• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.70-79
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• 1996

The Friar Tuck Abandoned Coal Mine site is one of the most complexly disturbed areas in the midwestern United States. The deposits of gob and tailings contain high concentrations of pyrite, whose oxidation contributes to the acidification of soil and water and prevents the growth of vegetation. In an effort to quantitatively evaluate the effects of reclamation techniques, detailed monitoring program was performed. Water samples were collected from surface water, groundwater, and pore water from the unsaturated zone during a period of five years. According to the results, The spoil deposits are a relatively minor source of contamination and gob piles are the source of severe contamination to surface water and groundwater. But, loess and till beneath the gob piles effectively prevent the contaminated water migration from the source. Surface layers of the gob piles and the tailing deposits are less toxic than the interior of the deposits as a consequence of weathering over several decades. Acid mine drainage is in a post-peak stage and acid formation potential is probably situated in the unsaturated zone of refuse.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.63-79
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• 2008

Physicochemical characteristics of stream water, leachate, mine water and groundwater were investigated to estimate the influences of the tailing and waste rock from the abandoned Uljin mine area. Total extraction analysis and mineralogical studies were carried out to understand sulfide weathering and to determine the distributions of trace elements in the soil affected by mine waste (tailing, waste rock and leachate). The pH and EC value of the leachate from the tailing disposal ranged 2.9-6.0, $99{\sim}3,990{\mu}S/cm$, respectively, and the concentrations of dissolved major (up to 492 mg/l Ca; 83.8 mg/l Mg; 45.2 mg/l Na; 44.7 mg/l K, 50.8 mg/l Si) and trace elements (up to $826,060{\mu}g/l$ Fe; $131,230{\mu}g/l$ Mn; $333,600{\mu}g/l$ Al; $61,340{\mu}g/l$ Zn; $2,530{\mu}g/l$ Cu; $573{\mu}g/l$ Cd; $476{\mu}g/l$ Pb) were relatively high. The stream water showed the variation of dissolved metal concentrations in seasonally and spatially. The dissolved metal contents of the stream water increased by influx the leachate from the tailing disposal, but these of the down stream have been considerably decreased by mixing of dilute tributaries. The dissolved metal concentrations of the stream water at dry season (as February) were lower than these at rainy season (as May and July). These represent that the amounts of the leachate varied with season. However, stream water could not be effectively diluted by confluence with uncontaminated tributaries, because the flux of tributaries and streams reduced at dry season. Thus attenuations by dilution had been dominantly happened in rainy seasons. The order of accumulations of trace element in soils compared with background values revealed Mn>Fe>Pb>Cu>Zn. Sulfide minerals were mainly pyrrhotite, sphalerite and galena and chalcopyrite. Pyrrhotite was rapidly weathered along the edge and fractures, and results in the formation of Fe-(oxy)hydroxides, which absorbed a little amount of Zn.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.19-21
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• 2001

The Shiheung mine was closed in 1972 and has been abandoned since then. Although some restoration work has been done, there still remain mine failings in and around the mine, posing a potential environmental hazard. Mine tailings and the porewater extracted from the tailing were investigated to see any evidence of elemental release and migration to adjacent groundwater and soil in the field. The pHs of the tailing range from 6.24 to 7.23. Calcite in the studied area seems to influence on such neutral pH range. Depth profile of mine tailing demonstrate elements have been leached and removed as a consequence of weathering during disposal. This is also supported by the findings from porewater analysis, corresponding the trends in the mine tailings. The concentrations of Cu, Cd, Pb, Zn in the tailing porewater exceed the standard value of EPA for drinking water and this implies groundwater can be contaminated through infiltration of the porewaters, which ultimately will be discharged as leachate from the mine tailing. Groundwater samples collected near the mine area do not show high metal concentrations, except for Fe, which were detected over drinking water standard.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.359-370
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• 2009

Arsenic and heavy metals leached out as a result of oxidation of tailings exposed to the surface pose a serious environmental contamination of mine areas. This study investigated how arsenic behavior is controlled by a variety of processes, such as oxidation of sulfides and formation or alteration of secondary minerals, based on mineralogical methods. The study was carried out using the tailing samples obtained from Nakdong mine located in Jeongseongun, Gangwondo. After separating magnetic and non-magnetic minerals using pretreated tailing samples, each mineral sample was classified according to their colors and metallic lusters observed by the stereoscopic microscope. Subsequently, the mineralogical properties were determined using various instrumental analyses, such as x-ray diffractometer (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA). The literature review confirmed that various ore minerals were identified in the Nakdong ore deposits. In this study, however, there were observed a few original ore minerals as well as secondary and/or tertiary minerals newly formed as a result of weathering including oxidation. In particular, we did not recognize pyrrhotite which has been known to originally exist in a large abundance, but peculiarly colloform-type iron (oxy)hydroxides were identified, which indicates most of pyrrhotite has been altered by rapid weathering due to its large reactivity. In addition, a secondary scorodites filling the fissure of weathered primary arsenopyrites were identified, and it is speculated that arsenic is immobilized through such a alteration reaction. Also, we observed tertiary iron (oxy)hydroxides were formed as a result of re-alteration of secondary jarosites, and it suggests that the environment of tailing has been changed to high pH from low pH condition which was initiated and developed by oxidation reactions of diverse primary ore minerals. The environmental change is mainly attributed to interactions between secondary minerals and parental rocks around the mine. As a result, not only was the stability of secondary minerals declined, but tertiary minerals were newly formed. As such a process goes through, arsenic which was immobilized is likely to re-dissolve and disperse into surrounding environments.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2004

Metallic deposits in Korea have a variety of genetic types such as hydrothermal veins, skarns, hydrothermal replacement and alaskite deposits and so on. Geological, mineralogical and geochemical features including host rock, wall-rock alteration, ore and gangue mineralogy, mineral texture and secondary mineralogy related to weathering process control the environmental signatures of mining areas. The environmental signatures of metallic deposits closed from early 1970s to late 1990s in Korea show complicate geochemistry and mineralogy due to step weathering of primary and secondary minerals such as oxidation-precipitation-remobilization. The potentiality of low pH and high heavy metal Concentration s from acid mine drainage is great in base-metal deposits associated with polymetallic mineralization, breccia-pipe type and Cretaceous hydrothermal Au veins with the amount of pyrite whereas skam, hydrothermal replacement, hydrothermal Cu and Au-Ag vein deposits are in low contamination possibility. The geoenvironmental models reflecting the various geologic features closely relate to disuibution of sulfides and carbonates and their ratios and finally effect on characteristics of environmental signatures such as heavy metal species and their concentrations in acid mine drainage.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.38 no.5 s.174
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• pp.513-523
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• 2005

The contamination of soils and groundwaters in the Dalcheon mine area, Ulsan, is investigated, and a natural attenuation capacity on redox and pH is evaluated. Arsenopyrite, the major source of arsenic pollution in the Dalcheon mine area, is contained up to $2\%$ in tailings. Furthermore, As-bearing minerals such as loellingite, nicolite, rammelsbergite, gersdorffite cobaltite and pyrite are also source of arsenic contamination, which show various concentration of arsenic each other. Surface of pyrite and arsenopyrite in tailings partly oxidized into Fe-arsenates and Fe-oxides, which means a progressive weathering process. There is no relationship between pH and arsenic content in groundwaters, otherwise Eh and arsenic concentration in unsaturated and saturated groundwater shows positive relationship. RMB (Red Mud Bauxite) could be useful as a trigger on natural attenuation due to superior ability of removal capacity of arsenic when contaminated soil and groundwater in the Dalcheon mine area are remediated.