Mining Camp Research Articles

Numerical simulation-based targeting of the Au mineralization within the Hongbu Altered Rock type gold deposit, Eastern Shandong Peninsula, China

Altered rock type deposits are significant gold deposits widely distributed throughout the world, having important economic and industrial value. The Eastern Shandong Peninsula is the third largest gold mining camps in the world with known gold reserves of more than 5300 tons. The majority of the gold deposits here are located in three main orefields, namely the northwest Jiaodong (Laizhou-Zhaoyuan), the Qixia-Penglai-Fushan, and the Muping-Rushan orefields. The Hongbu deposit is a medium-sized altered rock type deposit within the northwest Jiaodong orefield. With decades of mining, the Hongbu deposit faces the dilemma of resource depletion and loss of undigitized data. Therefore, prospecting and exploration have to focus on deep and peripheral areas of known Au mineralization. This study built a three-dimensional model of the Hongbu deposit and sliced it to obtain nine cross-sections to conduct multi-field coupled numerical simulation (including heat conduction, fluid migration, chemical reaction, and material migration). Locations with relatively developed Au mineralization (the top 15 % within the concentration range of Au) are defined as having metallogenic potential, which are highlighted and projected to the geological map of the Hongbu district. The results also show that the spatial distributions of Au mineralization within these nine sections are different, indicating that the formation of Au mineralization is controlled by the morphology of the Hexi fault (other simulation parameters of these nine sections are the same) and the pyrite sericite cataclasite. This research proves that numerical simulation methods is effective in mineral exploration, especially for those areas with insufficient data to use data-driven prospectivity modeling approaches. Future development into both mathematical geosciences and computational science will provide more detailed answers for remaining hot issues related to mineral exploration.

Constraints on the source of Siberian Trap magmas from Mo isotope evidence

The relative contributions of asthenospheric mantle, lithospheric mantle, and continental crust in the genesis of the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province (ST-LIP) remain poorly constrained. Most models invoke partial melting of asthenospheric mantle within a mantle plume with an inventory of recycled crustal material, with or without melting of subcontinental lithospheric mantle, and crustal contamination during ascend through the continental lithosphere. A greater understanding of this topic is of fundamental importance because the ST-LIP basalts are associated with the large Permian-Triassic extinction and the world’s largest magmatic Ni-Cu-platinum group element sulfide resources (Ni-Cu-PGE), the Norilsk-Talnakh mining camp. The ∼250 ± 2 Ma Siberian Traps at Norilsk contain a classic sequence of basaltic rocks that provide a spatial and stratigraphic context for changing chemistry of the eruptive products. We present a detailed geochemical and Sr-Nd-Hf-Mo isotopic investigation of ST-LIP volcanic rocks and associated sedimentary rocks, including coal and anhydrite, from the Norilsk area. The 98Mo/95Mo isotope ratios (reported as δ98Mo ratio relative to NIST SRM 3134) vary significantly from −0.62 to 0.07 ‰ for the older basalt formations and −0.41 to 0.03 ‰ for the younger basalt formations. The range of δ98Mo and its correlation with the other geochemical tracers cannot be explained by post-magmatic alteration, magmatic differentiation, or sulfide fractionation as Mo behaves as a lithophile element under these magmatic conditions. We suggest that the δ98Mo range can be explained by interaction of the plume with subcontinental lithospheric mantle modified by subduction processes. This is particularly prominent in the earlier Ivakinsky to Gudchikhinsky formations where light δ98Mo values coupled with low Mo/Ce can be explained by contributions from a dehydrated eclogitic component, whereas more rare heavy δ98Mo values and high Mo/Ce likely require contributions from a fluid metasomatized mantle source. Later magmas of the Nadezhdinsky formation show clear evidence of crustal contamination in their combined Mo-Sr-Nd-Hf isotope and trace element systematics, while the later more voluminous Morongovsky type magmas are shallower, large degree melts with limited crustal interaction. Our data shows the usefulness of Mo isotopes in deciphering magma sources of large igneous provinces eruptions.

