Common problems and characteristics of sites affected by the mining are land occupation, pollution, land degradation, hydrologic changes and landscape change what belong to the major environmental problems in many countries. Despite the regulation prescribed by the Mining Act which brought significant progress in post mining land reclamation, emphasise mostly in recovery of production capability of landscape, many recent studies state it may not be so effective in restoration of diversity and ecosystem services. In order to properly assess newer approaches in spoil heaps recultivation our research is focused on the restoration of species rich meadows using near-nature methods, specifically the transfer of turves and seeds-containing hay transfer supported by management (mowing and mowing with mulching). Additionally, the research is focused on influence of the plot size on restoration success and on effect of management on soil development. Both of the applied near-nature methods of species rich meadow recultivation are effective in species provisioning and thus succession acceleration. More successful is the method of transferred turves where it was possible to establish more than 60% of the species from the donor site. The species richness on sites and its spreading is dependent on implemented...

La lixiviation en tas est une méthode industrielle utilisée pour traiter des minerais à basse teneur consistant en la percolation d’une solution de lixiviation à travers un tas de 6 à 9 mètres de haut afin d’en extraire l’élément d’intérêt. Cependant, la présence de nombreuses fines particules et d’argiles au sein du minerai peuvent causer l’apparition de phénomènes de colmatage dans les tas, diminuant l’efficacité de la lixiviation. Afin de résoudre ce problème, les industries du nickel, du cuivre ou encore de l’uranium agglomèrent le minerai, augmentant ainsi sa granulométrie par le rassemblement des fines particules. Néanmoins, l’agglomération de minerais uranifères ainsi que l’impact de la structure des agglomérats sur la lixiviation reste peu étudiée. Cette thèse a permis de caractériser l’évolution structurale et pétro physique des agglomérats de minerais d’uranium au cours de la lixiviation, d’étudier l’influence des conditions d’agglomération sur la structure des agglomérats résultants et enfin d’étudier la lixiviation des agglomérats à l’échelle du tas, par le biais d’essais en colonnes métriques. De plus, les causes de colmatage ont pu être identifiées comme provenant d’une dégradation mécanique des agglomérats entrainant une réduction de la perméabilité et de la porosité du tas / Heap leaching allows processing low grade ores. Basically, this industrial mining process consists in percolating a leaching solution slowly down through an ore heap of 6 to 9 meters high to extract the metals of interest. However, fine particles and clays are often the cause of clogging within heaps, leading to a decrease of leaching efficiency. To solve this problem, copper, nickel and uranium industry uses agglomeration of the ore particles. This process allows adjusting the particle size distribution by gathering fine particles. However uranium-ore agglomeration and the impact of the agglomerates structure on heap leaching remains poorly understood. The current thesis allowed characterizing structural and petrophysical properties of agglomerates and its evolution during leaching, studying the influence of agglomeration conditions on agglomerates structures and finally upscaling there results at the heap scale, using meter scale columns. Clogging phenomena were especially due to the mechanical degradation of agglomerates, causing a decrease of both heap porosity and permeability

Points-to analysis is a static program analysis that tries to predict the dynamic behavior of programs without running them. It computes reference information by approximating for each pointer in the program a set of possible objects to which it could point to at runtime. In order to justify new analysis techniques, they need to be compared to the state of the art regarding their accuracy and efficiency. One of the main parameters influencing precision in points-to analysis is context-sensitivity that provides the analysis of each method separately for different contexts it was called on. The problem raised due to providing such a property to points-to analysis is decreasing of analysis scalability along with increasing memory consumption used during analysis process. The goal of this thesis is to present a comparison of precision and scalability of context-sensitive and context-insensitive analysis using three different points-to analysis techniques (Spark, Paddle, P2SSA) produced by two research groups. This comparison provides basic trade-offs regarding scalability on the one hand and efficiency and accuracy on the other. This work was intended to involve previous research work in this field consequently to investigate and implement several specific metrics covering each type of analysis regardless context-sensitivity – Spark, Paddle and P2SSA. These three approaches for points-to analysis demonstrate the intended achievements of different research groups. Common output format enables to choose the most efficient type of analysis for particular purpose.

