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STD Oceanography Magazine Paper

Metal-Mine Tailings: Marine Disposal, Geochemical Compositions, Great

Uncertainty; An Extremely Long-term Experiment.

Executive Summary

Metal-mine tailings traditionally disposed on land are known to be mixes of

hundreds of chemically-reactive compounds that are toxic to many species of

terrestrial and aquatic organisms. In recent years, disposal of such tailings into

marine environments has increased significantly, especially in lesser-developed

countries. While billions of tons of such tailings are disposed into marine

environments each year, relatively little truly independent information is made

public concerning: the detailed chemical compositions of these wastes; the

toxicity of these components; the volumes disposed; and the pre-project

(baseline) environmental conditions of the disposal sites. Such projects continue

to be approved despite commonly-reported negative environmental impacts to

marine organisms and fishing economies at many of the past projects employing

marine disposal. This paper presents additional detail on the chemical

components of such tailings mixes.

Few reliable studies on the impacts from deep marine waste disposal have been

conducted. Recent studies by the Scottish Association for Marine Science

(SAMS) conducted near the Misima and Lihir Mines in waters off northern Papua

New Guinea (PNG), confirmed significant impacts to marine benthic populations

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in moderate to deep waters. In 2011, the Norwegian government reported that

submarine disposal of tailings was common practice in the Norwegian fjords, with

negative impacts to marine communities noted at some sites, but that detailed

studies were largely lacking. Technical literature indicates that we lack a detailed

understanding of the deep marine communities, their biological diversity and

interactions, and are largely ignorant of the long-term impacts from disposal of

mine wastes into such environments. It is prohibitively difficult and expensive to

conduct the necessary studies in deep marine waters hence few have been

conducted by truly independent investigators. Thus the on-going STD / DSTP

operations represent a largely-irreversible, commercial experiment.

Introduction.

Demand for metals of all sorts (i.e. precious, base, rare earths, uranium) has

increased drastically, especially in countries experiencing exceptional economic

growth such as India and China. Most modern metal mines are open-pit

operations, generating massive volumes of wastes that are generally disposed

of, in perpetuity, in on-land facilities. To reduce costs, and theoretically to reduce

environmental impacts, industry has begun disposal of mine wastes into marine

environments, a process referred to as submarine tailings disposal (STD).

Disposal of mine wastes into near-shore marine waters has been conducted for

more than a century, but negative impacts to marine communities and near-

shore water quality has forced industry to move toward disposal in deep waters---

sometimes called Deep Sea Tailings Placement (DSTP). Each year, billions of

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tons of mine wastes, are being discharged into ocean waters in many parts of the

Table 1: Summary of some key STD mining operations, worldwide. [Modified from data in Coumans (2001), Moran et. al., 2008, Poling and Ellis (2002), Ellis (2008), SAMS (2010)].

Currently Operating Status Tailings Disposed [tons per day, TPD]

Ore / Plant

Cayeli Bakir, Turkey 1994 – present 2,000 to Black Sea Cu-Zn mill flotation Lihir, PNG 1996--present 3,500 (est. 89M tons

total) Au mill, CN use

Batu Hijau, Indonesia 1999—present 160,000 Cu-Au mill Huasco Iron, Chile 1994--present 3,000 Fe ore, pelletizing Rana Gruber, Norway 1964--present ? Fe Sydvaranger, Norway 1907—1997;

2009--present Approx. 4 M t / yr. Fe

Proposed Status Tailings Disposed Ore / Plant Ramu, PNG Begin 2011-2012 14,000? Ni—Co laterite

(autoclave leach) Tampakan, Philippines Proposed 2016 50,000 Cu--Au

Namosi, Fiji ? 100,000 Cu--Au Recently Closed Status Tailings Disposed

[tons per day, TPD] Ore / Plant

Misima, PNG 1989—2004 20,000 Au; CN autoclave Minahasa, Indonesia 1996—2004 2,000—3,000; 2.8—

