Geochemical signature of historical mining: Fowey Estuary, Cornwall, UK

Geochemical analyses of intertidal sediments from the northern part of the Fowey Estuary, Cornwall, UK, reveal a clear pulse in Sn concentration in sediments which predate 1880. Sn concentrations at the base of the cores increase rapidly to peak values of 1200 ppm and then decrease to values of 200 ppm at the present-day sediment surface. The mineralogy of the sediments is consistent with an origin from the release of mine waste from tin streaming and smelt products into the estuary. Further to the south, the down-core geochemistry of the estuary sediments is uniform with values of typically 400 ppm. This is interpreted as due to the natural reworking of the recognised pulse in particulate mine waste seen to the north.     

沿海表层沉积物中重金属的有效结合态

以浙江沿海表层沉积物为研究对象,系统地研究了重金属有效结合态与沉积环境、矿物组成和人为排放等环境因素之间的相互关系.结果表明:沿海表层沉积物中重金属的积累数量,呈现出潮汐河口沉积物>沿海沉积物>强潮汐河口沉积物的趋势,这反映了不同沉积类型对重金属富集作用的差异;重金属的有效结合态,总体上以铁锰氧化物结合态>碳酸盐结合态>硫化物及有机结合态>可交换态的顺序存在,但是不同的重金属或同种重金属在不同的采点,主要有效结合态的比例存在明显的差异,这不仅与重金属的地球化学性质、沉积环境和沉积物中的粘土矿物组成有关,更受到重金属污染物的人为排放量的影响.     

Mineralogical and geochemical signature of mine waste contamination, Tresillian River, Fal Estuary, Cornwall, UK

The mineralized district of SW England was one of the world's greatest mining areas, with mining commencing in the Bronze age, peaking in the 1850s to 1890s, but still continuing to the present day. Consequently, it is not surprising that mining has had a major impact on the environmental geochemistry of SW England. In this study, the mineralogical and geochemical signature of mine waste contamination within the Fal Estuary at Tresillian, Cornwall, has been examined. A pulse of mine waste contamination is recognized at approximately 50?cm below present day sediment surface. Sn, As, Cu, Pb, and Zn are all enriched within this contaminated interval with up to 1800 mg?kg^–1 Sn, 290 mg?kg^–1 As, 508 mg?kg^–1 Pb, 2210 mg?kg^–1 Zn, and 1380 mg?kg^–1 Cu. Within this interval, the dominant minerals present include chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, pyrite, cassiterite, Fe–Ti oxides (ilmenite and ?rutile), wolframite, sphalerite, baryte, zircon, monazite, tourmaline and xenotime. In addition, man-made slag products commonly occur. The exact timing of the release of mine waste into the estuary is poorly constrained, but probably occurred during or immediately following the peak in mining activity in the nearby Camborne-Redruth district, which was between 1853 and 1893. The mine waste may have entered the estuary either via the Tresillian River and its tributaries or via Calenick Creek and the Truro River and/or the Carnon River which flows into Rostronguet Creek.     

Environmental geochemistry of the Gulf Creek copper mine area, north-eastern New South Wales, Australia

 Past mining and smelting of sulphide ore (pyrite-chalcopyrite-sphalerite) at the abandoned Gulf Creek mine has resulted in a stream highly contaminated by acid mine drainage (pH: 2.2–3.4), as well as degradation of local soil and vegetation. Physical dispersion of secondary metal-bearing minerals from abandoned ore and waste dumps into Gulf Creek and adsorption and coprecipitation of dissolved metals and metalloids in the stream bed cause elevated Ag, As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn values in stream sediments. The bioavailability of individual heavy metals to freshwater organisms changes downstream, however, selective bioaccumulation processes in algae reject readily bioavailable Zn and concentrate less bioavailable Cu. Polluted soils in the vicinity of the mine and smelter sites are subject to continuing soil erosion and either support no vegetation, or a depauperate flora with certain species showing bioaccumulation of metals and resistance to high metal contents. Rehabilitation of disturbed areas should involve covering and sealing sulphidic mine waste or removal of ore and waste dumps, installation of a physical and chemical plant or construction of a wetland environment (plus anoxic lime drains), and import of topsoil and planting of local, metal-tolerant plant species. Received: 17 March 1998 / Accepted: 6 October 1998     