This study investigates six theoretical approaches offered as solutions to the paradox of the heap (sorites paradox), a logic puzzle dating back to the ancient Greek philosopher Eubulides. Those considered are: Incoherence Theory, Epistemic Theory, Supervaluation Theory, Many-Valued Logic, Fuzzy Logic, and Non-Classical Semantics. After critically examining all of these, it is concluded that none of the attempts to explain the sorites are fully adequate, and the paradox remains unresolved. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.A. (Philosophy)

[pt] Esta dissertação apresenta uma análise numérica do fluxo não saturado em uma pilha de lixiviação de minério de cobre. Adicionalmente, foi feito também um estudo da estabilidade estática e sísmica da pilha de lixiviação, por sua construção estar planejada em região de alta sismicidade no sul do Peru. A pilha será construída com minério de cobre não tratado sobre base impermeável para evitar a contaminação do meio ambiente por fluxo da solução ácida através da fundação. Os resultados obtidos nas análises numéricas indicam que a pilha de lixiviação apresenta fatores de segurança satisfatórios considerando sismos de magnitude até 7,5 com aceleração máxima de até 0,30g. Da mesma forma, constatou-se que a posição da linha freática formada pela solução de lixiviação não atinge as camadas previstas para proteção das tubulações de drenagem. / [en] This dissertation presents a numerical analysis for the non saturated flow throughout a copper ore heap leach. Additionally, static and dynamic stability analyses were also made because the heap leach is planned to be built in a highly seismic region in the south of Peru. The heap will be constructed with non-treated copper ore (run of mine) on impermeable pad specially devised to avoid any possibility of ground contamination by the flow through the foundation of the acid solution used for the lixiviation process. The numerical results obtained in the stability analyses indicate that the heap leach presents satisfactory safety factors even when considering earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 with maximum acceleration of 0.30g. It has been also observed that the phreatic line formed by the lixiviation fluid does not reach the layers devised to protect the drainage pipes of the lixiviation system.

Die Rückstandshalden des Kalibergbaus bestehen überwiegend aus Steinsalz. In Abhängigkeit der Stabilität des Untergrundes sowie der Haldenhöhe neigen diese Halden dazu sich plastisch zu verformen. Diese Deformationen gilt es frühzeitig zu erkennen und zu bewerten. Das neue gestaffelte Monitoringkonzept beruht auf langjährigen Erfahrungen, die ebenso kurz vorgestellt werden. / Tailing heaps of potash mining consist predominantly of rock salt. Depending on the stability of the underground, as well as the heights of the heaps, these heaps tend to deform plastically. These deformations must be recognized and assessed at an early stage. The new graduated monitoring concept is based on many years of experience, which are also briefly presented.

