National Mineral Waste Databases as an Information Source for Assessing Material Recovery Potential from Mine Waste, Tailings and Metallurgical Waste

We examined the national mine waste registries from seven European countries, created to fulfil the requirements of the “Mine Waste Directive” (2006/21/EC), for their potential use as an initial source of information for the valorisation of specific mine waste deposits for their resource recovery. A...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gorazd Žibret, Bruno Lemiere, Ana-Maria Mendez, Carlo Cormio, Danielle Sinnett, Peter Cleall, Katalin Szabó, M. Teresa Carvalho
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
Series:Minerals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/5/446
_version_ 1797567829282652160
author Gorazd Žibret
Bruno Lemiere
Ana-Maria Mendez
Carlo Cormio
Danielle Sinnett
Peter Cleall
Katalin Szabó
M. Teresa Carvalho
author_facet Gorazd Žibret
Bruno Lemiere
Ana-Maria Mendez
Carlo Cormio
Danielle Sinnett
Peter Cleall
Katalin Szabó
M. Teresa Carvalho
author_sort Gorazd Žibret
collection DOAJ
description We examined the national mine waste registries from seven European countries, created to fulfil the requirements of the “Mine Waste Directive” (2006/21/EC), for their potential use as an initial source of information for the valorisation of specific mine waste deposits for their resource recovery. A set of parameters for mine waste valorisation was defined and divided into three groups: the “basic”, the “metal-centric” and the “material-centric” group. The “basic” group of 19 parameters considers properties of the mine waste deposit, including the location, history, homogeneity and quantity, among others, while the other two groups relate to the two desired material recovery types. The “metal-centric” group of parameters contains the six parameters needed to preliminarily assess the potential to valorise mine waste for metal extraction, while the “material-centric” group contains the nine parameters needed to consider the use of mine waste for the production of different construction materials. National mine waste registries from Slovenia, France, Spain, Italy, UK, Hungary and Portugal were reviewed to determine whether they contain information about each of the parameters. In line with the objectives of the Mine Waste Directive, the national mine waste registries were developed to reduce or prevent environmental damage, and not to enable resource recovery from mine waste. The registries contain most of the information for the parameters in the “basic” group, less information for the parameters in the “metal-centric” group and almost no information to define the parameters in the “material-centric” group. The conclusion is that national mine waste registries could serve only as an initial source of information, and more detailed information must be obtained from other sources. This misses an opportunity to see these sites as a resource, and not only as a potential source of pollution, given the urgent need to find alternative stocks of metals within the EU (European Union).
first_indexed 2024-03-10T19:48:01Z
format Article
id doaj.art-d01db960f7934009b202be70eae52e62
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2075-163X
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-10T19:48:01Z
publishDate 2020-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Minerals
spelling doaj.art-d01db960f7934009b202be70eae52e622023-11-20T00:40:28ZengMDPI AGMinerals2075-163X2020-05-0110544610.3390/min10050446National Mineral Waste Databases as an Information Source for Assessing Material Recovery Potential from Mine Waste, Tailings and Metallurgical WasteGorazd Žibret0Bruno Lemiere1Ana-Maria Mendez2Carlo Cormio3Danielle Sinnett4Peter Cleall5Katalin Szabó6M. Teresa Carvalho7Department of Mineral Resources and Geochemistry, Geological Survey of Slovenia, Dimičeva ulica 14, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaBRGM, F-45060 Orléans, FranceMines and Energy School, Technical University of Madrid, 28004 Madrid, SpainSERENGEO Srl, Via A. Costa 165, 40134 Bologna, ItalyCentre for Sustainable Planning and Environments, University of the West of England, BS16 1QY Bristol, UKSchool of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UKMining and Geological Survey of Hungary, Columbus utca 17-23, 1590 Budapest, HungaryCERENA, DECivil, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, PortugalWe examined the national mine waste registries from seven European countries, created to fulfil the requirements of the “Mine Waste Directive” (2006/21/EC), for their potential use