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Geology’s Role in the Major Issues Facing Society
Published in Aurèle Parriaux, Geology, 2018
Before Man had machines, his actions were very limited in space and scope. Even so, pollution existed. Traditional crafts had developed significantly and they certainly caused pollution. For example, the tanning of hides required large quantities of mercury, which caused high mortality rates among persons who practiced this profession and also caused the contamination of these sites. We find traces of these sites even today. Traditional mining that produced metals were also sources of pollution. The first human populations in cities of this period caused serious microbiological pollution of the water. Sanitary conditions in cities were disastrous: sewers flowed directly into streets and houses often used water from wells located near the sewers. This biological pollution has left only historical evidence.
Phytomining of Valuable Metals/Metalloids from Mining Wastes, Tailings and Contaminated Soils
Published in Hossain Md Anawar, Vladimir Strezov, Abhilash, Sustainable and Economic Waste Management, 2019
Hossain Md Anawar, Md Zabed Hossain, I. Santa-Regina, Vladimir Strezov, Farjana Akter
In addition to the recovery of valuable metals from waste materials, phytomining augments the soil carbon, nutrients and biological activity, thereby increasing the sustainable closure of mining sites, ecological restoration and revegation of eroded soils caused by traditional mining (Brooks et al., 1998). Phytomining requires reduced energy and resources and has less effect on the environment (Robinson et al., 2003).
Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Ultrasound on Lixiviant Ion Migration in In-Situ Recovery Processing
Published in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 2023
Elahe Karami, Laura Kuhar, Andrej Bona, Aleksandar N. Nikoloski
Gold and copper deposits tend to have grades of less than 1 g/t or 0.62%, respectively. Traditional mining methods, such as open pit mining or underground mining, are used to extract ore from these mineral deposits. Conventional mining methods are becoming more challenging, in part because they require physical excavation, which can be extremely energy-intensive and expensive. Gangue minerals must be removed during mining operations, which results in significant waste production. It is also costly to move and store the extracted rocks afterward. As a result, the sustainability of current mining techniques in ore deposits such as gold and copper is declining, which has necessitated the development of new techniques. One alternative option is in-situ recovery (ISR), which involves using a lixiviant solution to remove metals from valuable minerals without rock excavation.