The distribution of heavy metals in an abandoned mining area; a case study of Strauss Pit, the Drake mining area, Australia: implications for the environmental management of mine sites

Surface water samples from the Drake mining area show elevated metal concentrations, notably cadmium, iron and zinc. A detailed study of a sphalerite /quartz vein from Strauss Pit and chalcopyrite and pyrite from the Adeline mine and Strauss Pit indicate that micro-scale analyses of ores are necessary for environmental management of mine sites. Analyses show that Cd is elevated, up to 2.1 % by weight, and is associated with sphalerite, replacing Zn, or to a lesser extent replacing Pb within small galena grains. High concentrations of Cu are also associated with the Strauss Pit ore as small chalcopyrite grains along the margins of the sphalerite vein, within the central quartz zone of the vein system, and as replacement rims on sphalerite grains. Chalcopyrite from the Adeline mine area, is by comparison, metal poor, but still contains elevated heavy metal concentrations. Whereas, pyrite and chalcopyrite, from Strauss Pit have variable heavy metal concentrations, with chalcopyrite from within sphalerite veins having higher Cd and Zn concentrations than chalcopyrite distal to the veins. Cadmium and other heavy metals within the ores are mobilised during sulphide weathering and enter the drainage network; precipitation of secondary oxidation minerals act as temporary stores for many heavy metals. The complexity of the mineral and heavy metal associations at Strauss Pit suggest that a detailed knowledge of these associations and distributions within ore bodies, and associated waste rocks, are needed by environmental managers of mine sites because the presence of havy metals may greatly affect the decision making process, and management strategies employed. Received; 14 July 1999 · Accepted: 17 August 1999     

Anthropogenic metal loads and their sources in stream sediments of the Me?a River catchment area (NE Slovenia)

The Me?a River Valley has been a center of mining, ore processing and iron- and steel-based metallurgical industry for more than 300 a. This paper deals with stream sediments draining this area. Loads of potentially toxic metals and metal-bearing phases were investigated 10 a after the cessation of Pb and Zn mining. Sediments in the upper Me?a River Valley show significant pollution with Pb and Zn as a consequence of mining and ore processing. The highest contents of Pb and Zn were found in the Me?a tributaries, which directly drain mine waste deposits (maximum values: 19,300 mg/kg Pb and 37,900 mg/kg Zn). These results reflect transport of contaminated material from mine waste sites and indicate that the inactive mine and its mine wastes are sources of metal contamination in the surrounding environment. Contents of Cr, Ni, Cu and Co are increased in the lower Me?a River Valley, in the area of Ravne, as a result of the iron and steel industry. The contribution of the Me?a River to the metal-load in the Drava River is evident.Metal-bearing phases, identified in stream sediments by SEM/EDS, are assigned to three areas, according to their source and genesis. The Me?ica mining district source area is characterized by ore minerals of geogenic/technogenic origin (cerussite, sphalerite, smithsonite and galena), the Ravne source area is characterized by technogenic trace metal-bearing Fe-alloys, Fe-oxides and spherical trace metal-oxides and the Me?a and Drava River catchment areas are represented by geogenic metal-bearing accessory and common rock-forming minerals, such as zircon, ilmenite, rutile, sphene, barite and monazite. SEM/EDS analyses of stream sediments agree well with the results of chemical analyses and they prove to be a very useful tool for identification of metal-bearing phases and their characterization according to source and genesis.     

Source and remediation for heavy metals of soils at an iron mine of Ulsan City,Korea

Ulsan mine produced the iron ore minerals of magnetite, arsenopyrite, and scheelite in 1992, and serpentine was developed from 1977 to 2002. The soils of the mine were contaminated by heavy metals such as As, Zn, Ni, and Cd. Heavy metals of Ni and Zn came mostly from serpentinite, and As was derived mainly from arsenopyrite in the scan-type iron ore body. As, Zn, and Ni were major contaminants, but Cd was a minor contaminant on a basis of Korean standard. The heavy metals in the deep depth (>?5 m) came from the host rocks, and those in the shallow depth (<?5 m) were derived from the organic–mineral complexation soil. The remediation plan was a soil washing for highly contaminated soils and the containment of clay materials for less contaminated soils. Even though the remediation methods were successful, the continuous monitoring and the analysis of monitoring data are still necessary for the conservation of soil and groundwater around the study area.     

