Tailings, the Glossary
In mining, tailings or tails are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore.[1]
Table of Contents
81 relations: Acid mine drainage, Ajka alumina plant accident, Aliphatic compound, Aluminium, Amec Foster Wheeler, Archaea, Bacteria, Beaconsfield Mine collapse, Bentonite, Bituminous geomembrane, Bougainville Island, British Columbia, Brumadinho dam disaster, Buffalo Creek flood, Carbon sequestration, Coal slurry, Comminution, Decay product, Embankment dam, Environmental effects of mining, Environmental impact of iron ore mining, Gangue, Grasberg mine, Groundwater pollution, Heavy metals, Heterotroph, Hyperaccumulator, Indigenous peoples, International Council on Mining and Metals, Iron(II) sulfide, Kalgoorlie, King River (Tasmania), Landfarming, Lihir Island, Methanogen, Mill (grinding), Mine closure planning, Mine reclamation, Mineral Policy Institute, Mineral processing, Mining, Missoulian, Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company, Mount Polley mine, Naphtha, New Guinea, Oil sands tailings ponds (Canada), Ok Tedi environmental disaster, Ok Tedi Mine, Ok Tedi River, ... Expand index (31 more) »
- Environmental impact of mining
Acid mine drainage
Acid mine drainage, acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD) is the outflow of acidic water from metal mines and coal mines. Tailings and acid mine drainage are environmental impact of mining.
See Tailings and Acid mine drainage
Ajka alumina plant accident
An industrial accident at a caustic waste reservoir chain took place at the Ajkai Timföldgyár alumina plant in Ajka, Veszprém County, in western Hungary.
See Tailings and Ajka alumina plant accident
Aliphatic compound
In organic chemistry, hydrocarbons (compounds composed solely of carbon and hydrogen) are divided into two classes: aromatic compounds and aliphatic compounds (G. aleiphar, fat, oil).
See Tailings and Aliphatic compound
Aluminium
Aluminium (Aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has symbol Al and atomic number 13.
Amec Foster Wheeler
Amec Foster Wheeler plc was a British multinational consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
See Tailings and Amec Foster Wheeler
Archaea
Archaea (archaeon) is a domain of single-celled organisms.
Bacteria
Bacteria (bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell.
Beaconsfield Mine collapse
The Beaconsfield gold mine collapsed on 25 April 2006 in Beaconsfield, Tasmania, Australia.
See Tailings and Beaconsfield Mine collapse
Bentonite
Bentonite is an absorbent swelling clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite (a type of smectite) which can either be Na-montmorillonite or Ca-montmorillonite.
Bituminous geomembrane
Bituminous geomembrane (BGM) is a type of geomembrane consisting of a reinforcing geotextile to provide mechanical strength and elastomeric bitumen (often called asphalt in U.S.) to provide impermeability.
See Tailings and Bituminous geomembrane
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: Bogenvil) is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea.
See Tailings and Bougainville Island
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada.
See Tailings and British Columbia
Brumadinho dam disaster
The Brumadinho dam disaster occurred on 25 January 2019 when a tailings dam at the Córrego do Feijão iron ore mine suffered a catastrophic failure.
See Tailings and Brumadinho dam disaster
Buffalo Creek flood
The Buffalo Creek flood was a disaster that occurred in Logan County, West Virginia, on February 26, 1972, when a coal slurry impoundment dam burst, causing significant loss of life and property damage.
See Tailings and Buffalo Creek flood
Carbon sequestration
Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool.
See Tailings and Carbon sequestration
Coal slurry
Coal slurry is a mixture of solids (mined coal or coal waste) and liquids (water or organic) produced by a coal preparation plant. Tailings and coal slurry are waste.
Comminution
Comminution is the reduction of solid materials from one average particle size to a smaller average particle size, by crushing, grinding, cutting, vibrating, or other processes.
Decay product
In nuclear physics, a decay product (also known as a daughter product, daughter isotope, radio-daughter, or daughter nuclide) is the remaining nuclide left over from radioactive decay.
See Tailings and Decay product
Embankment dam
An embankment dam is a large artificial dam.
See Tailings and Embankment dam
Environmental effects of mining
Environmental effects of mining can occur at local, regional, and global scales through direct and indirect mining practices. Tailings and Environmental effects of mining are environmental impact of mining.
See Tailings and Environmental effects of mining
Environmental impact of iron ore mining
The environmental impact of iron ore mining in all its phases from excavation to beneficiation to transportation and beyond may have detrimental effects on air quality, water quality, biological species, and nearby communities. Tailings and environmental impact of iron ore mining are environmental impact of mining.
See Tailings and Environmental impact of iron ore mining
Gangue
In mining, gangue is the commercially worthless material that surrounds, or is closely mixed with, a wanted mineral in an ore deposit.
