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On the impact of the
Authors: O. A. Ivanova, A. V. Dmitrieva
Number of views: 322
Traditional approaches to the problem of rational use of natural resources have undergone radical changes in recent years, as, due to increasing pollution and resource depletion, a thorough reassessment of existing concepts and priorities became necessary. To this end, the authors conducted the research on the impact of the mining industry (the "Kholbinsky" mine) on the ecosystems of the Eastern Sayan. The "Kholbinsky" mine is located at an altitude of 1965-2270m above sea level, in the basins of the small rivers Samarta, Zun-Holba and Barun-Holba, which are tributaries of the rivers Kitoya and Urik. The mine has three industrial sites: the Samarta industrial site with a shift camp, the Zun-Holba industrial site, also with a shift camp, and mining operation sites. The main site for processing ore and extracting gold is the Samarta industrial site, which includes a gold recovery factory (GRF), a hydrometallurgy workshop, a garage with an open parking lot, a concrete mixing plant, a carpentry workshop, ore and coal warehouses, a slag dump from a boiler house, a diesel power plant, an auxiliary production - smithy, welding sectors, a
tailing pit for flotation tailings and a tailing pit for sorption tailings. An auxiliary production and heating boiler-houses are located on the Zun-Holba industrial site. The mining mass (ores and rocks) delivery to the surface and the rock storing to dumps takes place on mining operation sites. The authors reveal long-term impact of harmful substances emissions into the atmosphere, and provide the main factors contributing to the accumulation of harmful impurities in the ground air layer. One of indicators of the state of the aquatic environment is the state of fish and chiromids larvae in water bodies, so the authors evaluated the fish production parameters for the watercourses of the Samarta River. The study also showed that the field surface in the process of geological prospecting and mining operations became disturbed by numerous ditches, trenches, adits, drilled wells, and due to that the focal aboriginal vegetation mostly disappeared. In soils and bottom sediments, the content of heavy metals is below background levels. To minimize damage to natural systems, it is necessary to develop and implement new technologies for gold mining.