Les terrils du bassin minier de Provence sont implantés dans le paysage et demeurent à proximité des habitations de la métropole Aix-Marseille. Les terrils les plus anciens ont été naturellement colonisés par la végétation et des sols s’y sont développés avec une vitesse remarquable. Cette étude vise à comprendre les processus pédogénétiques en cours depuis 55 ans sur les terrils miniers. Nous avons étudié l’impact du lignite sur les caractéristiques physico-chimiques et microbiologiques d’un Rendosol naturel. Deux sols similaires, dont l’un est traversé par l’affleurement naturel d’une veine de lignite et l’autre pas, ont donc été comparés afin de caractériser les variables impactées par le lignite. L’étude du terril Armand a permis de comprendre les facteurs responsables de la formation et de la variabilité des caractéristiques des sols observés sur le terril. L’abondance de composés carbonés récalcitrants dans les sols enrichis en lignite affecte les niveaux d’activité des microorganismes responsables des processus biologiques dans les sols sans induire d’effets néfastes. Le lignite semble intervenir comme un facteur de dilution du carbone organique, diminuant ainsi la quantité de carbone disponible et donc la vitalité d’expression des fonctions microbiennes. Les activités biologiques sont diminuées en présence de lignite, mais les changements induits sur les propriétés physico-chimiques semblent améliorer la fertilité du sol. Les sols du terril Armand demeurent cependant encore à un stade d’évolution trop jeune pour préjuger de leur évolution future. / Spoil heaps are scattered over the coal basin of Provence: they are inserted in the landscape and often located close to urban areas of the Aix-Marseille Metropole. The oldest spoil heaps have been naturally colonized by local vegetation and soils have simultaneously quickly developed. This study aims at understanding the processes involved in soil forming on undisturbed lignite-rich spoil heaps since 55 years. We studied the impact of lignite on the physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics of an undisturbed soil: we compared two similar Rendosols, except that one was developed in a natural lignite outcrop. Then we studied on the 55-year-old Armand spoil heap the factors responsible for soil genesis and variability of soil characteristics. Recalcitrant carbon compounds found in soils enriched with lignite modify microbial activity but do not induce negative effects. It seems that lignite acts as a diluting factor of the organic carbon that decreases the available carbon pool and consequently on the vitality of the expression of the microbial functions. Enzymatic activities and basal respiration decrease while changes observed on physico-chemical properties tend to improve soil fertility. Some characteristics of the soils developed on the spoil heap are similar to those of the soil developed from the lignite outcrop, while others are more related to the way the spoil heap was set up. Although these results have shed light on some of the processes involved in soil formation on spoil heaps in a carbonated environment, soils on Armand spoil heap are still at an early stage of development that precludes conclusion on their future evolution.

Cette thèse porte sur l'étude de la combinatoire énumérative, plus particulièrement autour des partitions d'entiers et des groupes de Coxeter. Dans une première partie, à l'instar de Han et de Nekrasov-Okounkov, nous étudions des développements combinatoires des puissances de la fonction êta de Dedekind, en termes de longueurs d'équerres de partitions d'entiers. Notre approche, bijective, utilise notamment les identités de Macdonald en types affines (en particulier le type C), généralisant l'approche de Han en type A. Nous étendons ensuite avec de nouveaux paramètres ces développements, grâce à de nouvelles propriétés de la décomposition de Littlewood vis-à-vis des partitions et statistiques considérées. Cela nous permet de déduire des formules des équerres symplectiques, ainsi qu'une connexion avec la théorie des représentations. Dans une seconde partie, nous étudions les éléments cycliquement pleinement commutatifs dans les groupes de Coxeter introduits par Boothby et al., qui forment une sous famille des éléments pleinement commutatifs. Nous commençons par développer une construction, la clôture cylindrique, donnant un cadre théorique qui est aux éléments CPC ce que les empilements de Viennot sont aux éléments PC. Nous donnons une caractérisation des éléments CPC en terme de clôtures cylindriques pour n'importe quel système de Coxeter. Celle-ci nous permet de déterminer en termes d'expressions réduites les éléments CPC dans tous les groupes de Coxeter finis ou affines, et d'en déduire dans tous ces groupes l'énumération de ces éléments. En utilisant la théorie des automates finis, nous montrons aussi que la série génératrice de ces éléments est une fraction rationnelle / This thesis focuses on enumerative combinatorics, particularly on integer partitions and Coxeter groups. In the first part, like Han and Nekrasov-Okounkov, we study the combinatorial expansion of power of the Dedekind's eta function, in terms of hook lengths of integer partitions. Our approach, bijective, use the Macdonald identities in affine types, generalizing the study of Han in the case of type A. We extend with new parameters the expansions that we obtained through new properties of the Littlewood decomposition. This enables us to deduce symplectic hook length formulas and a connexion with representation theory. In the second part, we study the cyclically fully commutative elements in Coxeter groups, introduced by Boothby et al., which are a sub family of the fully commutative elements. We start by introducing a new construction, the cylindrical closure, which give a theoretical framework for the CPC elements analogous to the Viennot's heaps for fully commutative elements. We give a characterization of CPC elements in terms of cylindrical closures in any Coxeter groups. This allows to deduce a characterization of these elements in terms of reduced decompositions in all finite and affine Coxeter and their enumerations in those groups. By using the theory of finite state automata, we show that the generating function of these elements is always rational, in all Coxeter groups

