A detailed characterization of alkaline tailing ponds and waste rock dumps from Phalaborwa Igneous Complex (PIC) South Africa, has been accomplished. The study goes beyond the environmental characterization of mining wastes, offering the first insight towards the recycling of the wastes as alkaline reagent to neutralize acid industrial wastewater. To achieve these aims, tailings and waste rocks were characterized using a combination of conventional, novel and modified Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) prediction methodologies, as well as South African leachate tests, sequential extractions and pseudo-total digestions. The scarcity of Fe-sulphide minerals and the abundance of alkaline minerals indicated that PIC wastes are not ARD producers. The highest neutralization potential was found in the carbonatite rocks and East tailing samples (range between 289 and 801 kg CaCO₃ eq/t). According to the National Environmental Management Waste Act (59/2008) of South Africa, tailing ponds and waste rock dumps from PIC classify as non-hazardous (Type 3 waste). The sequential extractions showed that the different fractions from most of the samples would mostly release sulphate and non-toxic elements, such as Ca, Mg, Na and K, which might be a concern if leached in high concentration. In addition, relatively high concentrations of radionuclides, such as U and Th (average of 6.7 and 36.3 mg/kg, respectively) are present in the non-labile fraction of PIC wastes, while the leachable concentrations were always below 0.006 mg/L. Among PIC wastes, East tailing would be the best option as alkaline reagent to neutralize acid wastewater because of its high neutralization potential and non-harmful leachate composition. In general, this study exposes the shortcomings in mine waste characterization, particularly for alkaline mine wastes, and introduces the assessment of potential revalorization as a novel practice in mine waste characterization that, if extended as a regular practice, would facilitate a circular economy approach to the mining industry with its consequent economic and environmental benefits.

已经完成了南非帕拉博瓦火成岩联合体（PIC）的碱性尾矿池和废石堆的详细表征。该研究超出了采矿废料的环境特征，提供了将废料作为碱性试剂回收以中和酸性工业废水的第一见解。为了实现这些目标，尾矿和废石的特征在于结合了传统的，新颖的和改进的酸性岩层排水（ARD）预测方法，以及南非的渗滤液测试，顺序提取和拟总消化。硫化铁矿物的稀缺和碱性矿物的丰富表明PIC废物不是ARD的生产者。₃eq / t）。根据南非的《国家环境管理废物法案》（59/2008），石化公司的尾矿池和废石堆被归类为非危险废物（第3类废物）。连续萃取表明，大多数样品中的不同馏分大部分会释放出硫酸盐和无毒元素，例如Ca，Mg，Na和K，如果以高浓度浸出可能会引起关注。此外，在PIC废物的非不稳定部分中存在较高浓度的放射性核素，例如U和Th（分别平均为6.7和36.3 mg / kg），而可浸出的浓度始终低于0.006 mg / L。在石化废料中，东尾矿作为中和酸性废水的碱性试剂将是最佳选择，因为它具有很高的中和潜力和无害的渗滤液成分。一般来说，