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Effect of acid mine drainage on a karst basin: a case study on the high-As coal mining area in Guizhou province, China

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Abstract

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a common pollution in mining areas due to the oxidation of pyrite and associated sulfide minerals at mines, tailings and mine dumps. Elevated metals (Fe, Mn, Al) and metalloids (As, Hg) in AMD would deteriorate the local aquatic environment and influence the water supply. A carbonate basin with deposits of high-arsenic coal in Xingren County, southwestern China, was chosen to study the behavior of As and other chemical constituents along a river receiving AMD. Heavy metals (Fe, Mn) and major ions such as (Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−, SO4 2−) in surface water, and As in sediment and surface water were analyzed. It was found that high concentrations of SO4 2− (1,324–7,560 mg/L) and Fe (369–1,472 mg/L) in surface water were mainly controlled by the interactions between water and rocks such as the oxidation of pyrite in the local coal seams, precipitation and adsorption of iron minerals. Although ubiquitous carbonate minerals in the bedrock and the riverbeds, low pH (<3) water was maintained until 2 km downstream from the AMD source due to the Fe(hydro)oxide minerals coating on the surface of carbonate minerals to restrain the neutralization of acidic water. Moreover, the formation of Fe(hydro)oxide precipitations absorbed As was dominated the attenuation of As from water to sediment. Whereas, the dilution also played an important role in decrease of As in river water.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the analytical support by Rongsheng Huang and Hongwen Leng who work in Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, China, and Feng Xie who works in Test center on Physical–Chemical Analysis of Guizhou Province, China. The authors also are grateful to the supports from China Scholarship Council. Moreover, the authors would like to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and criticisms of both the English and the scientific writing of the revised manuscript. This project was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40963005) and Key Discipline Construction Project of Guizhou University (Karst200902).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Caijiaguan, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550003, China

    Xiuzhen Tao, Pan Wu, Hong Liu & Jing Sun

  2. Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo, Chiba, 271-8510, Japan

    Xiuzhen Tao & Changyuan Tang

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  1. Xiuzhen Tao
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  2. Pan Wu
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Correspondence to Pan Wu.

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Tao, X., Wu, P., Tang, C. et al. Effect of acid mine drainage on a karst basin: a case study on the high-As coal mining area in Guizhou province, China. Environ Earth Sci 65, 631–638 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-1110-0

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