Mining and Water Pollution

Residual sulphide minerals, especially pyrite, in the tailings dumps are unstable when exposed to atmospheric oxygen and undergo oxidation resulting in the generation of acid mine drainage (AMD) and the subsequent release of heavy metals and metalloids (Jambor & Blowes, 1998). The problem of sulphide oxidation and the associated AMD, or more generally acid rock drainage (ARD), as well as the solution and precipitation processes of metals and minerals, has been a major focus of investigation for over half a century (Nordstrom et al., 1979; Morin & Hutt, 1997; Jambor & Blowes, 1998; Nordstrom & Alpers, 1999).