Influencia de los residuos geomineros sobre el medio hídrico en el distrito minero de La Carolina (Jaén)

Resumen

The extractive activity of Pb ceased in the late XXth century in the La Carolina mining district, and has left a large quantity of remains such as tailings ponds and adits that interact with the Grande and La Campana rivers. The high concentrations of SO42-, Fe, Mn and As from the adits modify the chemical composition of both rivers. The greatest mineralization in the rivers takes place in times of low water and during the first rains of autumn, the latter due to the washing of the salts precipitated during the dry season. The installation of piezometers, humidity sensors, temperature, electrical conductivity, oxygen and sediment analysis, carried out in tailings ponds, have revealed high concentrations of Fe and Pb, the existence of saturated zones and a maximum oxidized thickness of 5 m out of the 30 m that they contain, reason why the tailings impoundments present a high polluting potential.