The Origin and Evolution of Rare Earth Element Mineralization in the Muluozhai Deposit (Sichuan, China): Insights from Mineralogical, Trace Element, and Sr-Nd-Pb-C-O-Ca Isotope Data

Abstract Carbonatite complexes are globally significant sources of rare earth elements (REEs); however, mechanisms governing REE deposition in various tectono-lithologic settings, encompassing host rocks, wall rocks, ore-controlling structures, and metasomatism, remain inadequately understood. The Zhengjialiangzi mining camp, situated within the extensive Muluozhai deposit (containing 0.45 million metric tons [Mt] at 4.0 wt % REE2O3) in the northern segment of the Mianning-Dechang belt, Sichuan (southwestern China), is characterized by a complex vein system that evolved within metamorphosed supracrustal rocks of the Yangxin and Mount Emei Formations. The mineralization is coeval with Oligocene intrusions of carbonatite and nordmarkite at ~27 Ma. The major gangue minerals include fluorite, barite (transitional to celestine), and calcite, with bastnäsite serving as the primary host for REEs in all analyzed orebodies. Several other accessory to minor minerals were identified in the ore veins, including some that had not previously been known to occur in the Muluozhai deposits (e.g., thorite and pyrochlore). The stable isotopic (C-O-Ca) and trace element compositions of calcite, along with whole-rock data, suggest that carbonate material was derived from the mantle and subsequently reequilibrated with the Yangxin marbles. The radiogenic isotope (Sr-Nd-Pb) compositions of vein material remained unaffected by wall-rock contamination and suggest a mantle source influenced by crustal recycling, consistent with other REE deposits hosted by carbonatite and nordmarkite in the region. The combined petrographic and geochemical evidence suggests derivation of Muluozhai mineralization from a carbonatitic source and interaction of carbonatite-derived fluids with wall rocks, xenoliths, and early-crystallizing mineral phases, particularly barite.

The impact of mining on the economy in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia)

Studying mining as a special branch of the region is certainly relevant. The analysis is based on revealing its role in the formation of the state budget of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia); calculating the localization (specialization) coefficients of the region in terms of Gross Value Added and the average annual number of employees; identifying the industry’s contribution to the formation of the region’s labor resources; and studying the demand for professions in the industry under study using the example of engineers and technicians in a mining camp. The results of activities in the extraction of basic minerals in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) in recent years are summed up; the need for corporations to be provided with the information on regions of their presence and strengthening the inclusion of corporations in sustainable development on environmental issues is revealed. The results of the study showed the continued dependence of the Yakutia’s economy on the mining industry in the midterm, a changed ratio of the export commodity structure in favor of hydrocarbon and coal production, and a reduced role of diamond mining. In the future, it is necessary to focus on more detailed characteristics of shift work mining and its impact on the economy of the region.

Interpretation of Regional Geophysical Data Acquired at the Bathurst Mining Camp, Canada

The Bathurst Mining Camp is a major base-metal mining district in New Brunswick, Canada that was a focus area for the Geological Survey of Canada Targeted Geoscience Initiative Phase 3 project. As part of this project, more than 3500 gravimetric observations were acquired in the Bathurst Mining Camp, with an average spacing of 1-2 km, in 2006. The gravimetric data was reduced for an average crustal density value of 2.77 g/cm3 to obtain the Bouguer anomaly, which was analyzed and used to obtain 2.5D gravity models along five transects crossing the Bathurst Mining Camp. As a result of gravity modeling, a model of the general geometry of the main geological groups of the Bathurst Mining Camp (Fournier, California Lake, Tetagouche, and Miramichi) was obtained, which suggests that the Nine Mile Syncline is an open fold, and the Tetagouche Anticline is a gentle fold. Both folds are non-cylindrical and inclined, with their axial planes dipping in the 293° N direction: the angle of vergence of the folds increases towards the northeast of their axes. The structures under the Tetagouche Anticline axis gradually get deeper towards the Northeast reaching a maximum depth of 4 km. The depth of the structures modeled under the axis of the Nine Mile Syncline varies between 2 and 9 km, the deepest part being towards the center of the Bathurst Mining Camp; towards the northeast of its axis, the structures reach an intermediate depth of 4 km while towards the southwest they are 2 km deep on average.

