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Effects of a small-scale, abandoned gold mine on the geochemistry of fine stream-bed and floodplain sediments in the Horsefly River watershed, British Columbia, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

Deirdre E. Clark ,
Marjolein F. A. Vogels ,
Marcel Van Der Perk ,
Philip N. Owens  and
Ellen L. Petticrew
Deirdre E. Clark*
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, 3508, TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Marjolein F. A. Vogels
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, 3508, TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Marcel Van Der Perk
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, 3508, TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Philip N. Owens
Affiliation:
Environmental Science Program and Quesnel River Research Centre, University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9, Canada
Ellen L. Petticrew
Affiliation:
Geography Program and Quesnel River Research Centre, University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9, Canada
*
E-mail: dec2@hi.is
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Abstract

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Mining is known to be a major source of metal contamination for fluvial systems worldwide. Monitoring and understanding the effects on downstream water and sediment quality is essential for its management and to mitigate against detrimental environmental impacts. This study aimed to examine the effects of the small-scale, abandoned, hydraulic Black Creek gold mine on the geochemical content of fine (<63 μm) stream bed and floodplain sediment in the Horsefly watershed (British Columbia, Canada), which is a part of the Quesnel River basin. Concentrations of As, Cd, Se and Zn were determined by aqua regia digestion and the modified BCR (European Community Bureau of Reference) sequential extraction procedure followed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy or inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Age-depth models for the floodplain cores were constructed using excess Pb-210 and Cs-137 activity concentration profiles. The results show that the mine caused local As contamination of the Horsefly River floodplain sediment during the first years of operation, but at present the contamination is mainly contained in the Black Creek. Present-day and recent concentrations of Cd, Se and Zn in the Horsefly River are elevated and this is probably derived from other upstream mining activities. The spatial and temporal changes in heavymetal concentrations suggest a slight, but not particularly widespread, mining effect on the finesediment geochemistry in the Horsefly River system.

Keywords

gold minesediment geochemistrypollutionenvironmentBritish ColumbiaCanada
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 78 , Issue 6 , November 2014 , pp. 1491 - 1504
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
© [2014] The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2014

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