A mining project often has untapped resources held in waste stockpiles and tailings. To assess these, Unpollute carries out waste characterization studies. This involves sampling the waste in 3 dimensions, to understand the geochemistry and mineralogy, and provide crucial information such as tailings characteristics for future contaminant modelling.
Waste characterization tells us the acid-forming potential of the waste, the risk of pollution from the site, and the potential mineral wealth of the project.
Traiditonally, sites with known pollution issues are viewed with risk. For Unpollute, risk presents opportunity to provide 21st century solutions to 20th century problems, and to turn problems into valuable assets. This has potential to bring life back to regional mining towns by securing jobs and futures for local people.