Experimental Study on Acid Mine Drainage Treatment Using Mine Tailings of Xiangsi Valley, Tongling, China
铜陵相思谷尾矿用于处理酸性矿山排水的实验研究

Mine tailings in Xiangsi Valley, Tongling, China, is a typical skarn-type tailing with high contents of carbonates. This study designed dynamic leaching experiments to investigate the efficiency of this tailing under the acid mine drainage treatment. During 80 d trial period, the physical and chemical properties of influents were fixed and the effluents were monitored. After the trial, the speciation of Fe, Cu and Zn in solid was analyzed. The results showed that during the trial period, pH value maintained above 7.5. Moreover, the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe ions in effluents kept below 0.1, 0.4 and 1 mg·L-1, respectively. In addition, the permeability coefficient of experimental column kept decreasing during the experimental period (from 0.23 cm·s-1 to 0.10 cm·s-1). Five-step sequential extraction method was employed to study the distribution of elements at different depths. The results showed that Cu2+, Zn2+were removed mainly through sorption and precipitation. This study indicates that Tongling skarn mine tailings have strong acid neutralization as well as heavy metal binding capacities. Therefore, the authors suggest that this mine tailing, which used to be waste, has a potential in AMD control and treatment.