Reconciling EXploitation of mineral resources and Environmental protection: natural attenuation and system resiLience – REXEL

The REXEL project is conceived as a conceptual project to reconcile the need for independence of national mineral resources with local environmental regulations governing mining. The project is based on the past and present environmental impacts and the history of mining activities to inspire new strategies for the sustainable management of mining sites.
mining sites. In addition to understanding the environmental risks associated with specific metals (loids), the results of the project will help to meet sustainability requirements by relying on in situ natural attenuation processes when no other solution can be envisaged as part of new mineral resource development, and therefore to determine the resilience of environments that have been heavily impacted by anthropization. To answer this question, the processes involved at different scales and the reaction kinetics will be studied over a period of more than 20 years using crystallochemical, solid speciation, geochemical, thermodynamic and geophysical tools. This will allow us to understand the thermo-hydro-mechano-chemical couplings that lead to the remobilization or retention of As, Bi and W.
The aim of this project is to analyze the temporal and spatial changes in a former mining site over the last two decades. The main objective is to gain fundamental knowledge about the processes that control environmental risks. The study will focus on the dynamics of contaminants (speciation, geochemistry) dispersed by different contamination vectors (transfer mode, spatial dispersion) and their fate in ecosystems to be preserved. The study will focus on As, Bi and W due to their potential hazard and/or criticity.