The stored waste from mining, mainly represented by tailings dumps and landfills, needs constant monitoring. On the one hand, they often pose a danger to the environment and people, on the other, with the development of new technologies, they are considered as a source of recycling and extraction of valuable components. In cold climatic zones, waste storage, stable storage facilities, and the organization of a monitoring system have a number of special features. Negative temperatures, freezing and thawing cycles lead both to increased release of potentially toxic substances outside landfills and tailings dumps, and to a violation of the integrity of enclosing structures. The problem is compounded by global warming, which leads to greater mobility of the upper layers due to thawing of frozen ground. The problems of monitoring in cold zones are caused by the high cost of its implementation due to the remoteness of the territories and the difficulties of working during the winter period. In such conditions, geophysical observation methods become promising, since they do not violate the integrity of the studied objects and provide an autonomous energy-saving mode for a long time. The article discusses the possibilities and features of using geophysical technologies for monitoring stored mining waste in cold climatic zones. Examples of study in Russia, Canada, the Nordic countries of Europe and other countries with similar climatic conditions are used.

Barite is one of the critically important minerals in several industries, including the fuel and energy, nuclear, and medical sectors. For decades, its extraction did not require any complex techniques; however, with the depletion of rich barite-bearing veins around the world, the circumstances have changed. While the demand for barite is growing widely, it is necessary to optimize and improve the existing methods for benefication of barite and barite-containing ores, and create new approaches to extracting this mineral, as well as develop technogenic barite deposits accumulated in large quantities during the previous ore production. Dumps and tailings often demonstrate high barite content, while new mining technologies make its extraction cost-efficient. Russian and foreign papers of the last 14 years provide data on the current state of primary and technogenic deposits, areas of barite use and the approaches employed for its benefication. Considering the expansion of the range of barite applications, the growing need for the mineral in the oil and gas industry and the difficulties in developing new barite deposits in Russia, the importance of new approaches to the enrichment of ore tailings in polymetallic deposits is revealed.