An Application of Electrical Resistivity Tomography to Investigate Heavy Metals Pathways

Abstract

The abandoned lead mine of Zeida is located at the center of the High Moulouya watershed between the Middle and the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Zeida has produced a total of 640,000 tons of concentrated lead during the 14 years of its activity (1972–1985). Three large tailings were left at the center of the mine on both sides of Moulouya River without any risk reduction measures or monitoring and there is a concern regarding heavy metal contamination of local groundwater. Samples taken from and around the tailings were found to contain average lead and zinc concentrations of 3,000 ppm and 140 ppm, respectively, primarily in the form of galena and barite. Prior studies have also found high concentrations of lead and zinc in both local wells near the town of Zeida and along the banks of Moulouya River. In this study, five electrical resistivity imaging surveys were performed to identify the risk of pollution and trace the pathways of mine-based contaminants to groundwater and to the Moulouya River. The analysis of electrical resistivity data has provided new insights showing: 1) an average tailings thickness of 15 m; 2) rounded structures with high resistivity values at the center and gradually decreasing toward their edges that are assumed to be granite, with fractures and a weathered zone; and 3) the potential pathways of heavy metal occur predominantly along these fractures and in the thick layers of the sandstone overlaying granitic bedrock.

A Review on Applications of Time-Lapse Electrical Resistivity Tomography Over the Last 30 Years : Perspectives for Mining Waste Monitoring

“…2022 ), fractures flow inside the bedrock (Benyassine et al. 2017 ; Olenchenko et al. 2016 ), eolian transport (Lachhab et al.…”

“…( 2016 ) Canada Manitoba TSF VES (x2) VES and electromagnetic used to map pH and Comparison with systematic sampling of tailings (2D) Benyassine et al. ( 2017 ) Morocco Drâa-Tafilalet TSF 2D ERT lines (x5) 300m to 1200m Imaging of potential AMD flowpaths in abandoned TSF Identification of fractures Johnston et al. ( 2017 ) United States Colorado TSF 2D ERT line 500m ERT mapping of potential diffuse sources of AMD Comparison with local geochemical and water EC Casagrande et al.…”

Integrated geophysical investigation for lead and zinc mineralization in Wase, middle Benue Trough, Nigeria

“…The electrical resistivity method involving electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) has been successfully applied in different mineral exploration projects ( Alile et al., 2017 ; Arwech et al., 2020 ; Horo et al., 2020 ; Olenchenko and Osipova, 2022 ) and environmental studies ( Pierwoła, 2015 ; Benyassine et al., 2017 ; Gabarron et al., 2020 ; Olenchenko et al., 2020 ).…”

Cadmium distribution in soils, soil litter and cacao beans: a case study from Colombia

“…However, the parameters above are not enough to explain the Cd soils/beans distribution in cacao systems with the complexity of edaphoclimatic conditions mentioned; therefore, it is necessary to come up with new non-destructive and highly sensitive techniques to assess these metal distributions. In the last decade, several techniques based on geophysical principles, for example, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) were used for characterizing soil heavy metals distribution (Cuong et al 2016;Benyassine et al 2017).…”