The metalliferous tailings dumps found in the Leadhills-Wanlockhead area of Strathclyde are all
that visibly remain of this former Pb-Zn mining area. The Pb-Zn mineralisation (mainly galena,
sphalerite, pyrite and chalcopyrite) is contained within banded veins hosted by Ordovician
greywackes. Mining activity reached a peak between 1850 and 1915, ceasing in the 1930s, by
which time over 70 Pb-Zn veins had been worked in an area of approximately
8km2. The mineral waste produced from these mining operations contains residues of heavy
metal sulphides and could represent a potential source of environmental contamination.
An investigation was carried out to determine the potential for conventional mineral
processing technology to recover the heavy metal-bearing minerals from the metalliferous
mine wastes (Fig. 3).- This could then be used to assess the feasibility of environmental
remediation of this waste using physical separation methodologies.