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1 <br />• <br />INTRODUCTION <br />The object of this report is to provide a description <br />of the chemistry of water draining from mining operations. <br />A knowledge of the chemistry of the water should yield an <br />understanding of how the constituents in the water came to <br />be. From this understanding, one can determine the source <br />of the water and what the first methods of treatment should <br /> be for the effluents from a mining operation. Most of the <br /> examples used in this handbook are from metal mines. All <br /> of our studies have been done in the Front Range Mineral <br /> Belt of Colorado. So the handbook particularly pertains <br /> to mines that are working complex sulfide ore deposits. <br />• The chemical nature of mine drainages is the first topic <br /> to be developed. Emphasis in this section is placed on <br /> relating the contituents in the water to the weathering of <br /> the ore body. Then, the aspect shifts to how physical factors <br /> such as the type of ore deposit or the availability of water <br /> affect the chemistry of the water. With the development of <br /> a scientific basis for the water quality, a monitoring <br /> scheme which can test for alternate types of water is proposed. <br /> Finally, suggestions are made for abatement of any environ- <br /> mental problems. <br /> The Environmental Protection Agency has published a <br /> number of reviews (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) on mine effluents. The <br /> emphasis in these documents is on abatement technology of an <br /> industrial effluent. This handbook considers the water