ON THE QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF THE NEUTRALIZING POTENTIAL OF HOST ROCKS

Abstract

When sulfide ores are mined and processed and dump rocks and tailings are stored, one of the most important problems is the formation of acid drainage waters, which are produced during the oxidation of residual sulfides by atmospheric precipitates. The potential possibility of this process, which is usually referred to in the modern literature as acid mine drainage, is predetermined mostly by the composition and proportions of sulfides and gangue minerals that react with “water” in various geochemical environments. Our research was aimed at developing methodological approaches for the evaluation of the acid–base potential of rocks (i.e., the balance between their ability to produce and neutralize acids) on the basis of experimentally obtained data.