Grasberg mine
The Grasberg mine has one of the largest reserves of gold and copper in the world.
See Tailings and Grasberg mine
Groundwater pollution
Groundwater pollution (also called groundwater contamination) occurs when pollutants are released to the ground and make their way into groundwater.
See Tailings and Groundwater pollution
pp.
Heterotroph
A heterotroph is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter.
Hyperaccumulator
A hyperaccumulator is a plant capable of growing in soil or water with high concentrations of metals, absorbing these metals through their roots, and concentrating extremely high levels of metals in their tissues.
See Tailings and Hyperaccumulator
Indigenous peoples
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territory, and an experience of subjugation and discrimination under a dominant cultural model.
See Tailings and Indigenous peoples
The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) was founded in 2001, as a CEO-led leadership organization, on the premise of improving sustainable development in the mining and metals industry.
See Tailings and International Council on Mining and Metals
Iron(II) sulfide
Iron(II) sulfide or ferrous sulfide (Br.E. sulphide) is one of a family of chemical compounds and minerals with the approximate formula.
See Tailings and Iron(II) sulfide
Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway.
King River (Tasmania)
The King River is a major perennial river in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
See Tailings and King River (Tasmania)
Landfarming
Landfarming is an ''ex situ'' waste treatment process that is performed in the upper soil zone or in biotreatment cells.
Lihir Island
Lihir Island (a.k.a. Niolam Island) is the largest island in the Lihir group of islands, long and wide, in Papua New Guinea's New Ireland Province.
Methanogen
Methanogens are anaerobic archaea that produce methane as a byproduct of their energy metabolism, i.e., catabolism.
Mill (grinding)
A mill is a device, often a structure, machine or kitchen appliance, that breaks solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting.
See Tailings and Mill (grinding)
Mine closure planning
Mine closure planning involves planning effectively for the after-mining landscape – all activities required before, during, and after the operating life of a mine that are needed to produce an acceptable landscape economically. Tailings and mine closure planning are environmental impact of mining.
See Tailings and Mine closure planning
Mine reclamation
Mine reclamation is the process of modifying land that has been mined to ecologically functional or economically usable state.
See Tailings and Mine reclamation
Mineral Policy Institute
The Mineral Policy Institute is an Australian-based non-governmental organisation that specialises in preventing environmentally and socially destructive mining, minerals and energy projects in Australia, Asia and the Pacific.
See Tailings and Mineral Policy Institute
Mineral processing
Mineral processing is the process of separating commercially valuable minerals from their ores in the field of extractive metallurgy. Tailings and mineral processing are Metallurgical processes.
See Tailings and Mineral processing
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth.
Missoulian
The Missoulian is a daily newspaper printed in Missoula, Montana, United States.
Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company
Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was a Tasmanian mining company formed on 29 March 1893, most commonly referred to as Mount Lyell.
See Tailings and Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company
Mount Polley mine
Mount Polley mine is a Canadian gold and copper mine located in British Columbia near the towns of Williams Lake and Likely.
See Tailings and Mount Polley mine
Naphtha
Naphtha is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.
New Guinea
New Guinea (Hiri Motu: Niu Gini; Papua, fossilized Nugini, or historically Irian) is the world's second-largest island, with an area of.
Oil sands tailings ponds (Canada)
Oil sands tailings ponds are engineered dam and dyke systems used to capture oil sand tailings.
See Tailings and Oil sands tailings ponds (Canada)
Ok Tedi environmental disaster
The Ok Tedi environmental disaster caused severe harm to the environment along of the Ok Tedi River and the Fly River in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea between around 1984 and 2013 and ongoing.
See Tailings and Ok Tedi environmental disaster
Ok Tedi Mine
The Ok Tedi Mine is an open-pit copper and gold mine in Papua New Guinea located near the headwaters of the Ok Tedi River, in the Star Mountains Rural LLG of the North Fly District of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea.
Ok Tedi River
The Ok Tedi is a river in New Guinea.
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Ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals concentrated above background levels, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.
See Tailings and Ore
Overburden
In mining, overburden (also called waste or spoil) is the material that lies above an area that lends itself to economical exploitation, such as the rock, soil, and ecosystem that lies above a coal seam or ore body.
Panguna
Panguna is a town next to the (now decommissioned) Panguna copper mine on Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea.
Phosphogypsum
Phosphogypsum (PG) is the calcium sulfate hydrate formed as a by-product of the production of fertilizer, particularly phosphoric acid, from phosphate rock.
See Tailings and Phosphogypsum
Phosphorite
Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals.
Phytoremediation technologies use living plants to clean up soil, air and water contaminated with hazardous contaminants.
See Tailings and Phytoremediation
Placer mining
Placer mining is the mining of stream bed deposits for minerals.
See Tailings and Placer mining
Pond
A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression, either naturally or artificially.
