Abstract
Pollution caused by closed mining activities is particularly difficult to treat because it dates back a very long time. Water contamination results from large-scale disturbance of the land on which the underground exploitation of the useful mineral substance took place. Discharges from underground mines can be treated as diffuse point sources; water quality is due to reactions that occur in an area that can cover tens of square kilometres. The main sources are groundwater, which increases after the pumping is stopped, and tailings stored in dumps and tailings ponds. When the mine closes, the pumps are stopped and the groundwater level rises until it reaches the surface or discharges into the aquifers above. Although discharges from wells and galleries are often the most visible sources, surface activities such as mineral processing, tailings and waste disposal are also a significant source of pollution. The river is located on the Barza gold-silver ore mining operation took place. The runoff waters present in this perimeter can transport contaminated sediments, where the tailings dumps are washed away by precipitation. The paper aims to identify the sources of surface water pollution in the Barza closed mining site that influences the quality of surface water.
Highlights
The environmental challenges of mining are in several areas, namely: availability, use and treatment of water; real-time water quality monitoring; acid water management; tailings management and recovery; mine closure management [1]
Through the Mining Restructuring Program, in 1996 the Romanian Government decides to close the non-viable mining operations. They were closed in accordance with the provisions of ANRM (National Agency for Mineral Resources) and the Mining Law no. 61/1998, taking into account the economic situation of the country, the socio-economic effects that are reflected on the labor force and other norms established by the decision makers in this sector
The water environment component, within the Brad perimeter is affected by the acid mine waters, which spring from the underground through the gallery 1 Mai, closed in 2006, respectively to the precipitation waters that wash the tailings dumps, the ruins of the Barza Mine enclosure and the surrounding rocks
Summary
The environmental challenges of mining are in several areas, namely: availability, use and treatment of water; real-time water quality monitoring; acid water management; tailings management and recovery; mine closure management [1]. Through the Mining Restructuring Program, in 1996 the Romanian Government decides to close the non-viable mining operations. They were closed in accordance with the provisions of ANRM (National Agency for Mineral Resources) and the Mining Law no. Pollution produced by closed / abandoned mining operations, manifests itself on all environmental components, but mainly on water and soil, being the most visible and widespread as a direct or indirect effect of mining in the area. It is likely that certain areas of the mining perimeter will cause major pollution, but the effect will be local, in surface waters and groundwater (Environmental management in the mining sector) [2, 3]
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