Geochemical risk is caused by the release of hazardous chemicals to the earth surface. Primary diamond deposits are located in difficult mining and geological conditions. They represent natural geochemical anomalies associated with the mineral composition of rocks and groundwater, which contain a number of impurity elements with high toxic properties (Tl, Di, As, Cd, Hg), increased concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Ti, V and others). The paper presents the physical-geographical and mining-geological conditions of the diamondiferous region, where three large mining and processing divisions operate: Udachninsky, Aikhalsky and Nyurbinsky. pH, organic matter (humus), total nitrogen, physical clay were identified in the study samples, by using potentiometric, photoelectric colorimetric, spectrophotometric methods and pipette method for particle size analysis. Gross and mobile forms of trace elements were determined by atomic absorption and emission spectrometry. The groups of elements were identified, that determined the natural and man-made anomalies. The accumulation of Cr, Ni and Co determines the influence of kimberlite magmatism in general. Cu, Sr and Li are accumulated in the soils of the Daldyn-Alakit diamond-bearing region. Increased concentrations of Mn and Cu are typical in the soils of the Sredne-Markhinsky diamond-bearing region. An assessment of the ecological and geochemical state of the study areas was carried out according to the indicator of total pollution (Zc), which is the sum of the excess of the concentration coefficients of chemical elements accumulating in anomalies. Areas of pollution and zones of the greatest risk are localized, which occupy up to 75% of the total area of industrial sites. They confined to quarry-dump complexes and to areas of impact of tailing dumps of processing plants.
A study was performed to evaluate the current permafrost and groundwater conditions in the reclaimed floodplain of the Lena, one of the largest rivers in the permafrost zone. Data from ongoing hydrogeological monitoring were compared with earlier observations conducted during the reclamation process. The results demonstrate that the placement of dredged fill led to the development of suprapermafrost thaw zones (taliks). The anthropogenic taliks vary in thickness from 10 to 15 m in areas of buried bars to 20 m or more in the former locations of oxbow lakes. There is similarity in seasonal groundwater fluctuation patterns and response to river stage variations across the study area suggesting that a continuous aquifer connected to surface water. The connection with the river is most evident during the spring flood period. Two mechanisms of ground saturation are identified during this time. One is lateral seepage flow from the Lena River into the fill mass. The zone of its influence is limited to 150–170 m from the stream. The second is hydraulic pressure transmission from the river through the subchannel flow connected with the anthropogenic suprapermafrost aquifer. Its influence extends across the entire fill area. Continuous water movement at the base of the fill prevents permafrost aggradation from below. The study results should be taken into account when developing and implementing design and construction standards for engineering structures in the reclaimed floodplains of the permafrost zone.
This article presents the results of long-term research and monitoring of the soil cover exposed to the impact of the mining and processing plant developing diamond deposits in the northeast of Siberia. The soil collection includes 436 samples of different types of Cryosols. Soil pH; soil organic carbon (SOC); granulometric composition; and mobile forms of Pb, Ni, Mn, Cd, Co, Cr, Zn, Cu, and As were identified in the samples. Multivariate statistics of the correlation matrix, clustering analysis (CA), and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to determine the sources of heavy metals. The intensity of the accumulation of chemical elements in the soil was assessed using calculated concentration coefficients (Kc) and the index of total contamination of the soil cover (Zc). In the study area, Cryosols are characterized by biogenic accumulation of Ni, Mn, and Cd in the upper soil layer and Cr, Ni, Co, Mn, and Cu in the suprapermafrost horizon. Correlation matrix, CA, and PCA revealed three distinct sources that could be considered for the investigated potentially toxic elements (PTEs): anthropogenic, lithogenic, and the source which comes from a mixed contribution of anthropogenic and lithogenic factors. The most anthropogenic contribution in the heavy metals in the study area appears in Zn, Cd, As, and Pb. The assessment interpreted that origin of Mn in the area is most likely to be a natural source. The content of Co, Cr, and Ni are controlled by both lithogenic control and anthropogenic sources. Active accumulation of mobile forms of Mn, Zn, and Ni with anomalously high concentration coefficients can be traced in the soils in the impact zone of mining operations. Anthropogenic soil contamination is spread over an area of 260 km2.
