MINPOLLCONTROL

"Mining wastes bio/weathering, pollution control and monitoring"

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Mining in the State of Minas Gerais (Brazil) is one of the activites with the strongest impact on the environment: heavy metals (Zn, Cd and Pb) and metalloids (As) pollute surface water, sediments and irrigated agricultural soils. This is a major drawback of this economical important activity. This project will focus on pollution of zinc mining activities in this Brazilian region. The pluridisciplinar aspect of this project (geology, mineralogy, environmental chemistry, microbiology and environmental biotechnology research fields) will first require an advanced training and knowledge transfer program through the organization a Summer-school (WP 1) that will be held in Belo Horizonte (Brazil). The research aspect of the project consists of 4 Work Packages. WP 2 studies mine wastes mineralogy and weathering (monitoring and risk assessments) in the surrounding of zinc mines. WP 3 describes metallurgical wastes mineralogy and weathering in the surrounding of zinc refinery plants. WP4 aims to develop an acid mine drainage treatment and metal recovery process with the help of biotechnological approaches and WP5 assesses the impact on agricultural irrigated polluted soils located downstream the mining and ore processing areas of Rio São Francisco. For each research WP advanced analytical techniques (i.e. X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscope, Raman…) will be applied to study the mineralogy, the chemical composition (including heavy metals and metalloids speciation), the weathering and leachability of inorganic pollutants from mine waste and metal refinery wastes, soil pollution and mine drainage remediation. Equilibrated exchange of experienced and early stage researchers between involved partners will allow to establish high-quality research and knowledge transfer. WP 6 will synthesize and disseminate the findings of the project by the organization of an international symposium dedicated to mining pollutions and remediation technologies'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Brazilian researchers have identified and tested new technologies to recover zinc and other metals from mine and refinery waste.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Mining for heavy metals like zinc is a vital economic activity in the age of electronics, but has a major negative impact on the environment. Depletion of high-quality ore reserves and the need for environmentally friendly industry means that there is a demand for new technologies to recover heavy metals from mine and refinery wastes.

The EU-funded 'Mining wastes bio/weathering, pollution control and monitoring' (MINPOLLCONTROL) project set out to reduce pollution from zinc mining and processing activities in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

MINPOLLCONTROL started with an advanced training programme to help researchers get to grips with the multidisciplinary approach to be used for the project. Training covered geology, mineralogy, chemistry and biotechnology methods associated with mine and refinery wastes analysis and treatment.

Researchers concentrated on an in-depth analysis of the mineral content of and effects of weathering on sludge and other zinc mine and refinery wastes. The project also reviewed a wide range of technologies to recycle or leach minerals from these waste sites, and proposed strategies for reuse.

The major findings of MINPOLLCONTROL were summed up during an international Symposium on Mining Activities, Refineries, Pollution Control and Remediation Strategies. This work will have significant impact on the sustainability of the mining industry.