain-
ing compact magnesium alloy pieces which could not be fastened with a string. (b) barge set-up
with alloy pieces suspended on ropes. (Photographs by Boojum Research)
Table 7.1 Magnesium placement in the experimental lake

Date Mg Weight in Surface Area in Ratio
added Location in Lake kg m2 kg.m−2
Rafts 06-Apr-99 in quiet bay 3901 1047 3.73
Barge 1 28-Jun-01 in open lake 264 133 1.98
20-Sep-02 138 47 2.91
Barge 2 20-Sep-02 shallow water (close to 325 112 2.91
outflow)
barge was frozen in place, had a pH of 8. Numerous precipitates were observed on

corroded MgO surfaces (Fig. 7.11a, b). The lake water was charged with high con-
centrations of iron, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, allowing neutralization reac-
tions and precipitation to proceed on the MgO surface. These precipitates, most
probably iron hydroxide (oxides and potentially carbonates) formed coatings and
crusts on the Mg surfaces. However, when the barges were visited, the bubbles
emerged and shaking the barge the coating fell off to the sediment. The overall reac-
tion rates are dependant on the movement of the barge and the exposure of scrap
magnesium surface.
The field tests caused an increase in Mg concentrations and pH near the immersed
metal (i.e., closer to reactive surfaces) that strongly suggested that full-scale imple-
mentation of the Mg scrap technology can be an alternative to current neutralization
techniques. Moreover, if carbonate precipitation can be simultaneously promoted
and maintained, another positive long-term effect of the scrap magnesium applica-
tion to acid mine drainage would be atmospheric CO2 sequestration. However, the
amount of scrap magnesium added to the lake was not sufficient to cause a drastic
shift in the lake pH.
Theoretically, the 4.6 tonnes of magnesium added to the lake will consume
258,711 moles of H+. Assuming a k value an order of magnitude lower under field
conditions, averaging winter and summer temperatures and allowing for insuffi-
cient agitation, a pH increase in the experimental lake from 3.0 to 3.1 would require
that 258,690 moles of H+ would have to be consumed. However, these changes are
hardly measurable. To raise the pH from 3 to 4 in an acidic lake with a 109 L vol-
ume, would require the elimination of 900,000 moles of H+. Since each mole of
Mg2+ ion consumes two moles of H+, this would require an increase in Mg metal
(alloy) to between 11 and 18 tonnes.
In April 1999, eight floating rafts with 3.9 tonnes of scrap magnesium threaded
on rope and suspended from the rafts were anchored in a small bay (Fig. 7.16). The
scrap magnesium strands were enclosed with a plastic curtain to facilitate pH mea-
surements. As it happened, the curtains inhibited the agitation of the magnesium by
wave action, a key factor in reaction rates; they were therefore not used on the
barges that were subsequently utilized to suspend open magnesium baskets.
Moreover, the barges were placed in open water to expose them to more agitation
by waves.
Measurements of pH in the vicinity of the Mg rafts did not show promise. The
reaction of the magnesium was slow – although it was still occurring four years
later. A faster reaction is expected from the Mg suspended in baskets from two
barges in open water. In June 2001, a barge supporting 264 kg of scrap Mg pieces
was anchored near the experimental lake outflow (Fig. 7.11b). In September 2002,
an additional 138 kg of scrap magnesium pieces were added to the barge and a
second barge, supporting 325 kg of scrap magnesium was put into the lake. In the
winter of 2002, a value of pH 8 was recorded in the magnesium baskets.
These exploratory experiments suggest a few conclusions:

• Two observations are central for the preliminary assessment. The first is the
observed increase in Mg ions over the experimentation period. The second
observation is the lake water pH which essentially remained rather stable at
around pH 3. From the mass balance an observable increase in pH of the lake
water was not expected.
• The laboratory measurements which allow a more stable control of the measure-
ment environment, indicate a tendency towards higher acidities (pH < 3) at the
end of the experimentation period (exhaustion of scrap magnesium and conse-
quent cease of H+ neutralisation capacity).
• The measurements of Mg content in the lake water, performed during the period
1987–2002, indicate a significant increase in the Mg content from 10–12 mg.L−1
to 16 – 18 mg.L−1-(with seasonal variations). Since the total water content in the
lake is about 109 L, the calculated dissolved amount of Mg is in the order 4 tonnes
to 8 tonnes. This estimate is reasonable considering the list of approximations.
• To increase the pH from pH 3 to pH 4 in a lake with 109 L−1 of water – ignoring
flow-in and flow-out – requires the elimination of 9 × 105 mol of H+. Since each
formula unit of Mg2+ ion consumes two formula units of H+, 4.5 . 105 mol of Mg
are required, amounting to about 11 tonnes of Mg. Due to flow-in and flow-out,
the effect of the actually added 4.6 tonnes is further reduced with the conse-
quence that an effect of the dissolved Mg on the lake pH is hardly visible (but
documented via the Mg2+ increase).
• Taking the effects together, considering that application of Mg in a full-scale
experiment will occur simultaneously at different positions of the lake in a much
shorter period, and considering that the most effective method of interaction
between lake water and Mg scrap (as evaluated from the exploratory experi-
ments) will be used exclusively, it seems not unreasonable to estimate the total
amount of scrap Mg to 16 tonnes. A certain amount of surplus is included which
accounts for dilution effects, reduction in surface with progressing reaction of
Mg, acidic water, and formation of corrosion covers on the surface of the
scrap Mg.
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Chapter 8
The Biofilm Generation Tool
for the Reduction of Sulfate Oxidation
Abstract Weathering of rocks is enhanced by microbial activity. The same weath-

ering process is encountered in the metal corrosion industry. MIC (Microbially
Induced Corrosion) is a serious challenge to steel and other construction materials.
Phosphate is known to serve as a corrosion inhibitor in metals. Applying this knowl-
edge to mine wastes, a number of studies have added phosphate to produce an iron
phosphate coating on the mineral surface. However, results have varied, and lacked
longevity.
When a heap leach pile in Canada stopped working, Boojum thought this might
be due to phosphate coatings on the ore surfaces. However, little phosphorus was
found in SEM/EDX pictures of the heap leach rock. Only traces of phosphorus were
found, but microbes were plentiful. Controlled experiments outdoors (in 75 L
drums) were carried out with carbonaceous phosphate mining waste (CPMW). The
effluents were monitored for about 2.7 years with nearly neutral effluent from the
CPMW drums. Independent studies adding CPMW to mining wastes produced
organic coatings on mineral surfaces. Lastly, the mechanisms were documented
which led to the improved effluent. Acidophilic heterotrophic microbes overgrow
and cover acidophilic chemo-autotrophs, forming a biofilm. To address biofilm lon-
gevity, the experimental rocks were stored under varying conditions for 11 years.
Keywords Oxidation reduction · Inhibition of weathering · Acidophilic

heterotrophs · Chemolithotrophs · MIC (Microbially Induced Corrosion) ·
Encapsulation · Phosphate · Natural phosphate rock

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84651-0_8
8.1 History of Encapsulation Efforts
Working on different mine waste management sites, many researchers have recog-
nized that ARUM (Acid Reduction Using Microbiology) and biological polishing
tools have a difficult time when the pH of the drainage drops below 3. To prevent
effluents from reaching pH 3, the weathering of waste rock and tailings must be
slowed or stopped. Others have attempted to create coatings on the mineral surfaces,
which would inhibit weathering rates by reducing oxygen access. Pioneers of this
approach were the research group at the West Virginia Acid Mine Drainage Task
Force (Meek, 1983, 1991; Renton & Stiller, 1988; Renton et al., 1988; Hart et al.,
1990; Hart & Stiller, 1991). They added phosphate ore (natural phosphate rock;
NPR) to coal waste piles at different dosages. This material is also used to fertilize
acid soil since it contains both carbonates and phosphate. Evangelou (1995) postu-
lated that, after the NPR dissolved, an iron-phosphate precipitate would coat the
mineral surface, reducing oxygen access. The NPR additions produced a somewhat
improved effluent, but the lowest dosage of NPR produced the best results, a high
pH with alkalinity, in contrast to higher dosages where the pH was considerably
lower, with metal acidity. Further studies to produce a coating continued (Mauric &
Lottermoser, 2011; Harris & Lottermoser, 2016), with limited success. An extensive
discussion on micro-encapsulation is given by Sahoo et al. (2013). Unfortunately,
the encapsulation efforts along with many other attempts using soaps, cyanide, anti-
biotics, etc., failed to produce an economic solution to halt oxygen and water enter-
ing the waste piles.
These efforts performed relatively well for a few years, and in some cases, for
one to two decades. In many cases, however, problems arose within the first decade
of implementation, caused mostly by ecological, geochemical and microbiological
processes which altered the initial conditions. The common limitations reflect the
view that the problem is purely an inorganic chemical, engineering and hydrologi-
cal problem (Table 8.1).
Table 8.1 presents some of the most common, currently used oxidation-inhibiting strategies for
sulfidic mining wastes
Oxygen Control Technique
Examples Common Limitations
Dry soil composite covers Imperfect (cracking, erosion), bioturbation colonizing by deep
(capillary breaks) rooted vegetation,
Compost or bio-solids covers Finite organic supply
Wet covers (dam Dam vulnerability and wave turbulences and water shortages
impoundments) possible
Lake or pit backfilling Lack of sites & regulatory constraints, ground water ingress
Desulfurized tailing slimes Requires iron sulfide separation with separated sub-aqueous
cover impoundment and sand backfilling - limited applicability
Co-deposition (rock and Limited opportunity, timing of waste generation, distribution
tailings) problems
8 The Biofilm Generation Tool for the Reduction of Sulfate Oxidation 107
Although air and water are essential drivers of the contaminant generating pro-
cess, it is not the only relevant one. The methods implemented in the past to control
oxidation of mining wastes have limitations. Omitting or disregarding ecological
processes in the engineering of the mine waste management areas, severely con-
strains the longevity of any engineered solution. Understanding and integrating eco-
logical and biochemical processes involved in contaminant generation and the
natural biological strategies available to reduce or inhibit sulfide oxidation in mine
wastes are critical, cost effective, more energy-efficient, and may lead to sustainable
restoration of mine waste management areas (Kalin, 2009).
An interesting discovery came in the form of an unusual occurrence. An article
in the Northern Miner reported that a heap leach dump in British Columbia had
ceased to function, generating pH neutral effluent (Scott, 1991). For Boojum, the
questions were: Why had the heap leach stopped working? Was it due to microbial
or chemical inhibition? Could this be a phosphate coating which had formed on the
mineral surface?
Rocks from this heap leach operation were obtained to examine the surface for
the presence of microbes and/or iron phosphate coatings (Fig. 8.1). When the
surfaces were inspected with SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and EDX
(X-ray diffraction), very little phosphorus was noted, but a considerable number
of microbial colonies were evident on the rock surface. With these results, the
West Virginia experiments needed to be repeated. The challenge was how to
obtain waste rocks and tailings in sufficient quantities to give statistically signifi-
cant results, and to set up a controlled, outdoor experiment at the Boojum Research
(Boojum) facility.
Fig. 8.1 Rock from a heap

