Abstract
Mining wastes and tailings are present throughout much of the world and United States including the Tri-State lead and zinc mining district in southeastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri, and northeastern Oklahoma. These wastes and tailings are often associated with heavy metals, acid mine drainage, and other physical hazards. Many tools have been utilized and proposed for the rapid inventory and characterization of these wastes including the use of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images. A Landsat TM image of the Cherokee County, Kansas portion of the Tri-State mining district was evaluated in an attempt to inventory mining waste and tailings in the county, and characterize the gross mineralogy of these wastes. False color TM composites were used to perform supervised and unsupervised landcover classifications of Cherokee County to identify the locations of mining waste and tailings. In addition, several TM band combinations (mineral indices) were used to characterize the mineralogy of these wastes. The accuracy of the classifications in identifying mining wastes from other land types was less than 60 percent. However, false color composites of Landsat TM bands were a useful tool in identifying these wastes, and determining their gross mineralogy.
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