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Management and Monitoring of Water and Soils Associated with Mining Activities

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2024) | Viewed by 19992

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Prof. Dr. Margarida Antunes

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Guest Editor

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
Interests: environmental geochemistry; surface and groundwater management; environmental impact of mining activities; water and soil contamination, risk assesment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Alicja Kicińska

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Guest Editor

Department of Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30 Av., 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Interests: environmental geochemistry; industry impact on the environment; ecological and health risk assessment; geochemistry of trace elements

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In many parts of the world, water and soil resources are at risk, mainly due to climate change, population growth, overexploitation, mining activities and agricultural practices. Ensuring aequate access to natural resources, in terms of both quantity and quality, is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Mining acitivities is one of the major environmental issues that often causes complete degradation of ecosystems during and/or after mine closure. Globally, significant amounts of potential toxic elements could pose a great threat to the populations living near to and even far away from mines, as these elements can travel across large distances.

Despite several developments in recent decades, the mineral extraction sector is facing new challenges associated with environmental geochemistry in the mining environment, from the prediction of water and soil quality to mine site reclamation/closure and monitoring.

This Special Issue aims to cover the diversity of research associated with integrated water and soil assessment and monitoring, including innovative approaches and new perspectives with practical applications related to the environmental geochemistry in the mining environment. Papers providing examples of the methodological challenges and the novel tools for monitoring and management of water and soil associated with mining areas are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Margarida Antunes
Prof. Dr. Alicja Kicińska
Guest Editors

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Keywords

availability, mobility and dispersion of potential toxic elements in mine areas
space-time patterns to understand geochemical processes
water and soil contamination indexes
fingerprints of soil and water in mine areas
environmental risk assessment of water and soil
ecological and health risk assessment
emerging contaminants in mine water
acid mine drainage and metal-removal mechanisms
geochemical modelling and geochemistry of mining wastes
risks and sustainable management of mining environmental liabilities

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 3333 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Liver Toxicity in Wistar Rats after Chronic Exposure to Phosphate-Processing Wastewaters from Gafsa-Metlaoui Laundry in Tunisia

by Bouthaina Brahmi, Emna Nasri, Amel Moula, Anouar Feriani, Nizar Tlili, Demetrio Raldua, Eduardo Alberto López-Maldonado and Mohamed Ali Borgi

Water 2024, 16(2), 214; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16020214 - 07 Jan 2024

Viewed by 905

Abstract

In the mining basin of the Gafsa region in southwestern Tunisia, environmental exposure to randomly discharged phosphate-processing wastewaters (PPWW) presents a serious threat to health and the surrounding ecosystems. Thus, the contaminated areas are in continuous deterioration over time. There is a paucity of information on the deleterious effects of this kind of effluent. In the current work, the PPWW characterization showed the presence of high contents of Pb (0.90 ± 0.02 mg/L), Cd (0.35 ± 0.27 mg/L), Cr (0.43 ± 0.1 mg/L) and Fe (215.1 ± 2.41 mg/L), exceeding the permissible limits. To assess the chronic toxicity of the effluent in mammalians, two doses of PPWW (50% and 100%) were administered by gavage to Wistar rats for 28 consecutive days. The results revealed that the two PPWW concentrations significantly increased the plasma biochemical markers (bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)), compared to untreated animals. Moreover, PPWW treatment severely altered the lipid profile by increasing the contents of triglycerides, total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol) by 143%, 114%, and 91%, respectively, and significantly reduced the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) level by 46%, compared to the control animals. In addition to the significant decrease in activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the liver of intoxicated rats, the malondialdehyde (MDA) level was remarkably altered. All of these were associated with deep histopathological damages, materialized by dilatation of sinusoids, congestion of the centrilobular vein, and inflammatory cell infiltration. These disturbances were accompanied by metal detection in the liver and blood. Additionally, DNA fragmentation detected in hepatic tissues highlighted the genotoxic effects of PPWW. All of the aforementioned effects occurred in a PPWW dose-dependent manner. These findings evidenced, for the first time, the in vivo-deleterious impacts of this type of effluent on mammalians inhabiting the mining basin area and therefore showed the real threats to which humans, as consumers, could be exposed. Accordingly, there is a dire need to pay special attention to PPWW before being discharged into environmental ecosystems without any prior treatments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management and Monitoring of Water and Soils Associated with Mining Activities)

