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GEOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN A DARASUN GOLD MINE TAILINGS AREA (TRANSBAIKAL KRAY, RUSSIA)
Abstract
Sulfide-bearing mine tailings of the Darasun ore processing plant situated in the permafrost zone in Trans Baikal region (Russia) were examined in 2016. The composition of mine drainages and affected river waters were investigated. The processes of oxidation and chemical weathering of mine tailings leads to removal of a wide spectrum of chemical elements according to geochemical analyses. Two associations of chemical elements were found: i) Tl, Pb, Cd, Zn, Mn, and Be; ii) Cu, Mo, Au, Ag, As, and Sb. Thallium is present in technogenic streams in the most toxic free ionic form of Tl+. Among the forms of beryllium, free cations predominate in technogenic acidic sulfate waters, and after mixing with natural water bodies, the basic form is the less toxic hydroxide Be(OH)2 (aq). The mobility of noble metals in natural watercourses is provided by complexation with cyanide ligands in the case of silver and hydroxo-complexes for gold.
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