Tag: waste

Mine tailings dumped into the sea analysed with synchrotron light

Mine tailings dumped into the sea analysed with synchrotron light

The case of Portmán Bay, at the Spanish Mediterranean coast, is one of the most extreme cases in Europe causing great impact on the marine ecosystem by disposal of mine tailings.

For more than 40 years, 60 million tonnes of mine waste were dumped directly into the sea, resulting from the open pit mining that took place in Sierra Minera in Cartagena. As a consequence, the Bay was literally filled with metal-rich artificial soil. Since 2014, a research group from the University of Barcelona (UB) has been studying Portmán Bay. Now, they have analysed samples of these sediments at ALBA because with synchrotron light they can obtain unprecedented information about the heavy metals contamination, such as arsenic.

Very few people know about Portmán Bay, where took place one of the most extreme cases of coastal ecological impact by mine activity in Europe. Figures speak for itself: the mining company Peñarroya dumped more than 60 million tonnes of mine waste into the sea through a 2km-long pipeline located at the west part of the bay. Over the years, the bay became totally filled with a mountain of artificial sediment. The shoreline moved 600m seaward and the trace of the pollution reached 12km out to sea.

>Read more on the ALBA website

Image: Miquel Canals putting sample supports, which were specifically designed and printed with 3D technology at ALBA, at the CLAESS beamline to be analysed with synchrotron light; with Carlo Marini, beamline scientist and Andrea Baza, PhD student from UB.