Surface Water Contamination by Mining Wastes: Case of the Sidi Kambar Region (Skikda North-East Algeria)

Abstract

The objective of this work is to assess the contamination of the Essouk stream, under acid drainage from the Sidi Kambar mine (southwest of Skikda, Algeria), which has been widely exploited during the previous decades. The methodology was conducted to control the current state of water chemistry, its evolution in space and time according to the variation of water physicochemical parameters and the content of trace metals (Pb, Fe, and Zn). In general, Essouk stream are highly sulphated (reached 598.56 mg/L) and have an elevated salinity, resulting in a high conductivity (1925 μS/cm) and presented a low pH (3.01). In addition, Fe, Pb and Zn contents reached 5.17 mg/L, 2.05 mg/L and 4.05 mg/L, respectively. Such results were linked to the bedrock of Sidi Kambar that is composed of galena, pyrite and sphalerite.