mine tailings
Ore processing waste
Mine tailings are the waste materials left over after extracting valuable minerals from ore.
This slurry of ground rock, water, and processing chemicals is typically stored in large containment ponds near mining operations.
Tailings can contain toxic metals and pose environmental risks if containment fails: The dam breach released millions of gallons of mine tailings into the river.
- contaminationIntroduction of impurities
- soil contaminationToxins degrading ground quality
- leachingDissolving out by liquid
- flotationAbility to stay afloat
- revegetationRestoring lost plant cover
toxic runoff · heavy metal pollution · ore dressing · pyrite · impoundment · milling · dam failure · environmental disaster · sulfides · arsenic · cyanidation · stabilization · spillage · encapsulation · sedimentation · water treatment · smelting · slag
mine tailingsore
Metal-bearing rock
pay dirt · mother lode · bonanza · raw ore · mineral deposit