Effect on growth and development of common toad (Rhinella arenarum) tadpoles in environment related to fluorite mine

Fluorite mining activities have been scarcely evaluated so far and the potential effect of this activity on larval stages is poorly known. Thus, studies addressing the effect of contaminants present in water bodies on the health of amphibian larvae are crucial information for their conservation and constitute a warning sign of environmental modification. This study aims to evaluate the effects of natural and artificial surface waters associated with a fluorite mine on the early life stages of Rhinella arenarum. Using microcosms, we assessed four sites with different degrees of disturbance by the fluorine mine: Vallecitos stream (undisturbed); Cerros Negros upstream of mining camp (low disturbance); Cerros Negro downstream of mining camp (medium disturbance); Decantation Ponds (high disturbance). For 65 days we measured different endpoints at different periods of tadpole development. The highest mortality of tadpoles was observed in the Decantation Ponds. In the same way, larval body condition was lower at Decantation Ponds throughout the study, due mainly to the lower weight. A significant decrease in growth and development was observed in Cerros Negro downstream of the mining camp and Decantation Ponds. No significant differences in growth, development and mortality were observed for the other two sites. At the metamorphic climax we observe a lower body condition and a reduced recruitment of individuals in Decantation Ponds. This study allowed us to assess the effect on larvae of R. arenarum of fluorite mining wastewater compared with other near-natural sites. Given the potentially negative synergic effects of mixed water pollutants on tadpoles, this study suggests that chronic exposure to fluorite mining water may significantly impact the adult amphibian population structure, thus altering population viability. Therefore, we propose to monitor the correct functioning of the mine and especially of Decantation Ponds to avoid discharges into the natural streams.

Technological Ecosystem in Innovation Management in Peruvian Schools

The objective of the research is to determine the influence of the technological ecosystem in the management of innovation in schools in Peru, where the type of research is basic, with a quantitative approach, explanatory level, with a non-experimental design. The sample is 148 workers of schools in mining camps in southern Peru. It is concluded that there is an influence of the technological ecosystem in the management of innovation, given the value of p = 0.000 and Nagelkerke's Pseudo-R2 = 60.50%. The results demonstrate the relevance of the technological ecosystem as a source to improve innovation management, given the insertion of technologies, digitalization, and information systems for the facilitation of innovation and decision-making.

Performance of hybrid biofilter based on rice husks/sawdust treating grey wastewater.

An innovative nature-based technology for wastewater treatment is the hybrid biofiltration, which combines complex symbiotic relationships between plants, earthworms and microorganisms with adequate support components. This latter could be optimized using organic supports. The aim of this research was to evaluate the performance of hybrid biofilters based on rice husks/sawdust treating grey wastewater from mining camps. Four biofilters using an active layer (rice husks/sawdust: 50/50%, v/v) at 60(B60) and 45(B45) cm height and operating for 64 days at a hydraulic loading rate between 1 and 5 m3/m2d were monitored. Eisenia foetida Savigny and Cyperus papyrus L. were used as a biotic component. COD, N-NH4+, NO3-, NO2-, PO43- and fecal coliforms were weekly monitored. Results showed that the most efficient HB was using 60 cm as an active layer and operating at 3 m3/m2d, which reported average removal efficiencies for COD, NH4+, NO3-, PO43- and fecal coliforms up to 85, 89, 47, 49 and 99.9%, respectively. Organic support improved the rate growth for Cyperus papirus L. and E. foetida Savigny up to 50%. Hybrid biofiltration using organic residues is low-cost, providing all-encompassing operational and performance features, improving the wastewater reclamation opportunities.

