Metallurgical slag is often treated as a material which could be used in the waste management, especially for production different kinds of aggregate. So it is necessary to know that material not only considering technical properties, but also its mineral and chemical composition. Such researches could deliver many valuable information during the waste utilization. Researches were made for samples of the metallurgical slag after steel and Zn-Pb production. Samples were taken from chosen dumps localized in the Upper Silesian District. Beside metallic aggregates, silicate and oxide phases, glaze is one of the main component of the metallurgical slag. The following stages of the glaze devitrification were presented; from not transformed and isotropic glaze pieces to the strong weathered glaze. Transformed glaze is red or brown with the cracks on the surface. Cracks are often filled by the metals oxides, which can be liberated during the glaze devitrification. On the base of researches executed using the electron microprobe the chemical glaze composition was presented. The chemical composition of the glaze is variable what is connected with the kind of the metallurgical slag. The following main elements were distinguished in the metallurgical slag: Si, Al, Fe, Ca and Mg. Slag after steel production contains also Mn, P, S and the slag after Zn-Pb production contains: As, Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Ti, Zn, Na, K, P and S.
The analysis of leaching behavior of harmful substances, such as arsenic, is one of the parameters of risk assessment resulting from the storage or economic use of coal waste. The leachability depends both on the environmental conditions of the storage area as well as on the properties of the waste material itself. There are a number of leaching tests that allow to model specific conditions or measure the specific properties of the leaching process. The conducted research aimed at comparing two methods with different application assumptions. The study of arsenic leaching from waste from the hard coal enrichment process was carried out in accordance with the Polish PN-EN 12457 standard and the US TCLP procedure. The leaching results obtained with both methods did not exceed the limit values of this parameter, defined in the Polish law. Both methods were also characterized by the good repeatability of the results. The use of an acetic acid solution (TCLP method) resulted in three times higher arsenic leaching from the examined waste compared to the use of deionized water as a leaching fluid (method PN-EN 12457). Therefore, the use of organic acid tests for mining waste intended for storage with municipal waste should be considered, as the results of the basic test based on clean water leaching may be inadequate to the actual leaching of arsenic under such environmental conditions.