South African Journal of Plant and Soil

ISSN: 0257-1862 (Print) 2167-034X (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tjps20

Characterisation of alkaline tailings from a lead/

zinc mine in South Africa and evaluation of their
revegetation potential using five indigenous grass
species

Louis W Titshall , Jeffrey C Hughes & H Christopher Bester

To cite this article: Louis W Titshall , Jeffrey C Hughes & H Christopher Bester (2013)
Characterisation of alkaline tailings from a lead/zinc mine in South Africa and evaluation of their
revegetation potential using five indigenous grass species, South African Journal of Plant and Soil,
30:2, 97-105, DOI: 10.1080/02571862.2013.807361

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02571862.2013.807361

Published online: 05 Jul 2013.

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South African Journal of Plant and Soil 2013, 30(2): 97–105 Copyright © Combined Congress Continuing Committee
Printed in South Africa — All rights reserved SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF
PLANT AND SOIL
ISSN 0257-1862 EISSN 2167-034X
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02571862.2013.807361

Characterisation of alkaline tailings from a lead/zinc mine in South Africa and

evaluation of their revegetation potential using five indigenous grass species
Louis W Titshall1,2*, Jeffrey C Hughes1 and H Christopher Bester1

1 School of Agriculture, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209,
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
2 Current address: Institute for Commercial Forestry Research, PO Box 100281, Scottsville 3209, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

* Corresponding author, e-mail: louis.titshall@icfr.ukzn.ac.za

Tailings from a lead/zinc (Pb/Zn) mine were characterised and their revegetation potential investigated under
glasshouse conditions using five grass species with three rates of inorganic fertiliser. The tailings were alkaline
with low nutrient concentrations but high total and extractable Zn. The yield of all grass species increased with an
increase in fertiliser rate. The yield of Cenchrus ciliaris at the full fertiliser application rate was significantly higher
than the other species tested, followed by Digitaria eriantha. Cymbopogon plurinodis was the third-highest-yielding
species, whereas yields of Eragrostis superba and Fingeruthia africana were similar. Concentrations of Zn in the
foliage tended to be over the reported grass foliage ranges, whereas Pb concentrations were within typical norms. It
is recommended that C. ciliaris, D. eriantha and E. superba be used for initial revegetation, with other species used
to improve biodiversity after initial cover has been established.

Keywords: carbonate-rich, dolomitic tailings, indigenous, low cost, phytorestoration

Introduction

Tailings from metalliferous mines are generally recognised
as being environmentally hazardous because of high
concentrations of potentially toxic elements (e.g. Tordoff
et al. 2000, Rodriguez et al. 2009, Shi et al. 2011, Santos-
Jallath et al. 2012). Lead/zinc (Pb/Zn) mines are no
exception, where these, and other elements, may pose
serious environmental risks and limit the potential for
revegetation (Hossner and Hons 1992, Ye et al. 2000a,
2000b, Lei and Duan 2008, Boussen et al. 2013). Tordoff et
al. (2000), Li (2006), Lei and Duan (2008), Shi et al. (2011)
and Santos-Jallath et al. (2013) all suggest that establish-
ment of vegetation is the preferred method of tailings stabili-
sation, where the vegetation can remove, transform or
stabilise the waste material and toxins through processes of
adsorption, microbial action and stabilisation. This approach
is frequently used in conjunction with more traditional
methods of contaminant stabilisation, such as liming to
increase substrate pH to precipitate toxic metals and reduce
acidity associated with the oxidation of sulphide minerals
(Simon et al. 2010), the use of phosphate compounds to
bind metals (Prasad 2003, Prasad and Freitas 2003, Wang
et al. 2008) or various organic amendments (e.g. Ye et al.
1999, Jordan et al. 2008).
Plants used to stabilise contaminated soils and wastes
should be easily propagated and established, fast growing,
have extensive root systems, and be tolerant or adapted
to adverse substrate conditions that include elevated
contaminant levels and poor physical and fertility charac-
teristics (Prasad and Freitas 2003). Conesa et al. (2008)
suggests that annual species are well suited for this
purpose as they tend to have higher rates of adapta-
tion because of shorter life-cycles that promote a larger
variety of genotypes in a shorter time-frame. The use
of indigenous plants to revegetate mine tailings is often
more advantageous than using introduced crop species as
indigenous plants may be better adapted to environmental
conditions at a site and require less maintenance (Kramer
et al. 2000). The use of both organic and non-organic
amendments is often used in mine tailing restoration
to enhance substrate properties for plant growth and a
number of researchers have investigated the potential of
various amendments to improve the growth of plants in
Pb/Zn mine tailings (e.g. Lan et al. 1998, Ye et al. 2000a,
Shu et al. 2002, Chiu et al. 2006, Jordan et al. 2008,
Wang et al. 2008, Kabas et al. 2012). However, often the
availability of suitable amendments (e.g. compost and
sludges) is limited and thus not practicable for use as an
amendment for the restoration of mine lands. Under these
conditions, inorganic fertilisers are often preferred for the
initial and rapid phases of vegetation establishment.
Geologically, Pb and Zn ore deposits often occur together
and frequently contain traces of cadmium (Cd), copper
(Cu) and other heavy metals (Dudka and Adriano 1997).
Both Pb and Cd have no known biological function and as
a consequence their accumulation in the environment can
cause severe toxicological problems (Gulson et al. 1994,
Manz and Castro 1997, Milton et al. 2002). The objective
of this study was to characterise the tailings from the Pering
Pb/Zn Mine in an arid (carbonate-rich) region of South Africa
and to investigate the potential of indigenous grass species

