Heavy
Metal Contamination & Leaching
Heavy metal pollution is caused
when such met
als as arsenic, cobalt, copper, cadmium, lead,
silver and zinc contained in excavated rock or exposed in
an underground mine come in con
tact
with water.
Metals are leached out and car
ried downstream as water washes over the rock
surface. A
lthough metals can become mobile in
neutral pH conditions, leaching is particularly
accelerated in the low pH conditions such as are created by Acid Mine Drainage.
Processing Chemicals Pollution
This kind of pollution occurs when chemical agents (such
as cyanide or sulphuric acid used by
mining companies to separate the target min
eral from the ore) spill, leak, or leach from the
mine site into nearby water bodies.
These chemi
cals can be highly toxic to humans and
wildlife.
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