A preliminary study on the formation of acid mine drainage through rock geochemical test in the coal mining areas

Abstract

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is the biggest issue occurring in every mining industry. Therefore, it is necessary to check the rock, particularly its potency to form acid mine drainage. PT X in Lahat, South Sumatra does not yet own a distribution model for the PAF and NAF rocks. Thus, this research was conducted to determine the distribution of PAF and NAF rocks as an initial potency for the formation of acid mine drainage. Six samples in the field were taken from the pit walls, in which these sample codes were A, B, C, D, E, and F, respectively. These samples were subjected to the static and kinetic tests in the laboratory. The static test showed that a sample with a potency to form acid was sample E, while the other five samples did not have any potency to form acid. Afterwards, kinetic tests were conducted with a daily cycle for 25 days. The result showed that the sample F had lower pH value, compared with the other five samples. Thus, based on this study, it can be concluded that the only sample having the potency to form acid was sample F, while the other samples, namely A, B, C, D, and E, respectively, did not have any potency to form acids.