Stability problems and drainage of acid mines are the remnants of mining activities that not only harm our environment and health, but also the budgets of companies and municipalities. Stability problems cannot be solved without completely backfilling the mines – but the concrete used for this in many cases is expensive, anything but environmentally friendly to manufacture, and irresponsibly wastes the increasingly scarce primary resources. The neutralization of leaking acid mine water, on the other hand, can never be solved by constantly adding lime or by constantly pumping out and cleaning the water. The global costs for the present and future treatment of acid mine water amount to nearly 100 billion US $. However, there is still no economic and effective final solution.

The only sensible solution is to backfill unstable mines with natural materials while stopping further drainage of acid mine water.

Together with it´s partners FB Flüssigboden and Köster ekolive offers the appropriate technology: Backfilling old mines at the same time with a reverse bioleaching process, which is responsible for metal precipitation instead of dissolving metals – which leads to the stabilization of acid mine drainage and lastingly prevents the formation of new acids (Biomineralization). Our microlive® bacterial consortia, which precipitate metals, are – bound in liquid soil made from natural materials – at the same time brought into the mines with specially balanced nutrients ekocomplex® and organic additives; this also stabilizes the underground spaces after the solidification of the liquid soil in one operation.

So far, acid mine drainage stabilization by means of bacteria has only been used in the case of ex-situ treatment of the acidic mine water. Our microlive® bacterial consortia, on the other hand, which are bound in liquid soil with their specially balanced nutrients, have been confirmed to be effective for in-situ conditions and have been applied for as an EU patent on environmental stabilization and backfilling of mines.

You may contact us for more information – or download our leaflet.