Traditional Mining Areas Research Articles

Mineral- and Rock Type Localities in Romania and Their Potential Geoheritage Value

A complete inventory of 16 mineral type localities and 1 rock type locality in Romania, as well as their assessed geoheritage characteristics and values are presented for the first time. Thirty-nine mineral species, one chemical element and one common rock type were discovered, described and named in Romania. Most of these are closely linked to traditional mining areas: the Baia Mare region, the Apuseni Mts. and the Banat region. Three mineral type localities are outstandingly rich: Săcărâmb/Nagyág in the southern Apuseni Mts. (8 new minerals), Baia Sprie/Felsőbánya in the Baia Mare region (6 new minerals), and Băița Bihor/Rézbánya in the Northern Apuseni Mts. (6 new minerals). The scientific, educational and touristic value and significance of the type localities regarded as „geosites” and „geodiversity sites” are discussed. Based on the quantitative assessment of the scientific, educational and touristic values, the type localities were hierarchically classified, Baia Sprie, Săcărâmb and Măgura Uroiului being the highest ranked. From the geoconservation perspective, site protection and valuation strategies at local and/or regional scales are envisaged.

Neglected and Peripheral Spaces: Challenges of Socioeconomic Marginalization in a South Carpathian Area

There has been a debate recently on how the population in traditional mining areas of Central and Eastern Europe faces precarity and marginalization. A spatial approach was employed in a Romanian context using available statistical data on a south Carpathian area (i.e., Gorj County). We also conducted surveys and in-depth interviews with residents in one of the rural communities of Gorj. Our findings highlight that a large number of rural localities in this county are technically, economically, and socially underdeveloped. Many inhabitants face a lack of financial resources and employment opportunities, which has led to the emigration of young people to larger Romanian cities or to other countries. We conclude that in order to avoid a much deeper social and spatial marginalization of local inhabitants, an integrated strategy is needed to target economic and social development, investment in infrastructure and public services, the promotion of employment and training opportunities, and to better integrate local culture and traditions into tourism.

Analisis Kesuburan Tanah di Pertambangan Minyak Tradisional Desa Wonocolo Kecamatan Kedewan, Kabupaten Bojonegoro

Wonocolo Village is known as a traditional mining area. This study aims to determine the level of soil contamination in traditional oil mining activities by testing N, P, K, organic matter and lime content of the soil. The method used in this research is using a proposive random sampling method. The results of testing the quality of soil in mining activities were found not to contain N,P,K. This can be seen when testing using N,P,K solutions, there was no change in soil color, organic matter and soil lime content when testing on 7 soil samples. only 2 soil samples contained organic matter and soil lime content, namely the 3rd and 7th samples. This can be seen from the presence of foam on the soil samples when dripped with H2O2 and HCL solutions. So it can be concluded that the soil in the Wonocolo mining area is highly polluted, so it is necessary to carry out bioremediation and phytoremediation the quality of soil in mining activities were found not to contain N,P,K. This can be seen when testing using N,P,K solutions, there was no change in soil color, organic matter and soil lime content when testing on 7 soil samples. only 2 soil samples contained organic matter and soil lime content, namely the 3rd and 7th samples. This can be seen from the presence of foam on the soil samples when dripped with H2O2 and HCL solutions. So it can be concluded that the soil in the Wonocolo mining area is highly polluted, so it is necessary to carry out bioremediation and phytoremediation.

Geochemical and environmental assessment of potential effects of trace elements in soils, water, and sediments around abandoned mining sites in the northern Iberian Peninsula (NW Spain)

The mineral deposits and traces in the Iberian Peninsula are very numerous and of varied mineralogy. This study aimed to analyze the geochemical and environmental changes detected in soil, water, and sediments around the La Sierre mine, and to determine if contamination persists over time. The concentrations of ten trace elements (As, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) were measured in 20 soil samples, 10 water samples, and 6 sediment samples, sampling at the most affected points. Soil and sediment samples were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and water samples by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). From the Principal Component Analysis (PCA), soil samples SOI-6, 7, and 20 presented high amounts ranging from 14489.86a±7 to 3031.72b ± 1 mg/kg of Co, Cu, Ni, and As, respectively. Water samples WAT-6, 8, and 10 presented high contents of As, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn, being sample WAT-8 with high values of As, Co, Cu, Fe, and Ni with 48.1 ± 0.82, 368 ± 4, 68.3 ± 0.1, 97.5 ± 1.2, and 152 ± 2 μg/L, respectively, exceeding the regulation given by R.D 314/2016 (Water for human consumption). The sediment samples were compared with the IInterim Sediment Quality Guideline (ISQG) and Probable Effect Level (PEL) values given by the Canadian Sediment Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life. When presenting a high ISQG value, but low PEL, they partially comply with the regulations, which happens with samples SED-1, 2, and 8 for As and SED-5, 6, and 7 for Pb. On the contrary, Cr and Cu do not comply with what is established in samples SED-8 and SED-1 and 8, respectively, whereas, in samples SED-2 and 5, Cu partially complies with the established regulations. The values found for the trace elements present in the abandoned traditional mining area with abundant epithermal deposits prevail over time in soil, water, and sediments.