4.0 M tons total Au mill, roast, CN

Island Copper, B.C., Canada

1971—1995 30,000—60,000 Cu-Mo-Au flotation

Kitsault Moly, B.C., Canada

1980—82 20,000 Mo flotation

Atlas, Cebu, Philippines 1971—1994 70,000—100,000 Cu flotation Black Angel, Greenland 1973--1991 > 8 M tons, lifetime Pb-Zn

Norway: 20 mines discharging to fjords

? ? various

Riverine / Coastal Marine

Status Tailings Disposed [tons per day, TPD]

Ore / Plant

Toquepala-Cuajone, Peru

∼1960-1997; post-’97--present: tails to

impoundment, liquid effluent to ocean

Approx. 100,000

Cu-Mo-Se-flotation

Chanaral, Chile 1926—1989 Est. 280 M t until 1989 Cu--Au Marcopper, Marinduque,

Philippines 1975--1991 200 M tons total Cu--Au

Grasberg / Freeport, Indonesia

1972--present 238,000 avg.--est. 3.0 Billion tons life of mine

Cu--Au

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world (Table 1). This paper deals only with the mine wastes know as tailings,

which are the effluents discharged from mineral processing facilities.

Because STD operations are largely self-regulated, the public and regulators

seldom know the detailed chemical compositions of the wastes being disposed.

This paper focuses predominantly on providing partial answers to this question.

Several related, fundamental questions, which cannot be touched on here

include: Are these wastes actually being deposited in stable, deep-water

environments? What are the long-term impacts to the integrated marine

communities / ecologies at all depths of disposal areas?

Tailings Components. Tailings are wastes (liquid-solid mixtures) that result from

mixing the crushed ore (economically-mineralized rock) with numerous process

chemicals, and water. Tailings discharges also include explosive residues, and

may be mixed with effluents from the following sources: water treatment and

sewage facilities, laboratories; ore and waste rock storage areas; processing

reagent storage areas; fuels / oils and greases / antifreeze; explosive storage

areas; vehicle maintenance; miscellaneous operations. Depending on the

physical environment, some tailings may receive significant quantities of

herbicides, pesticides, and road de-icing compounds.

The majority of metal mining / mineral processing occurs on land with the tailings

routinely disposed in on-land impoundments. Metal-mine tailings from terrestrial

sites are well known to be chemically-reactive and not inert, as has been

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demonstrated by the development of contamination plumes at numerous sites

and through monitoring of ground waters in contact with similar mine wastes at

the edges of saline lakes (i.e. Kennecott Copper, Utah). Moreover, several

operations utilizing near-shore submarine tailings disposal (STD) or riverine

tailings disposal, where wastes then flow into marine waters, have generated

severe toxicity impacts to marine organisms in relatively shallow environments

(i.e. Marcopper, Philippines; Ok Tedi and Porgera, PNG; Southern Peru Copper

Corp., Ite Bay, Peru; Chañaral, Chile; Black Angel Mine, Greenland).

Given the varied components, tailings are a complex chemical-biological “soup”

composed of dozens and often hundreds of elements and compounds,

sometimes including radioactive constituents, potentially-toxic to marine

organisms. The detailed chemical compositions of mine tailings differ greatly

depending on the type of ore and processing. For example, tailings from gold and

silver operations contain significantly different chemical constituents than those

from copper-molybdenum-gold, lead-zinc, or nickel-cobalt ores.

However, detailed data on tailings chemical compositions are seldom released to

the public or regulators before approval of the operating permits. Occasionally

technical papers may provide selected details on some of the metal-metalloid

components, but almost never include comprehensive details on the inorganic

and organic components and their concentrations.

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Detailed Tailings Chemical Composition.

Rock Constituents. Commercially-valuable rock contains a few common

minerals and a few economically-valuable ore minerals, but it may also contain

low to trace concentrations of almost any element in the chemical periodic table,

including naturally-radioactive elements. Some of the Pacific region ores

proposed for development and STD may also contain asbestos-like minerals

(Western Australia, 2001).

