Abstract
In chapter 6 we described the challenges restoration practitioners (RPs) face when restoring landscapes from waste-rock dumps. Our aim in this chapter is to present what is perhaps a greater challenge: restoring landscapes on tailings storage facilities (TSFs), often called tailings ponds, atmine sites; these TSFs occur around the world. Tailings are the finely ground materials remaining after mining and processing rocks to extract precious metals such as gold, silver, lead, zinc, and copper. After processing, tailings still contain varying amounts of heavy metals and chemical contaminants, which have adverse reactive chemical, physical, and biological properties that present major restoration problems and can threaten human health.
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© 2011 David J. Tongway and John A. Ludwig
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Tongway, D.J., Ludwig, J.A. (2011). Restoration of Mine-Site Tailings Storage Facilities. In: Restoring Disturbed Landscapes. The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-007-1_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-007-1_7
Publisher Name: Island Press, Washington, DC
Online ISBN: 978-1-61091-007-1
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