CONTRIBUTION TO MINE TAILINGS TOXICITY ASSESSMENT

Abstract

Various chemical, biological, and biochemical assays are currently employed to evaluate the state of mine tailing dumps. However, some chemical approaches could overestimate the environmental footprint. This study presents an assessment of the current state of the inactive mine tailing dump area, employing a sequential chemical extraction procedure (SEP) to study heavy metal fractionation and contamination indices, thereby assessing the mobility and potential bioavailability. The studied samples contained elevated concentrations of As, Cu, Pb, and Zn, of which Pb was the most abundant element. The results showed that although high total heavy metal content in soil and mine tailing was observed, the mobility factors rarely exceeded 10 %. Moreover, the values of contamination factors, individual and global, were below 1 and 6, respectively. Thus, the mine tailings and surrounding soils could be classified as sources with low contamination potential. The applied approach could benefit the ongoing efforts toward the sustainable management and conservation of post-mining landscapes.