Geochemical investigations on fluvial sediments contaminated by tin-mine tailings,Cornwall, England

Tin-mine tailings containing high concentrations of Sn, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, As, and W are discharged into the Red River of cornwall, England and are then transported into St. Ives Bay under normal flow conditions. Most of the tin-bearing particles in the fluvial sediments are smaller than 170 μm, but tin-bearing composite grains or mineral grains with tin interspersed in the crystal lattices also occur in coarser size fractions. Tin distribution in the sediments is controlledby: (1) the distance from the source of the tailings, and (2) the concentration processes operating on the river bed. Suspended sediment and sediment transported by saltation filtered from river water samples also showed high concentrations of metals although, in contrast to the bottom sediments, they vary within a narrow range. Distributions of Cu, Zn, Fe, As, and Pb in the filtered sediments probably are related to the physical and chemical behavior of their sulphide minerals during fluvial transportation. A regional stream-sediment geochemical reconnaissance survey for tin did not show the highest concentration in the Red River; this indicated that in other rivers and streams tin reconcentration by selective removal of light minerals had taken place in the bottom sediments after mining operations had ceased. These rivers and streams also can transport large quantitiies of land-derived sediment including tin-mine tailings discharged into them when mines were operating. The minimum distance of tin transported by the Red River is at least 10 km; however, most of the tin was derived from mine tailings and is considered to be unnatural.     

Hydrogeochemical characteristics of mine water in the Harz Mountains,Germany

Water samples (springs, creeks, mine adits) from different former mining districts of the Harz Mountains and the nearby Kupferschiefer (copper shale) basin of Sangerhausen were analysed for major ions and trace metals. Due to more intensive water rock interactions including the ore minerals, the mine water concentrations of main components and trace metals are generally higher compared to non mining affected surface waters of the mountain range. Furthermore, the content of major ions in mine water is enriched by mixing processes with saline waters from Permian layers in the Kupferschiefer district and at the deeper levels of the mines in the Upper Harz Mountains. The waters of the different mining districts can be distinguished by trace metal occurrences and concentrations derived from the different ore bodies. Water from the Kupferschiefer mines shows the highest Na, Cl, Cu, Mo and U concentrations, whereas a combination of elevated As and Se concentrations is typical for most of the samples from the mines around St. Andreasberg. However, there are exceptions, and some water samples of all the investigated mining districts do not follow these general trends. Despite the influence of mining activities and ore mineralisation, hydrochemical effects due to rain water dilution can be seen in most of the waters. According to the elevation of the mountain range, higher precipitation rates decrease the ion concentrations in the waters of springs, creeks and mine adits.     

Lithological and geochemical record of mining-induced changes in sediments from Macquarie Harbour,southwest Tasmania,Australia

Macquarie Harbour in southwest Tasmania, Australia, has been affected severely by the establishment of mines in nearby Queenstown in the 1890s. As well as heavy metal-laden acid rock drainage from the Mount Lyell mine area, over 100 Mt of mine tailings and slag were discharged into the Queen and Ring Rivers, with an estimated 10 Mt of mine tailings building a delta of ca. 2.5 km² and ca. 10 Mt of fine tailings in the harbour beyond the delta. Coring of sediments throughout Macquarie Harbour indicated that mine tailings accreted most rapidly close to the King River delta source with a significant reduction in thickness of tailings and heavy metal contamination with increasing distance from the King River source. Close to the King River delta the mine tailings are readily discriminated from the background estuarine sediments on the basis of visual logging of the core (laminations, colour), sediment grain size, sediment magnetic susceptibility and elemental geochemistry, especially concentrations of the heavy metals Cu, Zn and Pb. The high heavy metal concentrations are demonstrated by the very high contamination factors (CF > 6) for Cu and Zn, with CF values mostly >50 for Cu for the mine-impacted sediments. Although the addition of mine waste into the King River catchment has ceased, the catchment continues to be a source of these heavy metals due to acid rock drainage and remobilisation of mine waste in storage in the river banks, river bed and delta. The addition of heavy metals to the harbour sourced from the Mount Lyell mines preceded the advent of direct tailings disposal into the Queen River in 1915 with the metals probably provided by acid rock drainage from the Mount Lyell mining area.     

