Geology

Biography

Biography: Chaïma Ahmedat

Abstract

Morocco with its geological diversity and its long history of mining activities has the most important two pillars of mineral deposit variety and economic development. The mining activities are the main anthropic sources of heavy metal contamination especially in mining areas. The impact of pollutants dissemination in the environmental components, has a serious impact on the natural resources and ecosystem stability, in fact it threats the human health as well. The large number of metalliferrous sites existing in the country is controlled by several factors, including regional climate, mining methods and geological conditions, which in most of cases, increase the negative impact on the natural environment whether the given site is active or abandoned. The accumulation of mine tailings and waste rocks on soil may lead to acid mine drainage (AMD), due to metals release from the tailing by exposing to climatic agents, which convert the superficial water draining in the mining sites, and acid liquid by the oxidation of metal sulfides existing in mine wastes. The transportation of trace metals dissolved in water by (AMD) phenomenon, negatively affects the quality of soils which in turn affect the quality of underground water and local agriculture. Many of soil and water sampling are performed in several mining sites in Morocco, reveal a contamination by heavy metals specialty into Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd and/or Hg, according to the paragenesis of each metalliferous deposits, this contamination causes many of health problems in humans and animals, in addition to visual problems that can be summarized in the disfigurement of geological and/or ecological fascinating landscapes which degrades the quality and aesthetics of natural environment, thus threatening local, sometimes regional, touristic activity. The issue of mining impact on the environment must be the subject of more several studies, to highlight the problems of the transfer mechanism and the dissemination of harmful metals in natural resources especially drinkable water used by local populations living near or in mining areas.