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Regolithic_Tiger t1_jai47ff wrote

Reply to comment by exit2dos in German scientists show a commercially feasible method for cyanobacteria to extract 17 rare earth elements from low-concentration sources. Currently, most of the world's supply of these elements is mined in China. by lughnasadh

True, but mine water quality is a huge barrier to successful mine closure.

This has the potential to allow for way less chemical treatment, and therefore lower costs of closure and less likelihood of abandoning mines.... Provided it can also address other metals too.

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exit2dos t1_jai62fj wrote

Absolutely ! The more the wastewater and tailings can be processed the less harmful they should (theoretically) become.

Settling Ponds are a wealth of resources, it is just unknown how & therefore unfeasable to process a lot of the that waste.

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Regolithic_Tiger t1_jao5qjb wrote

tailings storage facilities (TSFs) are what you're thinking of. Settling ponds are those that are specifically designed to settle out suspended solids. TSFs will often contain a pond on them, but much of the impoundment area is beach (with varying degrees of water content). what I'm getting at, is that TSFs are more solid than water, while settling ponds are more water than solid (AFAIK). Mining terminology is weird.

And yes, in some cases tailings are reprocessed when technology catches up. It's kind of hard to do though.

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[deleted] t1_jalijat wrote

[deleted]

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Regolithic_Tiger t1_jao5yzv wrote

That's contact water, dude. It's not supposed to be clean. they have those ponds to manage their water so it doesn't get released to the environment. They then take the water from the ponds (and TSFs) and run it through the treatment plant or some other form of treatment and then discharge it once it meets water quality guidelines.

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