Environmental Mineralogy And Geochemistry Unit

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The Environmental Mineralogy and Geochemistry Group belongs to the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Huelva. The main research activity of the group is focused on the sources and pathways of industrial and mining pollution in terrestrial, fluvial and estuarine systems, especially concerning on (i) pollution generation processes; (ii) natural attenuation of pollutants; and (iii) acid mine drainage (AMD) passive treatment. The group is formed by a multidisciplinary team with experience in Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Ore Deposits, Hydrogeology and Ecotoxicology.

This is a consolidate research team with long experience in the study of environmental impacts related to the exploitation of massive sulfide deposits in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain). Recent projects in this field (see projects section) focused on the development of laboratory trials and pilot field plants for the treatment of mining wastes, recovery of critical raw materials from mining wastes, and regional studies of dispersion and attenuation of pollutants in fluvial and estuarine systems (basins of the Tinto, Odiel and Guadiana rivers).

The Group also develops an important training activity. In the last 10 years, more than 15 Ph.D. theses have been carried out within the group. In addition, the members of the group actively participate in several master’s programs, co-chairing the Official Master Program on Geology and Environmental Management of Mineral Resources at UHU-UNIA (GyGARM), and participating in two other master’s programs, the Environmental Technology Master Program of UHU-UNIA (MTA) and the Erasmus Mundus International Master Program in Urban Climate and Sustainability (MUrCs).