• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.363-373
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• 2013

This study investigates the dispersion and behavior of Au and heavy metals in the water system (soil, AMD and stream sediment) at the abandoned Bonjeong gold mine, based on XRD, aqua regia, sequential extraction, and physico-chemical analyses. The XRD analyses targeted quartz and kaolinite in the mine waste soil and quartz and goethite in stream sediment. The physico-chemical analyses of AMD with increasing distance from water system showed that pH increased from 3.00 to 3.19 and Eh decreased from 450 to 396 mV. The Au content in AMD ranged from 0.68 to 0.97 mg/L upstream, but was not detected downstream. The Au content of stream sediment was 13.76 to 22.85 mg/kg. Sequential extraction from stream sediment revealed 10.84% exchangeable (STEP I), 11.09% carbonates (STEP II), 25.53% Fe-Mn oxides (STEP III), 26.62% organic matter (STEP IV), and 24.61% residual (STEP V).