Role of temperature, wind, and precipitation in heavy metal contamination at copper mines: a review
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REVIEW ARTICLE
Role of temperature, wind, and precipitation in heavy metal contamination at copper mines: a review Anita Punia 1,2 Received: 23 July 2020 / Accepted: 6 November 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract The increasing demand for minerals pressurizing the mining authorities to extract low-grade ore results in more mining waste and degradation of the environment. The main aim of review was to understand the role of climatic factors (temperature, wind, and precipitation) in dispersal and mobility of heavy metals in soil, water, and vegetation in Cu mining region. The major source of contamination in the mining sector is tailings, overburden rocks, and abandoned mines. The contaminates or fine particles of sulfide-rich mining waste follow two major pathways for the dispersal: aerial and leaching. Sulfides on exposure to oxygen and water generate acid mine drainage which results in leaching of heavy metals. The pit water of abandoned mines is also a cause of concern which contaminates the groundwater resources. Climatic factors such as temperature, precipitation, and wind significantly influence the paths of contaminate dispersal. In arid/semi-arid regions, high temperature forms fine-grained efflorescence salts on tailings or exposed surficial mines which are carried away by strong winds/water and contaminates the surroundings. In wet regions, the leaching of heavy metals from both tailings and overburden rocks sulfides results in environmental contamination. The application of impermeable layers is highly recommended. The climatic factors (temperature, wind, and precipitation) significantly control the dispersal and mobility of heavy metals in Cu mining region. The implementation of waste management policies and pollution control technologies is recommended after considering the climatic factors. Keywords Copper mines . Tailings . Overburden rocks . Abandoned mines . Climatic conditions
Introduction The production of copper (Cu) increased from 16,692 to 20,029 thousand metric tonnes from 2012 to 2017 across the world (ICG 2015). America (that includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, the USA, and Venezuela) leads with total Cu production of 11,042 thousand metric tonnes followed by Asia with 4246.5 thousand metric tonnes. With the increasing demand for Cu, the extraction of low-grade ore also increases. The extraction of low-grade ore generates more waste (Mehrabani et al. 2010). Mining waste can be classified into two categories, i.e., tailings Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues * Anita Punia [email protected]; [email protected] 1
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
2
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam 781039, India
and overburden rocks. Tailing is a processing fluid from concentrators or mills which remain after the extraction of minerals, economic metals, or mineral fuels (Hudson-Edwards et al. 2001).
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