Mine waste refers to the solid and liquid residues generated during mineral exploration, extraction, beneficiation, and refining, including waste rock, tailings, slag, and process effluents. As a research topic, it encompasses the characterization of mineralogical and geochemical composition, contaminant speciation and mobility (e.g., metals, metalloids, acid mine drainage), and physical behavior such as stability and erosion. Studies focus on environmental impacts on soil, water, and biota, risk assessment, and development of mitigation and remediation strategies, including covers, treatment systems, and valorization or reuse approaches within circular economy and sustainable mining frameworks.
Thousands of open cut mines lie abandoned worldwide, while more stringent mine site rehabilitation laws in Australia are paving the way for improved long-term restoration efforts.
Environment
Dec 9, 2025
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17
Scientists from Heriot-Watt and the University of South Africa have developed a method to convert hazardous acid mine drainage into a valuable resource for drinking water treatment, offering hope for communities living near ...
Environment
Dec 3, 2025
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32
Three million gallons of acidic mine drainage flooded into the Animas River basin 10 years ago, turning the southern Colorado river a mustard yellow and making international headlines.
Environment
Sep 1, 2025
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41
All the critical minerals the U.S. needs annually for energy, defense and technology applications are already being mined at existing U.S. facilities, according to a new analysis published in the journal Science.
Earth Sciences
Aug 22, 2025
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594
Decades of gold mining at Giant Mine in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, has left a toxic legacy: 237,000 tons of arsenic trioxide dust stored in underground chambers.
Environment
Jul 23, 2025
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30
Mining is essential to modern lifestyles. Copper, iron and other mined products are vital to the products many people take for granted, like electronic devices. Being able to buy these goods quite easily may give a person ...
Environment
May 26, 2025
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61
On February 18, contamination in the Kafue river, Zambia, led to a mass death of fish. Its water turned a deathly gray and adjacent farmland was poisoned. The drinking water it supplied to half a million residents of the ...
Environment
Apr 28, 2025
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19
An aluminum tab from a drinks can found encased in a new form of rock on the Cumbrian coastline has helped provide scientists with a shocking new insight into the impact of human activity on Earth's natural processes and ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 28, 2025
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86
Mountain snowpacks accumulate snow throughout the winter, building up stores of water that will supply communities across the American West throughout the long dry season.
Earth Sciences
Apr 2, 2025
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34
A low-value byproduct of the coal mining process is proving highly effective at helping reclaim the land and water used in mining, University of Alberta research shows.
Nanomaterials
Jul 22, 2021
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