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Acid Mine Drainage Impact & Causes

Acid mine drainage is acidic water that flows from metal and coal mines, exacerbated by mining activities that disturb rocks containing sulfide minerals. This causes acid rock drainage, releasing highly acidic liquid that contains toxic metals like copper and iron, harming the pH and aquatic environments of surrounding streams. Areas disturbed by mining, construction, and other large projects are also prone to producing acid rock drainage.

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Dinesh dhakar
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89 views1 page

Acid Mine Drainage Impact & Causes

Acid mine drainage is acidic water that flows from metal and coal mines, exacerbated by mining activities that disturb rocks containing sulfide minerals. This causes acid rock drainage, releasing highly acidic liquid that contains toxic metals like copper and iron, harming the pH and aquatic environments of surrounding streams. Areas disturbed by mining, construction, and other large projects are also prone to producing acid rock drainage.

Uploaded by

Dinesh dhakar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Acid mine drainage

Acid mine drainage, acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD)


is the outflow of acidic water from metal mines or coal mines.
Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weathering
process but is exacerbated by large-scale earth disturbances characteristic of mining and other
large construction activities, usually within rocks containing an abundance of sulfide minerals.
Areas where the earth has been disturbed (e.g. construction sites, subdivisions, and transportation
corridors) may create acid rock drainage. In many localities, the liquid that drains
from coal stocks, coal handling facilities, coal washeries, and coal waste tips can be highly
acidic, and in such cases it is treated as acid rock drainage. This liquid often contains toxic
metals, such as copper or iron. These, combined with reduced pH, have a detrimental impact on
the streams aquatic environments.

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