as an initial source of information for the valorisation of specific mine waste deposits for their resource recovery. A set of parameters for mine waste valorisation was defined and divided into three groups: the “basic”, the “metal-centric” and the “material-centric” group. The “basic” group of 19 parameters considers properties of the mine waste deposit, including the location, history, homogeneity and quantity, among others, while the other two groups relate to the two desired material recovery types. The “metal-centric” group of parameters contains the six parameters needed to preliminarily assess the potential to valorise mine waste for metal extraction, while the “material-centric” group contains the nine parameters needed to consider the use of mine waste for the production of different construction materials. National mine waste registries from Slovenia, France, Spain, Italy, UK, Hungary and Portugal were reviewed to determine whether they contain information about each of the parameters. In line with the objectives of the Mine Waste Directive, the national mine waste registries were developed to reduce or prevent environmental damage, and not to enable resource recovery from mine waste. The registries contain most of the information for the parameters in the “basic” group, less information for the parameters in the “metal-centric” group and almost no information to define the parameters in the “material-centric” group. The conclusion is that national mine waste registries could serve only as an initial source of information, and more detailed information must be obtained from other sources. This misses an opportunity to see these sites as a resource, and not only as a potential source of pollution, given the urgent need to find alternative stocks of metals within the EU (European Union).https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/5/446tailingsminingresource recoveryconstruction materialsmetalsraw materials
spellingShingle Gorazd Žibret
Bruno Lemiere
Ana-Maria Mendez
Carlo Cormio
Danielle Sinnett
Peter Cleall
Katalin Szabó
M. Teresa Carvalho
National Mineral Waste Databases as an Information Source for Assessing Material Recovery Potential from Mine Waste, Tailings and Metallurgical Waste
Minerals
tailings
mining
resource recovery
construction materials
metals
raw materials
title National Mineral Waste Databases as an Information Source for Assessing Material Recovery Potential from Mine Waste, Tailings and Metallurgical Waste
title_full National Mineral Waste Databases as an Information Source for Assessing Material Recovery Potential from Mine Waste, Tailings and Metallurgical Waste
title_fullStr National Mineral Waste Databases as an Information Source for Assessing Material Recovery Potential from Mine Waste, Tailings and Metallurgical Waste
title_full_unstemmed National Mineral Waste Databases as an Information Source for Assessing Material Recovery Potential from Mine Waste, Tailings and Metallurgical Waste
title_short National Mineral Waste Databases as an Information Source for Assessing Material Recovery Potential from Mine Waste, Tailings and Metallurgical Waste
title_sort national mineral waste databases as an information source for assessing material recovery potential from mine waste tailings and metallurgical waste
topic tailings
mining
resource recovery
construction materials
metals
raw materials
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/5/446
work_keys_str_mv AT gorazdzibret nationalmineralwastedatabasesasaninformationsourceforassessingmaterialrecoverypotentialfromminewastetailingsandmetallurgicalwaste
AT brunolemiere nationalmineralwastedatabasesasaninformationsourceforassessingmaterialrecoverypotentialfromminewastetailingsandmetallurgicalwaste
AT anamariamendez nationalmineralwastedatabasesasaninformationsourceforassessingmaterialrecoverypotentialfromminewastetailingsandmetallurgicalwaste
AT carlocormio nationalmineralwastedatabasesasaninformationsourceforassessingmaterialrecoverypotentialfromminewastetailingsandmetallurgicalwaste
AT daniellesinnett nationalmineralwastedatabasesasaninformationsourceforassessingmaterialrecoverypotentialfromminewastetailingsandmetallurgicalwaste
AT petercleall nationalmineralwastedatabasesasaninformationsourceforassessingmaterialrecoverypotentialfromminewastetailingsandmetallurgicalwaste
AT katalinszabo nationalmineralwastedatabasesasaninformationsourceforassessingmaterialrecoverypotentialfromminewastetailingsandmetallurgicalwaste
AT mteresacarvalho nationalmineralwastedatabasesasaninformationsourceforassessingmaterialrecoverypotentialfromminewastetailingsandmetallurgicalwaste