While organic amendments have been well documented for revegetation of acid-generating tailing and waste rock, it is recognized that they do not prevent tailing oxidation and therefore are not a permanent solution to the acidic drainage problem. Laboratory research presented here compared three compost cover layer models that employed fresh and mature municipal solid waste compost. Fresh compost covers on tailing established low redox potential under anaerobic conditions that not only prevented

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... further tailing oxidation, but also reversed the processes that generate acidic mine drainage. Reductive dissolution of previously oxidized and precipitated trace metals was seen, but this may be a transient phenomenon. Further laboratory studies and preparations for a field research program are ongoing.