Institute of Natural Resources, Ecology and Cryology, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chita, Russia:

G. A. Yurgenson, Chief Researcher, Doctor of Geologo-Mineralogical Sciences, yurgga@mail.ru

For the first time ever, the complex ore production in Transbaikalia, in the territory of the former Nerchinsk mining district, during 200 years before the October Revolution and within the 50 yearslong Soviet period has been compared, and the difference in the contents of useful minerals in mining waste is demonstrated. It is found how a processing technology affects concentration of potentially hazardous chemicals in mining waste. It is necessary to process for the first turn the old tailings storages as potential sources of the most valued ore components such as gold, silver, indium and bismuth. For the first time, the geochemical typification of geosystems in the historically mining territories in Transbaikalia has been performed. It is found that natural–anthropogenic geosystems inherit geochemistry of an ore deposit being mined. The diverse studied geosystems belong to two geochemical types of natural–anthropogenic geochemical landscapes: arsenic and non-arsenic. The first type embraces all gold and complex ore; the second type is molybdenum–antimony and greisens–wolframite ore. As a result of the studies into the behavior of chemical elements in the rock (ore) residuum (oxidation zone)  soil (industrial soil) plant system, the barrier and no-barrier species of plants relative to specific chemicals are defined and offered to be used in biological reclamation and creation of recreation areas and blazing meadows for livestock. The obtained data make a framework for predicting the environmental impact of mineral mining and for substantiating nature-conserving managerial decisions towards minimization of the attack on the geological natural environment and its usability in solving of eco-social and geoethical problems.

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