Environmental mobility and oral bioaccessibility of hazardous elements in mine waste and derived products

The aim of this PhD project is to evaluate the solid-phase speciation of hazardous elements from tailings and products derived from tailings. Solid-phase characteristics will be linked to the leaching of these elements under different conditions, and changes in leaching behavior during tailings reprocessing will also be addressed. Within this PhD, there are two main milestones. The first being, the solid-phase and chemical (leaching) characterization of the three different types of tailing materials; Secondly, the solid-phase speciation and chemical (leaching) characterization of the cleaned materials, and ceramics and geopolymers produced from these materials. The results from the solid-phase and chemical (leaching) characterization are evaluated in relation to different potential waste management scenarios (e.g. recycling treatment), and the environmental and health impacts are assessed. Secondments are also scheduled to take place at Oulu University (2 months) and Wienerberger (2 months). At Oulu University, lab-scale geopolymer production and characterization will be examined and at Wienerberger ceramics production on a factory scale will be studied under different process conditions and compositions. The expected results of this PhD project include obtaining an insight into the solid-phase associations and resulting leaching behavior of hazardous elements, in different materials (from tailings to the downstream applications) and how these solid-phase and leaching characteristics affect the environment and human health.