leach that ceased
generating acid. The rock
was examined with SEM
and EDX for iron
phosphate or other
coatings, which may have
prevented leaching
8.2 Repeating the Experimentation: The Big Surprise
Microbially-Induced Corrosion (MIC) is responsible for the deterioration of steel

and other industrial materials (Little & Wagner, 1992; Wakefield & Jones, 1998;
Beech et al., 2000; Kip & Van Veen, 2015). To reduce corrosion, steel and iron are
now routinely phosphated (Schweitzer, 1988). The microbial processes that apply to
MIC in steel and other industrial materials also apply to stone and rock and thus to
mine waste rock and tailings. The most common growth form for microbes is the
biofilm. Characklis & Marshall (1990) published the first book on biofilms, address-
ing the growing awareness among scientists and engineers that microbial biofilms
play an essential role in engineering processes.
In the 1990s, when Boojum first started to tackle this issue, neither the dynamics
of biofilm development, nor microbial biochemical activities had been elucidated.
Biofilms and their behavior are now well-documented (Sand & Gehrke, 2006;
Gorbushina & Broughton, 2009; Flemming & Wingender, 2010; Zhang et al., 2016).
Bacterial biofilms were suspected to be the reason the heap leach stopped working,
but this hypothesis needed to be tested.
If microbes were producing biofilms, covering mineral surface and blocking sul-
fate oxidation, the process should be the same in both tailings and waste rock.
Further, if the reduction in weathering was due to microbial activity, then the micro-
bial weathering process should be the same in both the field and laboratory and
should work in different mining wastes. The key was feeding heterotrophic microbes
to make suffocating biofilms, and starving acidophilic chemo-autotroph biofilms
which produce acidic drainage.
The first experiment was carried out with three tonnes of differently-aged sul-
fidic waste rock (i.e., various states of oxidation). Rocks were shipped from a
Quebec zinc mine to Toronto where the experiment was set up outdoors at Boojum’s
facility (Fig. 8.2). The waste rock was divided among 12, 75 L plastic drums. Half
of the drums contained 8 L of carbonaceous phosphate mining waste (CPMW)
added to the top of the drum, distributed throughout the entire drum or held in by
mosquito netting placed in the middle of the drum. The latter application of netting
simulated the application of CPMW to lifts of a growing waste rock pile. The other
half of the drums were left without CPMW, as controls. The CPMW material used,
C-48 (Nutrien Co., Aurora Mine), was a coarse by-product remaining after finer
material is separated for use as fertilizer. It contained 30% calcium and 6.8%
phosphate.
After 8.6 years outdoors, including winters, and a long, dry storage, and repeated
outdoor exposure, the drums were dismantled and the surface area of pyrite esti-
mated (Kalin et al., 1998). About 50% of the 8 L of the CPMW remained in the
drums, unreacted, some slightly coated with iron. Selected rocks from the drum
experiment were subjected to SEM/EDX (Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy
Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy). The surfaces of rocks with added phosphate wastes
showed only traces of phosphorus, while microbes were relatively abundant (Fyson
et al., 1995; Kalin & Harris, 2005).
Fig. 8.2 Waste rock drum experiment on the balcony of the Boojum Research office. (a) Schematic
showing two ways CPMW was added to waste rock in the drums. Each drum contained 8 L of
CPMW waste added to the top of the drum, distributed throughout the entire drum or held in by
mosquito netting placed in the middle of the drum. With these distributions of CPMW to lifts of a
Fig. 8.3 SEM photographs of the surface of sulfidic waste rock. The left side shows the rock
surface after 2.7 years of exposure to the elements and CPMW. On the right side, the SEM photo-
graph of the surface coating on sulfidic waste rock after the second outdoor exposure, 11 years
since the start of the experiments (from Kalin et al., 2010)
Once the effluents reached a neutral pH, investigations of the rock surfaces were
initiated (Fig. 8.3). The formation of an organic coating was confirmed (Ueshima
et al., 2003, 2004). The longevity of the organic coating was tested by dry-storing
the rocks for several years. Thereafter, the waste rocks were re-exposed to the ele-
ments outdoors without further additions of CPMW. Repeated recycling of rainwa-
ter provided ideal conditions for acid generation. As expected, the pH dropped
initially, but then increased with reduced acidity (Fig. 8.2c). This outdoor exposure
continued for 2.7 years. The rocks were dry-stored again for further investigations
of the mineral surface. The coating appeared to be long-lived, persisting for 4.5
years indoors, then for another 2 years outdoors, and finally further drying stored in
a basement. SEM photographs, after 11 years from the start of the experiment,
revealed that the organic coatings were still present (Kalin et al., 2010).
The results suggested that CPMW additions catalyze a fundamental change on
the surface of the waste rock. Organic coatings form over the sulfides. Whether on
waste rock or in tailings of different composition, CPMW wastes should behave in
a similar manner, and react with sulfide minerals. If this assumption is correct, and
heterotrophic microbes were responsible for the coating, then the CPMW waste
ingredients were key to reducing oxidation.
These experimental results, addressing the reduction of sulfate oxidation, are
probably the first which span more than a decade (Fig. 8.3). Of interest, though, is the
biofilm discovered on an excavated Roman nail (reported in Kip & Van Veen, 2015).
Fig. 8.2 (continued) waste rock piles are simulated. (b) Photograph of the drums outdoors, in the
winter. (c) The effluent pH from the drums (control, mixed, and layered waste rock). Effluent was
collected periodically for 2.7 years or 1095 days. The drums were then stored indoors for about 4.3
years (up to day 2756). The stored rocks were again placed back outdoors to test longevity of the
biofilms without any further CPMW added. Acidic effluent was initially generated, but soon the
pH rose again. Details in Kalin & Harris (2005). On dismantling of the drums, about 50% of the
CPMW had remained in the drums. (Photograph by Boojum Research)
This nail was uncorroded after several thousand years of burial, suggesting that
microbial biofilms can persist and protect surfaces for millennia.
Given that biofilms operate on the sulfide mineral surface, heterotrophic biofilms
should work on sulfide minerals whether they are on waste rock or tailings. To
address the fundamental nature of the findings, CPMW needed to be added to dif-
ferent sulfidic materials. A few mining companies agreed to finance shipments of
phosphate waste rock from North Carolina to various mining sites in quantities
large enough to set up field experiments (several railcars and trucks). The phosphate
mine shipped the wastes, washed and screened, to Ontario (Elliot Lake, Sudbury,
and South Bay), as well as to Nova Scotia (Cape Breton). The Newfoundland exper-
iments used CPMW from a closed phosphate fertilizer plant, which had received ore
from the same mine in North Carolina.
Field plots were set up by plowing CPMW wastes into the upper 25 cm of differ-
ent tailings. It was hypothesized that phosphate added to these tailings would pro-
duce an iron phosphate precipitate, generating a hardpan within the tailings,
reducing infiltration, while feeding heterotrophic microbes to cover the tailings
granules with biofilms (see Fig. 9.8). Tests were conducted on fresh pyrrhotite tail-
ings, on a concentrate spill, and on waste coal piles. The plots were left to the ele-
ments for 3 to 4 years (Table 8.2).
The results are summarized for a uranium mine, pyrrhotite tailings, a polymetal-
lic concentrate spill, and the rock drainage from Quebec in Table 8.2 and in Kalin
et al. (2009). In the upper part of Table 8.2, the length of time in years is given for
the plots in the field (from set up to sampling time), the time of dry storage, and the
laboratory monitoring times, exchanging the supernatant intermittently. In the lower
part of the table, the CPMW application rates, number of monitoring events where
pH, Eh and electrical conductivity (measurement pairs) were obtained, the hydraulic
conductivity, and the site-specific sulfide range in % are given.
Table 8.2 Exposure and storage times and the type of monitoring of the CPMW additions to
different wastes
Waste
Uranium Pyrrhotite Polymetallic rock
Length of time (years)
Exposure (outdoors) 3.75 3.25 3.18 2.7
Storage indoors 6.5 5.5 n.a n.a
Monitoring of Effluents weight/vol(1:5 w/v) 1.83 1.83 2.87 2.7
Selected Samples
CPMW particles mixture (𝜙) 0.01-0.25 m) (𝜙) 30 kg. m−2 1:4 (w/w) 115 kg.t−1
4 to <0.04 mm Application rate in the field
Number of measurements Eh-pH pairs 7/7 7/7 8/8 58/115
General characteristics
Hydraulic conductivity (cm.s−1) 10−5 10−8 10−5 10−0
Site specific sulfide % of wastes 2 85 6-8 4-15
n.a. - not applicable; (a) #Eh-pH pairs
After 3 or 4 years of exposure in the field, plot markings were impossible to

decipher and many were destroyed. Boojum therefore collected samples randomly
on the field plots and returned them to the laboratory, where the material was added
to beakers and covered with water. The supernatant (water above the sediment) in
the beakers was exchanged 7 to 8 times over a period of 1.8 to 2.8 years.
Visually, the CPMW plots could not be recognized in the field samples. We mon-
itored the supernatant (Table 8.3), exchanging the water and mixing with a vortex
shaker. The pH changed initially indicating some acid generation, but further acid
generation was not evident. Many samples were processed, but due to the destroyed
field plot makings, only a few samples showed an effect (Kalin et al., 2003). The
supernatant samples, with the elevated pH and a corresponding control, were ana-
lyzed for elemental concentrations. Slight hints of inhibition might be interpreted
from the slightly higher calcium concentrations, the increases in pH, and the
decreases in the electrical conductivity, but there were no significant changes. Plot
markings need to be kept prominent for the next experimental iteration.
An assessment of the oxidation rate of iron sulfide in tailings with and without
CPMW was carried out. The samples originated from tailings in an advanced state
of sulfide oxidation. The oxidation rates should have been in equilibrium with
Table 8.3 Chemistry of slurries of the sampled field plots and exposed to oxygen in the laboratory
Uranium Pyrrhotite Polymetallic Sulfidic Waste rock
Elements Control CPMW Control CPMW Control CPMW Control CPMW

(mg.L-1) N=1 N=1 N=1 N=1 N=2 N=2 N=3 N=6
Al 50 <0.005 870 120 89 5 3.98 0.42
Ca 560 630 500 490 485 510 41 122
Cu 0.59 0.001 0.68 17 86 0.07 14 4.13
Fe 18 0.01 43 0.1 1053 0.02 3.77 0.32
P 0.03 0.05 0.22 6.9 0.16 0.04 0.20 0.13
S 630 510 4460 1060 3020 500 126 123
Zn 0.98 <0.005 9.3 5.3 2085 22 78 22
pH 2.6 6.7 3.1 3.8 3.0 5.0 4.0 6.1

