How do you neutralize acid mine drainage?
The most prevalent method for treating AMD contamination is the addition of alkaline reagents such as lime, limestone, sodium carbonate or sodium hydroxide. This treatment aims at neutralizing acidic water and the precipitation of heavy metals.
How do you fix acid mine drainage?
Some common methods include: Reclamation of contaminated land by (1) adding lime or other alkaline materials to neutralize the acidity, and (2) adding uncontaminated top soil, planting vegetation, and modifying slopes to stabilize the soil and reduce infiltration of surface water into underlying contaminated material.
Is acid mine drainage harmful to humans?
Heavy metals can be leached from rocks that come in contact with the acid, a process that may be substantially enhanced by bacterial action. The resulting fluids may be highly toxic and, when mixed with groundwater, surface water and soil, may have harmful effects on humans, animals and plants.
What are the environmental implications of acid rock drainage?
Impacts of acid mine and acid rock drainage Low pH values and high metal concentrations is harmful to fish and other aquatic life, and affects the ability of water to be used for drinking and for recreational purposes such as fishing. It also causes corrosion on infrastructure like bridges.
What types of mining are most responsible for acid mine drainage?
The most commonly mined ore of copper, chalcopyrite, is itself a copper-iron-sulfide and occurs with a range of other sulfides. Thus, copper mines are often major culprits of acid mine drainage.
What is acid mine drainage and how it affects human and environment?
The formation of acid mine drainage and the contaminants associated with it have been described as the largest environmental problem facing the U.S. mining industry. 1 Acid mine drainage occurs when sulfide minerals in the waste rock react with air and water to form sulfuric acid.
Why is acid drainage toxic to fish?
Once acid drainage is created, metals are released into the surrounding environment, and become readily available to biological organisms. In water, for example, when fish are exposed directly to metals and H+ ions through their gills, impaired respiration may result from chronic and acute toxicity.
What is acid drainage and where does it come from in a mining context?
In a nutshell, acid mine drainage is a form of water pollution that happens when rain, runoff, or streams come in contact with rock that is rich in sulfur. Other harmful elements like lead, copper, arsenic, or mercury may also be stripped from the rocks by the acidic water, further contaminating the stream.
Why do you think pyrite is such a large contributor to acid mine drainage?
When mineral deposits that contain sulfides are mined, they have the potential to produce acid mine drainage. Pyrite is one of the most important sulfides found in the waste rock of mines. When exposed to water and oxygen, it can react to form sulfuric acid (H2SO4).
What is acid mine drainage and how can it be toxic to fish?
Acid mine drainage is predominantly caused by the weathering of pyrite. Pyrite oxidises to produce very acidic waters (pH < 3), which can solubilise heavy metals and other toxic elements and cause them to be transported downstream, eventually ending up in the sea (Pentreath.
What is acid drainage and where does it come from in a mining context Why can such drainage be toxic to fish quizlet?
10. What is acid drainage and where does it come from in a mining contex? Strip mining exposes sulfide minerals, which react with oxygen and water to produce sulfuric acid. This enters waterways, creating acid mine drainage.
What substances are released into water in acid mine drainage quizlet?
Acid mine drainage (AMD) is water contaminated when pyrite (iron sulfide) is exposed to air and water. The exposure often results in reactions that form sulfuric acid and dissolved iron.
What are the two main types of mineral extraction?
There are several different ways minerals can be extracted from the earth, but the two main methods are called surface mining and subsurface mining.
What does the mining law of 1872 say quizlet?
Mining Act 1872: The General Mining Act of 1872 is a United States federal law that authorizes and governs prospecting and mining for economic minerals, such as gold, platinum, and silver, on federal public lands.
What are the basic steps in reclaiming a mining site?
Steps of a Mine Closure Plan Remediation: Cleaning up contaminated areas by removing/isolating contaminants. Reclamation: Physically stabilizing the terrain, landscaping, restoring topsoil, and returning land to a useful purpose. Restoration: Rebuilding the ecosystem that existed at the site before it was disturbed.
What land is available for purchase under the General Mining Law of 1872?
All citizens of the United States of America 18 years or older have the right under the 1872 mining law to locate a lode (hard rock) or placer (gravel) mining claim on federal lands open to mineral entry. These claims may be located once a discovery of a locatable mineral is made.
What does the General Mining Act of 1872 allow you to do?
The General Mining Law of 1872 regulates the mining of certain mineral resources on federal public domain lands. The law permits individuals and corporations to prospect on public domain lands and to stake claims on mineral discoveries they make.
What is the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act?
The Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2015 amends the 1872 mining law by eliminating patenting of federal lands. Requires an exploration permit and mining operations permit for non-‐casual mining operations on federal land, and be valid for 30 years and continue as long as commercial production occurs.
Why is the Smcra of 1977 so important?
The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) stands alone among environmental statutes because of its dual, competing goals: Congress enacted SMCRA to promote coal mining to provide the nation with an important source of fuel, while also minimizing mining’s environmental impacts.
Which country is the largest producer of mica?
China