Identification of the sources of old kiln water and the causes of water pollution in the historical manganese mine

The prevention and control of old kiln water in historical mines is a challenging problem in mine water management. In this paper, the typical manganese mining area in the manganese triangle area of China is selected as a case study. Objective In order to identify the sources of old kiln water and the causes of water pollution, Methods the technical approaches such as mine hydrogeological survey, hydrological analysis, hydrochemistry and isotope tracing are used to identify the source and characteristic pollution of old kiln water, and the causes of water pollution in the mining area is analyzed. Results Results show that, the hydrological response of old kiln water in the study is sensitive to rainfall events. The old kiln water mainly comes from the rainfall collected by the roadway, dominant runoff channel and groundwater in the aquifer. The characteristic pollutants of mine water and roadway water are manganese and sulfate, and the characteristic pollutants of mine drainage are sodium and sulfate. Manganese and sulfate are mainly formed by the oxidation of pyrite and the dissolution of rhodochrosite. The leaching and infiltration of mine solid waste and the mixing of old kiln water are main causes of groundwater pollution, while the surface water is mainly affected by pollution of leaching and confluence from mine solid waste, roadway drainage and mine drainage. Conclusion The research results of this paper provide a scientific basis for water quantity formation and water quality evolution for mine water environment management.