Ecological-geochemical evaluation of the state of surface water streams in the impact area of the tailing dump of the Urupsky Ore Mining

Surface waters are subject to intense contamination with trace elements in ore mining areas. A complex study was performed for the state of waters and bottom sediments from the Bogachukha and Urup Rivers in the area of the abandoned tailing dump of the Urupsky Ore Mining. The impact exerted by the tailing dump on the concentration of elements in the water, suspended particulate matter, and bottom sediments of the rivers is evaluated. The major contaminants of surface waters and bottom sediments, as well as the forms of their element distribution are revealed.     

Heavy metal partitioning in river sediments severely polluted by acid mine drainage in the Iberian Pyrite Belt

This study provides a geochemical partitioning pattern of Fe, Mn and potentially toxic trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) in sediments historically contaminated with acid mine drainage, as determined by using a 4-step sequential extraction scheme. At the upperstream, the sediments occur as ochreous precipitates consisting of amorphous or poorly crystalline oxy-hydroxides of Fe, and locally jarosite, whereas the estuarine sediments are composed mainly of detrital quartz, illite, kaolinite, feldspars, carbonates and heavy minerals, with minor authigenic phases (gypsum, vivianite, halite, pyrite). The sediments are severely contaminated with As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn, especially in the vicinity of the mining pollution sources and some sites of the estuary, where the metal concentrations are several orders of magnitude above background levels. Although a significant proportion of Zn, Cd and Cu is present in a readily soluble form, the majority of heavy metals are bonded to reducible phases, suggesting that Fe oxy-hydroxides have a dominant role in the metal accumulation. In the estuary, the sediments are potentially less reactive than in the riverine environment, because relevant concentrations of heavy metals are immobilised in the crystalline structure of minerals.     

Heavy metal distribution in sediment profiles of the Pearl River estuary,South China

The Pearl River estuary is created by the inflow of freshwater from the largest river system that drains into the South China Sea. In recent years, massive economic growth and development in the region has led to excessive release of waste into the environment. The accumulation of contaminants in sediments is likely to pose serious environmental problems in surrounding areas. The study of sediment profiles can provide much information on the metal contamination history and long term potential environmental impacts. In this project, 21 core samples (up to 3.65 m deep) were collected in the Pearl River estuary. About 15 subsamples from each core were analysed for moisture content, total organic matter (L.O.I.), particle size and heavy metal and major element concentrations. The results show that Pb and Zn contents are elevated in the sediments at most of the sampling sites. Compared with historical monitoring results, the sediment metal contents have increased over the last 20 a, particularly for Pb. The west side of the Pearl River estuary tends to be more contaminated than the east side due to the contaminants inputs from the major tributaries and different sedimentation conditions. There are close associations between Fe, Co, Ni and Cu concentrations in the sediments. Zinc and Pb contents in the sediment profiles reflect a combination of the natural geochemical background, anthropogenic influences and the mixing effects within the estuary. The distribution of Pb in the sediments shows strong influences of atmospheric inputs, probably from the coal burning activities in the region.     

Environmental impact of the former Pb–Zn mining and smelting in East Belgium

In the mining district of Plombières-La Calamine (East Belgium), extensive Pb–Zn mining activities resulted in an important contamination of overbank sediments along the Geul river. Moreover, a huge amount of heavy metals is stored in a dredged mine pond tailing, which is located along the river. In the dredged mine pond tailing sediments, Pb–Zn minerals control the solubility of Zn, Pb and Cd. Although Pb, Zn and Cd display a lower solubility in overbank sediments compared to the mine tailing pond sediments, elevated concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cd are still found in the porewater of the overbank sediments. The considerable ‘actual’ and ‘potential’ mobility of Zn, Pb and Cd indicates that the mine pond tailing sediments and the overbank sediments downstream from the mine pond tailing represent a considerable threat for the environment. Besides the chemical remobilisation of metals from the sediments, the erosion of overbank sediments and the reworking of riverbed sediments act as a secondary source of pollution.     

