Evolution of Sulfidic Legacy Mine Tailings: A Review of the Wheal Maid Site, UK

Historic tailings dams and their associated mine waste can pose a significant risk to human environmental health. The Wheal Maid site, Cornwall, UK, serves as an example of the temporal evolution storage facility after mining has ceased acid-generating subjected surficial processes. This paper discusses its designation contaminated land site reviews our current understanding geochemistry, mineralogy, microbiology tailings, from both peer-reviewed journal articles unpublished literature. We also present new data on characterisation detailed mineral chemistry laboratory oxidation experiments. Particularly interest at is presence pyrite-bearing “Grey Tailings”, which, under typical conditions Earth’s surface, would be expected have undergone subsequently formed acidic metalliferous drainage (AMD). results identified number mechanisms that could explain lack pyrite in Grey Tailings, including nutrients inhibiting microbial Fe(II) oxidation, passivation surfaces with processing chemicals, abundance euhedral grains. Such research areas need further scrutiny order inform design future facilities AMD management protocols.