Water pollution due to mining activity. Causes and consequences

Bud, I.; Duma, Simona; Denuţ, I.; Taşcu, I.

doi:10.1007/s00501-007-0321-x

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…We found several forms of nitrogen directly linked to current human activities in the area, such as urbanization and agriculture. Mostly rural settlements occur in the SGBR (population density is currently 25 persons per km 2 ), in which sewage treatment is scarce, and only three treatment plants are available for municipal wastewater from the nearest towns. However, wastewater discharges from the larger villages (as in the Escanela-Jalpan River) are starting to affect the nearby rivers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Rivers Under the Influence of Mining Activities

Rico-Sánchez

Rodríguez-Romero

Sedeño‐Díaz

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Mining is one of the main pollution issues worldwide, causing the greatest disturbances to the environment. Industrial and artisanal mining activities are widespread in Mexico, being a major global producer of various metals. This study aimed to assess the ecological impairments resulting from mining activities using the aquatic macroinvertebrates assemblages (MA). A multiple co-inertia analysis (MCOA) was applied to determine the relationships between environmental factors, habitat quality, heavy metals, and aquatic macroinvertebrates in two rivers of the Central Plateau, Mexico. The results revealed three contrasting environmental conditions and different MA. High concentrations of heavy metals, nutrients, and salinity limit the presence of various families of seemingly sensitive macroinvertebrates, these factors were identified as the drivers of structural changes in the MA, showing that not only mining activities, but also agriculture, and villages in the basin, exert negative effects to the macroinvertebrate communities. Diversity indices showed that the lowest diversity matched with both, the most polluted and the most saline rivers. The rivers studied displayed a high alkalinity and hardness, which can lead to the formation of metal precipitates and thus acting as a protection to aquatic biota. Aquatic biomonitoring in rivers, impacted by mining and other human activities, is critical for detecting the effect of metals and other pollutants to improve management and conservation strategies. This study supports the design of cost-effective and accurate water quality biomonitoring protocols in developing countries.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mining is one of the main pollution issues worldwide, causing the most significant disturbances to the environment, involving air, terrestrial, and aquatic ecosystems [1][2][3] . Particularly in Latin America, among the main stressors of aquatic ecosystems are mining activities, which lead to metal pollution 4,5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Rivers Under the Influence of Mining Activities

Rico-Sánchez

Rodríguez-Romero

Sedeño‐Díaz

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…On the current location or in the vicinity at the Sasar processing plant, this technology has been used but with minimum safety conditions in comparison with those offered in the new project. In some studies [1], [3] published in the 2014 the risks of this technology were presented and proved that they are much lower than those of any other technologies applied to present. The investor state that the relocation on another area (suggested by the local administration as a solution) is unfeasible and with important delays.…”

Section: Exploitation On the Current Location Accordingly To Romaltynmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental risks of abandoning a mining project already started: Romaltyn Mining Baia Mare

Bud

Duma

Gusat

et al. 2016

IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

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Abstract. The history of mining activity, which has been the economy engine in the region and has contributed to the formation of many localities, has been deleted too quickly. During all this time, in the world countries which have invested in mining sector have made considerable progress. The paper brings in question, within the framework of the theme, the implications arising from the abandonment of the Romaltyn project which mainly affects two objectives: Central Tailing Pond and Aurul Tailing Pond. The Central tailing pond constitutes an unfortunate source of pollution for groundwater, surface water, soil and air on a large area around it, because its location upstream of Baia Mare city and in the vicinity of a agricultural production zone. The consequences of the tailing pond maintenance in the current situation are: presence of sclerozing dust with sulphurs content scattered over large agricultural area; soil pollution by acidification; heavy metals release which enter in food chain and will be found in food. The final disposal of the pollution source is the only solution really safe in long term. Abandoning Aurul tailing pond in the current phase of construction involves high environmental risks. Taking in consideration the potential and the huge soil volume which are necessary for rehabilitation, isolation and rehabilitation of this area involve extremely high costs and the realization is, technically, almost impossible in the current context.

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“…In the coal mining industry, large volumes of coal mine water are pumped onto the surface. It has been reported that water pollution is introduced by mining activities [1][2][3], including acid mine drainage (AMD) and chemical elements elevation (such as heavy metals) [4,5]. Additionally, on the ground surface, the precipitation of the suspended solid (SS) can cause damage to the surrounding environment and soil sealing [6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined Treatments of Underground Coal Slurry: Laboratory Testing and Field Application

Zhang

Dong

Zhao

et al. 2021

Water

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During the coal mining process, underground water is generated from the longwall face. In the meantime, the coal cutting process would produce coal particles. Coal slurry is generated in the underground working site, especially for water abundant coal mines. The generated coal slurry is treated to prevent water pollution. Due to the extensively existing of the suspended solid, the traditional process method would often introduce new problems. In this study, laboratory testing was conducted to investigate the characteristics, including the particle size distribution of the coal sludge, coal slurry compositions, slurry viscosity and coal mine water quality. In order to improve the coal slurry treatment efficiency, based on the laboratory results, a novel combined treatment of underground coal slurry is proposed. First, the coarse grained coal slurry is process by a vibrating screening machine. Then, the coal slurry containing fine coal powders is processed through a settling pond. The sedimentation results of the coal solid materials are analyzed. The polymer flocculant is also added into the coal slurry to improve the sedimentation. These combined treats of the coal slurry significantly remove the suspended solid and improve the quality of the coal mine water. Based on the laboratory testing, the specific details of the field applications are designed. The key novelty of this paper is the underground background. All of these treatments are based on the underground environment and are capable of being applied in underground workings. From field applications and observations, these novel combined treatments of coal slurry in the underground site are effective. This study provides a novel method to treat the coal slurry, which has innovations from engineering aspect. These procedures are useful for the underground coal slurry treatment, especially for water-abundant coal mines. The normal coal production is guaranteed and less affected by the coal slurry discharge process. Meanwhile, the water pollution problem is much addressed and the damage of coal slurry to the environment is reduced.

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Water pollution due to mining activity. Causes and consequences

Cited by 10 publications

References 1 publication

Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Rivers Under the Influence of Mining Activities

Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Rivers Under the Influence of Mining Activities

Environmental risks of abandoning a mining project already started: Romaltyn Mining Baia Mare

Combined Treatments of Underground Coal Slurry: Laboratory Testing and Field Application

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