Metals distribution in soil contaminated by gold and copper mining in Georgia

Avkopashvili, Marika; Gongadze, A.; Avkopashvili, Guranda; Matchavariani, Lia; Asanidze, Lasha; Lagidze, Lamzira

doi:10.22438/jeb/41/2(si)/jeb-05

Cited by 2 publications

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“…The peak discharge is in spring-40% of annual runoff and decreasing through the winter as follows, 30.8% in the summer, 16.8% in the fall, and 12.4% in the winter [17]. The main soil types in the study area are chernozems, cinnamonic soils, and brown forest soils [10].…”

Section: Description Of Study Areamentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Gold and copper open-pit mining in Kazreti (south-east Georgia) began in the 1970s and continues to play a significant role in the economic and social development of Georgia [9]. In 2011, a new pit called Abulbuqi was opened; in 2014 another pit, called Sakhdrisi quarry was opened and increased ore extraction from the pit and its further processing [10]. Geologically, the area is underlain by quaternary sediments, limestones, sandstones, and magmatic formations of the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods, and the main ore deposits are barite-gold-copper-polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulfides.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mining-Related Metal Pollution and Ecological Risk Factors in South-Eastern Georgia

Avkopashvili

et al. 2022

Sustainability

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Gold and copper production is important to the Georgian economy, but at the same time, mineral resources are mined in one of the important agricultural areas of the country. This study evaluated water and soil quality in the region. Soil from 18 villages was analyzed. Some of these villages have not been investigated before and previous information about soil quality was unknown. Ecological risk factors and potential ecological risk were determined for the study area. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to analyze heavy metals concentration in soil and water samples taken from the study area. Integrated water and soil data allowed us to see how these important natural resources influence each other. After the comparison of the four-year period of the study, we observed an increase of heavy metals increase in the soil in 2017 compared to 2014. Higher lead concentration was discovered within a two kilometer radius of the mining area whereas the highest cadmium concentration was observed in the village Ratevani, 15 km away from the nearest mine, where there was an extremely high ecological risk of Cd concentration. Further investigations are recommended to be done in Ratevani village as the people living in this village are at risk of Cd poisoning.

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Section: Description Of Study Areamentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mining-Related Metal Pollution and Ecological Risk Factors in South-Eastern Georgia

Avkopashvili

et al. 2022

Sustainability

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50 years of mining-induced environmental changes: topography, hydrology, and vegetation health in Kazreti, Georgia

Avkopashvili,

Avkopashvili

et al. 2024

Environ. Res. Commun.

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Globally, prioritizing short-term economic gains from mineral extraction has led to a critical dilemma: a planet rich in resources struggles with environmental degradation and a diminishing ability to sustain future generations. Open-pit mining exemplifies this paradox, causing significant environmental damage. In Georgia, this extractive industry presents environmental problems. Despite these known consequences, the long-term impacts of mining activities remain understudied. This study addressed this gap by analyzing the effects of open-pit mining on terrain morphology, and water dynamics in the Kazreti region over a 50-year period (1970-2020) and vegetation health over 35-year period (1987-2022). By integrating water quality assessment, spatial analysis and remote sensing, we revealed the significant human-induced changes to the region's ecosystem. Spatial analysis results suggested that over 156.7 million cubic meters of bedrock have been fragmented by mining in southern East Georgia, with 125.5 million cubic meters deposited in valleys. Consequently, discernible shifts in the trajectories of water flow were observed based on the hydrological model. Additionally, a comparative analysis of NDVI and EVI values revealed a decline in vegetation health near mining zones, while remote forest areas remained stable. June typically showed healthier vegetation due to cooler temperatures and optimal growing conditions, while August presented lower vegetation health due to increased heat stress. Water quality revealed significant loadings of Cu (range: 58 – 1855μg/L), Zn (range: 54 – 2582μg/L,), Mn (range: 1 – 2167μg/L), and Cd (range: 0.1 – 4.5μg/L), in local river systems, which are higher than the Georgian official guideline values (Cu - 1000, Zn - 1000, Mn – 100, Cd – 1μg/L). This study highlighted the need for a broader long-term monitoring strategy to assess the migration of these contaminants within the food web and the consequent socio-economic impact.

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Metals distribution in soil contaminated by gold and copper mining in Georgia

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Mining-Related Metal Pollution and Ecological Risk Factors in South-Eastern Georgia

Mining-Related Metal Pollution and Ecological Risk Factors in South-Eastern Georgia

50 years of mining-induced environmental changes: topography, hydrology, and vegetation health in Kazreti, Georgia

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