桃江王家冲锑矿床地质特征及其科技咨询服务

桃江王家冲中型锑矿床，赋存在上元古界板溪群五强溪组中段灰绿色板岩中，背斜翼部的层间剥离、破碎裂隙是矿床形成的储矿构造，东西向断裂Ｖ＿４、Ｖ＿５为控矿构造。矿区一般见２～３层矿，平均厚度１．２４ｍ，平均品位Ｓｂ４．９８％。矿石矿物主要是辉锑矿。矿床成因属燕山期中低温液型锑矿床。该矿床已有７０年开采历史，去年曾出现资源危机，矿山面临关闭。笔者应邀赴矿对井下未知矿体进行预测，旨在指导生产找矿。由于科技咨询与生产找矿紧密结合，短时间内就取得了找矿突破，解了矿山燃眉之急，延长了矿山生产服务年限，社会经济效益明显。     

Mineralogy and trace element relative solubility patterns of shallow marine sediments affected by submarine tailings disposal and artisanal gold mining,Buyat-Ratototok district,North Sulawesi,Indonesia

Shallow marine sediments of the Buyat-Ratototok district of North Sulawesi, Indonesia, are affected by submarine disposal of industrial gold mine tailings and small-scale gold mining using mercury amalgamation. Industrial mine tailings contained 590–660 ppm arsenic, 490–580 ppm antimony, and 0.8–5.8 ppm mercury. Electron microprobe survey found both colloidal iron–arsenic-phases without sulphur and arsenian pyrite in tailings and sites to which tailings had dispersed, but only arsenopyrite in sediments affected by artisanal mining. Antimony in tailings was present as antimony oxides, colloidal iron–antimony phases, colloidal iron–antimony phases, and stibnite in sediments affected by both types of mining. A sequential extraction found that 2% of arsenic held in tailings and tailings-contaminated sediments was exchangeable, 20–30% was labile, including weakly adsorbed, carbonate- and arsenate bound, 20–30% was metastable, probably incorporated into iron or manganese oxyhydroxides, or strongly adsorbed to silicate minerals, and 40–48% was relatively insoluble, probably incorporated into sulphides or silicates. Arsenic in sediments affected by artisanal gold mining was 75–95% relatively insoluble. Antimony in all sediments was >90% relatively insoluble. Relative solubility patterns of most other metals did not differ between industrial tailings-affected, artisanal-mining affected areas, and fluvial sediments. Results suggest that submarine tailings disposal is not suitable for refractory Carlin-like gold deposits because ore processing converts arsenic to forms unstable in anoxic marine sediments. Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Heavy metal anomalies in the Tinto and Odiel River and estuary system,Spain

The Tinto and Odiel rivers drain 100 km from the Rio Tinto sulphide mining district, and join at a 20-km long estuary entering the Atlantic Ocean. A reconnaissance study of heavy metal anomalies in channel sand and overbank mud of the river and estuary by semi-quantitative emission dc-arc spectrographic analysis shows the following upstream to downstream ranges in ppm (μg g^?1): As 3,000 to <200, Cd 30 to <0.1, Cu 1,500 to 10, Pb 2,000 to <10, Sb 3000 to <150, and Zn 3,000 to <200. Organic-rich (1.3–2.6% total organic carbon, TOC), sandysilty overbank clay has been analyzed to represent suspended load materials. The high content of heavy metals in the overbank clay throughout the river and estuary systems indicates the importance of suspended sediment transport for dispersing heavy metals from natural erosion and anthropogenic mining activities of the sulfide deposit. The organic-poor (0.21–0.37% TOC) river bed sand has been analyzed to represent bedload transport of naturally-occurring sulfide minerals. The sand has high concentrations of metals upstream but these decrease an order of magnitude in the lower estuary. Although heavy metal contamination of estuary mouth beach sand has been diluted to background levels estuary mud exhibits increased contamination apparently related to finer grain size, higher organic carbon content, precipitation of river-borne dissolved solids, and input of anthropogenic heavy metals from industrial sources. The contaminated estuary mud disperses to the inner shelf mud belt and offshore suspended sediment, which exhibit metal anomalies from natural erosion and mining of upstream Rio Tinto sulphide lode sources (Pb, Cu, Zn) and industrial activities within the estuary (Fe, Cr, Ti). Because heavy metal contamination of Tinto-Odiel river sediment reaches or exceeds the highest levels encountered in other river sediments of Spain and Europe, a detailed analysis of metals in water and suspended sediment throughout the system, and epidemiological analysis of heavy metal effects in humans is appropriate.     

