Composition of drainage mine waters interacting with sulfide-containing rock: a predictive estimation

The development of the predictive estimation of drainage waters of sulfide-containing wastes from mining industry attracts much attention. Investigation of the particular objects permits the development of empirical dependences for analysis of various situations in similar technogenic systems. In this contribution, the acid and neutralization potentials of the waste rocks from the Veduginskoe and Taseevskoe gold deposits were calculated from the measured contents of sulfide sulfur and CO3 2–. Accelerated-leaching experiments (peroxide and dynamic) were carried out, and pH values, acidity and alkalinity (titrated and calculated), and metal (Fe, Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Co) concentrations were determined. The values of net acid generation potential were compared with the chemical composition of model drainage waters. The data were correlated with the physicochemical processes in the water-rock system. The value of net acid generation potential was proposed to use for estimating the chemical composition of mine waters.