Abstract
Mine water plays an essential role in securing mine production and domestic consumption in arid mining areas. This study was conducted to analyse the hydrogeochemical characteristics, determine the hydrochemical processes and assess the quality of mine water in the Tangjiahui mining area in Jungar Coalfield, Inner Mongolia, China, by using the Piper trilinear diagram, Gibbs map and statistical methods. The results showed that the pH and EC of the mine water in the study area ranged from 7.10 to 7.90 and from 1684.70 to 3435.60 μS/cm, respectively. The TH and TDS were in the range of 219.52–390.6 mg/L and 926.61 to 1889.56 mg/L, respectively. The cation content in the mine water was ranked from the highest to the lowest as Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+, while the anion content was ranked as Cl− > HCO3− > SO42−. The hydrochemical type of the mine water was Cl–Na. The main mechanisms controlling the major chemistry of the mine water were the dissolution of halite and gypsum, and reverse cation exchange. Due to its high concentration of major ions, TDS, EC, SAR, and Na%, the mine water in the study area was not suitable for human consumption and agricultural irrigation. These results are beneficial for the sustainable reuse and management of mine water resources in the mining area, and will also provide references for similar studies in other regions of the world.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adimalla N, Qian H (2019) Groundwater quality evaluation using water quality index (WQI) for drinking purposes and human health risk (HHR) assessment in an agricultural region of Nanganur, South India. Ecotoxicol Environ Safe 176:153–161
Ayers RS, Wascot DW (1985) Water quality for irrigation. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper #20, Rev 1, FAO, Rome
Cloutier V, Lefebvre R, Therrien R et al (2008) Multivariate statistical analysis of geochemical data as indicative of the hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater in a sedimentary rock aquifer system. J Hydrol 353(3):294–313
Collins R, Jenkins A (1996) The impact of agricultural land use on stream chemistry in the middle hills of the Himalayas, Nepal. J Hydrol 185(1–4):71–86
EIA (2019) EIA projects that renewables will provide nearly half of world electricity by 2050[EB/OL]. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=41533. Accessed 2 Oct
Gan YQ, Zhao K, Den g YM et al (2018) Groundwater flow and hydrogeochemical evolution in the Jianghan plain, central China. Hydrogeol J 26(11):1–15
Ghahremanzadeh H, Noori R, Baghvand A et al (2018) Evaluating the main sources of groundwater pollution in the southern Tehran aquifer using principal component factor analysis. Environ Geochem Health 40(4):1317–1328
Gibbs RJ (1970) Mechanisms controlling world water chemistry. Science 170(3962):1088–1090
Huang XJ, Wang GC, Liang XY et al (2017) Hydrochemical and Stable Isotope (δD and δ18O) Characteristics of Groundwater and hydrogeochemical processes in the Ningtiaota coalfield Northwest China. Mine Water Environ 37(1):119–136
Kumar S, Venkatesh AS, Singh R et al (2018) Geochemical signatures and isotopic systematics constraining dynamics of fluoride contamination in groundwater across Jamui district, Indo-Gangetic alluvial plains, India. Chemosphere 205:493–505
Li P (2018) Mine water problems and solutions in china. Mine Water Environ 37(2):1–5
Li P, Qian H, Wu J (2010) Groundwater quality assessment based on improved water quality index in Pengyang County, Ningxia, northwest China. J Chem 7(S1):S209–S216
Li P, Qian H, Wu J et al (2013a) Major ion chemistry of shallow groundwater in the Dongsheng Coalfield, Ordos Basin, China. Mine Water Environ 32(3):195–206
Li P, Wu J, Hui Q (2013b) Assessment of groundwater quality for irrigation purposes and identification of hydrogeochemical evolution mechanisms in Pengyang County China. Environ Earth Sci 69(7):2211–2225
Li P, Qian H, Howard KWF, Wu J (2015) Building a new and sustainable ‘“Silk Road economic belt.”’ Environ Earth Sci 74(10):7267–7270
Li P, Tian R, Liu R (2018) Solute geochemistry and multivariate analysis of water quality in the Guohua phosphorite mine, Guizhou Province, China. Expo Health 11(2):81–94
Li QL, Kong WJ, Liu WW (2020) Ordovician lime water prevention and control technology in fully mechanized top-coal caving face of Tangjiahui Coal Mine. Coal Eng 52(S0):92–95 (in Chinese)
Liu J, Gao M, Wang T et al (2019a) Hydrochemical processes and groundwater quality assessment in Yushenfu mining area, Northwest China. Desalin Water Treat 165:177–187
