Heavy metal pollution caused by cyanide gold leaching: a case study of gold tailings in central China
- 8 February 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Environmental Science and Pollution Research
- Vol. 28 (23), 29231-29240
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12728-w
Abstract
It is known that the tailings of gold mines have brought serious heavy metal pollution; however, the heavy metal pollution caused by gold tailings in specific geological environments and extraction processes still must be studied. This study investigated the distribution, speciation, bioaccumulation, and pollution of heavy metals in soils from the Yueliangbao gold tailings area in central China, where gold was extracted by cyanidation. The results show that the concentrations of Cu, Pb, Zn, Mn, Mo, and Cd in the soils of the tailings pond were higher than those in the local background. The concentrations of heavy metals related to mineralization activities, such as Cu, Pb, Zn, and Mo, varied with the distance to the tailings pond center. There was a decreasing trend of tailings pond center > tailings pond entrance > surrounding environment. This study’s gold tailings pond differed from those of other regions because of its high content of unextracted Cu remaining in the pond. The proportion of non-residual Cu in the tailing pond soil was much higher than that of residual Cu, indicating it was likely to migrate to the surrounding environment. The pollution assessment indicated that the tailings pond soils were heavily polluted by Cu, and the level of heavy metal pollution in soils was positively correlated with the distance to the tailings pond center. Consequently, this tailings pond may become a source of Cu pollution in the surrounding environment, thus endangering environmental safety and human health. The study of heavy metal concentrations in the dominant plants showed that Chinese brake (Pteris vittata L.), Ramose scouring rush (Equisetum ramosissimum), and Manyflower silvergrass (Miscanthus floridulus) had the potential to be used for the phytostabilization of Cu.Keywords
Funding Information
- China University of Geosciences, Wuhan (CUG170104)
This publication has 42 references indexed in Scilit:
- A review of soil heavy metal pollution from mines in China: Pollution and health risk assessmentScience of The Total Environment, 2014
- Status of metal accumulation in farmland soils across China: From distribution to risk assessmentEnvironmental Pollution, 2013
- Geochemical distribution of trace element concentrations in the vicinity of Boroo gold mine, Selenge Province, MongoliaEnvironmental Geochemistry and Health, 2010
- Exogenous nitric oxide enhances cadmium tolerance of rice by increasing pectin and hemicellulose contents in root cell wallPlanta, 2009
- Relationship between Metals Leached and Soil Type from Potential Acid Sulphate Soils under Acidic and Neutral Conditions in Western AustraliaWater, Air, & Soil Pollution, 2009
- Effect of fertilizer application on soil heavy metal concentrationEnvironmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2008
- Equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies of adsorption of Pb(II) from aqueous solution onto Turkish kaolinite clayJournal of Hazardous Materials, 2007
- The genetics of metal tolerance in vascular plantsNew Phytologist, 1993
- An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control.a sedimentological approachWater Research, 1980
- Sequential extraction procedure for the speciation of particulate trace metalsAnalytical Chemistry, 1979