South African Journal of Plant and Soil is co-published by Taylor & Francis and NISC (Pty) Ltd
98
to revegetate the tailings. A pot experiment was used to
evaluate the growth and metal uptake of five grass species
grown in tailings material collected from the disposal dam
and amended with inorganic fertiliser, under glasshouse
conditions. While a range of metals were considered, the
focus was primarily on Pb and Zn in this study.
Materials and methods
Site description
The decommissioned Pering Pb/Zn Mine is located in the
North West province of South Africa (27°26′ S, 24°16′ E).
Mining operations ceased in January 2003 after 17 years
of ore extraction. During this time approximately 18 Mt of
ore, with an average grade of 0.6% Pb and 3.6% Zn, was
mined by opencast methods (Gutzmer 2005) extracting
primarily the minerals sphalerite (ZnS) and galena (PbS).
In addition, minor traces of pyrite (FeS2) and chalcopyrite
(CuFeS2) are also reported to have been present in the
ore (du Toit 1998). The metal sulphides were separated
from the milled ore (typically 0.25 mm) by froth flotation
and the fine-grained tailings were discarded as a slurry in
the tailings dam. The dam is approximately 522 000 m 2
with an average depth of 30 m and a volume of
12 100 000 m3. No natural or planted vegetation is present
on the tailings dam, though a Eucalyptus sp. windrow
had been planted around the base of the dam to reduce
wind-blown dust.
Waste material collection and preparation
Tailings samples were collected from 10 sites across the
top of the tailings dam to a depth of 0.5 m. These samples
were bulked (about 500 kg) and homogenised for analysis
and for use in the pot experiment. All analyses and the pot
experiment were carried out using tailings material that was
air-dried, homogenised and milled to pass through a 2 mm
sieve. All analyses were conducted in triplicate (unless
otherwise indicated) and the mean results reported.
Chemical and physical characteristics
Electrical conductivity (EC) and pH were measured in
distilled water with a Radiometer CDM83 electrical conduc-
tivity meter and a Radiometer PHM210 pH meter with
a standard glass electrode, respectively, using a 10 g
tailings:25 ml solution ratio. The pH was also measured in
1 M KCl using the same tailings:solution ratio. Extractable
base cations (calcium [Ca], potassium [K], magnesium
[Mg] and sodium [Na]) were determined by saturation with
NH4 (1 M ammonium acetate, pH 7) and cation exchange
capacity (CEC) by subsequent replacement with K (Soil
Classification Working Group 1991). Calcium, K, Mg and
Na concentrations were determined by atomic absorp-
tion spectrophotometry (AAS; Varian SpectrAA-200) and
NH4 concentrations by steam distillation (Bremner and
Mulvaney 1982), using a Gerhardt Vapodest 1. Nitrate and
ammonia were extracted with 2 M KCl (Maynard and Kalra
1993) and solution concentrations determined colourimetri-
cally using a TRAACS 2000 continuous flow auto-analyser.
Total nitrogen (N) was determined by Kjedahl digestion
and NH4 by distillation (Bremner and Mulvaney 1982).
Plant-available phosphorus (P) was estimated by extracting
Titshall, Hughes and Bester
with AMBIC solution (0.25 M ammonium bicarbonate,
pH 8.3) and P was determined colourimetrically (The
Non-Affiliated Soil Analysis Work Committee 1990) on a
Varian Cary 1E UV-Visible spectrophotometer (UV-Vis).
Organic carbon (OC) was determined titrimetrically
following potassium dichromate oxidation on 0.5 mm
material (Walkley 1947).
Total elemental concentrations, namely silicon (Si),
aluminium (Al), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), Ca, Mg, Na,
K, titanium (Ti), P, sulphur (S), arsenic (As), Pb, Zn, Cu,
nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), vanadium (V), barium (Ba) and
strontium (Sr), were determined using a Phillips PW1040
X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) utilising a vacuum
sealed X-ray tube set at 50 kV and 50 mA (analysis carried-
out by the Discipline of Geology, University of KwaZulu-
Natal, Durban). Plant-available Cd, Cu, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Pb
and Zn (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid [DTPA] extract-
able, pH 7.3) were determined by the method of Liang
and Karamanos (1993). This method was selected as
it was developed for use in neutral and alkaline soils and
substrates, thus making it suitable for the tailings material.
Particle size distribution was determined by the pipette
method (Gee and Bauder 1986) after sample treatment
with sodium hexametaphosphate and mechanical disper-
sion by ultrasound.
X-ray diffraction (XRD) of random powders was carried
out on a Philips PW1050 diffractometer using monochro-
mated CoK radiation, from 3° to 75° 2 with a scanning
step of 0.02° at 1° per minute counting interval. The diffrac-
tion data were captured by a Sietronics 122D automated
microprocessor attached to the X-ray diffractometer. The
samples were then analysed qualitatively to determine the
major mineralogical components.
Establishment of the pot experiment
Seed of Cenchrus ciliaris L. (perennial), Cymbopogon
plurinodis Stapf ex Burtt Davy (perennial), Digitaria
eriantha Steud. (perennial), Eragrostis superba Peyr. (weak
perennial growing for two to five seasons) and Fingeruthia
africana Lehm. (perennial) (all members of the Poaceae)
were collected from the Pb/Zn mine site, where all grew
in the vicinity of the tailings dam. There was no literature
that had specifically tested the use of these species in
the reclamation of Pb/Zn tailings, and as such no nutrient
and element sufficiency and toxicity limits were found.
Germination of D. eriantha was found to be poor, so a
commercial cultivar was selected as an alternative. The
seed was germinated in commercially available seedling
mix in standard nursery trays and grown to three weeks of
age before transplanting three seedlings into each pot.
Tailings material was placed in 1.9 l plastic pots (with
a fine glass-fibre membrane placed over the drainage-
holes), lightly tapped a few times and the mass of material
determined (3.3 kg). All pots were filled with this mass of
tailings (which approximated the tailings bulk density of
1 750 kg m–3 reported by Titshall 2007). This bulk density
value was used for the calculation of fertiliser applica-
tion rates (based on a depth of 0.2 m). Fertility analysis
indicated that the tailings material had negligible available
N and P, with very low K. As no general recommenda-
tions are available for the species tested here, rates were
South African Journal of Plant and Soil 2013, 30(2): 97–105 99