Processing Chemicals. Mineral processing of metal ores requires the use of

tremendous quantities of processing chemicals. Some of the more commonly-

used process reagents are: soda ash, sodium cyanide, sodium hydroxide,

ammonia, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, pine oil, lime, copper

sulfate, zinc sulfate, sodium sulfide, kerosene, fuel oils, coal-tar oils, aliphatic

alcohols, cresylic acid, amines, fatty acids, sodium isopropyl xanthate (such as

commercial product SF-113), dithiophosphate and thionocarbamate, (such as in

Aeropromotor AC 6682), methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC), and polypropylene

glycol methyl ether (Dowfroth 250), hydrogen peroxide, sodium hypochlorite,

potassium permanganate, ferric and ferrous sulfate (Lottermoser, 2010).

Supplementary Table S1 presents a summary of the typical flotation reagents

and the quantities used at various non-ferrous (base) metal mills. This table is

modified from Ayers, et. al. (2002). Portions of these reagents are recycled, but

significant percentages will be discharged with the tailings. Many of these

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reagents are toxic to plants and aquatic organisms as a minimum (i.e. xanthates;

Australian Gov. Publ. Serv. 1995), but little or no detailed toxicity information is

publicly available, and regulators generally have not required that their

concentrations or the concentrations of their decomposition products be

monitored. As of 2009 the Canadian government has required mines to report

the types, concentrations and volumes of a wide range of chemical components

in terrestrial tailings impoundments (Supplementary Table S2, National Pollutant

Release Inventory (NPRI), Appendix 3). It is unlikely that these NPRI

determinations adequately characterize all of the potential contaminants in metal

mine tailings, but they provide an inkling to the chemical complexity. Such data

are not required to be made public for STD operations.

Upon discharge into the marine environment, many of these processing reagents

would migrate separately from the tailings solids because of the their physical

and chemical properties. The technical literature largely fails to discuss the

presence, fate, or impacts of these processing compounds.

Tailings: Water and Sediment Analyses. Processing of metal ores often

releases and concentrates in the tailings natural radioactive products, such as

radium, thorium, uranium, potassium-40, etc. (Southern Peru Copper Corp.,

proprietary data, collected by Moran, 1995-6). Where cyanide compounds are

used in processing, complex mixtures of cyanide decomposition products can

remain in tailings solids and liquids (Moran, 1998, 2002). Because tailings may

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contain some or all of the components and chemicals discussed above, it is

recommended that tailings (solids and liquids), associated marine water and

pore-waters (filtered and unfiltered) and sediment samples should be analyzed

for the presence of the constituents listed in the Canadian NPRI Appendix 3

(Supplementary Table S2), together with natural radioactive constituents

(uranium, thorium, gross alpha and beta), and cyanide and related breakdown

compounds (metal-cyanide complexes, cyanate, thiocyanate).

Marine Tailings Disposal: Representative Loads. Below are two examples

that illustrate the massive volumes of metal-mine tailings presently being dumped

into ocean environments.

• Batu Hijau, Indonesia: 140,000 tons of tailings per day (tpd) [Poling and Ellis

(2002) state 160,000 tpd] into Senunu Bay, deposited 3km from the coast at a

depth of about 108m, off island of Sumbawa. [equal to 43,800,000 tons per year].

Estimated mine life = 17 yrs.

• Grasberg, Indonesia: 238,000 tpd, average; 1.0 billion tons of tails discharged

from 1972 through 2005; estimate 3.0 billion tons will be deposited during life of

mine. Site employs riverine disposal of tailings, which then flow to the shallow

Arafura  Sea.

It has not been possible to find any detailed, publicly-available chemical analyses

of tailings for the Batu Hijau operations mentioned above. A rough approximation

of the loads of a few of the chemical constituents being discharged into marine

waters off Batu Hijau can be calculated using the reported Batu Hijau tailings

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disposal rates [conservative estimate based on Poling and Ellis (2002)] and

assuming the basic concentration data for similar tailings from the Grasberg Mine

in Indonesia (IIED, 2002; uses data from 2000). These estimated loads are

summarized in Table 2.