A Source for ‘The Luck of Roaring Camp’

Readers have puzzled over the origin of ‘The Luck of Roaring Camp’ (1868), the tragicomic tale of a baby born in a California mining camp and the first piece of writing to bring national acclaim to author Bret Harte. Biographer George Stewart declared in 1931, ‘The sudden appearance of the Luck was about as close to a miracle as one finds in literary history’.1 Gary Scharnhorst brought the miracle down to earth when he discovered that Bret Harte and his wife had lost an infant son ten months before the story’s publication.2 This fact helped to explain—perhaps—Harte’s choice of subject (a birth) and the sentimental tone that Stewart called a ‘conversion’ from Harte’s satiric early journalism.3 But the archive of California ephemera holds another backstory. A speech given by a California visitor in 1864 anticipated multiple features of Bret Harte’s breakout short story. The connection between the speech and Bret Harte may be traced to Harte’s first appearance on a title page (Figure 1). On 9 September 1864, the San Francisco chapter of the Society of California Pioneers celebrated the anniversary of California’s statehood with a parade, a speech, a commissioned poem, and a reception. The job office of the Daily Alta California printed the speech, the poem, and the newspaper’s account of the day in a thirty-two-page booklet.4 The orator was a five-month visitor to the Pacific coast and Unitarian minister from New York City, Henry Whitney Bellows, known for founding a medical relief society for soldiers’ aid.5 Twenty-eight-year-old Bret Harte contributed the poem. Since Harte’s poem-of-the-day also appeared elsewhere, the booklet would seem to be (for Harte scholarship) a surplus edition of a text already known, merely a proud chapter in the life of a young author, but for the contents of Bellows’s lecture. The seasoned orator engaged his audience with a notable figure of speech—the allegoric figure of an infant California raised by the state’s mining pioneers. ‘The Luck of Roaring Camp’ echoes this figure of speech as well as other features of Bellows’s text.

Deseret Hospital, Women, and the Perils of Modernization

Deseret Hospital, Women, and the Perils of Modernization

Utah's Women Homesteaders

Utah's Women Homesteaders

The Nature of the Game: Links Golf at Bandon Dunes and Far Beyond by Mike Keiser with Stephen Goodwin