based on recommendations received from the Soil and The relationship between the yield of each species and
Analytical Services Division (Department of Agriculture, fertiliser application rate was determined by linear regres-
Cedara) for ryegrass pasture. Though it was expected that sion analysis with GenStat 8.1.
this recommendation would be higher than the require-
ments for natural veld grasses, it was considered suitable in Results and discussion
this study to compensate for the low nutritional status of the
tailings material. Thus an initial basal fertiliser was applied Chemical and physical characteristics
to each pot consisting of the equivalent of 100 kg N ha−1, The tailings material was found to consist of predominantly
150 kg P ha−1 and 100 kg K ha−1 and referred to as the full fine sand and silt, with low clay content (Table 1), though
fertiliser application rate. In addition, fertiliser was applied this was expected as the tailings was the by-product of
at half the full rate and an unfertilised (zero) treatment was crushing and milling of the rock matrix to about 0.25 mm for
included. Given the requirement for a simple approach to the extraction of sulphide ores by froth flotation. However,
improve the establishment of vegetation on the tailings the high amount of fine sand may lead to compaction
dam, the study was constrained to the use of readily problems (Skopp 2000), and was reflected in the high bulk
available granular fertiliser. Furthermore, the availability density (1 750 kg m−3) of the tailings material (Titshall 2007).
of organic amendments was not considered feasible for Natural settling of the different size fractions in the material
the region because of the lack of readily available organic during pumping of tailings slurry onto the dam are likely to
sources. The experiment was arranged in a randomised have contributed to the high bulk density, rather than direct
block design with three replications. compaction induced through compression or vibration.
Fertiliser was applied as solutions after planting. In addition, the low organic matter content would further
Cenchrus ciliaris, D. eriantha and E. superba grew well contribute to the high bulk density.
and were harvested six weeks after planting. The other The tailings material was alkaline and within similar
species grew more slowly and did not have sufficient ranges reported by Iavazzo et al. (2012) for Pb/Zn mine
biomass for plant chemical analysis, thus were allowed to wastes from arid parts of Morocco (pH 7.9–8.5). The
grow for an additional two weeks before harvesting. Plants pHKCl was higher than the pHwater, which was attributed to
were harvested by cutting the aboveground foliage 10 mm the displacement of base cations from the tailings in the
from the substrate surface. Aboveground biomass was salt-buffered solution. The EC (Table 1) was below the limit
determined after the material was dried in a forced-draft recognised for saline soils (400 mS m−1) and lower than the
oven at 65 °C for 2 d. The pH (water) of the substrate was value (325 mS m−1) reported by Conesa et al. (2008) for
measured after harvesting. The tailings material in each pot neutral Pb/Zn tailings from southern Spain. The OC content,
was air-dried, homogenised and passed through a 2 mm plant-available nutrients (N and P), extractable base cations
sieve prior to pH analysis. and CEC were all low (Table 1), particularly K concentra-
tions. It is suggested here that the OC content measured
Analysis of plant and pot material was a reflection of dissolution of dolomitic carbonates
All aboveground plant material was mechanically milled during the acid digestion, rather than carbon derived from
to pass through a 0.5 mm mesh. The samples were wet organic materials. As such the carbon content is likely to
digested in reflux tubes using concentrated nitric acid at
130  2 °C for 5–6 h (Slatter 1998). After cooling the digests Table 1: Mean and standard deviation (SD; n  3) chemical and
were filtered into 100 ml volumetric flasks and made up to physical characteristics of the tailings material from the Pering
volume with distilled water. The digests of the grasses were Pb/Zn Mine
analysed for Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn by AAS.
Given the low yield of some grass species, plant material
Characteristic Mean SD
was bulked and analyses conducted in duplicate, negating
pH (H2O) 8.20 0.33
the use of statistical comparisons in these instances. (1 M KCl) 8.55 0.02
Electrical conductivity (25 °C) (mS m−1) 51.5 1.1
Statistical analysis Organic carbon (g 100 g−1) 0.44 0.05
Overall differences between means of the yield of foliage Extractable P (mg kg−1) 2.03 0.24
of the grass species were compared by analysis of NH4-N (mg kg−1) 6.78 0.43
variance (ANOVA; n  3) using the statistical package NO3−-N (mg kg−1) 2.37 0.24
GenStat 8.1 (Lawes Agricultural Trust 2005). As there Total N (mg kg−1) 256 –
were differences in the growth periods of some of the Extractable base cations (cmolc kg−1)
species tested, a covariate was used to account for the Calcium 4.00 0.23
Magnesium 1.75 0.03
effects of these differences in the ANOVA (Rayner 1967).
Sodium 0.04 0.04
Where the overall F-statistic for the grass  fertiliser Potassium 0.02 0
level interaction was found to be significant, means were Cation exchange capacity (cmolc kg−1) 2.26 0.18
compared with the least significant difference (LSD) test Particle size (%)
at the 5% level of significance with GenStat 8.1. Metal Coarse sand (0.50–2.00 mm) 0.1 –
concentrations of the foliage were not analysed in this Medium sand (0.25–0.50 mm) 5.4 –
manner because of lack of replication of some treatments, Fine sand (0.053–0.25 mm) 79.3 –
though trends and patterns are discussed. Values were Silt (0.002–0.053 mm) 13.3 –
compared to suggested norms reported in the literature. Clay (0.002 mm) 1.9 –
100 Titshall, Hughes and Bester

