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Assessment of potential contamination and acid drainage generation in uranium mining zones of Peña Blanca, Chihuahua, Mexico

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Abstract

Potential pollution of mining environmental liabilities’ locations can be preliminarily and efficiently assessed by the potential generation of acid mine drainage and indices of contamination. This research evaluates the potential pollution by potentially toxic elements at locations with uranium mining liability evidence, using the net acid generation test and determining the background values to estimate acid mine drainage and indices of contamination. Sixty soil samples were collected, and the mineralogy and potentially toxic elements’ total contents were determined by x-ray diffraction and optical spectrometry. The findings suggest that the soils related to a specific lithology might not present potential acid mine drainage generation but potential soil and sediment contamination. Future research is recommended on applying leaching tests to identify which potentially toxic elements are effectively being solubilized. Finally, it can be concluded that the study area’s potential contamination is relatively low overall.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

Abbreviations

AMD:

Acid mine drainage

ANC:

Acid-neutralizing capacity

IC:

Indices of contamination

MEL:

Mining environmental liabilities

MPA:

Maximum potential acidity

NAF:

Non-acid forming

NAG:

Net acid generation

NAPP:

Net acid–producing potential

PAF:

Potentially acid forming

PAF-LC:

Potentially acid forming-lower capacity

PTE:

Potentially toxic elements

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Mexican Geological Survey (SGM) for the support of this investigation. In addition, our appreciation is extended to the SGM Experimental Centers of Chihuahua and Oaxaca for their help in developing the analytical techniques.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mexican Geological Survey (SGM), Felipe Angeles Blvd., Km. 93.50-4, 42083, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico

    Fredy Guzmán-Martínez & Alfredo Tapia-Téllez

  2. School of Mining and Energy, Department of Energy and Fuels, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Ríos Rosas Str. 21, 28003, Madrid, Spain

    Fredy Guzmán-Martínez & María-Jesús García-Martínez

  3. Spanish Geological Survey (IGME CSIC), Ríos Rosas Str. 23, 28003, Madrid, Spain

    Julio-César Arranz-González

  4. Portuguese National Laboratory of Energy and Geology (LNEG), Mineral Resources and Geophysics Unit, Estrada da Portela Str. 999, 7586, Amadora, Portugal

    Cátia Prazeres

  5. Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Facultad de Ingeniería en Ciencias de La Tierra, Campus Gustavo Galindo km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Guayaquil, Ecuador

    Samantha Jiménez-Oyola

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FG and JA conceived and planned the research, wrote the main manuscript text, and supervised the project. AT collected the data and prepared all figures. CM analyzed the data and performed the statistical analysis. CM, AT, MG, and SJ contributed to the research’s design and implementation, the results analysis, and the manuscript writing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fredy Guzmán-Martínez.

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Guzmán-Martínez, F., Arranz-González, JC., Tapia-Téllez, A. et al. Assessment of potential contamination and acid drainage generation in uranium mining zones of Peña Blanca, Chihuahua, Mexico. Environ Monit Assess 195, 386 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-10965-9

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