Characterisation of sediments polluted by acid mine drainage in the northeast of Algeria

The present study investigates the composition and the mineralogy of sediments in the Essouk River, located in the Northeast of Algeria in Sidi Kamber mining zone at approximately 2km upstream Guenitra Reservoir. The mine is abandoned since 1976, but acidic drainage water is still a source of river contamination. Powder X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive analyses (EDX), X-Fluorescence analyses and infrared spectroscopy analyses were used to characterize surface sediments sampled at various sites in the area near the mining effluents. The obtained results show that the composition of the sediments is mainly dominated by iron and sulphur. In the vicinity of the mine, jarosite and schwertmannite are the essential precipitates. Downstream, sediments are formed by various phases of iron oxyhydroxydes with the presence of adsorbed sulphate.