Innovative Approaches for Predicting Chemical Behavior in Mining Waste Storage Facilities
Mine wastes such as tailings, mill rejects, and waste rock dumps when exposed to oxygen and water can produce acidic, metal-rich leachates that negatively impact the environment and cause land deterioration, water pollution, and socioeconomic problems. Understanding the intricacies of the mechanisms that speed up sulphide-mineral oxidation and modelling the timescale/rate at which pollutants are formed from the mine waste is crucial for estimating the pollutant load that will likely be produced. The interrelationships between the local geology and profile of the mine waste, the particle size distribution, moisture, mineralogy, and oxidising agents (such as bacteria) are all important parameters that can provide insightful information on weathering processes and the rate of acid generation from the mine waste materials.
Anumah’s PhD project is focused on the prediction of the chemical stability of tailings storage facilities given the constraints and limitations of the current industry-adopted kinetic testing methods. He aims to develop key design criteria for kinetic leaching tests to accurately predict the generation of acid and metalliferous drainage, including saline drainage, experimenting with a range of coal tailings from the Bowen Basin in Queensland. Overall, the outcome of his project will provide effective strategies for rehabilitation and closure plans and post-mining land use.
Biography
Anumah holds a Bachelor of Technology (Honours) in Industrial Chemistry from Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Nigeria. With sponsorship from the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), Anumah received a joint master's degree in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology from the University of Pau and Adour region in France, the University of Porto in Portugal, and the University of Basque Country in Spain.
Anumah has broad research interests spanning environmental contamination, inorganic pollutants, soil ecotoxicology, environmental risk assessment, remediation of contaminated sites, and mine waste management. He has worked in several government organisations and research institutes in Africa and Europe and is currently in Australia pursuing environmental sustainability concerning the management of toxic waste from mine sites.
Anumah has won several awards to support his academic and research activities, notably the prestigious Erasmus Mundus scholarship for his joint MSc degree. His career objectives are to gain sufficient academic and industry experience to tackle environmental problems that can occur during and after industrial processes and to use his training to advance sustainable development goals.
Membership
European Geoscience Union
Funding
UQ Research Training Scholarship.
Supervisors
Associate Professor Mansour Edraki and Dr Mandana Shaygan