Sedimentation tank (mining)

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The Absinkweiher Göttelborn north of the Merch , still in operation at the time
The former Absinkweiher Frommersbachtal of the Luisenthal mine

As a sedimentation basin is known in mining concrete pools or embankment dams artificial ponds ( ponds ) for the treatment of sewage (pulps) from the treatment of mineral resources.

Alternative names, some of which were only used regionally or in the past, are clearing pond , sludge pond , mountain pond and industrial sedimentation plant (abbr. IAA), in Saarland Absinkweiher and mud pond .

Settling basins are usually set up in the immediate vicinity of a mine . The sludge that arises during processing is piped into the sedimentation basin. There the finely divided solids in the pulp settle on the bottom following the force of gravity. The clarified water on the surface can be drawn off via collecting channels and reused. The pond gradually fills up with the sedimented masses. These then either remain in place or are dredged and dumped elsewhere (e.g. on a dump ).

The process described represents the technologically simplest and most economically advantageous type of water recovery from water-solid mixtures. However, settling ponds in particular take up comparatively large areas and are - depending on the composition of the remaining solid - z. Sometimes only difficult to recultivate. The creation of such ponds is therefore only problem-free where the quality of the remaining area shows no or only a slight deterioration compared to the initial state. Elsewhere, sedimentation basins (see above) are used or the resulting sludge is dewatered mechanically using filter presses and also tilted.

Seen around the world, sedimentation tanks are a widespread technology, which, however, in some places contributes to bringing the mining industry into talk because of the environmental problems associated with errors in planning and implementation . Settling basins were also set up in Germany, for example in the coal mining of the Saarland , and operated until the 1990s. For the reasons mentioned above, the areas left behind are now preferred for land-intensive uses that place little or no demands on the quality of the soil. This is how a photovoltaic system was built on the area of ​​the former sinking pond near the Göttelborn mine .

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