Abstract
The Sanggok mine used to be one of the largest lead-zinc mines in the Hwanggangri mining district, Republic of Korea. The present study characterizes the heavy metal contamination in the abandoned Sanggok mine creek on the basis of physico-chemical properties of various kinds of water samples (mine, surface and groundwater). Hydrochemistry of the water samples is characterized by the relatively significant enrichment of Ca2+, HCO3 –, NO3 – and Cl– in the surface and groundwaters, whereas the mine water is relatively enriched in Ca2+, Mg2+, heavy metals, and HCO3 – and SO4 2–. The more polluted mine water has a lower pH and higher Eh, conductivity and TDS values. The concentrations of some toxic elements (Al, As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Se, Sr, Pb and Zn) are tens to hundreds of times higher in the mine water than in the unpolluted surface and groundwaters. However, most immobile toxic pollutants from the mine drainage were quickly removed from the surface water by the precipitation of Al and Fe oxyhydroxides. Geochemical modeling showed that potentially toxic heavy metals might exist largely in the forms of MSO4 2– and M2+ in the mine water. These metals in the surface and groundwaters could form M2+, CO3 2– and OH– complex ions. Computer simulation indicates that the saturation indices of albite, alunite, anhydrite, chlorite, fluorite, gypsum, halloysite and strontianite in the water samples are undersaturated and have progressively evolved toward the saturation condition. However, barite, calcite, chalcedony, dolomite, gibbsite, illite and quartz were in equilibrium, and only clay minerals were supersaturated. Ground and mine waters seemed to be in equilibrium with kaolinite field, but some surface water were in equilibrium with gibbsite and seceded from the stability field of quartz. This indicates that surface water samples in reaction with carbonate rocks would first equilibrate with carbonate minerals, then gibbsite to kaolinite. Investigations on water quality and environmental improvement of the severely polluted Sanggok creek, as well as remediation methods on the possible future pollution of the groundwater by the acid mine drainage from the abandoned metal mines, are urgently required.
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