Mining activities often generate important amounts of extractive waste, and, as a consequence, environmental impacts that affect all factors to a greater or lesser extent. Depending on a variety of variables, the impact can be permanent or temporary, reversible or irreversible, negative or positive. This study conducted research on the status of closure and remediation processes of mining areas in Romania, specifically in the counties of Maramureș, Suceava, Harghita, Alba, Hunedoara and Caraș-Severin. Furthermore, based on the type and level of pollution, the degree of application of remediation techniques for water and soil pollution in the investigated mining areas was studied. From the analysed information, it is evident that although the closure and remediation process started in Romania over 20 years ago, unfortunately, to this day, the technical projects, technical assistance, and execution of closure and remediation works have not yet completely solved the complex environmental issues in the mining sector. Most of the tailing ponds and waste piles of former mines continue to pose permanent specific risks to the environment and the population. This study concludes that the mining sector in Romania, although it has the necessary techniques and technologies for the ecological rehabilitation of degraded lands related to the Extractive Waste Facilities and the elimination of negative impacts on the environment and public health, has not yet been able to fully concretize its remediation efforts.

Mining activities often generate important amounts of extractive waste, and as a consequence, environmental impacts that affects all factors to a greater or lesser extent. Depending on a variety of variables, the impact can be permanent or temporary, reversible or irreversible, negative or positive. This study conducted research on the status of closure and remediation processes of mining areas in Romania, specifically in the counties of Maramureș, Suceava, Harghita, Alba, Hunedoara, and Caraș-Severin. Furthermore, based on the type and level of pollution, the degree of application of remediation techniques for water and soil pollution in the investigated mining areas was studied. From the analysed information, it is evident that although the closure and remediation process started in Romania over 20 years ago, unfortunately, to this day, the technical projects, technical assistance, and execution of closure and remediation works have not yet completely solved the complex environmental issues in the mining sector. Most of the tailing ponds and waste piles of former mines continue to pose permanent specific risk to the environment and the population. This study concludes that the mining sector in Romania, although it has the necessary techniques and technologies for the ecological rehabilitation of degraded lands related to the Extractive Waste Facilities and the elimination of negative impacts on the environment and public health, has not yet been able to fully concretize its remediation efforts.

Natural samples of sphalerites containing Mn in the range 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.25 apfu from the Săcărâmb Au–Ag–Te ore deposit, found in the Apuseni Mountains, Romania, were investigated using Raman spectroscopy to determine its capability to provide estimates of Mn content. Raman data for the natural Mn-rich sphalerite have not been published so far, with the largest concentration of Mn in sphalerites being from Romanian territory (i.e., 14.1 wt.%). The results are in good agreement with SEM-EDS data. In this study, three genetic types of sphalerites were identified: from ferroan ${\left(Z{n}_{0.87}F{e}_{0.16}\right)}_{\sum =1.03}{S}_{0.97}$ to manganoferroan ${\left(Z{n}_{0.77}M{n}_{0.14}F{e}_{0.06}\right)}_{\sum =0.97}{S}_{1.03}$, as well as mangan-rich ${\left(Z{n}_{0.8}M{n}_{0.25}\right)}_{\sum =1.05}{S}_{0.95}$ compositions. Sphalerites with a high content of Mn (up to 14.1 wt.%) were strongly connected to the presence of alabandite in the mineralized assemblages. The formation of several types of sphalerites in the Săcărâmb Au–Ag–Te ore deposit was caused by the succession of different types of hydrothermal fluids and the interaction between the fluids and the host materials (host rocks and earlier mineralized stages).

There is a knowledge gap about the quantitative aspects of mycorrhizal fungi's influence on ecological succession on tailings. Here, we demonstrate that inoculating mine tailings with 2% fungi yields significantly better results in terms of plant biomass and lower lipid peroxidation compared to 1% and 0%, both when growing Agrostis capillaris alone and in combination with Melilotus albus. Lipid peroxidation in the A. capillaris is positively predicted by Cu, and negatively predicted by the total Kjeldahl nitrogen in plants. The biomass of M. albus is positively predicted by the N/P ratio, and negatively by Cu concentration in the plant. This improvement was related to differences between the Technosols properties at the end of the experiment (pH, EC, N-NH₄⁺, N-NO₃^-), which modulated the changes of the tailing material properties from the wet to the dry state, and to differences in the accumulation factors of Cu and Pb from substrate to plant roots, and of the transfer factors from roots to aboveground parts. This is the first time that the effects of such a slight increase in fungal inoculum percentage have been reported. Fine-tuning the fungi treatment can lead to cost-effective techniques for tailings remediation. Block diagrams of an eco-technology are proposed.