scholarly journals Do Old Mining Areas Represent an Environmental Problem and Health Risk? A Critical Discussion through a Particular Case

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 594
Author(s):  
Salvadora Martínez-López ◽  
María José Martínez-Sánchez ◽  
Carmen Pérez-Sirvent
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Critical Discussion ◽  
Underground Mines ◽  
Ecological Value ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Lead Zinc ◽  
Arsenic Copper ◽  
Meta Analyses

A bibliographic review was carried out to establish the state of knowledge of a mining area with several centuries of exploitation and currently abandoned. The selected case study, the Sierra Minera de Cartagena-La Union (Spain), has a long history of mining activity, ending in 1990. The area is rich in metallic sulphide (lead, zinc and iron), with underground mines and quarries. The zone is very close to important populations and affects protected sites of special ecological value. It is also adjacent to areas dedicated to agriculture and important centres of tourist interest. It is a territory that meets the requirements to be classified as a critical area, as it is in a state of unstable physical and geochemical equilibrium, giving rise to possible risks to human health and ecosystems. A literature review was carried out according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) methodology criteria, consulting a large number of related publications. The results obtained using the Source-Pathway-Receptor model make it possible to identify the main impacts caused by the contamination sources, the main routes of contamination, as well as the transfer to the biota and the influence on adjacent agricultural soils. In this study, lead, cadmium, zinc, arsenic, copper and manganese were considered as potential toxic elements (PTEs), and data were obtained on concentrations in soil, water and air as well as in fauna and flora. Finally, once the receptors and the associated risks to the ecosystem and human health were identified, a conceptual model of the contamination was drawn up to consider a management proposal to tackle the problems associated with this area, which would also be applicable to critical mining zones.

Investigation of Contaminated Soils and Plants by Mn in Manganese Mining Area in Xiushan Autonomous County of Chongqing

2011 ◽  
Vol 414 ◽  
pp. 244-249
Author(s):  
Tao Zhu ◽  
Chang Sheng Jiang ◽  
Qing Ju Hao ◽  
Xiao Juan Huang
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Contaminated Soils ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Mining Tailings ◽  
Plant Shoots ◽  
Edible Parts

The manganese contents of soils and dominant plants from the manganese mining areas in Xiushan autonomous county of Chongqing were researched in this paper. The results showed that the Mn pollution of soil in the Mn mining tailings were very serious with high indexes (Igeo>5), and sewage irrigated soil was also contaminated by manganese metal. The uptake of Mn by dominant plants can be classified into three types according to the Mn contents in plant shoots and roots, (1) the accumulator which absorbs a large content of Mn by the roots and transports it to the shoots, (2) the root compartment which also absorbs a large content of Mn but mainly in the roots, and (3) the excluder which absorbs a smaller content of Mn than the accumulator. The edible parts of radishes and peppers growing in the Mn mining tailings and cropland were all seriously polluted by manganese and not safe for human health.

scholarly journals Characteristics of heavy metal accumulation in five wild plants in Huize Lead-Zinc mining area

2021 ◽  
Vol 261 ◽  
pp. 04015
Author(s):  
Fengli Mou ◽  
Jingmin Yang ◽  
Biwen Li ◽  
Jianjun Chen ◽  
Jixiu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Metal Accumulation ◽  
Surface Soil ◽  
Translocation Factor ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Heavy Metal Accumulation ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Lead Zinc ◽  
Arabis Alpina

In order to screen out the plants used to repair heavy metal pollution in the soil, five plants and surface soil were collected in the Huize lead-zinc mine area, centered on the hyperaccumulator plant Arabis alpina L. var. parviflora Franch, measured the heavy metal content of in shoot and root of plant and surface soil, and analyzed the characteristics of heavy metal accumulation in plants. The results showed that the soil Cd pollution in the Huize lead-zinc mining area was the most serious; among the five plants, the Cd bioconcentration factor(BCF) and translocation factor(TF) of A. alpina were more than 1, and the TF of Pb was more than 1; the TF of Anaphalis margaritacea, Cyananthus inflatus and Arenaria orbiculata to Cu and Zn were more than 1, the TF of Juncus effusus to Cd and Zn were more than 1. These five plants had good tolerance to heavy metals and were of great significance to the remediation and restoration of heavy metal contaminated soil in lead-zinc mining areas.

Mobility of potentially toxic elements in family garden soils of the Riotinto mining area

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Romero-Baena ◽  
Cinta Barba-Brioso ◽  
Alicia Ross ◽  
Isabel González
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Toxic Elements ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Clay Mineralogy ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Potentially Toxic Elements ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Trophic Chain ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Total Concentrations

<p>Agricultural soils in mining areas usually accumulate potentially toxic elements (PTEs) that can become a health risk to humans by entering the trophic chain. In this study, five small agricultural plots close to Riotinto mines (SW Spain) were studied, with the aims of comparing the concentration of PTEs with respect to the regional (South Portuguese Zone) baseline and conducting availability studies in order to determine the contamination of soils. Chemical composition, total and clay mineralogy, and edaphic parameters were determined in topsoil and subsoil samples to characterize the soils, and single extractions were conducted to assess the mobility. The mineralogy of the soils was composed of quartz and phyllosilicates, with small amounts of feldspars and occasionally containing hematite and calcite. The texture ranged from sandy to silty loam, the pH was slightly acidic, and high contents of organic matter were found. Total concentrations of trace elements correlated with the texture, the content in iron oxy-hydroxides and the pH. The values of As, Pb, Cu, and Zn exceeded the regional baseline even in sites unaffected by mining. The results suggest that a widespread sampling is necessary to determine the local background. The most water-soluble element was As, due to the competition of organic matter for sorption sites. The content of Cu, Cr and Zn extracted with different methods were higher in sandy soils with low iron oxy-hydroxides content. Monoammonium phosphate and EDTA extractions seemed to remove elements from organic matter and iron oxy-hydroxides. The extracted fractions of As and metals reached up to 10-30 wt%.  Despite the high total concentrations of the element in soils, they generally showed low available proportions, especially with water and ammonium acetate extractants. The results suggest that the soils are not necessarily a risk to humans and higher investigation efforts are necessary to assess the availability of PTEs and their transfer to plants.</p>

scholarly journals Features of new sites designing on quarry fields of the existing open pit mines of Kuzbass

