Mine Waste Hydrogeochemistry covers all the fundamental properties and principles associated with metal mining and coal mining wastes, their environmental consequences, and their remediation. It provides a solid scientific basis for planning and managing solid and liquid wastes from mining activities which will inform students, researchers, engineers, and mine managers. The degradation of air quality, water quality, and soil and sediment quality from mining activities involves complex processes involving physics, chemistry, microbiology, fluid dynamics, and mineralogy and mineral processing. This subject matter is complex and requires technical skill in laboratory work, field work, and theoretical calculations. This book provides the most up-to-date synthesis of the numerous papers and studies on this subject available in one book for students, instructors, consultants, and researchers. Mine Waste Hydrogeochemistry is intended to fill that void. Covers the basic scientific principles necessary to understand mine waste contamination Includes real-world examples of remediation activities and their successes and failures Synthesizes information gained from hundreds of studies including tailings and waste piles worldwide, stream and river studies affected by mine drainage, and mineralogical characterization combined with water compositions

This extensively updated new edition of the widely acclaimed Treatise on Geochemistry has increased its coverage beyond the wide range of geochemical subject areas in the first edition, with five new volumes which include: the history of the atmosphere, geochemistry of mineral deposits, archaeology and anthropology, organic geochemistry and analytical geochemistry. In addition, the original Volume 1 on "Meteorites, Comets, and Planets" was expanded into two separate volumes dealing with meteorites and planets, respectively. These additions increased the number of volumes in the Treatise from 9 to 15 with the index/appendices volume remaining as the last volume (Volume 16). Each of the original volumes was scrutinized by the appropriate volume editors, with respect to necessary revisions as well as additions and deletions. As a result, 27% were republished without major changes, 66% were revised and 126 new chapters were added. In a many-faceted field such as Geochemistry, explaining and understanding how one sub-field relates to another is key. Instructors will find the complete overviews with extensive cross-referencing useful additions to their course packs and students will benefit from the contextual organization of the subject matter Six new volumes added and 66% updated from 1st edition. The Editors of this work have taken every measure to include the many suggestions received from readers and ensure comprehensiveness of coverage and added value in this 2nd edition The esteemed Board of Volume Editors and Editors-in-Chief worked cohesively to ensure a uniform and consistent approach to the content, which is an amazing accomplishment for a 15-volume work (16 volumes including index volume)!

The single most important factor for the successful application of a geochemical model is the knowledge and experience of the individual(s) conducting the modeling. Geochemical Modeling for Mine Site Characterization and Remediation is the fourth of six volumes in the Management Technologies for Metal Mining Influenced Water series about technologies for management of metal mine and metallurgical process drainage. This handbook describes the important components of hydrogeochemical modeling for mine environments, primarily those mines where sulfide minerals are present—metal mines and coal mines. It provides general guidelines on the strengths and limitations of geochemical modeling and an overview of its application to the hydrogeochemistry of both unmined mineralized sites and those contaminated from mineral extraction and mineral processing. The handbook includes an overview of the models behind the codes, explains vital geochemical computations, describes several modeling processes, provides a compilation of codes, and gives examples of their application, including both successes and failures. Hydrologic modeling is also included because mining contaminants most often migrate by surface water and groundwater transport, and contaminant concentrations are a function of water residence time as well as pathways. This is an indispensable resource for mine planners and engineers, environmental managers, land managers, consultants, researchers, government regulators, nongovernmental organizations, students, stakeholders, and anyone with an interest in mining influenced water. The other handbooks in the series are Basics of Metal Mining Influenced Water; Mitigation of Metal Mining Influenced Water; Mine Pit Lakes: Characteristics, Predictive Modeling, and Sustainability; Techniques for Predicting Metal Mining Influenced Water; and Sampling and Monitoring for the Mine Life Cycle.

A potential hydrologic effect of surface mining of coal in southeastern Montana is a change in the quality of ground water. Dissolved-solids concen- trations in water in spoils aquifers generally are larger than concentrations in water in the coal aquifers they replaced; however, laboratory experiments have indicated that concentrations can decrease if ground water flows from coal-mine spoils to coal. This study was conducted to determine if decreases in concentrations occur onsite and, if so, which geochemical processes caused the decreases. Solid-phase core samples of spoils, unmined over- burden, and coal, and ground-water samples were collected from 16 observation wells at two mine areas. In the Big Sky Mine area, changes in ground- water chemistry along a flow path from an upgradient coal aquifer to a spoils aquifer probably were a result of dedolomitization. Dissolved-solids concentrations were unchanged as water flowed from a spoils aquifer to a downgradient coal aquifer. In the West Decker Mine area, dissolved-solids concentrations apparently decreased from about 4,100 to 2,100 milligrams per liter as water moved along an inferred flow path from a spoils aquifer to a downgradient coal aquifer. Geochemical models were used to analyze changes in water chemistry on the basis of results of solid-phase and aqueous geochemical characteristics. Geochemical processes postulated to result in the apparent decrease in dissolved-solids concentrations along this inferred flow path include bacterial reduction of sulfate, reverse cation exchange within the coal, and precipitation of carbonate and iron-sulfide minerals.

It is not long ago that scientists realized, our study and understanding of most environmental problems call for a cross-sectional, more holistic view. In fact, environmental geochemistry became one of the legs to stand on for such a required interdisciplinary approach. Geochemists do not only describe the elemental composition and pro cesses of natural systems, such as soils, ground or surface waters, but they also establish the methodology to quantify material rates and turnover. Today, geochemical expertise has become indispensable when monitoring the fate of noxious chemicals, like-metallic pollu tants released to the environment. To know how trace metals will be have and react in complex systems under changing conditions, might provide us with a more realistic estimate of what is really acceptable in terms of quality standards. This would ease the formulation of ade quate environmental objectives, strategies and criteria to handle emerging pollution situations. Moreover, to take notice of geochemi cal principles will support our endeavor to improve the way we deal with limited and nonrenewable resources. It is exactly here, i. e. at the interface between natural elemental processes and the way we use them, that geochemical approaches meet the demand of technical at tempts to minimize the impact of environmentally relevant activities, like mining, waste handling, or manufacturing. The consideration to include geochemically derived concepts into the search for technical solutions is not really new, but has a long tradition during the evolution of modern societies.