The safe disposal of highly mineralized runoff in the development of indigenous diamond deposits in Western Yakutia is the most important task of ensuring a favorable geo-ecological situation in the region. Using the example of a large experimental material collected at the industrial site of the Udachninsky mining and processing plant, PJSC ALROSA, the geoecological situation in the area of underground drainage water disposal sites was assessed. Under the conditions of a complex and dynamic cryohydrogeological situation on the background of an increase in the volume of water inflow into the mine workings, the excess of the capacitive capabilities of the reservoirs of the storage tanks of the brine can lead to serious geoecological problems. Markers that identify the effects of highly mineralized water on the main abiotic components of the region's ecosystems – soil, bottom sediments and surface water – are strontium and lithium.
The vital infrastructure of Russia’s Arctic and Subarctic, in view of severe nature and climate, consumes much energy sources, mostly, coal shipped from central Russia by water transport via the Northern Sea Route (2-3 thousand kilometers) in summer. This raises the cost 3-4 times. A good alternative to the imported fuel is local peat. The principal consumer of peat as a fuel can be the Verkhoyansk Region in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), which is the subject of research. This article describes the promising deposits of peat in this region, peat occurrence conditions and possible production output. The scope of the discussion embraces the most popular methods of peat production: milling, hydraulic, dredging, scraper-elevator, cutting, milling-and-forming, shoveling, etc., with field curing and harvesting. However, because of high bogginess of the tundra zone, the listed methods of peat production are unusable. In this regard, the most promising approach is winter production of frozen peat with preliminary monitoring of the frozen thickness by ground penetrating radar. The earlier studies into the temperature conditions of the active soil layers, including peat beds, are presented. The chosen technology will ensure maximum preservation of landscape and ecological safety.
Extraction of diamonds from primary deposits in Siberia is associated with the development of kimberlite pipes in challenging environmental conditions, accompanied by a complex impact on the environment. The article presents the results of monitoring the soil cover of the Nakyn kimberlite field in the Yakutia diamond province, which is affected by the facilities of the Nyurba Mining and Processing Division. Development of primary diamond deposits has a large-scale impact on the subsoil, topography, and soil cover: creation of the world's largest quarries, formation of dumps more than 100 m high, arrangement of extensive tailings, formation of solid and liquid industrial wastes of various chemical composition. The research is aimed at studying the spatial and temporal patterns of the technogenic impact on the soil cover, identifying the nature and level of transformation of the microelement composition of soils based on the analysis of the intra-profile and lateral distribution of mobile forms of trace elements. The study targets in 2007-2018 were zonal types of permafrost soils of northern taiga landscapes, cryozems, occupying 84 % of the total study area, which are characterized by biogenic accumulation of mobile forms of Ni, Mn, and Cd in the upper AO, Acr horizons, and Cr, Ni, Co, Mn, Cu in the suprapermafrost CR horizon. We found out that the contamination of the soil cover of the industrial site at the Nyurba Mining and Processing Division is of a multielement nature with local highly to very highly contaminated areas. Over a ten-year observation period, areas of stable soil contamination are formed, where the main pollutants are mobile forms of Mn, Zn, Ni. We suggest that against the background of a natural geochemical anomaly associated with trap and kimberlite magmatism, technogenic anomalies are formed in the surface horizons of soils. They are spatially linked to technogenically transformed landscapes. One of the sources of pollutants is the dispersion of the solid phase of dust emissions in the direction of the prevailing winds, which leads to the formation of soils with abnormally high contents of mobile forms of Mn, Zn, Ni.
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