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Microbiological Evidence for the Origin of Acid Mine Drainage at the Green Valley Site, Vigo County, and Friar Tuck Site, Greene County, Indiana, USA

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Abstract

We examine the origin of acid mine drainage (AMD) that forms within coal refuse (gob) piles at the Green Valley and Friar Tuck sites in Indiana, using microbiology, traditional geochemistry, and oxygen and hydrogen isotopes. Reducing the AMD load from these sites has been an historical priority. Our observations indicate that AMD generation at these sites in Indiana is driven by three complementary factors: elevated populations of chemolithotrophic microbes of the species Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans; a growth substrate that provides ‘food’ (e.g. pyrite) for these microbes, and a gob pile with geometry and other properties conducive to maintaining the thermal window of 25–40°C for optimal A. ferrooxidans growth. In particular, increasing levels of Fe+3 and total dissolved solids (TDS), and decreasing pH for gob waters were found to be highly correlated with increasing populations of A. ferrooxidans. Furthermore, the chemosythetic bacteria population increase correlates with increasing hydrogen stable isotope shift away from the global meteoric water line for gob waters in this study, though it is unclear if this shift is the result of microbial metabolic processes or a secondary effect due to microbially-mediated pH change or electrolysis.

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Acknowledgments

First, and foremost, I thank Dr. Jim Mills of DePauw University, and Deb Dale of the US Office of Surface Mining for introducing me to the two field locations and thier many valuable discussions. I thank the owner of the Green Valley site and the IDNR for permission to access the properties. The IDNR facilitated access and provided professional expertise on AMD issues. I thank Tracy D. Branam of the Indiana Geological Survey for many valuable discussions on the geochemistry of AMD in Indiana. Jessica Cancilla and Brandon Chapman, students at DePauw University, assisted with water sampling. Drs. Bill and Carolyn Baldwin provided additional field support and historical information on life at the Green Valley site during the period of mining operations. This work was funded by a grant from the Indiana Division of Reclamation, Surface Mining and Reclamation Technology program. Support for mass spectrometry and EDS instrumentation and analyses were provided by the National Science Foundation, EAR-0115884 and EAR-0941106. Acknowledgment is made to the donors of the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund for partial support of this research on some carbonates and pore fluid migration modeling.

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  1. Department of Geology, California State University, San Bernardino, CA, 92407, USA

    Erik Melchiorre

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  1. Erik Melchiorre
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Correspondence to Erik Melchiorre.

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Melchiorre, E. Microbiological Evidence for the Origin of Acid Mine Drainage at the Green Valley Site, Vigo County, and Friar Tuck Site, Greene County, Indiana, USA. Mine Water Environ 30, 175–184 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-011-0141-9

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