be an overestimation of true organically derived carbon.
This is expected as the tailings would have a low organic
carbon content given they were produced from the crushing
of dolomitic matrix rock.
The high concentrations of total Ca and Mg (Table 2)
reflect the dolomitic mineralogy of the tailings. Total K
was also considerably higher than extractable amounts,
indicating that it was complexed in a non-labile form. Total
Zn concentrations were the highest of the trace metals,
which was attributed to the occurrence of residual ZnS in
the tailings. Total Pb was considerably lower than the Zn
concentrations, which was attributed to the lower ore
concentrations and perhaps also the higher PbS extraction
efficiencies at the processing plant. The high total sulphur
(S) concentration was due to the presence of sulphide
minerals not extracted during ore processing and sulphates
that formed when residual sulphides had oxidised. Shi
et al. (2011) reported total N, P and K values of 30, 370
and 1 820 mg kg−1, respectively and total Zn, Pb and Cu
concentrations of 1 328, 1 217 and 163 mg kg−1, respec-
tively, for alkaline Pb/Zn tailings from Fuyang City in
China. Conesa et al. (2008) reported total Cu, Zn, Cd and
Pb values of 81, 9 130, 33 and 5 310 mg kg−1 for neutral
tailings from southern Spain. This range in values highlights
the high variability between different tailings materials, but it
does suggest that the Pering Pb/Zn tailings were relatively
‘clean’ when compared to other sites across the world.
The concentrations of DTPA-extractable Pb and Zn
were high compared to the other metals measured
and, as expected, tended to be higher than typical metal
concentrations reported for South African surface soils
(Table 3). Given the lack of standardised methods for
analysing heavy-metal-contaminated soils (Fernandez
et al. 2007, Menzies et al. 2007) it is difficult to compare
results reported for soils and other mines. Difficulties arise
with respect to the lack of consistent sampling depths,
highly variable soil physical and chemical characteristics,
and the use of a wide variety of chemical extractants to
determine metal concentrations in labile and non-labile
fractions. Nonetheless, the data show that only Zn was
above the typical concentrations for 'natural' soils. In
some instances (Cd, Cu and Pb) the metal concentra-
tions exceeded the mean value of the soils, but were within
the ranges reported for those metals. Jordan et al. (2008)
extracted alkaline tailings with 1 M ammonium acetate to
estimate exchangeable metal concentrations and reported
values of 672, 8 182, 10.6 and 21.5 mg kg−1 for Pb, Zn,
Cu and Cd, respectively. With the exception of Zn, the
values reported here were lower than those reported
by Jordan et al. (2008). Martínez-Martínez et al. (2013)
reported DTPA-extractable Pb and Zn concentrations of
alkaline (pH 6) tailings of 65–775 and 497–2 449 mg
kg−1, respectively. As with total metal content, the plant-
available content of Pb and Zn of the Pering Pb/Zn tailings
is at the lower end of the ranges reported by others
for Pb/Zn tailings.
Generally, alkaline conditions promote sorption of metal
cations onto negatively charged colloidal surfaces (Alloway
1990, McBride et al. 1997) and promote precipitation/
adsorption with carbonates (Brady et al. 1999, Schosseler
et al. 1999, Lee et al. 2006). The buffered alkaline pH of
the DTPA extractant was intended to limit the dissolu-
tion of specifically sorbed and mineral-complexed metals,
thus better representing the labile component under these
conditions. Nonetheless, given that the tailings had a pH 8,
it is still possible that the pH 7.3 DTPA solution promoted
some minor solid-phase dissolution, releasing complexed
metals. The high DTPA-extractable Zn concentrations (44%
of total Zn) indicate that this possibly had occurred, though
this was not evident for extractable Pb (12% of total Pb).
Zhang et al. (2003) and Iavazzo et al. (2011) investigated
the characteristics of metals from Pb/Zn mine tailings from
a carbonate area using fractionation procedures. Zhang et
al. (2003) reported that Pb was primarily associated with

