RT Journal Article
T1 Temporal evolution of acid mine drainage (AMD) leachates from the abandoned tharsis mine (Iberian Pyrite Belt, Spain)
A1 Moreno González, Raúl
A1 Macías Suárez, Francisco
A1 Olías Álvarez, Manuel
A1 Ruiz Cánovas, Carlos
AB Acid mine drainage (AMD) due to the mining of sulfide deposits is one of the most important causes of water pollution worldwide. Remediation measures, especially in historical abandoned mines, require a deep knowledge of the geochemical characteristics of AMD effluents and metal fluxes, considering their high spatial and temporal evolution, and the existence of point and diffuse sources with a different response to rainfall events. This study investigates the temporal variations and hydrogeochemical processes affecting the composition of main AMD sources from the Tharsis mines (SW Spain), one of most important historical metal mining districts in the world. To address this, a fortnightly-monthly sampling was performed during two years in the main AMD sources and streams within the mine site covering different hydrological conditions. A seasonal pattern was observed linked to hydrological variations; higher pollutant concentrations were observed during the dry season (maximum values of 4,6 g/L of Al, 11,8 g/L of Fe, and 67 g/L of sulfate) and lower ones were observed during the rainy periods. Stream samples exhibited a negative correlation between electrical conductivity (EC) and flow, while positive values were observed in AMD sources, where groundwater fluxes were predominant. High flow also seems to be the main driver of Pb fluxes from AMD sources, as the concentration of Pb in waters increased notably during these events. The precipitation of secondary Fe minerals may limit the mobility of As and V, being retained in the proximity of mine sites. The concentration of Zn in waters seems to be controlled by the original grade in the metal deposit from which the waste is generated, together with the age of these wastes. The pollutant load delivered by the Tharsis mines to the surrounding water courses is very high; e.g., mean of 733 ton/yr of Al or 2757 ton/yr of Fe, deteriorating the streams and reservoirs downstream.
PB Elsevier
SN 0269-7491
SN 1873-6424 (electrónico)
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10272/20441
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10272/20441
LA eng
NO Moreno-González, R., Macías, F., Olías, M., Ruiz Cánovas, C.: "Temporal evolution of acid mine drainage (AMD) leachates from the abandoned tharsis mine (Iberian Pyrite Belt, Spain)",Environmental Pollution,Volume 295, 2022, 118697,ISSN 0269-7491, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118697
NO This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economic and Competitiveness through the projects CGL2016-78783-C2-1-R (SCYRE) and by H2020 European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT RawMaterials) through the projects Modular recovery process services for hydrometallurgy and water treatment (MORECOVERY). C.R Canovas thanks the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for the Postdoctoral Fellowship granted under application reference RYC2019-027949-I. F. Macias was funded by the R&D FEDER Andalucía 2014–2020 call through the project RENOVAME (FEDER; UHU-1255729). Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Huelva/CBUA
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 30 may 2026