Impact of effluents from a closed mine on the surrounding water resources: Groundwater contamination of the historical abandoned mine site in Japan

IF 2.9 4区环境科学与生态学 Q3 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Pub Date : 2024-12-26 DOI:10.1007/s10661-024-13489-y

Thaw Dar Wunn, Takahiko Arima, Walubita Mufalo, Takaya Hamai, Masao Okumura, Kyu Kyu Mar, Shingo Tomiyama, Toshifumi Igarashi

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Abstract

The extraction of mineral deposits is often associated with the occurrence of acid mine drainage (AMD), which can persist even after mine closure due to remaining sulfide minerals. This study investigates a 200-year-old abandoned mine and its impacts on nearby water resources. The study area is well known for Kuroko ore deposits located upstream of spring and river water resources. To elucidate the impacts of the abandoned mine site, mine water and spring and river water samples were collected, and their geochemical properties were monitored between 2021 and 2022. Groundwater, seepage, and surface water at the mine site showed AMD characteristics with Ca²⁺–SO₄²⁻/Mg²⁺–SO₄²⁻ type. AMD-affected mine water showed a low pH range of 3.40–4.84, with elevated SO₄²⁻ of up to 326 mg/L. At the downstream of the mine site, one of the groundwater samples showed pH of 3.55 and average concentrations of 5.03 mg/L of Al, 2.06 mg/L of Cu, 2.06 mg/L of Fe, 0.42 mg/L of Pb, and 8.04 mg/L of Zn, inferring the contaminant transport. Saturation indices of the mine water also indicated that the solubility controlling phases, anglesite, gibbsite, ferrihydrite, and jarosite influence the concentrations of Al, Fe, and Pb at the mine site. Meanwhile, spring and river water samples showed Ca²⁺–HCO₃⁻, Ca²⁺–SO₄²⁻, and Na⁺–K⁺–HCO₃⁻ type with a circumneutral pH range of 5.59–8.02 and they were unaffected by AMD. The principal component analysis (PCA) of the spring and river water samples also showed higher loadings for Ca, Mg, NO₃⁻, and Cl⁻ reflecting the abundance of carbonate and evaporite minerals while the mine water and groundwater downstream showed higher loadings of Cl⁻, Fe, SO₄²⁻, and Zn. The results suggest that the past mining activities only influenced the mine site and groundwater downstream. Consequently, the fate and migration of contaminants in the downstream of the mine site should be evaluated in the near future.

Graphical Abstract

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关闭矿井流出物对周围水资源的影响：日本历史废弃矿场的地下水污染

矿床的开采通常与酸性矿水（AMD）的发生有关，即使在矿山关闭后，由于剩余的硫化物矿物，酸性矿水也会持续存在。本研究调查了一个有200年历史的废弃矿井及其对附近水资源的影响。研究区以位于泉水和河流水资源上游的黑子矿床而闻名。为了阐明废弃矿区的影响，在2021 - 2022年间采集了矿区水和泉水、河水样，并对其地球化学性质进行了监测。矿区地下水、渗水和地表水均呈现Ca2+ -SO42−/Mg2+ -SO42−型AMD特征。受amd影响的矿井水pH值在3.40 ~ 4.84之间，SO42−最高可达326 mg/L。在矿区下游，其中一个地下水样品pH值为3.55，平均浓度为5.03 mg/L的Al、2.06 mg/L的Cu、2.06 mg/L的Fe、0.42 mg/L的Pb和8.04 mg/L的Zn，推测了污染物的迁移。矿井水的饱和度指标也表明，溶解度控制相、角菱石、三水铝石、水合铁和黄钾铁矾对现场Al、Fe和Pb的浓度有影响。泉水和河流样品呈Ca2+ -HCO3−、Ca2+ -SO42−和Na+ -K + -HCO3−型，pH值为5.59 ~ 8.02，不受AMD的影响。泉水和河流水样的主成分分析（PCA）也显示出较高的Ca、Mg、NO3−和Cl−负荷，反映了碳酸盐和蒸发岩矿物的丰度，而矿山水和下游地下水则显示出较高的Cl−、Fe、SO42−和Zn负荷。结果表明，过去的采矿活动只影响了矿区和下游地下水。因此，应在不久的将来评价矿区下游污染物的命运和迁移。图形抽象

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来源期刊

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

4.70

自引率

6.70%

发文量

1000

审稿时长

7.3 months

期刊介绍： Environmental Monitoring and Assessment emphasizes technical developments and data arising from environmental monitoring and assessment, the use of scientific principles in the design of monitoring systems at the local, regional and global scales, and the use of monitoring data in assessing the consequences of natural resource management actions and pollution risks to man and the environment.