Table 2: Total major and minor element composition, determined by X-ray fluorescence analysis, of tailings from the Pering Pb/Zn Mine

Major element composition (% oxide)

SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 MnO MgO CaO Na2O K2O TiO2 P2O5 Total
4.87 1.48 4.03 3.66 32.6 49.9 0.26 0.76 0.05 0.02 97.6
Minor element composition (mg kg−1)
S As Pb Zn Cu Ni Cr V Ba Sr
18564 85 311 2170 6.2 4.4 2.8 5.5 0.8 17.2

Table 3: Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (pH 7.3) extractable metal concentrations (SD; n  3) in the tailings material from the Pering
Pb/Zn Mine and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-extractable metal concentrations of surface soils in South Africa. BD  Below detection,
ND not determined

Element concentration (mg kg−1)

Sample
Cd Cr Cu Fe Mn Ni Pb Zn
Tailings 0.31  0.17 BD 6.00  0.12 2.60  0.22 4.08  0.05 0.12  0.06 37.6  11.3 957  110
South African surface soilsa
Mean (n  4 300) 0.02 0.16 2.87 ND ND 2.39 3.32 1.66
Minimum BD BD BD ND ND BD 0.02 BD
Maximum 1.46 12.5 67.3 ND ND 170 109 210
a Herselman et al. (2005)
 South African Journal of Plant and Soil 2013, 30(2): 97–105
carbonate and oxide fractions and Cu and Zn with sulphide
and organic fractions. Iavazzo et al (2011) reported that both
Pb and Zn were associated with carbonate minerals (80%
and 52%, respectively). The strong association of Pb with
carbonates may, in part, explain the lower plant-available
fraction extracted in this study. It does, however, suggest
that under acidifying conditions, more Pb will be mobilised.
The XRD analysis indicated that the tailings material
was crystalline with little amorphous constituents present.
It consisted predominantly of dolomite (CaMg(CO 3)2),
with minor amounts of quartz (SiO2), orthoclase feldspar
(KAlSi3O8), sphalerite (ZnS) and pyrite (FeS). No galena
(PbS) or any other sulphide minerals were detected.
Yield of grass species
The yield of all grass species increased with an increase
in fertiliser application rate (Figure 1), which was
expected considering the low fertility status of the tailings,
suggesting that the use of fertiliser would be important
when revegetating the tailings dam. There was a signifi-
cant (F10,34  3.62; p  0.002) species  fertiliser interaction.
Comparisons of means with LSD5% showed that the yield of
C. ciliaris at the full fertilisation rate was significantly higher
(p  0.05) than all other grass species at any fertilisation
level (Figure 1). Similarly, the yield of D. eriantha at the full
fertilisation rate was significantly higher (p  0.05) than all
other treatments except for C. ciliaris at the full fertilisa-
tion rate. There were no significant differences (p  0.05)
between the yield of D. eriantha and C. ciliaris at the half
and zero fertiliser levels. Cymbopogon plurinodis had the
third-highest yield at all fertiliser levels, though it grew for
eight weeks to achieve this biomass (Figure 1). Eragrostis
superba and F. africana gave the lowest yields, but were
comparable to one another.
Positive, linear correlations existed between yield and
fertiliser application rate for all grass species tested. In
Cc De Es Fa Cp
4.5
4.0
3.5
YIELD (g potí)
d
3.0 cd
2.5
ef
2.0
efg
efg
1.5 fgh
ghij
1.0
ijk jk
0.5
Zero Half
FERTILISER LEVEL
Figure 1: Mean yield (SD; n  3) of foliage biomass of Cenchrus
ciliaris (Cc), Digitaria eriantha (De), Eragrostis superba (Es),
Fingeruthia africana (Fa) and Cymbopogon plurinodis (Cp) grown
in tailings from the Pering Pb/Zn Mine at three levels of fertiliser:
Zero  no fertiliser; Half  50 kg N ha−1, 75 kg P ha−1 and 50 kg
K ha−1; Full  100 kg N ha−1, 150 kg P ha−1 and 100 kg K ha−1.
Different letters indicate a significant difference between means
(LSD5%  0.52; coefficient of variation  4.7%)
101
all cases, except for D. eriantha, these linear relation-
ships where highly significant (p  0.001) and had R 2
values greater than 0.8 (Table 4). The lower R 2 found for
D. eriantha (0.62) was attributed to the high variability in
yields between replicates (Figure 1).
Element concentrations in foliage
The concentrations of Cr, Cd and Ni were all below the
analytical detection limits indicating that these metals are
unlikely to be a cause for concern. They are, therefore,
excluded from further discussion. There were no clear
trends in Cu uptake by any of the grasses with respect to
fertiliser application (Table 5). In some instances (C. ciliaris,
C. plurinodis, D. eriantha and E. superba), Cu concen-
trations increased with increasing fertiliser application.
Furthermore, some treatments had very high variability
(e.g. C. ciliaris at the half fertiliser level). Nonetheless,
concentrations measured were generally within the typical
range reported for turfgrass and other plants (Table 5). Iron
uptake was also variable with no consistent pattern evident
for any of the grass species. Again, some treatments
had high variability between replicates. Generally, the
concentrations were within the adequacy range reported
for turfgrass (Table 5). Fingeruthia africana was the
only species that had Fe concentrations well below the
recommended sufficiency range (Table 5), possibly
resulting in the low yield of this species. For all grass
species, except F. africana, there was an increase in Mn
uptake with increasing fertiliser applications. In the case of
F. africana at the full fertiliser application rate, Mn concen-
tration of the foliage was higher (41.22 mg kg−1) than at
the half and zero fertiliser application rates, which were
similar (31.75 and 31.24 mg kg−1, respectively). Typically,
the concentrations were within or near the adequacy range
reported for turfgrass and other plants (Table 5).
Considering the tailings material was derived from Pb and
Zn ore processing, it was anticipated that these elements
may be elevated in plant foliage. Extractable values of Zn
(Table 2) indicated moderately high availability of this
a b
element in the tailings, despite the high pH of the material.
This is reflected in the high concentrations measured in the
foliage of almost all grass species at all fertiliser applica-
tion rates. All concentrations were above the adequacy
d range reported for turfgrass (Table 5). For all grass species
e ef e
Table 4: Regression relationships between yield of grasses and
fertiliser application rate, indicating significance of the regression.
FB Foliage biomass
Grass species Regression1 R 2
Full Cenchrus ciliaris FB  (2.63  Fert)  1.395 0.98***
Cymbopogon plurinodis FB (1.394  Fert)  0.902 0.91***
Digitaria eriantha FB (1.929  Fert)  1.575 0.62**
Eragrostis superba FB (1.050  Fert)  0.507 0.93***
Fingeruthia africana FB (1.218  Fert)  0.480 0.82***
1 The regression term Fert refers to the fertiliser application level of
0, 0.5 and 1 (where 0 refers to the Zero fertiliser application rate,
0.5 to the Half fertiliser application rate (50 kg N ha−1, 75 kg P ha−1
and 50 kg K ha−1) and 1 to the Full fertiliser application rate
(100 kg N ha−1, 150 kg P ha−1 and 100 kg K ha−1, respectively)
** p  0.01, *** p  0.001
102 Titshall, Hughes and Bester