Cond.
3410 1682 7180 4030 6725 1690 n.a. n.a.
(µS.cm-1)
Eh (mV) 734 584 758 661 784 467 n.a. n.a.
Acidity
656 39 6715.4 1090 5544 87 257 76
(mg.L-1)
Table 8.4 Derived oxidation rates for tailings compared to those calculated by Williamson and
Rimstidt (1994)
Eh (V) pH
min max min max
Model Williamson and Rimstidt (1994) 0.805 0.917 1.57 2.53
Uranium tailings Control 0.734 0.804 2.42 2.92
CPMW 0.566 0.750 6.06 7.17
Pyrrhotite tailings Control 0.577 0.758 2.98 3.50
CPMW 0.635 0.772 3.34 3.84
Polymetallic tailings Control 0.445 0.585 2.19 3.22
CPMW 0.198 0.523 3.92 5.38
Sulfidic Control 0.467 0.814 2.37 5.41
Waste rock CPMW 0.41 0.72 4.01 6.29
respect to Eh. The rate laws (r) described by Williamson and Rimstidt (1994) were
used to calculate oxidation rates. Using Eh/pH as a basis for calculating log r in
samples exposed to field conditions (under conditions promoting oxidation), empir-
ically integrates all the processes controlling oxidation. These are likely a combina-
tion of both chemical and geo-microbiological processes (Table 8.4).
8.2.1 Composition and Dissolution
The composition of CPMW is as critical as its leaching characteristics to an under-

standing of how CPMW interacts with biofilms and the microbial processes leading
to the inhibition or reduction of sulfide oxidation (Kalin & Wheeler, 2011; Kalin
et al., 2012).
The elemental composition of unprocessed natural phosphate rock has been
described by (Kalin et al., 1998). Waste phosphate material contains about 8 to 9 %
P, 25 to 27% Ca, 3% Fe and 0.5 to 0.1% Na, Al, Mg and K, respectively. Solubility
tests were carried out with 0.5 g of CPMW in 125 mL acid-leached poly-propylene
bottles with dilute aqueous H2SO4, adjusted to pHs 3, 5 and 6.5. Aliquots were
tested after 10, 30, 60 and 120 min of reaction time. Dissolved orthophosphate was
determined using Hatch Phosphover reagent and a DREL 2000 spectrophotometer.
The concentration of orthophosphate in the pH 5 and 6.5 bottles was below 1
mg.L−1, but in pH 3 bottles, 2 mg.L−1 was released after 60 min.
Stronger leach tests were carried out in 0.1 N H2SO4, simulating possible condi-
tions in corrosion pits on mineral surfaces and in tailings pore water. Ten grams of
CPMW were exposed to 125 mL of acid solution, stirred briefly, allowed to settle,
and then decanted. New acid was added and the procedure repeated for a total of 8
decant cycles collecting a total of 1L of leachate. The CPMW was stirred briefly
after the sulphuric acid addition and pH was measured until no further changes were
noted. Samples of the solution were submitted to ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma
Spectroscopy) and a mass balance (% weight solid element released to the sulphuric
acid) was determined (Kalin et al., 2009).
The next experiment dissolved CPMW with 0.1 N sulfuric acid (pH 1.9) to deter-
mine not only phosphate, but other elements released from the material under stirred
and non-stirred conditions. The findings support the low release of phosphate, even
in very strong acid. Only 54% of phosphate was recovered in the supernatant, under
both conditions. In addition, 26% of the calcium, 75% of the potassium and 100%
of the magnesium were released.
Estimating the quantity of dissolved orthophosphate released from CPMW is
associated with several uncertainties. When the drums from the original experiment
(Kalin & Harris, 2005) were dismantled about half of the added CPMW had
remained unreacted or slightly covered with iron. This suggests that the dissolution
rate for CPMW is low. Since other elements are also released, one or more of the
components could be the critical factor in the production of the organic coatings.
8.3 R
ocks on the Move: Independent
Investigations of CPMW
Research results should be reproducible. To follow up on Boojum’s research find-

ings discussed above, waste rocks from Quebec and CPMW were shipped to Dr. R
Smart (University of South Australia) for an AMIRA (Australian Mineral Industries
Research Association) project, investigating the organic coating on the Quebec
rocks and from Red Dog mine (a Canadian zinc mine) waste rocks. The electron
microscope investigation identified secondary mineral enclosures in the organic
coating on the Quebec rocks, and an organic coating on the Red Dog waste rocks
(AMIRA, 2017; Kalin et al., 2010). A list of researchers, reports, organizations etc.
are detailed in (Table 8.5).
From the very beginning when the drum experiment was set up, Boojum was
certain that the mining industry would be very interested in the results, but each
time results were presented, more information was required. The last request was
that without the names of the microbes at work, the results were useless. The tax-
onomy, however, is irrelevant, of importance is their activity and the longevity of the
biofilms. Biofilms are composed of a community of microbes, which might be dif-
ferent at each location. Most important, though, are the metabolic results, namely
oxygen consumption and heterotrophic microbial biofilm growth. If heterotrophic
biofilm growth could be documented, along with reductions in oxidation rates and
improved effluent, a direct connection would be made.
Table 8.5 A list of researchers and organizations that have contributed to investigations on
different pyritic wastes
Author #Reports Organisation Waste Type
Kalin, M. 31 Boojum All types
Smith, M.P. 10 Boojum Coal, Nova Scotia
Fyson, A. 10 Boojum Rock, Quebec
Wheeler, W.N. 6 Boojum All types
Paulo, C. 4 Boojum Rock, Quebec
Fortin, D. 3 U of Ottawa Rock, Quebec
Meinrath, G. 2 RER All types
Ueshima, M. 1 U of Ottawa Rock, Quebec
Bellenberg, S. 1 U of Duisburg Essen Coal, Germany
Sand. W. 1 U of Duisburg Essen Coal, Germany
Smart, R. 1 U of South Australia Rock, Yukon
Sleep, B. 1 U of Toronto Rock, Quebec
Ferris, G. 1 U of Toronto Rock, Quebec
Harris, B. 1 U of McGill Rock, Quebec
Werker, A. 1 U of Waterloo All types
Totals: 15 8 8a
Uranium, pyrrhotite and zinc tailings others sulfidic rock
a
8.4 Eureka – The Microbial Groups Are Identified
CPMW provides a combination of nutrients essential to the growth of heterotrophs

on the mineral surface. No link between phosphate content, biofilm growth, and
dormancy could be found, but carbonates in the CPMW seem to influence hetero-
trophic biofilm development. To determine which microbial groups might be active,
Boojum supported a PhD student at the Biofilm Centre of the University of Essen
(Germany) to carry out a controlled experiment on German lignite coal (Bellenberg
et al., 2013).
Laboratory columns were set up with lignite coal and ground pyrite. In the
absence of CPMW (labelled NPR in Fig. 8.4), bioleaching started after day 45 with
the release of ferric iron, increases in redox potential and electrical conductivity,
and decreasing pH values. The addition of CPMW inhibited bioleaching, resulting
in an improved effluent quality. No change of the microbial community composi-
tion occurred without addition of CPMW, while its addition strongly proliferated
neutrophilic heterotrophs. The CPMW application led concurrently to a reduction
in the number of acidophilic iron oxidizers. Four weeks after the CPMW addition,
the columns were dominated by neutrophilic heterotrophs (90%), while without the
CPMW, iron-oxidizing acidophiles accounted for 99% of the microbial community.
A photographic record of the clear solutions from the CPMW-treated columns along
with the usual parameters measured is shown in Fig. 8.4 (Bellenberg et al., 2013).
Additional information can be found in Kalin et al. (2015, 2018).
Fig. 8.4 Results of the CPMW coal column experiments in Germany. (a) The development of
microbial populations on the mineral surface with and without CPMW. Oxidizing microbes (green
color) produce acid drainage, whilst neutrophilic heterotrophs (blue color) replace the oxidizing
microbes. (b) Photograph of effluents from column experiments after 213 days. Jars B1 and B3
had no CPMW added, whilst B2 and B4 contained coal and CPMW. Effluents from the latter are
clear, free of iron, in contrast to B1 and B3 columns without CPMW. Unfortunately, there is a red
box behind B4. (c) The table shows the change in pH, Eh, and conductivity in effluents from col-
umns with and without CPMW (NPR; Bellenberg et al., 2013)
Sustainable mine waste and water management should integrate the use of car-
bonates when constructing a waste rock pile, and when initiating a hardpan in tail-
ings is appropriate. The improved effluent of the first experiments summarized in
Kalin and Harris (2005) and the presented results of the field and laboratory work
should be sufficient evidence that contaminated acid drainage is not the price to be
paid for metals.
CPMW has been shown to alter the mineral surface on waste rock, ground coal,
and tailings. The formation of neutrophilic, heterotrophic biofilms, produced in the
presence of CPMW, has been well documented here. The longevity of these bio-
films has been tested - they have been shown to be actively protecting mineral sur-
faces after at least 11 years. Biofilms appear to protect mineral and metal surfaces,
and this protection can last for thousands of years (Kip & Van Veen, 2015). These
pieces of evidence are compelling, yet Boojum has not found a client willing to fol-
low up with further testing. Perhaps Boojum has found the answer to the biggest
environmental challenge in mining? More evidence can be found in the next chapter
(Chap. 9) which describes several case studies using CPMW.
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Chapter 9
R&D Field Applications
Abstract This chapter describes several major projects undertaken by Boojum

Research since 1982 in Canada, Brazil, and Germany. These projects ran between 5
and 16 years. The biological polishing tool reduced the concentrations of arsenic
and nickel in a 5 million cubic meter pit lake and also the concentrations of zinc and
iron from the effluent of a gloryhole using a series of polishing ponds. In Germany,
a constructed wetland with rooted vascular plants was expected to reduce the con-
centrations of radionuclides, arsenic and iron from the effluent of a uranium mine.
The removal was inefficient. The settling pond of the constructed wetland was used
as a pilot system, by suspending curtains and introducing Chara, the multitasking
alga, to sequester contaminants.
Using Carbonaceous Phosphate Mining Waste (CPMW), Acid Reduction Using
Microbiology (ARUM) and biological polishing, a complete decommissioning con-
cept was developed for an operating zinc mine in Quebec. Similarly, all tools were
partially scaled up at a copper-zinc mine in northern Ontario. Finally, a coarse coal
pile in Nova Scotia was treated with CPMW and compared to other piles treated
with limestone, and at a different Nova Scotian site, the tools were used to treat
effluents from waste coal tailings.
Keywords Decommissioning · Acid mine drainage · Alkaline drainage · Mine

waste management · Sulfide oxidation · Carbonaceous phosphate mining wastes ·
Ecological engineering

