mining pollution Articles
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Selections from the history of environmental pollution, with special attention to air pollution. Part 1.
Several comprehensive publications have been issued recently on the environmental pollution of past times (e.g. Tylecote, 1976; Nriagu, 1983a; Brimblecombe, 1987a; Goldstein, 1988; Healy, 1988; Brimblecombe and Pfister, 1990; Hughes, 1993; Markham, 1994; Brimblecombe, 1995; Karatzas, 2000, 2001; McNeill, 2001; Meszaros, 2001). The aim of this study is to give an overview of information on the ...
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The effects of mining pollution on subtidal habitats of northern Chile
Mining is the most important commercial activity in Chile, producing more than 60% of the total national income. In northern Chile, where mining extraction is concentrated, solid and liquid pollutants resulting form copper and iron ore processing are discharged to the ocean. The studies on the effects of mining on coastal marine environments in Chile mainly consist of the evaluation of heavy ...
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Acid mine drainage in semi-arid regions: the extent of the problem in the waters of reservoirs in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain)
There are many reservoirs in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), SW Spain, which receive contributions from watercourses affected by acid mine drainage processes, characterised by low pH values and high concentrations of heavy metals and sulphates. When they reach the reservoirs, the waters increase its pH, which will cause most of the metal load carried by the mining channel to precipitate into the ...
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Expression of immunoregulatory genes and its relationship to lead exposure and lead‐mediated oxidative stress in wild ungulates from an abandoned mining area
Lead (Pb) is a highly toxic metal that can induce oxidative stress and affect the immune system by modifying the expression of immunomodulator‐related genes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between Pb exposure and the transcriptional profiles of some cytokines, as well as the relationship between Pb exposure and changes in oxidative stress biomarkers observed in ...
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In the depths of the oceans, human activities are beginning to take their toll
Once seen as too remote to harm, the deep sea is facing new pressures from mining, pollution, overfishing and more. Imagine sinking into the deepest parts of the Central Pacific Ocean, somewhere between Mexico and Hawaii. Watch as the water turns from clear to blue to dark blue to black. And then continue on for another 15,000 feet (4,600 meters) to the seafloor — roughly the distance from ...
By Ensia
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Biomonitoring in the forest zone of Ghana: the primary results obtained using neutron activation analysis and lichens
The first heavy metal deposition survey using biological indicators in the forest belt of Ghana was carried out in the year 2002?2003. The selected sampling areas included two mining centres, industrial areas and farming communities. Levels of ten chemical elements namely, Al, As, Cr, Fe, Hg, Mn, Sb, Th, Ti and V present in the lichens at high concentrations that are suspected to be resulting ...
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'Fair trade' gold: A key to alleviating mercury pollution in sub-Saharan Africa?
This paper critically assesses the ability of 'Fair Trade' gold to reduce mercury usage in small-scale gold mines through standard setting. It identifies the barriers – both practical and theoretical – that must be overcome to bring such an initiative to fruition. It concludes by questioning the auditing approach, asking whether the tenets of Fair-Trade-discourse of 'partnership' and ...
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Diamonds, gold and the value of water: The impacts of mining in South Africa
Starting today, Nick Tandi and Anton Earle from SIWI’s African Regional Centre, the 2030 Water Resources Group (2030 WRG) and the South African Ministry for Water will host a week-long knowledge exchange trip to Pretoria, South Africa. The knowledge exchange places emphasis on private sector engagement in multi-stakeholder partnerships related to mining and to finding solutions for water ...
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The identification and testing of a method for mercury-free gold processing for artisanal and small-scale gold miners in Ghana
A study of the ASM sector of Ghana established the practices and attitudes of gold miners and proposed an alternative to mercury amalgamation. The study showed that miners were aware of health hazards associated with mercury but continued to use it because they knew of no credible alternative. It was realised that any process to replace amalgamation must be very efficient to capture gold around ...
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The myth of alternative livelihoods: artisanal mining, gold and poverty
This paper aims to resolve a fundamental policy question: Should international institutions concerned with the environmental hazards produced by artisanal and small-scale gold mining attempt to direct miners into alternative livelihoods, or promote mining as a means of poverty alleviation? It is argued here that gold rushes are forces of economic history undeterred by policy, and that small-scale ...