Reviewed by: The Nature of the Game: Links Golf at Bandon Dunes and Far Beyond by Mike Keiser with Stephen Goodwin William L. Lang THE NATURE OF THE GAME: LINKS GOLF AT BANDON DUNES AND FAR BEYOND by Mike Keiser with Stephen Goodwin Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2022. Photographs. 320 pages. $40.00 cloth, In 1999, Mike Keiser and his associates welcomed golfers to a new and remarkable links golf course on the southern Oregon coast near the town of Bandon. At the mouth of the Coquille River and small bay some thirty miles south of Coos Bay, Bandon had begun as a mining camp in the 1850s and developed an economy in the late nineteenth century based on fishing, logging, dairying, and cranberry cultivation. The area’s spectacular coastline brought tourists, but nothing quite prepared the town for the advent of world-class golf courses — six in total at Bandon Dunes — and an influx of golf tourists that propelled the destination resort to be an economic linchpin in Bandon. The Nature of the Game is a memoir of Mike Keiser’s creative and passionate pursuit of links golf that brought him to Bandon and spurred a fluorescence in golf architecture and design. It is the inside story of how Keiser and his teams of golf architects created links golf courses at Bandon and took their methods to Wisconsin, Nova Scotia, and Tasmania. He tells the story of each project in a conversational style, providing details of building the many courses with commentaries by the principal architects — Michael Clayton, Bill Coore, Tom Doak, Ben Crenshaw, David Kidd, and Jim Urbina. Keiser willingly exposes arguments about specific project details that erupted between himself and principal architects, but those glimpses of the inner workings underlined his devotion to his vision of how golf should be played on natural courses. His pursuit was an embrace of the historical origins of the game of golf, a contrary vision of the 1990s mode in golf design that often destroyed natural forms and created faux environments. Keiser’s vision was, as he puts it, “a lay-of-the-land” approach, minimalist in disturbance of place, a creation that integrated golf into existing landforms, retained native vegetation, and favored scenic views. He argues that it is a return to the original Scottish and Irish courses — links laid out on a natural landscape. What began in the Bandon Dunes project, Keiser exported to other locales with sandy soils, variegated topography, and stunning natural viewpoints — especially the courses, like Bandon’s, that stretch along a dramatic seacoast. On each project, Keiser and his golf architects faced challenges posed by the natural environment, existing land-use regulations, and community acceptance of a destination golf resort. [End Page 108] Keiser devotes his longest chapter to the initial project at Bandon. There were physical, cultural, political, and economic challenges on the southern Oregon coast. Don Ivy, the late chief of the Coquille Indian Tribe, addressed the use of formerly Native homelands, concluding that Keiser’s plans more closely mirrored respectful land use than mining, ATVs gouging the landscape, and other soil-degrading developments. An earlier owner of the land — five miles north of the town of Bandon — had planned to build a golf course but had failed to gain approval under the state’s restrictive land-use laws. It was an economic windfall for Keiser, who purchased the 1200-plus-acre parcel for what he considered a “bargain price of $2.4 million” (p. 47). One of the physical features of the acreage was an invasive plant — gorse (Ulex europaeus) — which was purposefully planted in the early 1870s by George Bennett, an Irish immigrant from Bandon, Ireland, who wanted gorse growing to remind him of his homeland. Gorse is a spiny and oily plant that grows thick enough to impede easy walking and is a significant fire hazard, which Bandon discovered in 1936 when dry conditions and a gorse-fueled firestorm raced through town, killing eleven and causing $3 million in property destruction. Controlling the rapidly spreading gorse was not easy, and that conservation problem became the lever Keiser used to get approval for Bandon Dunes. “Planting grass and maintaining open...

Black Montana: Settler Colonialism and the Erosion of the Racial Frontier, 1877–1930

This study fills a scholarly void, as only fragments of the Black experience in Montana have been published heretofore. This work is the first thematic attempt to embrace that experience, with chapters centering on the traditional kinship networking of African Americans in churches, clubs, and fraternal organizations; the impact of the handful of Black newspapers that served the largest communities, especially in the mining camp of Butte and the fledgling capital city of Helena in the 1890s; Black engagement with Montana's varied natural environment; and then the exodus of Black residents from Montana during the economic downturn after World War I. Traditionally, few African Americans migrated to Montana in the decades framing the turn of the nineteenth century; at any given moment they made up barely 1 percent of the overall population. Today, Montana is home to the fewest African Americans of any state (less than five thousand), and their numbers have steadily dwindled since the early twentieth century. Because of such limited numbers, Anthony W. Wood feels that there has been unwarranted historical occlusion, and he seeks to understand the historical roots to the ongoing exodus.

From Enemy to Hero: Andrei Krems and the Legacy of Stalinist Repression in Russia’s Far North, 1964–82

AbstractThis article explores the two lives of the Soviet Union’s “most famous unknown geologist,” Andrei Iakovlevich Krems, the head of Glavneft' who was arrested on September 30, 1938, and sentenced to eight years in Ukhtizhemlag in the Russian Far North. Two years later he was released early and put in charge of the oil mining camp’s Geological Survey Department. Despite his tarnished biography, Krems became somewhat of a local icon featured in numerous newspaper articles, scientific journals, books, and even newsreel films that celebrated his successes in the development of the Timano‐Pechora Basin between 1940 and 1973. On the basis of Krems’s personal archive, which remains unexplored, part one of this article reconstructs Krems’s biography and explores his transition to life after release in Ukhta where he remained for the rest of his life. Part two explores the narratives about Krems, Ukhta’s origins, and the discussions they sparked in the local press and Krems’s private correspondence with the former boss of Ukhtizhemlag. The public narratives about Krems and the development of Komi’s oil and gas industry of the mid‐1960s and 1970s illustrate the complex approaches the Brezhnev regime took in its attempt to deal with the legacy of Stalinist repression in the places where it transpired. I argue that the Communist Party under Brezhnev pursued a politics of memory that was surprisingly forthcoming regarding Stalinist repression in its celebration of Soviet achievements in the Russian Far North, which allowed for the construction of veiled monuments to the victims of Stalinist repression, such as the monument to the “Pioneers of the North” and the Andrei Krems Apartment‐Museum.

