TOOLS FOR THE RAPID SCREENING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HISTORICAL METAL-MINING WASTE DUMPS

Assessment of metal mobility, acid-drainage production, and toxic effects from the weathering of historical mine-waste dumps is an area of growing need as the environmental effects of inactive mine-waste sites across the country are being evaluated and mitigated. The U.S. Geological Survey Mine Waste Characterization Project has taken a multidisciplinary approach to assemble, develop, and refine methods and tools for characterizing and screening weathered solid-mine wastes. Researchers from a variety of disciplines, including geophysics, geochemistry, analytical chemistry, geology, mineralogy, geomicrobiology, remote sensing, spatial modeling, and aquatic toxicology, have worked together at several metal mining waste sites to develop an integrated "tool kit" for the rapid screening and characterization of historical mine-waste sites. This paper provides a brief overview of some of these tools.