Journal of the Korean Society of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineers ISSN:2288-0291(Print) 2288-2790(Online) 한국자원공학회지

The objective of this study is to investigate the physical and chemical properties of natural water samples for environmental assessment of water system affected by coal mining activities in the Mungyung area, Korea. During July 2001 to June 2002, water samples were collected 4 times seasonally from 9 coal mines and nearby streams in the study area. The physical and chemical properties including pH, Eh, TDS, salinity, alkalinity and DO were measured in the field. Eighteen cations including Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn and Zn, and 6 anions including nitrate and sulfate were also analyzed by ICP-AES and IC, respectively. Most of the samples were in the range of 6 to 8 for pH and 500 to 1,000 mg/l for TDS. A few samples, however, had low pH and high TDS values, for example, sampled from the Bongmyeong mine. For cations, relatively low concentrations of heavy metals were found in water samples. Water samples from the direct effluent from each mine, however, contained elevated levels of Al, Fe and Mn, which have typical characteristics of acid mine drainage (AMD). For anions, over 500 mg/l of sulfate was found in several water samples. Seasonally, the concentrations of metals and sulfate varied; wet season samples were relatively higher in metals and sulfate than dry season samples.