Impact of Mining and Ore Processing on Soil, Drainage and Vegetation in the Zambian Copperbelt Mining Districts: A Review

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00025798%3A_____%2F23%3A10168754" target="_blank" >RIV/00025798:_____/23:10168754 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00216208:11310/23:10469300 RIV/61989592:15310/23:73621185

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/min13030384" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.3390/min13030384</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/min13030384" target="_blank" >10.3390/min13030384</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Impact of Mining and Ore Processing on Soil, Drainage and Vegetation in the Zambian Copperbelt Mining Districts: A Review

Original language description

The regional environmental-geochemical surveying of the long-term impacts of mining and ore processing on a large part of the Zambian Copperbelt mining district was carried out by the Czech Research Group with cooperation of the Geology Department, University of Zambia, and the Geological Survey of Zambia in the period 2002-2018. This included the characterization of various sources of contamination, the extent of contamination of soils and crops, and the degree of contamination of river water and sediments. Solid speciation studies of potentially harmful chemical elements (PHEs), plant and human bioaccessibility studies, and a range of mineralogical techniques were used to assess the pathways of PHE cycling in terrestrial and aqueous systems and their impacts on human health. Ores of the Zambian Copperbelt mining district are mined for Cu and Co, but a number of other trace elements (Pb, As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Zn) gradually accumulated in soils and stream sediments. It was concluded that the most important problems related to ore mining and processing are the contamination of soil and crops due to dust fall out from tailing facilities and emissions from smelters. Moreover, leakages of solutions from tailing dams, insufficient technological control of their stability and breakdowns on pipelines transporting slurry from treatment plants to tailing impoundments cause contamination of water courses and deposition of metal(loids) in stream sediments. However, the contamination of the Kafue River water is relatively limited due to its high neutralization capacity. In contrast, in some Kafue River tributaries, especially those close to big mining centers, the concentrations of dissolved Cu and Co are high (up to 14,752 mu g/L and 1917 mu g/L) and exceed Zambian effluent limits. We also recommend measures that could contribute to minimizing the impact of ore mining and processing on the environment and the health of the local population.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10505 - Geology

Project

<a href="/en/project/GA23-05051S" target="_blank" >GA23-05051S: Metals and their isotopes in active and abandoned mining areas of sub-Saharan Africa – towards understanding of their geochemistry and impacts</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2023

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

MINERALS

ISSN

2075-163X

e-ISSN

2075-163X

Volume of the periodical

13

Issue of the periodical within the volume

3

Country of publishing house

CH - SWITZERLAND

Number of pages

40

Pages from-to

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UT code for WoS article

000959785000001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85151650332