Geophysical Techniques for Monitoring of Integrated Mine Waste Storage Facility: Case Study of Southeastern Bulgaria

Abstract

The extraction of mineral resources usually generates varying amounts of extractive waste, which require appropriate management. Extractive waste management is complicated and difficult process. It encompasses a lot of actions and many different competences. Here must be taken into account the mining excavation method, processing methods, beneficiation and overall mineral treatment. The results obtained from these study provide an important basis for the quantification and management of environmental impacts of the Integrated mine waste facility (IMWF) at the “Ada Tepa” gold mine. The aim of this research is to monitoring the process of internal water drainage into constructed cells of the facility. This task is performed using geophysical method based on electrical resistivity measurements made on the ground surface. Electrical resistivity tomography is commonly used to solve mining and engineering issues, because it is efficient and environmentally sound. This study demonstrates the efficiency of electrical resistivity tomography in detecting the saturated zones in the IMWF.