ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Toxicology, Pollution and the Environment
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1660339
The influence of diamond-mining industry waste on soil geochemistry and the development of salinization processes
Provisionally accepted
- Diamond and Precious Metal Geology Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Yakutsk, Russia
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Mining in the Arctic induces severe environmental transformations, particularly soil salinization, which threatens the fragile ecosystems of permafrost-affected landscapes. This study investigates the mechanisms of this process in the Daldyn-Alakit region (Western Yakutia), focusing on the interaction between the geogenic potential of waste rocks and technogenic triggers. Using petrographic, X-ray phase, and geochemical analyses, we characterized the composition of waste dumps from the Udachninsky and Aikhal mining sites. We identified that gypsum-bearing dumps at the Aikhal site present a high inherent risk for sulfate salinization, while the kimberlites contribute primarily to trace metal (Ni, Cr) enrichment. However, the actual widespread salinization is driven by technogenic factors: the primary activator for chloride salinization is the surface interaction with highly mineralized brines from injection sites and tailings storage facilities. The secondary driver is the enhanced weathering of waste dumps, releasing sulfates. Our results demonstrate that salinization type is not a simple function of waste rock composition but a complex interplay between inherent geochemical properties and mining-induced pathways. This finding is crucial for developing targeted reclamation strategies.
Keywords: Mining waste, Mine tailings, Soil salinity, diamond mining, permafrost-affected soils, Environmental Pollution
Received: 05 Jul 2025; Accepted: 09 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Vasileva, Legostaeva, Shadrinova and Ivanov. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Tatiana Vasileva, Diamond and Precious Metal Geology Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Yakutsk, Russia
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