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18 pages, 4373 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ferric Oxyhydroxylsulfate Precipitation Improves Water Quality in an Acid Mining Lake: A Hydrogeochemical Investigation

by Khawar Sultan, Turki Kh. Faraj and Qamar uz Zaman

Water 2023, 15(24), 4273; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15244273 - 14 Dec 2023

Viewed by 776

Abstract

Hydrogeochemistry of a lignite pit lake in Lusatia, Germany, was investigated. Anoxic groundwater from the dump aquifer rich in Fe^II (average ~5911 µmol/L) and SO₄ (average ~14,479 µmol/L) contents enter the lake as subsurface inflow; oxidation and subsequent precipitation of poorly crystallized Fe-oxyhydroxysulfate (schwertmannite) occurs and causes acidification (pH~2.8). However, the removal of dissolved loads as solid phases significantly improves the groundwater quality of the downgradient as an outflow. The rainwater isotopic values (δD ~−8.88‰ and δ¹⁸O ~−65.86‰) closely matched with the groundwater showing very little isotopic modification, which points to a short residence time of groundwater. The displacement of δD and δ¹⁸O values (slope = 5.3) from the meteoric water line reflected the evaporative enrichment of the lake water. The isotopic signature also revealed longer residence times of epilimnion than the hypolimnion waters which are dominated by groundwater. The lake is dimictic and showed abrupt changes in physicochemical parameters along the interface (~0.30 m thick) when separating the epilimnion (upper 4 m) from the hypolimnion (bottom 1.5 m). Lake sediments were found to be dominated by clay size fraction occurring as laminations (thickness: 1~0.5 mm) that reflect seasonal sedimentation. Higher schwertmannite formation in the south as compared to the north (recharge side) also serves as a scavenger of potentially toxic elements which is probably a natural solution to man-made problems. Schwertmannite transformation to goethite releases sulfate which is reduced and fixed as secondary sulfide minerals over time. Overall, waters are of a Ca–SO₄ to Ca–Mg–SO₄ type with distinct inflow (Fe^II/Fe^III > 2.5) and outflow (Fe^II/Fe^III < 0.5) of groundwater. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management and Monitoring of Water and Soils Associated with Mining Activities)

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14 pages, 3179 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A New Acidity-Based Approach for Estimating Total Dissolved Solids in Acidic Mining Influenced Water

by Ana Barroso, Teresa Valente, Amélia Paula Marinho Reis and Isabel Margarida H. R. Antunes

Water 2023, 15(16), 2995; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15162995 - 19 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1366

Abstract

In natural waters, total dissolved solids (TDS) are usually estimated from electrical conductivity (EC) by applying a conversion factor (f). However, defining this conversion factor for mining influenced water is more complex since this type of water is highly mineralized and has complex chemical matrices. So, the present work aimed to establish a new conversion factor to estimate TDS from the classic parameters usually analyzed for the hydrochemical characterization of these contaminated waters. A total of 121 mining influenced water samples were collected in three mining areas representing pollution scenarios, such as acidic streams, acidic lagoons, and pit lakes. The parameters analyzed were pH, EC, sulfate, acidity, and TDS. The statistical analysis showed that TDS and acidity are related, with a high and significant correlation (r ≥ 0.964, ρ < 0.001), suggesting that this parameter could be an appropriate indicator to estimate the TDS. Moreover, although acidity analysis also involves laboratory work, the time and effort required are considerably less than the gravimetric determination of TDS. Hierarchical cluster analysis applied to these samples allowed the definition of seven classes, and their specific f_median was calculated employing TDS/Acidity. Then, seven conversion factors were obtained for mining influenced water based on sulfate concentration and acidity degree. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management and Monitoring of Water and Soils Associated with Mining Activities)

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18 pages, 4810 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bayesian Machine Learning and Functional Data Analysis as a Two-Fold Approach for the Study of Acid Mine Drainage Events

by Xurxo Rigueira, María Pazo, María Araújo, Saki Gerassis and Elvira Bocos

Water 2023, 15(8), 1553; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15081553 - 15 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1526

