Mine drainage: Remediation technology and resource recovery

Abstract

Drainage from current and historic mining operations remains a persistent environmental problem. Numerous research and development efforts were made in 2019 with a goal to minimize the impact of mine drainage on the environment, while other research endeavors addressed the mine drainage issue from a different perspective, where mine drainage was considered a resource for water and valuable products, such as metals, sulfuric acid, and rare earth elements. Thus, this review has two main sections: (a) focusing on research efforts in mine drainage remediation technology, and (b) emphasizing advances in resource recovery from mine drainage. The first section covers traditional and emerging passive and active treatment technologies. The second section summarizes resource recovery efforts using various technologies, such as selective precipitation, membrane process, and biological systems. Practitioner points: Significant progress continued to be made in the management of mine drainage and related issues. Recent remediation technology advances in mine drainage were presented. Technologies focusing on resource recovery from mine drainage were reviewed.