PhD Student

My project focuses on tailings characterization of a historic mine abandoned since 1997. Tailings are the left-over materials from the processing of mined ore.  While collecting samples from the tailings pond, I discovered one sample estimated to be at least 27 years old. This sample offers insight into how the environment has impacted the mine waste over several decades. Over time, oxidation has caused changes in the sample, resulting in the formation of oxides along its edges and a sulfide zone in the middle. This indicates that the sample has been exposed to the environment for a long time, causing changes in its original mineral composition.