Weathered tailings at the former Western Nuclear mine, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Physical, chemical, and biological responses to disequilibrium conditions determine long-term environmental impacts of mining operations. Integrated understanding these collective responses is essential for assessing, managing, and mitigating impacts on water chemistry. Our research under this theme investigates the geochemical co-evolution of mine wastes and associated waters within active, reclaimed, and abandoned mining landscapes. We examine mass-transfer reactions and mass-transfer processes and their collective influence on release, transport, and attenuation of metal(loid)s and other dissolved constituents within these landscapes. Our collaborations with the private sector, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations help ensure our research results support decision making.
Current Trainees
Researchers: Dr. Valerie Schoepfer, Dr. Ardalan Hayatifar
Doctoral Students: Sanaz Hasani, Eduardo Marquez
Master's Students: Brian Greflund, Tommy Avram, Petra Squirra, Drake Meili
Selected Publications (current/former trainees bolded)
Ferry, S.R., Abdolahnezhad, M. & Lindsay, M.B.J. (In Press). Acid neutralization and metal mobilization in oil sands froth treatment tailings. Geochemical Transactions.
Lum, J.E., Schoepfer, V.A., Jamieson, H.E., McBeth, J.M., Borcinova Radkova, A., Walls, M.P. &  Lindsay, M.B.J. (2023) Arsenic and antimony geochemistry of historical roaster waste from the Giant Mine, Yellowknife, Canada. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 458: 132037.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132037
Lindsay, M.B.J., Vessey, C.J. & Robertson, J.M. (2019). Mineralogy and geochemistry of oil sands froth treatment tailings: Implications for acid generation and metal(loid) release. Applied Geochemistry, 102: 186–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.02.001
Lindsay, M.B.J., Moncur, M.C., Bain, J.G., Jambor, J.L., Ptacek, C.J. & Blowes, D.W. (2015). Geochemical and mineralogical aspects of sulfide mine tailings. Applied Geochemistry, 57: 157-177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2015.01.009
Funding, Support, and Partnerships
NSERC Industrial Research Chairs program (Grant No. IRCPJ 463568-18); NSERC Alliance Grants program (Grant No. ALLRP 560243-20); Canadian Light Source (Peer-Reviewed Proposal Access); Giant Mine Oversight Board; Syncrude Canada Ltd.; Suncor Energy Inc.; Orano Canada Inc.
Mixing zone in Engineer's Creek along Dempster Highway, Yukon, Canada.
Minerals influence the biogeochemical cycling of various redox-sensitive elements and are important controls on metal(loid) mobility and bioavailability in soils, sediments, and aquifers. Various (oxyhydr)oxide, (hydroxy)sulfate, and sulfide minerals, among others, contribute to metal(loid) release or attenuation under different environmental conditions. Our research explores impacts of changing environmental conditions (e.g., pH, redox, temperature) on metal-mineral interactions, emphasizing metal(loid) repartitioning during mineral transformation reactions and electron transfer reactions at mineral surfaces. We examine reaction mechanisms, pathways, and rates using combined experimental, analytical, and numerical approaches to improve understanding of metal-mineral interactions under dynamic environmental conditions.
Current Trainees
Postdoctoral Fellows: Dr. Valerie Schoepfer, Dr. Ardalan Hayatifar
Selected Publications (current/former trainees bolded)
Hayatifar, A., Gravelle, S., Moreno, B.D., Schoepfer, V.A. & Lindsay, M.B.J. (2024). Probing atomic-scale processes at the ferrihydrite-water interface with reactive molecular dynamics. Geochemical Transactions, 25: 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12932-024-00094-8
Schoepfer, V.A. & Lindsay, M.B.J. (2022). Repartitioning of co-precipitated Mo(VI) during Fe(II) and S(-II) driven ferrihydrite transformation. Chemical Geology, 610: 121075. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2022.121075
Vessey, C.J., Schmidt, M.P., Abdolahnezhad, M., Peak, D., & Lindsay, M.B.J. (2020). Adsorption of (poly)vanadate onto ferrihydrite and hematite: An in situ ATR–FTIR study. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, 4: 641–649. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.0c00027
Vessey, C.J. & Lindsay, M.B.J. (2020). Aqueous vanadate removal by iron(II)-bearing phases under anoxic conditions. Environmental Science and Technology, 54: 4007–4015. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b06250
Funding, Support, and Partnerships
NSERC Discovery Grants program (Grant No. RGPIN 2020-05172); NSERC Industrial Research Chairs program (Grant No. IRCPJ 463568-18); Canadian Light Source (Peer-Reviewed Proposal Access).
Groundwater discharge zone along Engineer's Creek on Dempster Highway, Yukon, Canada.
Groundwater systems supply more than one-third of drinking water and nearly one-half of agricultural irrigation water globally. Increasing competition for finite groundwater resources will exacerbate existing challenges associated with unsustainable extraction, climate change, and both anthropogenic and geogenic contamination. Our research examines relationships between mass-transfer reactions and mass-transport processes to determine controls on the hydrogeochemical evolution of both deep and shallow groundwater systems. We have recently focused our research efforts on changing groundwater geochemistry in thawing permafrost regions. Our collaborations with academic partners, government agencies, private companies, and first nations are helping ensure this research informs groundwater protection and management.
Current Trainees
Master's Students: Matt Fellwock, Emilie Perreault
Selected Publications (current/former trainees bolded)
Skierszkan, E.K., Dockrey, J.W. & Lindsay, M.B.J. (2025). Metal mobilization from thawing permafrost is an emergent risk to water quality. ACS ES&T Water, 5: 20–32. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00789
Skierszkan, E.K., Schoepfer, V.A., Fellwock, M.D., Dockrey, J.W., Hayatifar, A., Bondici, V.F., McBeth, J.M., & Lindsay, M.B.J. (2024). Arsenic mobilization from thawing permafrost. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, 8: 745–759. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00355
Skierszkan, E.K., Carey, S.K., Jackson, S.I., Fellwock, M.D., Fraser, C., & Lindsay, M.B.J. (2024). Seasonal controls on stream metal(loid) signatures in discontinuous permafrost. Science of the Total Environment, 908: 167999. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167999
Mowat, A.C., Francis, D.J., McIntosh, J.C., Lindsay, M.B.J., & Ferguson, G.A.G. (2021). Variability in timing and transport of Pleistocene meltwater recharge to regional aquifers. Geophysical Research Letters, 41: e2021GL094285. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094285
Funding, Support, and Partnerships
NSERC Discovery Grants program (Grant No. RGPIN-2020-05172); CFREF Global Water Futures Program; NRC Arctic and Northern Challenge Program; Canadian Light Source (Peer-Reviewed Proposal Access).