Unlocking the Secondary Critical Raw Material Potential of Historical Mine Sites, Lousal Mine, Southern Portugal
A steady supply of mineral raw materials is vital for the transition to a low-carbon, circular economy. The number of active mines in Europe has severely declined over the last century and half, giving rise to many abandoned mining waste sites and corresponding geological heritage. Also, the rise in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Minerals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/14/2/127 |
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| author | Daniel P. S. de Oliveira Pedro Gonçalves Igor Morais Teresa P. Silva João X. Matos Luís Albardeiro Augusto Filipe Maria João Batista Sara Santos João Fernandes |
| author_facet | Daniel P. S. de Oliveira Pedro Gonçalves Igor Morais Teresa P. Silva João X. Matos Luís Albardeiro Augusto Filipe Maria João Batista Sara Santos João Fernandes |
| author_sort | Daniel P. S. de Oliveira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A steady supply of mineral raw materials is vital for the transition to a low-carbon, circular economy. The number of active mines in Europe has severely declined over the last century and half, giving rise to many abandoned mining waste sites and corresponding geological heritage. Also, the rise in minerals demand for large-scale deployment of renewable energy requires the continued and steady availability of key minerals. The supply risk associated with unpredicted geopolitical events needs to be eliminated/mitigated. Historical mine waste sites are the answer but evaluating mine waste is a lengthy and costly exercise. The study, undertaken in the Lousal Mine, used small unmanned aerial systems (sUASs) to model and determine mine waste volumes by generating orthomosaic maps with quick, inexpensive, and reliable results. Calculated mine waste volumes between 308,478 m<sup>3</sup> and 322,455 m<sup>3</sup> were obtained. XRD and p-XRF techniques determined the mineralogy and chemistry of waste, which varied from mineralization and host rocks with hydrothermal alteration and numerous neogenic sulphates (mostly gypsum, rhomboclase, ferricopiapite, coquimbite, and jarosite) related with supergene processes and weathering. The study shows the viability of using these sUASs to successfully model historical mine waste sites in an initial phase and for future monitoring programs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:19:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-18582c3695a947f589e2f21839e3556a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-163X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:19:33Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Minerals |
| spelling | doaj.art-18582c3695a947f589e2f21839e3556a2024-02-23T15:28:31ZengMDPI AGMinerals2075-163X2024-01-0114212710.3390/min14020127Unlocking the Secondary Critical Raw Material Potential of Historical Mine Sites, Lousal Mine, Southern PortugalDaniel P. S. de Oliveira0Pedro Gonçalves1Igor Morais2Teresa P. Silva3João X. Matos4Luís Albardeiro5Augusto Filipe6Maria João Batista7Sara Santos8João Fernandes9Mineral Resources and Geophysics Research Unit, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), Estrada da Portela, Bairro do Zambujal—Alfragide, Apartado 7586, 2610-999 Amadora, PortugalMineral Resources and Geophysics Research Unit, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), Apartado 1089, 4466-901 Sao Mamede de Infesta, PortugalMineral Resources and Geophysics Research Unit, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), Bairro da Vale d’Oca, Apartado 14, 7601-909 Aljustrel, PortugalMineral Resources and Geophysics Research Unit, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), Estrada da Portela, Bairro do Zambujal—Alfragide, Apartado 7586, 2610-999 Amadora, PortugalMineral Resources and Geophysics Research Unit, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), Bairro da Vale d’Oca, Apartado 14, 7601-909 Aljustrel, PortugalMineral Resources and Geophysics Research Unit, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), Bairro da Vale d’Oca, Apartado 14, 7601-909 Aljustrel, PortugalMineral Resources and Geophysics Research Unit, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), Estrada da Portela, Bairro do Zambujal—Alfragide, Apartado 7586, 2610-999 Amadora, PortugalMineral Resources and Geophysics Research Unit, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), Estrada da Portela, Bairro do Zambujal—Alfragide, Apartado 7586, 2610-999 Amadora, PortugalMineral Resources and Geophysics Research Unit, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), Bairro da Vale d’Oca, Apartado 14, 7601-909 Aljustrel, PortugalMineral Resources and Geophysics Research Unit, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), Estrada da Portela, Bairro do Zambujal—Alfragide, Apartado 7586, 2610-999 Amadora, PortugalA steady supply of mineral raw materials is vital for the transition to a low-carbon, circular economy. The number of active mines in Europe has severely declined over the last century and half, giving rise to many abandoned mining waste sites and corresponding geological heritage. Also, the rise in minerals demand for large-scale deployment of renewable energy requires the continued and steady availability of key minerals. The supply risk associated with unpredicted geopolitical events needs to be eliminated/mitigated. Historical mine waste sites are the answer but evaluating mine waste is a lengthy and costly exercise. The study, undertaken in the Lousal Mine, used small unmanned aerial systems (sUASs) to model and determine mine waste volumes by generating orthomosaic maps with quick, inexpensive, and reliable results. Calculated mine waste volumes between 308,478 m<sup>3</sup> and 322,455 m<sup>3</sup> were obtained. XRD and p-XRF techniques determined the mineralogy and chemistry of waste, which varied from mineralization and host rocks with hydrothermal alteration and numerous neogenic sulphates (mostly gypsum, rhomboclase, ferricopiapite, coquimbite, and jarosite) related with supergene processes and weathering. The study shows the viability of using these sUASs to successfully model historical mine waste sites in an initial phase and for future monitoring programs.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/14/2/127historical mine wastesmall unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs)modellingmineralogyLousal mineIberian pyrite belt (IPB) |
| spellingShingle | Daniel P. S. de Oliveira Pedro Gonçalves Igor Morais Teresa P. Silva João X. Matos Luís Albardeiro Augusto Filipe Maria João Batista Sara Santos João Fernandes Unlocking the Secondary Critical Raw Material Potential of Historical Mine Sites, Lousal Mine, Southern Portugal Minerals historical mine waste small unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs) modelling mineralogy Lousal mine Iberian pyrite belt (IPB) |
| title | Unlocking the Secondary Critical Raw Material Potential of Historical Mine Sites, Lousal Mine, Southern Portugal |
| title_full | Unlocking the Secondary Critical Raw Material Potential of Historical Mine Sites, Lousal Mine, Southern Portugal |
| title_fullStr | Unlocking the Secondary Critical Raw Material Potential of Historical Mine Sites, Lousal Mine, Southern Portugal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unlocking the Secondary Critical Raw Material Potential of Historical Mine Sites, Lousal Mine, Southern Portugal |
| title_short | Unlocking the Secondary Critical Raw Material Potential of Historical Mine Sites, Lousal Mine, Southern Portugal |
| title_sort | unlocking the secondary critical raw material potential of historical mine sites lousal mine southern portugal |
| topic | historical mine waste small unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs) modelling mineralogy Lousal mine Iberian pyrite belt (IPB) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/14/2/127 |
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