Assessment of Soil Cover Geochemical Composition in the Technogenically Altered Territory of the Pioneer Gold Deposit (Upper Amur Region)

Abstract

The results of geochemical studies of soils and anthropogenic grounds within the territory of the large Pioneer gold ore deposit developed in the Amur Region are presented. Using the enrichment indices for the soil and ground cover of the Pioneer deposit territory, the following pollutant elements were determined: As, Sb, Mo, Bi, W, S, Cd, and Pb. Using the methods of mathematical statistics, the background contents of As, Sb, Bi, Mo, W, S, Cd, and Pb in the technogenically transformed territory at the sampling time accounted for 63, 8.84, 0.69, 3.54, 4.19, 529, 0.11, and 36.5 mg/kg, respectively. The exceedance of background values for As, Sb, Bi, Mo, W, and S is caused by the natural metallogenic features of the territory. It has been established that the sources of metal emissions into the environment are mining facilities and structures of the mining complex: quarries, waste dumps, heap leaching areas, gold extraction plant, and tailings dumps.