Project description
A solution for managing the environmental impact of mine tailings
Large-scale mining generates vast amounts of waste known as tailings, which contain dangerous chemical residues and crushed rock. These can damage local environments and endanger communities if they are not handled with extreme care. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the BIOGEMS project aims to develop a solution using natural processes instead of CO2-intensive stabilisation methods. It will introduce biomineralisation-based biocements, combined with biodegradable fibre-based biogeotextiles, to strengthen tailings, immobilise contaminants, and support ecological restoration. This technique will be tested in Zambia, where field trials will be carried out to evaluate their effectiveness, cost feasibility, and environmental benefits, with potential applications worldwide.
Objective
Concerns about the geohazards and environmental and health impacts of contaminated mine tailings (soil and rock fragments remaining after mineral extraction) drive the urgent need for their safe storage and the sustainable restoration of tailings storage sites after mining operations cease. With a projected 35% increase in size of active tailings storage facilities, stretching them beyond their original design, failures are expected to increase, exacerbated by climate change.
To address these pressing needs, BIOGEMS aims to develop an innovative, efficient, and bio-compatible technique for mine tailings (MT) management and restoration, addressing limitations of current practices while integrating their strengths. BIOGEMS replaces CO2-emitting Portland Cement and lime with biocements produced via the natural process of biomineralisation. These biocements will stabilise MT and encapsulate/immobilise contaminants, reducing their bioavailability to enable ecological restoration. This biocementation process will be combined with biodegradable, natural fibre-based geosynthetics (biogeotextiles), which can further reinforce MT while acting as bacterial carriers for spatially targeted, durable biocementation treatment. A key focus is harnessing native microorganisms to ensure ecosystem compatibility.
Laboratory and field trials will evaluate the ability of the proposed systems to induce uniform biocementation, immobilise contaminants within mineral matrices, to support post-closure tailings restoration and reclamation.
Following laboratory development, the proposed systems will be field-tested in Zambia to assess real-world effectiveness, cost feasibility, and environmental sustainability, advancing toward industry adoption. The techniques are transferable to Europe and other mineral-rich regions worldwide.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering ecosystem-based management ecological restoration
- engineering and technology environmental engineering mining and mineral processing
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
SE10AA London
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.