Arsenic in the elements of the gold deposit technogenic ecosystem

The article presents the results of a geoecological assessment of arsenic content of the natural environment components in the gold ore deposits (Albyn and Tokur) geotechno zones, carried out using geochemical coefficients. The results obtained showed the presence of a natural lithochemical anomaly for arsenic in mountain brown-taiga soils common in the deposit areas. In the geotechnozone of deposits, the highest concentrations of arsenic were found in all environments – ground, air, and water. With a quarry method of development, the spread of arsenic in the components of the technozone occurs mainly by dust aerosols; in case of underground – mainly by surface and underground watercourses. The underground method of mining the deposit exerts a deeper influence on the biota, apparently due to the formation of potentially mobile forms of this element in the watercourses draining dumps and tailings. During long-term storage of tailing waste from gold mining production, due to the reactions of oxidative weathering of As-containing minerals, inorganic arsenic compounds are formed mainly in the form of As(III) and As(V), the quantitative ratio between which depends on a set of factors – the material and redox characteristics of the ores, conditions storage, frequency of moistening, etc. The content of arsenic in vegetation growing under conditions of a tense lithochemical background is many times higher than toxic levels, which can lead to serious health consequences for the population living near the deposits.

Pavlova L. M. Arsenic in the elements of the gold deposit technogenic ecosystem. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2024;(7-1):58-71. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2024_ 71_0_58.

L.M. Pavlova, PhD (Biol.), Assistant Professor, Institute of Geology & Nature Management, Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 675000, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, e-mail: pav@ascnet.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3734-1445.

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