Tatyana Kuleshova's research while affiliated with A.A. Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS and other places

Experimental data were presented on the mobility of copper during the transition from old wastes of pyrometallurgical processing of polymetallic ores (Belovsk zinc plant, Kemerovo region) into solution. Based on the data of percolation experiments, the article proposes the extraction method of copper with minimal environmental risks.

The relevance of the work is due to the risks of an uncontrolled increase in circulating water leaks through sides and bed of the dam, caused by thawing of permafrost soils in the Far North. The main aim of the work is to scientifically substantiate a set of engineering measures to reduce filtration consumption and restore and maintain the waterproofing of the tailing dump. The object of the study was the tailing dump of the concentration plant, with adjoining filter walls. The tailing dump has been exploited since 1996; for the last 20 years, circulating water leaks into the shunting tank located below were recorded. Within the water area of the tailing dump and at the landfalls, geophysical surveys were carried out from ice by the TEM (transient electromagnetic) method. The obtained geoelectric sections made it possible to form a holistic view of the structure of the filtration zones in the right and left bank junctions. The data obtained will be used for planning anti-filtration arrangement.

The article presents the original results of the investigation of sulfide-bearing mine tailings dumps (Ursk, Western Siberia, Russia), the adjacent territory, and acid mine drainage flows. The novelty of this study is related to integration of geophysical and geochemical data. The geoelectrical structure of the dump and the drainage valley was determined using the electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) method. Magnetic anomalies above the surface of the site were identified using ground magnetic surveys. The orthophotomap and a digital elevation model were obtained on the basis of aerial photography from an unmanned aircraft. The model of thermal imaging allows us to identify a number of temperature anomalies in the upper part of the dump slope and filtration zone in the drainage valley, caused by exothermic reactions. The digital relief model was constructed comprising three zones: (1) oxidation, (2) leaching, and (3) mixing and dilution. The oxidation zone is marked by low electrical resistivity (1–10 Ω·m), low pH values of the drainage waters (pH 3.61), low values of the modulus of the magnetic induction vector, and heating by +5 °C compared to the solid dump material that is not actively exposed to water. The oxidative conditions and low pH values favor the dilution of the Fe2+ compounds in the drainage solutions, which also contain Cu (3000 μg/L), Pb (1200 μg/L), As (1300 μg/L), and Hg (34 μg/L). The zone of the primary geochemical barrier is formed within the first 400 m, where the major proportion of dissolved elements if deposited. The second iron–aluminum sorption geochemical barrier is formed at a distance of 1000 m at the mixing zone with the Ur River. The stable geochemistry of surface waters, formed due to the inflow of drainage waters into the Ur River and further into the reservoir, persists at a distance of up to 7.7 km from the dump.

The article presents the results of a flow-through experiment simulating the process of dissolution of soils of the foundation of a dam of a hydraulic structure by groundwater. The object of the study is the tailing dump of the concentrating plant, during the operation of which the permafrost soils of the coastal abutments of the enclosing dam thawed, significant volumes of circulating water leaked into the shunting tank located below. The development of filtration channels in fractured tectonic zones that make up the near-rock massif does not stop. Upon completion of the experiment, which lasted 20 weeks, an array of measured parameters of solutions at the exit from the columns was obtained: pH, specific conductivity and elemental composition. The data obtained made it possible to estimate the rate of dissolution of the soils of the dam foundation.

The tailing dump of the Komsomolsk gold-mining plant is considered. The aim of the work is to study the composition of mining waste and the directions of migration of drainage using electro-tomography and geochemical methods, as well as determining the variability of electrophysical parameters and composition of the man-made environment depending on temperature. The results of a laboratory experiment to determine the concentrations of CS2, C2H6S, (CH3)2SO above the surface of the waste substance are given.