The mined volume calculation in the traditional mining area by using the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) approach in the observation area of CV. Sinergi Karya Solutif, Patikraja district, Banyumas regency, East Java province, Indonesia

The studies become performed in Notog Village, Patigkraja District, Banyumas Regency, Central Java Province withinside the statement place of CV. Sinergi Karya Solutif with the purpose of comparing the extent of minerals and describing the way to calculate the extent mined with a greater green approach. In measuring and calculating the volumetric minerals, its miles are executed via way of means of the use of the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) approach or drones which include drones to get aerial photos. The gathered records may be the number one records utilized in carrying out volumetric analysis. They have a look at becoming performed for 2 (two) months. The consequences acquired withinside the shape of aerial image records as number one records and a base map inclusive of geography, topography, and geology as assisting records. Mined extent acquired via way of means of processing records the use of assisting software program is 11.568.136 m3 at the same time as in records processing the use of different techniques on this guide is 123,365 m3. From the 2 calculation techniques, its miles recognized that the distinction withinside the mined extent is 768.363 m3.

Development of the mineral resource complex as an increase in the geopolitical status of Russia

The state of the mineral resource complex is one of the foundations of the functioning and development of Russia in the context of the global geopolitical struggle. The geopolitical status of the state today largely depends on how the country will be able to respond to the challenges associated with the depletion of traditional mining areas and the beginning of a new stage of energy transition. In this article, the author provides an overview of the mineral resource complex of Russia, and also analyzes the dependence of the geopolitical status on the state of the mineral resource complex. According to the results of the study, the author concludes that the mineral resource potential of Russia, although it is one of the largest in the world, at the same time, there is a problem of shortage of certain types of minerals (manganese, chromium, titanium, bauxite, zirconium, beryllium, lithium, rhenium, rare earths of the yttrium group, hydrofluoric spar, bentonites for foundry production, feldspar raw materials, kaolin, large-leaf muscovite, iodine, bromine) and the country's dependence on imports. The deficit is caused by both the growth of consumption of certain types of minerals, and low quality, as well as poor development of some domestic deposits. In order to successfully develop Russia, the country needs to increase the volume and improve the quality of the mineral resource base that can meet the demand of high-tech and technological sectors of the economy (military-industrial complex, dual-use systems, medicine, etc.).Increasing the volume and improving the quality of the country's mineral resource base is possible due to the development of new areas and the search for new, high-quality deposits of strategic and scarce mineral raw materials. In this connection, the author examines in detail the cooperation in the field of mineral resources development in the Republic of Kazakhstan, in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as well as with the People's Republic of China. In carrying out this research, the author applied the methods of content analysis, historical and systemic.

Resettlement, intergenerational memory, place attachment, and place identity in Roșia Jiu coal mine - Gorj County, Romania

The present study was conducted in a traditional mining area in Romania-the Rovinari Carboniferous Basin-from which in 1976 the communist authorities relocated about 800 people, two churches, and a cemetery to a new location in the village of Iași, Gorj County, in order to expand coal mining operations. Using the triangulation method, we gathered data from 139 questionnaires, 30 interviews, and ethnographic observations to highlight the ways in which the traumatic memories of the communist period are evoked today by the displaced population and perceived by the younger generation. Apart from some post-communist memories that cast the communist regime in a positive light, respondents largely condemned the regime, which, by threatening to take away their work, forced them to move to a new location. This relocation had profound implications in respondents' personal and family mentality represented first by the destruction of local cultural property or heritage and later by the appearance of trauma and respondents’ implicit attachment to the places they had lost. The history of those times is taught through the intergenerational transmission of memories at home as a place of family identity or at church as the centre of spirituality for the Romanian village.Bringing household items from the old destroyed location to the new location strengthened respondents’ postcommunist memory and helped to heal or alleviate their past trauma. However, beyond the differing political considerations expressed by those we interviewed and questioned, the complexity of post-communist memory, whichis tense and nuanced, remains relevant under deeper scrutiny.