Incorporation of metalliferous sediments from historic mining into river floodplains

Rivers and their floodplains are dynamic systems, sediments are continually added to floodplain surfaces, while erosion and scour may remove sediments to be added to floodplains further downstream. When mining sediments were introduced into some catchments in Britain as ore deposits were exploited, river channels and floodplains were grossly polluted with metals. The legacy of this uncontrolled release of contaminants is apparent still, and contemporary channel deposits are enriched in metals. While the floodplains acted as a buffer to the dispersal of metals straight through the catchment, metals are still being released hundreds of years later as the floodplains are eroded and this secondary pollution of the river is a long-term problem.By studying a range of mining catchments, the effects of key variables on heavy metal dispersal in the fluvial environment can be assessed. As no single catchment displays the whole array of possible situations, a mosaic of case studies from several areas provides a good representation of potential conditions.     

Heavy metal distribution and accumulation in two Spartina sp.-dominated macrotidal salt marshes from the Seine estuary (France) and the Medway estuary (UK)

The upper intertidal zone, and salt marshes in particular, have been shown by numerous authors to be effective medium to long-term storage areas for a range of contaminants discharged or transported into the estuarine environment. A detailed understanding of the specific controls on the trapping and storage of contaminants, however, is absent for many estuarine systems. This paper examines heavy metal distribution and accumulation in two contrasting Spartina sp.-dominated macrotidal salt marsh systems – a rapidly prograding, relatively young marsh system at the Vasiere Nord, near the mouth of the Seine estuary, France, and a more mature, less extensive marsh system in the Medway estuary, UK. The spatial distribution of the heavy metals Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni and Co is assessed and compared in both systems via detailed surface sampling and analysis, while the longer-term accumulation of these metals and its temporal variability is compared via analysis of dated sediment cores. Of the two sites studied, the more extensive marsh system at the Vasiere Nord in the Seine estuary shows a clear differentiation of heavy metals across the marsh and fronting mudflat, with highest metal concentrations found in surface sediments from the more elevated, interior marsh areas. At Horrid Hill in the Medway estuary, the spatial distribution of heavy metals in surface sediments is more irregular, and there is no clear relationship between heavy metal concentration and site elevation, with average concentrations similar in the marsh and fronting mudflats. Sediment core data indicate that the more recent near-surface sediments at Horrid Hill are clearly more contaminated than those at greater depth, with most heavy metal contamination confined to the upper 20 cm of the sediment column (with peak metal input in the late 1960s/early 1970s). In contrast, due to extremely rapid sediment accretion at the mouth of the Seine, heavy metal distribution with depth at the Vasiere Nord site is relatively erratic, with metal concentrations showing a general increase with depth. These sediments provide little information on temporal trends in heavy metal loading to the Seine estuary. Overall, heavy metal concentrations at both sites are within typical ranges reported for other industrialised estuaries in NW Europe.     

长江口滨岸潮滩重金属源汇通量估算

根据2002～2003年长江口滨岸潮滩16个站位1年的沉积物重金属含量、粒度和密度等季节性测试数据,结合其他文献的沉积物累积速率资料,初步估算了长江口滨岸潮滩重金属的源汇通量。结果表明,2002年徐六泾以下的河口地区,沉积物中Cu、Pb、Fe、Mn、Zn、Cr的年滞留量分别为3425t/a、2751t/a、3451599t/a、69505t/a、14045t/a和3176t/a,石洞口排污口和黄浦江仍然是这几种重金属的主要污染输入来源之一。潮滩能有效滞留河口水体中的重金属,在长江口0m线以上的潮滩沉积物中,Cu、Pb、Fe、Mn、Zn、Cr的年沉降量分别占到整个河口区重金属沉降量的24.3%、27.6%、32.3%、32.4%、20.5%和23.2%。从潮滩重金属的沉降通量来看,南汇边滩的沉降通量最大,长江口南岸潮滩明显高于长江口北支潮滩,说明位于排污口下游的滩地能有效削减入海重金属污染负荷。