Falcón Hernández, MF;
Herrera, L;
Edwards, S;
(2017)
Analysis of the impact of the March 2015 flood on the tailings deposits in the Copiapo valley.
In: Quelopana, H, (ed.)
Proceedings of 4th International Seminar on Tailings Management (Tailings 2017).
Gecamin: Santiago, Chile.
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Abstract
The March 25th, 2015 flood geochemical environmental impact, was studied and analysed to look into the impact of the Tailings Impoundments during the event, in the Copiapo basin. SERNAGEOMIN had a geochemical record of sediments, prior to the flood. As the SERNAGEOMIN went to assist the population during the emergency, a new sampling programs was launched, to study the same points as the previous study. The quantitative comparison against a base line was therefore available, an uncommon result in Chile, where baselines do not abound. In addition, the tailings Department had determined the geochemical composition of the tailings basins surface, the dams and the downstream soils of most of the tailings deposits. A methodology was devised to determine if the contents of a tailings deposit, had significantly contributed materials to downstream, nearby soils or sediments. The study concluded that the flood had actually improved the quality of the sediments in several points of the baseline, due to either a washing effect, or to erosion and / or to change of the old soils –soils that were the result of mining contributions during an extensive historical period- by materials with a lower content of pollutants, contributed by the alluvium. In addition, the geochemical comparison of soils against basins and dams, showed that, contrary to the common belief, the tailings deposits of the Copiapo basin did not contribute to the debris in the sediments observed after the flood. The revision of satellite images support these very same conclusions.
| Type: | Proceedings paper |
|---|---|
| Title: | Analysis of the impact of the March 2015 flood on the tailings deposits in the Copiapo valley |
| Event: | Tailings2017 |
| Location: | Santiago, Chile |
| Dates: | 12 July 2017 - 14 July 2017 |
| ISBN-13: | 978-956-9393-80-8 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1567006 |
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