Table 5: Mean concentrations (SD; n = 3) of Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn and Pb in the foliage of five grass species grown in tailings from the Pering
Pb/Zn Mine with three levels of fertiliser application. The adequacy range for Zn is reported for turfgrass (Bennett 1993), ‘normal’ and ‘toxic’
ranges for Cu, Zn and Pb in vegetables (Conesa et al. 2009), and ‘normal’ and ‘contaminated’ ranges of Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn and Pb are reported
for plants (Ross 1994). The pH (water) of the tailings material at the end of the pot experiment is also given. BD = Below detection

Cu Fe Mn Pb Zn Final pH
Species Fertilisera
(mg kg−1) (mg kg−1) (mg kg−1) (mg kg−1) (mg kg−1) (H2O)
Cenchrus ciliaris Zero 6.16 34.74 75.71 BD 167 12 7.60 0.02
Half 13.134.81 54.8222.70 110.6629.26 2.16 0.58 278 31 7.55 0.03
Full 9.711.28 207.89223.56 169.6718.90 7.46 2.41 381 33 7.48 0.11
Cymbopogon plurinodis Zero 5.690.37 75.761.93 32.505.48 4.20 0.96 56.741.4 7.41 0.23
Half 6.4713.44 31.5310.05 34.464.45 1.82 0.91 336 89 7.400.15
Full 6.960.31 54.978.54 49.6517.65 1.60 0.66 621 48 7.44 0.06
Digitaria eriantha Zero 6.62031 53.843.88 37.416.79 11.64.0 312 12 7.51 0.03
Half 7.941.27 54.411.82 51.304.59 6.416.81 561192 7.56 0.02
Full 9.080.47 55.472.71 64.093.89 1.49 1.29 918 112 7.42 0.08
Eragrostis superba Zerob 6.560.58 69.146.92 88.9018.97 5.22 565 7.570.06
Half 7.551.34 69.4629.18 112.0618.35 9.501.98 989 136 7.56 0.10
Full 10.210.62 88.609.46 126.0829.84 13.1 2.9 1 105 92 7.54 0.11
Fingeruthia africana Zero 5.98 54.74 44.64 9.71 1.51 348 20 7.62 0.06
Half 7.630.64 60.747.35 83.397.35 2.54 0.33 576 136 7.50 0.04
Full 8.840.36 75.798.42 116.798.42 2.06 0.86 1 153 74 7.48 0.06
Bennett (1993) 5–20 35–100 25–150 – –
Conesa et al. (2009) ‘Normal’ 3–20 – – 2–5 15–150
‘Toxic’ 25–40 – – – 500–1 500
Ross (1994) ‘Normal’ 4–15 – 15–1 000 0.1–10 8–400
‘Contaminated’ 20–100 – 300–500 30–300 100–400
a
Zero, half and full refer to the fertiliser application rate, where full is the equivalent of 100 kg N ha−1, 150 kg P ha−1 and 100 kg K ha−1
b
Due to low yield, not all replicates could be analysed, thus replicates were bulked and analysed in duplicate. The control treatment of
Eragrostis superba only comprised a single analysis, thus the SD from the mean could not be calculated