2020 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 01003
Author(s):  
Eugene Plotnikov ◽  
Valery Kolesnikov ◽  
Zuzana Šimková ◽  
Nuray Demirel
Keyword(s):  
Mining Area ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Underground Mines ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Open Pit Mining ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Surface Mine ◽  
Open Pit Mines ◽  
Mining Areas

At a number of large open pit mines in Kuzbass, coal production costs have increased due to the deepening of mining operations. In order to reduce them, separate sections of coal mining at the upper horizons are operating or are being designed for mining at low current stripping ratio. For the same purpose, open-pit mining areas at the fields of existing quarries are operated and designed. Examples of such existing and projected areas are: the “Complex Synclinal” area at the Krasnobrodsky surface mine; the “Prirezka” area at the Chernigovsky surface mine; a number open-pit areas at the underground mines; etc. The main factors complicating the involvement in the development of new sites are: the presence of residential areas, industrial buildings and structures near the boundaries of the mining area; power supply lines, transport communications, which limits or excludes the production of mass explosions in the preparation of overburden for excavation; limited size or lack of areas for external dumps at a short distance from the site (in some cases, it is possible to close the mined-out space of the worked-out quarry field). When designing the development of areas characterized by such conditions, it is necessary to consider the application of new technical and technological solutions.

scholarly journals Multifunctional Activities of Gold Nanoparticles Biosynthesized Using Bacteria Isolated from Mining Areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 3670
Author(s):  
Chih-Yu Chen ◽  
Yung-Chu Chang ◽  
Teh-Hua Tsai ◽  
Man-Hai Liu ◽  
Ying-Chien Chung
Keyword(s):  
Gold Nanoparticles ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Synthesis Process ◽  
Average Particle ◽  
Bifidobacterium Lactis ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Skin Cells ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Antityrosinase Activity

Research on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has often focused on their physical, chemical, and crystalline characteristics. Commercial AuNPs have been applied in the diverse fields of biomedicine, catalysis, photovoltaics, and sensing. In this study, we explored the various activities of AuNPs to widen their applicability. This paper presents a simple and rapid synthesis process of AuNPs with bacteria isolated from a gold mining area. We also investigated the optimization of reaction parameters for AuNP synthesis. The study results revealed that among the isolated strains, Bifidobacterium lactis and Escherichia coli demonstrated the highest capabilities of AuNP synthesis. The optimal pH values for AuNP synthesis by B. lactis (BLAuNPs) and E. coli (ECAuNPs) were 5.0 for 72 h of incubation and 8.0 for 24 h of incubation. The average particle sizes of ECAuNPs and BLAuNPs were 4.2 and 5.6 nm, respectively. Furthermore, these biogenic AuNPs were found to be stable with no aggregation after 3 months of storage. BLAuNPs and ECAuNPs exhibited high levels of antimicrobial, antioxidant, photocatalytic, and antityrosinase activity. Moreover, they were noncytotoxic to skin cells even at 100% melanin inhibitory concentrations. Considering the demonstrated multifunctional activities of AuNPs, BLAuNPs and ECAuNPs have promising potential for commercialization.

Mercury contamination in fish from gold mining areas in Indonesia and human health risk assessment

2006 ◽  
Vol 368 (1) ◽  
pp. 320-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuleica C. Castilhos ◽  
Saulo Rodrigues-Filho ◽  
Ana Paula C. Rodrigues ◽  
Roberto C. Villas-Bôas ◽  
Shefa Siegel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Risk Assessment ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Human Health Risk ◽  
Human Health Risk Assessment ◽  
Mercury Contamination ◽  
Mining Areas

Equilibrium Temperature Calculation of the Sulfur Isotope in Dongzhongla Pb-Zn Deposit in Tibet

2015 ◽  
Vol 1092-1093 ◽  
pp. 1394-1397
Author(s):  
Guang Chun Fei ◽  
Yi Fan Yu ◽  
Ke Qiang Hua
Keyword(s):  
Sulfur Isotope ◽  
Equilibrium Temperature ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Isotopic Equilibrium ◽  
The North ◽  
Geological Conditions ◽  
Typical Type ◽  
Lead Zinc ◽  
Block Based ◽  
Exploration Area

The Dongzhongla Pb-Zn deposit, a newly-discovered medium-sized deposit, is located in the north margin of the eastern Gangdese, central Lhasa block. Based on the analysis of the ore-forming geological conditions in this deposit, sulfur isotope of this deposit were analyzed, and S isotopic equilibrium temperature of mineral pairs (sphalerite and galena) were calculated. This study has shown that the sulfur isotopic equilibrium temperature of sphalerite and galena in Dongzhongla Pb-Zn deposit ranged from 185℃ to 296℃. It indicated that the equilibrium temperature decreased gradually from the skarn stage to sulfide stage. The equilibrium temperature can be used as the reference of metallogenic temperature for Dongzhongla Pb-Zn deposit. DongzhongLa deposit is the typical type of skarn Lead-zinc deposit. East of the Dongzhongla mining area is the priority exploration area.

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