Objectives

The main objective of the LIFE DEMINE Project is to demonstrate and disseminate the technical and economic feasibility of decreasing the overall environmental impact caused by abandoned mine effluents in water bodies. This will be done by adopting an innovative and versatile treatment process that will include existing and widely known technologies based on membrane processes and electrocoagulation, with the global aim of obtaining a non-polluting final effluent.

The specific objectives of the project are:

To obtain a versatile Mining Effluent Treatment Process (METP) to treat mining effluents generated in different mining activities.
To demonstrate the environmental and technical feasibility and promote the implementation of the innovative treatment process to remove pollutants from abandoned mine effluents, being in line with the Water Framework Directive.
To disseminate the obtained results and transfer the knowledge acquired regarding mine effluents compositions, their effects in aquatic ecosystems and their treatments with the new process developed.
To develop a tool that permits public bodies, regulators, policy makers and other key stakeholders to be aware of the performance and the environmental benefits of the new technology developed.

To quantify and disseminate the environmental benefits and the economic impact of the new methodology compared with the current situation.
To increase awareness related to the environmental problem caused by abandoned mine wastewaters.
To contribute on the restoration of the water bodies currently affected by mining activities, helping to preserve freshwater biodiversity and to secure the ecosystem goods and services that freshwater ecosystems provide, in the line with EU Biodiversity Strategy.
To promote the implementation of the environmental policies and strategies for quantifying and minimizing the environmental impact caused by mining activities in water bodies.