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84651-0_9
9.1 A
rsenic and Nickel Removal from a Pit
Lake – Saskatchewan
A mined-out uranium pit in northern Saskatchewan was force-flooded from an adja-

cent fishing lake. Once filled, the lake would hold 5 million m3, with the only
influxes coming from precipitation. With environmental approval, the barrier
between the pit lake and an adjacent fishing lake would be removed. The arsenic and
nickel concentrations of 0.22 mg.L−1 and 0.26 mg.L−1, respectively, were low, but
exceeded regulatory limits. Before the lake and the pit water could be combined, the
arsenic and nickel concentrations had to be lowered. Reductions in these low con-
centrations were not only difficult to achieve with chemical treatment, but also
expensive. If biological polishing could be used to reduce the concentration further,
chemical treatment costs could be avoided. The company decided to fund a detailed
investigation using biological polishing to remove the nickel and arsenic (Fig. 9.1).
Four sets of sedimentation traps were placed at various depths to collect sus-
pended solids. The traps suspended at 3 m (close to the extinction of light) collected
particulates and algae, which were subjected to SIMS microscopy (Secondary-Ion
Mass Spectroscopy). This method examines the surface of materials to a depth of 1
to 2 nanometers. From the data generated by SIMS, a schematic was constructed
(Fig. 9.2).
The force-flooding produced high concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS)
in the first 2 years. The first summer after flooding, the particulates were mainly
inorganic clay which gave way in the second year to an algal bloom of
Dictyosphaerium sp. (Fig. 9.3a, b). These algae form colonies of cells embedded in
a dense extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) sheath. The dense sheath around the
algae was also a ‘magnet’ for inorganic particulates. The algae were acting like
Fig. 9.1 Sediment traps used to collect and analyze particulates. (a) The traps on the left were
installed at depths between 3 and 45 m. The traps closest to the boat had a fine layer of clay which
was not visible on any of the following traps. (b) Photograph of the 3 m depth traps one year after
flooding, showing the high quantity of suspended solids (Boojum Research, 1994; Cao & Kalin,
1999; Kalin et al., 2001). (Photographs by Boojum Research)
9 R&D Field Applications 123
Fig. 9.2 Schematic of particle aggregation based on SIMS microscopy, depicting algae as floc-
culating agents. The green circles and spirals are algal cells and EPS molecules, reddish brown
shapes symbolize iron hydroxide, yellowish shapes are clay particles, pink shapes are nickel
hydroxide, and violet crosses represent arsenic.
Fig. 9.3 (a) Drawing of a colony of Dictyosphaerium, showing the ‘connected’ nature of the algal
cells. (b) Photograph of the sheath, likely an EPS compound (Boojum Research, 1994, 1997).
(Photograph by Boojum Research)
living flocculants, removing inorganic particulates, arsenic and nickel from the
water column.
If the algae and associated particulates were relegating the contaminants to
the sediments, the nickel and arsenic removal from the water column should bal-
ance with the arsenic and nickel found in the sediments. To produce this mass
balance, bottom sediments were retrieved at about 35 m depth in several loca-
tions on the pit lake bottom with an Eckman grab sampler. The top 5 cm were
retrieved from the sampler, dried and submitted for elemental analysis, pooling
the samples. The concentrations of relevant elements in the sediment were com-
pared to the sum of the elemental concentrations determined from the sedimenta-
tion traps over eight years. The results were close for the two contaminants, As
and Ni (Table 9.1).
The elemental concentrations in the sediment traps compared well with the
same elemental concentrations in the top 5 cm of the bottom sediment (Table 9.1).
Exceptions were aluminum and iron, with higher concentrations in the sediment
than found in the traps. Aluminum discrepancies can be explained by the presence
of a layer of clay which was placed at the bottom of the pit to cover hazardous
materials before filling. The higher iron concentrations could be explained by grabs
that caught muskeg sediment that would have increased iron concentrations. Given
these numbers, though, the mass balance survived the scrutiny of the company
engineers.
The next step was to support and possibly increase the growth of the phyto-
plankton in the pit lake. In the first couple of years, the phytoplankton population
density was relatively low, and a nutrient limitation was suspected. Using a simple
Redfield ratio (Falkowski, 2000), it was estimated that an addition of 720 kg of
calcium nitrate would probably serve to maintain or increase the biomass, thereby
increasing the polishing capacity (Boojum Research Ltd., 1997; Kalin et al., 2002;
Kalin & Wheeler, 2013). One to two fertilizer applications over time would suffice,
since growth and decay of the biomass would recycle the nutrients within the pit
lake. It is unknown if this recommendation was implemented, as the project ended
in 2003.
Table 9.1 Mass balance for elements found in particulates collected in sedimentation traps
between 1992 and 1999 compared to sediment grab samples
Sediment Sedimentation
Year rate per year g/m2 As Ni Fe Al PO4
1992 28.7 10,472 1.5 1.7 184 161 24
1993 28.7 10,472 3.8 4.7 99 77 22
1994 11.6 4227 7.9 4.5 60 38 8
1995 13 4758 12.8 3.4 62 30 9
1996 3.5 1285 2.7 0.9 26 18 2
1997 2.4 876 6.7 1.1 41 14 3
1998 2.6 931 4 0.9 44 17 2
1999 2 737 2.7 0.4 38 10 2
Totals 33,757 42 18 555 366 73
In Sediment 1999 Depth 0–7 cm 30 17 566 619 57
9.2 Z
inc Removal from Circum-Neutral Gloryhole
Effluent – Newfoundland
Boojum Research was retained in 1988 to evaluate the applicability of using eco-
logical engineering measures at a very complex mining system in Newfoundland.
The old, polymetallic mine operated from the 1920s to 1984, and used the historic
gloryhole method of mining. The ore was taken along the ore veins, dumped on rail
cars into a gloryhole, and then transported through a haulage tunnel to the mill.
Many orebodies were connected to the haulage tunnel, which, at the time of decom-
missioning, was referred to as the drainage tunnel. The major contaminant was zinc,
which would precipitate with oxidized iron at neutral pH. At decommissioning, all
workings were hydraulically connected and nearly all discharged to the Oriental
East Pit (OEP), and thence to the Buchans River. Adjacent to the OEP (pH 5.8 to
7.0) is the Oriental West Pit (OWP; pH range between 2.7 and 3.4) which has no
direct outflow. Both pit lakes did not stratify, but froze during the winter. The com-
bined effluents exiting from the OEP contained between 20 and 25 mg.L−1 zinc
throughout the year.
One of the goals of the project was to lower the concentrations of zinc that flowed
into the Buchans River from the OEP. Since there was a large meadow downstream
from the OEP, Boojum decided to use biological polishing to treat the effluent. A
series of 6 small ponds were constructed and filled with cut brush as substrate for
periphyton growth (Fig. 9.4).
These pilot, biological polishing ponds were shallow, and froze during the win-
ter. Later, these 6 pilot ponds were expanded to cover the entire meadow. The
scaled-up ponds worked only in the summer dropping the zinc concentration to
5 mg.L−1 or below. Winter removal rates were essentially absent. Winter results
were attributed to ice which covered the OEP, preventing oxidation and particle
formation. Since the iron could not oxidize, iron and zinc did not precipitate, hence
no zinc removal. Periphyton on the cut brush collected the iron/zinc particles in the
summer reducing zinc and iron concentrations (Fig. 9.5).
The two scaled-up ponds closest to the OEP, ponds 10 and 14, would have to
cleaned out periodically, as they would fill up with precipitate quite rapidly (see
Fig. 9.6). But, before the ponds could fill with precipitate, the project came to an
abrupt halt, when the mine manager passed away suddenly in 1995. Shortly after,
the responsibility for the site changed hands and a consultancy took over manage-
ment. Boojum obtained system monitoring data from the Newfoundland govern-
ment in 2007, when Boojum representatives visited the site. Upon reviewing the
site, they were stunned, as the alder cuttings, serving as substrates for the periphyton
had been removed. The locals, who had worked with Boojum in the past reported
that the consultancy had requested that all brush be cleaned out of the pools. Shortly
thereafter, a truckload of sugar arrived with instructions to the local caretaker to
deposit it into the OEP. Sugar dissolves and leaves with the water! It was clear from
the government monitoring data, that the ponds had ceased working sometime after
Fig. 9.4 (a) Martin Smith, a Boojum researcher, working on one of the pilot ponds. Note brush in
the pond, used as a substrate for periphyton growth. (b) A schematic showing the pilot-scale ponds
in yellow, and the scale-up in blue. The series of 6 yellow circles extending through pools 14 and
15 were the pilot ponds which served as design criteria for the scale up. First to be scaled up were
pools 10–13 (in lighter blue), followed later by pools 14–17 (darker blue). Yellow arrows denote
direction of flow. The three yellow circles in the lower left were ARUM test cells treating the drain-
age from the waste rock pile. Organics were added to a completely rust-covered sphagnum bog. (c)
Aerial photograph of the OEP and polishing ponds in the meadow below the OEP. All photographs
by Boojum Research.
the consultancy took over management. Ecological systems need to be monitored,

