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This book provides a thorough, up-to-date overview of wastes accumulating at mine sites. It deals comprehensively with sulfidic mine wastes, mine water, tailings, cyanidation wastes of gold-silver ores, radioactive wastes of uranium ores, and wastes of phosphate and potash ores. The book emphasizes the characterization, prediction, monitoring, disposal and treatment as well as environmental impacts of problematic mine wastes. The strong pedagogical framework is supported by case studies from around the world, end-of-chapter summaries as well as lists of resource materials and www sites for each waste type.
The substantially updated second edition has new and notable changes including: new case studies; presentation of crucial aspects of mine wastes as scientific issues; revision of text to reflect major developments and contemporary issues that are taking place in the field of mine waste science; new web pages at the end of each chapter; additional figures; and an updated reference list. This newly balanced text will continue to equip the student and the professional with a thorough understanding of the principles and processes of mine wastes.
List of contents
An introduction to mine wastes; sulfidic wastes; mine waters; tailings; uranium mine wastes, phosphate mine wastes; cyanidation wastes; mine site rehabilitation.
Summary
This book is not designed to be an exhaustive work on mine wastes. It aims to serve undergraduate students who wish to gain an overview and an understanding of wastes produced in the mineral industry. An introductory textbook addressing the science of such wastes is not available to students despite the importance of the mineral industry as a resource, wealth and job provider. Also, the growing imp- tance of the topics mine wastes, mine site pollution and mine site rehabilitation in universities, research organizations and industry requires a textbook suitable for undergraduate students. Until recently, undergraduate earth science courses tended to follow rather classical lines, focused on the teaching of palaeontology, cryst- lography, mineralogy, petrology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, structural geology, and ore deposit geology. However, today and in the future, earth science teachers and students also need to be familiar with other subject areas. In particular, earth science curriculums need to address land and water degradation as well as rehabili- tion issues. These topics are becoming more important to society, and an increasing number of earth science students are pursuing career paths in this sector. Mine site rehabilitation and mine waste science are examples of newly emerging disciplines. This book has arisen out of teaching mine waste science to undergraduate and graduate science students and the frustration at having no appropriate text which documents the scienti?c fundamentals of such wastes.
Additional text
From the reviews of the second edition:"This thorough and authoritative reference work on the characterization, prediction, monitoring, treatment, and disposal of mine wastes relates so well to the important environmental impact of energy and mineral resource development … . This well-illustrated second edition (1st ed., 2003) with … abundant references, lists of resource material, lists of appropriate Web sites, and a thorough index, would be an appropriate library holding for science and technology, economics, and environmental matters. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduates through faculty." (W. C. Peters, CHOICE, Vol. 45 (5), January, 2008)From the reviews of the third edition:“Author can be proud of this successful volume. … Whoever needs updated information on the mine wastes will welcome Lottermoser’s book … . This is particularly helpful for undergraduate students in the Earth sciences and in mining engineering and related fields. … The 400-page volume is clearly driven by a didactical approach of the author. … the book does a very good job of introducing anyone interested to the important topic and of guiding the reader to delve further into the topic area.” (Jörg Matschullat, Environmental Earth Sciences, Vol. 62, 2011)
