T31 Environmental and Engineering Geology Division: Poster Session for Graduate and Undergraduate Students (Posters)

Sunday, 15 October 2023
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Hall B

CORRELATION OF ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY PROFILES AND SOIL PROPERTIES AT MINE WASTE SITES

Paper number: T31-9
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

Environmental contamination due to legacy mining activities is a serious global challenge. In this study, 2D electrical resistivity surveys were conducted at sites contaminated with mine waste in Zambia. Legacy mining operations in Zambia have created heavy metal pollutants which exist in waste rock (tailings), soil, as well as local surface water bodies. The contamination poses a serious health risk to the environment and local communities. Subsurface characterization of the contaminated sites using geophysical methods can help with planning for remediation strategies by providing a conceptual model of the extent and intensity of the contamination. The specific aim of this study was to generate 2D electrical resistivity profiles and to investigate the correlation between geophysical subsurface profiles and soil properties at the contaminated sites. In addition, this study aims to assess subsurface contrast between remediated and non-remediated areas of contaminated sites. The study reports geophysical investigations conducted at various sites contaminated with heavy metals in Kabwe, Kitwe, and Mufulira. Preliminary results show distinct resistivity profiles between remediated and non-remediated areas in addition to a correlation between resistivity values and moisture content. Results from this study have potential of being useful geophysical proxies for characterizing sites contaminated with mine waste.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 55, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-393330

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