Porgera Gold Mine
The Porgera Gold Mine is a large gold and silver mining operation near Porgera, Enga province, Papua New Guinea (PNG).
See Tailings and Porgera Gold Mine
Principles for Responsible Investment
Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI or PRI) is a United Nations-supported international network of financial institutions working together to implement its six aspirational principles, often referenced as "the Principles".
See Tailings and Principles for Responsible Investment
Prokaryote
A prokaryote (less commonly spelled procaryote) is a single-cell organism whose cell lacks a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles.
Pyrite
The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula FeS2 (iron (II) disulfide).
Quebec
QuebecAccording to the Canadian government, Québec (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and Quebec (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.
Radioactive decay
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation.
See Tailings and Radioactive decay
Red mud
Red mud, now more frequently termed bauxite residue, is an industrial waste generated during the processing of bauxite into alumina using the Bayer process. Tailings and red mud are waste.
Responsible mining
Responsible mining is commonly defined as mining that involves and respects all stakeholders, minimizes and takes account of its environmental impact, and prioritizes a fair division of economic and financial benefits.
See Tailings and Responsible mining
Sedimentation
Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments.
See Tailings and Sedimentation
Slurry
A slurry is a mixture of denser solids suspended in liquid, usually water.
Spoil tip
A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated spoil – waste material removed during mining. Tailings and spoil tip are environmental impact of mining and waste.
Stoping
Stoping is the process of extracting the desired ore or other mineral from an underground mine, leaving behind an open space known as a stope.
Storm drain
A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, U.S. and Canada), surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to drain excess rain and ground water from impervious surfaces such as paved streets, car parks, parking lots, footpaths, sidewalks, and roofs.
Sulfide
Sulfide (also sulphide in British English) is an inorganic anion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2− or a compound containing one or more S2− ions.
Tailings dam
A tailings dam is typically an earth-fill embankment dam used to store byproducts of mining operations after separating the ore from the gangue.
Tasmania
Tasmania (palawa kani: lutruwita) is an island state of Australia.
Thorium
Thorium is a chemical element.
Underground hard-rock mining
Underground hard-rock mining refers to various underground mining techniques used to excavate "hard" minerals, usually those containing metals, such as ore containing gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, nickel, tin, and lead.
See Tailings and Underground hard-rock mining
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system.
See Tailings and United Nations Environment Programme
Uranium
Uranium is a chemical element; it has symbol U and atomic number 92.
Uranium market
The uranium market, like all commodity markets, has a history of volatility, moving with the standard forces of supply and demand as well as geopolitical pressures.
See Tailings and Uranium market
West Virginia
West Virginia is a landlocked state in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
See Tailings and West Virginia
2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill
The 2000 Baia Mare Cyanide spill was a leak of cyanide near Baia Mare, Romania, into the Someș River by the gold mining company Aurul, a joint-venture of the Australian company Esmeralda Exploration and the Romanian government.
See Tailings and 2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill
See also
Environmental impact of mining
- Abandoned mine drainages in Colorado
- Acid mine drainage
- Acidophiles in acid mine drainage
- Burning the Future: Coal in America
- Care and maintenance
- Coal River (book)
- Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
- Critical Raw Materials Act
- Ecological impact of explosives
- Effects of mining in Nauru
- Environmental effects of mining
- Environmental impact of fracking
- Environmental impact of iron ore mining
- Environmental impact of the oil shale industry
- Eppawala
- Gold cyanidation ban
- Health and environmental impact of the coal industry
- Mercury contamination in California waterways
- Mine closure planning
- Monte Kali
- Mountaintop Removal (film)
- Mountaintop removal mining
- Naturally occurring radioactive material
- NorthMet Deposit
- Orinoco Mining Arc
- Phosphate mining in Banaba and Nauru
- PolyMet Mine
- Quarry
- Rio Tinto (river)
- Sand mining
- Sisson Mine
- Spoil tip
- Surface mining
- Tailings
- Uranium acid mine drainage
- Uranium mining debate
References
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailings
Also known as Culm bank, Culm dump, Deep sea tailings disposal, Mine tailings, Mining tailings, Mining waste, Slickens, Submarine tailings disposal, Tailing Pond, Tailing ponds, Tailings (mining), Tailings pond, Terrikon.
, Ore, Overburden, Panguna, Phosphogypsum, Phosphorite, Phytoremediation, Placer mining, Pond, Porgera Gold Mine, Principles for Responsible Investment, Prokaryote, Pyrite, Quebec, Radioactive decay, Red mud, Responsible mining, Sedimentation, Slurry, Spoil tip, Stoping, Storm drain, Sulfide, Tailings dam, Tasmania, Thorium, Underground hard-rock mining, United Nations Environment Programme, Uranium, Uranium market, West Virginia, 2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill.