Abandoned Smolník Mine (Slovakia)-a Catchment area affected by Mining Activities

Smolník is a historical Cu-mining area that was exploited from the 14th century to 1990. The Smolník mine was definitively closed and flooded in 1990-1994. Acid mine drainage discharging from the flooded mine (pH=3.83, Fe=542mg/l, SO4(superscript 2-)=3642mg/l, Cu=1880μg/l, Zn=9599μg/l, As=108μg/l) acidified and contaminated the Smolník Creek water, which transported pollution into the Hnilec River catchment. The Smolník mine waste area has been used as a model area to document pollution of waters, stream sediments, and soils by metals and other toxic elements. Major goals of this complex study were to document creek water transport of the main pollutants (Fe, sulphates, Cu, Al, As, etc.) in the form of suspended solids, to investigate elements mobility in common mine waste (rock and processing waste heaps and tailing impoundment) and in the soil on the basis of neutralization and leach experiments. Different methodologies and techniques for sampling and chemical and mineralogical characterization of samples were used and checked to evaluate environmental risk of this abandoned mine area.

並列關鍵字

mine waste ； acid mine drainage ； suspended matter ； Fe-oxyhydroxides

國際替代計量

全文下載

主題瀏覽