[pt] O fenômeno de liquefação continua sendo um dos temas mais importantes, complexos e controversos da engenharia geotécnica, sendo a liquefação dinâmica, causada por terremotos, o maior contribuinte de risco sísmico urbano em vários países andinos. O movimento causa incrementos da poropressão que reduz a tensão efetiva e conseqüentemente a resistência ao cisalhamento de solos arenosos. O presente trabalho de pesquisa apresenta e compara algumas das metodologias existentes para a avaliação do fenômeno de liquefação dinâmica, variando desde o método semi-empírico de Seed-Idriss para estimativas do potencial de liquefação até a execução de algumas análises numéricas, no contexto dinâmico, através do programa computacional FLAC 2D v.5. Um estudo de caso, para uma comparação dos diversos procedimentos, consiste na análise dinâmica de uma pilha de lixiviação de minério de cobre, situada em região de atividade sísmica no Peru que, devido a problemas no sistema de drenagem interna, resultou com um alto nível de saturação que poderia colocar sua estabilidade em risco devido à possibilidade de liquefação sob carregamento sísmico. Dos resultados obtidos nessas análises, pode-se afirmar que o método semi-empírico de Seed-Idriss, para determinação do potencial de liquefação, compara-se bastante bem com modelos mais sofisticados baseados em análises dinâmicas empregando tanto o modelo constitutivo de Finn quanto o modelo constitutivo elastoplástico UBCSAND. / [en] The phenomenon of liquefaction is still one of the most important, complex and controversial subjects of the geotechnical engineering, being the dynamic liquefaction, caused by earthquakes, the major contributor to urban seismic risks in several Andesian countries. The shaking increases the pore water pressure which reduces the soil effective stress and, therefore, the shear strength of sandy soils. This dissertation presents and compares some of the proposed methodologies to evaluate the phenomenon of dynamic liquefaction, ranging from the semi-empirical method of Seed-Idriss to estimate the liquefaction potential to the execution of some numerical analyses, within the dynamic context, through the computational program FLAC 2D v.5. The case study, for the comparison among the several procedures, consists of a copper ore heap leach, situated in a high seismic activity zone in Peru, that experimented high levels of saturation, due to problems in the internal drainage system, that could put in risk the stability of the leach pad to the possibility of liquefaction under seismic loading. From the results of such analyses, one can say that the semi-empirical method proposed by Seed- Idriss for the determination of the liquefaction potential compares quite well with outputs from more sophisticated numerical analyses based on dynamic studies that incorporate either the Finn s or the elasto-plastic UBCSAND constitutive models.

This work deals with issues aimed at the possibility of treating the material which has not been used yet – coal tailings. The work includes among others the production, its optimalization and utilization of a new type of lightweight artificial aggregate in the process of production of concrete. The possibility of manufactured the artificial aggregate is dealt with the principle of self-burning of the raw material's batch at the agglomerative grate. The optimalization of the burning process was performed both with the homogenous and the layered batch. Further part of the work focuses on the fabrication of diverse types of concrete and determination of their parametres. This section is significantly extended with the comparison of basic physical and specific properities of the new type of concrete with those of the commonly produced types. The last part of presented work deals with the ecological - economic situation of these issues. The proposed solution points to the possibility of utilization of the coal tailings which are put to the tailings heaps. It was managed to optimize the burning process and to find the most convenient system for storing the raw material's batch at the agglomerative grate. Next, it was proved that the types of concrete produced with a new sort of aggregate are also suitable for fabricating the construction concrete with the strength above the border of 50 MPa, which are applicable even in harder conditions. These sorts of concrete also have a lower volume weight and very good bending properties. The major finding, which underlines the contribution of this work, is that the up to now unused material is suitable for fabrication of relatively high-quality and thermally stable aggregate of strength on the border of 5 MPa, which can be use for fabricating concrete with very good results even in this field. Another great contribution of this work can surely be the fact, that a preliminary economic balance of the manufacturing pr