Etude geochimique de la neutralisation de residus miniers generateurs de drainage minier acide par des residus alcalins (boues rouges) (French and English text)

One solution proposed to neutralize acidic tailings is to use red mud bauxite (RMB). Column leaching test has been set up to confirm that when RMB is disposed in aggregates (due to field constraint) compared with homogenized disposition this has not a large influence on the quality of water drainage. Addition of brine to RMB helps for long-term neutralization potential by forming less soluble product than RMB alone. Columns were set-up with 10% and 20% of RMB to compare if quantity applied has an influence on water quality results. And excess of RMB (20%) increases leached alkalinity and concentration in Al, Cu, Pb, As, Fe and SO42- , pH is then reaching a value close to 9.