Abstract
The Loddon River basin, with 6,300 abandoned mines—5,000 of which were focused on gold extraction during Victoria's mid-19th-century gold rush—suffers from severe water quality degradation. This study employs multivariate statistical analysis to investigate water quality trends and the relationship between historical gold mines and catchment contamination, considering weather patterns. Analyzing 15 water quality parameters from five monitoring stations and climate data from 1996 to 2010, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) reveals persistent mining-induced hazards, particularly in wet seasons, indicated by trends in electrical conductivity, turbidity, and sulfate concentrations. Correlation analysis confirmed the negative impact of agriculture, urbanization, and industrial development, including historical mining areas, on water quality, while natural vegetation and wetlands buffer these effects, highlighting their importance for future land management strategies. Significant water quality changes were observed between downstream and upstream stations, especially in tributaries flowing through the gold mining regions around Bendigo, which recorded the poorest water quality. This is particularly concerning as these tributaries flow into the Murray River, home to many endangered aquatic species.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of ICARD 2024 |
Place of Publication | Westmount |
Publisher | Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum |
Chapter | 96 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Event | International Conference on Acid Rock Drainage (13th : 2024) - Halifax, Canada Duration: 16 Sept 2024 → 20 Sept 2024 https://icard2024.cim.org/ |
Conference
Conference | International Conference on Acid Rock Drainage (13th : 2024) |
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Abbreviated title | ICARD 2024 |
Country/Territory | Canada |
City | Halifax |
Period | 16/09/24 → 20/09/24 |
Internet address |
Keywords
- catchment management
- acid rock drainage
- contaminant transport
- geographical information systems
- water quality
- environmental reclamation measures