Liu J, Jin D, Wang T et al (2019b) Hydrogeochemical processes and quality assessment of shallow groundwater in Chenqi coalfield, Inner Mongolia, China. Environ Earth Sci 8(12):347
Liu J, Wang H, Jin D et al (2020) Hydrochemical characteristics and evolution processes of karst groundwater in Carboniferous Taiyuan formation in the Pingdingshan coalfield. Environ Earth Sci 79(6):151
Mahato MK, Singh P, Singh AK, Tiwari AK (2018) Assessment of hydrogeochemical processes and mine water suitability for domestic, irrigation, and industrial purposes in east Bokaro Coalfield India. Mine Water Environ 37(3):493–504
Ministry of Health of the P. R. China, Standardization Administration of the P. R. China (2006) Standards for drinking water quality (GB 5749–2006). China Standard Press, Beijing (in Chinese)
Piper AM (1944) A graphical procedure in the geochemical interpretation of water analysis. Am Geophys Union Trans 25:914–928
Redwan M, Abdel Moneim AA, Amra MA (2016) Effect of water-rock interaction processes on the hydrogeochemistry of groundwater west of Sohag area. Egypt Arab J Geosci 9(2):111
Richards LA (1954) Diagnosis and improvement of saline and alkali soils, US Dept Agriculture Handbook #60, Washington DC, USA: 166
Schneider L, Maher WA, Rose NL et al (2020) Assessing environmental contamination from metal emission and relevant regulations in major areas of coal mining and electricity generation in Australia. Sci Total Environ 728:137398
Schoeller H (1965) Qualitative evaluation of groundwater resources. In: Methods and techniques of groundwater investigation and development. Water Research, Series-33. UNESCO, Delft: 54–83.
Sefie A, Aris AZ, Ramli MF et al (2018) Hydrogeochemistry and groundwater quality assessment of the multilayered aquifer in Lower Kelantan Basin, Kelantan Malaysia. Environ Earth Sci 77(10):397
Singh AK, Mahato MK, Neogi B et al (2010) Quality assessment of mine water in the Raniganj Coalfield Area, India. Mine Water Environ 29(4):248–262
Singh AK, Mahato MK, Neogi B et al (2012) Environmental geochemistry and quality assessment of mine water of Jharia coalfield, India. Environ Earth Sci 65(1):49–65
Singh R, Syed TH, Kumar S et al (2017a) Hydrogeochemical assessment of surface and groundwater resources of Korba coalfield, Central India: environmental implications. Arab J Geosci 10(14):318
Singh R, Venkatesh AS, Syed TH et al (2017b) Assessment of potentially toxic trace elements contamination in groundwater resources of the coal mining area of the Korba Coalfield, Central India. Environ Earth Sci 76(16):566
Tiwari AK, Singh AK, Singh MP (2017) Hydrogeochemical analysis and evaluation of surface water quality of Pratapgarh district, Uttar Pradesh, India. Appl Water Sci 7(4):1609–1623
Utom AU, Odoh BI, Egboka BCE (2013) Assessment of hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater quality in the vicinity of Okpara coal and Obwetti fireclay mines, near Enugu town, Nigeria. Appl Water Sci 3(1):271–283
Wang L, Dong Y, Xu Z et al (2017) Hydrochemical and isotopic characteristics of groundwater in the northeastern Tennger Desert, northern China. Hydrogeol J 25(8):2363
WHO (2017) Guidelines for drinking-water quality: fourth edition incorporating the first addendum. World Health Organization, Geneva, p 631
Wilcox LV (1955) Classification and use of irrigation waters, vol. 969. USDA Circular, Washington DC: 19
Wu Q, Shen JJ, Wang Y (2017) Mining techniques and engineering application for “Coal-Water” dual-resources mine. J China Coal Soc 42(1):8–16
Xu J, Chen M, Hong H et al (2019) Differences of hydraulic conductivities from Pumping and draining tests with intensity effects. J Hydrol 579:124165
Yu Y, Yang JF, Yang ZX et al (2020) Global mining market in 2019: overview and outlook. China Min Mag 29(2):1–5 (in Chinese)
Zaidi FK, Salman A, Hag-Elsafi S et al (2019) Assessment of hydrological processes operating in a multi-layered sedimentary aquifer system in Saudi Arabia using integrated chemical and statistical approach. Environ Monit Assess 191(7):460
Acknowledgements
The research was supported by the Top level design project of innovation fund of Xi’an Research Institute of China Coal Technology & Engineering Group Corp (2020XAYDC03), National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFC0804100) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41302214).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, S., Tang, H., Shi, L. et al. Hydrogeochemical analysis and assessment of mine water quality in Tangjiahui mining area, Inner Mongolia, China. Environ Earth Sci 81, 49 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10205-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10205-2