Table 2. Marine Tailings Disposal Representative Volumes.

Constituent

Tailings Solids

Analysis mg/kg (dry)

Metals Dumped

Per Day (kg / day)

Metals Dumped

Per Year (kg / yr)

Al 28,900 3,641,400 1,329,111,000

As 49 6174 2,253,510

Cd 0.33 41.6 15,176

Cu 6,600 831,600 303,534,000

Fe 56,600 7,131,600 2,603,034,000

Pb 30 3780 1,379,700

Mn 1,400 176,400 64,386,000

Hg 0.01 1.26 459.9

Se 3 378 137,970

Zn 200 25,200 9,198,000

pH (slurry) 11.13 (units)

Total Suspended Solids (slurry)

558,584 (mg/L)

Assumptions:

1) 140,000 tpd tailings disposed, as at Batu Hijau, Indonesia.

2) Tailings concentrations from Grasberg, Indonesia (2000) data [IIED, 2002].

 

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These estimates suggest that, for example, roughly 2,253,510 kg per year of

arsenic may be released into the marine waters off Batu Hijau via the tailings

discharge. While these loads represent massive quantities, they fail to include

data for most of the other chemical constituents that are undoubtedly in the

discharged tailings. More than 50 million tons of tailings per year are discharged

into the ocean from the Batu Hijau Mine-- equivalent to the contents of more than

128.5 million barrels per year. Over the proposed 25-year life, this one mine will

dump more than one billion tons of tailings contaminants. The estimates above

represent discharges of only a few of the chemical constituents from one mine,

but several additional operating mines employ submarine tailings disposal (STD),

and international corporations are pushing for many more. If such volumes were

considered “industrial wastes”, such dumping would theoretically be forbidden by

the International Law of the Sea. As mine wastes, however, they presently

escape international regulation.

 

Long-term Impacts: Uncertainties.

There are literally hundreds of studies showing the sensitivity of various shallow

marine communities to metals and other contaminants in industrial wastes (i.e.

Collie and Russo (2005); Wisskirchen and Dold (2005); Chapman, et.al. (2006);

Burd, (2002); Phillips (1977). The research also demonstrates the lethal

smothering of shallow communities by tailings sediments. Studies by Reichelt-

Brushett (i.e. Reichelt-Brushett and Harrison (2005) show that the critical life

stages of coral reproduction are extremely sensitive to elevated loads of trace

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metals, particularly copper. Several U.S. oceanographers state that below

ordinary SCUBA-diver-depths (about 30 meters) the impacts of pollution and

sedimentation on shallow-water ecosystems, including coral reefs, remain largely

unexplored (i.e. Collie and Russo (2005). Our understanding of even these

shallow reef systems is limited by logistics, accessibility, and funding.

Much less is known about deep marine communities and related contamination

below about 800 meters (and for that matter, little is known about the

intermediate zone between 100 and 800 meters, either). While it is thought that

some deep-sea communities cope with high sedimentation rates, little

is understood about the impacts of trace metals and other pollutants (from a

variety of sources) on these ecosystems. Few, if any, studies are available that

report on the impacts of tailings contaminants on tropical marine or deep-sea

organisms, but the few studies that have been done are troubling. For example,

from 1986 through 1992 the U.S. government encouraged the disposal of

municipal sewage wastes in deep marine waters (2,500 meters) at the “106-mile

dumpsite” off the New Jersey coast. This dumping was halted after various

studies showed harmful impacts to the plentiful and diverse deep marine

communities and to water quality, due to the metals, toxic organic compounds,

bacteria, and viruses contained in the sewage sludge (i.e. Chang (1993); Grassle

and Maciolek (1992). The natural-resources research arms of the Australian and

Canadian governments conducted reviews of the available literature on DSTP

which identified major gaps in the technical knowledge relating to the precise fate

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and toxicity of these wastes and their impacts on marine communities (Apte and

Kwong, 2008).