Abstract

Acid mine drainage events have a negative influence on the water quality of fluvial systems affected by coal mining activities. This research focuses on the analysis of these events, revealing hidden correlations among potential factors that contribute to the occurrence of atypical measures and ultimately proposing the basis of an analytical tool capable of automatically capturing the overall behavior of the fluvial system. For this purpose, the hydrological and water quality data collected by an automated station located in a coal mining region in the NW of Spain (Fabero) were analyzed with advanced mathematical methods: statistical Bayesian machine learning (BML) and functional data analysis (FDA). The Bayesian analysis describes a structure fully dedicated to explaining the behavior of the fluvial system and the characterization of the pH, delving into its statistical association with the rest of the variables in the model. FDA allows the definition of several time-dependent correlations between the functional outliers of different variables, namely, the inverse relationship between pH, rainfall, and flow. The results demonstrate that an analytical tool structured around a Bayesian model and functional analysis automatically captures different patterns of the pH in the fluvial system and identifies the underlying anomalies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management and Monitoring of Water and Soils Associated with Mining Activities)

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20 pages, 6294 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Groundwater Vulnerability and Potentially Toxic Elements Associated with the Iron Mining District of Ouixane (Northeast of Morocco)

by Azzeddine Khafouri, El Hassan Talbi, Abdessalam Abdelouas, Khalid Benjmel, Isabel Margarida Horta Ribeiro Antunes and Mohamed Abioui

Water 2023, 15(1), 118; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15010118 - 29 Dec 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1767

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the groundwater vulnerability concerning potentially toxic elements in the vicinity of the abandoned iron mine of Ouixane (Morocco). A modified DRASTIC method (DRSTI) is proposed with satisfactory results. High vulnerability zones represent 40% of the study area, while medium and low vulnerability represent, respectively, 42% and 18% of the study area. These results have been validated by groundwater geochemical analyses of potentially toxic elements carried out in the framework of previous studies in the same area. Thus, the superposition of the waste rock and tailings map with the vulnerability map showed that the latter is located in areas of high to medium vulnerability and therefore constitutes the main cause of the deterioration of the geochemical quality of groundwater. Otherwise, the vulnerability method showed that the main parameters that significantly affect the vulnerability are: the depth of water (D), net recharge (R), and the unsaturated zone (I), while the other parameters do not significantly affect the model used and do not have much influence on the results of the vulnerability assessment. The method used allowed us to locate the most vulnerable areas to potentially metallic toxic elements pollution resulting from the abandoned iron mine of Ouixane, and it constitutes a tool for decision support and for developing effective action plans to mitigate and monitor the effects of the transfer of potentially toxic elements pollution to groundwater. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management and Monitoring of Water and Soils Associated with Mining Activities)

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19 pages, 1430 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Trace and Rare Earth Elements Pollution in Water Bodies in the Area of Rare Metal Enterprise Influence: A Case Study—Kola Subarctic

by Eugenia Krasavtseva, Sergey Sandimirov, Irina Elizarova and Dmitriy Makarov

Water 2022, 14(21), 3406; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14213406 - 27 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1757

Abstract

An extended study of the chemical composition of surface waters and lakes bottom sediments, which are affected to varying degrees by an enterprise that mines and processes rare metal ores in the Lovozero tundra, was carried out. Using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, the content of trace elements and rare earth elements was established. Elevated concentrations of trace elements and rare earth elements were revealed in samples of water and bottom sediments of lakes receiving wastewater from the enterprise and polluted due to dusting in the tailings of the processing plant. Thus, the average content of the total REEs in the surface layers of the SR Ilma and Lovozero (at the mouth of the Sergevan River) reaches 561 and 736 mg/kg, respectively, while for the SR of Lake Krivoe this indicator was 74 mg/kg. The enrichment factor (EF_i), geoaccumulation index (I_geo), potential ecological risk index factor (E_ir) and potential ecological hazard index (RI) were calculated. Assessing the total pollution with trace elements and rare earth elements of bottom sediments of lakes Ilma and Lovozero at the mouth of the Sergevan River, the value of potential ecological risk reaches values corresponding to the level of moderate ecological risk pollution (RI_lma = 174, RI_Lovozero = 186). The conducted correlation analysis made it possible to establish some of the main phases containing trace elements and rare earth elements in the bottom sediments of lakes Ilma and Lovozero. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management and Monitoring of Water and Soils Associated with Mining Activities)