there also were marked increases in Zn concentrations with
increasing fertiliser application. In the case of E. superba
and F. africana, the concentrations exceeded 1 000 mg kg−1
at the full fertiliser application rate, possibly due to a concen-
trating effect because of the low yield of these grass species.
Lead concentrations were variable among the grass
species, but overall foliage concentrations tended to be
low. The Pb concentrations of C. ciliaris and E. superba
increased with increasing fertiliser application rate,
whereas decreases were observed for the other grass
species, possibly because of acidification of the tailings
through nitrification of the N fertiliser and also root nutrient
exchanges processes. The pH (water) of the tailings
material at the end of the pot experiment (Table 5) showed
that for all treatments and species the pH had decreased
from the starting pH (Table 1) by between 0.6 and 0.8.
However, only C. ciliaris and F. africana showed a decrease
in final pH as fertiliser rate increased. It is thus possible
that for C. ciliaris the acidification affect of the N fertiliser
resulted in increased solubility and consequently uptake of
Pb by the plants. Acidification will result in the solubilisa-
tion of metal–carbonate complexes and desorption of metal
cations from exchange sites. In the case of E. superba the
improved growth due to fertilisation may have resulted in an
increased uptake of Pb by this species. The other species
may exhibit better exclusion mechanisms, though this has
never been investigated for these species.
The macronutrient concentrations of the tailings indicated
that N, P and K are likely to be growth-limiting elements.
The improved growth of all species due to fertiliser addition
supported this suggestion (Figure 1). Zinc concentra-
tions were very high in some grass species, and may
have contributed to suboptimal yields, though no visual
symptoms of toxicity were evident. The high Zn content
of the plants was directly attributed to the high availability
of Zn in the tailings. Excess Zn can result in stunted root
and shoot growth, and chlorosis of new leaves (Farago
1994, Kabata-Pendias 2001). However, most plant species
show tolerance to high Zn concentrations (Kabata-Pendias
2001). Although Zn concentrations were over the upper
range suggested by Bennett (1993) when grown in the
tailings (Table 5), this author reported that some grasses
have not shown toxicity symptoms with Zn concentra-
tions of up to 3 000 mg kg−1. In addition, the grass species
used in this study (except D. eriantha) were collected
from the vicinity of the tailings and were possibly adapted
to high Zn levels.
Ye et al. (1999) reported mean Zn and Pb concentra-
tions of 454 and 40 mg kg−1, respectively, in the foliage of
the grass Agropyron elongatum grown in acidic Pb/Zn mine
tailings. Addition of fertiliser led to increases in the foliage
concentrations of Pb and Zn (490 and 59 g kg−1, respec-
tively). The addition of fertiliser had a similar effect on Zn
concentrations in the grasses tested in the present study,
though in some instances the increases were substan-
tially greater than those reported by Ye et al. (1999). The
same was not true for Pb concentrations, however, as the
response was more variable in the grasses investigated. In
South African Journal of Plant and Soil 2013, 30(2): 97–105
all cases though, Pb concentrations were lower than those
reported by Ye et al. (1999). The higher Zn concentration
found here was likely due to the much higher amounts of
available Zn (DTPA-extractable) in the tailings (957 mg
kg−1) compared to 41 mg kg−1 in the tailings studied by Ye
et al. (1999). The reverse was true for Pb, with 38 mg kg−1
DTPA-extractable Pb in the present study compared to
154 mg Pb kg−1 in the study of Ye et al. (1999).
More recently, Conesa et al. (2008) investigated the
uptake of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb by two native grass species
(Piptatherum miliaceum and Lygeum spartum) grown
in pure Pb/Zn tailings or tailings-contaminated soil from
southern Spain under greenhouse conditions. The authors
found that L. spartum accumulated about 4, 190, 11 and
10 mg kg−1 of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb, respectively, whereas
P. miliaceum accumulated in the order of 40, 900, 10 and
150 mg kg−1 of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb, respectively. This range
of values covers the range reported for the grasses tested
in the present study. Santos-Jallath et al. (2013) measured
metal concentrations in nine vegetation species growing
naturally on acid Pb/Zn mine tailings in Mexico, of which
the grass C. ciliaris was one of the species studied. For
this species they reported foliage concentrations of Cd,
Pb, Cu and Zn of 3.2, 36.7, 6.6 and 232 mg kg−1, respec-
tively. These were similar to the values measured here for
C. ciliaris, except for Pb, which was lower in the present
study than in the study by Santos-Jallath et al. (2013).
The strongly alkaline, carbonate-rich nature of the tailings
used in this study is likely to have immobilised the Pb,
thus lowering Pb uptake by the plant. Generally, trace
metal concentrations decrease with an increase in soil pH
(Gray et al. 1998, Mordvedt 2000), this being attributed to
increased sorption onto negative exchange sites, formation
of insoluble metal hydrous oxides and metal–carbonate
complexes. However, in the present study the use of grass
species occurring in the vicinity of the mine were preferred
as these species are adapted to the climatic and alkaline
soil conditions of the area.
In a study examining the effect of fertilisation on the
phytoextraction potential of two Rumex acetosa accessions
(metal and non-metal tolerant) grown in soils contami-
nated by Pb/Zn mining activites, Barrutia et al. (2009)
reported that fertilisation increased the ability of the metal-