One of the few studies on marine disposal of metal-mine tailings into moderate to

deep tropical waters was conducted by the Scottish Association for Marine

Science (SAMS, 2010) near the Misima and Lihir Mines in waters off northern

Papua New Guinea (PNG). This report concluded that the marine dumping of

mine waste “has major impacts on deep-sea sediments and their biological

communities and the effects persist for at least three years after tailings

discharge has ended. Where it is incorrectly designed or badly managed [the

dumping can also cause serious damage to coastal resources and, potentially,

communities.” (SAMS, 2010pg.13).  

In the spring 2011, Norwegian government representatives surprised delegates

to the Scientific Group meetings of the London Convention by revealing that

metal-mine operations routinely discharged tailings into deep Norwegian fjords

[four sites were operational; two applications were awaiting approval, and 20

sites had been abandoned (IMO, 2011)]. While negative impacts to some marine

organisms were reported at some sites in shallow waters, most lacked

meaningful information on the baseline conditions and extent of environmental

effects at any depths. These mines were reported to discharge massive

quantities of flocculants into the fjords: i.e. 35 tons per year at the Sydvaranger

Mine. Most of the attendees were clearly surprised that such activities were

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occurring in Norway, not just in the developing world. Even researchers with the

Norwegian Institute of Marine Research had previously been unaware of these

activities. They had previously strongly advised against the use of several mine

processing chemicals [i.e. Lilaflot D 817 M, the main components of which are:

N-(3-(Tridecyloxy)propyl)- 1,3-propane diamine (60-80 %); N-(3-

(Tridecyloxy)propyl)-1,3-propane diamine acetate (20-40 %)] because of the high

toxicity. A recent report from the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, (2010)

clearly shows that Lilaflot in tailings is more soluble than previously known and

attains water concentrations that are acutely toxic to species of algae,

crustaceans and fish.

Evaluating the realistic consequences of marine tailings disposal is impeded by

several economic and political realities. It is extremely costly to collect and

analyze mining environmental samples at terrestrial and shallow marine sites,

and many times more expensive in deep marine waters; so much so that it is

essentially beyond the resources of many developing world governments and

certainly untouchable by public interest groups. Also, there has been a general

trend worldwide to push the national research agencies of developed-world

governments to behave more like private industry. That is, they are required to

find commercial sources of funding for much of their work and to interact more

closely with industry. Without some commercial incentive, these large research

groups will generally not undertake such costly and controversial research.

Hence most of the research on waters and communities near individual mines is

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collected and interpreted by the mining companies or their paid consultants. The

main goal of such studies is to obtain the necessary operating permits, not raise

uncomfortable questions. These projects can continue for decades, providing the

consultants’ primary source of income. Finally, the national government oversight

agencies are in a double bind: they are required to promote mining, which

frequently supplies a major source of national revenue, and also enforce the

laws. Normally, the government staff lack the technical skills and support to act

as a reliable check and balance on industry practices.

Thus the fundamental dilemma is that many of the important issues have not

been studied adequately in tropical or truly deep waters by independent and

financially-disinterested scientists. The available studies have several major

flaws: they failed to study communities below about 150 meters’ depth; they were

conducted or directed by interested parties; and they generally looked only at

short term impacts. To be meaningful, such studies must evaluate conditions

over the long-term, probably decades. Most DSTP sites lack monitoring locations

outside the immediate disposal area and so there is really no way to demonstrate

that some tailings fail to harm shallow waters and communities (Moran et. al,

2009). Moreover, because the interactions of marine physical, biological,

chemical, toxicological, engineering, oceanographic, and socioeconomic factors

with human activities are extremely complex, the tendency is simply to present

study results in isolation rather than to fully integrate them across disciplines;

thus the complexities are lost.

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Most STD operations are conducted offshore of developing countries [i.e. Peru,

Chile, Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea (PNG)] by companies from

developed countries. Most proposed DSTP operations are in PNG, and Oceana,

all with weak governance. Such disposal methods would generally be politically

unacceptable within the exclusive economic zones [EEZ] of developed nations.

