Место издания: Florence , Год издания: 2004

The Salair mine (Kemerovo region, West Siberia) has been working since the 1930th, and at present exploits gold- and silver-bearing barite-polymetallic sulfide ore bodies. Above 30 million tons of tailings of ore enrichment by gravimetric-floatation are stored as submerged tailings impoundment. The sulfide content is 2-3%. A new methodology was developed to assess the effectiveness of drainage system to prevent the metal release onto the environment. The in-situ sampling was carried out in the sludge pond, settling wells (situated on the slope of the safety dam) and drainage streams (planned and emergency channels of Berezovy and Vodopadny streams accordingly). Both macro- and micro components of the surface waters and the content of heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd, Fe) in suspended particles (>0.45mm) and bottom sediments have been determined with the standard methods of AAS and x-ray fluorescence analysis. A series of extraction procedures was used to assess the masses of trace metals associated with the water-soluble and exchangeable fractions.The contents of metals in the sludge pond water (pH=8) are 30 times more than the background; Zn and Cd are 65 and 36 times more, correspondingly. The suspended particles are most important for Fe and Cd and least important in the transfer of Cu. In settling wells pH goes down to 6.1-6.4. Fe goes into solution and its concentration increases 167 times due to the reductive dissolution reactions similar to those usually found in buried waters. They remobilize metals previously attenuated in the sludge pond and sorbed onto/by iron (hydr)oxides.Small streams from the sludge pond traverse material of the safety dam and flow into Talmovaya river. Vodopadny streambed is covered by thick red amorphous sediment and Berezovy streambed is gray and covered by tailing sands, which have been carried out earlier as a result of the dam break. Relative coefficients of pollution (lgKpollution = [Me sample]/[Me background]) have shown that the expected reduction of toxic component contents does occur neither in solution, nor in suspended particles on the way of movement: sludge pond - settling wells - drainage streams - river water. Concentrations of Zn and Cd are more than two times higher than the maximum permissible concentrations for drinking water. Moreover, the water-soluble and exchangeable fractions potentially can lead to the release of metals from the tailings site.This work was funded by the RFBR project 02-05-64623