Lithogenic and anthropogenic distribution of chemical elements in soils from Pb-Zn mining area. Case study: Kriva River basin, North Macedonia

ABSTRACT Previous studies have shown that certain areas in the territory of the Republic of Macedonia are affected by anthropogenic input of large amounts of various chemical elements into the soil. The area in the vicinity of the Toranica lead and zinc mine near the town of Kriva Palanka, North Macedonia, was studied for the lithogenic and anthropogenic distribution of seventeen elements (Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Sr, V and Zn). Automorphic soil samples (topsoil and subsoil) as well as alluvial sediments and fluvisol samples were collected from the Kriva River basin. Elemental contents were determined by inductively coupled plasma – atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Data processing was performed using combinations of multivariate statistical methods (factor analysis and cluster analysis). The summarised data for topsoil and subsoil samples show strong correlations between the element distributions in topsoil samples and subsoil samples along the Kriva River basin. Anthropogenic influences were observed in Zone 1 (the area affected by hydrothermal Pb-Zn exploitation). The topsoil layer was affected by enrichment with As, Mn, Pb, and Zn up to 220, 3400, 1700 and 1100 mg/kg, respectively.