The commonly observed enrichment of middle rare earth elements (MREE) in water sampled in acid mine drainage (AMD)-impacted areas was found to be the result of preferential release from the widespread mineral pyrite (FeS2). Three different mining-impacted sites in Europe were sampled for water, and various pyrite samples were used in batch experiments with diluted sulphuric acid simulating AMD-impacted water with high sulphate concentration and high acidity. All water samples independent on their origin from groundwater, creek water or lake water as well as on the surrounding rock types showed MREE enrichment. Also the pyrite samples showed MREE enrichment in the respective acidic leachate but not always in their total contents indicating a process-controlled release. It is discussed that most probably complexation to sulphite (SO3 (2-)) or another intermediate S-species during pyrite oxidation is the reason for the MREE enrichment in the normalized REE patterns.

14Natural Mn oxides are largely biogenic in origin, formed via the microbial oxidation of in these layers, in soil profiles from a former uranium mining site in Ronneburg, Germany. Frondihabitans, and one Gram-negative proteobacteria belonging to the genus Sphingomonas. 34Geochemical thermodynamic speciation modeling indicates that the abiotic precipitation of Mn 35 oxides in the Mn oxide layers is unfavourable and we suggest that the Mn oxides in the 36 (bio)geochemical barriers at our study site are biogenically precipitated in an acidic soil 37 environment. To our knowledge, this is the first report to identify the above six bacterial strains, 38and specfically identify spore-forming bacteria, as MOB in an acidic soil environment. We find

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Phytoremediation is an environmental friendly, cost-effective technology for a soft restoration of abandoned mine sites. The grasses Agrostis capillaris, Deschampsia flexuosa and Festuca rubra, and the annual herb Helianthus annuus were combined with microbial consortia in pot experiments on multi-metal polluted substrates collected at a former uranium mine near Ronneburg, Germany, and a historic copper mine in Kopparberg, Sweden, to test for phytoextraction versus phytostabilization abilities. Metal uptake into plant biomass was evaluated to identify optimal plant-microbe combinations for each substrate. Metal bioavailability was found to be plant species and element specific, and influenced by the applied bacterial consortia of 10 strains, each isolated from the same soil to which it was applied. H. annuus showed high extraction capacity for several metals on the German soil independent of inoculation. Our study could also show a significant enhancement of extraction for F. rubra and A. capillaris when combined with the bacterial consortium, although usually grasses are considered metal excluder species. On the Swedish mixed substrate, due to its toxicity, with 30 % bark compost, A. capillaris inoculated with the respective consortium was able to extract multi-metal contaminants.