Bioprospecting of plants species with potential to uptake inorganic chemical species from gold mine tailings and acid mine drainage
type: CreativeWork
description: In South Africa, mining of gold and coal has huge negative impacts on the environment. This is due to the exposure of sulphide-bearing minerals such as pyrite (FeS2) to oxygenated water during and after the extraction of ore deposits which results in the formation of acid mine drainage (AMD). Acid mine drainage is characterised by low pH ranging between 1-4, high concentration of sulphate and chemical species which degrade the water quality and threaten the life of terrestrial and aquatic organisms. This study aims at bio-prospecting plant species with potential use in phytoremediation of AMD and gold mine tailings. First batch of samples of plants, water leachates and mine tailings were collected from Crown Mine within Witwatersrand gold fields in Johannesburg, South Africa while the second batch of samples of plants, water and sediments were collected from the mine water discharging points and within the AMD impacted wetlands streams in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga Coal Fields. In the first part of the study deals with the characterization of gold mine tailings and acidic mine leachates collected from crown mines in Johannesburg and further identification of plants species with potential for use phytoextraction of inorganic chemical species from the acidic leachates and gold mine tailings. The physicochemical parameters of leachates such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), redox potential (Eh), total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO) and salinity were measured in the field using pH multi-meter. Elemental composition of mine tailings were analysed x-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) techniques. Leachates samples were analysed for metals contents using Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and anions using Ion Chromatography. Plant samples were digested using aqua-regia method and analysed with ICP-MS for elemental composition. The results showed that the mine tailings are mainly comp…
abstract: In South Africa, mining of gold and coal has huge negative impacts on the environment. This is due to the exposure of sulphide-bearing minerals such as pyrite (FeS2) to oxygenated water during and after the extraction of ore deposits which results in the formation of acid mine drainage (AMD). Acid mine drainage is characterised by low pH ranging between 1-4, high concentration of sulphate and chemical species which degrade the water quality and threaten the life of terrestrial and aquatic organisms. This study aims at bio-prospecting plant species with potential use in phytoremediation of AMD and gold mine tailings. First batch of samples of plants, water leachates and mine tailings were collected from Crown Mine within Witwatersrand gold fields in Johannesburg, South Africa while the second batch of samples of plants, water and sediments were collected from the mine water discharging points and within the AMD impacted wetlands streams in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga Coal Fields. In the first part of the study deals with the characterization of gold mine tailings and acidic mine leachates collected from crown mines in Johannesburg and further identification of plants species with potential for use phytoextraction of inorganic chemical species from the acidic leachates and gold mine tailings. The physicochemical parameters of leachates such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), redox potential (Eh), total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO) and salinity were measured in the field using pH multi-meter. Elemental composition of mine tailings were analysed x-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) techniques. Leachates samples were analysed for metals contents using Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and anions using Ion Chromatography. Plant samples were digested using aqua-regia method and analysed with ICP-MS for elemental composition. The results showed that the mine tailings are mainly comp…
author: Makhado, Khumbelo Priscilla
language: en
keywords: Acid Mine Drainage, Mine tailings, Wetlands, Native plants species, Gold and coal mines
date published: 2021-10
date modified: 2026-07-27T21:57:20Z
provider: University of Venda
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Venda

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11602/1822