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Deposition of gold mining tailings in tropical soils: metal pollution and toxicity to earthworms

  • Soils, Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

This study consists of the evaluation of metals acute toxicity levels taking into consideration a hypothetic scenario of dam breaking and land deposition of two different gold mining tailings, derived from flotation and cyanidation processes. From this assumption, mixtures of soil:tailings caused by a potential mining dam collapse may cause damages on soil ecosystems, and the previous investigation of such tailings play a crucial role environmental control programs.

Material and methods

To simulate such scenario, flotation and cyanidation tailings were mixed with a Ferralsol (a typical tropical soil) to obtain doses between 0 and 50%, where 0 = pure soil. Acute and avoidance bioassays with Eisenia andrei were applied to these soil:tailing mixtures in accordance with standard protocols (ISO). The dose of tailing that caused 50% of mortality (LC50) or avoidance responses (EC50) was estimated by Probit analysis. Total metal determination and sequential extraction procedures were applied to the pure tailings and tailing-amended soils to support the interpretation of the ecotoxicological data. In addition, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characterization was performed.

Results and discussion

Physical, chemical, and mineralogical characterization was performed to support the interpretation of ecotoxicological data. Metallic sulfides were abundant in both tailings, especially in the cyanidation one. Metal contents in the cyanidation tailing were much higher if compared to the flotation tailing. The flotation tailing did not cause significant toxic effects on the earthworms. In contrast, the cyanidation tailing was toxic to the organisms (LC50 = 23.1%; EC50 = 8.4%). Such high toxicity level may be related to metal contents, especially Zn and Pb, whose concentrations in the exchangeable fraction were extremely high. The prevalence of fine particles in the cyanidation tailing, associated with very high metal concentrations, also tended to stimulate metal leaching to soil pore water.

Conclusions

Finally, the flotation tailing was not toxic to earthworms, while cyanidation one exhibited significant toxicity levels to the organisms. Such results can further support decision-making in terms of prevention and emergency plans focused potential disasters involving mining dam collapses, optimizing the resilience levels of soil ecosystems and human populations.

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Funding

CETEM/MCTI (Centre for Mineral Technology) funded this study. CNPq (National Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development) and CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Level -or Education- Personnel) Institutions provided grants to Vanessa Ramiro, Daniel Barcelos, Mariana Vezzone, Aline Freire, Fabiano Passos, Matheus Teixeira, and Danielle Siqueira.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Geosciences Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Av. Athos da Silveira Ramos, 274 – Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Ricardo Cesar, Aline Serrano, Leticia Abreu, Danielle Siqueira, Matheus Teixeira & Mariana Vezzone

  2. Chemistry Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Av. Athos da Silveira Ramos, 274 – Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Fernanda Arruda, Vanessa Ramiro, Roberto Faria, Daniel Barcelos, Fernanda Pontes, Fabiano Passos & Karoline Kaiser

  3. Centre for Mineral Technology, CETEM/MCTI. Av. Pedro Calmon, 900. Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Zuleica Castilhos

  4. Federal Institute for Science and Technology of Rio de Janeiro, IFRJ - Campus Duque de Caxias, Avenida República Do Paraguai, 120, Vila Sarapui, Duque de Caxias, RJ, Brazil

    Aline Maria dos Santos Teixeira

  5. Department of Geology. Av, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ. Geosciences Institute, Athos da Silveira Ramos, 274 – Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Aline Maria dos Santos Teixeira & Helena Polivanov

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  1. Ricardo Cesar
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  2. Fernanda Arruda
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  3. Vanessa Ramiro
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  16. Zuleica Castilhos
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Correspondence to Ricardo Cesar.

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Cesar, R., Arruda, F., Ramiro, V. et al. Deposition of gold mining tailings in tropical soils: metal pollution and toxicity to earthworms. J Soils Sediments 22, 547–558 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-021-03105-8

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