An environmental geochemistry approach for Se-enriched water management in underground gold mines
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55407/geogaceta99926Keywords:
environmental geochemistry, selenium, water management, gold miningAbstract
Gold ores in skarns from the El Valle deposit (Asturias, Spain) are formed by two different Cu-Au skarn types, calcic and magnesian, in the Cambrian limestones and dolostones. In the Skarn, Se is an abundant trace element, and thus, during the mining activity was observed that the drained water presents anomalous Se concentrations. In this context, here we addressed a novel study to minimize the Se presence in the water through a comprehensive characterization of the water-rock system. Rock and water samples were taken from selected boreholes to perform a mineralogical and a geochemistry characterization. Results verified the Se presence in the mineralization. Calcic and magnesian skarn did not drain groundwater when drilled, however leaching tests using distilled water revealed a notable concentration of Se in the leached for magnesic skarn material whereas Se was not detected for the calcic skarn. On the other hand, water from the aquifer is drained when limestone is drilled. Accordingly, waterproofing system was proposed to avoid the water-rock interactions in the skarn materials. However, in some cases, the waterproofing should be also applied in limestones with the presence of fractures with disseminated mineralization, where the Se concentration is low but is readily mobile.
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