Alvaro Pinto

   

Executive Director
Centro Ciência Viva do Lousal - Mina de Ciência | Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa

BIO

Álvaro Manuel Madureira Pinto got is graduation in geology by the University of Porto and his master’s degree in mineralogy and metallogeny by the University of Lisbon. He was mineralogist at the Neves Corvo mine and later at the National Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Lisbon. He was soon invited assistant professor at FCUL (Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa), where is currently a senior technician of the Geology Department and a Researcher of the IDL – Instituto Dom Luíz. He was part of the organization of national and international scientific congresses and meetings and took part in 5 international oceanographic missions in the Atlantic, Pacific and Artic Oceans. Álvaro engaged in several scientific research projects promoted by both the industry and academy. He is the author or co-author of more than three dozen scientific texts published in national and foreign journals. Álvaro has been guest speaker in both national and international organizations. He remains linked to the national and international mining industry in the field of applied minerology and geometallurgy. Additionally, since 2020, he is the national coordinator of the Portuguese Geology Olympiad (OPG). Currently and since its establishment in 2010, he is the Executive Director of Centro Ciência Viva do Lousal – Mina de Ciência.

Session 8.
22 October 2025 / 15:00 - 16:10 | Lagoas hall

A Pioneering Project of Mine Rehabilitation of Sulphide-rich Ore Deposits Based on Geomorphic Solutions Coupled with AMD Chemical Stabilization at Lousal Mine, Portugal

The rehabilitation of the sulphide-rich Lousal mine in Portugal is the first case in Europe to combine geomorphic methodologies with geochemical solutions. A new rehabilitation topography was designed and built using the GeoFluv method; a two-layer chemical buffering edaphic blanket was extended over a highly contaminated, 1.6 hectares pilot drainage basin, associated with open limestone channels; and a widespread endemic vegetation cover was establishment in the intervention area. The project sought to create synergies between the beneficial effects of each of the rehabilitation actions implemented. Our first results strongly indicate the sustainability of the ecosystem created, which is fundamental to the economic viability of this solution in future mine reclamation projects. The insights obtained so far provide new knowledge and methodological innovations that can be extremely useful in current and future green mining scenarios.