Viper on the Hearth's Unfinished Business: Anti-Mormonism and Mormon Studies

<i>Viper on the Hearth</i>'s Unfinished Business: Anti-Mormonism and Mormon Studies

Predictive Modeling of Prospectivity for VHMS Mineral Deposits, Northeastern Bathurst Mining Camp, NB, Canada, Using an Ensemble Regularization Technique

Predictive Modeling of Prospectivity for VHMS Mineral Deposits, Northeastern Bathurst Mining Camp, NB, Canada, Using an Ensemble Regularization Technique

Richard S. Buswell: Fifty Years of Photography by Richard S. Buswell

Reviewed by: Richard S. Buswell: Fifty Years of Photography by Richard S. Buswell Dana Fritz Richard S. Buswell: Fifty Years of Photography. By Richard S. Buswell. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2020. 112 pp. Illustrations. $29.95 cloth. Richard S. Buswell: Fifty Years of Photography directs readers to look back at his oeuvre and at history. Throughout his Montana childhood and his career as a physician, Dr. Buswell cultivated a passion for photography at abandoned homesteads [End Page 360] and mining camps. The author’s preface includes accounts of these locations in vivid sensory detail. Seventy-two plates, printed in lush duotone, trace his black-and-white prints over five decades in chronological order, moving from more descriptive to more abstract. The earliest work, Railroad Trestle, 1976, depicts a crumbling roughhewn structure absent of rails which disappears into a forest. In Bedroom, 2002, the book’s cover image, an unglazed window framing tree branches is sandwiched between a peeling ceiling and a deep snowdrift. In some ways, this striking photograph is misleading as a cover because most of the plates in this book are from the past twenty years, when Buswell explored formal abstraction. While the author does not elaborate on the influence of Modernism, followers of photographic history will recognize in his work echoes of Group f/64, who formed in the early 1930s in San Francisco. They coalesced to evangelize about the ability of the large-format camera to convey a pure aesthetic that was free from the conventions of painting and narrative and was characterized by carefully composed abstract details of their subjects. These artists were criticized by some for turning their backs on social conditions of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl (the causes of many abandoned homesteads). The group dissolved quickly, but their legacy of formal abstraction and photographic technical precision endures. Most of the work in this book falls squarely into this camp, ironically eliminating the kinds of context and information Buswell details in his preface. While he is known as a Montana photographer and for photographing in homesteads and mining camps, most of these images appear “placeless” and the sometimes-unrecognizable subjects seem not specifically “Montanan.” Yet these details of plants, feathers, and bones are rigorously and elegantly composed as well as beautifully exposed. The work seems to hover in a timeless and formal past where the human and environmental injustices that propelled homesteading and mining in the West are peripheral to the pursuit of beauty in a decaying frontier. In many ways, the book ends where it started: with gelatin silver prints made in a darkroom, a photographic process and an approach that has become part of history over these five decades. Dana Fritz School of Art, Art History & Design University of Nebraska–Lincoln Copyright © 2023 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Zoonoses and gold mining: A cross-sectional study to assess yellow fever immunization, Q fever, leptospirosis and leishmaniasis among the population working on illegal mining camps in French Guiana.

