Effect of the alkaline industrial residues fly ash, green liquor dregs, and lime mud on mine tailings oxidation when used as covering material

The potential to use the alkaline residue products fly ash, green liquor dregs, and lime mud originating from paper mills as dry cover materials to seal tailings has been investigated. Metals concentration in lime mud and fly ash had the lowest and highest contents, respectively. The tailings (<1 % sulfur content, primarily pyrite) were disposed about 50 years ago and originated from the former Rönnskär mine site in Sweden. The results of chemical composition analysis show that the raw unoxidized tailings are active toward oxidation, while the components of the adjacent oxidized tailings are not. To quantify the release of metals from the tailings and to evaluate the effect of a sealing layer on oxidation and weathering of the tailings, batch leaching tests were conducted in which leachate from alkaline residue materials was fed to the tailings. The results show that a higher concentration of most trace elements is leached from the unoxidized tailings than from the oxidized tailings. Except As and Cr, the rest of analyzed metals (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb) became immobilized in response to the increased pH as a consequence of the amendment. The three tested alkaline amendments show a similar potential for preventing the release of metals (with the exception of As and Cr) from the tailings. Under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions, microbial activity was found to be of minor importance. XRD analysis of the field samples revealed that it was feasible to use alkaline residue products in covering tailings, and that it was advantageous to use ash as a cover material more than dregs.