References Cited. Apte, Simon C., & Y.T. John Kwong, 2008 (Sept.), Deep Sea Tailings Placement: Critical Review of Environmental Issues: A Review jointly undertaken by CSIRO Australia and CANMET Canada for Australian Centre for Mining Environmental Research (ACMER), using industry funding. Unpublished. Australian Government Publishing Service, 1995(May), Sodium Ethyl Xanthate, Priority Existing Chemical No. 5, Full Public Report; http://www.nicnas.gov.au/publications/CAR/PEC/PEC5/PEC5index.htm Ayres, Robert U., Leslie W. Ayres and Ingrid Råde, 2002 (January), The Life Cycle of Copper, its Co-Products and By-Products. Commissioned by the MMSD project, Rept. 24: International Institute for Environment and Development, 210 pg., London. http://www.iied.org/mmsd/activities/life_cycle_analysis.html Burd, B. 2002, Evaluation of Mine tailings Effects on a Benthic Marine Infaunal Community Over 29 Years; Marine Environmental Research Vol. 53: pg. 481-519. Chang, Sukwoo,1993, Analysis of fishery resources: potential risk from sewage sludge dumping at the deepwater dumpsite off New Jersey: Fishery Bulletin 91:594--610. Chapman, Peter M., B. G. McDonald, P. E. Kickham, S. McKinnon, 2006, Global Geographic Differences in Marine Metals Toxicity: Marine Pollution Bulletin 52 (2006) 1081–1084. Collie, Marcia and Julie Russo, 2005, Deep-Sea Biodiversity and the Impacts of Ocean Dumping: NOAA Undersea Research Program, 6 pg.; http://nurp.noaa.gov.Spotlight/OceanDumping.htm Coumans, Catherine, 2002, STD Toolkit--Submarine Tailings Disposal; MiningWatch Canada; http://www.miningwatch.ca/updir/01.STDtoolkit.intr.pdf Ellis, Derek, 2008, The Role of Deep Submarine Tailings Placement (STP) in the Mitigation of Marine Pollution for Coastal and Island Mines; Chapter 1, pg. 23—51, in T. N. Hofer (edit.), Marine Pollution: New Research; Nova Science Publ. Environment Canada, 2009, Guidance for the Reporting of Tailings and Waste Rock to the National Pollutant Release Inventory (Version 1.4), 31 pg. http://www.ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/default.asp?lang=En&n=F8FB76E0-1 Grassle, J. Frederick & N.J. Maciolek, 1992, Deep-Sea Species Richness: Regional and Local Diversity Estimates from Quantitative Bottom Samples: The American Naturalist, Vol. 139, No. 2 (Feb.), p. 313-341.

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 IMO, 2011, Report of the 34th Meeting of the Scientific Group of the London Convention / 5th Meeting of the Scientific Group to the London Protocol, Tallinn, 11-15 April 2011. International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), 2002, Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development; Mining for the Future, Appendix J, Grasberg Riverine Disposal Case Study, No.68c; http://www.iied.org/mmsd/mmsd_pdfs/068c_mftf-j.pdf  http://www.unr.edu/mines/mlc/presentations_pub/Pub_LVW/68c_mftf-j.pdf   Lottermoser, Bernd, 2007, Mine Wastes: Characterization, Treatment and Environmental Impacts, Second Edition. Springer, Berlin, 304 pgs. Moran, Robert E., 1998, Cyanide Uncertainties—Observations on the Chemistry, Toxicity, and Analysis of Cyanide in Mining-Related Waters: Mineral Policy Center Issue Paper No.1, 16 pg., Wash., D.C.; http://www.earthworksaction.org/pubs/cyanideuncertainties.pdf Moran, Robert E., 2002, De-coding Cyanide. A Submission to the European Union and the United Nations Environment Programme: Sponsored by Hellenic Mining Watch, Ecotopia, CEE Bankwatch, FOE Europe, FOE Hungary, FOE Czech Republic, Food First Information and Action Network, Minewatch UK, and Mineral Policy Center, 25 pg. [Available at: http://www.hnutiduha.cz/publikace/studie/kyanidova_studie.pdf ,www.mineralpolicy.org/publications/ Moran, Robert E., 2008, Mining Submarine Tailings Disposal [STD]—Summary Concepts: Scientific Group of the London Protocol, 2nd Meeting 19 – 23 May 2008: www.sjofartsverket.se/pages/15453/31-INF14.pdf http://www.imo.org/includes/blastDataOnly.asp/data_id%3D21436/INF-14.pdf Moran, Robert, A. Reichelt-Brushett, Roy Young, 2009, Out of Sight, Out of Mine: Ocean Dumping of Mine Wastes. World Watch, March / April 2009, pg. 30-34; http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6376/is_2_22/ai_n31528076/pg_7/ Norwegian Institute for Water Research, 2010, Giftighetstester med flotasjonskjemikaliet Lilaflot D 817M. Effekter på alger, børstemark, krepsdyr og fisk. RAPPORT L.NR. 6044-2010. Summary in English.