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The application of direct smelting of gold concentrates as an alternative to mercury amalgamation in small-scale gold mining operations in Ghana
Mercury is used in small-scale mining to amalgamate gold particles, facilitating their separation from heavy sands. The negative environmental/health-related effects of mercury in mining communities in Ghana and other countries have generated research interest into development of safer alternatives. This study tested direct smelting as an alternative to amalgamation. In laboratory investigations, ...
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Relationships between sources of acid mine drainage and the hydrochemistry of acid effluents during rainy season in the Iberian Pyrite Belt
In the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), southwest Spain, a prolonged and intense mining activity of more than 4,500 years has resulted in almost a hundred mines scattered through the region. After years of inactivity, these mines are still causing high levels of hydrochemical degradation in the fluvial network. This situation represents a unique scenario in the world, taking into consideration its ...
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Potential repercussions of a mercury ban on the artisanal and small-scale gold-mining sector: a viewpoint
The ban imposed on exports of mercury from Europe and North America is a decision made in response to growing recognition that contamination from extensive emissions of the element in developing countries needs to be tackled more proactively. Stemming its flow to Artisanal and Small-scale gold Mining (ASM) – the largest user and emitter of mercury – has been identified as a key objective of the ...
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The effect of comminution equipment on gravity gold recovery in small-scale mining operations
As a strategy to improve gold recovery in the small-scale mining industry of Ghana, comminution equipment utilised in grinding was investigated. Morphological studies show that gold particles liberated by hammer mills were globular, disc mills produced cigar-shaped particles, and stamp mills created flaky units. Up to 5% of the gold particles liberated using a disc mill were coated with iron due ...
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Appraising the Global Mercury Project: an adaptive management approach to combating mercury pollution in small-scale gold mining
This paper appraises the initiatives of the Global Mercury Project (GMP); a project designed to minimise the impacts of mercury use in the artisanal and small-scale gold-mining (ASM) sector. The environmental and health impacts of mercury use at ASM sites have local, national and global implications that need to be reconciled with the benefits of poverty reduction and economic opportunity. The ...
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Spatial and temporal variations in the transport and storage of trace metal contaminants in the upper Rio Pilcomayo, southern Bolivia
Mining of the Cerro Rico de Potosi precious metal-polymetallic tin deposits of Bolivia began in 1545 and has led to severe contamination of water and sediments of the upper Rio Pilcomayo drainage system. Detailed geomorphological, stratigraphic and geochemical analyses show that the downstream transport and deposition of sediment-borne trace metals from Cerro Rico vary among three types of river ...
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Concentrations of heavy metals in plants grown on polluted mining soils (Loma Charra mine, Spain)
Evaluation of heavy metal accumulation in plants is of environmental importance due to its toxicity effects in humans and other biota. Soils and plants were sampled in a polluted site around a Pb-Zn(Cd) mine. Total metal contents in the soil indicate a gross degree of pollution in relation to background levels. Soil Cd shows high mobility and availability and consequent high environmental risk. ...
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Sacrificing nature: gold mining on indigenous lands in Oaxaca, Mexico
Historical data and an in–depth examination of two cases indicate that current approaches to gold mining on indigenous lands in Mexico under neoliberal assumptions generate environmental pollution and severe community disruption. Indigenous communities rich in minerals are now targeted by multinational mining corporations supplying world markets. Local agricultural decline pressures ...
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Characterisation of antimony, arsenic, cadmium, copper and tin occurrences at an abandoned sulphide-mining area
Contamination levels in top-soil, vascular plant and surface water samples from the Sao Domingos mining area, Portugal, were determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) and Compton-Suppression Neutron Activation Analysis (CSNAA). The total levels of As, Cd, Cu, Sb and Sn are reported with a discussion of plant uptake and transfer coefficients. Comparative analysis of the same ...
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Heavy metal content in Thlaspi caerulescens J. et C. Presl growing on metalliferous and non-metalliferous soils in Central Slovakia
Thlaspi caerulescens is an important component of specific vegetation on mine wastes in Central Slovakia including those containing high soil concentrations of Zn, Pb and Cd in Banska Stiavnica and Cu in Spania Dolina. The population density of T. caerulescens varied in both metalliferous and non-metalliferous soils. Selective distribution of metals was observed in T. caerulescens: Cu and Pb ...
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