and managed with knowledge of their function.
The effluents from the OEP were not the only challenge. Zinc ore concentrate
(55% zinc) had spilled onto a water-saturated muskeg area below the mill. The acid-
ity values ranged between 1,000 and 10,000 mg.L−1 CaCO3. Here, Boojum recom-
mended pilot tests with CPMW from a shutdown phosphate plant available on the
island. It was anticipated that an application might lead to a hardpan forming a drain
which would precipitate some of the zinc along the way.
The mine manager had established several 5 L open bottom buckets with differ-
ent addition ratios between (1:4 and 1:20) over the muskeg area. The buckets were
sent to the Boojum laboratory after a short exposure of 10 days and after a 3 year
exposure in the muskeg area. In the laboratory, the same routine was used as
Fig. 9.5 Flow and zinc removal from biological polishing ponds at Buchans, Newfoundland over
a period of 13 years. (Data provided by the Newfoundland Ministry of Environment)
Fig. 9.6 Two photographs of periphyton heavily-caked with oxidized iron at each weir within the
pond system and at its edges. (Photograph taken in 2009 by Boojum Research)
described in Chap. 8 with tailings. Supernatants were produced and the samples
were kept under oxidizing conditions. The experiment was terminated after 1200
days (Kalin, 2004). The most important observations were that, regardless of the
mixing ratios, the pH and acidity in the supernatants remained constant or improved
compared to controls (Fig. 9.7a). An application of CPMW would produce lower
acidity and zinc concentrations being discharged into the river. Shortly before his
death, the manager had the local CPMW spread onto the muskeg area with the con-
centrate spill (Fig. 9.8). The project is described in detail in Kalin (2009).
Fig. 9.7 Acidity and pH of bucket samples from the concentrate spill. The acidity (a) and pH (b)
are shown for different ratios of concentrate soil mixtures (w:w, soil:CPMW) over time. Red lines
are two different controls, i.e., no additions of CPMW. These data show a decline (control 2) in pH
after a slight initial increase over the time, or almost no change in pH for control 1. Acidity of
controls remained fairly constant after an initial increase. The best performance was noted in sam-
ple number one with ratio 1:4, indicating that, once reacted, no further acidity was produced
9.3 L
imestone and CPMW Application to Coal Waste Piles –
Nova Scotia
At a coal mining and processing facility in Nova Scotia, metallurgical and lower
grade coal was produced. Four relatively large waste piles were set up as test piles,
where management was addressing various methods of integrating a layer of
Fig. 9.8 Boojum Research personnel monitoring the grass cover on the tailings concentrate spill
in 2009. Photograph by Boojum Research
limestone to reduce acid mine drainage. A fifth pile was added, to which CPMW
was supplemented in the same configuration as the other 4 piles (Fig. 9.9a). All five
piles were heavily instrumented with lysimeters to collect drainage. The work was
carried out by an engineering consultancy.
Four piles produced drainage, but the fifth pile, with CPMW, produced no or
very little drainage. Instead, the layer of CPMW produced large erosion channels
along the sides of the pile. The same consultancy that had set up the test piles was
hired by Boojum to perform an autopsy of all test piles (Fig. 9.9b). An extensive
hard pan had formed within the CPMW pile, but was not found in any of the piles
where limestone was added. The hardpan was extensively documented, and may
have been self-sealing (Fig. 9.9b; Baechler, 1997).
Concurrently, Boojum set up laboratory columns which were monitored periodi-
cally by adding water and collecting effluent (Fig. 9.9c). The two columns with the
yellow or brown stripes produced less and less drainage, eventually plugging.
Boojum monitored the collected drainage from the columns for several years, but
failed to obtain funding to analyze the drainage and complete the data interpreta-
tion. Both the field piles and laboratory columns demonstrated that CPMW could
form hardpans, preventing the penetration of precipitation.
Fig. 9.9 Experiments using CPMW on coal piles in Nova Scotia. (a) Schematic for the application
of both CPMW and of differently-compacted limestone, testing construction of coarse coal waste
piles. (b) An autopsy of all piles showed the pile containing CPMW produced a hardpan, which
reduced infiltration, preventing acidic effluents. Note hardpan layer at bottom of excavated pit with
cracks which were described as self-healing, i.e., closed at bottom of crack. (c) Laboratory col-
umns with hardpan formation seen in rust-colored layers set up in the Boojum laboratory. Column
photograph by Boojum Research, coal pile photograph and schematic by Fred Baechler
9.4 Tailings Hardpan Development Ontario
In general, a hardpan in tailings is desirable, as it prevents or slows penetration of

precipitation, and thus, the oxidation of the sulfides. Ideally, this hardpan should be
generated in the tailings just before the facility is shut down. Boojum experimented
using CPMW in both fresh pyrrhotite tailings and aged uranium tailings.
At a mine site in Sudbury, Ontario. Boojum set up experiments with CPMW
plowed into the fresh tailings (Fig. 9.10a). At this site, straw and grass seed were
crimped into the tailings. At the aged tailings site (a uranium mine in Elliot Lake,
Ontario; Fig. 9.10b), instead of straw, horse manure was crimped with the grass
seed. CPMW was tilled into the tailings with a handheld plow. These measures
Fig. 9.10 (a) Fresh pyrrhotite tailings in N. Ontario. CPMW was plowed into the tailings in the
same fashion as lime would be integrated in tailings for revegetation. Straw was crimped into the
surface and the tailings were seeded to control erosion. (b) The plots on abandoned uranium tail-
ings. The control plots are shown in the foreground, while the plots with the highest CPMW and
organic applications are in the dark area with a Boojum employee. All plots were seeded with
manure and grass seed. (Photographs by Boojum Research)
(grass seed, horse manure, and straw) were used to prevent erosion. Samples from
the plots were collected after a little more than 3 years in the field.
The application of CPMW was expected to form a hardpan to reduce infiltration
of rain and snowmelt. After 3 years, the markers delineating the plots had been lost.
Since it was manually impossible to dig up the plots looking for the hardpan, an
EM39 conductivity meter was used. This instrument performs a geophysical survey
with fixed frequency electromagnetic (EM) profiling techniques employing a
Geonics EM39 instrument. The EM survey was supposed to find differences in
apparent conductivity in plots with and without CPMW additions. The instrument
provided measurements of both the quad-phase (conductivity) and in-phase (mag-
netic susceptibility) components within two distinct depth ranges, simultaneously.
However, the apparent conductivity, ECa, of the plots, which should have indicated
the hardpan, failed because the surrounding conductivity was out of range for the
instrument, i.e., the control plots and the surroundings were highly conductive.
Perhaps if a backhoe had been available, the hardpan would have been found.
Different EMs (EM 31- DL Em31 and Em34-3 instruments were very successful on
the mine site locating boreholes, shafts and adits where acid drainage production
occurred (Kalin & Pawlowski, 1994; Hutchinson & Barta, 2000).
While a hardpan could not be confirmed in the fresh and aged tailings, its pres-
ence in the Nova Scotian coal piles and in Newfoundland concentrate spill suggests
that this approach was worth trying on a larger scale. The application of CPMW has
to be simple, with easily-available equipment. The dosage of CPMW was estimated
by the mine operator based on the same cost of hauling and distributing limestone.
It is hoped that commercial applications of CPMW to actual, large-scale waste rock
piles and tailings will reduce the production of weathering products leading to an
improved quality of drainage, but these tests have yet to be performed.
9.5 D
ecommissioning Concepts Applying ARUM, CPMW
and Biological Polishing – Quebec
Both tools, ARUM and biological polishing, were sufficiently understood at the
time Boojum received a contract to develop a decommissioning plan for a zinc mine
in Quebec. However, at that time, there was only limited evidence to suggest that
microbes and phosphate wastes might be playing important roles slowing pyrite
oxidation. The literature on phosphate and acid mine drainage was growing.
Evangelou (1995), Georgopoulou et al. (1996), and Chen et al. (1997) carried out
intensive studies on pyrite in coal, postulating that direct adsorption of phosphate
molecules onto iron atoms on the pyrite surface leads to the subsequent elimination
of electron transfer between pyrite and oxidizing agents. Boojum thought that appli-
cations of carbonaceous phosphate mine waste (CPMW) to mine waste rock and
tailings might be beneficial in the reduction of sulfide oxidation. Thus, CPMW
application became the cornerstone of the decommissioning scenario.
For Boojum, this mine waste management area in Quebec was the first opportu-
nity to present an environmental management system for an operating mine (Boojum
Research, 1992). All Boojum’s ecological tools were needed, but, most importantly,
tools for reducing sulfide oxidation. Although the waste rock pile was just about
starting the second lift, acid drainage was already destroying the muskeg (Fig. 9.11).
The photograph shows the brown dead muskeg where drainage took its toll. The
green shrubs mark the future path of the ARD drainage. In the distance, a light
brown line can be seen on the horizon. This was a new ditch which would collect
future drainage to the chemical treatment plant. A thorough hydrological reconnais-
sance prior to locating the waste rock might have prevented or lessened the impact.
Cost associated with conventional decommissioning options for a zinc mine in
Quebec were estimated at the start of the 1990s. Operation estimated that decom-
missioning costs would be from $10 to $50 million for the tailings, and $5 to $15
million for the waste rock pile. The mine’s owner engaged the services of Boojum
Research in 1990 to identify a less costly decommissioning scenario. Ideally, this
scenario would not include the operation of a conventional treatment plant, which
would be operated in perpetuity.
A plan by the mine’s owner to neutralize the acid mine drainage produced during
operation would require approximately 5.7 million tonnes of lime over 285 years
and generate 30 million m3 of sludge. The costs and sludge production estimates
were provided by BP Selco. These outrageous numbers argued for a more sustain-
able and less costly alternative. An ecological engineering decommissioning
Fig. 9.11 Aerial photograph of an operating zinc mine in Quebec. Iron oxidation is visible as
brown stain. The light brown line at the horizon is a ditch that had been dug to intercept the drain-
age leaving the property of the mine waste management area. (Photograph by Boojum Research)
concept was developed for the tailings and waste rock management areas, based on
an assessment of an existing water quality monitoring program.
The decommissioning scenario Boojum suggested included adding a layer of
granular CPMW to each waste rock lift. Ditches would be filled with haybales,
initially to reduce the iron loading to the treatment plant. In time, these ditch treat-
ment cells would be covered with floating, living islands, like those described in
Chap. 6. In this proposal, Boojum would build ARUM cells to treat ARD in the
perimeter ditch. Effluents would first encounter a cell containing CPMW to precipi-
tate oxidized iron. The effluents would then enter several ARUM cells to remove
acidity and metals. Finally, the ‘cleaned’ effluents would be directed to the finished
pit. A schematic of the proposed system is shown in Fig. 9.12.
To test the CPMW application to waste rock, three tonnes of variously-sized
rocks were shipped from the mine to the Boojum facility in Toronto. Rocks were
distributed into 12, 55-gallon drums. CPMW was distributed in various ways to the
drums. The drums sat outside for about 3 years, as natural precipitation drained
through them. Details of this experiment are presented in Chap. 8.
Another experiment was set up on site in Quebec. This system was designed to
test applications of CPMW, ARUM and biological polishing to the mine’s effluents.
The pilot treatment system is shown in Fig. 9.13. Here, effluents would enter a tank
with CPMW, removing much of the oxidized iron. The water would then be pro-
cessed first in a biological polishing tank, followed by an ARUM tank, and then
finally a 2nd biological polishing tank. This system was built and treatment was initi-
ated when the mine was sold, and the project terminated.
Fig. 9.12 Schematic showing the flow path of ARD and the proposed ARUM cells to treat it
Fig. 9.13 Overview of pilot test system using CPMW, ARUM and biological polishing to treat
waste rock ARD
The other major source of contaminated effluents was the tailings. In the decom-
missioning scenario developed for the mine, fresh tailings would be plowed with
CPMW and seeded with grass. Boojum was given a completed section of tailings
pond, together with a spigot line for experimentation.
Here, the transport of water through the tailings can be reduced with the forma-
tion of a hardpan within 0.5 m depth of the tailings surface (Fig. 9.14). The tailings
above the hardpan are tilled with organics and grass seeds, as shown in the sche-
matic shown in Fig. 9.14. Heterotrophic microbes living in the organics would
remove oxygen from the upper strata of tailings. The combination of low oxygen
and hardpan would restrict water and air access to the tailings, reducing the produc-
tion of AMD.
The first experiment on fresh tailings involved adding vegetation seeds to the
spigot line. Then, as the tailings were laid down, the seeds would sprout and cover
the tailings with vegetation. However, this result did not occur. Tests carried out
with this option failed, as growth only occurred in cracks of the drying tailings
(Fig. 9.15a).
Field trials were carried out on fresh tailings using erosion control mats. A plot
70 m long by 8 m wide was established in June 1990 over a moisture gradient
Fig. 9.14 (a) Schematic showing the concept of unvegetated (barren) tailings as they dry. Water
and air enter drying cracks oxidizing pyrite in the tailings on the left. (b) Concept of tailings in
which a layer of CPMW is added to fresh tailings, but buried to react in the vadose zone, as exem-
plified in section 9.6. The CPMW (phosphate hardpan) would initiate iron precipitation and, in
part, neutralize the acid. Most important, though, would be the presence of heterotrophic microbes
which would consume oxygen in the vadose zone
which existed along the tailings slope (wet, moist, and dry). Verdyol™ strips
(4.0 × 3.75 m) were used to blanket the tailings. They were further divided into
areas with different arrays of seeds and CPMW. Water penetrating the tailings
should result in development of a low permeability stratum (iron precipitate hard-
pan) beneath the vegetation layer. This will provide suitable conditions for hetero-
trophic (oxygen-consuming) bacteria in the root zone of the grass layer,
conventionally established (Kalin et al. 1993; Fig. 9.15b). Tailings, shortly after
discharge, are not yet totally solid, requiring researchers like Martin Smith to con-
stantly move (Fig. 9.15c).
A reduction in the rate at which tailings oxidize might be achieved if a popula-
tion of oxygen-consuming bacteria (heterotrophs) could be maintained in the root
region of a vegetation cover. Heterotrophs growing in the root zone would consume
the oxygen in the water entering the tailings. Such bacteria have much higher poten-
tial growth rates than chemo-autotrophs and other pyrite-oxidizing bacteria. Boojum
then asked the question: are there any heterotrophic, oxygen-consuming microbes
in fresh tailings? Hence the entire mill circuit was tested for their presence and
viability. Water samples at various stations throughout the mill were plated onto
commercial agar dishes, and the viable colonies were counted (Table 9.2). The
results were clear, tailings have viable heterotrophic microbe populations.
Fig. 9.15 Field experiments to grow grass and vegetation on fresh tailings. (a) Vegetation seeds
were added to the fresh tailings spigot line. Results were not satisfactory, as vegetation only grew
in the cracks. (b) The more satisfying efforts with straw mats and CPMW. (c) Boojum researcher,
Martin Smith, monitoring the grass plots. (Photographs by Boojum Research)
Table 9.2 Bacterial colonies per milliliter of tailings supernatant at various positions along the
mill circuit
Sample Heterotrophic bacterial colonies pH
Sagmill before addition 23 6.7
Sagmill after addition 550 7
Ballmill discharge 0 7.7
Thickener underflow 0 11.5
Thickener overflow 0 12.5
Barren tailings-surface <1 n.d.
Barren tailings-sub-surface 6 n.d.
Tailings beach 1,404,000 8.1
Tailings seepage ditch 1 40,500 2.1
Tailings seepage ditch 2 10,800 4.8
Old Pond 9 2.2
Fig. 9.16 A CPMW, ARUM, and biological polishing treatment system established on a coal tail-
ings dump in Nova Scotia. (a) System shortly after installation. Iron oxidation was occurring
throughout the ditch system. (b) System after installation of curtains and CPMW dikes were con-
structed with the coarse gravel to foster iron oxidation in the first cells only. ARUM cells are shown
as clear of iron. (Photographs taken by Fred Baechler)
9.6 C
PMW and ARUM in a Coal, Tailings Dump
in Nova Scotia
A coal, tailings dump in Nova Scotia produced acidic effluent, which was impacting
the local vegetation (Fig. 9.16). Boojum was tasked with decommissioning the
effluent stream. The concept consisted of ditches which were to pretreat the un-
oxidized iron in the effluent with CPMW. The oxidized iron and other contaminants
would then be treated downstream to remove acidity and metals using ARUM
(Kalin 1993). Finally, as a last step, biological polishing would remove remaining
contaminants. Fig. 9.16a shows the system in the first year after installation. At this
point, iron was being oxidized throughout the ditch system, and fouling hay bales
installed for ARUM. Installation of curtains in the first ditch (Fig. 9.16b), enhanced
the oxidation process, allowing only oxidized iron and contaminants to enter ditches
downstream. A test area with ARUM (and floating cattails) was planned once the
system was working. The effectiveness was evident in the successively clearer water
entering the proposed ARUM area (Fig. 9.16b).
9.7 B
iological Polishing of 226Ra, Iron
and Arsenic – Germany
With the fall of the Berlin Wall, Wismut GmbH became responsible for the remedia-
tion of the East German uranium mining district in the Erzgebirge. Wismut had
experimented with the classical wetland treatment for the removal of iron, arsenic,
uranium and radium. They used plants rooted in wetland sediment which overwin-
tered and regrew above-ground biomass every year. These aquatic plants are referred
to in German as helophytes. The wetland was set up in an old swimming pool. One
side housed a regular wetland with plants rooted in sediment. Iron oxidation was
accomplished using cascade ‘waterfall’ on the left side of Fig. 9.17 shown as a
green bar. The open water side of the pool was used to collect the iron precipitate.
The results were not very satisfactory, and Boojum was ask to implement some of
its ecologically engineered tools.
With iron precipitation in the cascade, arsenic and 226Ra were partially co-
precipitated and removed from the circumneutral water. At the recommendation of
Boojum, mats or curtains were suspended in the open water part of the pool to grow
periphyton and biofilms which were to polish the arsenic, iron and 226Ra. Floating
vegetation islands were tested as a means to supply dissolved organic carbon for
biofilm development (Figs. 9.18 and 9.19).
Both the biofilm curtains and the above-ground plants were added to the pool at
roughly the same time and grew for a maximum of 6 months. The biofilm scrapings
were more effective at contaminant removal than the above-ground vegetation parts
(Table 9.3). However, the root systems of the wetland vegetation were not compared
to the biofilm scrapings. If they had been analysed, the differences might have been
less. One potential drawback of the wetland approach was the potential for food
chain contamination, which would not occur with biofilms and periphyton, as the
latter would, ideally, become biomineralized. Given the radioactivity of the accu-
mulating sediments, they were to be handled as low-level radioactive sludge and
treated as any other sludge from a chemical treatment plant.
The results from the pilot project looked promising so the system was scaled up
(Fig. 9.20a). Shortly after the scale-up, the management of the system was turned
Fig. 9.17 Wismut-designed mine water treatment system with rooted plants receiving water from
the right side for treatment. On the right side, in the open water, Boojum recommended installing
curtains for biofilm formation and floating cattail islands to address fine iron particles. In the fore-
ground some cattail islands grew well, but others were plagued leaf lice. The light blue buckets
were installed to provide a flow-through system for Chara. Growth data were used to derive design
criteria for scale-up
Fig. 9.18 Curtains added to Wismut treatment system to support periphyton and microbial bio-
films. (a) Closeup of one of the curtains, showing periphyton with precipitated iron. (b) Placement
of the curtains in the Wismut treatment system, surrounding floating islands with cattail seedlings
Fig. 9.19 Graph showing the specific activity of 226Ra removal by Chara at different radium con-
centrations. The Chara removal line (dotted) is compared to removal rates by other periphyton
(solid) from the treatment system. The lines suggest that Chara can remove low levels of 226Ra, and
it has a higher affinity for radium than other periphyton, even though there are only a few data
points to support these conclusions. After 6 months in the containers, Chara thalli, starting from an
initial concentration of < 1 Bq.kg−1, had a specific activity of 8700 Bq.kg−1, suggesting that Chara
at high 226Ra effluent concentrations showed a concentration factor greater than 1000
over to a consultancy, which discontinued Boojum’s participation. After Boojum