BackgroundMost emerging pathogens are zoonoses and have a wildlife origin. Anthropization and disruption of ecosystems favor the crossing of inter-species barriers. We hypothesize that the marginalized population of undocumented goldminers in the Amazon is at risk of acquiring zoonoses.MethodA multicentric cross-sectional study included consenting gold-mining adult workers in 2019. A clinical examination recorded dermatological signs of leishmaniosis and past history of yellow fever vaccination. Biological tests were performed for yellow fever, Q fever and leptospirosis serologies. Additional blood samples from a previous study in 2015 were also tested for leptospirosis.ResultsIn 2019, 380 individuals were included in the study, along with 407 samples from the 2015 biological collection. The seroprevalence of leptospirosis was 31.0% [95%CI = 26.4–35.5] in 2015 and 28.1% [23.5–32.7] in 2019. The seroprevalence of Q fever was 2.9% [1.2–4.6]. The majority of participants reported being vaccinated against yellow fever (93.6%) and 97.9% had seroneutralizing antibodies. The prevalence of suspected active mucocutaneous leishmaniasis was 2.4% [0.8–3.9].DiscussionThese unique data shed new light on the transmission cycles of zoonoses still poorly understood in the region. They support the existence of a wild cycle of leptospirosis but not of Q fever. Leishmaniasis prevalence was high because of life conditions and tree felling. High yellow fever vaccine coverage was reassuring in this endemic area. In the era of global health, special attention must be paid to these vulnerable populations in direct contact with the tropical ecosystem and away from the health care system.

Historical gold mining infectious disease epidemics

Lethal infectious disease epidemics have historically occurred in military, refugee and mining camps where crowded conditions promote the spread of enteric, respiratory and insect-borne infections. The early history of gold mines around Palmer River, Queensland in the 1870s, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia in the 1890s and Papua on the island of New Guinea in the 1910s are recounted specifically as it relates to infectious disease deaths. Despite large diagnostic gaps, it is likely that malaria was the predominant problem in Palmer River, typhoid in Kalgoorlie and bacillary dysentery in Papua. Nearly two-thirds of all recorded deaths in the Palmer River district from 1873 to 1883 were due to infections, predominately 'fevers'. Typhoid fever likely killed >2000 Australians in the early phases of the Western Australian goldfields in the 1890s. Severe dysentery outbreaks killed up to a majority of the local workforce in the Lakekema goldfields of Papua resulting in the colonial authorities stopping mining activity in the second decade of the 20th century. In the absence of public health measures and specific chemotherapy, large mortality rates in miners reflected the over-riding economic drivers of gold miners and their lack of any understanding of microbial disease and its interruption by public health measures. Similar infectious disease epidemics are likely to reoccur when large numbers of impoverished miners use low-technology methods to work alluvial gold deposits in conflict areas as has been seen in modern Africa.

Anthropogenic and Geogenic Mercury in Surface Waters in the Mature Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, Canada

Abstract Interactions between a cyanide leach used for Au extraction and cinnabar-bearing gossan tailings at the Murray Brook mine have led to the development of an Hg-enriched contaminated groundwater plume that discharges to the nearby Gossan Creek. Naturally occurring cinnabar in the area poses a challenge in distinguishing mining-related contamination from background Hg concentrations. Surface water data from throughout the Bathurst Mining Camp was used to establish interelement relationships compared to pH and the spatial distributions of Hg, SO42−, Cl, Cu, NO3−, Zn, Pb, and Ca/HCO3− values. Statistical significance of anomalous measurements was evaluated to assess geogenic versus anthropogenic contributions of mining associated elements. Watershed analysis indicated that the Murray Brook tailings facility may sit on a basinal divide with potential for tailings leachate-impacted groundwater and surface water migration toward the northeast as well as northwest toward Gossan Creek. Elevated NO3− was detected in two streams south-west of Gossan Creek alongside greater than normal Hg concentrations. Other locations in the study area away from the Murray Brook area show little geochemical evidence for impact of mining on surface waters despite Hg concentrations as high as 0.019 µg L-1. Points with geogenic Hg concentration on the order of 0.01 µg L-1 were observed throughout the study area, particularly in the Upsalquitch River tributaries south-west of Gossan Creek and in the surface waterbodies west of the Restigouche deposit, indicating weathering of cinnabar-bearing gossan.