Mine Water for the Generation and Storage of Renewable Energy: A Hybrid Hydro–Wind System

Mine water is normally considered as waste that has to be managed. However, new applications are increasingly being sought for the water that floods mining voids, especially in relation to its use as an energy resource. The worldwide energy market, within the current transition framework, is searching for creative approaches to produce and store clean energy. In particular, underground pumped hydroelectric energy storage systems (UPHS) constitute efficient and flexible alternatives to deal with intermittent renewable energy sources. In this work, a UPHS is designed using the mine water and the voids of a closed coal mine in Asturias (North-west Spain) as a lower reservoir. Moreover, this system is combined with a wind energy generation facility and the efficiency of the hybrid system is evaluated. With an investment cost of EUR 193 M, a 40 MW UPHES joined to a 60 MW wind farm would generate benefits of about EUR 54 M in 40 years. The reduction in CO2 emissions (29,000 equivalent tons per year) and the social benefits in a traditional mining area are other intangible advantages of this system.

The Consequences of Illegal Mining in the Environment: Perspectives Behavioral, Knowledge and Attitude

Environmental problems can overcome by changing the mental attitude of humans as environmental destroyers to humans who are aware of their environment. The focus in research is to find out and then interpret the results obtained related to the presence or absence of influence between the level of knowledge and attitudes of traditional miners on behavior. The number of samples used was 212 respondents spread over traditional mining areas of the community. Data is obtained from surveys using questionnaire instruments and interviews with traditional miners. The data is then analyzed Structural Equation Model (SEM) using IBM AMOS 23. The results of validation and reliability and goodness of fit (GOF) indicate that the model is feasible and fit. The results of the analysis show that there is a significant impact between the variables of knowledge and attitudes towards the behavior of the mining community. The condition of enough knowledge is not able to change people's behavior to manage the environment. The results obtained are the same as attitudinal variables that show contra to the environment. All ways are done to get profits without seeing the consequences. The attitude of the government must be more assertive in controlling illegal mining that has damaged the surrounding environment. Humans who are aware of their environment are humans who already understand and apply attitudes and behaviors that care about the environment and apply the principles of ecology and environmental ethics.

Determination of Mercury (Hg) Risk Level (RQ) with Exposure through Fish and Drinking Water Consumption in Bulawa Sub-district, Bone Bolango District, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia

Mercury (Hg) is a liquid metal element, silver at room temperature (250C and has a melting and boiling points at of-38.870and 35.00C, respectively. In traditional gold mining activities, Mercury (Hg) is used for gold purification (amalgamation). This study aims to determine the level of risk (RQ) in the community of Bulawa District who consume fish and drinking water sourced from the waters around traditional mining activities. This type of research is observational with an environmental health risk analysis design. Sampling was calculated using purposive sampling with the inclusion criteria by the researchers and resulted in 100 citizens. The results of the calculation of the level of Risk (RQ) of Mercury (Hg) consumption of fish and drinking water in the community of Bulawa District was 0.08 and 0.003, respectively, thus, RQ <1, meaning that it does not have an effect on health. However, this value can be used as a reference level of risk level (RQ) of Mercury (Hg) in people who consume fish and drinking water from the waters of traditional mining areas in Indonesia. Control measures can be taken to maintain the level of Risk (RQ) of Mercury (Hg) <1 through limiting the frequency of consumption and the rate of intake of fish and drinking water from surrounding waters. Warning signs of mercury contamination around mining waters can be also provided. © 2019, Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development. All rights reserved.

Use of closured open pit and underground coal mines for energy generation: Application to the Asturias Central Coal Basin (Spain)

The idea to reducing the dependency of nuclear and fossil energy sources has risen in Spain, then, the use of closured coal mines for energy generation is thus in the political interest, and by 2020 it is intended that the country produces 20% of its energy from renewable sources, therefore replacing the energy based on fossil fuels. New studies on the framework of a circular economy have led to found new possibilities for closured coal mines in historical mine districts and mine water can be considered as a potential resource, converting mining exploitations into storage and production facilities of renewable energy and generating new economic activities in the mining regions. Abandoned and flooded mines constitute artificial karst type aquifers, and these created underground reservoirs can be economically managed to supply geothermal energy to villages around the shafts. This potential application of mine water, profitable in both economic and environmental terms, could contribute to improve economic and social conditions of traditional mining areas in gradual decline. On the other hand, the restored lands can be used for the production of biofuels through repopulation with fast-growing energy crops and high planting densities. This paper analyses the uses of mine water for energy generation both as geothermal resource and through pumped storage between an underground and a surface reservoir, furthermore the supply of productive restoration for biomass production in closured coal open pits is considered, in relation to their potential application to the closured coal mines from the Asturias Central Coal basin in Northern Spain.