left the project, Prof. Schubert from the University of Rostock, an expert in Chara
growth, was asked to determine the health of the Chara growing in the ponds. He
compared the photosynthesis of C. vulgaris from an unpolluted reference site
(Fig. 9.20b) and from the bioremediation pond (Fig. 9.20c).
Table 9.3 Table compares the two treatment systems, wetland and biofilm. Here, 226Ra, iron, and
arsenic removal are compared. In the upper box, biofilm/periphyton scrapings from the right-hand
treatment system (including mats and floating vegetation structures) were compared to above-
ground vegetation from the wetland treatment system
Contaminant removed by structures or helophytes
Structures or helophytes Fe mg/kg dry As mg/kg dry Ra-226 Bq/kg dry
Structures designed to remove contaminants
Coconut matting 146,000 19,500 21,000
AQUA-matså 129,000 17,900 22,000
Floating mat – Juncus 136,000 10,400 27,000
Floating mat – Typha 124,000 16,400 34,000
Floting mat – Phragmites 142,000 13,400 35,000
Contaminant concentrations in above-ground biomass of helophytes
Phragmites communis 128–193 3–38 0.05–0.15
Juncus sp. 103–385 3–15 0.05–0.72
Typha latifolia 167–230 7–39 0.17–0.23
Iris pseudacorus 161–340 4–14 0.05–0.82
Contaminants removed by biofilms on mats and by emergent, above-ground plant parts
(Wisutec, 2002)
Aquatic vegetation is labeled as helophytes
Fig. 9.20 Bioremediation ponds in Pöhla (Boojum and Wismut, GmbH), Germany (a). Scale-up
of the pilot test system at Pöhla (b). Non-encrusted C. vulgaris from the unpolluted reference site
near the bioremediation ponds. (c) Heavily encrusted C. vulgaris from the bioremediation pond,
scale bar = 1cm. (Photographs: H. Schubert)
Even though the charophytes from the bioremediation ponds were heavily
encrusted, they maintained photosynthetic activity. However, respiration rates of
non-encrusted C. vulgaris were higher than those of encrusted individuals. After
removal of the crust, rinsed specimens revealed intact thalli which showed similar
respiration rates to non-encrusted Chara (Marquardt & Schubert, 2009). Several
years later, Boojum was informed that the system had been totally shut down. This
was quite disappointing, as so much time and effort had been invested, with excel-
lent support from Wismut. However, Herbst et al. (2019) started to look at utilizing
algae for a mine effluent in the Mansfeld region in Germany.
9.8 D
ecommissioning with ARUM, CPMW, & Biological
Polishing – Ontario
During the operation of a copper/zinc mine in northern Ontario, one million tonnes
of tailings were deposited on a peninsula adjacent to a trophy fishing lake, which
formed the headwaters of the English River. The tailings contained 45% pyrite and
5% pyrrhotite. A chemical treatment plant installation was not feasible since there
was no secured space for the generated sludge. Based on calculations, given the
pyrite and pyrrhotite content, the site tailings were expected to generate acid for
thousands of years (Kalin et al., 1992). For these two reasons, Boojum was con-
tracted to develop a decommissioning plan for the site. With an agreement between
the mine’s operator and the Ontario regulatory agencies, the mine and surroundings
were declared an R&D site in 1986 with the provision that no discharges reach the
trophy fisheries lake. Ownership was returned to the crown, and funding for decom-
missioning was secured for 16 years. An overview of all of the tools and processes
tested on the site is provided in Kalin (2003).
Within the mine waste and water management area, lay a 1 million cubic meter
lake. The mine, when operated, generated drainage and underground seepages,
which were diverted into the lake. Upon Boojum’s arrival, the lake was already at
pH 4. Boojum decided to use this lake as a large treatment pond, and experimented
with a number of tools. Boojum’s efforts were focused mainly on stabilizing and
possibly improving the lake’s water quality, as the outflow joined the trophy fish-
ing lake.
The sources of contaminants were the mill site with remnant concentrate, the
drainage from the underground workings, and groundwater discharge from the tail-
ings. These contaminant sources produced sediments heavily-laden with iron, zinc
and copper. The contaminant loading had to remain in the lake sediments. This was
compounded by the fact that the lake only had a 3-year retention period. Boojum’s
efforts centered on using a combination of biological polishing to sequester the
contaminants in the treatment lake, and ARUM to bio-mineralize the contaminants
in the narrow channel of the lake forming the outflow. A floating cover was initiated
with brush cuttings placed on the ice during the winter. The cuttings extended the
shores of the outflow channel.
Table 9.3 shows a mass balance between contaminants entering the lake and its
sediments. Boojum quantified the tonnage of the major contaminants, copper, iron,
sulfur and zinc. Three time periods were differentiated in preparing the mass bal-
ance. The first period was before any ecological engineering measures were
Table 9.4 Contaminant loading and mass balance for copper, iron, sulfur, and zinc in a biological
polishing lake for three different time periods, based on different treatment regimes
Cu Fe S Zn
Boomerang Lake Load in total tons
in out retain in out retain in out retain in out retain
No Treatment 2.6 0.7 1.9 355 9 345 461 239 221 101 22 79
(1987–1994)
Phosphate and Brush 1.1 0.5 0.6 416 9 407 466 228 238 98 41 57
(1995–1999)
Magnesium (2000–2003) 0.8 0.6 0.2 314 11 303 339 244 95 88 47 41
Sediment Sink in total tons
Sediment (1998) 2 468 na 51
implemented. The second period started when brush cuttings for the attachment of
periphyton were added to the lake. At generally the same time, moss transplants
were initiated, along with a onetime -phosphate fertilization. The third period began
with the experimental suspension of metallic magnesium on barges.
The tonnages of contaminants which were retained in the sediments was esti-
mated by determining the load of contaminants entering the lake (In) minus the load
leaving the lake (Out). The historic or background loadings reported in Table 9.4
have been estimated from sediment grab samples obtained in 1990. The stratum at
5 cm was analyzed and used as background. The contaminant mass balance demon-
strated that ecological measures not only led to the retention of contaminants, but
these measures counteracted any deterioration of the water quality over the three
decades since work began. Extensive documentation of the site can be found at the
Laurentian Library as all the reports are available there under the title, South Bay.
The work carried out employed nearly all processes and tools discussed in this
contribution. They are summarized here.
• Seasonal turnover of the shallow lake caused the iron-rich sediments to oxidize
every year, driving the pH lower. A living moss cover over these sediments was
initiated to prevent seasonal iron oxidation (See Chap. 5).
• Metallic magnesium was used as a means to relatively quickly increase the lake
pH. The method worked, but could not be scaled enough to alter the lake pH (see
Chap. 7).
• Approx. 140 tonnes of ground calcium phosphate mining wastes were added to
the lake water and sediment to stimulate microbial, phytoplankton and moss
cover growth (see Chap. 8).
• Cut brush was placed along the perimeter of the lake to add surface area for the
establishment and growth of biofilms and periphyton and to jump start the pro-
cess of terrestrialization (see Chaps. 6 and 7).
• Oxygen and water ingress into the tailings was slowed with 14 tonnes of calcium
phosphate by forming a hardpan in the tailings, where annual ingress was sus-
pected. The hardpan was expected to reduce seasonal water movement in the
vadose zone and slow the groundwater movement (see Chap. 8).
Boojum terminated cooperation with Ministry of Mines and Northern

