Editing Gangue (section)

==Environmental impact of gangue minerals in mine tailings==
[[File:Naturkundemuseum Berlin - Gediegen Gold in Quarz, Eagles Nest Mine, Placer County, Kalifornien, USA.jpg|thumb|[[Native metal|Native]] [[gold]] partially contained within a quartz gangue, visible at lower left.]]
{{Main|Acid mine drainage}}
Gangue minerals, once separated by [[mineral dressing]] processes of (most of) the valuable [[ore mineral]]s and dumped in [[mine tailings]] may be a significant environmental impact. In particular, oxidation of [[pyrite]], a common gangue mineral,<ref>Clout, J.M.F., Manuel, R.J. (2015) Mineralogical, chemical, and physical characteristics of iron ore. In: Iron ore, mineralogy, processing, and environmental sustainability, p. 45-84.</ref> is one of the main sources of [[acid mine drainage]].<ref>Blowes, D. W., Ptacek, C. J., Jambor, J. L., & Weisener, C. G. (2003). The geochemistry of acid mine drainage. In B. S. Lollar (Ed.), Environmental geochemistry (Vol. 9, pp. 149–204). Oxford: Elsevier.</ref><ref>Dold, Bernhard (2014). Evolution of Acid Mine Drainage Formation in Sulphidic Mine Tailings, Minerals, v. 4, p. 621-641.</ref>