Application of Electrical Methods to Investigate Environmental Contaminations Due to Mine Wastes and Tailings

Mine wastes or gangues associated with valuable minerals in ores are usually separated before or during mineral processing in different stages of crushing and ore concentration. These waste materials are then dumped in an area close to the mine or mineral processing plant. Leaking solutions from these dumps contain various chemical components and are considered as an important source of soil and groundwater contaminations. Many factors such as precipitation, cause more pollutants to percolate underground layers and increase the extent of subsurface contamination In recent years, geophysical techniques, especially electrical methods, have been successfully applied in the investigation of contaminations due to mine wastes and tailings. Accuracy, high speed and significant reduction in expenses are the most dominant advantages of these non-invasive methods. Geoelectrical profiling and sounding surveys will result in the determination of the lateral and vertical extent of contaminations, respectively. This paper discusses the advantages of electrical methods in environmental studies of mining activities. A case study of the application of the method is also presented.

Keywords:

mine wastes , mine tailings , resistivity sounding , resistivity profiling