Waste rock dump investigation at Roşia Montană gold mine (Romania): a geostatistical approach
| Autor: | Sara Comero, Alexandru Szakács, Luisa De Capitani, Silvia Porro, Giovanni Grieco, Ferenc L. Forray, Pietro Marescotti, Ágnes Gál, Mara Dal Santo, Diego Servida |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2012 |
| Předmět: |
ROSIA MONTANA
AMD Geostatistical tool WASTE ROCKS Pollution Global and Planetary Change Sample point Environmental remediation media_common.quotation_subject Soil Science Geology Acid mine drainage Tailings Mining engineering Contour line Soil water Waste dump Environmental Chemistry Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology media_common |
| Zdroj: | Environmental Earth Sciences. 70:13-31 |
| ISSN: | 1866-6299 1866-6280 |
| Popis: | Rosia Montana, the largest European gold mine, could be re-opened. Environmental problems led to severe pollution of the Rosia and Abrud Rivers. The two main potentially toxic element (PTE) sources in mine sites are, in general, the abandoned underground workings and the piles of waste rock. Since the composition of waste rocks is often heterogeneous, this study faces the problem of estimating their mineralogical and chemical features starting from a set of sampling point. Twenty-five samples were collected on the main waste dump of the Rosia Montana mine following a virtual squared grid (knots distance about 25 m). Grain size, color, bulk chemistry, mineralogy, acid mine drainage potential and a set of selected PTE (Ag, As, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) concentrations were determined on each sample. In a first approximation two main waste rock groups were identified: WR1 bulk composition is dacite-dominated, while WR2 is andesite-dominated. In both of them the concentrations of PTEs are below the regulatory limits for soils, with the exception of As. In terms of acid mine drainage, WR1 has a net acid-producing potential, while WR2 has a net neutralizing potential. The anisotropy of WR properties were analysed by means of semi-variograms and displayed with contour maps. Application of positive matrix factorization for the analysis of all the data relative to waste rocks allowed defining, in a semi-quantitative way, the factors controlling pollution and their spatial distribution. The processing of score matrix G factor associated with the geostatistical elaboration promises to be a powerful tool to discern the composition of mine dumps and support the exploitation and remediation phases. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|
Full text from SpringerLink