Phillips, DJH, 1977, The Use of Biological Indicator Organisms to Monitor Trace Metal Pollution in Marine and Estuarine Environments—A Review; Environmental Pollution, V. 13, No. 4, p. 281-317.

Poling G.W., D.V. Ellis, J.W. Murray, T.R. Parsons, C.A. Pelletier, 2002, Underwater Tailing Placement at Island Copper Mine—A Success Story: Soc. for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, Inc., 204 pg. Reichelt-Brushett, A. J. and Harrison, P. L. (2005) The effect of selected trace metals on the fertilization success of several scleractinian corals species. Coral Reefs. 24: 524-534 SAMS (2010) Independent Evaluation of Deep-Sea Mine Tailings Placement (DSTP) in PNG. Scottish Academy of Marine Science, Project No. 8.ACP.PNG.18-B/15, 295 pgs plus Appendices; http://www.mpi.org.au/submarine-tailings-disposal.aspx Western Australia , 2001, Guideline: MANAGEMENT OF ASBESTOS IN MINING OPERATIONS; Mines Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Board, 30 pg.

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Wisskirchen, Christian and Bernhard Dold, 2005, Hydrogeochemistry of the marine shore porphyry copper tailings deposit at Chañaral, Atacama desert, Northern Chile: 3 rd Swiss Geoscience Meeting, Zürich, 2005.

Supplementary Table S1. Typical Flotation Reagent Consumption in Non-

Ferrous Metal Mills (g / ton ore): modified from Ayers, et. al. (2002).

Pb-Zn (sulfides)

Les Malines, France

Pb-Zn (oxide+sulfides) Zellidja,Morocco

Cu-Pb-Zn Brunswick Mining Canada

Ni (sulfide)

Falconbridge, Canada

Cu (sulfide) Lornex, Canada

Au cyanidation

+CIF Homestake

U.S.A

Cu-Zn (pyrite)

Pyhasalai Finland

Acids H2SO4

500--600 5000

Alkalis Lime Sodium carbonate Sodium hydroxide

1000

550 246

2500 3300

225--400

1100

1200

3150

Modifier Copper sulfate Sodium cyanide Zinc sulfate Sodium sulfate Sodium silicate Sulfur dioxide Starch

200 10 60

120 13 91 2800 2700

81.5 700 100

35--60

550

330 28 1450

Collectors x-Amylxanthate x-Isopropylxanthate x-Ethylxanthate Diesel oil Amine R-242(a)

45 5

130 20 69 250 60

270

60--85

35 30

220

Frothers Dowfroth 250(b) Hexylic acid Pine oil HBTA frother Carbon

40

85

20--25

14 20

30

Source: [UNEP/ IEPAC 1991, Table 8b] a. R 242 = Aniline dicresyl dithiophosphate plus thiocarbonilide b. Dowfroth 250 = polypropylene glycol methyl ether

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 Supplementary Table S2.

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