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22 pages, 7419 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Human-Dominated Land Use Change in a Phosphate Mining Area and Its Impact on the Water Environment

by Jing Zhang, Mingliang Liu and Yongyu Song

Water 2022, 14(7), 1074; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14071074 - 29 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2386

Abstract

The Peace River is a critical water source in southwest Florida, United States. The watershed contains many phosphate mines that decrease water safety. Whether phosphate mining leads to a reduction in surface runoff and affects water quality in the Peace River Basin has been a highly controversial subject. Thus, the environmental impacts of phosphate mining in the Peace River were assessed. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is a widely used physical-mechanism-based distributed hydrological model that uses spatial distribution data, such as topography, soil, land use, and weather, to predict water, sediment, nutrient, pesticide, and fecal bacteria production. Based on a SWAT model, runoff, total nitrogen (TN) load, and total phosphorus (TP) load at the outlet of the Peace River Basin from 2001 to 2018 were investigated. The applicability of the four uncertainty methods in the hydrological simulation of the basin was assessed. The runoff at five stations in a specified mining area was simulated to analyze the impact of human-dominated land use changes caused by phosphate mining on the water environment. The results for the pre- and post-mining periods showed that the land use transfer in the study area experienced large fluctuations and that the land use change had a significant impact on the runoff (the outlet site decreased by 44.14%), indicating that phosphate mining has a significant effect on reducing runoff in the basin. An analysis of three scenarios (pre-mining [s1], post-mining [s2], and reclamation [s3]) showed that during s1–s2–s3, the change in mining land area is large (increased by 142.86%) and that TN and TP loads increased, indicating that human activities mainly affect the water environment through phosphate mining. This is mainly because a large amount of wastewater containing high concentrations of inorganic chemicals, which is produced in the process of phosphate mining and processing, overflows directly or from the sedimentation tank into the river. In summary, the simulation results showed that the changes in runoff and pollutants were attributed to phosphate rock mining. Therefore, strengthening the management of phosphate mining and adopting effective protection measures is of substantial significance for the effective protection of water resources. By analyzing the measured data, this study can help people understand more actual situations and further evaluate the impact of phosphate mining activities on the water environment. The simulation results can also be used to predict the future trend of runoff and water quality in the Peace River Basin and provide a decision-making basis for government management departments to issue water resource protection measures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management and Monitoring of Water and Soils Associated with Mining Activities)

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Review

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30 pages, 12233 KiB

Open AccessReview

Environmental Impact Assessment of Mine Tailings Spill Considering Metallurgical Processes of Gold and Copper Mining: Case Studies in the Andean Countries of Chile and Peru

by Carlos Cacciuttolo and Deyvis Cano

Water 2022, 14(19), 3057; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14193057 - 28 Sep 2022

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 8131

Abstract

The generation of tailings in the world today is immense, since only ounces or pounds of metals are extracted for each ton of ore processed. In 2022, it was estimated that more than 14 billion metric tons of mining tailings were produced per year in the world. Currently, many environmental problems associated with tailings management in both Chile and Peru are related to the potential contamination of soil, water, and air. In this article, the environmental impacts caused by tailings storage facility accidents where spills have occurred are analyzed, describing and characterizing: (i) the magnitude of the impacted area, (ii) identification of the sources, i.e., exposure routes, receptors, and (iii) an interpretive analysis of the physicochemical quality of the spilled material, the soil, the water, and the air with respect to local and international regulations. The case studies analyzed in this article correspond to tailings spills derived from the extraction of precious metals (Au, Ag) and heavy metals (Cu, Pb, and Zn) present in the minerals that dominate Chilean and Peruvian mining. Finally, environmental management measures are proposed aimed at mitigating the environmental impacts caused by the spill and remediation alternatives for the sites impacted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management and Monitoring of Water and Soils Associated with Mining Activities)

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