Determining the geometry of tailings dams using magnetic prospecting in the La Carolina mining district (southern Spain)

In the former mining district of La Carolina (southern Spain), waste materials were accumulated until the beginning of the 1980s without first waterproofing the substrate. Additionally, these mining dumps were abandoned without any type of restoration, which are conditions that present a significant...

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Autores: Mendoza, Rosendo, Rey, Javier, Vilchez, José, Martínez-Moreno, Francisco J., Hidalgo, M. Carmen
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Jaén
Repositorio:RUJA. Repositorio Institucional de la Producción Científica de la Universidad de Jaén
OAI Identifier:oai:ruja.ujaen.es:10953/7327
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-025-04398-6
https://hdl.handle.net/10953/7327
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Sulfide ores
Tailings dams
Environmental hazard
Magnetometry
Magnetic susceptibility
La Carolina mining district
2506.03 3308.03
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spelling Determining the geometry of tailings dams using magnetic prospecting in the La Carolina mining district (southern Spain)Mendoza, RosendoRey, JavierVilchez, JoséMartínez-Moreno, Francisco J.Hidalgo, M. CarmenSulfide oresTailings damsEnvironmental hazardMagnetometryMagnetic susceptibilityLa Carolina mining district2506.03 3308.03In the former mining district of La Carolina (southern Spain), waste materials were accumulated until the beginning of the 1980s without first waterproofing the substrate. Additionally, these mining dumps were abandoned without any type of restoration, which are conditions that present a significant risk of contamination of the surrounding soils and waters. Prior to carrying out the necessary work for isolating these residues, it is essential to know the geometry, thickness and distribution of wastes accumulated on the base substrate. For that purpose, in recent years, different indirect study techniques have been used, among which electrical tomography stands out. In this work, a complementary technique, magnetometry, both in its magnetic and gradiometric modalities, is used as an additional method to analyse the geometry and structure of a tailings dam. The results obtained with this methodology are compared with the results provided by electrical techniques, as well as with direct data from mechanical surveys and aerial photographs prior to waste deposition. Four total field magnetic anomaly profiles were selected for forward modelling using Mag2dc software. A correlation between total field magnetic anomaly values and changes in the accumulated thickness of mining waste was established. In this example, the lowest magnetic values coincide with the smallest thicknesses of the tailings dam. This comparative study shows the usefulness of magnetic prospecting in characterizing the base geometry of these mining structures and therefore the application to environmental characterization studies.Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Jaén/ CBUA. Grant PID2021-123506OB-I00 was funded by the MICIU/ AEI/ h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 3 0 3 9 / 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 3 and ERDF/EU. The study was partly funded by the University of Jaen.Springer Nature202620262025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-025-04398-6https://hdl.handle.net/10953/7327reponame:RUJA. Repositorio Institucional de la Producción Científica de la Universidad de Jaéninstname:Universidad de JaénInglésBulletin of Engineering Geology and the EnvironmentAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Spainhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:ruja.ujaen.es:10953/73272026-06-24T12:41:07Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Determining the geometry of tailings dams using magnetic prospecting in the La Carolina mining district (southern Spain)
title Determining the geometry of tailings dams using magnetic prospecting in the La Carolina mining district (southern Spain)
spellingShingle Determining the geometry of tailings dams using magnetic prospecting in the La Carolina mining district (southern Spain)
Mendoza, Rosendo
Sulfide ores
Tailings dams
Environmental hazard
Magnetometry
Magnetic susceptibility
La Carolina mining district
2506.03 3308.03
title_short Determining the geometry of tailings dams using magnetic prospecting in the La Carolina mining district (southern Spain)
title_full Determining the geometry of tailings dams using magnetic prospecting in the La Carolina mining district (southern Spain)
title_fullStr Determining the geometry of tailings dams using magnetic prospecting in the La Carolina mining district (southern Spain)
title_full_unstemmed Determining the geometry of tailings dams using magnetic prospecting in the La Carolina mining district (southern Spain)
title_sort Determining the geometry of tailings dams using magnetic prospecting in the La Carolina mining district (southern Spain)
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Mendoza, Rosendo
Rey, Javier
Vilchez, José
Martínez-Moreno, Francisco J.
Hidalgo, M. Carmen
author Mendoza, Rosendo
author_facet Mendoza, Rosendo
Rey, Javier
Vilchez, José
Martínez-Moreno, Francisco J.
Hidalgo, M. Carmen
author_role author
author2 Rey, Javier
Vilchez, José
Martínez-Moreno, Francisco J.
Hidalgo, M. Carmen
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Sulfide ores
Tailings dams
Environmental hazard
Magnetometry
Magnetic susceptibility
La Carolina mining district
2506.03 3308.03
topic Sulfide ores
Tailings dams
Environmental hazard
Magnetometry
Magnetic susceptibility
La Carolina mining district
2506.03 3308.03
description In the former mining district of La Carolina (southern Spain), waste materials were accumulated until the beginning of the 1980s without first waterproofing the substrate. Additionally, these mining dumps were abandoned without any type of restoration, which are conditions that present a significant risk of contamination of the surrounding soils and waters. Prior to carrying out the necessary work for isolating these residues, it is essential to know the geometry, thickness and distribution of wastes accumulated on the base substrate. For that purpose, in recent years, different indirect study techniques have been used, among which electrical tomography stands out. In this work, a complementary technique, magnetometry, both in its magnetic and gradiometric modalities, is used as an additional method to analyse the geometry and structure of a tailings dam. The results obtained with this methodology are compared with the results provided by electrical techniques, as well as with direct data from mechanical surveys and aerial photographs prior to waste deposition. Four total field magnetic anomaly profiles were selected for forward modelling using Mag2dc software. A correlation between total field magnetic anomaly values and changes in the accumulated thickness of mining waste was established. In this example, the lowest magnetic values coincide with the smallest thicknesses of the tailings dam. This comparative study shows the usefulness of magnetic prospecting in characterizing the base geometry of these mining structures and therefore the application to environmental characterization studies.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2026
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-025-04398-6
https://hdl.handle.net/10953/7327
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-025-04398-6
https://hdl.handle.net/10953/7327
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Spain
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Spain
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer Nature
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer Nature
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:RUJA. Repositorio Institucional de la Producción Científica de la Universidad de Jaén
instname:Universidad de Jaén
instname_str Universidad de Jaén
reponame_str RUJA. Repositorio Institucional de la Producción Científica de la Universidad de Jaén
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