CLRA National Announces the 2022 Linda Jones Memoria Award Recipient: Behnaz Bahroudi

Behnaz Bahroudi is an M.Sc. Student at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) and a Campaigns Committee representative at the TRU Students’ Union. Currently, Behnaz is studying the reclamation of a closed tailings storage facility at New Afton Mine. The primary goal of her research is to provide recommendations for the return of a sustainable ecosystem by determining appropriate soil cover depths and amendments.

Reclamation of tailings storage facilities with sustainable technologies is an evolving area of study that is significant in achieving post-mining end land use capabilities. Mine tailings are of inferior quality to natural soil due to a lack of nutrients and the potential contamination of heavy metals. The accumulation of mine tailings and wastes on the surface leads to the alteration of soil biogeochemistry, which includes the important factors for vegetation growth. One of the practical approaches in mine reclamation is to cover tailings with subsoil and topsoil and enrich the soil with amendments. With a limited supply of topsoil and till materials, each mine is faced with determining the appropriate cover depths to promote vegetation and ecosystem development. Behnaz’s research consisted of a greenhouse and field experiment. The greenhouse trial was conducted to investigate the impact of zeolite, leonardite, and fortified compost with different ratios on the growth of a native plant under environmentally controlled conditions. The field soil amendment trial was developed to investigate the effects of amendments within different soil cover depths.

By undertaking these trials, Behnaz’s research will provide valuable insights into the utilization of mining byproducts (zeolite and leonardite) in conjunction with compost, as well as identify the optimal soil cover depth for sustainable tailings management.