Patents on the soles of your shoes...: Oh, patents ! Mining wastewater transformed into art (UK) (3)

To prevent 4000 tons (122 billion liters) of iron oxide from entering waterways and watersheds, each year, in the UK, the BritishCoal Authority manages 75 mine water treatment plants, at former British coalfields.

The University College of London (UCL) Slade School of Fine Art partnered with the Coal Authority for the production of paint pigments, using the iron oxide solids (i.e.; ochre) extracted from the mining wastewater, processed at the treatment plants.

Five pigments, ranging from primrose yellow to burnt terracotta, were created from the iron oxide sludge extracted at five different water treatment sites, within the context of a doctoral thesis focused on “The origins of earth colors and their contemporary significance.” The doctoral candidate and artist, Onya McCausland, collected samples from the Coal Authority treatment plants and then worked with UCL chemists to produce five strikingly different pigments for artist paint. The project culminated with an exhibit at UCL Cloisters titled Five Colours Five Landscapes, in April 2018, and recognition of the five water treatment sites as Public Works of Arts in the UK, considering they contribute the raw material pigments for top-grade artist paint.

The process invoked for oxidizing iron in the UK coal mine wastewaters is different from that which was implemented in the US, by grassroots activists, community organizers, Ohio University academics and artists, in the Appalachians (see previous posts). The UK process invokes aeration cascades, which provide the (invisible) iron contained in the mine wastewater with oxygen to encourage oxidation. The oxidized iron then settles as sludge at the bottom of pools, separating from the water, which flows through reed beds, for removal of any remaining iron oxide solids, and release into the waterways.

The video below shows the British Coal Authority coal mine wastewater treatment process, currently in use..

Collaboration between the Coal Authority wastewater remediation engineers and the UCL Slade School of Fine Art has resulted in a highly desirable product (i.e., pigments for artist paint). A collaboration which inscribes itself in a new climate-friendly future. In Onya McCausland's terms:

What sets these coal ochres apart is the quality of their colour and their sustainable production as part of the remediation legacy of the coal mining industry. This is in contrast to the current practise of importing natural ochres from unsustainable unnamed sources across the globe.

Three images of Onya McCausland’s paintings, using the pigments derived from iron-oxide sludge at the Coal Authority mine water treatment facilities, are included below. The paintings, respectively titled Saltburn Main 1, Deerplay Hill and Cuthill Red 1 were exhibited, in the UK, at the contemporary art Anima-Mundi Gallery, within the context of the Onya McCausland solo show Landscapes, Oct. 20-Dec. 8, 2018. The paintings, exhibited on the three floors of the Anima-Mundi Gallery, honored the landscapes where the iron-oxide ochres were sourced, in particular, Saltburn in East Yorkshire, Deerplay in Bacup, Lancashire, and Cuthill in West Lothian, Scotland, for the paintings included below.