One giant leap for mankind: can ecopoiesis avert mine tailings disasters?
Background: Mine tailings are among the most ecologically hostile byproducts of mining operations, with production generating alien substrates with significant cascading environmental and human welfare legacies. The rate of tailings production continues to increase globally, and this increase has oc...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Netherlands
2017
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| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/IC150100041 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/84685 |
| _version_ | 1848764671192989696 |
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| author | Cross, Adam Stevens, Jason Dixon, Kingsley |
| author_facet | Cross, Adam Stevens, Jason Dixon, Kingsley |
| author_sort | Cross, Adam |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: Mine tailings are among the most ecologically hostile byproducts of mining operations, with production generating alien substrates with significant cascading environmental and human welfare legacies. The rate of tailings production continues to increase globally, and this increase has occurred asynchronously with our capacity to ameliorate ecological hostility and implement successful restoration programs on tailings landforms. Scope: There is currently a lack of sufficient technology to deliver timely and cost-effective restoration outcomes to tailings landscapes. The decadal to millennial time scale of soil formation driven by natural pedogenic processes is at odds with the short mine closure timeframes (≤5 years) and aspirations of newly formulated international standards for the practice of ecological restoration. This lack of restoration capability places biodiversity at risk, and not only jeopardises the economic viability of the mining industry but also impacts upon its social and environmental license to mine. Conclusions: Delivery of successful ecosystem restoration on tailings requires a new paradigm of collaborative science-driven innovation. Could this be guided by the fundamental theory behind establishing life on other planets? |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:23:03Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-84685 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:23:03Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Springer Netherlands |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-846852022-01-06T07:16:00Z One giant leap for mankind: can ecopoiesis avert mine tailings disasters? Cross, Adam Stevens, Jason Dixon, Kingsley Ecopoiesis . Microbial inoculation . Pedogenesis . Planetary science . Restoration ecology. Terraformation Background: Mine tailings are among the most ecologically hostile byproducts of mining operations, with production generating alien substrates with significant cascading environmental and human welfare legacies. The rate of tailings production continues to increase globally, and this increase has occurred asynchronously with our capacity to ameliorate ecological hostility and implement successful restoration programs on tailings landforms. Scope: There is currently a lack of sufficient technology to deliver timely and cost-effective restoration outcomes to tailings landscapes. The decadal to millennial time scale of soil formation driven by natural pedogenic processes is at odds with the short mine closure timeframes (≤5 years) and aspirations of newly formulated international standards for the practice of ecological restoration. This lack of restoration capability places biodiversity at risk, and not only jeopardises the economic viability of the mining industry but also impacts upon its social and environmental license to mine. Conclusions: Delivery of successful ecosystem restoration on tailings requires a new paradigm of collaborative science-driven innovation. Could this be guided by the fundamental theory behind establishing life on other planets? 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/84685 10.1007/s11104-017-3410-y English http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/IC150100041 Springer Netherlands restricted |
| spellingShingle | Ecopoiesis . Microbial inoculation . Pedogenesis . Planetary science . Restoration ecology. Terraformation Cross, Adam Stevens, Jason Dixon, Kingsley One giant leap for mankind: can ecopoiesis avert mine tailings disasters? |
| title | One giant leap for mankind: can ecopoiesis avert mine tailings disasters? |
| title_full | One giant leap for mankind: can ecopoiesis avert mine tailings disasters? |
| title_fullStr | One giant leap for mankind: can ecopoiesis avert mine tailings disasters? |
| title_full_unstemmed | One giant leap for mankind: can ecopoiesis avert mine tailings disasters? |
| title_short | One giant leap for mankind: can ecopoiesis avert mine tailings disasters? |
| title_sort | one giant leap for mankind: can ecopoiesis avert mine tailings disasters? |
| topic | Ecopoiesis . Microbial inoculation . Pedogenesis . Planetary science . Restoration ecology. Terraformation |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/IC150100041 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/84685 |