tolerant accession to take up Pb and Zn. Although none of
the species investigated in this study were considered to
be hyperaccumulator plants, it was also found that fertili-
sation increased the uptake of Zn, though not necessarily
other metals. Given the risk associated with the introduction
of heavy metals into grazing stock if metal uptake is high,
an increase in metal uptake under fertilisation suggests that
high rates of fertilisation need to be avoided.
The results for C. ciliaris and D. eriantha suggest that
these two species would be highly suitable for revegeta-
tion of the tailings and require further field testing. Their high
yield and tolerance of the substrate conditions are favour-
able attributes that are likely to promote the rapid establish-
ment of a cover, as even with no fertiliser these two species
had higher yields than the other grass species tested.
Eragrostis superba is reported to be a fast-growing species
that establishes readily (van Oudtshoorn 2002). In the
present experiment, this species established very easily and
103
observations while seed collecting in the field suggested
that this species also had high seed-producing potential.
Furthermore, most of the seed (90%; LWT unpublished
data) collected from the site was viable suggesting high
propagation potential. This is a favourable trait for rapid
revegetation of derelict sites. Whereas the other two
species (F. africana and C. plurinodis) collected from the
mine site produced higher yields than E. superba, they
were observed to be slower growing under pot conditions
than the other species tested. These species may be more
suitable as long-term additions to improve species diversity
at the sites. Both F. africana and C. plurinodis are consid-
ered to be highly unpalatable (van Oudtshoorn 2002), thus
the addition of these species may reduce the movement of
grazing animals onto the tailings dam, reducing the risk of
development of paths that may increase the potential for
erosion during the seasonal rainstorm events.
Generally, Pb concentrations in the foliage were not
considered high in the grasses, but the high Zn concentra-
tions may be cause for concern. Chaney (1983, cited by
Ye et al. 1999) noted that excessive dietary Zn (300–1 000
mg kg−1) and Pb (30 mg kg−1) can be toxic to sheep and
cattle. The greatest risk will be when animals are allowed
to graze on vegetation grown on the tailings material,
rather than in the surrounding areas, and this should be
limited as far as possible. However, a risk not investi-
gated here is the consequence of wind-dispersed tailings
dust across the landscape on the nutritional quality of
surrounding grazing land.
Given that this was a pot study, a cautionary note on
extrapolating our findings to field conditions is necessary.
De Vries (1980) argues that the results from pot experi-
ments cannot be extrapolated to the field unless the pot
experiment dealt with growing factors that dominated all
other factors. The pot dimensions (volume of substrate the
pot can hold), the preparation of the substrate, watering
regime and glasshouse environmental conditions are all
factors that are reported to affect the response of plants
grown under glasshouse conditions (e.g. de Vries 1980,
Ray and Sinclair 1998, Friesl et al. 2006, Passioura
2006) and the predetermined environmental parame-
ters of pot experiments seldom represent the true range
of field conditions, thus restricting the value of the results.
Nonetheless, pot experiments are useful to improve our
understanding of plant behaviour under preselected
conditions (de Vries 1980, Friesl et al. 2006). This will,
however, require calibration under field conditions.
Conclusions
The findings of this study showed that Zn and, to a lesser
extent, Pb were the only metals likely to be of concern in
the tailings material. Other metals measured tended to have
low total and extractable concentrations and, as such, were
not considered to be a problem. Low macronutrient concen-
trations were anticipated to be a potential plant growth
limiting factor, but could be overcome with fertilisation.
The outcome of the pot experiment conducted suggested
that all the species tested here could potentially be used
to establish a vegetation cover on the tailings dam. The
higher biomass of C. ciliaris and D. eriantha are considered
104
favourable to increase vegetation biomass and thus
increase the organic carbon status of the tailings. Although
E. superba had lower biomass production, the high viability
of its seeds makes it a favourable species for initial site
establishment and succession. The other species may have
limited value for site establishment because of apparent
slow growth, but they may be useful for increasing vegeta-
tion diversity in the future. Apart from Zn, there was limited
evidence for potential metal toxicity in the plants. Lead
concentrations were within ʻnormalʼ plant ranges, because
of both low concentrations in the tailings materials and
the low mobility of Fe in the dolomitic matrix. Zinc concen-
trations frequently exceeded guideline limits and could
potentially pose a toxicity risk, both to the plant and also
animals grazing these plants. However, evidence from the
literature suggests that plants grown in pots tend to take
up higher levels of elements than under field conditions,
suggesting that the levels reported here may be an overes-
timation of what can be expected in the field.
Further testing under field conditions is suggested.
Fertilisation is likely to be key in ensuring early establish-
ment, and the performance of the species tested here
needs to be evaluated under natural conditions.
Acknowledgements — The authors acknowledge funding from the
BHP-Billiton Johannesburg Technology Centre and would like to
thank, in particular, Mrs Ritva Muhlbauer and the staff of the Pering
Pb/Zn Mine for their assistance.
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Editor: P Mnkeni