Ecological-hydrochemical state of groundwater in the area of the KHOVU-AKSY arsenide-cobalt deposit
The article considers the hydrochemical and ecological state of groundwater in the Khovu-Aksy arsenide-cobalt deposit area. Five sedimentation tanks for wastes of «Tuvakobalt» mining and processing plant were created during the development of the deposit. Wastes are the tails of finely detailed processed ore. As a result of incomplete extraction of useful components from ores such elements as cobalt, nickel, bismuth, copper, antimony, arsenic accumulated in the tailings which can form toxic compounds when interacting with water. They were tested and examined in order to determine the degree of groundwater contamination in the area of tailings of the Tuvakobalt plant with arsenic and heavy metals. The article presents the results of the work.