Evaluation of soil intervention values in mine tailings in northern Chile

The aim of this work is to show a methodological proposal for the analysis of soil intervention values in mine tailings in order to determine the intervention requirements in the commune of Andacollo in northern Chile. The purpose of this analysis is to guide the intervention policies of both privat...

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Main Authors: Elizabeth Lam Esquenazi, Brian Keith Norambuena, Ítalo Montofré Bacigalupo, María Gálvez Estay
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2018-11-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/5879.pdf
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author Elizabeth Lam Esquenazi
Brian Keith Norambuena
Ítalo Montofré Bacigalupo
María Gálvez Estay
author_facet Elizabeth Lam Esquenazi
Brian Keith Norambuena
Ítalo Montofré Bacigalupo
María Gálvez Estay
author_sort Elizabeth Lam Esquenazi
collection DOAJ
description The aim of this work is to show a methodological proposal for the analysis of soil intervention values in mine tailings in order to determine the intervention requirements in the commune of Andacollo in northern Chile. The purpose of this analysis is to guide the intervention policies of both private and public organizations. The evaluation method is based on the Dutch legislation. The usability of the proposed methods depends on the available geochemical data from soil samples; in particular, we tackle the case when information regarding clay percentage in the soil is not available. We use the concepts of a threshold factor and an adjusted threshold factor to calculate a weighted intervention ranking. In order to illustrate the utility of this methodological proposal, a case study is carried out with the prescribed approach. In particular, this work presents an analysis of the elements of environmental significance related to the mining activity (Hg, Cd, Pb, As, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cr) in the commune of Andacollo, Coquimbo Region, Chile. The analyzed samples are used to determine where the intervention of tailing deposits is necessary and where a solution to these environmental liabilities is required as soon as possible. Out of the 81 samples evaluated, it was found that 18 require a potential intervention, and of these samples, seven of them are associated with abandoned tailings that, in some cases, are located close to the town center itself, one sample is associated with active tailings and the other 10 with inactive tailings.
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spelling doaj.art-3e86928837b84e45bad514951cb9e82e2023-12-03T00:25:14ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592018-11-016e587910.7717/peerj.5879Evaluation of soil intervention values in mine tailings in northern ChileElizabeth Lam Esquenazi0Brian Keith Norambuena1Ítalo Montofré Bacigalupo2María Gálvez Estay3Chemical Engineering Department, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, ChileDepartment of Computing and Systems Engineering, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, ChileMetallurgical and Mining Department, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, ChileChemical Engineering Department, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, ChileThe aim of this work is to show a methodological proposal for the analysis of soil intervention values in mine tailings in order to determine the intervention requirements in the commune of Andacollo in northern Chile. The purpose of this analysis is to guide the intervention policies of both private and public organizations. The evaluation method is based on the Dutch legislation. The usability of the proposed methods depends on the available geochemical data from soil samples; in particular, we tackle the case when information regarding clay percentage in the soil is not available. We use the concepts of a threshold factor and an adjusted threshold factor to calculate a weighted intervention ranking. In order to illustrate the utility of this methodological proposal, a case study is carried out with the prescribed approach. In particular, this work presents an analysis of the elements of environmental significance related to the mining activity (Hg, Cd, Pb, As, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cr) in the commune of Andacollo, Coquimbo Region, Chile. The analyzed samples are used to determine where the intervention of tailing deposits is necessary and where a solution to these environmental liabilities is required as soon as possible. Out of the 81 samples evaluated, it was found that 18 require a potential intervention, and of these samples, seven of them are associated with abandoned tailings that, in some cases, are located close to the town center itself, one sample is associated with active tailings and the other 10 with inactive tailings.https://peerj.com/articles/5879.pdfMethodologyTailingsEnvironmental liabilityMining industrySoil intervention values
spellingShingle Elizabeth Lam Esquenazi
Brian Keith Norambuena
Ítalo Montofré Bacigalupo
María Gálvez Estay
Evaluation of soil intervention values in mine tailings in northern Chile
PeerJ
Methodology
Tailings
Environmental liability
Mining industry
Soil intervention values
title Evaluation of soil intervention values in mine tailings in northern Chile
title_full Evaluation of soil intervention values in mine tailings in northern Chile
title_fullStr Evaluation of soil intervention values in mine tailings in northern Chile
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of soil intervention values in mine tailings in northern Chile
title_short Evaluation of soil intervention values in mine tailings in northern Chile
title_sort evaluation of soil intervention values in mine tailings in northern chile
topic Methodology
Tailings
Environmental liability
Mining industry
Soil intervention values
url https://peerj.com/articles/5879.pdf
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