An experimental evaluation of the use of chemical stabilisers in the revegetation of metalliferous mine wastes

This paper assesses the suitability of some commercially-available stabilisers for direct hydraulic seeding onto metalliferous tailings. A range of stabilisers was tested on the growth of a grass/forb mixture under glasshouse conditions. The stabiliser products tested exhibited a differential effect upon yield and some suggested a degree of phytotoxicity. However, a subsequent bioassay under controlled-environment conditions did not substantiate this, except in the case of a bitumen stabiliser.