PROMT: Philippines Remediation of Mine Tailings
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF READING
Department Name: Sch of Agriculture Policy and Dev
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Publications
Degani E
(2022)
A critical review of Pongamia pinnata multiple applications: From land remediation and carbon sequestration to socioeconomic benefits.
in Journal of environmental management
Duddigan S
(2023)
The extent and applications of metal accumulation and hyperaccumulation in Philippine plants
in Australian Journal of Botany
Soltangheisi A
(2024)
Species-specific effects of mycorrhizal symbiosis on Populus trichocarpa after a lethal dose of copper.
in Ecotoxicology and environmental safety
Yuan Pan
(2025)
Integrative Conservation
in Community Engagement and Ecosystem Services for Mine Rehabilitation
| Description | At this stage of the award our findings are preliminary. We have demonstrated that: (i) We can use geoelectrical measurements to understand the flow of pore waters and solvents inside tailings and monitor in situ reactions; (ii) Environmentally benign solvents can leach copper from tailings both in the laboratory and in the field; (iii) The response of plants and microbiota to tailings that have been leached with novel solvents. |
| Exploitation Route | These early findings potentially pave the way for industrial development of a process for in situ leaching of tailings in the right setting. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Environment |
| Description | Along with industry, we have engaged closely with local community stakeholders face to face meetings and workshops, along with questionnaires. This has led to an understanding that benign solvent may a a future role in tailings processing and rehabilitation. Through networking with private sector minerals and mineral processing industries via conference talks and individually the project is gaining a great deal of interest since many organisations are starting to seriously examine tailings reprocessing and remediation and this project is in the vanguard. We presented a number of papers at the industry facing 17th International Mine Closure Conference in Perth in November 2025 that were very well received and stimulated considerable interest in PROMT outcomes. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment |
| Impact Types | Societal Economic |
| Description | Sustainable Minerals Knowledge Exchange Fellowship (Philippines) |
| Amount | £58,697 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/X001814/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2022 |
| End | 05/2025 |
| Title | Amplicon sequencing from tailings dams |
| Description | Data represent a number microbial communities from a number of sites across Philex mine site. These include different levels of spontaneous vegetation colonisation. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Data has informed further experiment sampling programmes and laboratory experiment designs |
| Title | Plant growth experiments in Tailing and soils with solvent treatments |
| Description | Plant growth experiments in Tailing and soils with solvent treatments including deep eutectic solvents and carboxylates. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Informed decisions on field based work in the Philippines. Particular at Philex mine sites where a number of field experiments used our data for decision making. |
| Description | Bureau of Soils and Water Management - UPD - UoR colab |
| Organisation | Department of Agriculture |
| Country | Philippines |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Providing field sites for soil analysis |
| Collaborator Contribution | Soil analysis to support the PROMT project outcome in Philippines |
| Impact | Peer reviewed conference paper (Lazaro et al. 2024) presented at Mine Closure Conference in Perth, Australia. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Ecosystem Services Questionnaire at Philex Padcal Mine Site |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Contains data for a pilot questionnaire survey on ecosystem services (n=26), collected during a community engagement workshop. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Philex Mine Site Community Engagement Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An Inform public meeting with the local community near the mine. The PROMT team introduced themselves and the project, and laid the foundations for an engagement/communications network. It also allowed the team to identify individuals who are interested in future engagement. The event included presentations Q&As and focus group discussions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Stakeholder Meeting at Philex Mine (Philippines) with local and indigenous communities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Forty-five local stakeholders attended a meeting at Philex mine about the activities of the PROMPT project which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Sustainable Mineral Resources in the Philippines (SMRP) Programme Plenary meeting field visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Field visit to Padcal mine as part of Sustainable Mineral Resources in the Philippines (SMRP) Programme Plenary meeting to show various experimental work |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Sustainable future for Philippine minerals cross-project meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The meeting was with the PAMANA (Philippine Mining at the National to Catchment Scale) project team and DOST-PCIEERD (Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development), to talk about potential overlaps and synergies between the PROMT and PAMANA project. We also discussed how to increase communication between the projects, which both involve UK researchers collaborating with Philippines researchers. The meeting took place in-country at the University of Manilla. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |