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Younger, P. L. (1997). Minewater treatment using wetlands. Water and Environment Manager, 2(4), 11.
Abstract: Experiences gained by the UK Mining Industry and effluent treatment companies in theuse of wetlands for treating minewaters are discussed. Discharges from abandoned mines is a major cause of freshwater pollution in some regions. Key topics relating to the use of wetlands for minewater treatment will be discussed at a CIWEM conference in Newcastle on 5 September 1997.
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Banks, D., Younger, P. L., Arnesen, R. - T., Iversen, E. R., & Banks, S. B. (1997). Mine-water chemistry: The good, the bad and the ugly. Environ. Geol., 32(3), 157–174.
Abstract: Contaminative mine drainage waters have become one of the major hydrogeological and geochemical problems arising from mankind's intrusion into the geosphere. Mine drainage waters in Scandinavia and the United Kingdom are of three main types: (1) saline formation waters; (2) acidic, heavy-metal-containing, sulphate waters derived from pyrite oxidation, and (3) alkaline, hydrogen-sulphide-containing, heavy-metal-poor waters resulting from buffering reactions and/or sulphate reduction. Mine waters are not merely to be perceived as problems, they can be regarded as industrial or drinking water sources and have been used for sewage treatment, tanning and industrial metals extraction. Mine-water problems may be addressed by isolating the contaminant source, by suppressing the reactions releasing contaminants, or by active or passive water treatment. Innovative treatment techniques such as galvanic suppression, application of bactericides, neutralising or reducing agents (pulverised fly ash-based grouts, cattle manure, whey, brewers' yeast) require further research.
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Younger, P. L., & Cornford, C. (2002). Mine water pollution from Kernow to Kwazulu-Natal; geochemical remedial options and their selection in practice.
Abstract: Pollution by mine drainage is a major problem in many parts of the world. The most frequent contaminants are Fe, Mn, Al and SO (sub 4) with locally important contributions by other metals/metalloids including (in order of decreasing frequency) Zn, Cu, As, Ni, Cd and Pb. Remedial options for such polluted drainage include monitored natural attenuation, physical intervention to minimise pollutant release, and active and passive water treatment technologies. Based on the assessment of the key hydrological and geochemical attributes of mine water discharges, a rational decision-making framework has now been developed for deciding which (or which combinations) of these options to implement in a specific case. Five case studies illustrate the application of this decision-making process in practice: Wheal Jane and South Crofty (Cornwall), Quaking Houses (Co Durham), Hlobane Colliery (South Africa) and Milluni Tin Mine (Bolivia). In many cases, particularly where the socio-environmental stakes are particularly high, the economic, political and ecological issues will prove even more challenging than the technical difficulties involved in implementing remedial interventions which will be robust in the long term. Hence truly “holistic” mine water remediation is a multi-dimensional business, involving teamwork by a range of geoscientific, hydroecological and socio-economic specialists.
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Younger, P. L. (2000). Holistic remedial strategies for short- and long-term water pollution from abandoned mines. Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy Section a-Mining Technology, 109, A210–A218.
Abstract: Where mining proceeds below the water-table-as it has extensively in Britain and elsewhere-water ingress is not only a hindrance during mineral extraction but also a potential liability after abandonment. This is because the cessation of dewatering that commonly follows mine closure leads to a rise in the water-table and associated, often rapid, changes in the chemical regime of the subsurface. Studies over the past two decades have provided insights into the nature and time-scales of these changes and provide a basis for rational planning of mine-water management during and after mine abandonment. The same insights into mine-water chemistry provide hints for the efficient remediation of pollution (typically due to Fe, Mn and Al and, in some cases, Zn, Cd, Pb and other metals). Intensive treatment (by chemical dosing with enhanced sedimentation or alternative processes, such as sulphidization or reverse osmosis) is often necessary only during the first few years following complete flooding of mine voids. Passive treatment (by the use of gravity-flow geochemical reactors and wetlands) may be both more cost-effective and ecologically more responsible in the long term. By the end of 1999 a total of 28 passive systems had been installed at United Kingdom mine sites, including examples of system types currently unique to the United Kingdom. Early performance data for all the systems are summarized and shown to demonstrate the efficacy of passive treatment when appropriately applied.
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Jarvis, A. P., & Younger, P. L. (1999). Design, construction and performance of a full-scare compost wetland for mine-spoil drainage treatment at quaking houses. Jciwem, 13(5), 313–318.
Abstract: Acidic spoil-heap drainage, containing elevated concentrations of iron, aluminium and manganese, has been polluting the Stanley Burn in County Durham for nearly two decades. Following the success of a pilot-scale wetland (the first application of its kind in Europe), a full-scale wetland was installed. Waste manures and composts have been used as the main substrate which is contained within embankments constructed from compacted pulverized fuel ash. The constructed wetland, which cost less than £20,000 to build, has consistently reduced iron and aluminium concentrations and has markedly lowered the acidity of the drainage. A third phase of activities at the site aims to identify and eliminate pollutant-release 'hot spots' within the spoil.
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