Using mining by-products as environmental amendments

The four year joint project between CSIRO and the Western Australian Department of Water-based Water Foundation, investigated the characteristics of a range of mining industry by-products, which are currently unused, to determine whether they could instead be productively applied as high volume, low-cost environmental amendments. CSIRO project leader, Dr Grant Douglas, says a number of the largely unexploited, abundant, and low-cost by-products generated from mineral processing could be directly applied or further developed as designer contaminant adsorbents. At the commencement of the project, various suitable mining by-products from industries such as alumina, heavy minerals, iron ore, and magnesia processing were procured. The potential benefits of this project could be realized worldwide where by-product materials are generated and significant environmental water or land management issues exist