Development in 2002 over disagreements about the ownership of the mine wastes
and the associated responsibility. The site was returned to the crown decades ago
with the full approval of the regulatory bodies of the time. To close the project,
Boojum’s client requested that a summary of the contaminant sinks and sources
within the mine waste management area be prepared. The largest sink in the waste
management area was the contaminated lake, with sediments heavily-laden with
iron, zinc and copper. By that time, the ecological measures used on the lake had
matured. The underwater meadow which developed from the transplanted moss,
was completely covering the sediments. The narrow outflow of the lake, where
brush was placed, had begun the process of ‘landing in’ (Fig. 9.21a).
The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines requested a comparison
between the lake water quality monitoring completed by Boojum Research in 2002
and those measured by the ministry in 2013 and 2015. The unexpectedly good lake
water quality in 2015, given the loadings from the contaminant sources, suggests
that the ecological engineering processes continue to work, not only in the treatment
lake (Fig. 9.21a), but in the tailings, as well (Fig. 9.21b). The tailings have a dense
vegetation cover which might reduce infiltration of atmospheric precipitation. A
summary report of the program, along with detailed descriptions of work accom-
plished is detailed Kalin (2003).
Boojum’s ecological engineering tools will retain a large fraction of the metals
within the mine waste management area and with that, a reasonable chance to solve
many of mining’s environmental challenges. All that is needed is a paradigm shift
from thinking about mine wastes as toxic wastes to natural, weathering of uncov-
ered, extreme ecosystems.
Fig. 9.21 The experimental lake and tailings 4 years after Boojum’s departure. The lush green
vegetation (both aquatic and terrestrial) is likely due to the application of CPMW to both lake and
tailings. (a) Periphyton growth on cut brush in the biological polishing lake. (b) The growth of
indigenous vegetation on the tailings after a CPMW addition. (Photographs taken in 2006 by the
University of Windsor)
References
Baechler, F. (1997). Investigation of PERD piles at CBDC VJCPP plant. pp 57. https://zone.biblio.
laurentian.ca/handle/10219/2923
Boojum Research Ltd. (1992). La Mine Selbaie. Decommissioning with Ecological Engineering.
Boojum Research Ltd 88 pages. Retrieved from: https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/
handle/10219/3008
Boojum Research Ltd. (1994). The decommissioning of Buchans Unit and implementation of
biological polishing. Final report / prepared for G. Neary, Buchans Unit, ASARCO. Retrieved
from https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/handle/10219/2969
Boojum Research Ltd. (1997). B-Zone Pit: Limnology 1993–1996 and the Fate of Arsenic and
Nickel: Final Report. Produced for Cameco Corporation as CA105. Retrieved from https://
zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/handle/10219/3037.
Boojum Research Ltd. (2002) Development of a pit lake and fate of contaminants 1992–2001,
pp156 https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/bitstream/10219/2915/1/CA112.pdf
Cao, Y., & Kalin, M. (1999). Phytoplankton in mine waste water community structure, control
factors and biological monitoring. Natural Resources Canada, Biotechnology for Mining.
Contract 23440–8. Retrieved from https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/handle/10219/3015
Chen, X., Wright, J. J. V., Conca, J. J. L. J., & Peurrung, L. L. M. (1997). Evaluation of heavy
metal remediation using mineral apatite. Water, Air & Soil Pollution, 98, 57–78. http://www.
springerlink.com/index/l7l2p67804476680.pdf
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36(1), 3–6.
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ating an iron-phosphate coating on pyrrhotite to prevent oxidation. Environmental Geology,
28(2), 61–69.
Herbst, A., Patzelt, L., Schoebe, S., Schubert, H., & von Tümpling, W. (2019). Bioremediation
approach using charophytes-preliminary laboratory and field studies of mine drainage water
from the Mansfeld Region, Germany. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. https://
doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06552-6
Hutchinson, P. J., & Barta, L. S. (2000). Geophysical applications to solid waste analysis. In The
16th international conference on solid waste technology and management, Philadelphia, PA,
USA (pp. 2–68).
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of 16 years R & D field program pp25. https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/handle/10219/2986
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Chapter 10
The Way Forward
Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden , Michael P. Sudbury, and Bryn Harris
Abstract In the preceding chapters of this book, the authors have described and
highlighted some of the problems facing our world with respect to Climate Change,
and more especially those problems associated with mining and recovering the very
minerals and metals that underpin our modern society, and which are needed to
combat climate change. Extrapolating recent developments, this final chapter iden-
tifies the main problems that mining activities will both face and cause in the future,
and discusses these recent developments, which it is hoped may help to solve them.
The target here is to develop ideas for mining practices which not only do not con-
trast with, but rather, enhance and help to implement the sustainable development
goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN, Department of Economic and Social
Affairs, 2021).
Keywords Heavy metal pollution · Elements · Bioremediation · Sustainability

goals · Ecological niche construction · Ecological engineering · Biogeochemical
technologies · Hydrometallurgy · Metals extraction
In this chapter, the authors express their concerns after having spent their profes-
sional lives in this proud and essential industry. For its survival along with that of
society and the planet, we see the need for a new direction, which we have presented
here. The ecological engineering steps outlined in this book are only the beginning
M. P. Sudbury
Michael P. Sudbury Consulting Services Inc., Oakville, ON, Canada
e-mail: msudbury@cogeco.ca
B. Harris
Dorine Road, Alexandria, Canada
e-mail: bryn@sutekh.org

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84651-0_10
148 M. Kalin-Seidenfaden et al.
for remediation and management of existing tailings, but without more effective
mineral extraction, the integration of ecological expertise into waste and water man-
agement, there will ultimately be too much stress put on the environment, and it will
not be possible for metals extraction to keep up with the demands of society, espe-
cially when taken in conjunction with climate change and the electric future.
Water usage in the mining and metals extraction industry is on a collision course
with society and agriculture. Some of our most important and critical metal ore
deposits will be mined out in a couple of decades or even less, especially if the
anticipated “electric future” is to become a reality. Acid mine drainage, an inevita-
ble consequence of past and current mining practices, has been plaguing us for
hundreds of years and will continue to haunt the industry for many centuries unless
something is done.
Sustainability is possible but only with a considerable effort by the industry to
change direction, which has been outlined with this contribution. The past (and
present) methods are not working to achieve the global sustainability goals set by
the United Nations in 2015 (UN, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2021).
Generally, up to the present, mining, especially base metal mining, has focused
only on one (or two) pay metals of interest, with the rest being regarded as gangue
or nuisance material. This especially applies to iron, sulfur, calcium, magnesium
and aluminum minerals. The favored mineral extraction method today is hydromet-
allurgical, rather than smelting. Hydrometallurgical methods can and should extract
more metals out of the mined ore. This would improve the economics of the opera-
tions and at the same time reduce the global footprint of land consumption of min-
ing wastes, reduce water consumption and hence move towards sustainability. In the
past, environmental issues were largely ignored, it was simply the price to pay. The
Sudbury Basin in Canada is a prime example, the area being akin to a moonscape in
the 1950s now greened, but the drainage remains contaminated. Generally, scien-
tific studies are funded, and the awareness of the public is raised by politics. The
Sudbury Basin today is now unrecognizable from what it was, but it took many
stakeholders working together to recover the local environment.
An ‘outside the box’ approach has been presented in the preceding chapters,
outlining the ecological processes within mine waste and water management areas.
Ecological engineering is viewed by some as a “do nothing option.” While aca-
demia continues to clarify and understand the problem, it is now time to assist with
the solution. A fundamental step in this direction is presented herein. This has to be
further developed, possibly together with Nature Based Solutions. Many scientists
recognize the potential of microbial activities in extreme ecosystems, and it has
been clearly demonstrated that ecologically based processes effectively retain and
fix the toxic metals within the wastes. Moreover, ecological engineering has a low-
carbon intensity and, furthermore can help sequester carbon as biomass and carbon-
ates. Improving water quality fosters biological productivity and results in direct
carbon capture from the atmosphere. Therefore, ecological engineering tools have
an intrinsic potential to support mining to achieve sustainability targets.
The journey of Boojum began in the late 1980s, at a time when biotechnology
was becoming trendy. By serendipity, we followed the same path, albeit only the
10 The Way Forward 149
inhibition of oxidation required microbiological work. A wealth of information has

