page_title: Environmental impact of iron ore mining
section_title: Acid rock drainage
hierarchical_section_title: Environmental impact of iron ore mining / Issues / Acid rock drainage
caption_attribution_description: East of Schwatka Lake, south of Riverdale.
context_page_description: The environmental impact of iron ore mining, in all its phases of, from excavation to beneficiation to transportation, may include detrimental effects on air quality, water quality, and biological species.
context_section_description: Acid is created when water and oxygen interact with sulphur bearing minerals and chemicals in rocks. Sulphuric acid is the most common chemical reaction that results from mining activities as the beneficiation process requires dissolving the minerals surrounding the ore, which releases metals and chemicals previously bound up in the rock into nearby streams, freshwater bodies, and the atmosphere.., . Acid may be generated under natural conditions prior to any disturbance, but mining activities typically magnify the amount of acid produced, thereby causing an inequality in the surrounding environment. This process is referred to as Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). Acid produced from AMD causes health hazards to many fish and aquatic organisms as well as land animals who drink from contaminated water sources. Many metals become mobile as water becomes more acidic and at high concentrations these metals become toxic to most life forms
caption: Marshy (7041418469)
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