The use of wetlands to sequester and treat mine-influenced effluent containing arsenic

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. operates the Bralorne Gold Mine in southwestern British Columbia. BralorneGold Mine has been operating under trial production since 2010, but the Company is developing a strategicoperating plan to achieve a profitable operation. During monitoring of mine tailings water at Bralorne GoldMine it has been determined that arsenic is the major contaminant of concern that will require treatmentfollowing mine closure. Wetlands may provide a natural source for the uptake and sequestration of arsenic innon-toxic forms. Here we propose an analysis of arsenic in its various forms within the water, soils, and plantsof a natural wetland that receives an intermittent supply of mine-influenced arsenic-tainted effluent. We willuse the synchrotron facility at the University of Saskatchewan's Canadian Light Source to analyze and maparsenic speciation in our sample materials. Our goal is to test the capability of the synchrotron to analyzearsenic in mine samples and to identify the location of arsenic uptake in our wetland samples. By doing so wehope to better understand the dynamics of the chemical pathway of arsenic so that we can design efficienttreatment methods for ecological restoration.