Safe Concentration of Mercury (Hg) Exposure in Fish Consumed by the Residents of Bulawa Subdistrict, Bone Bolango District, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia

Mercury is one of the persistent chemicals and is bioaccumulative in the ecosystem. It negatively affects human health and environment. Indonesia has been identified in the use of mercury in industrial sector, especially small industries. High level of mercury needs to be reduced and eliminated. The present study aims to determine the safe concentration of mercury that has negative impact on health of the community of Bulawa Sub-district, Bone Bolango District, Gorontalo. The approach taken in this study was cross sectional with observational research. In the present study, the population was all residents of Bulawa Subdistrict, Bone Bolango District, Gorontalo who were exposed to mercury from fish. The sample in this study was 100 residents who consumed fish caught in Bulawa waters. Sampling was carried out by purposive sampling. Data analysis performed in manual guantitative data analysis to determine the safe (C safe) concentration of mercury for workers. Experimental data includes white rats (W animals), body surface area of white mice (BSA animals), body weight (W) , workers' height (h), workers' respiratory rate (BR), workers? body surface area (BSA), working time (t), mercury concentration (C), NOAEL, animal km, human km, and safe limits for toxin doses (RfD). The results showed that the measurement of mercury concentration in Bulawa District, Bone Bolango District, Gorontalo was 0.128 mg/m? (0.0156 ppm). This value can be used as a reference limit for safe concentration of mercury in the residents who consume fish originating from the waters of traditional mining areas in Indonesia. Control efforts can be created by reducing mercury concentrations in fish, or reducing the rate of fish consumption and limiting the duration of exposure.

Stope stability analysis of limestone ex-mined area at Ponjong sub-district Special Region of Yogyakarta using finite element method

Limestone mining activity in Gunungsewu karst terrain of Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta has been long time to be the livelihood for local communities. Evidently, by the number of ex-mining that have not been maintained and one of them looks like a stope hole in underground mining and failures could be occur at the stope. In this case, the sustainability of geoheritage area required geothecnical analysis to anticipate possibility of failure. This research conducted on traditional mining area in Sidorejo Village, Ponjong sub-district, Gunungkidul by comparing between the Hoek Brown and Mohr Coulomb failure criterion. Hoek-Brown criterion considering the geologic structures of rock mass and classification of rock mass using Geological Strength Index (GSI) whereas Mohr-Coulomb criterion is based on laboratory testing of intact rocks that will be affect to the value estimation of sigma 1, sigma 3, strength factor, and total displacement at the stope. Stability of stope will be analysed using finite element method that assisted with software Phase 2. The result of this research can be used as a reference to determine an appropriate acts to preserve the Gunungsewu geoheritage area.

Environmental-Impact Assessment of Natural Radioactivity Around a Traditional Mining Area in Al-Ibedia, Sudan.

Recently, in the Sudan, traditional gold mining has been growing rapidly and has become a very attractive and popular economic activity. Mining activity is recognized as one of the sources of radioactivity contamination. Hence, the radioactivity concentration and radiological hazard due to exposure of radionuclides (226)Ra, (232)Th, and (40)K were evaluated. The measurements were performed using gamma-ray spectrometry with an NaI (Tl) detector. The results show that (226)Ra, (232)Th, and (40)K activity concentration ranged from 2.66 to 18.47, 9.20 to 51.87, and 0.17 to 419.77 Bq/kg with average values of 7.54 ± 4.91, 20.74 ± 11.29, and 111.87 ± 136.84 Bq/kg, respectively. In contrast, (222)Rn in soil, (222)Rn in air, and (226)Ra in vegetables along with radiation dose were computed and compared with the international recommended levels. Potential radiological effects to miners and the public due to (226)Ra, (232)Th, (40)K, and (222)Rn are insignificant. (226)Ra transferred to vegetables appears to be negligible compared with the allowable limit 1.0 mSv/year set by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The average value of the annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE) is lower than the global average of 300 µSv/year (UNSCEAR 2000). However, some locations exhibit values >300 µSv/year. To the best of our knowledge, so far there seems to be no data regarding radioactivity monitoring in traditional mining areas in the Sudan.

Hydrogeological definition and applicability of abandoned coal mines as water reservoirs

Hydrogeologically, the Central Coal Basin (Asturias, Spain) is characterized by predominantly low-permeability materials that make up a multilayer aquifer with very low porosity and permeability values, where the sandstones act as limited aquifers, and wackes, mudstones, shales and coal seams act as confining levels. Preferential groundwater flow paths are open fractures and zones of decompression associated with them, so the hydraulic behaviour of the system is more associated with fracturing than lithology. Thus, abandoned and flooded mines in the area acquire an important role in the management of water resources, setting up an artificial "pseudo-karst" aquifer. This paper evaluates the potential application of the abandoned mines as underground reservoirs, both for water supply and energetic use, mainly through heat pumps and small hydropower plants. In particular, the groundwater reservoir shaped by the connected shafts Barredo and Figaredo has been chosen, and a detailed and multifaceted study has been undertaken in the area. The exposed applications fit with an integrated management of water resources and contribute to improve economic and social conditions of a traditional mining area in gradual decline due to the cessation of such activity.

Mozambique – not then but now

Mozambique – not then but now