been placed into the Laurentian library and can be used for teaching and as exam-
ples to improving and expanding the ecological engineering fundaments docu-
mented in the scientific literature. The mining companies participated in the work
with the attitude that “it might work” and hoped that if it did, it would be accepted
by the regulatory agencies, who unfortunately failed to see the value of the approach
and the trust in natural processes. What needs to be done to overcome these con-
cerns is outlined below:
Concern Validity
Lack of Proven Technique for Stimulated biofilms covering sulphidic minerals , showing
Biologically Inhibiting Sulphide longevity with considerable promise, to be economic and
Oxidation practical – research ongoing for 10 years with field tests
Biological Slow Down in Winter Rock Piles have Great Thermal Mass - Algal Systems
continue to function Under Ice (cf. Cod Feeding on Algae
under Arctic Ice)
Contaminant generation also slows down in winter
Lack of Solid Design Criteria - Need for Commercial Scale Piloting – utilizing existing
Capacity and Nutrient Needs demonstrations systems.
Needs input and cooperation of mining company
Limited Capacity to Handle Potentially better tolerance as engineered system,
Droughts, Floods & Dissolved Optimization to extreme situations feasible – extreme
Solids Surges ecosystems, desert or monsoonal areas)
Algal Filtration/Adsorbtion Integration of engineering systems needed gap to be filled
Capacity Scale up on a Volumetric on Optimization processes.
Basis with Depth Limitation (light
need)
Sediment Scale up Limited by Bio-stabilization in sediments needs more knowledge-
Diffusion Across the Interface research funds
(Area Controlled)
The global consequences of inaction are evidenced already in the dramatic

changes in climate, frequent floods, droughts, and water shortages, all factors affect-
ing mining operations intensely. It can only be hoped that in the future the deep
chasms between science and engineering will narrow as application will narrow, as
many disciplines are needed to address mining waste and water.
In conclusion, then, we believe that the mining industry needs a paradigm shift
in the way it operates. It has to be aware of the consequences of mining, in terms of
sustainability (i.e. making the most of finite resources), of land and water usage, and
dealing with legacy mining sites. Improved hydrometallurgical extraction, recover-
ing as much of the valuable components of the ore mined, can play a significant part
in this respect. Hydrometallurgy is also suited for remediating a number of old min-
ing sites and tailings facilities, where metals can be recovered at the same time.
However, in the overall scheme of things, we believe that ecological engineering
will ultimately have the biggest role to play, particularly in allowing historical sites
to be “returned to nature.” There are ample data presented in this book to demon-
strate the effectiveness of this approach. It is far superior to treating AMD in
150 M. Kalin-Seidenfaden et al.
perpetuity with lime. Mining and metals extraction will continue to be essential to
human progress, but current practices have to be modified if we are to protect our
environment and show the appropriate stewardship of our home, the Blue Marble,
planet Earth.
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Related Reading
Chapter 1: Introduction and Weathering
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Chapter 2: Dimensions of Global Mining Waste Generation

and Water Use
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the Chilean coast for water supply to the mining industry. Desalination and Water Treatment,
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Mudd, G. M., & Jowitt, S. M. (2016). From mineral resources to sustainable mining – The key
trends to unlock the holy grail. In Proceedings of the third AusIMM international Geometallurgy
Conference (GeoMet) 2016 (pp. 37–54).
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change. Global Environmental Change, 44, 109–124.
Tost, M., Bayer, B., Hitch, M., Lutter, S., Moser, P., & Feiel, S. (2018). Metal mining’s envi-
ronmental pressures: A review and updated estimates on CO2 emissions, water use, and land
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152 Related Reading
Chapter 3: Toward a Sustainable Metals Extraction Technology
Sovacool, B. K., Ali, S. H., Bazilian, M., Radley, B., Nemery, B., Okatz, J., & Mulvaney, D. (2020).
Sustainable minerals and metals for a low-carbon future. Science, 367(6473), 30–33. https://
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Chapter 4: Waste Management: A Brief History

and the Present State
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q=author:%22Kalin,%20M.%22. Retrieved on 1 Nov 2021.
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tions, recycling strategies, and ecological remediation for mine tailings. Environmental Science
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Chapter 5: Constructed Wetlands and the Ecology

of Extreme Ecosystems
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Salmon, S. U., Hipsey, M. R., Wake, G. W., Ivey, G. N., & Oldham, C. E. (2017). Quantifying
lake water quality evolution: Coupled geochemistry, hydrodynamics, and aquatic ecology
in an acidic pit lake. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(17), 9864–9875. https://doi.
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stormwater runoff: A critical review of the recent developments with emphasis on heavy metals
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Related Reading 153
Chapter 7: Biological Polishing Tool: Element Removal

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tations of charophytes to support threatened species. Plants, 10, 1830–1863.
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Chapter 8: The Biofilm Generation Tool for the Reduction

of Sulfate Oxidation
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What are the main topics covered in the document?

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What is the focus of Chapter 9?

What is the focus of Chapter 9?

Margarete

Mine Wastes and

Mine Wastes and Water,

ISBN 978-3-030-84650-3 ISBN 978-3-030-84651-0 (eBook)

May, 26th 2021

opposition from established consultancies and mining professionals. This led to

Always Solutions Services Gmbh Gustav Habenstein

decommissioning obligations. Decommissioning plans must be supported by long-­

CAMECO, Saskatoon John Jarrell (Retired)

Progress towards long-term sustainable environmental solutions in the wake of cir-

Boojum Research Ltd. Ronald Benn

Mining, as it is currently practiced, is an extremely wasteful pursuit. A space alien

subsequently respected by the industry, culminating with the award of a PhD

Toronto, Canada Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden

oxidative reaction expedited by microbial activity has to be restrained or even inhib-

1 Introduction and Weathering������������������������������������������������������������������ 1

Bryn Harris Alexandria, ON, Canada

Keywords Mining wastes · Mining technology · Mineral processing · Extractive

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

(oxidation) and hence represent long-term environmental liabilities, as evidenced

1.1 Weathering: Contaminant Generation – The Challenge

releases disproportionally greater amounts of elements to ground- and surface

1.2 Difficulties in Predicting Contaminant Generation

Northwest Toe Seepages Southeast Toe Seepages

elemental composition. Large variations in drainage composition were found

Elberling, B. (2004). Disposal of mine tailings in continuous permafrost areas: Environmental

Keywords Conflict of interest · Arable land use · Water resources · Desalination

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 9

2.2 Global Mine Water Usage – Annual Estimates

Table 2.2 Water consumption estimates of global industrial sectors

collision course with civilization’s water requirements, given the well-documented

2.3 Global Mine Lands Usage Annual Estimates

World Population (billions)

Arable land (hectares per

Table 2.4 Cost of desalination plants

Abstract Since metals are essential in modern society, cost-effective, sustainable

Keywords Chloride metal extraction · Sustainability mining wasterock ·

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 17

rocks. Mining, as opposed to processing (grinding and concentrating), represents

• Falconbridge (now Glencore) chlorine leach process (Falconbridge is one of a

3.1 Estimating the Full Extraction Potential of Mined Rock

3.2 Barriers to Higher Recovery of Metals from Mined Rock

3.3 Future Resources: Old Legacies, the Ocean and the Sky

Table 3.1 Metal supplies with identified reserves

This projected shortage is, however, an opportunity from an environmental per-

3.4 Modern Chloride Extraction

Despite a track record of “nonsuccess” of the many chloride-based processes for

3.5 Leaching and Intrinsic Energy Content of Sulfides

Intrinsic energy can be substantially recovered, especially if the feed contains

3.5.1 Iron and Hydrochloric Acid

Iron is the major contaminant in virtually every hydrometallurgical processing cir-

3.5.2 Aluminum and Magnesium

3.5.3 Environmental Aspects

Because chloride is so aggressive, as noted above, it tends to dissolve all metals

3.6 Current State of Development

decommissioning obligations. Decommissioning plans must be supported by long-

Boojum Research Ltd. Ronald Benn

Toronto, Canada Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden

1 Introduction and Weathering�� 1

1.1 Weathering: Contaminant Generation – The Challenge

1.2 Difficulties in Predicting Contaminant Generation

2.2 Global Mine Water Usage – Annual Estimates

2.3 Global Mine Lands Usage Annual Estimates

3.1 Estimating the Full Extraction Potential of Mined Rock

3.2 Barriers to Higher Recovery of Metals from Mined Rock

3.3 Future Resources: Old Legacies, the Ocean and the Sky

3.4 Modern Chloride Extraction

3.5 Leaching and Intrinsic Energy Content of Sulfides

3.5.1 Iron and Hydrochloric Acid

3.5.2 Aluminum and Magnesium

3.5.3 Environmental Aspects

3.6 Current State of Development

4.2 Boojum and Government/Industry Programs

5.1 Constructed Wetlands

5.2 Ecology of Extreme Ecosystems

6.1 Defining the Characteristics of Ecosystems

6.2 Tool for Acid Reduction Using Microbiology

6.2.1 Swampy Drainages and Sediment Mineralization

6.2.2 Ditches/Open Water

6.3 Summary of ARUM Tests in Different Mine Drainages

6.4 ARUM Applications

6.4.1 Brazilian Mine Discharge

6.4.2 Dried Out Lake Sediment: Re-solubilization of Elements

6.4.3 In Situ ARUM Application

7.1 Which Elements Can Be Biologically Polished?

7.1.1 Biological Polishing Model

7.2 Charophytes: A Multitasking Tool in Alkaline Water

7.3 Charophytes as Carbon Sinks

7.4 Algal Blooms: Unchartered Tools for Biological Polishing

7.5 Magnesium Alloys to Support Biological Polishing

7.5.2 Estimating Neutralization Kinetics

8.1 History of Encapsulation Efforts

8.2 Repeating the Experimentation: The Big Surprise