Abstract
Approaches to reutilization of diamond clay tailings in northern environments are considered in the example of the Subarctic region of Russia. The monitoring studies are conducted at storage facilities of Severalmaz PJSC where ca. 14 million cubic meters of waste rock are produced annually after kimberlite mining and processing. The tailings of diamond ore dressing waste are situated in complex geological conditions of high-groundwater influx and harsh cold climate with low levels of solar radiation and the average annual temperature below freezing point. Furthermore, the adjoining protected forests with a significant diversity of biogeocenoses and salmon-spawning rivers are affected by the storage area. Reducing the impact of the tailings can be achieved through the reuse of the stored clay magnesia rocks obtained from saponite-containing suspension. The experiments reveal the most promising ways of their application as potential secondary mineral raw materials: cement clinker and ceramics manufacture, integration of alkaline clay into the reclamation of acidic peat bogs, and production of aqueous clay-based drilling fluid. Field and laboratory tests expose the advantages and prospects of each suggested treatment technique.
Highlights
IntroductionMineral Processing Waste as An Environmental Issue
Bottom sediments in the pond sector of the tailings are represented by reddish-brown clay consisting of saponite, quartz (10–12%), calcite
In the upper part of the pond zone, water practically does not contain solids; an underlying stratum of an aqueous suspension is made up by saponite, quartz (5%), illite (3%), and kaolinite (2%)
Summary
Mineral Processing Waste as An Environmental Issue. The issue of mining and processing left-overs and their impact on the adjoining landscapes is one of the most acute for the commodity sector, and the development of novel waste management technologies is urgent. In the areas of mining and processing enterprises, storage facilities of mineral waste are among the main sources of disturbance and pollution of all the media of the natural environment [1,2,3]. Up to the present time, the dominant waste management technique of the mineral resource complex is surface storage, affecting the ecological situation over areas of millions of hectares, transforming ecosystems, worsening the sanitary and hygienic situation, and destroying natural resources [4,5]
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