Column experiments were conducted to investigate the removal of heavy metals from two mine tailings (El Arteal and Jaravias) using sewage sludge as a reactive material. When sewage sludge is used as a reactive material oil the El Arteal tailings (sample SA), Fe, Mn, Zn and Pb are removed and Cu and Ni are mobilized. The experiments carried out on the Jaravias tailings give similar results, showing the retention of Cu, Pb, Fe and Mn and the mobilization of Ni and Zn. An analysis performed using the PHREEQC numerical code suggests that the retention of Fe in the sewage sludge may be caused by the precipitation of Fe(OH)(2.7)Cl-0.3 and possibly pyrite, and that the retention of Pb at high pH may be caused by the formation of stable phase minerals such as Pb(OH)(2) and PbS in these conditions. Ni mobilization in the column experiments with the two tailings samples may be caused by the presence of significant amounts of leachable Ni in the sewage sludge. The complexation of metals with dissolved organic matter, calculated with the Minteq model, may be moderate. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.